PRINCETON THEOLOGICHL SEMINARY BY THE HEIRS OF THE LATE professor Ibenrp Garrington Blesan&cr, D.2)., 1L1L.S>. k # A TREATISE ON MAN- ins INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES EDUCATION. By M. HELVETIUS. '^ Honteux de m'ignorer, Dans mon €tre, dans moi, je cherche a p^n^trer. Voltaire, Dis. VI, dc la Nat. de V Homme. TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH, WITH ADDITIONAL NOTES, By W. HOOPER, M. D. A NEW AND IMPROVED EDITION. JN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. n. ALBION PRESS. ' PRINTED FOR JAMIS CbNDEE, IVY-LANE, AND VERNOR, HOOD AND SHAKPE, 31, POULTRY. 1810. * ■# CONTENTS. VOLUME II. SECTION V. ©F THE EiyiOKS AND CON'TRADICTIONS OF THOSE, WHOSE PRIN- CIPLES DIFFERING FROM MINE, REFER THE UNEQ.UAL DE- GREES OF UNDERSTANDINGS, TO THE UNEQUAL DEGREES OF PERFECTION IN THE ORGANS OF THE SENSES. ,.jit page 1 None having written better on this subject than M. Rousseau ; I take 4, him for an exaiuple of what I advance. Chap. I. Contradictions of the author of Emihus, concerning the inequaUty of understandings, 2 It results from his contradictions, that justice and virtue are acquisi- tions. Chap. II. Of the understanding, and of talents, 7 Chap. III. Of tiie goodness of man in the cradle, 10 Chap. IV. Tlie man of nature can:iot but be crticl, 20 That iiis humanity is always t!ie consequence either of fear, or of liis education. Chap. V. M. Rousseau believes, by turns, education to be use- ful and pcniiicious, , 24 Chap. VI. Of the happy use that might be made in public edu- cation of some ideas of ^vl. Rousseau, 30 That, accordin'; to this author, we should not sun])osc chi'dhood and adolescence to be wiihou; judgment. Chap. Vll. Of the pretended superiority of mature age over youth, 35 Chap. VIII. Of the encomiums paid by M. Rousseau to igno- rance, 39 Chap. IX. What motives could induce M. Rousseau to become the apologist of ignorance, 45 Tliat talents and cunning do not corrupt the manners oi a nation. Chap. X. Of the causes of the decline of an empire, 4S A 2 Chap. iv CONTENTS. Chap. XI. Tlie cultivation of the arts and sciences in a de- spotic empire, retards its ruiu, P^gc ^5 That the errors and (-ontradiclions of I\I. Rousseau, and of all who adopt his principles, coiifiini lliib truth, tliat man- is the product of his edti- cutinn. Tliat the cultivation of this science is useful to the public, and its neg- lect destructive SECTION VI. of the evils produced by ignorance ; ignorance is not'destr«ctive of effemimacy: it does not secure the fidelity of subjects *, and it determines the most important' auestions without examination. lux- ury cited as an example. the ^misfortunes into which such judgments may sometimes preciwtate a nation. of the contempt and hatred due to the protectors. of ignorance, 72 Chap. T. Of the ignorance and effeminacy of nations, ibid. Chap. U. Ignorance does not secure the fidelity of the subject, 79 That it opposes every useful refsrination in government. Tiiat it perpetuates abuses, and renders men incapable of that constant attention \vhicli the exauiinalion of most political questions requires. An example in the question concerning luxury. That it is not to be resolved without a cerian number of observations, and without previously annexing determinate ideas to the word- luxiiri). Chap. III. Of the question concerning luxuiy, 82 Chap. IV. Is luxury u-eful and necessary, 83 Chap. V. Of luxury and temperance, 85 Tiiat mostof the evils which we attribute to luxury, are the effects of the too uucqual di?tribution of tlie riches of a nation, and of the di- vision of interests uniongthe inhabitants. That to be convinced of this fact, we roust go back to the first mo- tives ihht determine nieii to unite in societies. Chap. VI. Of the formation of colonies, 91 Chap. VII, Of the multiplication of mankind in a state, and of its eircct?, 95 Chap. Vill. Of the division of interests among the citizens, pro- duced by tlieir great increase, 100 Chap. IX. Of the too unequal partition of the national wealth, 106 The effects of this partiti'iu. Chapo CONTENTS. V Chap. X. Causes of the too great inequality in the fortunes of the people, '. page iny That it istheiicccssurj' consequence of the introductioa of mouc}- into a stale. Chap. XI. Of the means of preventing the too rapid accumula- tion of riches inafew hands, 11^ Chap. XII. Of those countries \dierc money is not current, .. 112 Chap. XIII. Of the productive principles of virtue in those countries where money is not current, lit) Chap. XIV. Of countries where money is current, 119 Chap. XV. Of the period at which riches retire of themselves from an empire, 121 That the inhabitants then leinain without a motive to action. Chap. XVI. Of tiiu several princinles of action ia nations, 12i Chap. XVII. Of money, considered as one of the principles of action, .*..- 1-^3 Tlie evils that arise from the love of money. If in the present stale of Europe the judicious magistrate onght to desires too hasty diuiiaukon of such :i principle of action. Chap. XVIII. It is not in luxury,? but in its productive cause, that we ought to seek for the destructive principle of great empires, 1-7 That it follows, from the examination of the question concerning lux- ury, perhaps hitherto suijerficial, that wc cannot be too carelul in e-xamining every question of this sort, and that ignorance is the more detrimental to nations, as it is solely on the goodnesj of their l.iwj that their happiness depends. SECTION vn. the virtues and happiness of a people are not the ef- fects OF THE sanctity OF THEIR REUGION, BUT OF THE sagacity of THEIR LAWS, 144 Chap. I. Of the siuall inlkience oi religions on the virtues and felicity of a people, ibid. Chap. II. A religious spirit is destructive of tlie spirit of le- gislation, i4y Chap. III. What sort of religion would be useful, 1J4 That it must be one which obliges men to improve their understand- ings. Inconsistency and criminality are in aiiuosl all men the eirectsof igno- rarce. Chap. IV. Of the religion of the papists, 153 A 3 ■■ 'Iha: yi CONTENTS. That more consistency in tlie minds of men would render it njore de- trimental. That speculative principles have happily' small influence on (he conduct of men: who regulate themselves b^' tl;e laws, and not by their belief. That the government of the Jesuits is a proof of this. Chap. V. Of the governmentof the Jesuits, p^g^ 162 Of the means it affords them to make kings tremble, and execute the most atrocious enterprizes. Chap, VI Of the several causes of atrocious enterprlzes, ... 167 Chap. VII. Of atrocious enterpizes uaderlaken from a love of glory, or of our country, 168 Chap. VIII. Of atrocities committed from ambition, 169 Chap. IX. Of atrocities committed from fanaticism, 170 Chap. X, Of the period at which the interest of the Jesuits com- mands them to undertake an atrocious enterprize, ..., 171 What sect might be opposed to them. Chap. XI. Jansenism alone could destroy the Jesuits, ... 179 That we owe to the Jesuits the knowledge of what can be done by legislation. That to make it perfect, it is necessary to have, like St. Benedict, a re- ligious order, or like P.omulus or f'enn, an empire or a colony to found . That in any other situation, we may propose, but it will be difficult to establish excellent laws. Chap. XII. Exainination of this truth, 181 I prove, that there is m.-thing impossible to the laws, but that to fix (he degree to whicli they might carry the feiicit}' of the people, we luust previously know what constitutes the happiness of individuals, SECTION viir. ©F what constitutes the happiness of IXDIVIDUA.LS : OF THE BASIS ON WHICH WE SHOULD FOUND NATIONAL FELI- CITY, NECESSARILY COMPOSED OF THE FELICITY OF ALL THE INDIVIDUALS, 198 Chap. I. ^Vllcther men, in the present state of society, can be all equally happy ? , '. ibid. Chap. II. Of the employment of time, 200 That this employment is nearly the same in everj- profession ; and con- sequently all men may be equally happy That CONTENTS. vii Tlie soluti«n of this question supposes a knowledge oftlie tlifTerent oc- cupations ill which mankind consume tl\e several pans of the day. Chap. III. Of the causes of the unhappiness of almost all nations, llial the want of good laws, and the too unequal distribution of ricltest are the causes of this ahnost universal misfortune : but iluit it is pos- sible to put the people in tliat slate of ease requisite to tiieir liap- pineas. Chap. IV. That it is possible tosetthe people more at their ease, 207 That it is the imperfection of the laws that frequent!^' excites the in- satiable thirst for gold. Chap. V. Of the excessive desire of riches, 209 That among the motives one of the most powcrlul is disquietude. Chap. VI. Of disquietude, 213 Chap. VII. Of the means invented by the idle to avoid disquie- tude, 214 Chap. VIII. Of the influence of disquietude on the manners of a nation, 215 That it was the source of the jealousy of the Spaniards and Portu- guese ; of the part -which it h velocity with which they move, is a mathematical trulii. To astrt, lliat for want of a clock suilicienlty acci;ratc, or an ConcltiJf, 30 TREATISE ON MAN. Utility of some of Rousseau's ideas in public education. conclude, is what appears impossible in a domestic, equally impossible in a public education ? I shall now examine thai matter. CHAP. VI. OF THE HAPPY USE THAT MIGHT BE MADE IN PUBLIC EDUCATION OF SOME IDEAS OF M. ROUS- SEAU. In private education there is no choice of masters ; such as excel are rare; they must be dear ; and there are few private persons rich enough to pay them as they deserve. It is not so with a public education : if legislators annex a large revenue to houses of in- struction, pay the instructors liberally, give them a cer- tain importance, and render their employ honourable*, observation sufficiently exact, two men who are supposed to bft l)orn at tlie same instant, did not see the light at the moment the stars were precisely in the same position, with regard to them both, is often a doubt sufficiently well founded. But to believe without any proof, that the stars influence the fate and characters of men, is a folly, and it is that of astrologers. * What is necessary, says M. Rousseau, to make a child loam ? That he have an interest in learning. What is necessary to induce a master to improve his method of teaching ! That he they TREATISE ON MAN. 51 utility of some of Rousseau's ideas in publi; education. they will render it in general desirable. Government will then have the choice of so large a number of in- telligent men, that they will ahvays find eiiongh for the places they are to fill, it is tbe want of re- wards that occasions the v."ant of talents of every kind. But in the plan of education proposed by M. Rous- seau, what ought to be the first care of the masters ? The education of the domestics destined to attend the children. These domestics once instructed, the mast- ers, according to their own experience, and that of their predecessors, may apply themselves in improving the methods of instruction. These masters, charged with inspiring their pupils with the tastes, the ideas, and passions most confor- mable to the pubiic interest, will be obliged, when in presence of their pupils, to preserve an attention to their actions, which it is impossible to support for a long time together : if they can bear such constraint for four or five hours in a day, it is the utmost. There- fore it is only in colleges, where the masters succes- sively relieve each other, that use can be made of cer- have, in like manner, an interest to improve it. But to accom- plish so troublesome an undertaking, lie hould have the prospect of a considerable recorn[)ence. Few fathers, however, are rich enough to realize such a prospcci, and reward his services gene- rously: the prince alone, by honoming the oihce of an instructor, and attaching handsome appointments to it, can at. once inspire men of merit witli the desire to deserve and to obtain it. tain 32 TREATISE ON MAN. Of the age ai whicli education should commence. tain views and certain ideas to be found in the Emilius and Eloisa. What is possible in a house of public in- struction, is impossible in the house of a parent. At what age does the education of children begin ? If you believe M. RQUsseau, p. 1 16. vol. v. of Eloisa, tlicy arc allien or izcelve years without judgment. Till that age therefore all education is useless. Experience, it is true, contradicts M. Rousseau in this matter; it leaches us that a child discerns, at least confusedl}', at the very moment it receives perception ; that it judges before twelve years of the distances, magnitudes, hardness and softness of bodies; of what pleases or disgusts it; of what is agreeable or disagreeable to its taste ; and lastly, that before twelve years it has learned a great part of its native language, and already knows how to express its ideas. Hhence I conclude, that the intention of nature is not, as the author of Emilius says, that the body should be fortified before the mind is exercised, but that the mind should be exercised in proportion as the body is fortified. Isl. Rousseau does not appear well assured of the truth of his reasonings on this point; for he allows, p. 259. vol. i. of Emilius. *' that he frequently contradicts himself; but^sayshe, *' this contradiction is onl}' in the words." 1 have al- ready shown it in the things ; and the author affords me a new proof in the same part of his work, " If I "regard, suys he, children as incapable of reasoning*, * The pretcnd«-:d incapacity of voung people for rca^oniri!?, says 9 ' " i " "it TREATISE ON MAN. 33 An assertion of Rousseau*s respectiii;^ children comb^iled. ■*■■--:'■ ■';■■--, , " , ,. — ,.,. ' - A :, - .T' r.irrir^ " it is because they are made to reason on what they *'" do not comprehend." But it is in this matter the same with the adult as the child : they botlneason badly on what they do not comprehend. We may even assert, that if the child be equally capable of learning languages as the grown man, he is equally susceptible of attention, and can equally well perceive the resemblances and differences, the agreements and disagreements between different objects, and conse- quently reason equally justly. What moreover are the proofs on which M. Rous- seau founds his assertion, when he says, p. "aos. vol. i. of Emilius, '^ that if we could bring up a healthful and " robust pupil to ten or twelve years, without his being " able to distinguish his right hand from his left, and "without knowing what a book was, the eye of his " understanding would open at once to the lessons of ''reason." I cannot conceive, I confess, why a child should see the better, because the ei/es of Jus viidei standing have not been opened till he is tew or twelve years old. All that I know is, that the attention of a child delivered up to dissipation till that age, is Very diflicult to lix ; and that the man of science himself, diverted from his studies for too lono; a time, does not return to them without difficulty. It is with the mind as with tlie on this subject St. Real, is rather a condescension for the master than the scholar. Those musters who know not how to make them reason, have an interest in saying they are uicapable of it. VOL. II. D boJv ? 34 TREATISE ON MAN. General principles to be adopted in education. body: the one is not rendered attentive, nor the other supple^ without continual exercise. It is habit alone that makes attention easy. But we have seen men at a mature age triumph over obstacles that a long inapplication has thrown in the \vay of the acquisition of talents. A strong desire of glory can, without doubt, pro- duce wonders. But what a concurrence, what a rare union of circumstances are necessary to produce such a desire. Should we reckon on this concurrence, and expect all from a miracle ? The most certain method is to habituate children early to the fatigue of atten- tion. This habit is the most real advantage we now draw from the best studies. But what is to be done to make children attentive I Make it their interest. It is for this reason that recourse is sometimes had to chastisement (16.) Feai* engenders attention, and if moreover the methods of instruction be improved, this attention is accompanied with little trouble. But are these methods easy to be improved ? In an abstract science j for example, such as mora* lity, let the pupil rise from particular ideas, to those that are general ; and let clear and determinate ideas be fixed to the words that compose the language of that science ; the study of it will then become easy. For v/hat reason do we not, like exact observers of the human mind, dispose our studies in such a manner that experience may be the only, or at least the prin- • ipal master ; and that in every science the pupil may constantly TREATISE ON MAN. o5 Comparison of youth and age in respect to tlie judgment. constantly rise from simple conceptions to the most complex ideas ? This method once adopted, the pro- grass of the learner would be more rapid, his know- ledge more certain, and the study being less painful, would become less disgusting to him, and instruction would consequently have more influence over him. To repent incessantly that childhood and youth are without judgment, is the language of the old men in a comedy. Youth reflects less than age, because it feels more, and because all objects, being new, then make a stronger impression ; but if the force of the sensations divert the reflection of young people, vivacity engraves the more strongly on their memory those objects that some interest or other will one day make them com- pare together. CHAP. Vfl. OF THE PRETENDED SUPERIORITY OF MATURE AGE OV£R YOUTH. 'The man knows more than the youth ; he has more facts in his memory ; but has he more aptitude to learn, more force of attention, more capacity ior rea- soning ? No : it is at the commencement of youth, at the age of desires and passions, that our idea? shoot D'i forth. 5d TREATISE ON MAN. ■;-'''■'■ ' , ■ » Progress of the understanding in man. forth, if I may so say, and flourish with the greatest vigour. It is with the spring of hfe as with the spring of the year. The sap then mounts vigorously in the trees, spreads itself through their branches, is ditfused among the twigs, shades them with leaves, adorns them with blossoms, and sets their fruits. It is in tiie youth of man, in like manner, that those sublime thoughts are set, which are one daj to render him renowned. In the summer of life his ideas ripen : in this season man compares them together, and by uniting them forms one great whole. He passes meanwhile from youth to mature age, and the public, which then reaps the fruit of his labours, regards the gifts of his spring £3 the pledge of his autumn*. When a man is young, it is then that he is on the whole most perfect (17), that be has most discernment and spirit, and diffuses most of it on all that surrounds him. If we regard those empires where the soul of the prince becomes that of the nation, and communicates to it life and motion ; where like the fountain of Alci- nous; whose waters sprang forth from the center of the palace, and distributed themselves by an hundred channels through the capital; we see that the spirit of * In early youth it is to the desire of glory, sometimes to the liove of women, tliat we owe our most lively taste for study ; and in a more adt anced age, it is only to the force of habit that we owe the continuance of that taste. ^ 2 the TRFATTCE ON MAN. ^1 Old age incapacitates for government. the prince is, in like manner, by the channels of his ministers, transmitted lo his subjects. \\'hat follows ? That in those empires where all proceeds from the mo- narch, the period of his youth is co'iimoiily that when his nation is most flourishing. If fortune, like a co- quette, seems to fly from grey hairs, it is because the activity of the passions seems then to abandon the prince (IB), and activity is the mother of success. In proportion as oid age approaches, man, less at- tached to the e.irth, is less fit to govern. He feels the powers of life each day deserting him. The principle of his activity exhales. The soul of the sovereign grows torpid, and bis torpidity communicates itself to his subjects, they lose their firmness and energy : it was in vain that the French expected in the old age of Louis XIV. the laurels that crowned his youth. To know the power of education o>ver children, look into the fifth volume of Eloisa, and refer to Julia, or M.Rousseau himself. He tliere says*, " that the " children of Julia, of which the eldest -f- was six years ^' old, could then read tolerably well : that they were "already docile;!;; that they were accustomed to de- " nial II ; that Julia had subdued in them the cause of "clainouri^; that she had banished from their souls *' falsehood, vanity, anger, and envy^-" Let Julia, or M. ilousseau regard, if they please. * Page 159. f Page 148. + Page 120. 1| Pa^c \2>2. § Page 133, 136. ^[ Page 123. 4) 3 thcsjS 38 TREATISE ON MAN. Observations on Rousseau'ii character of Einilius. these instructions as merely preparatory, the name is nothing to the thing. It is however certain, that at six years there are few whose education is more ad- vanced. What a still more astonishing progress does he ascribe to his pupil, p. 132, vol. ii. of Emilius. '^ By means of my education, says he, what great ideas " do 1 find ranged in the head of Emilius ? What a " clear judgment ! What just reasoning! Superior *' man, if he cannot elevate others to his capacity, he "' lets himself dov/n to theirs. Tiie true principles of " what is just, the true models of what is beautiful, all *' the relations of moral beings, all the ideas of order " are engraved on his mind." If such be the Emilius of M, Rousseau, nobody will contest with him the rank of a superior man. This pupil, however, p. SQ2, vol. ii. " had received <' from nature, but moderate dispositions to under- ^' standing." That superiority therefore, as M. Rousseau main- tains, is not in us the effect ofthe greater or less per- fection of our organs, but of our education. The contradictions of this celebrated writer are not to be wondered at. His observations are almost aU ways just, and his principles almost always false and trite. Hence his errors. Little scrupulous in exa- mining opinions generally received, the number of those which he adopts iii^pose on him : and what rliilosophcr always regards liis opinions with the se- vere eye of scrupulosiiy ! The greatest part of mankind repeat TREATISE ON MAN. 39 ^ Jlost pt'fiple are only llie ecliots of others. repeat them after each other. They are like travellers, ■who successively give the same description of coun- tries through which they have passed rapidly, or even vvhich they have never seen. In the ancient theatres there were, we are told, a great number of^artificial echoes, placed at different distances, and but few actors on the stage. In like manner on the theatre of the world, the number of those that think for themselves is very small, and the number of echoes very great. We are ever}' where stunned with their noise. I do not apply this com- parison to M. Rousseau ; but I shall observe, that as there is no genius into whose compositions there docs not enter a great deal of hearsay, so it is one of these heafsaj's that without doubt made M. Rousseau be- lieve, ** that children, before the age of ten or twelve " years, are entirely incapable of reasoning and in- '* struction." CHAP. VIII. OF THE ENCOMIUMS PAID RY M. ROUSSEAU TO IGNOKANCE. He who shall chance to regard the diversity of un. dcrslandings and characters, as the effect of the di- D 4 versitv 40 TREATISE ON MAX. ,^ t ' ' ' Strictures on Rousseau's praise of ignorance. versity of temperarnentsf, and who shall persuade himself i/w? education adds but trijiivg qualifies to the great ones which we receive from nature, \\\\\, in conse- quence, believe education to be prejudical (ly)and will also sometimes become the apologist of igno- rance. Thus M. Rousseau, p. l63. vol. iii. of Eloisa^ says, " that it is not from books children ought to " draw their knowledge : knowledge, he adds, is not '' to be found there.*' But without books would the sciences and arts have ever attained a certain degree of peifeciion .'' Why should we not learn geometry, from Euclid and Clairaut : medicine from Hippo- crates and Boerhaave ; the art of war from Csesar, Feuquiere, and Montecuculi ; the civil law from Do- n.at; and to conclude, politics and morality from the historians ; such as Tacitus, Hume, E^olybius and Ma- cbiavel ? Why does M. Rousseau, not content with despising letters, seem to insinuate that man, virtuous by nature, owes his vices to his knowledge ? " It is of " little concern to me, says Julia, p. 1.58. vol. v. ibid. ^' whether mv son be learned : lam content that he "* If characters v/ere produced by organisation, there would be in every country a certain number of men of a remarkable charac- ter. Why do we commonly meet with them only in free coun- tries ? Because, it v.ill be said, it is in those countries only that characters can display themselves. But can morality oppose the developement of a corporeal cause ? Is there any moral maxim that can humanise a wolf ? " te TREATISE ON MAN. 41 Tlie most ignorant are not the most virtuous. " be wise and good." But do the sciences render a " citizen vicious i* Is the ignorant man better (^iO) and wiser than all others ? If the sort of probity necessary to prevent a man from being hanged requires little learning, is it the same with a refined and delicate probity .? What a knowledge of patriotic duties does not such a probity suppose ? Among the stupid I have seen some good men, though but lew in number. I have seen many oys- ters, but few that contained pearls. It has not been observed, that the most ignorant of mankind are the most happy, the most humane and virtuous (21). In North America an inhuman war arms the igno- rant savages perpetually against each other. These savages, cruel in their combals, are still more so in their triumphs. In what manner do they treat their prisoners ? With death in the midst of the most hor- rid torments. Has peace, with the calumet in her hand, suspended the fury of this savage people r What outrages do they not frequently commit in their own settlements ? How often have we seen murder, cruelty, and treachery, encouraged by impunity (22) walk boldly forth among them ! For what reason, in fact, should the wild man of the forest be more virtuous than the enlightened man of the city ? Men are every where born with the same wants, and the same desire of gratifying those wants. They are 42 TREATISE ON MAK. Great crimes the effect of strong passions. are the same in the cradle, and if they differ among themselves, it is when they are further advanced in the career of Hfe. The wants of a savage people, it will be said, are reducible to such as are merely corporeal, and are few in number. Those of a polished nation on the con- trary are immense. Few men are there exposed to the severity of hunger : yet how many desires and appe- tites have they to gratify ? and what disputes^ quarrels, and vices arise from that multipliciiy of appetites ! Yes ; but what laws and policy have they also to sup^ press them ! Besides, great crimes are not always the effects of the multitude of our desires. It is not the number, but the strength of the passions by which many crimes are produced. Tlie more desires and appetites I have, the less ardent they are. The torrents that divide them- selves inio many branches are the least dangerous in their course. A strong passion is a solitary passion, that concentrates all our desires into one point. Such are frequently the passions produced in iis by corpo" real wants. When two nations without arts and agriculture are sometimes exposed to the torment of fan)ine, with what a principle of activity are they animated. There is no fishy lake, no forest of game, that does not be- come the cause of disputes, quarrels, and battles be- tween them. If the fish and the game begin to fail, 4»ach one defends the lake or the forest as his peculiar property. TREATISE ON MAN. 43 Climes are more numerous among saviigcs llian civilized pcoiilc. property, as the husbandinun defends the enUaiice to the field that is ready for the mower. Hunger returns many times a day, and for thatreasou becomes a more active principle in the savage, than the variety of tastes and desires among a pohshed p'^ople. Now the activity of the savage is always cruel, be- cause it is not restrained by any law. For this reason there are more cruelty and crimes committed in North America, in proportion to the number of inhabitants, than in all Europe. On what then can the opinion of the virtue and goodness of savages be founded ? Does the depopulation of the northern countries, so often ravaged by famine, prove that tlie Samoiedes are happier than the Hollanders ? Since the invention of firearms, and the progress of the military art (23) how wretched is the state of the ^skimaux ! To what does he owe iiis existence ? To the compassion of the Euro- pean nations. If there should arise any dispute be- tween them and the savages, the latter would be des- troyed. Can they be a happy people whose existence depends on such a contingency ? If the Huron and Irocpiois were as ignorant as I\l. Rousseau could desire, I should not think them the more happy. It is to their learning and the wisdom of their legislation that a people owe their virtue, their prosperity, their population, and their power. At what time did the Russians become formidable to Europe? When the czar forced them to acquire know- ledge (24). M.. Rousseau, vol. iii. p. 50. of Eniilius, " 1.S 44 TREATISE ON MAN, \Veakiio---i of tlie states where ignorance prevails. " is absolutel}' ot" opinion, that the aits and sciences, *' philosophy, and the habits which it produces, will " soon change Europe into a desert (25), and in short "That learning corrupts morality." But on what does he found this opinion ? To maintain this paradox with sincerity, he must have never considered the empires of Turkey, Ispahan, Delhi, and Morocco, or, in short, any of those countries wliere ignorance is equally adored in the mosque and in rhe palace. What do we behold on the Ottoman ihrone ? A so- vereign whose vast empire is nothing more than an immense desert : the whole of whose riches and sub- jects being assembled, as it were, in an enortnous capi- tal, presents nothing more than a vain phantom of power, and who at this time, unable to resist the at- tack of a single Chi istian monarch, would split upon the rock of Malta, and perhaps no longer make any figure in Europe. What does Persia present? Inhabitants scattered through vast regions infested by robbers, and twenty tyrants, who dispute, sword in hand, about cities in ashes, and coimtries that are laid waste. What do we see in India, that country the most fa- voured by nature ? A slothful people, debased by sla- very, and wlio without love of the public welfare, with-i outany elevation of soul, without discipline, and with- out courage, vegetate under the finest cliinate of the earth (26) ; a people, in short, whose whole power can- not sustain the attack of a handful of Europeans. Such is TREATISE ON MAN. 45 I'oiisseau's motivts for praising i^n nance. is in a great part of the East the state of naiions sul)ject to this vaunted ignorance. Can M. Rousseau really beHeve, that the empires I have just mentioned are better inhabited than France, Germany, Italy, Holland, &c. Can he think the ig- norant inhabitants of these countries more virtuous and happy than the free and learned nation of Eng- land ? No, certainly. ^le cannot be ignorant of facts knovi'n to the most superficial petit maitre, and the most silly gossip. What then could induce M. Rousseau so boldly to plead the cause of ignorance ? CHAP. IX, WHAT MOTIVES COULD INDUCE M. ROUSSEAU TO BECOME THE APOLOGIST OF IGNORANCE. XT is for M. Rousseau himself to inform us in this matter. " There is not, he says, p. 30. vol. iii. of Emi- " lius, any philosopher who has acquired a knowledge " of the true and the false, that does not prefer the " falsehood he has discovered, to the truth that has *' been discovered by another. Where is the philoso- '^ pher, he adds, that to promote his own reputation, *' would not willingly deceive the whole human race V* li 46 TREATISE ON MAN. Rousseau's moth-es for praising ignorance. Is M. Rousseau that philosopher ? I will ('27) not think it. Besides if he thinks an ingenious falsehood can evei* immortalize the name of its inventor, he de- ceives himself * ; truth alone can have a durable suc- cess. The laurels with which error is sometimes crowned have but the verdure of a day. When a base sou!, a mind too weak to discover the truth, knowingly asserts a falsehood, it obeys its in- stinct ; but that a philosopher can become the apostle of an error that he does not take for the truthf, I doubt, and my reason is unanswerable ; it is the desire which every author has of public esteem and glory. M. Rousseau- has doubtless sought it, but it was as an orator, not as a philosopher. So that of all celebrated men he is the only one who has set himself up against science. (28) Does he despise it ? Is he void of pride ? No : but that pride was blind at a certain time ±. Doubtless when he became the apologist of igno- rance he said to himself, " Mankind in general are ** idle^ and consequently enemies to all study that de- " mands attention. Mankind in general are vain, and * I except, however, religious falsehoods. f Man does not, I know, love truth for itself. He refers all to his happiness. iBut if he places it in a public and durable esteem, it is evident, as that esteem is attached to the discovery of the truth, that he is naturally led to the love and search of the truth. A renown acquived by error, is apliantom of glory, that is driven away by the first rays of truth and reason. I See Vol. I. p. 31 *' consequeutl_y TREATISE ON MAN. 47 ]lousseatt's motives for praising ignorance. " consequently enemies to every superior undcrstand- " ing. Lastly, the common people have a secret lia- " tred for learned men and the sciences. If" I can " persuade them of their inutility, I shall flatter the ** vanity of the stupid ; and render myself agreeable " to the itj-norant : I shall be their master: they mv " disciples, and my name, consecrated by their eulo- " gies, will be renowned throughout the universe. ** The monk himself will declare for me (29). The ig- *' norant and credulous are the dupes of the monks : *^ it is the public stupidity that constitutes his gran- *^ deur. Besides what period can be more favouiable *' to my project ? In France all concurs to depreciate ** talents. If I make a good use of the op[)ortunity, " my works will become renowned." But can this renown be durable ? Could the author of Emilius promise himself it should ? He' must know that there is a secret incessant revolution operating in the minds and characters of a people^ aud that igno- rance will at last disn;race itself. o Now what a punishment is it to this author, if he already perceive that future contempt into which his panegyrics on ignorance will fall ? (iO) By what means can Europe be for a long time deceived in this matter r Experience teaches the people that genius and learning are the true sources of their power, prosperity, and virtue; that on the contrary their weakness and un- liappiness is constantly the effect of a vice in their goveininent, and consequently of some ignorance in the 48 TREATISE ON MAN. r ■ ■ ' ■ Causes of the decline of an empire. the legislature. Men will therefore never think know- ledge and the sciences really detrimental. But men have sometimes seen, 1 confess, in the same century, the arts and sciences improved, and the man- ners corrupted, and 1 know with what address igno- rance, ever envious, takes advantage of these facts, im- puting to the sciences a corruption of manners totally dependent on another cause. CHAP. X. OF THE CAL'SES OF THE DECLINE OF AN EMPIRE. . J. HE introduction and improvement of the arts and sciences in an empire do not occasion its decline ; but the same causes that accelerate the progress of the sci- ences, sometimes produce the most fatal eflects. There are nations in which from a peculiar scries of circumstances, the seeds of the arts and sciences do not spring up till the moment the manners begin to be corrupted. A certain number of men assemble to form a society. These men found a city : their neighbours see it rise up. TREATISE ON MAN. 49 I. ■ ■ ■ . .. ■ ■ ,; Period ill wliicli the scieiiCL-s are cultivated in a state. up, with a jealous eye. The inhabitants of that city, forced to be at once labourers and soldiers, make use by turns of the spade and the sword. What in such a country is the necessary science and virtue ? The military art and valour ; they alone are there respected. Every other science and virtue is there unknown. Sucli %vas the state of rising Rome, when weak and sur- rounded by warlike nations, she with difficulty sus- tained their attacks. Her glory and power extended over the whole earth; she acquired however the one and the other but slowly : ages of triumphs were ne- cessary to subject her neighbours. Now when the surrounding nations were subdued, there arose, from the form of her government, civil dissensions, which were succeeded by wars with foreigners ; so that it cannot be imagined, while the citizens were engaged in the different employments of magistrates and sol- diers, and incessantly agitated with strong hopes and fears, they could enjoy the leisure and tranquillity ne- cessary to the study of the sciences. In every country where these events succeed each other in a regular series, the only period favourable to letters is, unfortunately, that when the civil wars, the troubles and factions being extinguished, liberty is expiring, as in the time of Augustus, under the strokes of despotism*. Now this period precedes, but a short * It was su in France, wlieu cartlinal lliclielieu disarmed tlie people and the nobles, and brought them into subjection. It was tlicn that the aits and sciences flourished there. £ time. 50 TREATISE ON MAN. Reason why tlie arts and sciences flourish under despots. time, the decline of an empire. Tlie arts and sciences however then flourish ; and that for two reasons. The first is the force of men's passions. In the first moments of slavery, their minds, still agitated by the remembrance of their lost liberty, are like the sea after a tempest. The citizen still burns with a desire to render himself illustrious ; but his situation is altered. He cannot have his bust placed by that of Timoleon, Pelopidas, or Brutus. He cannot deliver his name down to posterity as the destroyer of tyrants, and the avenger of liberty. His statue may however be placed by those of Homer, Epicurus, or Archimedes. This he knows, and therefore if there be but one i>ort of glory to which he can aspire, if it be with the laurels of the ]\f uses alone that he can he crowned, it is in the career of the arts and sciences that he prepares to seek them, and it is then that illustrious men of every literary pro- fession arise. The second of these causes is the interest which sove- reigns then have to encourage the progress of the sci- ences. At the moment that despotism is established what does the monarch desire ? To inspire his subjects with a love of the arts and sciences. What does lie fear ? That they should reiicct on their fetters, blush at their servitude, and again turn their looks toward li- berty. He would therefore by employing their minds make them forget their base condition. He conse- quently presents them with new objects of glory. As an hypocritical ])atron of the arts and sciences, he shows TREATISE ON MAX. 51 Reason wliy ihe arts iiiul sciences flourish under dc-pots. shows the more regard to the man of genius the more he feels the want of his eulogies. The manners of a nation do not change the moment despotism is established. The spirit of the people is free some time after their hands are tied. During these first moments illustrious men still preserve some consideration. Tlie tyrant therefore loads them with favours, that they may load him with praises, and men of great talents are too often seduced to become the panegyrists of usurpation and tyranny. What motives can induce them to it ? Sometitnes meanness, and frequently gratitude*. It must be con- fessed, that every great revolution in an empire sup- poses great talents in him by whom it is pnvJuced, or at least some brilliant vice, that astonishment and gra^ titude metamorphose into virtue (3i). Such is, at the time of the establishment of des- potism, the productive cause of great performances in the arts and sciences. The first moments past, if the same country become barren in men of talents (5'i), it is because the tvrant beins; then well established on his throne is nolon, 52 TREATISE ON" MAN. Effects of despotism on the nnlioiial character and manners. extends beyond a century or two. The aloe is an em- blem of the production of the sciences in every slate : a hundred years are necessary to strengthen its root and make it put forth its branches, it then shoots up, flowers, and dies. If in each empire the sciences just shoot up and then decline, it is because the motives proper to produce men of genius, do not commonly exert themselves there more than once. It is at the highest period of gran- deur, that a nation commonly produces the fruits of the arts and sciences. While three or four generations of illustrious men pass away, the people change their manners, and sink into servitude ; their minds have lost their energy ; no strong passion remains to put them'in action. The tyrant no longer excites the peo- ple to the pursuit of any kind of glory. It is not ta- lents, but baseness, which he now honours : and ge- nius, if it still remain, lives and dies unknown in its own country : it is like the orange-tree, that flou- rishes, perfumes the air, and dies in a desert. Despotism, while it is gaining ground, suffers men to say what they will, while they suffer it to do what it will : but once established, it forbids all talking, writ- ing, or thinking. The minds of men then sink into apathy: all the people become slaves, curse the breast that gave them milk, and under such a governmentj every new birth is an increase of misery. Genius, there chained, drags its irons heavily along ; it does not {{y, it creeps. The sciences are neglected ; ignorance is honoured (33), and every man of dis- cernment TREATISE ON MAN. 55 -r "III ' ■ "•• .iar-ii-i.- - ' - ■ ■ The arts and sciences are favonralile to the prosperity of an empire. ccrnment declared an enemy to the state. In tlie kingdom of the blind, who is the most odious ? He that can see clearly. If the blind seize him, his de- -strnetion is certain. Now, in the empire of ignorance, the same fate attends the enlightened. The press is there the more restrained, as the views of tlie minister are more confined. Under the reign of a Frederick, or an Antoninus, we may sayjW hat we will, think and write "what we will : under other reigns we must be silent. The understanding of the prince is always manifested hy the esteem and consideration which he bestows on talents*. The favour he shows them, far from inju- ring, benefits the state. The arts and sciences arc the glory of a nation, and increase its prosperit3\ It is, therefore, to despotism alone, which is interested at first in protecting them, and not to the sciences themselves, that we should at^- iri'butc the decline of an empire. When the sove- reign of a mighty nation has put on the crown of arbitrary power, the people become daily more en- feebled. The pomp of an Eastern empire, can without doubt impose on the vulgar, who may estimate the force of * There are three tilings, said Mathias, king of Iliingary, that a. prince ought to propose to hinisell : Tiie first, is, to be just. The second to conquer his enemies. 7'he iJiird, to encourage lettei-s, and honour illustrious men, p 3 the 54 TREATISE ON MAN. Character of oriental despotism, the naiion by the magnificence of its palaces. The wise man judges dififerently; it is by this very magni- ficence, that he estimates its weakness. He sees no- thing in the imposing pomp, in the midst of which the tyrant sits enthroned, but a sumptuous and mournful decoraiion of the dead : but the apparatus of an os- tentatious funeral, in the center of which is a cold and lifeless body, a lump of inanimate earth : in short, a phantom of power, ready to disappear before the ene- my by whom it is despised. A great nation, where despotic power is at last established, resembles an oak that has flourished for ages. Its majestic trunk, and the magnitude of its branches, still declare its pristine strength and grandeur ; it seems still to be the mo- narch of the woods, but its real state is that of decline ; its branches despoiled of their leaves, and destitute of the spirit of life, are half-withered, and some of them continually broken off by the wind. Such is the state of a nfition subdued by arbitrary power. CHAP. TREATISE ON MAN. 55 The sciences retard llie luiii of a despotic empire. CHAP. XI. THE CULTIVATION OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCES, IN A DESPOTIC EMPIRE^ RETARDS ITS RUIN It is at the time that despotism, being completely established, has reduced the people, as 1 have said, to slavery : it is then, that by stifling in them all love of glory, and by diffusing every where the darkness of ig- norance, the empire is precipitated into ruin (34). However, if, as M. Saurin observes, the study of the sciences, and the urbanity of manners which they in- spire, for some time abate the violence of arbitrary power, the sciences then, so far I'rom promoting, re- tard the decline of the state. The bulwark of the sciences, it is true, cannot for a long time hold out ngainst a power to which all must yield ; which overturns the best established thrones, and the most powerful empires : the corruption of manners, however, cannot at least be imputed to the sciences ; they do not engender public calamities, which in each state, are proportioned to the increase of arbitrary power. How, in fact, can the arts and sciences corrupt morals (So), and enervate courage? What is science ? A collection of observations ; if it E 4 be 50 TREATISE ON MAN. The sciences have no tendency to enervate nations. be in mechanics, on the manner of employing moving powers; if it be geometry, on the relation of magni- tudes to each other : if it be surgery, on the art of curing wounds ; if it be legislation, on the means pro- per to render men virtuous and happy. Now^ why should these different collections of observations ener- vate courage ? It was the science of discipline, that brought the universe into subjection to the Romans. It was therefore, in quality of men of science, that they subdued all nations. So that when, to gain the af- fection of tbe soldiery, the tyrants were obliged to re- lax the severity of military discipline ; when, in short, that science was almost entirely lost among them, it was then, that being vanquished in their turn, the con- querors of the world submitted, in consequence of their ignorance, to bear the yoke of tbe northern nations. Well tempered helmets, cuirasses and swords were forged, at Sparta. This art implies an infinity of others*, and yet the Spartans were not less valiant. * The arts of luxury, it is said, enervate courageous men. But what is it that opposes the entrance of luxury into a state ? Is it ignorance? No: it is poverty, or the nearly equal distribution of the national wealth. What citizens of Sparta could have pur- chased an enamelled snuffbox ? The whole public treasure would not have paid for it. No jeweller, therefore, setup his trade at Taced^mon ; he would have died of hunger. It is not the fabri-t cator of luxuiy, tliat comes to corrupt the manners of a people, but the corruption of a people that invites the fabricator of Uix» CsEsar, TREATISE ON MAN. 5J The cultivation of the sciences not inoompntible with valor. Caesar, Cassius, and Brutus, were learned, eloquent, and brave. The body and the mind were both exer- cised at the same time, in Greece. Luxury is the daughter of riches, and npt of tl)e sciences. Wheii Homer composed the Iliad, his contemporaries were the engravers of the buckler of Achilles. 7"^^^ '^'"^s had, therefore, then attained in Greece, a certain de- gree of perfection, and yet they still exercised them-: selves in the combats of thecestus, and wrestling. It is not the sciences that in France render the greatest part of the officers incapable of the fatigues of war, but the effeminacy of then' education. If a commission were denied to every one, who could not; march certain distances, lift certain weights, and un- dergo certain fatigues, the desire of o|3taining military employments would wean the French from their effe- minacy ; their manners, and their education would be ury : in every sovt of coninierce, it is the demand tliat precedes the offer. Besides if luxury be, as I have said, the effect of the too un- C{]ual distribution of the national wealth, it is evident, tliat the sciences, having no share in this unequal partition, cannot be re- garded as the cause of luxury. Learned men have little wealth. It is with the men of business, and not with tliem we see the splen- dor of magnificence. If the arts of luxury have sometimes flou- rished in a nation at the same period with letters, it is, because the ej)0ch when the sciences have been cultivated, has sometimes coincided with that, when the wealth of the nation was ac i umu- lated in a few hands. fhan;fcd, 58 TREATISE ON MAN. Effects of knowledge and ignorance in states. changed, they would become men. It is ignorance, that produces the imperfection of the laws, and their imperfection, the vices of the people. Knowledge causes the contrary effect. No one has, therefore, ever reckoned among the corrupters of morals, Lycur- gus, that sage, who travelled through all countries, to find, in the conversation of philosophers, the know- Ied2;e which a just reformation of the laws of his country required. But, it will be said, it was even from the acquisition of this information, that he drew his contempt for them, . Yet, who will ever believe that a legislator, who took such pains, to collect the works of Homer, and who erected a statue to Laughter, in the public place, really despised the sciences ? The Spartans, as well as the Athenians, were tiie most learned and il- lustrious people of Greece. What sort of a figure did the ignorant Thebans make, till Epaminondas drew them from their stupidity ? I have shown, in this section, the errors and contra- dictions of those, whose principles differ from mine. I have proved, that every ])anegyrist of ignorance, is, at least unknown to himself, an enemy to the public good ; That it is in the heart of man, the science of mora- lity should be studied ; That every ignorant people, though rich and civi- lized, are constantly a people without morals. Jt is now proper to enlarge on the evils into which ignorance TREATISE ON MAN. 59 # ■ " ' ■ " • Eflectsof" knowledge and ipiioiance in states. g.., ■ — » ignorance plungtsa nation : the importance of a good education will then n^ore fully appear ; 1 shall excite a greater desire to improve it, and I shall, by antici- pation, interest my fellow-citizens in the ideas, that I ought to propose to theiD, on this subject. KOTES 60 TREATISE ON MAN. NOTES ON SECTION V. NOTES, 1. (page 4.) M. ROUSSEAU, p. 4, vol. ii. of Emilius, af- ter having said a few words oa the origin of the passions, adds, " On this principle, it is easy to see how we may direct all the " passions of children and men, eitlier to good or evil. But if it ^' be possible to direct the passions of children to good or evil, it " is then possible to change their characters.'* 2. (ibid.) " The' interior voice of virtue, says M. Rousseau, *' cannot make itself heard by the poor." Among the poor, this author apparently ranks unbelievers, when he adds, p. 207, vol. iii. of Emilius, " An unbeliever would have all the world misera- f ble, to spare himself the least pain, or procure himself the least " pleasure." M. Rousseau is an unbeliever, yet I do not accuse him of forming such a wish. M. Voltaire is no bigot, yet it was he who took in hand the defence of the innocent family of Calas ; it was he who opened his purse, and sacrificed his time, always so precious to him, in solicitations, and who alone protected the op- pressed widow and orphans, when they were abandoned by the clergy and the magistrates. Does M. Rousseau mean any thing more than that the infidel loves himself better than other people ? Now this affection is common to the faithful, as well as the unbe- liever. There is no saint that would damn himself for his neigh- bour. When St. Paul wished to be anathematized for his brethren, tlid he not exaggerate the dignity of that sentiment, and must he not have resided a fortnight in the infernal regions, before he could be sure he was sincere ? 3. (p. 5.x TREATISE ON MAN. 6 1 NOTE3 ®M SliCTION V, ■ •:■■•■■ --> -.-- - - "- ■T=3^ 3. (p. 5.) " As long as a man's semibility (Eniilius, p. 4, vol. ii.) " is confined to himself, there is no morality in his actions. It is " only when he begins to extend his sensibility to others, that he " first conceives those sentiments, and afterwards, tho^.e notions *' of good and evil, that make him a real man." This passage proves the ingenuity with which M. Rousseau refutes himself. 4. (p. 8.) To judge, says M. Rousseau, is not to feci. The proof of his opinion, is, " that there is in us a faculty or power, " that makes us compare objects. Now, says he, this povrer can- " not be the effect of corporeal sensibility." If JM. Rousseaxi had examined this matter more profoundly, he would have seen that this power was nothing more tlvan the interest we have in com- paring objects with each other, and that this interest takes its source from self-love, the immediate effect of corporeal sensibility. 5. (p. 9.) The imagination of the people of the North is not less vigorous than those of the South. ■ Compare the poems of Ossian with those of Homer. In reading those of Milton, Fingal, the Erse poets, &:c. we see no less force in the pictures of the iforthern poets, tlian in those of the south. So the sublime trans* lator of the poems of Ossian, after having jn-ovcd in an excellent; dissertation, that the great and masculine beauties of poetry be- long to all people, observes, that compositions of this kind sup- l)Ose a nation to be polished only to a certain degree. It is not,- says he, the climate, but the manner-s of the age, that give a^ strong and sublime character to poetry. That of Ossian is a proiJf.' t). (p. 11.) If man be sometimes wicked, it is when he has an interest to be so; when the laws, that by a fear of punishment, ot* a hope of reward, should have directed him to virtue, lead I'.iirt- on the contrary to vice. Such is man in a despotic counti'y, that is, in a land of )Iattery and baseness, bigotry, sloth, hvpoPri^y, falsehood, treason, &c. 7. (p. 15.) It is not a sense of the beauty of morality that' ir«akcs a workman labour, but llie promise of a shilling to dr-into. Sup[iOse I. 62 TREATISE ON MAK. NOTES ON StCTION V. Suppose a man to be infirm, and to depend on the assiduity of his domestics for the prolongation of his life, what mu t he do to se- cure a continuance of their care ? Preach the beauty of morality ? No : but tell them, that having made Ifis will, he will reward their zeal while he lives, by giving them every year a handsome and increasing gratuity. Tf lie keep his word, he will be as well attended, as he would liave been badly, had he only reminded them of the beauty of morality. There are no subjects on which we might not give similar in- structions, which, drawn from the principle of pei-sonal interest, would be far more eflicacious, than those extracted from the meta- physical theology, or from the metaphysics of the Shaftesburyans. 8. (p. 16.) We cnish without pity a fly, a spider, or another in- sect, and yet cannot see an ox killed without pain. Why ? Be- cause, in a large animal, the effusion of blood, and the convulsions of his sulTerings bring to our minds a sensation of pain, that we do not feel on killing an insect. 9. (p. 17.) When two nations have an interest to unite, they make a treaty of reciprocal friendship and humanity. When one of these nations no longer finds its account in the treaty, that na- tion brei^ks it : such is man. Interest determines his love or ha- tred. Humanitv is not essential to his nature. What indeed do we understand by the word essential ? That, wilhout which a tiling cannot exist. Now, m this sense corporeal seniibility is the only essential quality in men. 10. (p. 18.) We tremble at the sigiit of the assassin on the wheel. Why? Because his punishment recals to our minds the pain and death to which nature has subjected us. But why are execu- tioners and surgeons obdurate .' Because, habituated to the torture of a malefactor, or a patient, without ieeling any })ain themselves, they become insensible to his cries. Wiicn we do not perceive in the suflcrings of others, such as v>c are liable to ourselves, we be- come obdurLte. 11. (ibid.) Tlie desire of being commiserated in our misCcir- lunos. TREATISE ON MAN. 6 J te ' ■ ■ ■ ■ .1 ,«c: NOTES ON SrCTION V. fc. ■■ ■■ ■ ■ 1^ = tunes, and aided in our enterprizes; tlie desire of fortune, conver- sation, pleasure, &c. produces in us all the sentiment uf friendship. It is not, therefore, always founded on virtue; consequently, the bad as well as the goo?l are susceptible of friendship, but not of humanity. The good alone feel the sentiment of a relined com- passion and sensibility, which uniting man to man, reiiders him the friend of all his fellow-citizens. 'J his sentiment is felt by the vir- tuous alone, 12. (p. ly.) How many cruel edicts contradict the pretended na- tural goodness of man ! 13. (ibid.) We see children enclose chaffers and horn-beetles in hot wax, then dress them up like soldiers, and thus prolong their misery for two or three montiis. It is in vain to say, tliat these children do not reflect on the pain those insects feel. If the sen- timent of compassion was as natural to them as tliat of fear, thej would be sensible of the sufferings of an insect in the same manner as fear makes them sensible of danger from a ferocious animal. 14. (p. '22.) The despotism of China, is we are told very mode- rate, of whicii the abundance of their harvests is a proof. In Cliina, as well as every where else, we know, that to make the earth fer- tile, it is not enough to compose good Ijooks of agriculture, but that there be no law which opposes cultivation. "^Ihcrefore, tlie ta.xes in China, says M. Poivre, do not amount, on indiffcrejit lands, to more than one thirtieth of the produce. The Ciujiese, therefore, enjoy their property almost entire. Their govern- ment, consequently, in this respect is good. But is it so with re- gard to the property of their persons? The habitual and enormous distribution they niake of the strokes of the bamboo, proves the contrary. It is their arbitrary punishments, that doubtless debase tlieir bouls, and make, of almost ail the Chinese, a knavish mer- chant, a co\Nardly soldier, and a citizen without honour. 13. (p. '23.) M. Montesquieu compares the despotism of the East to a tree which the savage cuts do-vn that he may gather iti fruit. A simple fact will give, perliaps, a still more horrible idea ot despotism. -}• The 64 ttlEATISE ON MAN. ■ , ■„..ji...^,.,, .J,; ■ „ - " ,||»| iroTES ON SECTION V. The English, were besieged in Fort William, by the troops of the Suba> or Vice-Roy of Bengal, and made prisoners. They were in mimber 146, shut up in the Black Hole at Calcutta, which was only 18 feet square. These fetches, in one of the hottest climates in the world, and in the hottest season of that cli- mate, received no air but by a window that was partly blocked Mp by the largeness of the bars. They had scarcely entered, when they were bathed in sweat, and tortured by thirst. Panting for breath, tliey sent forth lamentable cries, and begged to be put in a larger prison, but in vain. They endeavoured to set the air in njotion by their hats, but the resource was ineffectual. Their senses forsook them, the greatest part fell to the earth, and died. The survivors drank the sweat of their companions ; again cried for air, and to be put into two dungeons. For this purpose they addressed themselves to a jemmandaar, one of the guards of the prison; whose heart \va« open to compassion and avarice. He consented for a large sum to inform the Suba of their situation. At his return, those who were yet alive, cried out, from amidst the dead bodies for fresh air, and to be released from the dun- geon. " Wretches, said the guard, jou must all die, for the Suba " sleeps, and what slave dares to wake him?" Such is despotism. 16. (p. 34.) M. Rousseau would not have children chastised. But he owns, that to make them attentive, they must have an in- terest to be so. Now, before they have attained the age of emu- lation, tliere are but two methods of exciting that interest in them. One is the hope of obtaining a play-thing (amusement and glut-' tony are the only passions of infancy) ; the other is the fear of punishment. When the tirst method is found sufficient, it de- serves the preference. When it is not, recourse must be had to chastisement. Fear is alwaA'S employed efficaciously. A child lus even more fear of pain, than he has love for a toy. When i'li:tstisement is severe and properly inflicted, there is seldom oc- cusiwn for its being repeated. But it is clouding the dawn of life with images of trouble. No : that trouble is short as the punish- ment. TREATISE ON MAN. 65 NOTES ON SECTION V. '■' ment. The moment after, the cliild jumps and plays with his com- panions, and if he remember the rod, it is in those calm moments that are consecrated to study, when the ^remembrance strengthens his application. Let the methods of teaching, moreover, still too imperfect, be improved, and simplified ; learning will become more easy, and the pupil less exposed to chastisement. A child would learn Italian, or German, with the same facility as his native tongue, if by being continually surrounded by Italians or Germans, he could not ask for what he would have, but in those languages. 17. (p. 36.) With age, we gain knowledge and experience, but we lose activity and firmness. Now, in the administration of affairs, civil and military, which of these qualities is most neces- sary ? The latter. Men are always raised too late, savs Machia- vel, to important places. Almost all the great actions of the present and past ages, have been performed before the age of 30 years ; of which Hannibal, Alexander, &c. are proofs. The man who renders himself illustrious, says Philip de Commines, is always so early. It is not at the period, when enfeebled by age, inscn-ible to the charms of praise, and indifferent to consideration, wliich is the companion of glory, that men make the efforts necessary to attiiin it. 18. (p. 37 ) In all romances, it is constantly before their marriage that the heroes combat monsters, giants, and enchanters. A clear and secret sensation tells the writer, that the desire of his hero being once gralified, he has no longer in him the principle of ac- tion : and in consequence he informs us, that after marriage, the prince and princess lived happy, but in peace. 19. (p. 40.) Instruction, always useful, makes us what we are. Learned writers are our instructors ; our contempt for books is not, therefore, sincere. Without books we sliould still be what the savage is. W' hy have not the women of the seraglio the understanding of the women of Paris ? Because it is with ideas as with languages. YOL. ix. p We 66 TREATISE ON MAN. NOTES ON SECTION V. We speak that of those who surround us. An Eastern slave has no idea of the boldness of the ancient Romans. He has not read Livy ; has no conceptions of liberty, nor of a republican govern- ment. All in us is education and acquisition. 20. (p. 41.) The knowledge and mistrust of mankind, are, they say, inseparable. Man then is not so good as Julia pretends. 21. (ibid.) The less knowledge we have, the more self-inte- rested we become. I hear a petite maitressc send forth a horrible cry : wiiat is the matter ? Is it for the bad choice of a general, or for the registering an edict oppressive to the people ? No : it is for the death of her cat, or iier bird. The more ignorant we are, the less we perceive the relation between the national interest and our own . 22. (ibid.) Among certain savages drunkenness attracts respect. Whoever says he is drunk, is declared a prophet, and, like those of the Jews, may commit murder with impunity. 23. (p. 43.) AVhen a people are happy, what must they do to continue so ? Take care that the neighbouring nations do not bring them into subjection ; for which purpose they should exercise themselves in arms, be well governed, have able generals, and ad- mirals; wise administrators of the finances, in a word, an excellent legislation. It is not therefore always with sincerity, that men be- come the apologists of ignorance. M. Rousseau well knows, that to the imbecility of the Sultans, almost all the evils of despotism are to be referred. 24. (ibid.) Some officers, in France adopt the opinion of M. Rousseau ; they would have the soldiers automata. Turenne and Conde, however, never complained that theirs had too much un- derstanding. The Greek and Roman soWiers, who on their re- turn from the campaign, became citizens, were necessarily better instructed, more intelligent, than the soldiers of our days, and yet the Greek and Roman armies were at least as good as our's. Does Qot the solicitude of the present generals to stifle all knowledge in the TREATISE ON MAN. 67 NOTIS ON SI CTIUN V. * I ■ = the subalterns declare a fear otthe too discerning censures of their operations? Scipioand Ca?sar had less diffidence. 25. (p. 44.) Of all parts of Asia, China is the most learned, as ■well as the best cultivated, and mo>t populous. Some men of letters contend that Europe, when ignorant and barbarous, was more populous than at present. My answer to their numerous ci- tations, is, that ten acres of wheat will nourish more men than a hundred acres of heath, pasturage, &c. that Europe was for- merly covered with vast forests, and that the Germans lived on the produce of their cattle. Tliis Ca'sar and Tacitus affirm, and their testimony decides tiie question. A nation of herdsmen can- not be numerous. Civilized Europe is, therefore, necessarily more populous, than it was when barbarous and savage. It is a follv to refer on this subject to historians, who are often untrue or ill- informed, when we have before us evident proofs of their false- hood. A country cannot support a great number of people witii- out agriculture, unless it be by a miracle; and miracles are mucli more rare than falsehoods. 26. (ibid.) The Indians have no strength of character. They have no spirit, but that of commerce. It is true, that in this res- pect nature has done every thing for them, and enriched their soil with those precious commodities which Europe seeks to purchase; The Indians are consequently rich and idle. They love money, but have not the courage to defend it. Their ignorance of the mi- litary art, and of the science of government, will keep them along time mean and despicable. 27. (p. 46.) There is no proposition, moral or political, that M. ■Rousseau does not adopt and reject by turns. So many contradic- tions have made his sincerity sometimes suspected. He assures us, for example, vol. iii. p. 132 of Emilius, " that it is to Christiaiiity, " that modern governments owe their solid authority, and their less " frequent revolutions; and tiuit Christianity has rendered princes " less sanguinary, he says is a truth, proved by facts." In his Social Contract, chap. viii. he savs, " that at least Paganism did " not enkindle religious wars ; that Jesus, by establishing a spi- K *' ritual 68 TREATISE ON MAN. NOTES 9N SECTION V. " ritual kingdom on earth, has separated the theological system " from the political : that such divisions have arisen from thence, as " have never ceased to agitate the Christian people ; that the " pretended kingdom of tlie other world has become, under a visi- " ble chief, the most violent despotism in this; that from the " double power spiritual and temporal, has resulted a conflict " of jurisdiction, which renders all good policy impossible in po- " pish states ; that we can never know whether we should obey " the priest or the magistrate : that the Christian law is detrimental " to the strong constitution of the state : that Christianity is so " evidently bad, that it is losing time to amuse ourselves with prov- " ing it to be so." Now, in two works given to the public almost at the same timp, how can we imagine that the same man could be so contrary to himself, and that he could seriously maintain two such contrary propositions ? 28. (p. 46. j In consequence of M. Rousseau's hatred for the sciences, I have seen tlie priests flatter themselves with his ap- proaching conversion. Why, say they, should we despair of him ? He protects ignorance and hates philosophers : he cannot endure a sound reasoner. If John James ivcis a saint, tiJiat could he do more? 29. (p. 47.) AU bigots are enemies to science. Under Louis XTV. they gave the name of Jansenists to tliose learned men whom they would damn. They have since substituted the name of Encyclopedists. That name, however, has not now in France any determinate meaning. It is an appellation that is presumed to be reproachful, and which dunces make use of to defame any one, that has more sense than themselves. 30. (ibid.) Despotism, that cruel scourge of humanity, is most commonly the production of national stupidity. Every people are free at first. To what cause must we attribute the loss of liberty ? To their ignorance and foolish confidence in ambitious men. Ambi- tion and the people, are the girl and the lion in the fable ; when she TREATISE ON IMAN. Of) NOTES ON SECTION V, she had persuaded the annual to let her cut his claws, and file his teeth, she delivered him up to the mastilfs. 31. (p. 51.) The literati, as well as the courtiers, are men; and have, therefore, often flattered the injustice of power : there is, however, one remarkable difference between them ; men of letters have been always protected by princes of merit, they have only exaggerated their patrons' virtues. They praised Augustus too much. But the courtiers praised both Nero and Caracalla. 32. (ibid.) When merit no longer leads to honours, it is despi- sed ; -^ud to compare small things with great, it is with an empire, as with a college. When the prizes and principal places are for favourites, there is no longer any emulation among the pupils. All study is neglected. In like manner, when favour alone dis- poses of the preferments in an empire, it becomes destitute of ener- gy : great men are no longer seen, 33. (p. 52.) In the East, the best titles to a great fortune are baseness and ignorance. When an important place becomes va- cant, the tyrant efiters his anti-cliamljer : Have not I here, he says, some valet, of whom I can make a vizir ? All the slaves prostrate themselves before him ; the most despicable obtains the place. Can it then be wondered at, that the conduct of the vizir corres- ponds with the manner in which he is chosen ? 34. (p. 55.) Neither the Romans nor the French had yet lost their courage in the days of Augustus and J^ouis XIV. 35. (ibid.) M. Rousseau, the too frequent panegyrist of igno- rance, says, in some part of his works : " Not the least of the be- " nefactions of nature is that of preserving men from science, ajul " from the labour of instructing themselves." But replies a M. Gautier, might we not say, with equal propriety, *' Nations, " know that nature would not have you nourish yourselves w itli " corn. The trouble requisite to till the earth, declares that you " ought to leave it uncultivated." ' This reply was not to the taste of M. Rousseau, and in a letter written to M. Grimm, he says, " This M. Gautier did not reflect, that with a little labour F ,3 w c 70 TREATISE ON MAN. NOTES ON SI-CTIGN V. " we are sure to make bread ? But after a great deal of study, it is " doubtful, whether we can make a reasonable man." I am not, in my turn, fully satisfied with this answer of M. Rousseau's. Is it certain, in the first place, that, in an unknown island, we can so easily make bread ? Before we reap the corn, we must sow it, and before sowing the seed, we must drain the ground, cut down the trees, and cultivate the earth ; and this cultivation is not to be performed without labour. Even in those countries where the land is best cultivated, how much of the husbandman's care is requisite ? It is the labour of a whole year. But, suppose it were only necessary to turn up the eartli, that supposes tlie invention of the implements of husbandry ; and the invention of these,'supposcs that of the forge, and the know- ledge of mines, of the art of constructing furnaces, of mechanics, and hydraulics, in short, of almost all the sciences, fromwhicli M. Rousseau would preserve nien. We, therefore, cannot make bread without some care and industry. " A reasonable man, saysM. Rousseau, is still more difiicult to " make : we are not sure to succeed after a great deal of study." But, are we always sure of a good harvest. Does the painful la- bour of autumn secure an abundant harvest for summer ? Be it, however, difficult or not, to form a i-easonable man, the fact is, that he cannot be made so without instruction. AYhat is a reasonable man ? One whose judgments are generally just. Now, to judge of the progress of a disease, of the excellence of a drama, or the beauty of a statue, what preliminary knowledge is necessary ? The sciences, and the arts of medicine, poetry, and sculpture. Does M. Rousseau mean by the word reasonable, that the man should observe a sagacious conduct ? But such a conduct sometimes sup- poses a profound knowledge of the human heart, and that know- ledge is full as dinicult as another. When the author of Emilius decries instruction, it is, he will say, because he has sometimes seen an inte|ligent man behave ill. That may be. The desires of such a man are often contrary to his knowledge. He may act ill and TREATISE ON MAN. 71 NOTLS ON ShCllUS V. and see well. This man, however, (M. Rousseau cannot denv) has but one cause of bad conduct in him, which is his criminal pas- sions. Ignorance, on the contrary, has two : one i^-, the same pas- sions, and the other, the ignorance of what man owes toman, that is to say, of his duties towar.l society ; and tliese duties are more extensive than is commonly imagined. Instruction, therefore, is always useful. n ^ SECTION 72 TREATISE ON MAN. Evils produced by ignorance. SECTION vr, OF THE EVILS PRODUCED BY IGNORANCE ; IGNORANCE 1$ NOT DESTRUCTIVE OF EFFEMINACY : IT DOES NOT SECURE THE FIDELITY OF SUBJECTS ; AND IT DETERMINES THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS WITHOUT EXAMINATION. LUX- URY CITED AS AN EXAMPLE. THE MISFORTUNES INTO WHICH SUCH JUDGMENTS MAY SOMETIMES PRECIPITATE A NATION. or THE CONTEMPT AND HATRED DUE TO THE PROTECTORS OF IGNORANCE. CHAP. I, OF THE IGNORANCE AND EFFEMINACY OF NATIONS. Ignorance does not preserve a people from effemi- nacy. It plunges them into it : degrades and corrupts them. The most stupid nations are not the most esti- mable for iheir magnanimit}', their courage, and the severity of their manners. The Portuguese and mo- dern Romans are ignorant; and they are not the less pusillanimous, voluptuous, and effeminate. It is the game vvilh the greatest part of the Oriental nations. In TREATISE ON MAN. 75 c- ■ ■ •- Evils produced by ignoiiince. r- =a In general, in every country where despotism and su- persliiion engender ignorance, the latter in its turn engenders debility and sloth. Does government forbid me to think ? I give myself up to idleness. An inhabitude to reflection renders ap- plication painful, and attention fatiguing (1). Where are then the charms of study? Indifferent to every sort of knowledge no one has sufficient interest with me to engage my attention, and it is only in agreeable sensa- tions that I can then seek my happiness. He that dues not think would feel, 'and feel delici- ously. Men would grow in sensations, if I may use the expression, in proportion as they diminish iti thoughts. But can we be constantly affected by vo- luptuous sensations? No: it is at intervals only that we can enjoy them. The interval that separates men from these sensa- tions is, among the ignorant and idle, filled up by dis- gust. To abridge its duration, they provoke them- selves to pleasure, exhaust their strength and extinguish desire. Among all nations, what classes are most ge- nerally given up to debauchery ? Slaves and bigots. There is no nation more corrupt than the Venetians*, and their corruptions, says Mr. Burke, are the effect * See Burke's Treatise on the Sublime. I here translate him, but do not pretend to judge of a people whom I know only by the relations of others. of 74 TREATISE ON MAN. Evils produced by ignorance among the Venetians.' of the ignorance in which a despotic aristocracy holds the people. " No citizen dares there think : to make " use of his reason is a crime that is the most punished. " Now he who dares not think would at least feel ; and " must from disgust deliver himself up to effeminacy. '' Who but an ignorant and voluptuous people could " support the yoke of an aristocratic despotism ? " This the government knows, and encourages its " subjects to debauchery : it offers them at once fetters " and pleasures : they accept the one for the other ; *' and, in their base souls, the love of luxury always " outweighs that of liberty. The Venetian is nothing «' better than a swine, that is nourished by his master, " for his use, and is kept in a stable, where he is suf- " fered to wallow in the mire. " At Venice, great and little, man and woman, clergy " and laity, all are equally plunged in effeminacy. The " nobles,- always in dread of the people, and of each " other, become enervated and degraded from policy, " and corrupt themselves by the same means they cor- " rupt their subjects. They seek to drown in luxury " and debauchery, that sensation of horror, which a " state inquisition must excite in a bold and elevated " mind." What Mr. Burke here says of the Venetians is equally applicable to the modern Romans, and in gene- ral to all ignorant and civilized nations. If the catholic religion, say the protestants, enervates the soul, and at length ruins the empire where it is estabhshed, it is by TREATISE ON IMAN. 75 Causes in whicli the love of plrdsnre is a rice. '■ ■' ■ '■ '"■'■ ' ■ ■ ' ' ■ -J by propagating ignorance anti idleness, for idleness is the mother of all vices, moral and political. Can the love of pleasure then be a vice ? No : na- ture leads men to the search of it, and all men obey this impulse of nature. But pleasure, that is the re- laxation of the intelligent, active, and industrious ci- tizen, is the sole occupation of the idle and stupid. The Spartans, as well as the Persians, were sensible to love : but their love being different, made one of them a virtuous, and the other an effeminate people. Hea- ven has made women the dispensers of our most lively pleasures. But could heaven intend, that, solely oc- cupied with them, men should, like the silly shepherds of Astrea, have no other employment than that of lo- vers ? It is not in the trifling cares of a languishing passion, but in the activity of his mind, and the ac- quisition of knowledge, in his labours and application, that man can find a remedy against disquietude. Love is always a theological sin, and becomes a moral sin, when we make it a principal occupation : it then enervates the mind, and degrades the soul. Nations ma^'^, after the Greeks and Romans, make love a divinity*, but not make themselves its slaves. * Love is a powerful principle of activity in man. It has often changed the face of empires. Love and jealousy opened the ports of Spain to the Moors, and destroyed the dynasty of the Ommi- ades. Its influence on the moral world, doubtless emboldened the poets to give it a power over the material world that is has not. Hesiod makes it the architect of the universe. Hercules 76 TREATISE ON Mx\N. 'X. ■ . ■ 3— The prosperity of a people is proporUoiiate to their knowledge. Hercules, who fought with Achelous and deprived him of Dejanira, was the son of Jupiter; but the Her- cules who spun at the feet of Omphale was but a Sy- barite. Every active and intelligent people, resemble the first of these ; they love pleasure, they conquer, but act with moderation ; they think often, and some- times divert themselves. With regard to a slavish and superstitious people, they think seldom, are often disquieted, would always divert themselves ; they provoke their appetites and become enervated. The sole antidote to their disquie- tude would be labour, application, and learning. But, as Sydney says on this subject, the knowledge of a people is always in proportion to their liberty, as their happiness and power is always in proportion to their knowledge. Thus the English being more free, are commonly more learned than the French*, the French than the Spaniards, the Spaniards than the Portuguese, and the Portuguese than the Moors. England is con- sequently, in proportion to its extent, more powerful * France, it is said, has in these later times produced more illustrious men than England. Be it so. It is not the less true, that the body of the French nation degenerates daily. France has neither the same interest, nor the same means of acquiring know- ledge as England. France is now but little respectable. The ti- tizen there without emulation sinks into idleness. Merit without consideration is despised by the great; and celebrated men now die without successors. than TREATISE ON MAN. 77 .-•■■■ ■ ■■ ■ ' ' '■* There is one case only in which ignorance is desirable. than France*, France than Spain, Spain than Portugal, and Portugal than Morocco. The more learnino; a people have, the more virtuous, powerful, and happy they are. It is to ignorance alone that the contrary effects are to he imputed. There is hut one case where ignorance can be desirable > and that is when all is desperate in a state, and when through the present evils others still greater appear behind. Then stupidity is a blessing-f- : knowledge and foresight are evils. It is 'then that shutting our eyes against the light, we would hide from ourselves the calamities we cannot prevent. The situation of the inhabitant resembles that of the mariner ; the most distressful instant for him is not that when borne on the wreck of his vessel in the midst of the sea, the love of life and hope make him think he sees through the obscurity of the night a neighbouring shore ; but when the rising morn, drawing back the curtains of the night, drives away * To prove the advantage of morality over materiality, heaven, say the English, has decreed, that Great Britain, properly speak- ing, but a fourth part as large as Spain, and but one third of France, and less populous'perhaps than the latter kingdom, should command it by the superiority of its government. f In the empires of the East, the most pernicious and danger- ous gift of heaven, says a celebrated traveller, would be a noble, elevated mind. Virtuous and rational souls bear impatiently the yoke of despotism. Now this impatience is a crime for which they would be punished by the sultan. Few Orientals expose themselves to this danger. the 78 TREAtlSE ON MAN". Ignorance stifles the sentiinenls of humanity. the imaginary land from his sight, and shows him at once the immensity of the sea and of his misery; then hope, that was borne with him on the wreck, forsakes him, and gives place to despair. But is there any kingdom in Europe where the mis- fortunes of the inhabitasts are without remedy ? Des- troj'^ ignorance and you will destroy all the seeds of moral evil. Ignorance not only plunges the people into effemi- nacy, but even extinguishes in them the sentiment of humanity. The most ignorant are the most barbarous. What people showed themselves in the last war the most inhuman ? The ignorant Portuguese. Tliey cut off the noses and ears of the Spanish prisoners. Why do the English and French show themselves the most generous? Because they are the least stupid. There is no inhabitant of Great Biitain that has not more or less learning (2). Every Englishman is obli- ged to study by the form of his government (3). There is no minister who ought to be, and is, in some re- spects, more sagacious, no one whom the national cry more immediately informs of his faults. Now if in the science of government, as in every other science, it is from the clashing of contrary opinions that light is produced, there is no country where administration can be better informed, because there is none where the press is more free. It is not so at Lisbon. How can the citizen there study the science of government ? Is it in books ? Superstition TREATISE ON MAN. 79 <.■>!■ " , ' , ■ ■ ■ ■ ' ■ Ignorance dnt-o not secure the fidelity of the subject. Superstition will scarcely suficrtlie people to read the Bible, is it ill conversation ? It is dangerous there to talk of public afil'airs, and consequently no one there concerns himself about them. Is it, lastly, at the pe- riod a great man assumes an office ? But then, as I have already said, the time for forming principles is past ; it is then the time to apply them : to execute and not to meditate. Whence then can such a nation obtain its generals and its ministers ? From among foreigners. Such is the debasement to which ignorance reduces a nation. CHAP. 11. IGNORANCE DOES NOT SECURE THE FIDE- LITY OF THE SUBJECT. Some politicians have regarded ignorance as favour- able to the maintenance of a prince's authority, as the support of his crown and the safeguard of his person. Nothing is less proved by history. The ignorance of the people is indeed favourable to the priesthood. It is not in Prussia, or England, where they can say all and write all, that attempts are made on the life of the Dionarch, but in Portugal, Turkey, Indostan, &.c. In what age was the scafibld erected for Cliarles 1. : In. that 80 TREATISE ON MAN. Insecurity of the lives of despotic monarchSi m ■ ' ' Jt that, when superstition commanded in England*, when the people, groaning under the yoke of ignorance, were still without art or industry. The life of George III. is well secured, and it is not to slavery and ignorance, but to learning and liberty, that he owes his security. Is it so in Asia ? Do we there see any throne secure from the attempt of a murderer? Every power, without limits, is an uncer- tain power (4). The ages, in which princes are most exposed to the strokes of fanaticism and ambition, are those of ignorance and despotism. Ignorance and slavery destroy empires, and every monarch by whom ibey are propagated, digs the pit by which at least his posterity will be swallowed up. If a prince so far debases mankind, as to shut their mouths against oppression, he conspires against him- self.' If a priest then, armed with the poignard of re- ligion, or an usurper at the head of a troop of banditti, march into the public place, he will be joined by those very people, who if they had clear ideas of justice would, under the standard of the lawful prince, have opposed and punished the priest or usurper. All the East is a witness of the truth of what I advance. Every throne has been there dyed with the blood of its * At the time of the decapitation of Charles I. it was not super- stition, but fanaticism, that commanded in England. Perhaps, our author might reply, that these being two extremes, their effect* are naturally similar. T. sovereign. 4 TREATISE ON MAN. 81 Bad eflects of ijrnorauce in states. sovereign. Ignorance, therefore, does not secure the fidehty of the subject. Its principal effects are to expose an empire to all the evils of a bad administration^ to diffuse over all minds a darkness, that soon passing from the governed to the governors, brings down tempests on the head of the monarch. In polished countries, if ignorance, the too fre- quent companion of despotism, exposes the lite of lungs, occasions disorder in the finances, and injusiice in the distribution of taxes ; what man will dare to avow himself an enemy to science, and a protector of ignorance, which, opposing all useful reformation, not only prolongs the duration of public calamities, but Tenders men also incapable of the fixed attention, which the discussion of most political questions requires. I shall take luxury for an example. In liow man}^ lights may it be considered ! How many contradictions do we find in the decisions of moralists on this subject ! How much discernment and attention are necessary to resolve this political problem ! How prejudicial are errors on similar questions, sometimes to empires; and, consequently, how detrimental is ignorance to mati- kind! VOL. II. CHAP, 82 TREATISE ON MAN. Definition of luxury, CHAP. III. OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING LUXURY, \t HAT is luxury ? It is in vain to attempt a precise definition of it. The word Luxury, like Greatness, is one of those comparative expressions, that do not of- fer to the mind any determinate idea : that only ex- press the relation, which two or more objects have to each other. It has no fixed sense till the moment it i i put, if I may use the expression, into an equation, and we compare the luxury of one nation, class of men, or individual, with that of others of the same rank. The English peasant, well clothed and fed, is in a state of luxury, compared with a French peasant. The man dressed in coarse cloth, is in a state of luxury, compared to a savage covered with a bear's skin. All things, even to the feathers that adorn the cap of a wild Indian, may be regarded as luxury. CHAP TRE4TISE ON MAX. 83 Enquiry whether luxury be useful and necessary. CHAP. IV. IS LUXURY USEFUL AND NECESSARY. It is the interest of every nation to form great men in the arts, the sciences of war, administration, &c. Now, great talents are constantly the fruit of study and application. Man, slothful by nature, cannot be drawn from his repose but by a powerful motive. What can be that motive ? Large rewards. But of what nature should be the rewards decreed by a na- tion ? Ave we to understand by the word Reward, the gift of what is merely necessary ? No, certainly. The word constantly implies the gift of some superfluity (5), either of the pleasures, or the conveniences of life. Now, every one to whom these superfluities are grant- ed, is in a state of luxury, compared with the majority of the peo[)le. It is evident therefore, that as the minds of men cannot be drawn from a stagnation tliat is dctriuienlal to society, but by the hope of rewards, that is, of su- perfluities, the necessity of luxury is apparent, and that in this sense it is usclul. But, it will be said, it is not against this sort of lux- ury or superfluity, the reward of great talents, that w 2 moialists $4 TREATISE ON MAN. yrr , ■ ■■ ■ ■■ . ■ ■ ' ■■iTig The censures of moralists against luxury not always ju-t moralists contend ; but against that destructive luxury which produces intemperance, and above all, that avi- dity of wealth, the corruptor of the manners of a na- tion, and forerunner of its fuin* 1 have often attended to the discourses of moralists, hnd frequent'y recollect their vague panegyrics on temperance, and their still more vague declamations against riches ; and to the present hour, I have not found one among them who has fully examined the accusations brought against hixury, and the calamities that are imputed to it ; or who has, in my opinion, reduced the question to that degree of simplicity which is requisite to its solution. If the moralists will take the luxury of France for an example, I agree with them to examine its advan^ tages and disadvantages. But before we go further, is it certain, as they incessantly repeat, 1. That luxury produces national intemperance? 2. That this intemperance produces all the evils at- tributed to it ? CHAP. TREATISE ON MAN. 85 Of the two sort*; ot" Uixiirj-. CHAP. V. OF LUXURY AND TEMPERANCE. LiiERE are two sorts of luxury : the first is, a national luxury, fouucled on a certain equality in the distribution of the public wealth. It makes no great appearance (6), yet extends to almost all the inhabitants of a counr try. This distribution does not permit the citizens to Jive in the pomp and intemperance of a nabob, but in a certain state of ease and luxury, when compared with the citizens of another country. Such is the si- tuation of an English peasant*, compared with that of a French peasant. Now, the first of these is not always the most temperate. The second sort of luxury less general (7), more apparent, and confined to a class of citizens more or less numerous, is the effect of a very unequal distribu- tion of the riches of a nation. Tliis luxury is that of despotic governments, where the purses of the little are * The Spartans were strong and robust ; they were therefore sufficienlly well fed. The peasants, in certain countries, are mea- gi-e and weak ; they have not therefore sufficient nourishment. "Whence we conclude, that the Spartans lived in a state ot luxury, compared with the inhabitants of some other countries. c 3 incessantly 86 TREATISE ON MAN. National temperance not always pioductive of great effects. incessantly emptied to fill those of the great ; where some are gorged with superfluities, while others want what is necessary (8). The inhabitants of such a country consume but little: he that has nothing can bu}' nothing. They arc the move temperate in propor- tion as they are indigent. Misery is always sober, and the luxury of these governments does not produce intemperance, but na- tional temperance, that is, temperance in the greatest number. Let us now see whether this temperance be so fruit- ful of prodigies as the moralists pretend. If we consult history, we shall iind that the people commonly the most corrupt, are the sober inhabitants who are in sub- jection to arbitrary power : that the nations reputed 3nost virtuous, are, on the contrary, those free na- tions whose riches are the most equally divided, and whose citizens are consequently not always the most temperate. In general, the more money a man has, the more he expends, and the more freely he lives. Frugality, a virtue doubtless respectable and meritori- ous in an individual, is always in a nation the effect of a powerful cause. The virtue of a people is almost always the virtue of necemty : and frugality, for that reason, rarely produces in empires the miracles attri- buted to it. The Asiatics, who were slaves, poor, and necessarily temperate under Darius and Tigranes, never had the virtues of their conquerors. Thfe TREATISE ON MAN. 87 The senliments of moralists mubt not be blindly adopted. The Portuguese, like the Orientals, surpass the Eng- lish in sobriety, but do no not equal tlieni in valour, industry, virtue, in a word, in happiness (9). If the French were beaten in the last wars, it is not to the intemperance of their soldiers that their defeats are to be attributed. The greatest part of the soldiery must be taken from the class of husbandmen, and the French husbandmen have an habit of sobriety*. If the moralists coiitiiuially extol frugality, and de- cry luxury, it is, because being re>peciable in their own eyes, they mean to honour themselves b}' these declamations; because, having no clear ideas of lux- ury, they confound it with the frequently pernicious cause by which it is produced; and because they think themselves virtuous for being austere, and ra- tional for being discontented. Now, discontent is not reason. Let men, therefore, .distrust modern moralists: in this respect they have but superficial ideas concerning this question. But, it will be said, the writers of anti- quity have, in like manner, regarded luxury as the corruptor of Asia. They the a deceived themselves in like manner with the moderns. To know if it be luxury, or the cause of luxury, * A Frenchman will reply to this, that it was not indeed to the intemperance of the soldiers, hut to the debauchery and efleminacy of the oflficers and generals, that the Frencii army owed its de- feats. T. c 4 that 88 TREATISE ON MAN. ' " ■ ■..,,.■ j^ Corniption cantiot be general in a nation. that destroys in man all love of virtue, that corrupts and debases the manners of a nation, we must first de- termine what is meant by the term, a base people. Is it one, all the individuals of which are corrupted? There is no such people: there is no country v\here the order of the common citizens, always oppressed, and rarely oppressors, do not love and esteem virtue. Their interest leads them to it. It is not so with the order of great men. Their interest is to be unjust with impunity ; it is to stifle in the hearts of men every sentiment of equity. This interest imperiously com- mands the great, but not the rest of the nation. The tempest agitates the surface of the sea, but its depths are always tranquil. Such are the inferior class of citizens, in almost every country. Corruption slowly approaches the labourers of the earth, and it is they that compose the greatest part of every nation. B}' a base nation, then, people can only mean that in which the people in power, that is, the governing party, are enemies to the party governed, or at least indifferent to its happiness*. Now, this indiiference * The wortis corrupiion of manners, signify nothing more than the division between pubhc and private interest. At what time does this division happen ? When all the riches and power of a state are collected into a few hands. There is then no con- j>ection between the ditrerent classes of the citizens. The great, wholly directed by their private interest, and indiflerent to that of the public, will sacrifice the state to their particular passions. is / TREATISE ON MAN. 89 Necessity of employment in liuirian socitty. ■■■ t is not the effect of luxury, but of the cause that pro- duces \t, that is, the excessive power of the great, and the consequent contempt in which they hold their fel- low-citizens. In the hive of human society, to preserve order and justice, and to chase away vice and corruption, it is necessary that all the individuals be equally employed, and forced to concur equally in the general good, and that the labour be equally divided among them. If there be any whose riches and birth exempt them from all employment, there will be divisions and un- happiness in the hive. The idle will die of disgust: they will be envied without any reason for envy, be- cause they will not be happy. Their idleness, however, at the same lime that it is disgusting to themselves, is destructive to the general welfare. They will devour with discontent the honey that the others produce; Is it necessary, to be revenged of an enemy, that a negotiation be broken ot^', the finances be neglected, a war be declared unjust, a battle be lost ? They ^vill do all, and agree to all, to gratify their caprice ; grant all to favoiu-, and nothing to merit. The courage and diligence of the soldiers and inferior officers will remain with- out reconipence. What is the consequence ? That the magis- trates have no longer integrity, nor the soldiers courage; that indifference succeeds in their minds, to the love of justice, and of their country ; and such a nation will be held in contempt by plhers, and fall into a debasement. Now this debasemeut will not be the effect of its luxury, but of a too unequal distribution of oower and riches, of which luxury itself is an effect. the 90 TREATISE ON MAN. Of the conuption of people in power. ■■ - - —r the labourers will die oi" hunger, and the idlers will not be more happy. To fix the happiness and virtue of a nation on a solid foundation, it must rest on a reciprocal dependence between all the orders of citizens. If there be states- men invested with unlimited power, and that have not, at least for the present^ any thing to hope or fear from the love or hatred of their inferiors, then all mutual dependence between the great and the Utile will be broken and these two orders of citizens, under the same name, will compose two rival nations. The man in power will then indulge himself in all things,he will, without remorse, sacrifice to his caprice the happiness of a whole nation. If the corrupiion of the people in power never is more manifest than in the ages of the greatest luxury, it is because in those ages the riches of a nation are collected into the smallest number of hands, when the great are most powerful, and consequently, most cor- rupt. To ascertain the source of their corruption, and the origin of their power and riches, and of that division of interests, among citizens, who, under the same name, form two inimical nations, we must go back to the formation of the first societies. CHAP. TREATISE ON MAN. 91 Of till! formation of colonies. CHAP. VI. OF THE FORMATION OF COLONIES. feoME families pass over to an island. We will sup- pose the soil good, but uncultivated. What at the moment of debarkation is the first care of these fa- milies ? To construct huts, and turn up an extent of ground sufficient for their subsistence. At this period, wherein consist the ricbes of this island ? In its harvests, and the labour by which they are produced. If this island contains more land than is necessary for the cultivators, the rich among them will be those that have the strongest and most active arras. The interests of this rising society are at first not complicated, and consequently few laws will there suffice : they may be almost all reduced to the pre- vention of theft and murder. Such laws are always just, because they are made by the consent of all, and because a law generally adopted in a rising state, is always conformable to the interest of the majority, and consequently wise and beneficent. We will suppose this society to elect a chief: he will only be a chief in war, under the orders of whom they combat 92 TREATISE ON MAN. Means employed to attain arbitrary power. combat pirates, and new colonists that would establish themselves in this island. Tliis chief, like every other colonist, will possess no more land than he has culti- vated. The only favour they can grant him, is the choice of his ground. He will be in other respects without power. But will the successors to the first chief long remain in this state of im potency ? By what means will they free themselves frora it, and at last arrive at arbitrary power ? The object of most of them will be to subject the isle they inhabit. But their efforts will be vain, while the nation is not numerous. It is difficult to establish despotism in a country that being newly inhabited, is not populous. In all monarchies, the progress of power is slow. .Of this, the time employed by the so- vereigns of Europe in subjecting their great vassals is a proof. The prince who too hastily attacks the pro- perty, the life and liberty of powerful proprietors, and would load the people with taxes, will destroy himself. All, sfreat and little, will revolt asrainst him. The monarch would have neither money to raise an army^, nor an army to fight against his people. The time at which the power of a prince or chief increases, is that when the nation is become rich and numerous, when each citizen ceases to be a soldier*. * There is, perhaps, but one method of preserving an empire from the despotism of an army, and that is, by the inhabitants being at once, as at Sparta, citizens and soldiers. TREATISE ON INIAN. 93 f .- ' .. • - ■ . Means employed to attain aibiliary power. or when, to repel an enemy, the people consent to raise troops, and keep them continually in pay. If the chief" preserve the command of them in peace as well as in war, his influence insensibly augments; lie profits by it to enlarge his army. When it is suffici- ently strong, the ambitious chief throws off" the mask ; oppresses the people, destroys their propert}', and plunders the nation : for man, in general, appropriates all he can ravish, and rapine cannot be restrained but by severe laws, and laws are impotent against a chief and his army. It is thus that a first tax frequently furnishes an usurper with the means of imposing others, till at last, armed with an irresistible power, he can, as at Constan- tinople, swalTow up by his court and his army, all the riches of the nation. The people, then w eak and indi- gent, are attacked by an incurable malady. No law can then secure to the citizens their lives, their pro- perty, and their liberty. For want of this security, every thing returns into a state of war, and all society is dissolved. If the inha- bitants still live in the same cities, it is no longer in union, but in a common servitude. A handful of free men are then sufficient to overturn an apparently most formidable empire. If the army with which the usurper keeps the nation in fetters, be beaten three or four times, he has no resource in the love and valour of his people. He and his soldiers are hated, as well as feared. The citizens 94 TREATISE ON MAN. Imbecility of despotism. ■ ■ ' " . . . 1' citizens of Constantinople regard tlie Janizaries as the accomplices of the Suhan^a setof ruffi.ans by whose aid he pillages the empire. If a conqueror attempt to free the people from the fear of the army, they fa- vour his enterprize, and regard him as their avenger. The Romans were a hundred years at war with the Volsci : they employed five hundred years in con- quering Italy : they only showed themselves in Asia, and it became subject to them. The power of Anti- ochus and Tigranes vanished at their sight, as that of Darius at the sight of Alexander. Despotism is the old age and last disease of an em- pire. This malady never attacks it in its youth. The existence of despotism commonly supposes a people to be already rich and numerous. But is it possible that the grandeur, wealth, and extreme population of a state, can sometimes have such fatal consequences? To elucidate this point, let us consider the effects of extreme riches, and great increase of inhabitants in a kingdom. Perhaps we shall discover in this increase, the first seeds of a despotic power. CHAP. TREATISE ON MAN. 95 Efl^cts of the multiplication of men in a state. CHAP. VII. OF THE MULTIPLICATION OF MANKIND IN A STATE, AND OF ITS EFFECTS. In the island at first uncultivated, in which I placed a small number of families, if we suppose these families to multiply, the isle will become provided with a num- ber of artisans necessary to a nation of agriculturists: the union of these families will soon form a numerous people. If this nation continue to multiply, there will be born in the island more men than can be employed in cuhivating the earth, and in the arts subservient to that cultivation. Wliat will become of these super- fious inhabitants? The more they increase, the greater will be their charsfe to the state : whence it will be ne- cessary, either that the superfluity be consumed by a war, or that a law be enacted, as in China, for the ex- posing of children (10). A man without property, and without employment in a society, has only three things to chose ; cither to leave his country and seek a subsistence elsewhere, or to rob for a maintenance, or to invent some new article of commerce, in exchange for which his fellow-citizens may supply his wants. 1 shall not enquire what be- comes of the robber, or voluntary exile. They cease 4 to 95 treati5;e on iman. :■■■'■■ ' ■ ■ :■-- _-_j.^ Origin of ma iiufac lures and towns. J*- ■ ■■ ■■ ■ ■ ■• ■ . . . <, to belong to this societ\\ My only object is the inventor of a new article of utility or luxury. We will suppose him to discover the secret of painting ori cloth, and that this invention suit the taste of but fievv of the inhabitants; but fev/ of them, therefore, w^ill exchange their commodities for his cloth (11). But if a taste for this sort of cloth become generali and there be a great demand for it, what will he do to answer that demand ? He will collect more or less of those men I call superfluous, set up a manufactory in a convenient place, most likely on the side of a river, whose branches extend a considerable way into the country, and will facilitate the transport of his mer- chandize. Now we will suppose that the continual in- crease of inhabitants gives rise to the invention of some other commodity, some other article of luxury, and that a new manufacture be set up. The undertaker, for the advantage of his commerce, will naturally fix it on the side of the same river. He will therefore, erect a building near the other's. Several of these manufactories will form a village, and then a town, that will soon contain wealthy citizens ; for the profits of commerce are always very great, when the traders being few, have but few rivals. The riches of this town will draw pleasures thither. To partake of tliese pleasures, the rich proprietors of lands will quit, the country, to pass some months of the year in the town, and for that purpose build houses there/ The town increases daily, because poverty there TREATISE ON MAN. 97 Efl'ects ottlie inultiplicalion of inliabitiuils. there finds more resources) vice more iinpiuiity, and luxury more means of gratification. This town, at last, takes the name of capital. Such are in this island the first efTects of the great multiplication of its inhabitants. Another effect of the same cause will be the indigence of the greatest part of the people. By the continual increase of their number, there will be more workmen than work : com- petition will lower the price of labour : that workman will be preferred who sells his goods cheapest, that is, who contents himself with the least profit. Then indi- gence extends itself ; the poor sell, the rich buy; the number of possessors diminish, and the laws become dail}' more severe. A people of proprietors may be governed by gentle laws. Confiscations of property, partial or total, is there sufiicient to suppress crimes ? Among the Ger- mans, Gauls, and Scandinavians, fines, more or less severe, were the oidy punishments inflicted for diife- icnt offences. Wliere non-proprietors compose the greatest pait of anation, it is diiiercnt. They can be governed by harsh laws only : when a man is poor, i\nd cannot be fined, he must be puni>hed in his person ; and hence arise corporal punishments. Now, these punishments at first iuiiicted on the poor, are in the course of time, extended to proprietors, and all citizens are then go- verned by tiie laws of blood. All things concur to establish these laws. VOL. 11. M 1>0C? 08 TREATISE ON MAN. Causes of tlie adoption of sanguinary laws. Does every citizen possess some property in a state ? The desire of preserving it is doubtless, the general design of a nation. There are few thefts committed. Do the generality, on the contrary, live without pro- perty ? Theft is the general aim of that nation ; and robbers mnltiply. Now this spirit of robbery spread- ing itself throughout, necessarily occasions frequent acts of violence. Let us suppose, that by the slowness of criminal proceedings, and the facility with which a man with- out property can transport himself into another coun- try, the guilty almost always escape punishment, and crimes multiply daily. To prevent this, a citizen must be apprehended on the tirst suspicion. But confine- ment is itself an arbitrary punishment, which being soon exercised on proprietors themselves, will substitute slavery in the place of liberty. What remedy is there for this national evil ? Is there any method by which the gentlelaws can be recalled ? I know but one, which would be to multiply the number of proprietors, by making a new distribution of the lands. But this dis- iribution is always difficult to be executed. Thus the unequal partition of the national wealth;, and tiie too great increase of men without property, producing at the same time in an empire vices and sanguinary laws, at last develop those seeds of despotism, which ought; to be reG;arded as a new effect of the same cause*. * The evils arising from extreme population were known to When TREATISE ON MAN. 99 Method* of preventing too Rierit populraion. When a numerous people are not, lil^c the Greeks and Swiss, divided into a certain number of federative republics ; but compose, like those of Great. Britain, one nation, the people being then too numerous, and the ancients ; and there were no means which they did not employ- to diminish it. The Socratic passion in Crete was one of them. Tills passion, says M. Goques, counsellor in parliament, was there authorised by the laws of Mhiosf. If a young man liired h.mself as a catamite, for a certain tenn, and ran away from the house of him with whom he had engaged to live, the laws obliged him to return, and i eniuin there till the ex- piration of the term. The reason of this odd law, say Plato and Aristotle, was the fear they had in Crete of a too great population. It was with the same view that Pythagoras enjoined his disci- ples abstinence and fasting. They that fast do not get many children. To the Pythagoreans succeeded the Vestals, and lastly the Monks, who being, perhaps, enjoined the law of continence, for the same reason are, in fact, no other than representatives of the ancient pederasts. -J- This was certainly a very foolish law of the wise Minos, and which the dread of excessive population could by no means jus- tify, as there were many other obvious meang of preventing it. It is not unlikely, however, that the counsellor in parliament here mentioned, imagined he discovered this law among those of Minos, in order to palliate his own conduct. This practice, however pre- posterous, was not so barbarous as that of exposing their young children to perish in the highways, and which was likewise ascri- bed to the dread of exceisive population. If this custom, common among the wise Grecians, were to be adopted i^y the most igiio- laiit of the Eurojjean nations, we sliuuld load them, and juitly too, with the appellation of obdurate scoundrels. T. H 2 / to* 100 TREATISE ON MAN. . ■ ■ • ..■•■' ^j^ Establisliment of a represeiilalive government. - ' ' ■ T too far distant from each other, to dehberate on gene- ra] affairs, are obliged to appoint representatives for each borough, city, province, 8cc. These representa- tives assemble in the capital, and it is there they sepa- rate their interest from that of the represented. CHAP. VIII. OF THE DIVISION OF INTERESTS AMONG THE CITI- ZENS, PRODUCED HY THEIR GREAT INCREASE. When the inhabitants, by becoming too numerous to assemble in the same place, have appointed repre- sentatives, those representatives taken from the body of the people, chosen by them, and honoured by the choice, propose at first such laws only as are conform- able to the public welfare. The law of property is by them held sacred. They respect it the more, as being under the inspection of the nation, if they should betray tlie confidence reposed in them, they would be punished by disgrace, and perhaps, by a more severe chastisement. It is, therefore, as I have said, when the people have formed an immense capital ; v;hen the compli- cated interests of the diiferent orders of the state have multiplied TREATISE ON MAN. lOl The division of interests favourable to ambitious rcpi cseiitalives. multiplied the laws, wiien, to avoid the fatiguing study ofiiicm^ the people repose that duty iti their re- presentatives ; and lastly, when the iiihabitai)ts, solely employed in augmenting the value of their lands, cease to be citizens, and give themselves up to iicrri- culture ; that the representatives separate their inte- rests I'rom tliose of their constituents. It is then that an indolence in the minds ofr' the constituents, and an active desire of power in the re- presentatives, announce a great change in the state. At that period, all things favour the ambition of the latter. When, in consequence of their increase, one people are subdivided into several, and there are reckoned in the same nation the rich, the poor^ land-holders, mer- chants, &,c. it is not possible, that the interests of these several orders of citizens should be always the same. Nothing, in certain respects, is more contrary to the interest of a nation, than a great number of men with- out property. They are so many secret enemies, whom a tyrant may at his pleasure arm a^:ainst the proprietors. Yet nothing is more agreeable to the in- terest of the manufacturer. The more necessitous people are, the less he will pay for tlieir labour. The interest of the trader, is therefore sometimes incom- j)atible with that of the public. Now, the body of traders is often the most powerful in a stare ; it in- cludes an iniinite number of seamen, porters, and workmen of every sort, who having no other riches H a thau 102 TREATISE ON MAN. The division of interests favourable to ambitions representdiives. - ■ ■ - ■ ' ... ,-r. than their labour, are always ready to serve any one that will pay them. When a nation is composed of an infinity of dif- ferent people, unHer the same name, and whose inte- rests are more or less contradictory, it is evident, that for want of unity in the national interest, and a real unanimity in the regulations of the several orders of constituents, the reptesentative, by alternately favour-^ ing this or that particular order of citizens, may, by sowing division among them, render himself so much the more formidable to all of them, as by arming one part of the nation against the other, he secures himself against all inquiry. Impunity gives him more importance, and more audacity. He at last perceives, that in the midst of the anarchy of national interests, he may, from day to day, become more independent, and daily appro- priate more authority and riches ; that with great wealth he can keep in pay those, who being without property, sell themselves to any one who will buy them ; and that the acquisition of each new degree of autho- rity will furnish him with new means of usurping a still greater power. When, animated with this hope, the representatives have, by a conduct as crafty as dishonest, acquired a power equal to that of the whole nation, from that moment there arises a division of interest between the parties governing and governed. So long as the latter is composed of proprietors of sufficient affluence, brave f and TREATISE ON MAN. 103 ts..- .: ■'■'—.■■■■!.■..■ ■ . , , . , The accnmulation of riches unfavourable to public liberty. and intelligent ; in a condition to shake, find even to destroy the authority of the representatives, the hody of the nation is in good condition, it is even flourish- ing. But can this equilibrium of power long subsist between these two orders of citizens ? Is it not to be feared, that the riches accumulating insensibly, in a small number of hands, the number of proprietors (the sole support of the public liberty) should daily diminish*; that the spirit of usurpation, al- ways more active in the representatives, than the spirit of conversation and defence in the constitu- ents, should at last turn the balance of power in favour of the former? To what other cause can we ascribe that despotism, which has hitherto put an end to all the different forms of government ? Is it not evident, that in a vast and populous coun- * When a man grows rich by commerce, he adds the property of many small proprietors to his own. The number of proprie- tors, and consequently of those whose interest is most closely con- nected with the national interest, is diminished. On the contrary, the number of men without property, and without interest in the public welfare, is increased. Now, if such men are always ready to hire themselves to any one that will pay them, how can it be imagined, that the man in power will not make use of them, to rule over his fellow-citizens ? Such is the necessary effect of too great an increase of people in an empire. It is the evil circle that lias been hitherto run through Wy all the known forms of government. H 4 try. 104 TREATISE ON MAN. The increase of the people produces dissipation of morals. •^' . ■ try, the division of interest among the governed must always furnish the governors with the means of usurping an authority, which man's natural love of power makes him always desire ? All empires have had an end : and it is at the period when those nations, becoming numerous, were govern- ed b}' representatives ; and when those representatives, favoured by the division of interests among the consti- tuents, have been able to make themselves indepen- dent, that we should date the decline of empires. In every country, the great increase of inhabitants has been the unknown, necessary, and remote cause of the dissipation of morals*. If the nations of Asia, always cited among the most corrupt, first received the yoke of despotism, it was because of all parts of the world, x^sia was the first inhabited and polished.- Its extreme population made it subject to sove- reigns : these sovereigns heaped the riches of the * But is there no law that can prevent the fatal effects of a i&^ great increase of inhabitants, and closely connect the interesf of the representatives, with that of the represented ? These two in-'* terests are, doubtless, better connected in England than in Turkey,! where the Sultan declares himself the sole representative of his nation. But if there be forms of government more favourable the one than the other, to the union of private with public interest,' there is no one where this great moral and political problem has been perfectly solved. Now, till its complete solution, the in- crease of people must, in every government, produce a corrup- tion of moral*. state TREATISE ON MAN. 105 Subjects discussed in tins section. State upon a small number of noblemen, and invest- ed them with excessive power ; and these nobles plunging into luxury, languished in that corruption, that is, in that indifference for the public welfare, with which history has always so justly reproached the Asiatics. After having hastily considered the great causes, whose development animated societies, from the mo- ment of their foiniation to that of their decline ; after having pointed out the difierent stales and situations, through which these societies passed, to fall at last into arbitrary power; let us now examine, why this power once established, makes in a nation a distri- bution of riches, which being more unequal in a de- spotic government than any other, hurls it more rapidly into ruin. CHAP. 106 TREATISE ON MAN. Impossibility of the equal distribution of wealth. CHAP. IX. OF THE TOO UNEQUAL PARTITION OF THE NATIONAL WEALTH. Jl HERE is now no form of government, in which the national wealth is, or can be, equally divided. For men to flatter themselves with this equal distribution among a people subject to arbitrary power, is folly. If in despotic governments, the riches of the whole nation be swallowed up by a small number of families, the reason is plain. When a people acknowledge a master who can im- pose taxes on them in an arbitrary manner, and trans- fer at pleasure the property of one class of citizens, to that of another ; the riches of the nation*, must, in a short time, be collected into the hands of favourites. * The more a prince increases in power, the more inaccessible he is. Under the vain pretext of rendering his royal person more respectable, the favourites screen him from all eyes. Approach is interdicted to his subjects. The monarch becomes an invisible god. Now, what do the favourites intend by this apotheosis ? To debase the prince, that they may govern him. For this pur- pose, they banish him to a seraglio, or surround him by their little society ; and all the wealth of the nation is then absorbed by a very fev/ families. But TREATISE ON MAN. 107 Causes of its inequ-iiity in .irbitrary states. But what advantage accrues to the prince from this evil of the stale ? The followinp : An arbitrary monarch, in quality of a man, loves himself above all others. He would be happy, and feels, like a private person, that he partakes of the joy and sorrow of all that surround him. His interest is, that his peoj)le, that is his courtiers, sliould be con- tent. Now their thirst of gold is insatiable. If they be in this respect without modesty, how can he in- cessantly refuse what they incessantly demand, with- out discontenting his intimates, and exposing himself to the contagious chagrin of all that surround him ? Few men have that courage. He therefore continuallv empties the purses of his people into those of his cour- tiers ; and it is among his favourites that he divides almost all the riches of the state. This partition being made, what bounds can be set to their luxury ^. The greater it is, and the more conformable to the situatioti in which the empire then is, the more that luxury is useful. The evil is only in the productive cause, that is, in the too unequal partition of the national wealth, and in the excessive power of the prince, who, but ill instructed in his duty, and prodigal from weakness, thinks himself generous when he is unjust (12). But will not the cries of misery inform him of his disgrace ? The throne on which a Sultan is seated, is inaccessible to the complaints of his subjects ; they cannot reach so far. Besides, what is their happiness to 108 TREATISE ON MAN. Means of cliccking the unequal distribution of wealth, to him, if their discontent have no immediate influ- ence on his present felicity ? Luxury, as I have proved, is in most countries the immediate and necessary effect of despotism. It is, therefore, despotism, that the enemies of luxury should oppose (13). To suppress an effect, we should destroy the cause. If there be a medium of operating a happy change in this matter, it is by an insensible change in the laws and administration (14). It is necessary, for the happiness of the prince him- self, and his posterity, that austere moralists fix the bounds of taxes so firmly, that the sovereign can never displace them. From the moment that the laws, like an insurmountable obstacle, oppose the prodigality of the monarch, the courtiers will set bounds to their desires and demands ; they will not ask what they know they cannot obtain. The prince, they will say, must be less happy. He will, doubtless, have about him fewer courtiers, and such as are less servile ; but their servility is not, per- haps, so necessary to his happiness, as ma}' be imagin- ed. When the favourites of a king are free and vir- tuous, the sovereign accustoms himself insensibly to their virtue. He does not find himself the worse, and liis people find themselves much better. Arbitrary power, therefore, only serves to hasten tli« unequal partition of the riches of a nation. CHAP. TREATISE ON MAN. 109 Causes of the too great iiicquality of property. CHAP. X. CAUSES OF THE TOO GREAT INEQUALITY IN THE FORTUNES OF THE PEOPLE. In countries that are free, and governed by wise laws, no man, doubtless, has power to impovepsh his nation to inrich a few individuals. In these countries, how- ever, all the citizens do not enjoy the same fortune. The junction of riches there happens more slowly, but it happens at last. It is quite right, that the most industrious should gain most ; that the most thrifty should save most ; and that by riches already acquired, more should be gained. There are persons, moreover, who accumu- late wealth by inheritance : and there are merchants^ who by venturing large capitals with their vessels, make great profit ; in every sort of commerce, money begets money. Its unequal distribution, therefore, is a necessary consequence of its introduction into a slate (15). CHAP 110 TREATISE ON MAN. Means of preventing the too great accumnlalicm of wealth. CHAP. XI. OF THE MEANS OF PREVENTING THE TOO RAPID ACCUMULATION OF RICHES IN A FEW HANDS. J- HERE are a thousand methods of producing this effect. What can hhider a people from declaring themselves the heirs of the whole nation ; and in that case, on the decease of a very rich individual, dividing among several a property that would be too conside- rable for a single person ? Why may not a people, after the example of those of Lucca, so proportion the taxes to the wealth of each individual, that when his land exceeds a certain num- ber of acres, the tax on the supernumerary acres may exceed the rent ? In such a country, there can cer- tainly be no very great acquisitions. A hundred laws of this kind might be invented. There are, therefore, a multitude of ways of prevent- ing a too speedy accumulation of wealth in a small number of hands, and of checking the too rapid pro- gress of luxury. But can we in a country where money is current, promise ourselves constantly to maintain a just equi- librium among the fortunes of the citizens, so that riches may not at length be distributed in a very un- equal TREATISE ON MAN. 1 1 1 .- ■ ■— ■ i I Whether money be useful or detrimental to a state. equal manner, and luxury be introduced and increase? This project is impossible. The rich, furnished with necessaries, will always employ their superfluous wealth in the purchase of superfluous commodities (l6). Sumptuary laws, it will be said, may suppress this de- sire. It is true. But the rich then having no longer the free use of their money, it will appear to them less desirable, and they will make fewer efforts to obtain it. Now, in every country where money is current, perhaps the love of money, as 1 shall prove further on, is a principle of life and activity, whose destruction draws after it that of the state. The result of this chapter is, that money being once introduced, and always unequally divided among the citizens, will, at length, necessarily introduce a taste for superfluities. The question concerning luxury, is therefore now reduced to the inquiry, whether the in- troduction of money into a state be useful or detri- mental. In the present condition of Europe, all inquiry of this kind may appear superfluous. Whatever may be aaid, the French, English, and Dutch, wDl never be induced to throw their gold into the sea. This ques- tion, however, is in itself so curious, that the reader will doubtless consider with some pleasure, the different conditions of two nations, in one of which money is current, and in the other is not. CHAR 112 TREATISE ON MAN. Advantages of nations without moiif y and luxury CHAP. XII. OF THOSE COUNTRIES \tHERE MONEY IS NOT CURRENT. When money has no value in a countrVf by what method can commerce be carried on ? By exchange. But exchanges are troublesome ; so that there is little traffic, and no works of luxury. The inhabitants of these countries may be wholesomely fed, and well cloathed, and yet not know what in France is called luxury. But will not a people without money and luxury, have in some respects certain advantages over an opu- lent people ? Yes, certainly : and these advantages will be such, that in a country where the value of mo- ney is unknown, perhaps it could not be there intro- duced without a crime. A people without money, if they be intelligent, are commonly a people without tyrants^. Arbitrary power is difficult to be established in a country without ca- * We may also say without enemies. Who will attack a coun- try where nothing is to be got but blows. We know, besides, that a people, such as the Laceclujmoniaiis for example, if they be numerous, are ins'incible. nals, TREATISE ON MAN. 113 Luxury not essential to natural happiness. Hills, witliout coinineice, and high roads. The prince, w ho raises liis taxes in kind, that is, in provisions, can seldom raise and keep in pay a number of men suffi- cient to put his people in fetters. It would have been difficult for an Eastern monarch to have seated and maintained himself on the throne of Sparta, or of rising Rome. 2vow, if despotism be the most cruel scourge of na- tions, and the most fruitful source of their evils, the non-introduction of money, which commonly defends them from tyranny, must be regarded as an advantage. But did they enjoy the conveniencies of life at Sparta ? Oye rich and powerful ! why do j'oii ask this question? Are you ignorant that the lands of luxury are those where the people arc the most miserable ? Solely employed in gratifying your desires, do you take yourselves for the whole nation ? Are you the only beings in nature? Have you no brethren ? Omen! void of shame, humanit}', and virtue, who concenter in 3'our own persons all your aflections, and incessantly create for yourselves new wants ; know that Sparta was without luxury, without abundance, and that Sparta was happy ! Is it in fact the magnificence of furniture, or the refinements of effeminacy, that con- stitute human felicity ? There would then be very few happy. Isha|>piness to be found in the exquisite de- licacies of the table? The different manners of pre- paring tiieir repasts, by different nations, prove good cheer to be that only to which wchavebeen accuitomed. VOL. U. i At 114 TREATISE ON MAN, Luxury not essential to national happiness. If dishes artfully prepared excite my appetite, and give me agreeable sensations, they give me also lassi- tude and disorders ; so that, all things considered, the temperate man is, at the end of the year, at least as hnppy as the glutton*. Whoever has an appetite, and can gratify it, is content^. When a man is wrell clothed and fed, the remainder of his happiness de- pends on the manner more or less agreeable, in which he fills up, as I shall presently prove, the interval be- tueen a gratified and a rising zcant. Now, in this re- spect, nothing was wanting to the happiness of the La- cedaemonians : and notwithstanding the apparent au- sterity of their manners, of all the Greeks, says Xeno- phon, they were the most happy. When the Spartan, had gratified his w^nts, he entered the amphitheatre ; * Now hear what blessings temperance can bring, (Thus said our friend §, and what he said I sing) First health : the stomach (cram'd from ev'ry dish, A tomb of boil'd and roa t, and ttesii, and fish. Where bile, and wind, and phlegm, and acid jar. And all the man is one intestine war) : Remembers oft the school boy's simple fare. The temperate sleeps, and spirits Lght as air. Pope's Imitation of Horace. § Mr. Bethel. f When the peasant has bacon and cabbage in his pot, he ask* ' not the pullet of tlie Alps, nor tlie carp of the Rhine, nor the um» ber of the lake of Geneva. He wants none of these ; nor I neither. f and TREATISE ON MAN. 115 ft. . ' ' .- ■■ . . , , ■ ■ .- ^, Happiness of the Lacerticiiionians without luxury. and there, in the presence of the old men, and the most beautiful women, he daily displayed the strength and agility of his body, and at the same time evinced, by the vivacity of his replies, all the acuteness and preci- sion of his judgment. ' Now, of all occupations proper to fill up the inter' vol between a satisfied and a rising zoant, there is none more agreeable. The Lacedaemonians, therefore, with- out coinmerce and without money, were nearly as hap- py as a people could be. I consequently assert, from the experience of Xenophon, that we may banish mo- ney from a state, and still preserve its happiness. To what cause, moreover, are we to refer the happiness of the public, but to the virtue of individuals ? The countries in general most fortunate, are those where the inhabitants are the most virtuous. Now, is it in those countries where money is current, that such in- habitants are to be found ? 1 2 CHAP 116 TREATISE ON MAN. Productive piinciple of virtue. CHAP. XIII. • F THE PROirUCTlVE PRINCIPLES OF VIRTtE IN THOSE COUNTRIES WHERE MONEY IS NOT CUR- RENT. J-N every government, the principle the most fruitful in virtue, is exactitude in punishing or rewarding ac- tions useful or detrimental to society. But in what countries are they most scrupulously honoured and punished ? In those where glory, ge- neral esteem, and the advantages attached to that es- teem, are the only known rewards. In those coun- tries, the nation is the sole and just dispenser of sucb rewards. The general esteem, that gift of public ac- knowledgment, is granted only to ideas and actions useful to the nation, and every citizen in consequence finds himself necessitated to be virtuous. Is it so in countries where money is current? Not the public cannot be there the sole possessor of riches, nor consequently the only distributor of rewards. Whoever has money can give it, and will commonly give it to the person wiio procures him tiie most plea- sure. Now that person is not always ihe most worthy. In fact, if man would always obtain with the greatest certainty, and the least trouble possible, the object of TREATISE ON MAN. 117 DisudviiiUiiges of pecuniary rouaiils. oj'his desires (17), and it be more easy to render him- self agreeable to people in power, than to the public^ it will then he the people in power he will please. ISou', if the interest of those in power be frequently opposite to lliat of the nation, the greatest rewards will then be, in certain countries, decreed to actions, ■^vhich though personally useful to the great, are detri- mental to the public, and consequently criminal. For this reason it is that riches are so often heaped on men, accused of baseness, and intrigues, of being spies. Sec. and that pecuniary rewards, being almost always grant- ed to vice (IS), produce so many wicked men, and that money has been always regarded as a source of cor- ruption. 1 allow therefore that if I were at the head of a new -colony, and would found an empire, and could at pleasure inflame my colonists with a passion either for glory or money, it should be for glory. It ought to be by making the public esteem, and the advan- tages arising from that esteem, the active principles of these new colonists, that I should compel them to be virtuous. In a country where money is not current, nothing is more easy than to maintain order and harmony, to en- courage talents and virtues, and banish vices. We ■perceive also the possibility in these countries of an unalterable legislation, which being supposed good, would always preserve the people in the same state of 1 3 happinesi. 118 TREATISE ON MAN. Consequences of the prohibition of money. happiness. This possibility becomes evanescent in countries where money is current. Perhaps the problem of a perfect and durable legis- lation there becomes too complicated to be yet resolv- ed. I can only say, that the love of money slifling all spirit, every patriotic virtue, must at length engender all those vices of which it is too often the reward. But to allow that in a new colony we ought to op- pose the introduction of money, is to allow, with the austere moralists, the danger of luxury ? No: it is merely allowing that the cause of luxury, that is, the too unequal distribution of riches, is an evil( lles C(ptible of the love of glory, and every law that damps their desire of wealth hastens their ruin. In the political, as in the natural body, there must be a soul, an animating faculty, which enlivens and puts it in action. What must that be i CHAP. XVI. OF THE SEVERAL PRINCIPLES OF ACTION IN NATIOiN'S. Are there among men any individuals witliout de sires? Scarcefy any. Are their desires the same? There are two of them common to all men. The first is, that of happiness. The second, that ot a power necessary to procure happiness. Have I a taste ? I would have the power to gratify it. The desire of power, as I have already proved, is therefore necessarily common to all. But by what means 124 TREATISE ON MAN. Principles of action in nations. m^ans can a man acquire power over his fellow-citi- zens ? By the fear, which he excites in them, and by the love with which he inspires them ; that is to say, by the good and the harm that he can do them : and hence the respect we have for the strong, whether vir- tuous or wicked. But in a free country, where money is, not current, what advantage can this respect procure a hero, wha for example, has contributed the most to gain a bat- tle? It will give him the choice of the spoils takea from the enemy : the most beautiful slave, the finest horse, the richest tapestry, the most sumptuous cha- liot, the most brilliant armour(24). In a free nation, public esteem and respect* is a power, and the desire of that esteem there becomes in consequence a potent principle of action. But is this moving principle that oF a people subject to despotism, of a people where money is current ; where the public are without power ; where its esteem is not the representative of any sort of pleasure or authority ? No : in such a coun- try, the two only objects of desire of the citizens are, the favour of the despot, and great riches ; to the pos- session of which every one may aspire. Their source, it will be said, is often infected. The love of money is destructive of the love of country, of talents, and of virtue (25). I know it : but hovr ■* This esteem is really a power, which the ancients expressed by the wofd authoritas. can tREATISE ON MAIST. 125 .^m " - • ■■ ■■ =:n Of money considered as Ji principle of action. can it be imagined, that men should despise money, which succours them in distress, relieves them from pains, and procures them pleasures. There are coun- tries where the love of money becomes the principle of national activity, and where this love is consequently salutarv. The worst of all ofovernments, is that where there is no principle of action (26). A people without desires, or without action, are despised by their neigh- bours ; now their esteem is of more importance to the prosperity of a nation than is commonly imagined (27). In every kingdom where money is current, and me- rit does not lead to honours or power, let the magis- trate take good heed how he damps or extinguishes in the people the love of money and of luxury. He will stifle in them all principle of action. CHAP. XVII. • F MONEY, CONSIDERED AS ONE OF THE PRIN(?I» PLES OF ACTION. JMoNEY, and paper representing money, facilitate loans. All governments abuse this facility. Loans are every where multiplied : their interest is augmented. To discharge them, taxes are heaped on taxes. Their burden now overloads the most powerful empires of Europe, and yet this evil is not the greatest thut the love 125 TREATISE ON MAN. Dangers from tlie "iusneusioii of the circulation of money. — c love of money and its representative paper have pro- duced. The love of lirlies does not extend to every class of citizens, without inspiring the govt^rning party with a desire of rapine and oppression ('28). Hence the construction of a port, an armament, a commercial company, or the undertaking of a war, is pretended to be for the honour of the nation ; in short, every pretence to piun er is greedily seized. Then all the vices produced l)y avidity, making way at once into an empire, successively infect all its members, and at last hurry it into nun. What specific remedy is there for this evil ? None. The blood that carries nutrition to all the members of a child, and successively enlarges every part, is a principle of destruction. The same circulation of the blood at last ossifies the vessels, destroys their springs, and produces the seeds of death. Yet he that should suspend this circulation would be immediately punish- ed. A stagnation for an instant would be a privation of life. It is so with money. Is it earnestly desired? That desire animates a nation, rouses its industry, en- livens its commerce, increases its riches and power; and the stagnation, if I may so say, of that desire, would be mortal to certain states. But do not riches, by forsaking those nations where ihey were first accumulated, occasion their ruin ; and by being collected, sooner or later, into a small num- ber of hands, detach thetn by a private interest from that TREATISE ON MAN. 1^7 Real causes of luxury. that of the public? Yes, without doubt. But in the present forms of goveninient, this evil is perhaps in- evitable. Perhaps it is at this epoch that a nation by growing daily more enfeebled, falls into that decline, which is the precursor of its entire destruction ; and perhaps it is thus that the moral plant, called an em- pire, naturally shoots up, increases, grows vigorous, and expires. CHAP. XVIIL IT IS NOT IN LUXURY, BUT IN ITS PRODUCTIVE CAUSE, THAT WE OUGHT TO SEEK FOR THE DE- STRUCTIVE PRINCIPLE OF GREAT EMPIRES. ▼V HAT can we conclude, from this hasty examina- tion of the question which I am here discussing? That almost all the accusations brought against luxury are groundless; that of the two species of luxury, mentioned in chap. v. one being always the effect of the too great increase of inhabitants, and of the despotic form of their governments, supposes a very unequal distribution of the national wealth ; that such distribution is doubtless a great evil ; but that luxury when once established, becomes, if not an effi- cacious 12S TREATISE ON MAN. Fallacy of the declamations against luxury. cacious remedy, at least a palliative for this evil (29). It is the magnificence of the great, th:it daily hrings l)ack money and activity to the inferior class of citizens. The rage tvith which most moralists inveigh against luxury, is the effect of their ignorance. Let this rage fee confined to a sermon, for that requires no precision of ideas. Works of that sort, applauded by a timo- rous and benevolent old man, are too vague, too en- thusiastic, and too ridiculous to gain the esteem of an enlightened auditory. What good sense examines, the ignorance of the preacher peremptorily determines. His superficial and confident understanding never knows how to doubt. Unhappy would be the prince who assented to such declamations, and who, without previous changes in government, attempted to banish all luxury from a nation, where the love of money is the principle of action. He would soon depopulate his country, cner- •vate the industry of his subjects, and throw their minds into a languor that would be fatal to his power. 1 shall be content if these first, and perhaps super- ficial ideas, tiiat arise from a consideration of the ques- tion concerning luxury, be regarded as an instance of the different points of view from which we ought to consider every important and complicated problem in morality; (30) if from hence is perceived all the influ- ence that a solution, more or less accurate, of similar problems Iran on the public happiness, and consequently the TREATISE ON MAN. 129 The public felicity depends on the goodness of the laws. the scrupulous atlention wiih which such examinations should he made. Whoever declares himself the patron of ignorance^ proclaims himself an enemy of the state, and, without knowing it, commits treason ;igainst humanity. Among all nations, there is a reciprocal dependence between the perfection of legislation, and the progress of the human understanding. The more intelligent the citizens are, the more perfect their laws will be. Now, it is on their goodness alone, as I am going to prove, that the public felicity depends. VOL. 11. K NOTES t 150 TREATISE ON MAN. >'OTES ON SECTION VI. NOTES. 1. (page 73.) J- he aversion of an ignorant people to application extends even to their amusements. If they love gaming, it is at games of chance alone they play. If they are fond of an opera, it is poems without words, if I may so express myself. It is of little consequence to them whether their minds be employed, if their ears be but struck with agreeable sounds. Among all their pleasures, those that require neither knowledge nor judgment are preferred. 2, (p. 78.) Why are great men, in England, more intelligent in general than elsewhere ? Because they have an interest so to be. In Portugal, on the contrary, why are they so frequently ignorant and stupid ? Because no interest urges them to instruction. The science of the first of these, is that of man and of govern- ment. That of the second, is the science of the levees, and journies of their monarch. But liave they in England, thrown all those lights on politics and morality, that might be expected from so free a people ? I doubt it. Intoxicated with their glory, the English do not suspect any defect in their present form of government. Perhaps the French writers have, on this subject, views more profound and more ex- tensive. There are two causes of this effect. The first is the state of France. Before the misfortunes of a country are excessive, and have entirely broken the spirits of the people, they quicken their perception, and become a principle of activity in them. When a people suffer, they would throw off their calamities ; and that desire produces an inventive faculty. The TREATISE ON MAN. 131 NOTES ONf SECTIOV VI. The sc'coiul is, perhaps, the little liberty the French writers enjoy. \Vhen the man in place commit* an oversigtit, or act of injustice, it must be treated with respect. Of all crimes in that kingdom, the one most severely punished is complaiiit. When a man would there write on the alfairs of administration, he must go back in morality and politics, to ti\ose simple and general prin- ciples, whose developement will indicate, in a concealed manner, the route that government ought to take. The Fr^'iich writt-rs have the most grand and extensive ideas of tliis kind*, thev have therefore rendered themselves iiiore universally use*^ul than the English; who, not having the same motives to elevate themselves to first and general principles, compose good works, but almost solely applicable to their particular form of government, and their particular circumstances ; in a word, to the affairs of the present day. ■ 3. (p. 78.). There is, in London, no labourer or porter, who does not read the newspapers, and suspect tlie venality of his re- presentatives ; and does not think in consequence, that he ought to instruct himself in his rigiUs, in quality of citizen ; so that no member of parliament dares propose a law conh-ary to the liberty of the nation. If he should do it, he would be cited by the party in opposition, and the public papers, before the people, and would be exposed to their vengeance. The body of the parliament is tlierefore controlled by the nation. No arm is now sufficiently strong to enchain such a people. Their subjection is therefore far off. Is it impossible ? I will not maintain that. Perhaps their pre- sent innnense riches jjresage that future event. 4. (p. SO.) The last king of Denmark certainly doubted the legitimacy of a despotic power, when he permitted celebrated * This is evidently the design of a French Treatise, entitled ' L'An deux mille quatre cent quarante,' and published in Eng- land, under the title of " Memoirs of the Year Two thousanci " live hundred." T. K 2 writers 132 TREATISE ON MAN. NOTES ON SECTION VI. writer^ to contiovert bis rights and pretensions, and to examine what limits the public interest ought to set to his power. What magnanimity in a sovereign ! VV^as his future authority thereby enfeebled: No, and this conduct that rendered him dear to hh people, ought to make him for ever respectable to humanity. 5. (p. 83.) In the heroic ages, as those of Hercules, Theseus, Fingal, &;c. it was by the gift of a gorgeous quiver, a well-tempered sword, or a beautiful slave, that the virtues of a warrior were re- compensed. In the time of Manlius Capitolinus, it was by the addition of two acres of land, that his country discharged its obligations to a hero. The tenth of a parish, that is now granted to tlie vilest among the monks, would have then recom- pensed a Scaivola, or an Horatius Codes. If, in these days, all service rendered to our country be paid in money, it is because money is the representative of those ancient gifts. The love of superfluities has been in all times the motive andpi-incipleof man. But in what manner the gifts of public acknowledgment should be administered, and what sort of superfluities should be preferred as a recompence for talents and virtue, is a moral problem equally worthy the attention of the mini^^ter and the philosopher. C. (p. 85.) When great riches are diffused among a great num- ber of citizens, each of them lives in a state of ease, and of luxury too, when compared with the citizens of another nation, and yet has but littk money to lay out in wiiatis called magniflcence. Among such a people, luxury is, if I may so say, national, but little apparent. On the contrarjr, where all the money is collected into a few hands, each of these has large sums to lay out in sumptuosity. Such a luxury supposes a very unequal partiC • of the na- tional wealth ; and that partition is doubtless a )niblic calamity. Is it the same with that national luxury which supposes all the inhabitants in a certain state of ease, and consequently a nearly equal partition of the same riches ? No ; tliis luxury, far from being a misfortune, is a public good. Luxury, therefore, is not in itself an evil. 7. (ibid.) TREATISE ON MAN. 155 NO'lES ON SECTION VI, 7. (p. 85.) By tlic number, and especially by the sort of manu- factures < fa country wc may judge in what manner its riches are distributed. Are all the people in easy circumstances ? All would be well cloathed. A great number of manufactories of stufTs of a common quality are consequently established. They are well made, solid and dun\i>I<: ; for the inhabitants are provided with money enough to clollu- themselves, but not fre<, ttiat tlie manners and amusements of the capital do not concur in the same effect ; that the tiieatresand actresses, the money they spend and cause straii- gcrs to spend, are not one of the most lucrative parts of the com- merce of Paris ? What then, ye moralists, is the object of your contradictory declamations ? 17. (p. 117.) No one should wonder at the extreme love of man for money. His indifference to riches would lie a phenomenon truly surprising. In every country where riches are exchanged for every sort of pleasure, they nnist necessarily be as eagerly pur- sued, as pleasures themselves. To extinguish among a people the love of riches, would reciuirethe birth of a Lycurgus, and the pro- hibition of money. Now what a remarkable concurrence of circumstances is requisite to the forming of such a legislator, and a people proper to receive his laws. 18. (ibid.) From the moment that honoui"s are no longer the reward of honorable actions, the manners become corrupt. On the arrival of the duke of Milan at Florence, contempt, says Machi- avcl. 138 TREATISE ON MAN. >OTKS ON SECTION VI. avel, was the portion of virtue and talents. The Florentiues, without discernment and without courage, were entirely degene- rate. If they sought to surpass each other, it was' ia the niagni- iicence of dress and in vivacity of repartees. Ti\e most satiric was with them the most witty. Is there, at this time, a nation in Eu- rope, whose present turn of mind resembles that of the Floren- tines, at the time just mentioned ? (Does not the author, by this question, mean to refer to the French nation ? T.) 19- (p. 118.) It is not on the greater or less quantity of national riches, but on their more or less equal distribution, that the liap- piness or misery of a people depends. Suppose half the riches of a nation were to be annihilated, and the other half to be divided among the people in a manner nearly equal, the state would be almost equally happy, and powerful. (This must be understood of the interna! police of the nation, and in time of peace only. T.) Of all commerce, that whose profits are divided into a great number of hands, is the most advantageous to every nation. The more subjects there are in a nation, v. ho are free, independent, »nd enjoy a mediocrity, the move powerful tlvat nation is. For this reason, no wise prince will loiid his people with taxes, or de- prive them of their ease, or abridge their liberty, either by a great number of informers, or by regulations in tiie police that are too severe or too incommodious. A nionarch who does not regard the ease and liberty of his subjects, will see their depressed spirits languish in torpitude. Now this makdy of the mind is so much the more distressing, a^ it is, for the most part, already incurable, before it is perceived. 20. (p. I'JO.) If the introduction of money be forbidilen in a state, it must ether adopt the laws of Sparta, or be expo>ed to the invasion of its neighbours. How can it long resist, if, being always liable to their attacks, it cannot attack them in turn. In every state, to lepel war, now so expulsive, t is necessary that a p'Opl'v.- have either gieal nciies, or, with their poverty, the courage and discipline of the Spartans. Kcw. TREATISE ON MAN. 139 NOTKS ON SKCTIOV VI. Now, what provides a government with great riches? Great taxes, levied on the superfluities, and not on the wants of the people. What do great taxes suppose? Large con umplions. If the English lived like the Spaniards, on bread, water, and oni- ons, England would soon be impoverished ; and being incapable of maintaining fleets and armies, would be no longer respected. Its present power, founded on its immense revenies, would be soon destroyed, if its ta.ves, as I have just said, were levied on the ne- cessaries, and not on the conveniences of the inhabitants. The most habitual crime of European governments, is their avidity, in appropriating to themselves all the money of the people. Their thirst is insatiable. What follows? That the subjects, dis- gusted with their conveniencies, from the great difficulty they tind in procuring them, are without emulation, and without shame of their poverty. From that moment the consumption diminishes, the lands remain uncultivated, and the people are plunged in idle- ness and indigence : for the love of riches has for its basis, 1. The possibility of acquiring them. 2. The assurance of preserving them. 3. The right of using them. 21. (p. 121.) Suppose Great Britain were to attack India, des* poil it of its treasures, and transport them to London. The Eng- lish would then be in possession of immense riches. What \sould be the consequence ? They would first exhaust England of all that could contribute to their pleasures, and then ill not create in a people ; nothing that tlie desire of obtaining tiicm will not excite men to undertake. Honours are a coin, viiose value rises or falls according to the greater or less equity with which they are distributed. The public interest requites that they should preserve the same value, and be dispensed with as much equity as osconom}'. Every wise people should requite the ser- vices done them by honours. If they acquit them in money, they will soon exliaust their treasury, and being then unable to re- compense talents and virtue, tliey will be both stifled in their birth. 25- (ibid.) When money becomes the sole principle of ac- tivity in a nation, it is an evil, for which I know no remedy. Re- wards in property would doubtless he more favourable to the pro- duction of virtuous men : but before they could be established, what changes must be made in the governments of most nations of Europe ? 26. (p. 12^). To what cause is the extreme power of England to be attributed ? To (he motion, the play of all the opposite pas- sions. The party in opposition, excited by ambition, vengeance, or a love of their country, there protect the people from tyranny. The court party, animated by liie desire of places or bribes, there sustaui the minister, against the sometimes unjust attacks of opposi- tion. The restless avidity of a commercial people, keeps the industTy of the artisan continually awake, and by that industry the riches of almost all the universe are transported into England. But in a nation so rich and powerful, how can they flatter themselves that the several parts will always remain in that equilibrium of fofce, which now secures its repose and grandeur? '^Ihut equilibrium is perhaps 142 TREATISE ON MAN. XOTES ON StClION VI. perhaps very difficult to maintain. The ejiitaph of a duke of Devon-ihire, may be hitherto applied to the Engl.sh : A faithful sul/jtct to good kings, a formidable enemy to tyrants. Will that application always be made ? Happy the nation of whom M. Goiirville could say, Their king, when he is the man of his peo- ple, is the greatest king in the VJjrld ; but ivhen he ivould he more he IS nothing. This saying, repeated by Sir Williani Temple, to Charles II. at fii"st hurt that monarch's pride; but recollecting himself, he took Temple by the hand, and said, Gourville is right, and I ivill be the ?nan of my people. 27. (p. 125.) It is a Jewish spirit in the mother-countr}', that frequently carries the tire of revolt into its colonies. When the colonists are treated like negroes, they become irritated, and if they be numerous tliey resist, and at last separate themselves, as the ripe fruit separates fi'om the branch. To secure the love and submission of the colonies, a nation should be just. It should frequently remember, that it sent to those distant lands such superfluous people only, as were a burden to itself, and tliat consequently it has no rigiitto require any thing from them, but succours in time of war, and the observance of a federative treaty, to which the colonies will always submit, when the mother-country does not attempt to appropriate to herself 'all the profits of their labours. 28, (p. 120.) In every country where money is current, its unequal distribution must at length produce a general poverty; and that kind of poverty is the mother of depopulation. Indi- gence has little concern for her children, afi'ords them little nourishment, and brings up but few. As a proof of this, I adduce the savages of North America, and the slaves of the colonies. The excessive labour required of the breeding negroes, and the little care taken of them, together with the tyranny of their masters, all concur to their sterility. If in America, tlie production of negroes be nearly equal to their consumption among those of the Jesuits only, it is because they. TREATISE ON MAN. 143 NOTES ON SECTIOM VI. they, being better instructed, take more care of tiieir sbves, aiid treat them with less barbarity. When a prince maltreats his subjects, aiul loads them with taxes, he depopilates his couiitry, and destToys the activity' of his people ; for extreme misery necessarily produces discouragement, and discouragement idleness. 29. (p- 128.^ A too unequal partition of the national wealth precedes, and always produces a taste for luxury. When an in- dividual has more money than is necessary for his wants, he gives Ixiniself up to the desire of superlluities. The enemy of luxury, therefore, ought to seek in the cause itself of the too unequal par- tition of riches and in the destniction of despotism, a remedy for those evils of which he accuses luxury, but which luxury in reality iielps to suppress- Every kind of superlluity has its pro- ductive cause. A luxury in horses, in preference to jewels, especially among the English, is in part the effect of thf- long residence in the coun- try. If they all reside there, it is becau-ie they are, in a manner obliged to it by the constitution of their govenmient- (I suppose the author means, that they are obliged to visit tlieir constituents, which however is not often the cuie. T.) It is thii form of government thiit directs, in an invisible man- ner, even the tastes of individuals. It is always to their laws that the people owe their manners and their customs. 30. (ibid.) We cannot be too scrupulous in examining every imiwrtant question in morality and politics. It is, if I may so say, at the bottom of this investigation^ that science anci truth are found. The gold is found at the bottom of the crucible. SECTION 144 TREATISE ON MAN. The virtues of a iiaUoii are not the eflect of religion. SECTION VII. THE VIRTtJES AND HAPPINESS OF A PEOPLE ARE NOT THE EF' FECTS OF THE SANCTITY OF THEIR RELIGION, BUT OF THE SAGACITY OF THEIR LAWS. CHAP. I. ©F THE SMALL INFLUENCE OF RELIGIONS ON THE VIRTUES AND FELICITY OF A PEOPLE. 3XEN, of move piety than knowledge, have imagined that the virtues of a nation, its humanity and the re- finement of its manners, depend on the purity of its worship. The hypocrites, interested in propagating this opinion, have published without believing it; and the common part of mankind have believed it without examination. This error once asserted, has been almost every where received as a certain truth. Experience and history teach us, however, that the prosperity of a people does not depend on the purity of their worship, but on the excellence of their legislation. Of i TREATISE ON MAN. l45 Religion not productive of national virtues. Of what importance, in fact, is their belief? That of the Jews was pure, and the Jews were the dregs of nations : they have never been compared cither to the Egyptians, or the ancient Persians. It was under Constantine that Christianity became the rulins: reli'i:ion. It did not however restore the Romans to their primitive virtues. There was not then seen a Decius, who devoted himself for the good of his country ; or a Fabricius, who preferred seven acres of land to all the riches of the empire. At what period did Constantinople become the sink of all the vices ? At the very time the Christian reli- gion was established. Its worship did not change the manners of the sovereigns ; their piety did not make them better. The Most Christian kings have not been the greatest of monarchs. Few of them have displayed on the throne the virtues of Titu?, Trajan, or Anioninu?. What pious prince can be com- pared to them r What I have said of monarchs, I say of nations. The pious Portuguese, so ignorant and credulous, are not more virtuous or more humane than the less cre- dulous and more tolerant English. Religious intolerance is the daughter of sacerdotal ambition and stupid credulity. It never makes men better. To have recourse to superstition, credulity, and fanaticism, to inspire men with beneficence, is to throw oil into a fire in order to extinguish it. To diminish the ferocity of mankind, and make VOL. II. J. them 146 TREATISE ON MAN. lleligion not productive of national virtues. them more social, they must be first rendered indiffe- rent to the various forms of worship. Had the Spani- ards been less superstitious, they would have been less barbarous to the Americans. Let us refer to king James. That princevvas a bi- got, and a connoisseur in these matters. Pie did not believe in the humanity of priests. " It is very difficult, " says he, to be at the same time a good theologian " and a good subject." There are, in every country, a great many sound be- lievers, and but few virtuous men. Why ? Because religion is not virtue. All belief, and all speculative opinions, have not commonly any influence on the conduct (1) and probity of man*. The dogma of fatality, is almost the general opinion, of the East: it was Uhat of.the Stoics, AVhat they call liberty, or a power to deliberate, is, they say, no- thing more in man, than a successive sehsation of fear, or hope, when he is to undertake something on which his happiness or misery depends. Deliberation is therefore always in us a necessary effect of our ha- tred for pain, and love of pleasure (2). On tl)is sub- ject, consult the theologians. Such a dogma, they will say, is destructive of all virtue. The Stoics, how- * A celebrated author, in shewing the inutility of Popish preach- ing, has fully proved the inutility of that religion. ever. TREATISE ON MAN. 147 — ■ — — - — « Virtue is not clepcntkMit on theolnsical doctrines. ever, were not less virtuous than the philosophers of other sects : nor are tiie Mahometan princes less faithful to their treaties than the Catholic ; nor the fatalist Persian less honest in his commerce than the French or Portuguese Christian. Purity of manners is, tlierefore, independent of purity of doctrines. The Papuan leligion, with regard to its morality, was founded, like every other, on what is called the law of nature. With regard to its theological, or mytholo- iiical part, it was not very edifying. We cannot read the history of Jupiter and his loves, and especially the treatment of his father Saturn, without allowing, that the Gods did not preach virtue by example. Yet Greece, and ancient Rome, abounded in heroes and virtuous citizens; while modern Greece, and new Rome, produce, like Brazil and Mexico, none but vile, slothful wretches, without talents, virtue, or in- dustry. Now, if since the establishment of Christianity in the monarchies of Europe, the sovereigns have not been either more valiant or intelligent; if the people have not had more knowledge or humanity : if the number of patriots has not been in any degree aug- inenied ; of what use then are religions ? Under what pretence does the magistrate torment the unbeliever (!:3), and cut the throat of the heretic (4) ? Why place so much importance in the belief of certain revelations, tliat are always contested, and iVequently very contes- t 'i table ; 148 TREATISE ON MAN. I ■ ■ ■ - ' Virtue is produced by ilie laws and not by religion. table ; and pay so liltle regard to the morality of hu- mar. actions ? What does the history of religions teach us ? That they have every where lighted up the torch of intole- rance, strewed the plains with cai cases, enibrued the fields with blood, burned cities, and laid waste empires ; but that they have never made men better. Their goodness is the work of the laws (o). It is the banks that contain the torrent: it is the pier of punishment and contempt, that restrains vice; and it is for the magistrate to erect that pier. If morality, politics, and legislation, are but one and the same science, who ought to be the true doctors of morality ? The priests ? No ; the magistrates. Reli- gion regulates our belief, and the laws our manners and our virtues. AVhat is it distinguishes the Christian from the Jew, the Gueber and the Mussuhnan ? Is it an equity, a courage, a humanity, a beneficence, particular to one and not known to the others ? No ; they are known by every profession of faith; let not, therefore, honestv be ever confounded with orthodoxy (G). In every countrv, the orthodox is he that believes certain dogmas ; and throughout the whole earth, the virtuous man, is he that does such actions as are hu- mane, and conformable with the general interest. Now, if it be the laws (7) that determine our actions, it 1^5 they that make us good citizens (8). It is not, therefore, by the sanctity of their worship, that TREATISE ON MAN. 140 liiconveiiitncic's of sacerdotal governmenls. that we ought to judge of a people's virtue, and purity of manners. IF we carry this inquiry further, we shall see, that a religious spirit is entirely destructive ofthe spirit of legislation. CHAP. 11. A RELIGIOUS SPIRIT IS DESTRUCTIVE OF THE SPIRIT OF LEGISLATION. Obedience to the laws is the foundation of all le- gislation. Obedience to the priest is the foundation of almost all religion. If the interest of the priest could coalesce with that ofthe nation, religions might become the supporters of every wise and humane law. This supposition is inadmissible. The interest of the ecclesiastical body has been every where distinct from that ofthe public, and confined within itself. The sacerdotal govern- ment, from that of the Jews to that of the Pope, has constantly debased the nation in which it has been established. The clergy would be every where inde- pendent of the magistracy, and in consequence there has been in almost all nations two authorities^ both supreme and destructive of each other. l3 Aft 150 TREATISE ON MAN. A religious spirit incompatible with the spirit of lecislation. An idle body is ambitious; it would be rich and powerful, and cannot become so but by depriving the magistrates of their authority*, and the people of their property. The priests, to aj)propriate these, found their reli- gion on revelation, and declare themselves the inter- preter of that revelation. When any one is the interpreter of a law, he changes it at his pleasure, and at length becomes the author of it. From t^e time the priests charged themselves with announcing the de- crees of heaven, they were no longer men, but divini- ties. It is in them, and not in God, that men believe. They can in his name command the violation oi every law contrar}^ to their interest, and the destruction of every authority that rebels against their decisions. A religioLis spirit has, for this reason, been constant- ly incompatible with a legislative f spirit, and the priest always the enemy of the magistrate. The first * At the time of the projected destruction of the parliaments of Frr.nce, what indecent joy did not the priests of Paris discover ! Let tlie magistrates of every nation see, in that joy, the hatred which the spiritual power bears against the temporal. If the priest- hood sometimes appears to respect a king, it is when he is brought into subjection by it, and v.hen through him they command the lav.'s. f Does the interest of the priest change; his religious princi- ples change also. How often have the interpreters of revelation metamorphosed virtue into vice, and vice into virtue! They have beatified the assassin of a king. With what confidence, therefore, instituted TREATISE ON MAN. 1.51 Truth aiidjnslice should be the I'oundation of ali u>v- instituted the canonical laws, and the other the poli- tical laws. The spirit of" domination and falsehood presided at the construction of the first, and they have been fatal to the universe. The spirit of justice and truth presided, more or less, at tlie construction of the other; and they have been, in consequence, more or less advantageous to nations. If justice and truth be sisters, there can be no laws really useful, but such as are founded on a tliorough knowledge of nature, and of the true interest of man- kind. Every law, whose basis is falsehood (9), or some false revelation, is always detrimental. It is not on such a foundation that an intelligent man will ereci the principles of equity. If the Turk permit the prin- ciples of justice and injustice to be drawn from the Koran, and will not sufi'er them to be taken from the Vedam, it is because, having no prejudice for the lat- ter book, he is fearful of fixing justice on a ruinous foundation. He would not confirm their principles by false revelations (10). The evils thar arise from false religions, are real; tlie 2:ood iin;i<)inary. Of what use, in fact, can they be ? I'iieir precepts are either contrary, or confoiinahie, to ,the law of na- ture, that is, to what mature reason dictates to soci- ties for their greatest happiness. can thf» variable morality of the tucologiiins inspire mankind ? True moralily, draws its principles from reason, and from a love of the public good; and such principles are always Uie same. L 4 In }52 TREATISE ON MAN. Unccrtiiinty of revelation. Id the first case, the precepts of such religion must be rejected, as contrary to the public welfare. In the second, they must be admitted. But then, of what use is a religion which teaches nothing that sound sense does not teach without it ? The precepts of reason, it will be said, when conse- crated by revelation, will at least appear more respec- table Yes, in the first moments of fervor ; for then nnxims believed to be true, because they are suppo- sed to be revealed, act more forcibly on the imagina- tion. But that enthusiastic spirit is soon dissipated. Of all precepts, those whose truths are demonstrable, have alone adurable command over the mind of man. A revelation merely from its bei.ig uncertain and con- testable, so far from fortifying the demonstration of a moral principle, must, in time, obscure its evidence (1 1). Truth and falsehood are two heterogenous beings. They never go together. Besides all men are not ac- tuated by religion : all have not faith, but all are ani- mated by a desire of happiness, and grasp at it where- ever the law presents it to them. Principles that are respected because they are re- vealed (12), are always the least fixed. Daily inter- preted by the priest, they are as variable as his inte- rests, and almost always in contradiction with the in- terest of the public. Every nation for example, de- sires that its prince should be intelligent. The priest, on the contrary, would have him stupid. What art does he not employ for that purpose ? There TREATISE ON IVfAN. 153 Anecdolc of a Fundi prince. There is noanecdoK; that helter exposes the spirit of the clergy, than the following fact, so frequently repeated by the protestants. It was under consideration, in a great kingdom, what books a young prince should be permitted to read. The council was assembled on this occasion. The confesi^or of the young prince presided. The Decades of Livy, with the Comments of Machiavel, the Spirit of Laws, JSIontaigne, Voltaire, &.c. were firet proposed. These works being successively re- jected, the Jesuit confessor at last rose, and said, " I saw, the other day, on the table of the prince, the " catechism, and the French Cook : there are no " books that can do him less harm." The power of the priest, like that of the courtier, always depends on the ignorance and stupidity of the monarch. There is, therefore, nothing he will not do to make him a fool, inaccessible to his subjects, and disgusted with the cares of administrat on. In the time of the czar Peter, Sevach Hussein, sopliy of Persia, persuaded by the vizirs, by the priests, and by his own idleness, that his dignity would not permit him to employ himself about public affiiirs, left them to his favourites, and was soon afterwards dethroned. CHAP. 154 TREATISE ON MAN. Operation of fear on tlie mind. CHAP. III. WHAT SORT OF RELIGION WOULD BE USEFUL. The principle most fruitful in public calamities, is ignorance (13). It is on the perfection of the laws (14), that the virtues of the citizens depend ; and on the progress of human reason that depends the perfec- tion of the laws. To be honest (15), a man must be intelligent. Why then is the tree of knowledge still prohibited by despotism, and the priesthood ? Every religion that honours poverty of understanding in man» is a dangerous religion. The pious stupidity of the papists does not render them better. What army oc- casions the least devastation in a country ? Is it a reli- gious army, an army of crusaders ? No ; the best disci- plined army. Now if discipline, a fear of the general, can suppress licentiousness in the troops, and restrain within their duty, young ferocious soldiers, who are daily accus- tomed to brave death in combat, what cannot the fear of the laws operate upon the timid inhabitants of cities ? It is not the anathemas of religion, but the sword of justice, that in cities disarms the assassin : it is the executioner that restrains the arm of the murderer. The TREATISE ON MAN. 155 The fear of puiiivliui-nt more p'> '-erful tiian religion. The fear oF punishment, theretore, can do alJ in the camp (1 6), and in the city also. In one it renders the army obediciu and brave, and in the otijer the citizens just and virtuous. It is not so with religi- ons. Fopeiy commands temperance ; yet, in what years do we see the fevvesc drunkards? Is it in those when the most sermons are preached ? No ; but those in which the least wine is made. The Roman catliolic religion has forbidden, at all times, theft, ra- pine, violation of chastity, murder, &c. and in the most religious ages, that is, the Qth, 10th, and l Hh centu- ries Europe was peopled with robbers. What was the cause of so much violence and injustice .? The too weak barrier of the laws that were then opposed to crimes. A tine, greater or less, was the only chastise- ment for the greatest villainies. A certain sum was paid for the murder of a knight, a baron, a count, a legate, in short, even to the assassination of a prince, all had a fixed rate*. Duelling was for a longtime fashionable in Europe, ami especially in France. Religion I'orbade it, yet duels were fought every day -(■. Luxury has since softened the manners of the French. Duelling is pu- * See vol. 1, of Hume's History of England, t Every crime not punished by tiie law, is daily committed. What stronger proof can thore be of the inutility of religions ? nished 156 TREATISE ON MAN, Virtue is the work of the laws and not of religion. jiisbed with death. The delinquents, are, at least, al- most all obliged to fly their country. There is no longer any duelling. Whence arises the present security of Paris ? From the devotion of its inhabitants ? No ; but from the regularity and vigilance of the police (17). The Pari- sians of the last age were more devout, and greater thieves. Virtue, therefore, is the work of the laws*, and not of religion. As a proof of which, 1 cite the little influence of our faith on our practice. CHAP. IV. OF THE RELIGION OF THE PAPISTS. JMore consistency in the minds of men would ren- der the popish religion more detrimental to a state. If, in this religion, celibacy be esteemed the state most perfect and most pleasing to heaven-f-, there could be * When a public fete is given, and badly regulated, there are many robberies ; when it is well regulated, there are none. In these two cases, a good or bad police, renders the same menho- »est or rogues, \ It is to the imperfection and inconsistency of men, that the no TREATISE ON MAN. l57 Inconsistencies of tlie Popish religion. no believer, if he were consistent, who would not live unmarried. In this religion, if there be many called and few chosen, every tender mother ought to murder her chil- dren as soon as they are baptized, that they may the sooner and the more certainly enjoy eternal happiness. In this religion, which do the preachers say, is the death to be feared r An unforeseen death. Which is to be desired? That for which men are prepared. Where is that death to be found .? On the scaffold. But that supposes a crime : a crime must therefore be committed*. In this religion, what use should be made of money ? It should be given to the monks, that they may re- lease souls, by their prayers and their masses, from purgatory. world owes its duration. A sort of secret incredulity frequently opposes the pernicious effects of religious principles. It is with the ecclesiastical laws as with commercial regulations, if they be bad, it is to the indocility of the merchants that the state owes its riches ; their obedience would ruin it. * A fact of this sort happened a few years since in Prussia. A soldier, as he came from hearing a sermon on unforeseen death, killed a child. Wretch! tliey cried, how earnest thou to commit this crime ? From a desire of going to heaven, he replied. For this murder I shall be sejit to orison, from the prison to the scaf- fold, and from llie scaffold to heaven, 1 he king being informed of this fact, forbade the ministers to preach any more sermons of that sort, or even to attend criminals at their execution. Whea 158 TREATISE ON MAN. Inconsistencies of the Popish religion. When a wretch is chained to a pile of faggots, that is going to be lighted, who would not give his purse to*" relieve the unhappy man ? Who would not feel himself compelled to this act by an involuntary com- miseration ? Do we owe less to the souls that are de- stined to remain in flames for many ages ? A true Roman Catholic ought therefore to reproach himself with every expencein luxury and superfluities. He ought to live on bread, water, and pulse. But the bishop himself feasts on rich food, drinks excellent wine, and rides in his coach*. Most of the Papists wear laced cloaths, and spend more in hounds, horses, and equipages, than in masses. This is tlie conse- quence of their inconsistency with their belief. On the supposition of a purgatory, he that gives alms to the poor, makes a bad use of his money ; for it is not- to the living, but the dead, he should give it, as it is- to them most necessary. Formerly, more sensible of the misfortunes of the ■ dead, more legacies were left to the ecclesiastics. Men did not die without giving them a part of their pro- * The present indifievence of the bishops about purgatory, makes it suspected that they ai'e not themselves ■well convinced of the existence of a place they have never seen. Men are more- over astonished that a soul should remain there a longer or shorter time, according to the number of six-penny pieces that are given to say masses, and that money should be more useful in the other *'orld tlian in this. perty. TREATISE ON MAN. \59 Speculative opinions have no influence on the manners. perty. They did not iijdeed make this sacrifice, till they were bereft of all health to enjoy pleasure, or intellects to defend themselves against monastic insinu- ations. The monks were moreover dreaded, and per- haps ihey gave more from a fear of the monk than a love of souls. Without this fear, the belief of purga- tory would never have so much enriched the church. The conduct of men and of nations is therefore rarely consistent with their belief, or even their speculative principles. These principles are almost always fruit- less. If [ should establish the most absurd opinion, and from which the most detestable consequences might be drawn, if I make no alteration in the laws, I should make no change in the manners of a people. It is not a false maxim in morality that will render me wicked*, but the interest I have to be so. I shall become wicked, if the laws detach my inte- rest from that of the public; if I cannot find my hap- piness but in the misery of another-f; and if by the * III morality, says Machiavcl, whatever absurd opinion we advance, we do not thereby injure society, provided we do not maintain that opinion by force. In every sort of science, it is by exhausting the errors, tliat we come at last to the spring of truth. In morality, the thing really useful, is the inquiry after truth, and the non-inquiry that is really detrimental. He that extols igno- rance is a knave that would make dupes. t Man is the enemy, the murderer of almost all animals. Why? Because his subsistence depends on their destruction. 2 form 160 TREATISE ON MAN. How to iiiTeaee the number oJ robttrs. form of government crimes are rewarded^ virtue neg- lected, and vice elevated to the post of highest emi- nence. Interest is the productive cause of virtue and vice. It is not the erroneous opinion of a writer, that can increase the number of robbers in an empire. The doctrme of the Jesuits favoured robbery,- that doc- trine was condemned by the magistrates ; decency required it: but they did not find that their doctrine had increased the number of robbers. Why? Because it had not changed the laws ; because the poHce re- mained equally vigilant ; because they inflicted the same punishment on the guilty, and except in the case of a famine, a revolution, or a similar event, the same laws must in all times produce nearly the same number of robbers. Suppose we would increase the number of thieves, what must be done ? Augment the taxes, and the wants of the people. Oblige every tradesman to travel with a purse of gold. Plice fewer patroles on the highways. And lastly, abolish the punishment for robber3% We should then soon see impunity multiply trans- gressions. It is not, therefore, on the truth of a revelation, or the purity of a worship, but solely on the sagacity or absurdity of the laws, that the virtues or vices of the 9 citizens TREATISE ON MAN, 16l Government of the Jesuits. citizens depend*. I'lie religion truly useful, is thai whicli obliges men to instruct themselves. Which are the most perfect governments ? Those ivhose sub- jects are the most intelligent. The government of the Jesuits is the most proper of all others to demon- strate this truth. Jt is^ of its kind, a master-piece of the human mind. Let us examine their constitutions ; \ve shall thereby more clearly see the power thai le- gislation has on mankind. * Plato doubtless perceived this truth, when he said, " The " time when cities and citizens shall be delivered from their evils, *' will be that, when philosophy and power being united in the " same man, shall render virtue victorious over vice." M. Rous- seau is not of this opinion. Let him however vaunt as much as he will, the sincerity and truth of a barbarous people, I shall not believe it on his word. The fact is, says Hume, vol. i. of his History of England, that the Anglo-Saxons, like all other ignorant and thievish peo- ple, proclaimed their falsity and perjury with an impudence un- known to civilized nations. It is reason, improved by experience, that alone can demon- strate to nations the interests they have to be just, humane, and faithful to their pronrises. Superstition does not in this case pro- duce the effects of reason. Our devout ancestors swore to tlieir treaties by the cross and relics, and were perjured. Modern na- tions do not guarantee their treaties by such oaths : they despise such useless securities. VOL, II, M CHAP. 162 TREATISE ON MAN. Government of the Jesuits. CHAP. V. OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE JESUITS. I SHALL here conskler the constitution of the Je- suits only, as relative to their ambitious views. The Jesuits sought credit, power, importance, and obtain- ed them in the catholic courts. What means did they employ for this purpose ? Terror and seduction. What rendered them formidable to princes ? The union of their will with that of their general. The force of such an union is not yet perhaps sufficiently known. Antiquity affords no model of the government of the Jesuits. Suppose we had asked of the ancients the solution of the following political problem : '' How one man, from the center of a monastry, " can rule an infinity of others, dispersed over difFe- *' rent climates, and subject to different laws and sove- '^ reigns ? How this man, often at immense distances, " can preserve an authority over his subjects, suffici- *' ent to make them at his pleasure, move, act, think, " and constantly regulate their conduct by the ambiti- " ous views of their order f" Before TREATISE ON MAN. 163 Vrinciplcs of tlieir constitulion. Before the institution of monasiic orders, this would JiHve appeared the problem of a madman. It would have been ranked with the Platonic chimeras. This chimera, however, has been realized. With regard to the means whicli the general makes use of to se- cure the obedience of the religious, they are suffici- ently known : 1 shall not stay to explain them. But how, with so few subjects, does he often strike sovereigns with so much fear .? That is a masterpiece of politics. To produce this prodigy, the constitution of the Je- suits must include all that is mos-t advantageous to mo- narchical and republican governments. On the one part, promptitude and secxccy in the execution ; On the other, a lively, and habitual desire to pro- mote the grandeur of the order. The Jesuits for this purpose must have a despot at their head, but one that is sagacious, and con!ie(|uently elective (IS). The election of this chief supposes, Tlie choice of a certain numlier of subjects ; Time and opportunity for studying the minds, the manners, the characters, and inclinations of those sub- jects. To this end, it is necessary that their pils being brought up in the colleges of the Jesuits, sliould be examined by tlic most ambitious and most discerning of the superiors ; M ',' That 164 TREATISE ON MA?J. Qualities required in the general. Tluit the election being made, the new general be closely connected with the interest of the society, and that he can have no other ; That he must consequently be, like every other Je- suit, subject to the principal rules of the order; That he make the same vows ; Be, lilvc them, incapable of marriage ; Have, like them, renounced all dignity, all relations, love and friendship ; That, entirely devoted to the Jesuits, he have no regard but to the grandeur of the order, and conse- quently have no desire, but to increase their pjower ; That the obedience of his subjects furnish him with the means ; Lastly, the general, that he may be of the utmost utility possible to the societ}', must be at liberty to be guided entirely by his own genius, that his bold conceptions may not be restrained by any fear. For this purpose his residence is placed near a king that is a priest. He is to be attached to this sovereign in certain respects, by a bond of one common interest ; that the general participating in secret the authority of the pontiff, and living in his court, may thereby brave the vengeance of kings. It is from thence, in fact, in the obscurity of his cell, like a spider in the center of his web, that he ex- tends his threads over all Europe, and is by those threads informed of all that passes there. Informed TREATISE ON MAN. 165 Means by which he obtahis his influence. Intbrmed by their confessions of the vices^ the ta- lents, the virtues, and the foibles of princes, ministers, and magistrates ; he knows by what intrigue the am- l)ition of some may be favoured, that of others op- posed ; this flattered, that persuaded or terrified. While he meditates these great objects, he sees by his side monastic ambition, which holds before him the secret and awful book, in which are written the good and bad qualities of princes, their dispositions to the society, favourable or adverse. He marks with a stroke of blood, the name of kings, who, devoted to the vengeance of the order, are to be blotted out from the number of the hving. If weak princes, struck with terror, thought there was no choice between obeying the commands of the general and death, their fear was pot altogether panic. The government of the Jesuits justifies it in a certain degree. Does a man command a society whose members are in his hands, what a staff is in the hands pf an oldm^n ? Does he speak by their mouth, and strike by their hands ? The depositary of immense wealth, can he at his pleasure transport it whithersoever the interest of ttic order requires : Is he as despotic as the old man of the mountain, and are his subjects as submissive? Do we see them at his command expose themselves to the greatest dangers, and undertake the most liazardous enterprizes* ? Such a man is doubtless to be dreaded. * If the Jesuits have, on a thousand occasions, shown as much M 3 The 166 TREATISE ON MAN. The power of the Jesuits resulted from their form of government. The Jesuits were sensible of this, and proud of the terror which their chief inspired, they tiiought of no- thing but being secure in that formidable man. Thus, if from indolence, or any other motive, the general should betray the interest of the society, he would be- come the object of tlieir contempt, and have reason to fear lest he should be their victim. Now what go- vernment or society can be named, where the head and the liiembers have been so closely and so reciprocally united ? It cannot be wonderful, therefore, that with means apparently so weak, this society has in a short time, arrived at so high a degree of power. Its power was the eflect of the form of its government. How bold soever were the principles of its morality, those principles adopted by the popes, became in a manner the principles of the Catholic church. Tliat this dangerous morality has had few fatal effects in the hands of seculars is not surprising. It is not the read- ing of a Busembaum, or a La Croix, that makes regi- cides ; it is in the ignorancie and solitude of a cloister that those monsters are engendered, and it is thence that they dart forth on a prince. It is in vain that the monk in arming them with a poignard, would hide the hand from which they receive it. Nothing is more distinguishable than the crimes committed by sacer- intrepidity as the Abyssinians, it is because among those religious, as among those formidable Africans, heaven is the reward of those vho devote themselves to the orders of tlteir chief. dotal TREATISE ON MAN. 167 01' the causes of atrocious enteiinizes. dotal ambition. To prevent them, let the friend of kings and enemy of fanaticism, learn by what certain signs they may distinguish the several causes of atro- cious enterprizes. CHAP. VI. OF THE SEVERAL CAUSES OF ATROCIOUS ENTEUPRIZES. These causes are the love of glory, of ambition, and fanaticism. How powerful soever these passions may be, they do not commonly equal in man the love of self-preservation and felicity. He will not brave dan- ger and torture, or attempt any perilous enterprize, if advantage attendin"; the success does not bear some proportion to the danger. This is a fact, that is proved by the experience of all ages. M4 CHAP. 168 TREATISE ON MAN. of Climes committed from a love of glory or patriotism. CHAP. VIL i>F ATROCIOUS ENTERPUlZES UNDERTAKEN FRUAS A LOVF- OF GLORY, OR OF OUR COUNTRY. W HEN, to rescue themsjelves and their country from the fetters of slavery, Dion, Pelopidas, Aratus, and Timoleon, meditated the murder of a tyrant, what v/ere their hopes and their fears? They were in no dread of the shame and punishment of a Ravaiilac. If fortune abandoned them in their enterprize, the hero, constantly supported by a powerful pa,rty, could always flatter himself with dying sword in hand. If he were successful, he became the idol of his country. The recompence, therefore, bore at least some proportion to the danger. When Brutus followed Caesar to the senate, he doubtless said to himself, " The name of Brutus, that " name already consecrated by the expulsion of the " Tarquins, commands me to murder the dictator, and " makes it my duty. If I succeed, 1 shall destroy a " despotic government, and disarm that tyranny which " is ready to. pour fourth the purest blood of Rome, " which I shall save irom destruction, and of which I shall " become a new founder. If I fail in my enterprize, I . *^ iball TREATISE ON MAN. 169 »r — ' ■ — * of ulrocities coininilteil from anibitiuii. .!T - -E. "shall perish by my own hands, or by those of the <* enemy. The lecouipence therefore is adequate to " the danger." Would the virtuous Brutus, at the time of the league, have held the same discourse ? Would he have lifted his arm against his sovereign ? No : what advantage would it have been to France, and what glory to himself, to have been the vile instrument of papal ambition, and the assassin of his master ? In a monarchical government there are but two mo- tives that can induce a subject lo uecoine a regicide; the one a terrestrial, the other a celestial crown. Am- bition and fanaticism can alone produce such atrocious attempts. CHAP. VIII. OF ATROCITIES COMMITTED FROM AMBITIOX. JLhe enterprizes of ambition are always attempted by a man in power. To induce such a man to pro- ject them, it is necessary that when the crime is com- mitted, the perpetrator should instantly reap the fruit <).f it ; or if it fail, or be diiicovered, that he should still 170 TREATISE ON MAN. Of atrocities coiuinitted from fanaticism. Still have sufficient power left to intimidate the prince, oral least gain time for flight. Such was in Greece the situation of the generals, who, followed by their armies, marched up lo the em- peror, beat him in the field, or stabbed him on the throne. Such is still at Constantinople that of the Aga or Ottoman chief, when at the head of the Janissaries, he forces the seraglio, apprehends and kills the sultan ; who has often no other way to secure his throne and bis life, than by the murder of his nearest relations. The condition of the regicide almost always declares with what passion he is animated, whether by ambition or religious fanaticism. CHAP. IX. OF ATROCITIES COMMITTED FROM FANA- TICISM. The ambitious regicide is to be found in the class of great men only : the fanatical regicide is to be found in all, and most frequently even in the very lowest ; because every man can pretend to a celestial throne 7 we TREATISE ON MAN. 171 Difterence between the ambitious and fanatic regicide. and reconipence. There are also other signs by which we may distinguish these two sorts of regicides. No- thing IS more dillercnt than tlieir conduct in the same attempt. When the first of these loses all hopes of escaping, and is on the point of being taken, he poisons or kills himself on the body of liis victim. The other does not attempt his own life : his religion forbids it ; that alone can restrain the arm of a man of sufficient in- trepidity to undertake such a crime; that alone can make Inm prefer the frighttul deaili he must undergo on a scaitold, to the easy death he might give himsell on the spot. The fanatic is an instrument of vengeance, which the monk fabricates, and employs wherever iiis inte- rest directs him. CHAP. X. OF THE PERIOD AT WHICH THE INTEREST OF THE JESUITS COMMANDS THEM TO UNDERTAKE AN ATROCIOUS ENTERPRIZE. w HEN the interest of the Jesuits declines ; when they expect from a new government more favour than from that which exists ; when the meekness of the reigning })riiice 172 TREATISE ON ISTAN. ' - ' ' ■" 'J Characters selected by the Jesuits to execute their designs. prince, and the power of the rehgious party at court assure them of impunity ; it is then that they meditate their detestable project. They prepare the people for some great event ; inspire them with perverse pas- sions ; and terrify their imaginations, either as for- merly by predictions of the approaching dissolution of the world, or of a total overthrow of religion. At the time these ideas, being put in fermentation, heat the minds of men, and become the general subject of con- versation, the Jesuits seek out the frantic wretch who is to aid their ambition. Villains of this sort are rare. To undertake an enterprize of this kind, a man must have a soul possessed of violent and opposite sentiments ; a soul at once susceptible of the highest degree of villainy, devotion, credulity, and remorse; at once bold, prudent, impetuous, and wary. Charac- ters of this sort are the produce of the most gloomy and inexorable passions. But how is the soul inflam- mable by fanaticism, to be distinguished ? By what means can we discover the seeds of those passions, •which, though strong, contrary, and proper to form a regicide, are always invisible before they are put in action ? The tribunal of confession is the microscope by which those seeds become visible. At that tribu- nal (IQ) where the man stands naked, the right of in- terrogation gives the monk an opportunity of examin- ing all the hidden recesses of his soul. The general, apprized by the confessions, of the mminers, passions, and dispositions of an infinity of penitents. TREATISE ON MAN. 173 '■v- " ■ ' ^ ' -' ' . ~^ Methods by which tliey inspire them with fanaticism. < . ■ -» penitents, has the choice of too great a number, not to find a fit instrument for his vengeance. The fanatic found, and the choice fixed, the only task that remains is to inflame his zeal. Enthusiasm is a contagious disorder, says lord Shaftesbury, that is communicated by the gesture, the look, the tone of the voice, 8cc. This the general knows : he com- mands, and the fanatic being taken into a house of Jesuits, there finds himself in the midst of enthusiasts. It is there that being animated by the sentiments of those who surround him, he is persuaded that he really thinks what they suggest to him, and by being famili- arised with the idea of the crime he is to commit, is rendered inaccessible to remorse. The remorse of a moment would be sufficient to disarm the hand of an assassin. There is no man so hardened as to reflect without horror on an action so atrocious, and on the punishment he is to suffer. The only way to divest him of that horror, is so to exalt in him the spirit of fanaticism, that the idea of his crime, instead of being associated in his memory with that of his punishment, may solely excite in him the ideas of those celestial pleasures that are to be the re- ward of his enterprize. Of all religious orders, that of the Jesuits i» at once the most powerful, intelligent, and enthusiastic ; con- sequently there is none that can operate so strongly on the imagination of a fanatic, and none that can with less danger attempt the life of a prince. The blind 4 submission 174 TREATISE ON MAN. Difficulty of convicting the emissaries of tlie Jesuits. submission of the Jesuits to'the orders of their eene- o ral, makes them a.]l secure in each other. Without diffidence in this respect, they therefore give an in- tire Hberty to their thoughts. The fear of punishment cannot damp their zeal, as they are rarely charged with committing a crime, till the time of its execution. Each Jesuit, supported by all the credit and power of the order, knows that he is secure from every inquiry, till the consummation of the attempt, and that no one will dare to be the accu- ser of a member of asociet}' so formidable by its riches, by the great number of spies it keeps in pay, by the o:reat men who are under its direction, bv the citizens it protects, and who are attached to it by the indissolu- ble bonds of hope and fear. The Jesuit knows moreover, that the crinje being committed, nothing is more difficult than to convict the society of it ; who lavishing gold and menaces, and supposing itself always calumniated, can con- stantly spread over the blackest crimes thai obscurity so favourable to the Jesuits, who are satisfied to be suspected of great crimes, as they thereby become the more formidable ; but who would not be convicted of them, as they would thereby become too odious. By what means in fact can they be convicted ? The general knows the names of all who arc concerned in a grand ent^rprize, and can, on the first suspicion, disperse them in unknown and foreign convents; where he can, under false names, secure them from a com- TREATISE ON MAN. 175 Extent of their intrigues of ambition n common pursuit. Does the inquiry become seri- ous ? The general is always sure to render it abortive, either by concealing the accused in the recess of a cloister, or by making him a sacrifice to the interest of the order. With so many resources and with such impunity, it is not wonderful that such a society has ventured upon so much ; and that encouraged by the encomiums of the order, its members have often exe- cuted the most daring enterprizes. In the very form of Jesuitical scovernment, we see the cause of ihat fear and- respect which its members inspire, and the reason why, since its establishment, there has been no religious war, revolution, assassina- tion of monarchs, in China, Ethiopia, Holland, France, England, Portugal, Geneva, Sec. in which the Jesuits liavenot had some share. The ambition of the genera!, and the assistants, is the soul of the society. There are none who, more jealous of dominion have employed more means to secure it. The secular clergy are without doubt ambi- tious ; but though animated with the same passion, they have not the same means to gratify it. They are rarely regicides. The Jesuit is under the immediate, dependence of a superior (20). It is not so with the secular priest. Mixing with the world, and diverted by bis employ- ment and his pleasures, he is not confined to a single idea. His fanaticism is not incessantly exalted by the presence of other fanatics. Besides, not having the power 176 tREAtlSE ON MAN, Defect of monastic constitutions. power of a religious body, if culpable, he would be punished. He is therefore less enterprising, and less formidable than the regular. The real crime of the Jesuits was not the depravity of their morals*, but their constitution, their riches^ their power, their ambition, and the incompatibility of their interest with that of the nation. How perfect soever the legislation of these religious lias been, whatever empire they have had over the people, still it will be said, these Jesuits once so formi- dable are now banished from France, Portugal, and Spain. True, because their vast projects were timely opposed. In every monastic constitution there is a radical defect, which is the want of real power. That of the monks is founded on the folly and stupidity of man- kind. Now the human mind must in time become enlightened, or at least change its folly. The Jesuits, who foresaw this, were in consequence desirous of uniting in their hands the temporal and spiritual powers. They were desirous to terrify princes by their armies, when they could not do it by the poig- nard or by poison. For this purpose they had already laid, in Paraguay and California, the foundations of new empires. If the slumber of the magistrate had continued, * False principles of morality are only dangerous when they become laws. perhaps, TREATISE ON MAN. 177 Measures adopted in France to destroy the iofiuence of the Jesuits. perhaps a century longer, it would have been impossi- ble to opjDOse their designs. The union of the tem- poral and spiritual powers would have rendei'ed them too formidable : they would for ever have held the ca- tholics in blindness, and their princes in humiliation. Nothing more strongly proves the degree of authority, to which the Jesuits had already arrived, than the measures taken in France for their expulsion*. Why did the magistracy so warmly attack their books (21) ? They, doubtless, saw the insignificance of such accusation. But they saw also that it was this accusation alone, which could destroy their influence over the minds of the people. All other means would have been ineffectual. Suppose, in fact, that the act for their banishment had contained only motives for the public good. " Every numerous society, it would have said, is " ambitious, and only solicitous for its particular inte- " rest. Therefore, by not having any connection '' with the public interest, it becomes dangerous to " society. With regard to that of the .Jesuits, it would * When terrified by the remonstrances of their parliaments, we see kings deliver themselves up to the Jesuits, we cannot avoid re- collecting the fable of the young mouse. AN'hat a noisy animal I just now met I he says to liis mother, they call it a cork. I shudder with/ear. I should not have been able to have got hither, had it not been for the presence of a very genlle animal ; it seems to be of our kind. Its name is a cat, O ! my son, it is of the latter you must beware. VOL. ji. N have 178 TREATISE ON MAN. The existence of ilie jRsuits tncorapatible with the public welfare. " have added^ it is evident, that being by its constitu- " tion subject to a foreign despot, it cannot have aa " interest conformable to that of the public*." " The extreme extent of the commerce of the " Jesuits, may be destructive of that of the nation : " and the immense riches they gain by that com- " mercef , being transported, at the pleasure of their " general, into China, Spain, Germany, Italy, &,c» *' cannot but impoverish a nation." To conclude, a society rendered conspicuous by atro- cious attempts without number ; a society composed of men of sobriety, who to multiply their partisans, hold out protections, credit, and riches, to their friends ; persecution, calamity, and death to their enemies, is certainly a society whose projects must be at -once boundless, and destructive of the general hap- piness. How reasonable soever these motives may be, they * The magistrates may without doubt apply to the Jesuit* these words of Hobbes to the popisli priests. " You are, he saj-s, " a confederation of ambitious knaves. Eager to rule over the " people, you endeavour, by virtue of nij-sterics and nonsense, " to extinguish in them the lights of reason and of the GospeK *■' To believe in the truth of a priest, says, on this subject, the poet ** Lee, is to confide in the smiles of the great, in the tears of a " liarlot, in the oaths of a tradesman, and in the grief of an heir." f The riches of the Jesuits are immense, they sow not, neither do they dig, and yet, says Shakespeare, it is they that gather aU the fruits of the earth. They even press out the very juice of poverty. 7 would TREATISE ON MAN. 179 1-1 , , , .. •' ■ ■ . . ^ Jansenism alone capable of destroying the Jesuits. would have made but little impression, and the pow- erl'ul and protected order of the Jesuits would never have been sacrificed to reason, and the public good. CHAP XI. JANSENISM ALONE COULD DESTROY THE JESUITS. Xo attack the Jesuits with advanta2;e, what should be done ? Oppose passion to passion, sect to sect, fanaticism to fanaticism. The Jansenists should be armed against them. Now, the Jansenists insensible, from devotion (22) or stupidity, to the misfortunes of their fellows, would never have opposed the Jesuits, if they had regarded them only as enemies of the public. The magistrates were sensible of this, and knew that to animate them against the Jesuits, their imaginations must be heated, and that by such a book as the As- sertions, their ears must be incessantly filled with the words lewdness, the sin of philosophy, magic, astrolo- gy, idolatry, 8cc. The magistrates have been reproached with these Assertions. They have, it is said, degraded their cha- racter and their dignity, by presenting themselves to N 2 the 180 TREATISE ON MAN. Conduct of llie magistrates of France in respect to the Jesu ts. the public under the form of controversialists (23). Doubtless, neiiber princes nor magistrates ought to follow the vile profession of sophists and theologians. The disputes of the schools contract the mind, and are incompatible with the grand views of administra- tion (€4). If the^e matters he treated with too much impor- tance they announce the greatest evils. They presage a new St. Bartholomew's day. The golden age of a nation is not that of controversies. However, if at the the time of the affair of the Jesuits, the magistrates of France had but little credit and authority : if the situa- tion of the parliaments, with regard to the Jesuits, was such, that they could not serve the public but under pretexts, and for reasons different from those that really determined them; why should they not make use of thecn, and profit by the contempt into which the books and the morals of the Jesuits were fallen, to deliver France from monks, who had become so formidable by their power, their intrigues, their riches, their ambition (25), and above all, by their constitution, which furnish them with means to enslave the minds of men .? The real crime of the Jesuits was the excellence of iheir government ; that excellence was every where destructive of the public happiness. Jl must be confessed that the Jesuits have been one of the most cruel scourges of nations ; but without them we should never have perfectly known what a body 4 TREATISE ON MAN. 181 Of the establishment of new laws in an empire. body of laws directed to one end was capable of ope- rating on men. What did the Jesuits pursue ? The power and riches of their order. Now, no legislation with so few means, has better accomplished that grand object. If an example of a goyerriment so perfect is not to be found among any people, the reason is, because in its estab- lishment it is necessary to have, like Romulus, a new empire to found. Now mankind are rarely in that situation, and in any other, perhaps, it is impossible to form so perfect a legislation. CHAP. XII. EXAMINATION OF THIS TRUTH. W HEN a man establishes new laws in an empire, it is cither in quality of a magistrate appointed by the peo- ple to correct the ancient legislation, or in quality of victor, that is, by right of conquest. Such were the diiferentj positions in which were Solon on the one part, Alexander and Tamerlane on the other. In the first of these positions the magistrate, as Solon lamented, is forced to conform to the manners and tastes of those that employ him. They do not require N 3 an 182 TREATISE ON MAN. Of tlie le^^isbiiiin of a conqueror. r' J ' . . I. — an excellent legislation : it would be too discordant with their manijers and their tastes. They simply re- quire the correction of some abuses that have crept into their present form of government : the magistrate consequently cannot give full scope to his genius. He cannot attempt a grand plan, or the establishment of a perfect government. In the second of these positions, what does the con- queror at first propose ? To establish his authority over nations impoverished, exhausted by war, and still irritated by their defeat. If he impose some of the laws of his own country, he also adopts a part of theirs. The evils that result from a mixture of laws, often con- tradictory to each other, concern him little. It is not immediately after conquest that the victor can conceive the vast project of a perfect legislation. The still uncertain possessor of a new crown, the only matter he then requires of his new subjects, is their submission : and when will he concern himself about their felicity ? There is no muse to whom a temple has not been erected : no scieuct that has not been cultivated ia some academy : no academy where some prize has not been proposed for the solution of certain pro- blems in mechanics, agriculture, optics, astronomy, &c. By what fatality have the sciences of morality and politics, without dispute the most important of all, and that coutribme the most to the national felicity, been hithei to without pubhc schools .'' What TREATISE ON MAN. 183 Obstacles wliicli impede the adoption of good laws. What proof more striking of the indifference of men for the happiness of their fellow creatures (26) ? Why have not people in power already instituted academies of morality and politics ? Do tiiey fear that such academies should at last resolve the problem of an excellent legislation, and secure the perpetual felicity of the people ? Tliey would doubtless fear it, if they suspect that the public felicity required a sacri- fice of the least part of their authority. There is but one interest that does not oppose the national interest, which is that of the weak. The prince commonly sees nothing in nature but himself. What interest can he have in the felicity of his subjects? Can he love them when he loads them with fetters ? Is it from the car of victory, and the throne of despotism, that he can give them useful laws? Intoxicated with suc- cess, what cares a conqueror about tlie felicity of iiis slaves ? With regard to the magistrate charged by a republic with the reformation of its laws, he has usually- too many different interests to manage, and too many different opinions to reconcile, to effect any thing- great and simple of tliis nature. It falls to the lot of none but the founder of a colony, who commands men as yet without prejudices and habits, to resolve the problem of an excellent legislation, ^^othiiio; in this situation can impede the progress of his genius, or oppose the establishment of the most sagacious laws. Their perfection can have no bounds but those of his capacity. N 4 But 184 TREATISE ON MAN. • — — • — — — — — ■ ' "J J ■> Causes of the excellence' of nionasiic constitutions. ,. ' ' • ^^ But why are the monastic laws, with regard to the object which they propose, the least imperfect of all others ? Because the founder of a religious order, is in the same situation as the founder of a colony. Ignatius, when forming in silence and solitude the plan of his order, was not impeded by the tastes and opinions of his future subjects. His regulations made, and his order established, he was surrounded by no- vices, the more submissive to his rules as they embra- ced them voluntarily, and consequently approved the rules they were bound to observe. Can it then be sur- prising, that such regulations are more perfect in their kind, than those of any nation ? Of all studies, that of the several monastic constitu- tions is perhaps the most curious and most instructive for magistrates, philosophers, and statesmen in gene- laL They are experiments in miniature, which by disclosing the secret causes of the felicity, grandeur, and poAver of the several religious orders, prove, as 1 proposed to show, that it is not on religion, nor on what is called morality, nearly the same among all na- tions and all monks, but on legislation alone, that the vices, the virtues, the powder, and felicity of a people depend. The laws are the soul of an empire, the instruments of public felicity. These instruments at first rude, may every day be more improved. But to what de- gree may they be improved, and how far may the ex- cellence of a legislation increase the happiness of a people TREATISE ON MAN 185 Causes of Ihe excel ente ot monastic conslitutioiis. ^_______ * people* ? To resolve this question, we must first know wherein consists the happiness of individuals. * Among the different religious orders, those whose govern- ment approaches the nearest to the form of a republic, and whose subjects are the most free and most happy, are in general those whose manners are the best, and whose morals are the least erro- neous. Such are the Doctrinarians and the Oratorians. NOTES. 186 TREATISE ON MAN. NOTES ON SECTION VII, NOTES. 1. (page 146.) JnLtt the French boast of being affectionate friends. "When the Treatise on the M.nd appeared, they railed ioudly against the chapter on frieniship. One \vould have thought Paris was peopled with Orestes and Pylades. It is in tnis nation, however, tiiat the military law obliges a soldier to •^hoot his com- panion and his friend who is a deserter. The establishment of sucli a law does not prove a great respect for friendship in the govern- ment ; nor the obedience to it, a great tenderness for their friends among the people. 2. (ibid.) Whoever, say the Stoics, desires to injure himself, and without motives should throw himselfonlo the fire, the sea, or out of a window, would be justly thought a madman, for in his nptural state man pursues 'pleasure and shuns pain, and in all his actions is necessardy determined by a desire of happiness, real or apparent. Wan, therefore, is not free. His will is as necessarilT tlie eflect of his ideas, and consequently of his sensations, as pain is the effect of a blow. Besides, add the Stoics, is there a single in- stant when the liberty of man can be referred to the different ope- rations of the same mind ? If, for example, the same thing cannot, at the same instant, be and not be, it is not therefore possible That at the moment the mind acts, it could act otherwise ; That at the moment it chuses, it could cluise otherwise ; That at the moment it deliberates, it could deliberate other- wise ; That at the moment it wills, it could will othenvise. Now TREATISE ON MAN. 187 NOTES ON SKCrlON VII. Now if it be my will, such as it is, that makes me deliberate ; if my deliberation, such as it is, makes me chuse ; if my choice, such as it is, makes me act ; and if when I deliberated, it was not possible for me (considerinif the love I have for myself) not to de- liberate ; it is evident that liberty does not consist in the actual violation, nor in the actual deliberation, nor in the actual choice, nor in the actual action, and, in short, that liberty does not relate to any of the operations of the mind. Iftiiatwere the case, the same thing, as I have already said, must bo and not be, at the same instant. Now, add the Stoics, this is the question we ask the pliilosophers : " Can the mind be " free, if when it wills, when it deliberates, and when it chuses, it " is not free ?" 3. (p. 147.) There is scarcely any saint who has not, once in his life, dipped his hands in human blood, and put his man to death. 'I'he bishop who so earnestly solicited the death of a young man of Abbeville, was a saint. He would have the youth expiate, in horrid torments, the crime of having sung some licentious couplets. 4. (ibid.) If we massacre the heretics, say the bigots, it is from pity. AV'e would only make them feel the goad of charity. AVe hope, by the fear of death and the executioner, to save them from }iell. But how long has charity had a goad? How long has it cut men's throats ? Resides, if vices as well as errors are damnable, why do not the?e devotees massacre the vicious of their own sect? 5. (p. 148.) It is himger, it is want, that makes the people in- dustrioBs, and wise laws that make them good. If the ancient Romans, says Machiavel, gave examples of every sort of virtue ; if honesty were customary amongthem ; if in the course of seve- ral ages, there \\'cre scarcely six or seven condemned to penalty, exile, or death ; to what did they owe their virtues and their suc- cess ? To the wisdom of their laws, and to the first dissensions that arose between the plebeians and patricians, which established tlie ecj[uiUbrium of power, that, by means of other dissensions vhipli 188 TREATISE ON MAN. NOTtS ON SECTION Vir. which continually arose, was maintained a long time between those two bodies. If the Romans, adds that illustrious writer, differing in all things from the Venetians, were neither humble in adversity, nor pre- sumptuous in prosperity, the different conduct and character of those two people was the effect of the difference in their discipline. G. (p. 148.) M. Helvetius wastreatedby some theologians as im- pious, and father Bertier was a saint. Yet the former did not, and would not injure any one ; and the other said publicly that if he were king, he would have drowned the president Montesquieu in his own blood. The one of these was an honest man, and the other a Christian. 7. (ibid.) Just laws are all-powerful over men, command their wills, render them honest, humane, and happy. It is to four or five laws of this sort that the English owe their happiness, and the security of their property and liberty. The first of these laws is that which gives the house of Commons the power of fixing the Subsidies. The second is the act of Habeas Corpus. The third is the Trial by Jury. The fourth, the Liberty of the Press. The fifth, the Manner of levying the Taxes. But are not these taxes now a load to the nation ? If they be they at least do not furnish the prince with means of oppressing in- dividuals. [This will certainly be disputed. The more numerous the taxes, the greater the legion of tax-gatherers, who are always in immediate subjection to the king or his minister, and have fre- quent opportunities of oppressing the people. T.] 8. (ibid.) It is not to religion or to that innate law, engraved, as they say, on every mind, that men owe their social virtues. This so much boasted natural law is like other laws, nothing more than the produce of experience, reflection, and judgment. If nature had impressed clear ideas of virtue on the heart, if these deas TREATISE ON MAN. 189 -' ■■ ■ ■ ■ ' ■ — rrv notes on section vu. -■■'•• . . " ':j: ideas had not been an acquisition, would men have formerly sa- crificed human victims to gods whom they called good ? Would the Carthaginians, to render Saturn propitious, have sacrificed their children on his altars ? Would the Spaniard believe that the Divinity thirsted for the blood, of a Jew, or a heretic ? Would whole nations flatter themselves with obtaining the favour of hea- ven, either by the punishment of the man who thinks as their priests direct, or by the murder of a virgin, ol^'ered as an expiation for their crimes ? But suppose that the principles of the law of nature be innate : mankind must then be sensible that punishments, like crimes should be personal, and that cruelty and injustice cannot be the priests of God. Now if ideas of equity so clear and simple arc not yet adopted by all nations, it is not then to religion, or to the natural law, but to instruction, that man owes his knowledge of justice and virtue. 9. (p. 151.) Virtue is so precious, and its practice so connected with national prosperity, that if virtue were an error, we doubtless ought to sacrifice to it every tiling and even truth itself. But why thjis sacrifice, and why must falsehood be the father of virtue ? Wherever private interest is confounded with that of the public, virtue becomes in every individual the necessary effect of self-love, and personal interest. All the vices of a nation may constantly be referred to some vices in the legislation. Why are there so few honest men ? Be- cause misfortune pursues probity almost every where. If on the contrary honours and importance were its companions, all men wovdd be virtuous. But there are secret crimes, to which religion alone can be opposed. Of these the embezzlement of a deposit is an example. But does experience prove that a deposit can be more safely confided to a priest than to Ninon de I'Enclos ? Un- der the title of pious legacies, how many robberies are commit- ted, how many lawful heirs are deprived of their estates! Such h the corrupt source of the immense riches of the chinch. Thesr 190 TREATISE ON MAN. NOTES ON SECTION VII. arc its robberies. AViiere are its restitutions? If the monk, it will be said, cioes not rcitore himself, he makes others restore. VV^hat may be the an^ouat of these restitutions in a large kingdom ? A hundred thousand crowns. Be it so. Now, compare this sum with that required for the maintenance of so many convents, and then judge of their utility. What would be said of a fmancier, who to secure thie receipt of one million sjiould expend twenty in collecti;ig it? He would be regarded as a fool. The public is the fool, when it maintains so many priests. Their too costly instructions, are besides, useless to a people in easy circumstances, active, industrious, and whose character is elevated by liberty. Among such a people, there are few secret crimes committed. Can men be still ignorant, that it is to the union of public and private interest, that the inhabitants owe their patriotic or national virtues? Will they for ever found it on errors and pretended re- velations, that have for so long a time served as a cloak for the greatest criines ? 10. (p. 151.) If all men be born slaves to superstition, why not make use of their weakness, it will be said, to inspire them with respect for the laws, and render them happy ? Is it the superstitious who respect the laws ? On the contrary, it is they that violate them. Superstition is a polluted source, whence issue all the evils and calamities of the earth. Cannot this source be exhausted ? Doubtless it may. The people are not so necessarily superstitious as is imagined. They are what government makes them. Un- der a prince that is enlightened, they soon become so likewise. The monarch is at length more powerful than the gods. For which reason the first care of the priests is to gain possession of the mind of the prince : there are no flatteries so vile, that they will not descend to. Must ihey maintain his divine right? They are ready to do it ; l)ut on a tacit condition, that he shall be really theirs. If he cease to be theirs, the clergy change their tone, and if circumstances be favourable, they declare that if in Saul, Sa-Hiuel TRE\TISE ON MAN. 191 NOTES ON SECTION VII. Samuel deposed the Lord's anointed, Samuel could do nothing then, that the pope cannot do now. 11. (p. 152.) An honest man will always obey his reason in preference to revelation ; for it is, he will say, more certain that God is the author of human reason, that is of (he faculty in man of distinguishing tlie true from (he false, than that he is the au- thor of any particular hook. (That God, as the autiior of man, is the author of human reason is very certain ; but can it be men; certain, than that he is tlie author of a revelation, v,'hich bears unquestionable marks of a divine original. T.) It is more criminal in the eyes of a wise man to deny our own reason, tlian to deny any revelation whatever ? (Tor by denying the latter, we are led to enquire after its proofs, which, if it be of divine original, will be irresistible. T.) 12. (ibid.) The religious system (of the Roman Catholics) destroys all proportion between the rewards decreed for the action'; of men, and the utility of those actions to tlie public. For what reason, in fact, is the soldier less respected thau the monk ? Why do they give to a religious who takes tlie vow of poverty twelve or fifteen thousand livres per annum, to hear, once a year, the crimes or follies of a great man, and refuse six. hundred livres to an officer w oundcd in an assault ? 13. (p. 154.) Almost all religions forbid men the use of their reason, and render them at once brutes, wretched and cruel- Ihis truth is represented pleasantly enough in an English piece, intituled, Tlie islueen of Good Same. The favourites of the queen are in that piece Law, Physic, and a Priest of the Sun, named Firebrand. These favourites, weary of a government contrary to their in- terests, call in Ignorance to their aid. He lands in the island of Good Sense, at the head of a company of fidlers, biiflbon -, mon- keys, &:c. followed by a crowd of Italians and Frenchmen. The queen of Good Sense goes forth to meet them. Firebrand stoips her : O queen, he cries, thy tlirone is shaken : the gods arm asainst 192 TREATISE ON MAN. NOTES ON SECTION Vll. against thee : their wrath is the fatal effect of thy protecting in- fidels. It is by my mouth the Sun speaks to thee : tremble, and deliver those impious wretches over to me, that I may consign them to the flames ; or heaven will accomplish its vengeance on thee. I am a priest ; I am infallible ; T command ; do thou obey lest I should curse the day of thy birth, as a day fatal to religion. The queen, without making any reply, ordered the trumpets to sound the charge ; she is abandoned by her army, and flies into a wood. Firebrand follows and stabs her there. My interest and my religion demand, says he, this grand victim. But shall I de- clare myself the assassin ? No : interest that commanded me to commit this murder, will have me conceal it. I will deplore my enemy in public, and celebrate her virtues. He said. A sound of war was heard. Ignorance appeared, caused the body of Good Sense to be taken up, and deposited in a monument, from whence a voice issued that pronounced these prophetic words : " Let the " shadow of Good Sense wander for ever upon the earth, and let " her groans be an eternal terror to the army of Ignorance : let " her shade be visible only to discerning men, and let them in *' consequence be always treated as visionaries." 14. (p. 154.) The laws are the public lights that show the peo- ple the path of virtue. What should be done to render these laws respectable ? It must be shown that they evidently tend to the public utility, and be examined a long time before they are pro- mulgated. The laws of the Twelve Tables were wholly exposed to the examination of the public. By such conduct magistrates prove their sincere desire to establish good laws. Every tribunal, that at the desire of persons in power, easily in- flicts the punishment of death on the citizens, renders the legisla- tion odious, and the magistracy contemptible. 15. (ibid.^ There are four things, say the Jews, that must de- stroy the world, one of which is a man that is religious and a fool. 16. TREATISE ON MAN. 193 NOTES ON SECTION VII. 16. (p. 155.) Every man fears pain and death. Even the sol- dier obeys this fear and is disciplined by it. He who fears notliing will do nothing against bis inclination. It is in quality of cowards that troops are brave. Now said a great prince on this subject, if tlie executioner can effect any thing at all in an anny, he may do the same in a city. 17. (p. 15G.) If the police necessary to suppress Vice be too chargeable, it is a public calamity. If it be too inquisitive, it cor- rupts the manners, by extending a prying treacherous spirit, and thereby becomes a public calamity. The police should not more- over execute the vengeance of the strong against the weak, nor imprison a citizen without a juridical process against hun* It ought likewise to watch incessantly over itself. Without the greatest vigilance, its officers, becoming authorized malefactoi's, will be the more dangerous, as their numerous and secret crimes will remain unknown as well as unpunished. 18. (p. 163.) It is not with a despotic Jesuit as with an Eastern tyrant, who followed by a troop of banditti, to which he gives the name of an army, plunders and ravages his empire. The Jesuitical despot is himself subject to the rules of his order, and animated by the same spirit, derives all his importance from the power of his subjects. His despotism therefore cannot be detrimental to them. 19. (p. 172.) If there have been but few regicides among the Protestants, it is because they do not kneel before the priest, but confess themselves to God, and not to man. It is not so with the Catholics. They almost all confess, and commonly before they conmiit their atrocious crimes. 20. (p. 175.) The obedience of the monk to his superior always renders the latter formidable. Does he order him to murder ? The murder is executed. What monk can resist his commands ? How many means has the superior to make him obey ? To know this, let us run over the rules of the Capuchins. Clemens Papa IV. as above, cap. vi. sect. 24, says, " A brother has no right to *' confess but to another brother, unless in case of absolute ne- void II. o cessity." 194 TREATISE ON MAN. NOTES ON SECTION VII. '*' cessity." It says, ubi supra, cap. vi. sect 8. " If in prison a *' brother overloaded with the weight of his fetters, require to con- *' fess to a religious of the order, he shall not obtain his request, " unless the guardian shall judge it proper to grant him that fa- '' vour and consolation. The religious cannot communicate. at " Easter, except by the permission of the superior, and always ift " th» infirniary, or other secret place." lie adds as above, cap. vi. sect. 10. "For great crhnes, the " brothers shall be burned alive. For other crimes they shall be " stripped, and when naked they shall be bound to a stake, and " flogged without mercy, three different times, at the option of " the father priest. They shall have by measure only the bread ** of affliction, and the water of grief. For atrocious crimes the " father priest may invent such sort of torment as he shall think " proper." It is said, as sbove, cap. vi. sect. 2, " If fetters, fire, scourges, " thirst, imprisonment, and the refusal of the sacraments, are not ♦* sufficient punishments for a brother, he shall be made to confess " the crime of which he is accused, and the father priest shall in- " vent such sort of punishment as lie thinks fit, without telling who " are the accusers and the witnesses ; unless it be a religious of " great importance : for it would be indecent to put to the torture " (except in case of an enormous crime) a father who has in other " respects deserved well of the order." Lastly, it is added, as above, cap. vi. sect. 3. " The brother " who shall have recourse to a secular tribunal, such as that of a " bishop, shall be punished at the pleasure of the general or pro- " vincial, and the brother who shall confess his sin, or shall be " convicted of it, sliall be punished by form of provision, not- " withstanding an appeal, except to do justice hereafter, in case " the appeal be well founded." Such rules being laid down, there is no monk that the pope, the church, and the general, cannot make a regicide. There are no superiors on whom a prince ough.t to confer such power over liis TREATISE ON MAN. 195 NOTES OH SECTION Vlf. his inferiors. By what infatuation can he thus expose innocence to the most cruel punishments, and himself to so many dangei-s. . 21. (p. 177.) Among the works of the Jesuits there are certainly many that ai"e ridiculous and rash. Father Garasse, for example, declaiming against Cain, says, lib. ii. p. 130. of his curious Doc- trine, " That Cain, as the Hebrews remark, was a man of little ^* sense, and the first atheist. That this Cain could not conipre- *' hend what his father Adam said, that is, that there was a holy " God, the judge of our actions. Not behigable to understand *' this, Cain imagined it was an old man's tale, and that his father *' had lost his senses, when he related the fact of going oul of the " terrestrial paradise, and what followed. Hence it happened that ^' Cain put himself into a passion, killed his brother, and. talked to " God as if hehad been talking to a blackguard." The same father, lib, i. p. 97. " Relates, that on the arrival of " Calvin, in Poitou, when almost all the nobility embraced his er- " rors, a gentleman retained apart of the nobility in the Catholic " faith, by saying, " I would undertake to establish a better reli- *' gion than that of Calvin, if I could find a dozen scoundrels, who *' were not afraid to be burned in defence of my notions." Fon*- tenelle was persecuted for having repeated in iiis oracles, what fa- ther Garasse made the gentleman of Poitou say, so true it is, tliat there is nothing but good luck and bad luck in this world. 22. (p. 179.) All things, even the pedantic Jansenists, concur in preventing the present education in France, from forming citi- zens and patriots. Why, therefore, always occupied with their versatile or arrogant grace, have tliey not yet proposed any new plan of public education. With what indit'feieiice do the 9anctj« fied regard the interest of the puldic ! 23. (p. 180.) The book of Assertions, said the partisans of the Jesuits, was wortliy of an HilM?rnian theologian, but not of a parliament. The Jesuits, they add, were*'therefore not judged by the magistrates, but by attornies of the Jansenists. This how* ever I know, that the dissolution of that society was in part owing o 2 to 196 TREATISE ON MAN. NOlES ON SECTION VII. to that ': ook. So tvue it is, that the most happy reformations are sometimes brought about by the most ridiculous means. 24. (p. 180). In ahiiost every'country, whoever would obtain an (employ, should be of the religion of the people. China, is said to be almost the only country where they see the absurdity of this custom. To be a just historian, a man should, say the Chinese, be indifferent to all religions. To govern mankind in an equitable manner, to be a magistrate -f integrity, a mandarin void of pre- judice ; he must in like manner be of no particular sect.] 25. (ibid.) Pons de Thiard de Bissy, bishop of Chalons sur Saone'(the only one in the states of Blois), in 1538, who re- mained faithful to Henry III. addressed a letter to the parliament of Dijon. In this letter, dated in 1590, this prelate first deplores the misfortunes of his distracted country ; he described the hor- rors of the league, and its abominable crimes. He asserts that God in his wrath would destroy that fine kingdom, which ijnpostors in iron masks had shaken in every part. Then addressing himself to the parliament, he thus exhorts them to expel the Jesuits. *' These apostles of Maliomet, have, says he, the impiety to f preach, that war is the method of God ; let these diabolical se« " ducers, these presumptuous lovers of false wisdom, these hy- " pocritical zealots, these whited walls, these inflamers* of men'f *' minds, these firebrands of sedition, these incendiaries of Spain, 'I these dangerous spies, and artful contrivers of ambushes, be " for ever banished from France." Then addressing himself to ihe Jesuit Charles, and his brethren, he says, " You see all these execrable facts committed, that make *' honest men groan, and you do not oppose them by the least " sign of disapprobation : you even domore, you applaud them> " and promise celestial rewards to the greatest crimes. You ex- *' cite men to commit them ; and place in heaven infamous vil- ^' lains, whom you wasji in the dew of your mercy." " The most Christian king has been lately assassinated by the " atrocious act of your fallows, and you sacrifice him again after his TREATISE ON MAN. 197 NOTES ON SliCTION VU. •■'-•■••• ■ — — *« his death. You consign him to eternal flames ; and you dare to *' preach, that we ought to refuse him tlie aid of our prayers." 26. (p. 183.) O! mortals, who call yourselves good, and who have ill fact so little goodness, will you never blush at your indif- ference for the reformation and perfection of the laws !\Do not the magistrates know how to govern and restrain you, but by tliefear of the most abominable punishments ? Insensible to the cries and groans of the sufferers, will they never attempt to suppress crimes by more gentle methods ? It is time that they prove their humanity; by investigating other means. Let them therefore publish their reflections on this subject. Let them fear, lest the murder of so many unfortunate men, should be imputed to the idleness of their minds, and let them propose a premium for the solution of a pro- blem, so worthy of the compassionate equity of a sovereign. O I mortals, your pretended goodness is nothing but hypocrisy. It is in your words, and cot in your actions. SECTION 198 TREATISE ON MAN. Wise laws might produce universal felicity. c- ■ - ■ ■ SECTION VIII. OF WHAT COKSTITUTES THE HAPPINESS OF INDIVIDUALS, OF THE BASIS ON WHICH WE SHOULD FOUND NATIONAL FELI- CITY, NECESSARILY COMPOSED OF THE FELICITY OF ALL THU INDIVIDUALS. CHAP. I. WHETHER MEN, IN THE STATE OF SOCIETY, CAI«^ BE ALL EQUALLY HAPPY? J- HERE is no society in which all the members can be equally rich and powerful (1). Is there any in which they can be equally happy? This is what we shall now examine. Sagacious laws may without doubt produce the pro- digy of universal felicit}^ When every citizen has some property, is in a certain degree of ease, and can, by seven or eight hours labour, abundantly supply his own wants, and those of his family; they are then all as happy as they can be. o To TREATISE ON MAN;. IQ9 «. ■ — ~ ^ — ~ ~ ~~*~~*"~ Demonstration of that truth. h To prove this truth, let us consider in what the happiness of an individual consists. Tliis j)reliniinary knowledge is the sole basis on which we can establish the national felicity. A nation is the assemblage of all the inhabitants of a country, and the public happiness is composed of that of all the individuals. Now, what constitutes the happiness of an individual? Perhaps it is still un- tnown, and men have not sufficiently employed them- selves in the examination of a question, which how- ever may throw the greatest light o^ the several parts of administration. If we ask the majority of mankind, they will say, that to be equally happy, all should be equally ricli and powerful. ISothing more false than this assertion. In fact, if life be nothing more than an aggregate of an infinity of separate instants, all men would be equally happy, if they could all fill up those instants in a manner equally agreeable. Is that to be done in different situations ? Is it possible to colour all the moments of human life with the same tint of felicity ? To resolve this question, let us see in what different pccupations the several parts of the day are necessarily consumed. e 4 CHAP 200 TREATISE ON MAN. Of the emj^Joyment of time. CHAP. II. OF THE EMPLOYMENT OF TIME. jVxEN hunger and thirst; they require to lie with their wives, to sleep, &,c. Of the twenty-four hours of the day, they employ ten or twelve in providing for these several wants. As soon as they are gratifi- ed, from the dealer in rahbits' skins, to the monarch, all are equally happy. It is in vain to say that the table of wealth is more delicate than that of mediocrity. When the labourer is well fed, he is content. The different cookery of different people proves, as I have already said, that good cheer is that to which we have been accus- tomed * f. * This saying brings to my mind that of a French cook. He •was in England, where he saw every thing dressed with butter sauce. What ! says he, in this country where they count a hun- dred different religions, have they only one sauce for all their nieats ? France for me ; there we have only one religion, but in return there is no meat that we do not eat with a hundred differept sorts of sauce. •j- Hear Bethel's sermons, one not vers'd in schools, But strong inscr.se, and wise without the rules. Thef# TREATISE ON MAN. 201 Those who ciiii procure a subsistence may be equally happy. ' ■ " ' ' ...... — 1- Ttiere are then ten or twelve hours in the day, in which all men, able to procure the necessaries of life, may be equally happy. With regard to the ten or twelve remaining hours, that is to say, those that se- parate* a rising want from one that is gratified, who can doubt that men do not then enjoy the same fe- licity, if they commonly make the same use of them, and if all devote them to labour, that is, in the acqui- sition of money sufficient to' supply their wants ? Now the postillion who rides, the carter who drives, and the clerk who engrosses, all in their several ranks propose the same end ; they must therefore, in this sense, employ their time in the same manner. But, it will be said, is it the same with the opulent idler? His riches furnish him, without labour, with all he wants. I allow it. But is he therefore more happy? No. Nature does not multiply in his favour the wants of hunger, love, &.c. But does not the opu- Jent man fill up in a manner more agreeable the inter- Go work, hurit, exercise, (he thus began). Then scorn a homely dinner, if you can ; If their plain bread and milk will do the feat. The pleasure lies in you, and not the meat. Pope's Imitation of Horace. T * It is in fact, on the more or less happy employment of these ten or twelve hours, that principally depend the happiness or mi- eejry of the greatest part of mankind. val 202 TREATISE ON MAN. ~ — =»=? Labour is rendered casj' by habit. val that separates a gratifietj want fiora one that is rising ? I doubt it. The artisan is doubtless subject to labour, and so i.s the idle opulent man to discontent : and which of the^e two evils are the greatest ? If labour be generally regarded as an evil, it is be^- cause in most governments the necessaries of life are not to be had without excessive labour ; whence the very idea of labour constantly excites that of pain. Labour, however, is not pain in itself. Habit ren- ders it easy; and when it is pursued without remarkable fatigue, is in itself an advantage. How many artisans are there who when rich still continue their occupa-: tions, and quit them not without regret, when age obliges them to it. There is nothing that habit does not render agreeable. In the exercise of their emplo3'ments, their profes- sions, their talents, the magistrate wljo judges, tjie smith who forges, and the messenger who runs, the poet and musician who compose, all taste nearly the same pleasure, and in their several occupations equally find means to avoid that natural evil discontent. The busy man is the happy man. To prove this, I distinguish two sorts of pleasures. The one are t]ie pleasures of the senses. These are founded on corporeal vants, are enjoyed by all conditions of men, and at the time of enjoyment all are equally happy. But these pleasures are of short duration. The others are the pleasures of expectation. Among these TREATISE ON MAN. 203 The pleasures of a busy life unjnown to the opulent. r . :. ■ " - •'- ■ ■ ■ ■ • - ' ■ =x these I reckon all the means of procuring corporeal pleasures ; these means are by expectation always con- yerted into real pleasures. When a joiner takes up his plane, what does he experience ? All the pleasures of expectation annexed to the payment for his work. Now these pleasures are not experienced b}'^ the opu- lent man, who finds in his money, without labour, an exchange for all the objects of his desires. He has nothing to do to procure them, and is so much the more subject to discontent. He is therefore always uneasy, always in motion, continually rolling about in his carriage, like the squirrel in his cage,. to get rid of his disgust. To be happy, the idle opulent man is forced to wait, till nature excites in him some fresh desire. It is therefore the disgust of idleness, that in him fills up the interval between a gratified and a rising want. But in the artisan it is labour, which, affording him the means of providing for his wants and his amusements, becomes thereby agreeable. The wealthy idler experiences a thousand instances of discontent, while the labouring man enjoys the con- tinual pleasure of i'resh expectations. Labour, when it is moderate, is in general the most happy method of employing our time, when we have no want to gratify, and do not enjoy any of the plea- sures of the senses, of all others doubtless the most poignant, and least durable. How many agreeable sensations are unknown to him whom no want obliges to think ! Do my im- mense 204 TREATISE ON MAN. Advantages of useful occupations. ihense riches secure me all the pkasures that the poor desire but cannot obtain without iniu;h labour? I give myself" up to indolence. I wait, as I just now said, wuh impatience, till nature shall awake in me some new desire ; and while I wait, am discontented and iinhapp\\ It is not so with the ir an of business. When the idea of labour, and of the ir.oney with which it is requited, are associated in the memory with the idea of happiness, the labour itself becomes a pleasure. Each stroke of the axe brings to the workman's mind the pleasure that the money he is to receive for his day's labour will procure him. In general, every useful occupation fills up, in the most agreeable manner, the interval that separates a gratified from a rising want ; that is, the ten or twelve hours of the day, when we most envy the indolence of the rich, and think they enjoy superior happiness. The pleasure with which the carter puts his team to the cart, and the tradesman opens his chest and his' journal, is a proof of this truth. Employment gives pleasure to every moment, but is unknown to the great and opulent idler. The measure of our wealth, whatever prejudice may think, is not therefore the measure ©four happiness. Consequently, in every condition, where, as I have said, a man can, by moderate labour, provide for all his wants, is above indigence, and not exposed to the discontent of the idly rich, he is nearly as happy as lie can be. Men, therefore, without being equal in riches and power TREATISE ON MAN. 20 p-' Caosesof the unhappiness of almost all nations. power, may be equal in happiness. Whence comes it, then, that kingdoms are peopled with none but the unfortunate ? CHAP. III. OF THE.CAUSES OF THE UNHAPPINESS OF AL- MOST ALL NATIONS. J/he almost universal unhappiness of man, and of nations, arises from the imperfections of their laws, and the too unequal partition of their riches. There are in most kingdoms only two classes of citizens, one of which want necessaries, and the other riot in super- fluities. The former cannot gratify their wants but by exces- sive labour : such labour is a natural evil for all ; and to some it is a punishment. The second class live in abundance, but at the same time in the anguish of discontent*. Now discontent is an evil almost as much to be dreaded as indigence. * To how many evils, besides that of discontent, are the rich exposed ? How many cares and anxieties to increase and preserve 7 Most 205 TREATISE ON MAN. Means of rendering a nation hapjij'. Most countries, therefore, must be peopled by the unfortunate. What would be done to make them hap- py? Diminish the riches of some ; augment that of others ; put the poor in such a state of ease, that they may by seven or eight hours' labour abundantly pro- vide for the wants of theinselves and their families. It is then, that a people will become as happy as they can be. They then enjoy, with regard to corporeal pleasures, all that the rich enjoy. The appetite of the poor is by nature the same as that of the rich ; and to use a trite proverb, The rich cannot dine tidce. I know there are costly pleasures out of the reach of mere compe- tency. But these may be always replaced by others, and the time between gratifying one want and the rising of another, that is between one repast and an- other, or one enjoyment and another, may be filled up in a manner equally agreeable. In every wise go- vernment men may enjoy an equal felicity, as well in the moments when they gratify their wants, as in those a great fortune ? What is a rich man ? The steward of a great house, charged with the cloathing and feeding a number of valets that attend him. If his domestics have secured a subsistence for their old age, and do not participate the disgust of their master's idleness, they are a thousand times more happy. The happiness of a rich man is a complicated machine, some parts of wliich are always out of order. To be constantly happy, Ye must be so without much cxpeuce. that TREATISE ON MAN; 207 Good laws may facilitate Die acquisition of happiness. that separate one wdnt from another. Now if hfe be nothing more than an aggregate ' of two sorts of pe- riods, the man at his ease as I proposed to prove, may then equal in happiness the most rich and most pow- erful. But it is possible for good laws to put all the people in the state of ease requisite for the acquiring of hap- piness ? It is to that fact this important question is HOW reduced. CHAP. IV. THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO SET THE PEOPLE MORE AT THEIR EASE. JLN the present State of most nations, if government, struck with the too great disproportion in die fortunes of the people, were desirous of making them more equal, it would doubtless have a thousand obstacles to surmount. Such a project, sagaciously qonceived, could not, and ought not to be executed, but by con- tinual and insensible alterations ; these alterations hov/ever are possible. If the laws should assign some property to every in- dividual, they would snatch the poor from the horror of 208 TREATISE ON MAN. -■ '" ■ '•' • ■--- " ..... . -^ The idea of happiness loo closely connected with tli^t of riches. indigence, and the rich from the misery of discon- tent, and render them both more happy. But supposing these laws to be established, would men, without being equally rich and powerful*, think themselves equally happy ? There is nothing more difficult to persuade them on the present plan of edu- cation. Why r Because from their infancy they have been accustomed to associate in their minds the idea of riches with that of happiness ; and in almost all countries that notion is engraved the deeper in their memories, as they cannot obtain sufficient to supply their pressing and daily wants, without excessive labour. * If I have contracted a great number of wants, it is in vain you would persuade me that a small fortune" is sufficient to pro- cure me felicity. If I have from my infancy iinited in my memory the idea of wealth with that of happiness, by what means shall I separate them at an advanced age ? Can any one be ignorant of the power that the association of certain ideas has over us ? If, from the form of government, I have all to fear from the great, I shall respect grandeur mechanically, even in the nobleman who is a foreigner, and can have no power over me. If I asso- ciate in my mind the idea of virtue with that of Irappiness, I shall cultivate it, even when it shall be the object of persecution. I know very well these two ideas will at last separate, but it will be a work of time, and even a long time. To produce this efie.ct, it is necessary that experiments have a hundred times convinced me, that virtue does not really procure any of the advantages I ex- pected. It is in deep meditation on this fact, that we find the solution of an infinity of moral problems, that are insoluble with- out a knowledge of this association of ideas. Would TREATISE ON MAN. 209 Of the excessive desire of riches. Would it be so in countries governed by sagacious laws ? If the savage regards gold and dignities with the highest contempt, the idea ot' extreme wealth cannot be necessarily connected with that of extreme happi- ness. We may therefore form distinct and difl'erent ideas of them, and prove lo mankind, that in the sc- ries of instants which compose their lives, all may be equally happy ; if by the form of government they can join to a state of ease, the security of their pro- ])trty, lives, and liberty. It is the v^antof good laws, that every where excites the desire of a leat riches. CHAP. V. OF THE EXCESSIVE DESIRE OF RICHES. JL SHALL not examine, in tliis chapter, if the love of money be the principle of action in most nations, and if in present governments this passion be not a neces- sary evil. I shall only consider it as relative to the in- fluence it has on the liappiness of individuals. I -shall only observe, that there are countries where the desire of enormous wealth becomes natural. . Such are those countiics where taxes are arbitrary, and con- p sequently 210 TREATISE ON MAN. Causes of the desire of great riches. sequent!}^ possessions uncertain, and where a reverse of fortune is frequent ; as in the East, for there a prince can seize the property of his subjects with im- punity. In those countries, if men covet great riches, it is because always exposed to loss, they hope to save from a large fortune so much at least as shall be sufficient to subsist them and their families. Wherever the law has not sufficient force to protect the weak against the strong, opulence may be considered as a mean of avoiding injustice, the persecutions of power, and that contempt which is the constant companion of the weak. A great fortune is therefore desired as a safeguard against oppressors. But in a country where a man is secure in his pro- perty, his life, and his liberty, where the people live in a certain state of ease, the onlj' one who can rea- sonably desire immense wealth, must be the idle rich ; he alone, in such a country, can think it necessary to his happiness ; for his happiness consists in fantastic pleasures, and to fantastic pleasures there are no bounds*. To attempt to gratify them, is to fill the vessels of the Danaides. * There are countries where pomp and caprice make a part of tlie wants, not only of the great, but the opulent also. Nothhig is more absurd than what they call decent luxury ; and yet it is not luxury by which they are ruined. If we look into their books of accounts, we ^lall see that their house-expences are not the la TREATISE ON MAN. 211 Unliappiness of the rich in gciieijl. In all countries where the people have no part in the government, and every emulation is extinguished, ^vhoever is above want, is without motive for study and instruction ; his mind is void of ideas ; he is ab- sorbed in discontent ; he would fly from it, but can- not. Without resource from within, it is from without that he expects his felicity. Too idle to go to meet pleasure, he would have pleasure come to him. Now pleasure often makes men wait, and for this reason the rich are frequently and necessarily unhappy *. Does my felicity depend on another ? Am I passive in my amusements? Can I not divest myself of dis- quietude.'' What is to be done? A splendid table is of little consequence, I must also have horses, dogs, equipages, concerts, painters, pompous entertainments. No treasure can answer my expence. A small fortune will suffice a busy man (2). The largest will not supply him that has no employ. A hundied villages must be laid waste to amuse an idle wretch. The greatest princes have not sufficient riches to satisfy tlie avidity of a woman, a courtier, or a pre- most considerable, that the greatest part consists of capricious ar- ticles, jewels, &c. Wants of this sort, and their love of moaey, must be equally unlimited. * Thee too, my Paridel, siie niark'd thee there, Stretch'd on the rack of a too easy chair ; And heard thy everlasting yawn confess. The pains and penalties of idleness. Pope. V 2 late. 212 TREATISE ON RUN. ^ ,, ' ' ■ ... I ^-. Uiili;ip;)iness of llie rich idler. late. It is not the poor but the idly rich who feels most forcibly the want of immense riches. For which reason, how many nations are loaded with taxes and ruined : how many citizens are deprived of necessa- ries, merely to support the expence of a few discon- tented mortals! When riches have stupified the think- ing facuUy of man, he gives himself up lo idleness. He feels at once a pain in moving himself, and an un- easiness from not being moved. He would be moved without the trouble of motion. What riches can procure such a wliimsical exercise ! O ye indigent, you are not certainly the most mise- rable of mortals ! To alleviate your sufferings, behold the idly opulent, who, passive in almost all their amuse- ments, cannot divest themselves of discontent but by sensations too poignant to be frequent ! If I should be suspected of exaggerating the misery of the idly rich, let any one examine minutely what is done by most of iho great and wealthy to avoid dis- content, and he will be convinced that the malady is as cruel as it is common. CHAP. TREATISE ON MAN. 213 of disquiotiid*. CHAP. VI. OF DISQUIETUDE. XiisouiETUDE is a disorder of the mind. Whence does it proceed ? From the absence of sensations suf- ficiently acute to ent^age attention*. If a moderate fortune compels us to labour, and we contract the habit of it; or if we pursue glory in the career of the arts and sciences, we shall not be ex- posed to disquietude : for it commonly attafcks none but the idly rich. * Weak sensations will not save iis from disquietude; among these I place such as are habitual. 1 awake al the break of da}' ; I am struck by the sun's rays reflected from every object tiiat sur- rounds me ; by the crowing of the cock, by the murmur of wa- ters, and by tlie bleating of sheep, and am discontent , Why ? Because these sensations are too habitual to make any strong Im- prCftsions on ine. p S CHAP. ^21 A TREATISE ON MAN. Means invented by the idle to avoid disquietude. CHAP. VI. OF THE MEANS INVENTED BY THE IDLE TO AVOID DISQUIETUDE. In France, for example, a thousand social duties un- known to other nations, have been invented by disquie- tude. A lady marries and has a child. A female idler hears of it; she enjoins herself so many visits; goes every day to the door of the lying-in lady, speaks to the porter, gets into her coach again, and goes some- where else, to get rid of her remaining uneasiness. An idler moreover enjoins herself every day the writing of so many billets and letters of compliment, which are written and read with equal disgust. The idle man would every instant feel strong sensa- tions ; they alone can save him from discontent. For w-ant of those, he grasps at such as are within his reach. He is alone ; he lights his fire ; a fire is company. It is to procure a continual succession of new sensa- tions, that the Turk and the Persian chew perpetually, the one opium and the other betel. When an Indian is discontent, he places himself by the side of a river, and fixes his eyes on the stream. In France, the rich for the same reason pay an extra- vagant TREATISE ON MAN. 215 Influence of disquietude on the manners. vagant price for lodgings on the Quay des Thealins, where they see the boats pass, and feel from time to time some new sensations. This is a tribute of five or six hundred crowns, that the idler pays every year to disquietude ; and which, if he were a man of busi- ness, he might distribute among the indigent. Now if the great and ihe rich are so frequently and forcibly attacked by this malady of discontent, no doubt it must have a strong influence on the manners of a nation. CHAP. VIII. OF THE INFLUENCE OF DISQUIETUDE ON THE MANNERS OF A NATIOX. IJ NDER a government where the rich and the great have no management of public affairs, where, as in Portugal, superstiiion forbids them to think, what have the opulent idlers to do f To love. The attention that a mistress requires can alone fill up, in a lively man- ner, the interval between a gratified and a rising want. But that a mistress become an occupation, it is neces- sary that the lover be continually surrounded by perils, r 4 that 216 TREATISE ON MAN. Love and jealousy remedies for disquielude. that a vij2;ilant jealousy y^erpetually opposing his de- sires, he may be coiuiuually employed in evading it*. Love and jealousy are therefore in Portugal f <'ig only remedies against disquietude. Now what influ- ence may not such remedies have on national man- ners ? it is to disquielude that Italy in hke manner owes the invention of Cicisbeos. * What jealousy penbrm^ in this respect in Portug-al, the law performed in Sparta. Lycurgus ordered that the husband should live separate from the wife, and see her only by stealth, and in private places. He knew that the difliculty of a rencounter would augment desire, draw the conjugal bond closer, and keep the two parties in an activity that would preserve them from disgust. f There is no jealousy more violent, more cruel, and at the same time more lascivious tiran that of the Eastern women. I shall quote on this occasioi) a translation from a Persian poet. A sulluaa ordered a young slave whom she loved, and of whom she was jealous, to be stripped before her. As he lay extended at her feet, she threw herself upon him. " It r- in spite of myself, she *' said, that I again enjoy thy beauty. But I do enjoy it. Already ^' do thnie eyes swim in tears of pleasure ; thou gr.pest ; thou diest. *' Is it for the la::,t time ihat I clasp thee to my bosom. The ex- «' cess of intoxication blots out thy infidelity from my memory. *' I am all sensation. All the faculties of my soul abandon me, *' and are absorbed in pleasure. I am pleasure itself. *' But v^ hat ideas succeed to this delicious dream. Ha! shalt " thou be enjoyed by my rival ! No ! this body shall not pass to " h.r arms without at least di (igurcmtnt. Who shall restrain me? <' Tliou art naked and defenceless. Shall thy beauties disarm me ? f I blush at the luxurious pleasures with which I behold the Dig. TREATISE ON MAN. 217 Distiuictude i^ave biilli to the institution ot chivalry. Discontent doubtless had a part in tlie instirutiun of chivalry. Those ancient and renowned knis^hts culti- vated neither arts nor sciences. The custom of the times would not permit them to acquire learning, nor their birth an applicalion to commerce. What then could a knight do? Love. But if at the moment he declared his passion, his mistress had, according to modern practice, received his hand, and crowned his afteclion, they would have married, got children, and that would have been all. Now a child is soon got ; and the husband and wife would have lived in discon- tent for the remainder of their days. But to preserve their desires in full vigour, to find cm|)loymeiit for their youth, and to avoid disgust, the knight and mistress engaged themselves by a tacil, but inviolable convention, the one to attack, and the other to resist for so long a time. Love by this mean became an occupation, and was a real one for the knight. Always in action near to his beloved, the lover to succeed was obliged to show himself |)assionale in his " roundness of thy limbs. But my fury is come again ! Love " nor pleasure no longer inspire me. Vengeance and jealousy " shall tear thee with scourges. Fear shall drive thee far from my " rival, and bring thee back to me. " Thy possession at this price doubtless does not flatter my " vanit}' nor my sentimeuls ; no matter, it will tlatter my sensa- " tioiis. " My rival shall die far from lliee, and I will die in thy arms," 7 adilrc'ss, ^18 TREATISE ON MAN. Disgust succeeds the immediate gratilication of desires. address, and valiant in combat. He was to present himself at the tournament, where he must be nobly mounted, gallantly armed, and handle his lance with vigour and dexterity, The knight passed his youth in these exercises, and after spending much time in such occupations, they married, and the nuptial bene- diction given, the romance was at an end. Perhaps in their old age those worthy knights were like some of our modern old warriors, disgusting and disgusted, boasters and bigots. To be ha,ppy, is it necessary that our desires be ac- complished as soon as conceived ? No : pleasure will he pursued for some time. If in the morning I enjoy a fine woman, what shall I do the rest of the day ? All appears disgustful. If I cannot see her till night, the torch of hope and pleasure brightens every mo- ment of the day. A young man would have a serag- Jio. If he could obtain it, he would soon be exhausted with pleasure, and pass the remainder of his days in disgust. See, I would say to him, the absurdity of thy demand. Behold those princes, those men of enormous wealth and power, they possess all that thou cnviest ; what mortals are more discontented ! If they enjoy all with indifference, it is because they enjoy it without want. What different pleasures do two men feel in the fo- rest, where one hjints for amusement, and the other to maintain his family ? When the latter arrives at his but loaded with game, his wife and children run to meet TREATISE ON MAN. 219 In England love is a pk-nsuie and not an occupation. meet him. Their faces are filled with transport, and he enjoys all that j^ivcs them pleasure. Want is the principle of activity and happiness in man. To be happy he must have desires and gjatify them with some pains : but the pains taken, he must be sure to enjoy the pleasure. CHAP. IX. OF THE MORE OR LESS DIFFICULT ACOUISITION OF PLEASURES, ACCORDING VO THE grets, it is, as 1 have said, an effect of the difference we find between imaginary and actual pleasure. The power of resolving and recomposing objects, and of creating such as are new, we may regard not only as the source of an infinity of factitious pains and pleasures, but also as the only mean of embellishing nature by imitation, and of carrying the arts of ame- nity to the highest degree of perfection. 1 shall not expatiate any further on the beauty of these arts. I have shewn that their principal object is to preserve us from discontent : that this object h * The power of abstracfuig from a condition different from our own the evils we have not felt, makes a man always envy the lot of another. What should he do to eradicate this envv, so inconi- patihlc with his happiness ? Undeceive himself, and learn, that a man above want is nearly as happy as he can be. the 255 TREATISE ON MAN, Summary ot the contents ot this section, the better accomplished as they excite in us sensations that are more lively and distinct; and lastly, that it is always by the greater or less force of those sensations, that the degree of perfection and beauty of works of this sort are to be estimated. let us then honour and cultivate the fine arts : they are the glory of the huaian mind (.5), and the source of an infinity of delicious sensations. But let us not ima- gine the idly rich to be superlatively happy in the en- joyment of their most masterly productions. We have seen in the first chapters of this section, that without being equal in riches and power, all men may be equally happy, at least in the ten or twelve hours of the day employed in the gratifying their se- veral corporeal wants. With regard to the ten or tvvelve hours, which sepa- rate a gratified from a rising want, I have proved that they are filled up in the most agreeable manner when they are consecrated to the acquisition of the xneans of providing abundantly for our wants and amusements. What can I do more to confirm the truth of this opi- nion, except stop a moment to consider which is the most assuredly happy, the opulent idler, so fatigued with having nothing to do, or the man of mediocrity, whose fortune compels him to a dally labour that he can pursue without weariness. CHAP. TREATISE ON MAN. 257 Of the impressions of the arts on the ojmlenl idler. CHAP. XX. OF THE IMRPRESSIONS OF THE ARTS OF AMENITT ON THK OPULENT IDLER. J-t a rich man be by hi? situation compelled to a labour that habit renders agreeable^ he may, by being con- tinually employed in his occupation, like the toan of mediocrity, avoid discontent. But where find opulent men of this sert ? Sometimes in Englan Do the governments of Europe think this form of marriage better adapted to tlie profession of arms? As a proof of tl)e contrary, tliey forbid it to almost all their sol- diers. Now what does this interdiction suppose ? That nations instructed by experience, have found tiiat a wife corrupts the manners of a warrior, stities his patriotic spirit, and renders him at lengtii effeminate, slothful, and timid. What a remedy is there for this evil ? In Prussia, if a soldier of VOL. II. T Uli^ 274 TREATISE ON MAN. NOT IS ON SECTION VIII, the first battalion meets with a handsome girl, he lies with her, and their union lasts as long as their love and convenience. If" they have children and cannot maintain them, the king takes care of them, they are brought up in a house founded for that purpose. The monarch there forms a nursery of young soldiers. Now if this prince had the disposal of a nnich greater number of ecclesi- astical funds, he might execute on a large scale what he can now do on a small one, and his soldiers, at once lovers and fathers, would enjoy all the pleasures of love without emasculating their manners, or losing any part of their courage. The law of indissolubility in marriage, is a cruel and barbarous law, says Fontenelle. The few happy marriages in France prove the necessity of a reformation in this matter. There are countries where the lover and his mistress do not marry till after they have li^'ed together three years. During that time they try the sympathy of their characters. If they do not agree, they part, and the girl goes to anotlier. These African marriages are tlie most proper to secure the hap- piness of the parlies. But how then must the^ children be provided for ! By the same laws that secure their mainte- nance in countries where divorces are permitted. Let the sons remain with t!ie father, and the daughters go with the mother ; and let a certain sum he stipulated in the marriage articles for the education of such children ; and let the tenths of the clergy and tiie hospitals be charged with the maintenance of those whose parents are incapable. The inconvenience of divorce will then be insignificant, and the happiness of the married parties secured. But, they will say, how many divorces will there be under a law so favourable to iuunan inconstancy ! Experience proves the contrary. To conclude, if the variable and roving desires of men and women urge them sometimes to ciiange the object of their tender- ness, why should they be deprived of tlie pleasure of variety, if their inconstancy, by tlic regulation of wUe laws, be not detrimen- tal to society •" la TREATISE ON MAN. 275 NOTFS ON SKCTION VIII. I In France the womcii are too much mistresses ; in the East too much slaves : they are there a sacrifice to the pleasure of men. But why should they be a sacrifice ? If the two parties cease to love, and begin to hate each other, why should they be obliged to live together? Besides, if itl)etrue that the desire of change be so conformable as issaid to human nature, the privilege of change may be propo- sed as tiie reward of merit ; and by this soldiers may be made iiiore brave, magistrates more just, artisans more industrious, and men of genius more studious. What sort of pleasure is there, that, in (he hands of a wise legis- lator, may not be made the instrument of public felicity > 4. (p. 'J 42.) There are few tragic poets who know mankind: few among tliem who sufficiently study their various passions, to make them always talk their proper language : yet every one ha.; a peculiar dialect. Is a man to be turned aside from an imprudent or dangerous action, and does humanity undertake to give iiim advice in the affair ? It ojicrates ou his vanity ; it sliews iiiin the truth, l)ut in expressions the least olTensive; and at the same time softens tiie most severe parts of it by tone and gesture. Severity speaks bluntly, malignity in a manner the most mor- tifying. Pride commands imperiously ; it is deaf to all reply, it will be obeyed without hesitation. Reason examines with the man the sagacity of his actions, hears his reply, and submits to the judgment of those whom it concerns. Amity, full of tenderness for his friend, contradicts him with re- gret : if he be not able to persuade, he has recourse to prayers, and tears, and tonjurcs him, I)y the sacred bond that unites their happiness, not to expose himself to so dangerous an action. Love takes another tone, and to combat the resolution of her admirer, alleges no other motive than her pleasure and her love ; if those fail, she at last condescends to reason, for reason is always t!ie last resource of love. One may therefore discover tlie sort of character or passion, by T 2 the :^76 TREATISE ON MAN. NOTES OX SECTION VIII. the manner in whicli the advice is given. But has a fraud a pecu- liar language ? No : the impostor borrows sometimes that of friendship, and is to be discovered by the difference between the sentiments which he affects, and those which he 'must have. When we examine tlie language of the different passions and cha- racters, we find the tragic writers frequently deficient. There are few of them who do not, for want of knowing how to make a character speak the language of a particular passion, give it that of another. I cannot speak of the tragic poets without quoting Lord Shaftsbury : he alone appears to me to have the true idea of tr&gedy. " The object of comedy, he says, is the correction of *' tiie manners of private persons ; that of tragedy ought to be in " like maimer the correction of the manners of ministers and sove- •' reigns. He adds, why not intitle tragedies, Tlie tyrant king, " tlie 'weak, superstitious, liuughty, or adulated monarch. This " is the only nietliod of rendering tragedies still more useful." 5. (p. 1356.) A man instructed by the discoveries of his pro- genitors receives the inheritance of ,their thoughts ; which is a le- gacy he is charged to leave to his descendants, improved by some of his own ideas. How many men, in this respect, die insolvent. SECTION TREATISE ON MAN. 277 Dirticulty of forming a jjood , Ian of U-gislalioi:; SECTION IX. OF THE POSSIBILITY OF LAYING DOWN A GOOD PLA.V OF LE- GISLATION. OF THE OBSTACLES WHICH IGNORANCE OPPOSES TO ITS PUB- LICATION. OF THE RIDICULE WHICH IT THROWS ON EVERY NEW IDEA, AND EVERY PROFOUND STUDY OF MORALITY AND POLITICS. OF THE INCONSTANCY WHICH IT SUPPOSES IN THE HUMAN MIND : AN INCONSTANCY INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE DURA- TION OF GOOD LAWS. OF THE IMAGINARY DANGER TO WHICH (iF WE BELIEVE IG- NORANCE) THE PUBLICATION OF A NEW IDEA, AND ESPE- CIALLY NpW PRINCIPLES OF LAWS, MUST EXPOSE EMPIRES. OF THE TOO FATAL INDIFFERENCE OF MEN TO THE EXAMINA- TION OF MORAL OR POLITICAL TRUTHS. OF THE TITLE OF TRUE OR FALSE GIVEN TO THE SAME OPI- NIONS, ACCORDING TO THE MOMENTARY INTEREST WE HAVE TO BELIEVE THE ONE OR THE OTHER. CHAP. I. OF THE DIFFICULTY OF LAYING DOWN A GOOD PLAN OF LEGISLATION. JT Ew celebrated men have written on morality and legislation. What is the cause of their silence .' Is it T 3 the 278 TREATISE ON MAN. Difficulty of forming a good plan of legislation. the grandeurj the importance of the subject, and the number of ideas, in short, the extent of understanding necessar}' to treat it properly ? No : Their silence is the effect of the indifference of the public for works of this sort. A work of this kind when well executed is regarded ?-t best as nothing more than the dream of a well- meaning man, it becomes the subject of a thousand discussions, a thousand disputes, that the ignorance of some and the duplicity of others render inierraiti- able. In what contempt must not that work be held, whose distant utility is always treated as a Platonic chimera. In countries that are polished, and already subject to certain laws, manners^ and prejudices, a good plan of legislation being always incompatible with an in- finity of personal interests, established abuses, and plans already adopted, will always appear ridiculous. It will be a long time before its importance is de- inonstrated, anddurine; that time it will be always con- tested. If, however, a man of elevated and nervous cha- racter, should be desirous of braving ridicule and en- lightening nations on the important object of their hap- piness, may 1 be permitted to remind him, that the public will scarcely attend to the discussion of a com- plicated question, and that if there be a method to fix their attention on the problem of an excellent legislation^ TREATISE ON MAN. 27Q rropositiuns to which this pioblemn slioiild be reduccd< legislation^ it is by rendering it simple and reducing it to two propositions. The object of the first should be the discovery of laws proper to render men as happy as possible, and consequently to procure tljem all the amusements and pleasures compatible with the public welfare. The object of the second sliould be the discovery of means by which a people may be made to pass insen- sibly from the state of misery they sulTcr_, to the state of happiness they might enjoy. To resolve the first of iliese propositions, we must follow the example of mathematicians. When a com- plicated problem in mechanics is proposed to them, what do they P Simplify it ; calculate the velocity of moving bodies without regarding their density, the ■resistance of fluids that surround them, their iViction with other bodies, See, To resolve the first part of the problem of an excel- lent legislation, we should, in like manner, pay no re- gard to the resistance of prejudices, or the friction of contrary and personal interests, or to manners, laws, and customs already established. The inquirer sliould act like the founder of a religious order, who in dicta- ting his monastic laws has no regard to the habits and prejudices of his future subjects. It will not be so with the second part of this problem. Jt is not after our own conceptions, but from a know- ledge of the present laws and customs, that we can de- termine the means of gradually changing those cus- T 4 tonis 280 TREATISE ON MAN. SoliUioii of those propositions. toms and laws, and of making a people pass, by insen- sible degrees, from their present legislation to the best possible. It is an essential and remarkable difference between ibese two propositions, that the first being once re- solved, its solution (except in some differences arising from the particular situation of a country) becomes general, and the same for all nations. On the contrary, the solution of the second ought to be different according to the different form of each state. It is evident that the government of the Turks, Swiss, Spaniards, or Portuguese, must be necessarily placed at distances, greater or less, from a perfect legis- lation. If genius alone be sufficient to solve the 6rst of these propositions, to solve the second there must be added td genius a knowledge of the principal laws and manners of the people whose legislation is to be insen- sibly changed. To treat a question of this sort properly, it is neces- sary in genera! to have studied, at least in a summary manner, the customs and prejudices of the people of all ages and all countries. We cannot persuade men but by facts : we cannot instruct them but by examples. The man who opposes the clearest reasonings will of- ten submit to facts the most equivocal. But these facts acquired, what are the questions whose examination can give the solution of the pro- blea^ TREATISE ON MAN. 28 1 Questions on legislation. blem of tlie best legislation ? I shall enumerate those that present themselves the first to my mind. CHAP. II. OF THE riRST QUESTIONS WE SHOULD ASK OUR- SELVES WHEN WE WOULD ESTABLISH GOOD LAWS. W E may ask, 1. What motive imites men in society ? Is it the fear of ferocious beasts that obliges men to live sepa- rate from them, and to destroy them to secure their own lives and subsistence ; or did some other motive of the same kind form the first colonies ? 2. Were not mankind once united, and becoming successively hunters, pastors, and husbandmen, obliged to form conventions and give themselves laus.? 3. Can these laws have any other foundation than the common desire of securing their property, their lives, and their liberty, which, in an unsocial state, as in that of despotism, is exposed to the violence of the strongest ? 4. Can that arbitrary power under which a cilizeii is exposed to the insults of vioK^nce, and where he is 282 TREATISE ON MAN. Questions on legislation. is deprived even of the right of natural defence, be re- garded as a form of government? 5. Does not the establishment of despotism in an empire destroy all the bonds of social union ? Do not the same motives, the same wants that united men at first, command them to dissolve a society where, as in Turkey, a man has no property in his goods, his life, or his liberty ; vvhere, in short, the citizens being in continual war among themselves know no other laws than those of force and fraud ? 6. Can property be a long time respected without introducing, as in England, a certain equilibriuin of power among the different classes of citizens ? Is there any method of preserving the duration of that equilibrium ; and is not its maintenance abso- lutely necessary for opposing, in an efficacious man- ner, the continual efforts of the great to possess the property of the little? 8. Are the means proposed by Mr. Hume, in his small but excellent treatise on a perfect republic, sufficient to produce this effect ? 9. Does not the introduction of money into a repub- lic *, at length produce that unequal distribution of wealth which furnishes the powerful with those fetters which they put on their fellow-citizens ? * Gold, the corrupter of the manners of a nation, is a sorcerer that frequently converts an honest man into a knave. Lycurgus knew this well, and chased the wizard from Lacedxmon. 10. Have TREATISE ON MAN. 283 Questions on legii-lation. 10. Have the i)oor really a country ? Does the man without property owe any thing to the country where he possesses nothing ? Must not the extremely in- digent, being always in the pay of the rich and power- ful, frequently favour their ambition ? And lastly, have not the indigent loo many wants to be virtuous? 11. Could not the laws unite the interest of the majority of the inhabitants with that of their country, by the subdivision of property ? 12. After the exampleof the Lacedaemonians, whose territory being divided in thirty-nine thousand lots, was distributed among thirty-nine thousand fami- lies, who formed tlie nation, might not, in case of too great an increase of inhabitants, agreater or less extent of land be assigned to each family, but still in propor- tion to the number that compose it* ? 13. Should not a less unequal distribution of land ami wealth +, keep an ioHnity of men from that evil * On this supposition, to preserve a certain equality in the dis- tribution of property, if a family dinnni'jhcs it must cede a part of its land to some neighbouring and more numerous families. Why not ? f When the number of proprietors in a nation is very small, in proportion to the great number of inhabitants, even the suppres- sion of taxes would not preserve the latter from misery. The only way to relieve them would be to levy a tax on the state or the clergy, and employ the produce in purcliasing small portions of land, which being distributed every year among the poorest fa- milies, would continually augmeui the number of propiietor>. 2 which 284 TREATISE ON MAN. Questions on legisiation. which is occasioned by the exaggerated idea they form of the felicity of the rich*, an idea that ])roduces great enmity among men, and great indifference for the public welfare ^ 14. Is it by a large or small number of wholesome and clear laws, that nations should be governed ? were the Romans in the time of the emperors, when the multiplicit}' of laws occasioned their being collected into liie codes of Justinian, Trebonius, 8cc. more vir- tuous and happy than under the laws of the Twelve Tables ? 15. Does nol the multiplicity of laws occasion an ignorance and inexecution of them ? lb. Does not the same multiplicity of laws, often contrary to each other, oblige nations to employ cer- tain men ana bodies of men to interpret them ? may not these men or bodies of men, charged with their in- * The prospect of luxury certainly increases the misery of the poor. The rich know it, and retrench nothing of their parade. "What is the misery of the poor to them ? Princes themselves are very little concerned about it ; they regard their subjects as no- thing better than despicable cattle. If they nourish them, it is be- cause their increase promotes the prince's interest. All govern- ments talk about pomdation. But what empire, should be made populous ? Ti.at whose people are happy. To multiply the in- jiabitants under a bad government, is a barbarous method of mul- tiplying wretches; it is to furiiish tyranny with new iiistruments to enslave other nationsv and render them ccjually unhappy. It is to propagate the miseries of mankind. terpretation, 6 TREATISE ON MAN. 285 Questions on legislation. terpretation, insensibly change the laws and make them the instruments of their ambition ? And lastly, does not experience teach us, that wherever there r\re Diany laws, there is little justice ? 17. In a wise government ought there to be suffered two supreme and independent powers, such as the temporal and spiritual ? 18. Ought the magnitude of cities to be limited .* 19. Does their extreme extent permit their manners to be properly inspected ? Can the sahuary punish- ments of shame and infamy be properly inflicted in great cities* ; and in such cities as Paris or Constanti- nople, may not an offender, by changing his name and abode always escape punishment ? 20. May not a certain number of small republics by a federative compact, more perfect than that of the Greeks, shelter themselves from the invasion of an ene- my, and the tyranny of an ambitious citizen ? 21. If a country as large as France were to be di- vided into thirty provinces or republics, and to each of them a territory nearly equal were to be assigned, and if each of these territories were circumscribed by im- mutable bounds, or its possession guaranteed by the other twenty-nine republics, is it to be imagined that any one of those republics could enslave all the other;;. * Under a wise government the jniiiishment of sliame alone would be suiVicient to restrain the citizen to his (hilv. that i 286 TREATISE ON IMAN. Questions on legislation. that is, that any one man could combat with adyan- taixe acjainst twenty-nine men ? 2'2. On the supposition that all these republics were governed by the same laws, where each of them took care of its interior police and the election of its ma-. gistrates, and reported its conduct to a superior coun- sel ; or where the superior counsel composed of four deputies from each republic, and principally occu])ied with the affairs of war and pohtics, should be yet charged with observing that none of those republics channed its leo-islation without the consent of all the others: and where, nioieover, the object of the laws should be to improve the minds, exalt the courage,, and preserve an exact discipline in their armies: on such supposition, would not the whole body of the republics be sufficiently powerful to oppose efficaci- ously any ambitious projects of their neighbours, or of their fellow-citizens * ? 23. On the hypothesis that the legislation of those republics would render the people as happy as possi- ble, and procure them all the pleasures compatible with the public welfare, would not then these same repub- lics be morally certain of unalterable felicity ? * The injustice of man has in general no other meastin' than that of power. The master-piece of legislation therefore consists in so confining the power of each citizen, that he may never attack with impunity the life, liberty, or property, of another. Now this problem has been hitherto '^o where better resolved than in England. 24. Ought TREATISE ON MAN. 287 Questions on legislation. 24. Ought not the plan of a good legislation to in- clude that of an excellent education ? Can such an education he given a people without presenting them with clear ideas of morality, and w ithout deriving its precepts from the sole principle of a love for the ge- neral good? By making men in this manner recollect the motives that united them in society, might it not he proved to them, that it is almost always their real interest to sacrifice a personal and momentary advan- tage to the national advantage, and by that sacrifice to merit the title of honourable and virtuous citizens? 25. Can morality be founded on any other princi- ples th4n those of public utility? Docs not even the injustice committed by despotism, being always in the name of the public good, prove that this is the sole principle of morality * : and can the private advantages of family and relations be substituted for it t? 26. On the supposition that the axiom which says, that lie orce more to our relations than to our coiuitry, * When the monk enjoys the love of God before all things, he constantly identifies himself and his church with God, and tiiere- fore says nothing more than that we ought to love and respect him and his church above all things. lie alone is the true friend tO' his country, who says, after the philosophers, that every love ought to give place to that of justice and the public good. f Ifa man do not regard the love of his country as the first principle of morality, he may be a good father, husband, and son, but will always be a bad citi/eii. What crimes has the love of relations occasioned! 288 TREATISE ON MAN. Questions on legijlalion. is to be held sacred, might not a father with a design to preserve his family abandon his postal the hour of bat- tle; and if intrusted with the public money, might he not embezzle it to maintain his children, and thus plun- der what he ouglit to love the most, to enrich what he ought to love the least ? 27. Whenever tlie public vvelfLireis not the supreme Jaw, and the first obligation of a citizen *, does there still subsist a science of good and evil ; in short, is there any morality where the public good is not the measure of reward and punishment, of the esteem or contempt due to the actions of citizens? Can men flatter themselves with findins: virttious ci- tizens in a country where honours, riches, and repu- tation are, by the form of government, the rewards ^)f crimes ; w here, in a word, vice is respected and prosperous ? (29. Have not men then reflecting that the desire of '^ Are men instnisible t(^ the evils which a bad administration occasion'^, and but weakly al'lectcd with the dishonour of their na- tion ? Do they not partake tlie shame of its defeats and its slavery ? 'i'hey are vile and dastardly citizens. To be virtuous, they must he wretched in the misery of their fellow-citizens. If there were in the East a man whose soul was truly lionest and noble, he would pass his days in tears ; he would have for most of the vizirs the same horror that they formeilv had in France for Bullion, who when Lewis XIII. began to be affected by the miseries of his subjects, made him this atrocious reply ; " Your people are yet " happy enough tl}at they are at.1 reduced to feed on the grass." happiness TREATISE ON MAN. 289 Quehlions on Ifginlatioii. happiness is the sole motive of their union, a right to abandon themselves to vice, wherever vice will procure them honour, wealth and felicity ? 30. On the supposition that laws, as is proved by the constitution of the Jesuits, can do all things with men, is it possible, for a people, led to vice by the form of their government, to free themselves from it without some alterations in those laws ? 31. Is it enough for a government to be good, that it secures to the inhabitants their properties, lives, and liberties, makes a more equal partition of the riches of a nation, and enables the people more easily to obtain by moderate labour*, a sufficiency for themselves and their families, if the legislation do not at the same time also exalt in the minds of men the sentiment of emu- lation, and for this effect the state do not propose large rewards for great talents and great virtues? and might not these rewards, always consisting of certain superfluities, and which were formerly tlie source of so * To regard the necessity of labour as the consequence of ori- ginal sin, and a punishment from God, is an absurdity. Tnis ne- cessity is, on the contrary, a favom- from heaven. Tliat man must live by the sweat of his brow is a fact. Now to explain a fact so simple, what necessity is there to have recourse to supernatural causes, and constantly represent man as an enigma ? If he ap- peared such formerly, it must be owned tliat the principle of self- interest lias been since so generally received, it has been so clearly proved that this interest is the principle of all our thoughts ■.ind actions, tlial tlie meaning of the enigma is at least made out, VOL 11. u many '290 TREATISE ON MAN. Questions on iegisJation. ' — many great and noble actions*, again produce the safne effects? and caa the rewards decreed by government (of what nature soever) be regarded as a luxury of pleasure adapted to corrupt the manners of the people? aud to explain man, it is no longer necessary, as Pascal pretended to recur to original sin. * The general principles of our actions are thp hope or fear of an approaching pleasure or pain. Men almost always indifferent to remote evils take no pains to avoid them. He \^ho is not un- happy thinks himself in his natural state, and that he can always remain so. The utility of a law that preserves from future evil is rarely perceived. How often have nations been ready to suffer the extinction of certain privileges that alone preserve them from slavery ? Liberty, like health, is a blessing: whose value is com- monly not known till it is lost. Nations, in general, too little anxious for their liberty, have by their indifference frtquenth' furnished, tyranny with th? means of de^^troying it. CHAP TREATISE ON MAN. 291 Puljftc rewind.'; Jo not corrii[)t the morals of a people. CHAP. III. OF THE LUXURY OF PLEASURE. »V E every (lay bear of tlie corruption of national manners, what are we to understand by those words ? I'he detachment of private from public interest. AVhy does money, that active principle of a rich ration, so often become the principle of corruption ? Because the public, as I have already said, is not the sole distributor, and because money in consequence so of- ten becomes the reward of vice. It is not so with the rewards of which tiie public is the sole dispenser. Always an acknowledgment of the public gratitude, it constantly supposes a service, a bcneHt rendered to our country, and consequently a virtuous action. Such a gift of whatevei nature it be, tlierefore con- stantly strengthens the bond between [)rivate and pub- lic interest. {{ either a beautiful slave or concubine become among a [)eo[)lc the reward of talents, virtue, or va- lour, the manners of that peo[)Ie will not be thereby corrupted. It was in the heroic ages that the Cretans imposed on the Athenians the tribute of ten beautiful virgins, from which Theseus released them. It was V 3 in 292 TREATISE ON MAN. Auy pleasure may be the means of excitiug emulation. ill the ages of their glory and triumphs that the Arabs and Turks exacted similar tributes of the nations which they conquered. When we read the Celtic poems and romances, those histories, always true, of the manners of a people yet ferocious, we see the Celts arm, in the same manner as the Greeks, for the conquest of beauty ; and love, far from enervating their manners, excited them to the boldest enterprizes. Any pleasure whatever, if it be proposed as the re- ward of great talents or virtues, may excite the emu- lation of the people and become the principle of acti- vity and of national happiness. But to effect this, it is necessary that all the inhabitants may equally pre- tend to it, and that those pleasures being equitably dispensed, may be constantly the recompence of who- ever shews the greatest talents in council, the greatest valour in the field, or virtue in private life.- Sunposethat banquets were instituted, and that, to rouse the emulation of the citizens, none were admit- ted to them but men distinguished by their genius, their talents or their actions ; nothing would more excite a desire to excel than the hope of obtaining a place at these festivals. This desire would be the stronger as the beauty of these entertainments would be necessarily augmented by the vanity of those that were admitted, and by the ignorance of those that were excluded. But, it will be said, how many would be made un- iiappy by iheir exclusion ? Fewer than is imagined. If TREATISE ON MAN. 293 Hard earned rewards are not tlie subject of euvy. If all envy a reward that may be obtained by intrigue and influence, it is because all can pretend to that, but few desire those rewards that cannot be obtained with- out great labour and great danger. Far from envying the laurels of Achilles or Homer, the poltroon and the sluggard despise them*. Their comforter, vanit}', will not permit them to see in men of great talents or great valour, any thing more than fools, whose pay, like that of sappers and miners, ought to be high, because they expose themselves to great dan- gers and great labours. It is wise and just, say the poltroon and the sluggard, to pay such men generously, but it would be folly to imitate them. Envy is common to all, but is area! torment to those only who run the same career ; and if envy be to them an evil, it is a necessary evil. But we would see, they will say, after such a pro- found knowledge of the human heart and understand- ing, the problem of an excellent legislation clearly re- solved, that there may be excited in all the citizens such principles of activity and application as may lead them to great actions, and in short may render them as happy as possible. A legislation so perfect would be still nothing more * Nothing is in general less envied by men of fashion than the talents of a Voltaire or a Turenne ; the little efforts they make to attain them, proves in what little esteem tliey hold them. u 3 than 294 TREATISE ON MAN. • : ■ ■ ■ ■ . j^ Of the changes in the laws. than a palace built upon tlie sand, and the natural in- constancy of man would soon overthrow that edifice, elevated by genius, humanity, and virtue. CHAP. IV. THE TRUE CAUSES OF THE ALTERATIONS THAT HAPPEN IN THE LAUS OF JD 1 FFER E N T N ATI O NS. Are the many changes that have happened in the different forms of governments to be regarded as the effect of the inconstancy of mankind ? What I know of the matter is, that with regard to customs, laws, and prejudices, it is of the obstinacy, and not of the inconstancy of the human mind, that we ought to com- plain. How much time is often required to convince a nation that a religion is false, and destructive of the national felicity ! How much time to abolish a law that is absurd and contrary to the public good ! To produce such alterations it is not enough to be a king ; but a courageous and discerning king, and at the same time to be assisted by favourable circum- stances. The eternity, as it may be called of the laws and cus- toms of China is an evidence against the pretended le- vitv of nations. But supposing man be as inconstant as TREATISE ON MAN. 295 Dniabilily o<" good laws. as he is represented, it would be in the course oi his life, that he would manifest his inconstancy. By what cause in fact should laws respected by the grandfather, father, and son, laws that have lasted generations, be abolished at once by man's supposed levity ? Let such laws be established as are conformable to the general interest ; and though they may be destroyed by force, sedition, or a concurrence of extraordinary circumstances, they never will by the inconstancy of the human mind*. I know tliat laws good in appearance, but evil in effect, are sooner or later abolished. Why ? Because in a given time there must arise a man of discernment, who, struck with the incompatibility of such laws with the general happiness, will communicate his discovery to the just spirits of bis age. A discovery of this sort, from the slowness with which truth is propagated, is communicated but by small inter- vals, and not generally acknowledged till thesucteeding * The work of the laws, they say, should be permanent. Now why are the Saracens, formerly .animated by strong passions that often raised them above themselves, no longer what they formerly were ? Because tiieir courage and their gisnius were not tljc conse- ([uencc of their legislation, of the union of public and private in- terest, nor consequently tlie effect of a wise distribution of tempo- ral pains and punishments. Their virtues had not a foundation so solid : tliey were the produce of a momentary and religious en- tiuisiasm, which necessarily disappeared with the concourse of -iiigular ciicuuistanccs that gave it birth. u 4 generation. 296 TREATISE ON MAN. The abolition of laws is no argument of levity, generation. Therefore if ancient laws be thus abolish- ed, it is not the effect of the inconstancy of mankind, but of ihe discernment of their minds. When laws are known to be bad, or insufficient, and are only supported by ancient custom, the least pre- tence is sufficient to destroy them, and the least event will afford it. Is it so with laws really tiseful ? No: ior which reason no extensive and polished nation has abolished those that punish murder, robbery, &c. But the so much admired legislation of Lycurgus, which was taken in part from that of Minos*, lasted * There are few who believe witli Xenophon in the happiness of Sparta. What a dismal occupation, they say, is that of mili- tary exercises. What ! perpetually in arms ! Sparta, they add, was nothing more than a convent. All was there regulated by' the sound of a bell. But, I answer, does not the sound of the bell for recreation please the scholar ? Is it the bell that renders the monk miserable ? When we are well cloathed and fed, and free from discontent, every occupation is equally good, and the most peril- ous is not the least agreeable. The history of the Goths, the Iluns, &c. prove this truth. A Roman ambassador entered the camp of Attila, and heard the bard celebrate the great actions of the conqueror. He saw the young people ranged round the poet, admire his verses, and leap with transport at the recital of their victories ; while the old men tore their hair and exclaimed with tears, How wretched is our fate ! Deprived oj strength tofght, there is no longer any happiness for us. Felicity therefore inhabits the plains of war as well as the asylums of peace. Why then regard the Lacedemonians as un- only TREATISE ON MAN. 297 Causes of the overthrow of the laws of Sparta. only five or six hundred years. It is true : and per- haps it could not last longer*. However excellent the laws of Lycurgus were, and with whatever genius, patriotic virtue, and courage they might inspire the Spartans f, it was impossible in the situation in which happy ? Is there any want they did not gratify ? They were it is said, badly fed. As a proof of the contrary they were robust and healthful. If moreover they passed their days in exercises that amused without too much fatiguing them, the Spartans were nearly as happy as they could be, and much more so tlian weak and meagre peasants, or idle, rich, and dicontented citizens. * The institutions of Lycurgus, though insensibly altered, were not entirely destroyed but by force. The Romans did not think they had subdued the Spartans till they had banished from among them the remains of that institution which rendered them still for- midable to the masters of the world. f The Lacedaemonians have been celebrated in all ages and his- tories for their virtue. They have been however frequently re- proached with obduracy to their slaves. These republicans, so proud of their liberty, and so haughty in their bravery, in fact treated their slaves with as much cruelty as the Europeans now treat their Negroes. The Spartans must consequently appear virtuous or vicious, according to the point of view in which they are regarded. Does virtue consist in the love of our country and fellow-citi- zens ? The Spartans were perliaps the most virtuous of all nations. Does virtue consist in an universal love of mankind ? The Spar- tans were vicious. How tlien are we to form a just judgment of them ? Examine if at the time that all mankind form but one nation, as the Abbe 2 Laccdajmon 298 TREATISE ON MAN. Causes of the overthrow of the laws of Sparta. Lacedaemon then was, that its legislation should re- main longer unchanged. The Spartans, too few to resist the Persians, would have been sooner or later overwhelmed by their vast armies, if Greece, at that time so fruitful in great men, had not united its forces to repel the common enemy. What was the consequence r Athens and Sparta were then placed at the head of the Grecian confederacy. Scarcely iiad these two republics by equal efforts of conduct and courage triumphed over the Persians, when the admiration of the universe was divided between them, and this admiration ought and did become the foundation of their jealou?}' and dis- cord. This jealousy would have produced nothing more than a noble emulation between the two repub- lics, if they had been governed by the same laws ; if the limits of their territories had been fixed by immu- table bounds; if they had been able to extend them v^'ithout arming all tlie other republics against them ; and lastly, if they had know^n no other riches than St. Pierre wished, it be possible for the patriotic love to be dis- tinct from universal love. If the happiness of one nation be not to the present time annexed to the unhappiness of another: if we can, for example, improve the manufactures of one Jiation without injuring the commerce of its neighbours, and exposing their workmen to die of hunger. Now what matters it, when we destroy men, whether it be by the sword or by hunger ? It in certain li/ much the best to destrmj them by the si',ord, as their sujferirigs zvili tJicn be much shorter. the TREATISE ON MAN. 299 Causes of the overlhrow oftlie l.iw.5 of Sparta. the iron money ol which LYcuigiis had pcnniued the use. The confederation of the Greeks was not founded on so soHd a basis. Each republic had its j; articular constitution. The AthenTans were at once warriors and merchants. The weahh gained by commerce en- abled thcni to carry the war into other countries; and in this respect they had a great advantage over the Lacedasmonians. The latter, poor and proud, saw with concern within whnt narrow bounds their poverty confined their am- hiiiou. The desire to command, a desire so jiowerlul in two rival and warlike republics, rendered ihcir po- verty insupportable to tlie Spartans. They, therefore, became insensibly disgusted with the laws of Lycurgus, and contracted alliances with the Asiatic powers. The Pelopoimesian war then kindled, and they felt iTiore forcibly the want of money ; f\'rsia ofil-red it, and they accepted it. It was then that poverty, the key-stone of the edifice of the laws, which Lycurgiis had constructed, fell from the arch, ;iiul its i'all was followed by that of the state. 'J'hen tiieir laws and manners changed, and this change, as well as the con- setpient evils, were not the efVect of the inconstancy of the human mind ^", but of t'le diiVeicnt forms (d * It is not thr inconNtaiicy of natioiis, but their ignorance, (Iiat o fn>(iiu-iitly ovcrtlirows the eclilice of the best Uwvs. f ( is this tlial venders a people tractable to tlie coimsels of ambitious men, J government 300 TREATISE ON MAN. Of federative compacts. government among the Greeks; of the imperfection in the principles of their confederation, and of the liberty they ahvays reserved to make war on each other. Hence that series of events which at last led to their common ruin. A federative compact ought to be founded on the most solid principles. If a country, as large as France or Paraguay, were to be divided into thirty republics*: If the true principles of morality be shown to a people, and if the excellence of their laws, and the happiness they produce be demonstrated to them, those laws will be held sacred by them : they will reverence them from a love of felicity which they pro- duce, and from that obstinate attachment which men in general have for ancient customs. There are no innovations proposed by the ambitious that are not coloured with the pretext of public advantage. An intelli- gent people, always guarded against such innovations, will always reject them. Among them the interest of a small number that are strong is restrained by the interest of a great number that are weak. The ambition of the former is therefore confined, and the people, always the strongest when they are intelligent, will remain faithful to the legislation that renders them happy. * Paraguay is an immense country. In the time of the Jesuits this country, if we believe certain accounts, was divided into thirty cantons, governed by the same laws, and the same magistrates, that is, by tlie same sort of monks. Now if these thirty cantons formed but one empire, whose forces could, by order of the Jesuits, be united against a common enemy, and if the existence of a fact de- monstrates its possibility, the suppression of such an empire can- not be absurd, if TREATISE ON MAN. 301 How to form a perfect federative compact. if these republics, governed by the same laws, were leagued together against a foreign enemy : if the bounds of their territories were invarlabl}' determined ; if they respectively guaranteed to each other their possessions and their liberties ; if they moreover, adopt- ed the laws and manners of the Spartans ; the junction of their forces and the mutual guarantee of their liber- ties, would secure them equally from the invasion of foreigners and the tyranny of their countrymen. Now supposing this legislation the most proper to render the people happy what means are there to secure its perpetual duration ? The most certain would be, to order preceptors in their instructions, and ma- gistrates in their public discourses, to demonstrate its excellence* ; which being once established, the le- * It is necessary, says Machiavel, from time to time, to call back governments to their constituent principles. How is this to be done ? By misfortune. It was the ambition of Appius, and the battles of Cannx- ami Thrasimcnaj that recalled the Romans to a love for their country. Nations have m this point no other master than misfortune. They might ^nd one less severe. For the instruction even of magistrates, why do they not every . year, read publicly the history of each law, and the motives of its establishment, and point out to the people those laws to which they principally owe the preservation of their property, liberty and lives ? The people love happiness. Tlicy would at tliis lec- ture, discover the sagacity of their ancestors, and frequently see that laws, in appearance the least important, protect them from indigence and despotism. Whatever be the pretended inconstancy of the human mind, gislation 502 TREATISE ON MAN. ■ ■ '— ■■ ■ , -, . — f. Good laws are proof against hnman inconstancy. > ' ' ' ' — gislalion would be proof against the inconstancy of the human mind. Men (were they so inconstant as is commonly imagined) could not abrogate established laws, unless they were united in their pursuits. Now such an union supposes them to have a common inte- rest in the destruction, and consequently a great imper- fection in the laws. In every oiher case the very inconstancy of man- kind, by dividing their opinions, opposes the unani- mity of their deliberations, and consequently secures the duration of the laws. O! Sovereigns, make your subjects happy! Con- sider what will, from their infancy inspire them with a love for the public welfare ; prove to them the good- ness of their laws, by the history of all times, and the misery of all nations. Demonstrate to them (for mo- rality is ca[)able of demonstration) that your admini- stration is the best possible, and you will for ever re- strain their pretended inconstancy. If tlie government of the Chinese, imperfect as it may be, still subsists, and subsists the same, what can destroy that where men are the most happy possible? Nothing but conquest, or the miseries of a people chanii-e the form of iiovernments. when Li nation is made clearly to perceive the reciprocal depen- dence between its happiness and the preservation of the laws, its inconstancy is sure to be restrained. Everv TREATISE ON MAN. 303 ••'■■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ' _ ' Prospect of a jierfecl legislation. « Every wise legislation that unites private and public interest, and founds virtue on the advantage of each individual, is indestructible. But is such legislation possible? Why not. The horizon of our ideas is everyday extended ; and if legislation, like the other sciences, shares in the progress of the human mind, why despair of the future felicity of mankind? Why may not nations, as they become every age more en- lightened, one day arrive at that plenitude of happi- ness of which they are capable ? It is not without pain that I quit this hope. The felicity of the human race is to a sensible mind the most pleasing of all prospects. When we behold it through the perspec- tive of futurity, it is the work of a perfect legislation. But if any should be hardy enough to lay down the plan, what prejudices it may be said, will he not have to combat and destroy ! What dangerous truths to reveal ? CHAP. 304 TREATISE ON MAN. of the publication of new moral truths. CHAP. V. THE PUBLICATION OF A TRUTH IS FATAL TO HIM ONLY BY WHOM IT IS PUBLISHED. W HAT is a new truth in morality ? A new method of securing or increasing the happiness of nations. What follows from this definition ? That truth cannot be prejudicial. When an author makes a discovery of this kind, who are his enemies ? 1. Those whom he contradicts (1). 2. They that envy his reputation. 3. They whose interests are opposite to that of the public. If a magistrate increase his number of patroles, his enemies will be the robbers on the highway ; and if those robbers be powerful, the magistrate will be per- secuted. It is the same with the philosopher. If his precepts tend to secure the happiness of the people in general, he will have for his enemies the robbers of the state ; and these are to be feared. Do I discover the intrigues of an avaricious clergy, and disconcert the projects of monastic avidity and ambition? If the monk be powerful, I shall be perse- cuted. Do TREATISE ON MAN. 305 Arbitrary power does not render a monarch happy. Do I prove the malversations of the man in power ? If my proof be clear, t shall be punished. The ven- geance of the strong against the weak is always in pro- portion to the truth of the accusations. It was of the powerful (2), that JVIenippus said, " You are angry, Jupiter, you grasp the thunder, but you are wrong." The powerful arc commonly cruel in proportion as they are stupid. Let a Turk enter the divan, and declare that the intolerance of Mahometanism depopulates the state and alienates the Greeks : that the despotism of the Grand Signior debases the nation ; that the vexa- tions of the pachas dispirit the people ; and that the want of discipline renders the army despicable : what name will they give this faithful citizen ? That of a seditious man. He will be delivered up to the mutes. Death' is at Constantinople the punishment inflicted for revealing a truth, that, reflected on by the Sultan, would save the empire from the ruin that threatens it. The love of virtue, which is there sometimes affected, is always false. In despotic countries a!' is hypocrisy ; we see nothing but masks ; no face ap[)ears. In every country where the peoj)le are not the ru- ling power (and in what country are they r') the advo- cate for the public felicity is the martyr of the truths which he reveals. What is the cause of this? The too great power of some members of society. If a man presents a new opinion to the public : struck with the novelty, and for some tune nndetermined, the public at first forms no judgment of it. At that time VOL. n. X if 306 TREATISE ON MAN. The discoverers of new triilhs are generally persecuted. it' the cry of envy, ignorance, and interest are raised against the author of the truth ; and he be not pro- tected either by the law, or by people in power, he is lost. An illustrious man therefore always purchases his future glory by present misfortune. For the rest, his misfortunes themselves and the persecution he suffers more rapidly diffuse his discoveries. Truth always in- structive to him who hears it, is detrimental only to him who tells it*. In morality, it is on a knowled2;e of the truth that the public felicity depends. O ! Truth, thou art the divinity of noble souls 1 V'irtue can never impute to thee the destructions of empires, and the miseries of mankind. Vices are not the bitter fruits that are gathered from thy branches. When truth shall enlighten princes, happiness and vir- tue will reign under tliem in every empire. * Every truth, says the proverb, is not proper to. be told. But what is meant by the word proper ? It means the same as' sofe. He who speaks the truth doubtless exposes hunself to per- tecution, and is imprudent. Imprudent men are therefore the most useful sort of men. They sow, at tlieir own expcnce, trutli* of which their fellow-citizens reap the fruit. The labour is for them and the prolit for others ; they have therefore been ever re- garded as the friends of humanity. It was for others that Curtiu* leaped into the gulf. CHAP. TREATISE ON MAN. 307 Utility of the publioiilion of truth. CHAP. VI. A KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH IS ALWAYS USEFUL. JVlAN always follows his interest, or what he thinks his interest. It is a known fact that zehether we talk or not, the conduct of man will be alzcai/s the same. The publication of this truth is not therefore prejudicial. But of what utility can it be ? Ofthe greatest. Being once assured that man always acts in conformity to his interest, the legislature may assign so many punish- ments to vice, and so many rewards to virtue, that every individual will find it his interest to be virtuous. Does the IcgisluUue know that man, anxious for his preservation, exposes himself with aversion to dan- ger ? It may annex so much infamy to cowardice and so much honour to courage, that the soldier on the day of battle will find it more his interest to fight than to fly. Suppose a man, directed solely by caprice, should dissipate his fortune and leave his children in indi- gence ; what remedy is there for this evil ? The con- tempt with which he ought to be treated. When maa and the crimes he may commit are made known to X 2 other 303 TREATISE ON MAN. ImjDitaiice of truth especially in morility. Other men, they will create laws proper to suppress those crimes*, and will at last come to connect pri- vate and public interest so closely, that men will be forced to be virtuous. In every science, we are told, a writer ought to seek and publish the truth. Must the science of morality be an exception ? What is the object of ethics ? The happiness of the majority. In this respect every new truth is, as 1 have said, a new mean of meliorating the condition of the people. Is the desire of happiness a crime ? Such an opinion cannot be maintained but by the fool void of humanity, and the knave interested in the calamities of the public. In morality it is the truth alone that should be taught. But may we in no case substitute useful er- rors ? There are none such : as 1 shall hereafter de- monstiati?. Religion itself does not make a people happy. The modern Romans are a proof of this. In- terest is our sole motive. Men sometimes appear to sacrifice, but never really sacrifice their happiness to that of others. The waters never remount to their source, nor man against the rapid current of his in- terest. He that should attempt it would be a fool. Such fools are moreover too few to have any influ- ence on the bulk of society. If it be only required * The legislature in making laws, supposes all men to be m ick- «d, because it would have then\ all equally subject to these laws. to TREATISE ON 1\IAN. 309 Advantages olgood Uiws. to make virtuous citizens, what need is there to have recourse to impossible and supernatural methods ? Make good laws ; they alone will naturally direct the people in the pursuit of the public advantage, by following the irresistible propensity they have to their private advantage. It is not the vices of intempe- rance and improbity, that make a people miserable, but the imperfection and consequently the stupidity of their laws. It is of little consequence that men be vicious ; it is enough that they be intelligent. An awful and salutary fear will keep them within tlie bounds of their duty. Thieves have laws among them- selves, and few of them violate those laws, because the}' inspect and suspect each other. Laws do every thing. If some God, say on this subject the j)hilo- suphers of Siam, were really to descend from heaven to instruct mankind in the science of moralii}', he would ffive them a i>;ood lecfislalion, and that lecjisla- tion, would compel them to be virtuous. In morals, as in physics, it is always on a large scale, and by sim- ple methods, that the Divinity operates. It results from this chapter, that truth, often odious to the powerful and unjust, is always useful to the public. But are there not periods when its promulga- tion may produce troubles in an empire i X 3 CiiAP. 310 TREATISE ON MAN. '] ruth cannot produce trouble in a state. CHAP. VIT. THE PROMULGATION OF TRUTH CAN NEVER PRODUCE TROUTiLES IN AN EMPIRE. An adiPvinistiation is bad, the people suffer, they complain. At that moment a work appears that shews them all their misery. The people are irritated and rise. Be it so. But is this work the cause of their in- surrection ? No: it is the epoch only. The cause is the public misery. If the work had appeared sooner, the government by being sooner informed might have alleviated the sufferings of the people, and prevented the sedition. Disorder does not accompany the pro- mulgation of the truth, except in countries entirely despotic ; because in those countries the lime at which men dare to speak the truth, is that when, the miseries of the people becoming insupportable, they are no longer able to restrain their complaints. When a government becomes cruel to excess, their troubles are sakitary. They are the pangs which a medicine gives to the patient whom it cures. To free a people from servitude, sometimes fewer men are sa- crificed than perish at a public rejoicing badly con- ducted. 1'he evil of an insurrection is in the cause 5 that TREATISE ON MAN. 511 lis i)i:b!ic;ition may be tlic epoch, not llie cause of i evolutions. that produces it ; tlie pain of a crisis is in the disorder t!hat excites it. \\^licn men fall under despotism, iliey must make elTorts to shake it off, and those efforts are, al that period, the only properly the unfortunate peo- ple have left. The height of misery is not to be able to deliver ourselves from it, and to suffer without dar- ing to complain. Where is the man barbarous and stupid enough to give the name of j)eace io the silence^ the forced tranquillity of slavery! It is indeed peace, but it is the peace of tlie tomb. The publication of a truth is therefore sometimes tlie epoch, but never the cause of disorders and insur- rections. The knowledge of the truth is always use- ful to the oppressed) and even to the oppressors. Jt informs them) as I have said, of the discontents of the people. In Europe the murmurs of a people precede their revolt at a great distance. The complaints of a nation are the thunder heard at a distaiice, and no4; yet to be feared. The sovereign has yet time to repair his injustice, and to reconcile himself with his people. It is not so in a country of slaves. It is with the poignard in hand that remon- strances are presented to the Sullan. The silence of slaves is terrible. It is the calm that precedes a hur- ricane. The winds are yet hushed. But from the dark bosom of an immoveable cloud bursts the thun- der, the signal of tlie tempest, which strikes at the moment the flash appears. The silence that ibrce compels is the principal cause of 312 TREATISE ON MAN. ■ **— Benefits of fee discussion. of the miseries of nations, and of the destruction of their oppressors. If the search after truth be hurtful, it is never so to any one but its author. This Buffon, Quesnoy, and Montesquieu have found. Men have lono; disputed about the preference to be given to the ancients or moderns : to the French or Itahan music : those disputes have enlightened the people without arming any one citizen. But those disputes, it will be said, relate to frivolous objects only. Be it so. But without a fear of the law men would cut each other's throats for trifles. Theological disputes, always re- ducible to questions about words, are proofs of this. What streams of blood have they occasioned. Can I, with the sanction of the law, give the name of holy zeal to the fury of my vanity ? There is no excess to ■which it will not lead me. Religious cruelty is atro- cious. Whence does it proceed ? Can it be from the novelty of a theological opinion (3). No : from the licentious and unpunishable use of intolerance (4). In discussing a question where every one is free to deliver his sentiments, to contradict and be contra- dicted in turn, if any one that insults another be pu- nished accordina; to the desrree of the offence; the pride of the disputant being thus restrained by the law, ceases to be inhuman. But by what inconsistency does the magistrate, who ties the hands of the citizens and forbids acts of violence in discussing a matter of interest or opinion, untie them in a scholastic dispute ? To what is this ow- ing? TREATISE ON MAN. 313 TruUi is slowly propasated. jng ? To the spirit of superstition and fanaticism, which preside much oftener at the formation of laws than the spirit of justice and immanit}'. I have read the histories of the different forms of worship; I have enumerated ihcir absurdities; I have been ashamed of human reason, and blushed to be a man. 1 am astonished at the evils that superstition has produced, and at the facility with which that fanati- cism might be stilled, vvhich will ever render religions so fatal to mankind (o) ; and I have concluded that the miseries of the people may always be referred to the imperfection of their laws, and consequently to the ignorance of some moral truths. '1 hese truths, always useful, cannot disttub the peace of states, of which the slowness of their progress is another proof. CHAP. VIII. OF THE SLOWNESS WITH WHICH TRUTH IS PROPAGATED. -Inii advances of truth are slow, as experience proves. When did the parliament of Paris revoke the pu- nishment of death decreed to every one who should a^ach any other philosophy than that of Aristotle ? rifty 314 TREATISE ON MAN. Slowness of the progress of truth. Fifty years after that philosophy was forgotten. When did the fecuity of medicine admit the doctrine of the circulation of the blood i" Fifty years after its discovery by Harvey. When did the same faculty admit potatoes to be wholesome .? A hundred years after it had been proved by expe- rience, and when the parliament had revoked the de- cree which forbade the use of that root*. When will physicians agree about the advantages of inoculation ? In twenty years, or thereabout. A hundred facts of this nature prove the slow pro- gress of truth ; its progress however is such as it ought to be. , A truth by being new always shocks some opinion or custom generall}' established : it has at first but few * The parliament issued a like decree against emetics, and against Brissot the physician, in the sixteenth century. That physician, contrary to the common practice, bled in the pleurisy on tlie side where the patient suffered most. This new. practice \vas denounced to parliament by the old physicians. He was de- clared impious, and forbidden to bleed for the future on the side where the pleurisy was. The affair being reported to Charles V. he was going to issue a similar decree, but it happened at the in- stant that Cliarles III. duke of Savoy died of the pleurisy after having been bled in the ancient manner. Is it for magistrates to pretend, like the theologians, to judge of books and sciences they know nothing about. What do they get by it ? Ridicule. part-izans ; TREATISE ON MAN. 315 Causes of lUe jirogrcss ofinoial iruths. paitizans : it is treated us a paradox*, cited as an er- ror, and rejected without being understood. Mankind in general approve or condemn by ciiance ; and truth itseltis received by most of them Jike error, from prejudice, and without examination. By what method then does a new opinion come to be generally known ? When men of 'sound under* standing have discovered the truth, they make it pub- lic ; it is thus promulgated, and becoming every day more common is at last generally received ; but it is a long time after its discovery, especially if it be a moral truth. The reason why men with so much ditficulty assent to moral truths, is because they sometimes require the sacrilice not only of our prejudices, but of our per- sonal interest also ; and i'ew men are capable of this double oblation. Besides, a truth of this sort disco- vered by a fellow-citizen may ,:;pread rapidly, and load him with honours. Our envy thererefore would be shocked by its success, and ought to hasten its con- demnation. It is the stranger who now celebrates the moral works written and proscribed in l^'rance. To judge these books, a man should be endowed at once * If an excellent philosophical work appear, the first judgment w hich envy forms of it is, that its principles are false and dangerous ; the second, that the ideas it contains are common. Unlucky is the work on which too much praise is bestowed at first. '1 lie iilence of envy and stupidhy declare its want of merit. with 316 TREATISE ON MAN. Causes of the slow progress of moral truths. witli a degree of discernment and a degree of uncon- cern necessary to distinguish the true from the false. Now men of discernment are every where rare, and disinterested men, still rarer, are to be found only among foreigners. Moral truths are propagated by very slow undulations. The progress of truth on tlie earth, may be compared with the fall of a stone in a lalie: the water separates at the point of contact, and forms a circle that is soon surrounded by a greater, and that by circles more large and continually increas- ing, till at last they break against the shore. It is thus that a moral truth extending from circle to circle, to the different classes of citizens, comes at last to be acknowledged by all who have no interest in reject- ing it. To establish a.truthit is sufficient that men in power do not oppose its promulgation ; and it is in this that truth differs from error. It is b}'^ force that the latter is propagated : it is sword in hand that the truth of almost all religions is authenticated, and it is by that they become the scourge of the moral world. Truth without the aid of force is certainly estab- lished but slowl}', but at the same time without com- motion, The only people among whom truth finds a difficult admittance, are the ignorant nations. Idiot- ism is much less tractable than is commonly imagined. If an useful but new law be proposed to an ignorant people (6), that law, by being rejected without exa- mination, may even excite a sedition (7). Tor a peo- ple TREATISE ON MAN. 517 of government. ~ ' ■ ' < pie who are stupid because they are slaves, are the more irritable from being frequently irritated by despotism. If on the contrary the same law be proposed to an enlightened people, where the press is free, where its utilit}' is foreseen and its promulgation desired, it will be there received with gratitude by the intelligent part of the nation, and that part will restrain the other. It results from this chapter that truth, even by the slowness with which it is propagated, cannot produce disorder in a stiite. But are there not forms of go- vernment, to which a knowledge of the truth may be dangerous ? CHAP. IX. OF GOVERNMENT. Jf every moral truth be nothing more than a method of increasing or securing the happiness of the majoritif, and if the object of ail governme?it be the public f elicit i/, there can be no moral truth whose publication is not desirable (8). All diversity of opinion on this subject arises from the vague signification of the word go- temment. What is government ? An assemblage of laws or conventions made between people of the, same natioQ. 518 TREATISE ON MAN. Governments may be refoimed without being destroyed. nation. Therefore these laws, and conventions are ei- ther conformable or contrary to the general interest. There are therefore only two forms of government, the one good, the other bad : to these two sorts I re- duce them all. Now in the assemblage of conventions fey which they are constituted, to sa}"^ that we cannot alter laws detrimental to a nation ; that tiiey are sa- cred, and cannot be legitimately laid aside, is to say that we cannot alter a regimen detrimental to health, and that a wound should not be cleansed, but suffered to gangrene (9). If all government, moreover, of whatever nature it be, can have no other object than the happiness of the majority, nothing that tends to render them happy can be contrary to their government (10). He alone can oppose every useful reformation in the state, who, founding his grandeur on the debasement and misery of his fellow-citizens, would usurp an arbitrary power over them. But the honest man, the friend of truth and of his countr}'^, can have no interest contrary to that of his nation. When we are happy in the hap- piness of an empire, and glorious in its glory, we se- cretly desire the correction of every abuse. A science is not annihilated by being improved, nor a govern- ment destroyed by being reformed. Suppose that in Portugal more respect were paid to the property, the lives, and liberty of the subjects, would the government be less monarchical? Suppose they were there to suppress the inquisition, and the lettrei TREATISE ON MAN. 519 — J- A virtuous sovereign will not oppose reform. lettres de cachet, and limit the exercise and iluthority of certain places, would they thereby change the form of government ? No : they would correct its abuses only. What virtuous monarch would not promote such re- formation ! Are the monarchs of Europe to be com- pared to the stupid sultans of Asia, to those vampires who suck the blood of their subjects, and whom all op- position exasperates? To sus[)ect a virtuous prince of adopting the principles of oriental despotism, is to do liim the most atrocious injury. A discerning sove- reign will never esteem an arbitrary power, whether it be of one, as in Turkey ; or of several, as in Poland, to be the real constitution of a state"; to honour a cruel despotism with thai, title, is to give the name of govern- ment to a gang of robbers (11), who, under the banner of one, or several, ravage the provinces which they in- habit. Every act of arbitrary power is unjust. A power acquired and maintained by force (12), is a power that force has a right to repel, A nation, whatever name its enemy may bear, has a right to attack and destroy it. To conclude ; if the object of the sciences of mora- lity and politics be reduced to the search after means of rendering men happy, there are no truths of this sort whose knowledge is dangerous. But does the happiness of a people constitute that of a sovereign ? CHAP. 320 TREATISE ON MAN. runishmcnl ot' truth in despotic states. CHAP. X. THE HAPPINESS OF THIi PRINCE IS NOT CONNECT- ED WITH THE MISERY OF THE PEOPLE, UNDER ANY FORM OF GOVERNMENT. JLhat arbitrary right for which some monarchs ap- pear SO anxious, is nothing more than akixnrjjof power, which, without adding any thing to their own happi- ness, makes their people miserable. The happiness of a prince is independent of his despotism. It is fre- quently in compliance with his favourites, for the plea- sure or convenience of five or six persons, that a so- vereign enslaves his people and exposes his throat to the poignard of conspiracy. Portugal informs us of the dangers to which, even in this age, kings are exposed. Arbitrary power, that calamity of nations, does not therefore secure either the felicity or life of a monarch. His happiness is not therefore essentially connected with the misery of his people. Why refrain to tell this truth to princes, and suffer them to be iii;norant that a limited monarch v is the most desirable of all monarchies (J3) ; that a sovereign is only great in the greatness of his people, strong in their strength, and rich in their wealth ; that his inte- rest, rightly understood, is essentially connected with 7 theirs TREATISE ON MAN. 321 Anecdotes of eastern despots. theirs ; and, in short, that it is his duty to render them happy ? " By the fortune of war, said an Indian to Tamer- '' hme, we are thine. Art thou a merchant ? Sell us. " Art thou a butcher ? Kill us. Art thou a monarch ? " Make us happy." Is there a sovereisrn who can without horror hear the celebrated speech of an Arab incessantly murmur in his ear ? This man, bowed down by the weight of taxes, was unable to maintain himself and 'his family. He laid his complaints before the calipli. The caliph was enraged : the Arab condemned to die. As he was going to execution he met an officer escorting provi- sions f For whom are those provisions? said the con- demned wretch. For the caliph's dogs, replied the officer. How much better is tlie cotidition of a tyranf$ dogs, cried the Arab, than that of his subjects ! What prince of discernment could bear such a re- proach ; or would, by usurping an arbitrary power over his subjects, condemn himself to live among none but slaves .'' A man in presence of his tyrant has no opinion and no character. Thatrias Kouli Kan supped with a faj vourite. A new sort ol" pulse was served up. There is nothing more pleasing and wholesome than this sort of pulse, said the monarch. Nothing jnore pleasing and wholesome, said the courtier. After supper Kouli Kan foimd himself indisposed, he could not sleep. When he arose, he said, There is nothing more deies- >oL. II. Y table 322 TREATISE ON MAN. Anecdote of Caliph llakkam. table and more unwholesome than that pulse. No- thing more detestable and unwholesome, said the cour- tier. But yon did not think so last night, said the prince : what has made 3^00 change your opinion ? My respect and my dread, replied the courtier: I can curse the food with impunity. 1 am the slave of your highness and not of the pulse. The despot is a Gorgon : he petrifies a man even to his thoughts*, and like the Gorgon is a terror to the * What prince, even among the Christians, would, after the ex- ample of the caliph Hakkam, permit a magistrate to tell him of his injustice ! *' A poor woman possessed, at Zehra, a small piece of landcon- " tiguous to the gardens of Hakkam, which tliat prince desired " to enlarge, and proposed to the woman to give up her hnd. " She refused, being desirous of preserving the heritage of her " forefathers. The intendant of the gardens took possession of the " ground which the woman would not sell. " The woman, bathed in tears, went to implore justice at Cor- *' dova, of which Ibn Bechir was cadi. The text of the law was '^ plainly in favour of the woman. But what can the law do with " those that think themselves above it ? Ibn Bechir however did " not despair of her ■cause. He mounted his ass, and taking witli *' him a sack of an enormous size, presented himself in that condi- " tion before Hakkam, who was then seated under a pavillion " built on the ground of the woman. " The arrival of the cadi, and the sack he bore on his shoulder, " astonished the prince. Ibn Bechir prostrated himself before " Hakkam, and begged permission to fill his sack with the earth on " which he stood. The caliph consented. The sack being filled, " the cadi entreated the prince to help him up with it on his ass. 8 ' world. TREATISE ON MAN. 323 It is not by writings that Jiisui lections are excited. world. Is his condition then desirable ? Despotism is a yoke equally galling to those who bear it, and to him that imposes it. Let the army abandon the tyrant, and the vilest among his slaves becomes his equal, strikes him and says : Ta force etoit ton droit, ta foiblesse est ton crime. Tliy strength was thy right, thy weakness is thy crime. But if a prince, through a wrong conception of this matter, place his happiness in the acquirement of arbi- trary power, and a writing, which declares the inten- tion of the prince, inform the people of the miseries that threaten them, is not this writing sufficient to ex- cite discontent and insurrections ? No: the fatal eifects of despotism have been ever}"^ where execrated. The Roman history, the holy Scripture itself, delineate in a hundred places a most horrid picture of tyranny, and yet the reading of these has never excited any re- v(jluiion. It is the actual, multiplied, and durable evils of despotism, that sometimes give a people the courage necessary to deliver themselVes from the yoke. It is " This demand confounded Ilakkam. The sack is too heavy, he " said. Prince, replied Ibn Bechir, with a noble boldness, if you " find this sack so heavy which contains only a part of the land you " have unjustly taken from one of your subjects, how will you, at " the day of judgment, boar tlie whole land you have unjustly "seized? Ilakkam, far from punishing the cadi, generously ac- " knowledged his fault, and restored the woman her land, with " all the buildings he had constructed on it." Y 2 always 324 TREATISE ON MAN. Reforms are necessary for the welfare of states." always the cruelty of sviltans that provokes sedition. All the Eastern thrones are stained with the blood of their mastei*s. Who has spilt it ? Their slaves. The mere publication of the truth occasions no strong commotion ,• besides^ the advantage of peace depends on the price at which it is purchased. War is doubtless an evil ; but to avoid it, should men suffer their property, their lives, and Uberty to be taken from them? A hostile prince comes, with arms in hand, to reduce a people to slavery; should this people present their necks to the yoke ? He that proposes it is infa- mous. By whatever name he may call himself who would rob me of my liberty, I ought to defend it against him. Tiiere is no state not susceptible of improvement, often as necessary as disagreeable to certain persons. Does administration forbear to make it? Must we under the happy hope of a false tranquillity, sacri- fice to the people in power the public welfare, and under vain pretence of preserving the peace, aban- don the empire to the robbers who would plunder it ? There are, as I have said, necessary evils. No cure 5S to be had without pain : when we suffer in the treat- ment, it is less the effect of the remedy than of the disease. A timid conduct, and mean procrastination, have been often more fatal to communities than sedition it- self. We may, without offending a virtuous prince, •iet bounds to his authority; represent to him that the law TREATISE ON MAN. 325 Conclasion» deduced from this chapter. Jaw which declares the public welfare the first of laws, is sacred and inviolable, and ought to be respected even by him; that all other laws are nothing more than the several means of securing the execution of thai, law; and in short, that as he must oe always un- happy in the unhappiness of his suDJecis, thtre is a reciprocaJ dependence between ihe felicity ot the peo- ple and ihat of tne sovereign. Hence I conclude: That ihe object really detrimental to him, i.> the falsehood which hides iiom hi in the disorder of the state ; and the object really advantageous to hun, is the truth that informs him of the maimer of treating its disorder. The revelation of tiiis truth is therefore useful : but does a man, they will say, owe it to other men, wheu it is so dangerous to reveal it to thcmj* V 3 CHAP. 326 TREATISE ON MAN. The publication of truth is a duty. CHAP. XL WE OWE THE TRUTH TO THE PEOPLE. J.F on this subject 1 were to consult St. Augustine, and St. Ambrose, I would say with the first, " Does truth " become a subject of scandal ? Let the scandal rise, " and let the truth be spoken *". I should repeat after the second : " He is to be es- " teemed a defender of truth, who, as soon as he per- " ceives it, speaks it without shame or fear f" . I should lastly add, '^ That the truth may be for a " time concealed, but cannot be defeated ;{;". But there is here no want of authority : what we owe to celebrated men is respect, and not credulity. We should therefore scrupulously examine their opi- nions ; and that examination made, we should judge according to our reason, and not according to theirs. I believe the three angles of a triangle to be equal to •* Si de A'erilate scandalum, utilius permittitur nasci scandalum quam Veritas reliuquatiu'. -f- Ille veritatis defensor esse debet qui cum rccte sentit, loqui non metuit, nee erubescit, % Occultari potest ad tempus Veritas, vinci non potest. St. Aug. too TREATISE ON MAN. 527 The jiublication of tiiitU is a duty. two right-angles, not because Euclid says it, but be- cause I can demonstrate it to be true. If we would know whether we really owe the trutli to mankind, let us ask the men in place themselves; they will all agree that it is important to them to know it, and that the knowledge of it alone provides them with the means of increasing and securing the public felicity. Now if every man, in quality of a citizen, ought to contribute all in his power to the liappiness of his countrjanen, whenever he knows the truth he ought to speak it. To ask if we owe the truth to mankind, is to ask by an obscure and circumlocutory turn of expression, it it be allowable to be virtuous, and to do good to our brethren. But the obligation to speak the truth supposes the possibility of discovering it: governments therefore ought to facilitate the means, and of all others the most certain is the liberty of the press. ^ 4 CHAP 328 TREATISE ON MAN. Advantages of the liberty of the press. CHAP. XII. OF THE LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. At is to contradiction, and consequently to the li- berty of the press, that physics owes its improvements. Had this liberty never subsisted, how many errors, consecrated by time, would be cited as incontestible axioms ! What is here said of physics is applicable to morality and politics. If we would be sure of the truth of our opinions, we should make them public. It is by the touchstone of contradiction that we must prove them. The press therefore should be free. The magistrate who prevents it, opposes all improvement in morality and politics ; he sins against his country*; he choaks the very seed of tho>e nappy ideas which the liberty of the press would produce : and who can estimate that loss ? Of this we are certain, that a free people, a people who think, will always command the people who do not think f . * He who would submit his ideas to the examination and judg- ment of his fellow-citizens, ought to publish all that he tiiinks true and useful : to conceal it is a sign of criminal indifference. f Who forbids the foreigner to speak and write freely ? How A piince TREATISE ON MAN. 329 Inconsistency of most governments in respect to the press. A prince therefore owes to his nation the truth, as being useful; and the liberty of the press, as the means of discovering it. Wherever that liberty is withheld, ignorance, like a profound darkness, is spread over iiie minds of men. It is tlien that the lovers of truth, at the same time they seek it, fear to find it: they are sensible that they must either conceal and basely disguise it, or expose themselves to persecution ; which every man dreads. If it be always the interest of the public to know the truth, it is not always the in- terest of a private person to speak it. Most governments even exhort the people to a search after the truth; but almost all punish them for making it public. JNow few men will for a long time brave the resentment of power, from a pure love to mankind and the truth; and consequently there are few masters who reveal it to their scholars. Thus the learning now taught in the colleges and seminaries is reduced to the reading of certain legends, and to the knowledge of some sophisms proper to encourage su- perstition, to render the mind false and the heart in- human. Men should have another education ; it is time that these trifles give place to solid instruction ; that men be taught what they owe to themselves, to tiieir neighbours, and to their country; that they be unjust and defective is the government that niakes this prohibition: The r.nglish is generally regarded as the best, and it is there thai the citizen is the most free in this respect. 2 convinced 330 TREATISE ON MAN. No mischief can result from the liberty of the press. convinced of the absurdity of religious disputes*; tlie interest they have in improving their morals, and con- sequently in securing the liberty of thinking and writing. But what whimsical opinions will not such a liberty produce ? No matter. These opinions being destroyed by reason as soon as produced by caprice, will make no alteration in the tranquilhty of a state. There are no specious pretences with which hypocrisy and ty- ranny have not coloured their desire of imposing si- lence on men of discernment ; and no virtuous citizen can see in these vain pretences any legitimate reason for remaining silent. This publication of the truth can be displeasing to those impostors only, who, too frequenily gaining the attention of princes, represent an enlightened people as factious, and a brutal people as docile. But what does experience teach us concerning this matter? That every intelligent people are deaf to the idle declama- tions of fanaticism, and shocked by all acts of in- justice. When a man is deprived of his property and liberty, and threatened with the loss of life itself, he becomes * For what reason should a free inquiry about religion be for- bidden ? If it be true, it will stand the test of examination : if it be false, how absurd is it to protect a religion whose morality is pusillanimous and cruel, and whose worship is a charge to the state from tiie excessive expence in maintaining its ministers ? exasperated ; TREATISE ON MAN. 531 Evils produced by an indifference ior the ti-ulb. exasperated ; it is then tliut the slave arms against his master. Truth has no enemies but the enemies of the public: bad men alone oppose its promulgation. To conelude, it is no great matter to shew that truth is useful ; that man owes it to man ; and that the press ought to be i'lee : we should also point out the evils produced in empires by an iadifterence to the truth. CHAP. XIIL OF THE EVILS PRODUCER BY AN INDIFFE- RENCE FOR THE TRUTH. In the political, as in the human body, a certain de- gree of fermentation is necessary to support motion and life. An indifference to glory and the truth produces a stagnation in the soul and the mind. Every nation that by the form of its government, or the stupidity of its ministers, comes to this state of indifference is barren in great talents, as well as in great virtues*. * The virtues fly the country from which truth is banished ; they will not inhabit the land where the title of the Sun of Justice !> tjiven to the most unjust and most cruel tyrants, and where their Let 333 TREATISE ON MAN. Evils produced by an indifference for the truth. Let us take the Indians for an example : what men are these, when compared to the active and industrious inhabitants of the Seine, the Rhine, or the Thames! Tlie Indian plunged in ignorance, indifferent to truth, wretched at home, and feeble abroad, is the slave of a despot, equally incapable of leading him to happiness in peace, or to an enemy in war*. What difference between modern India and that country which, for- jTierly so renowned, and cited as the nursery of the arts and sciences, was peopled with men greedy of glory and of discoveries ? The contempt in which this people are held shews the contempt that all nations are to expect, who like them lie plunged in indolence and an indifference for glory. Whoever regards ignorance as favourable to go- vernment, and error as useful, mistakes their produc- panegyrics are pronounced by teiTor. What ideas can wretched courtiers foiTn of virtue in countries where princes the most feared are most praised. * When there is a war in the East, the sophi, retiring to his se- raglio, commands his slaves to go and be killed for him on the frontiers: he will not even deign to conduct them. Can it be, says Machiavel, that a monarch shall abandon to his favourites, the most noble of liis funciious, that of commanding his armies ? Can he be ignorant that otliers being interested in prolonghig their com- mand, will for that reason prolong the war? Rut what a loss of men and money is occasioned by tliis prolongation ; and to what a reverse is a victorious nation exposed, that neglects the oppor- tunity of totally crushing an enemy, tions ; TREATISE ON MAN. 333 Dangers of error. tions : he has not consulted history ; he does not know that an error, useful for the present, too fre- quently contains the seeds of the greatest calamities. A white cloud ascends above the mountains ; it is the experienced mariner alone who beholds it as the forerunner of a hurricane, and hastens to a place of shelter : he knows that, descending from the summit of the mountain, the cloud will extend itself over the plain, and soon veil the sky, yet bright and serene, with a frightful night of tempests. Error is the white cloud in which few men see the evils thut it portends. These evils, hidden from the fool, are perceived by the wise man : he knows that a single error is sufficient to degrade a people, and obscure the whole horizon of their ideas ; and yet an erroneous conception of the Divinity has frequently produced this effect. Error, dangerous in itself, is still more so by propa- gation : one produces many. Every man compares, more or less, his ideas together. If he adopt a false idea, that, united with others, produces such as are ne- cessarily false, which, combining again with ali those that his memory contains, give to all of them a greater or less tinge of falsehood. Theological errors are a proof of this : one of them is alone sufficient to infect the whole masS of a man's ideas, and produce an inll- nily of capricious, monstrous, and always unexpected ideas; for the birth of monsterscan never be predicted before their delivery. ♦ Errors 334 TREATISE ON MAN. Multiplicity and inconsisteDCy of errors. Errors are of a thousand kinds. Trull), oti the con- trary, is uniform and simple ; its progress is ahva^^s si- milar and consistent. A discerning mind previously discovers the route it ought to take * : it is not so with error. Always inconsistent and irregular in its course, we lose sight of it every instant ; its appear- ances are always unforeseen, and therefore we cannot predict its effects. To stifle the seeds^ of error, the legislature cannot too much excite men to the search after truth. Every vice, say the philosophers, is an error of the understanding. Crimes and prejudices are brothers ; truth and virtue are sisters. But who are the parents of truth ? Contradiction and dispute. Liberty of thought bears the fruit of truth ; this liberty elevates the soul, and engenders sublime thoughts ; fear on the contrary, debases the soul, so that it can produce none but mean ideas. * The principles of a judicious minister being known, we may, in almost all circumstances, predict his conduct. That of a fool is not to be divined. It is by a visit, a word, a fit of impatience, he is determined, and hence the proverb, that God onlij knous xvkat nfooltvilldo. f Should we, to destroy error, compel it to silence ? No : how then ? Let us talk on. Error, obscure of itself, is rejected by every sound understanding. If time has not given it credit, and it be not favoured by government, it cannot bear the aspect of ex- amination. Reason will ultimately direct wherever it be freely exercised. However TREATISE ON MAN. 535 Classes composing the present generation. However useful truth may he, a people being led to their ruin by the imperfeetion of their government, cannot avoid it but by a great change in their goveni- nient, Iiiu's, manners, and customs, should the legisla- ture attempt it ? Should it make the present gene- ration miserable to merit the esteem of posterity ? Should that truth be heard which would advise meu lo secure the felicity of future generations by the mis- fortune of the present ? CHAP. XIV. THE HAPPINESS OF FUTURE GENKRAT10NS IS NKVER CONNRCTEI) WITH THE MISERY OF TUB PRESENT GENERATION. A o shew the absurdity of such a supposition, let us tsee of what the present^ generation, as it is called, is composed. 1. Of a great number of children who have not yet eoutraetcd habits. 2. Of youths who can easily change their habits. 5. Of men, many of whom have already foreseen (ud approved the reformation proposed. 4. Oi' old men, to whom ever}' change of opinions lid habit is reallv insupportable. . What S'36 TREATISE ON MAN". The public welfare should be preferred to that of individuals. What results from this enumeration? That a wise reformation in manners, laws and government may displease old men, those ihat are weak and slaves to custom, but that it will be useful to future generations, and also to the greatest number of those who compose the present generation, and consequently can never be contrary to the present and general state of a nation. Besides every one knows that the perpetuity of abuses in an empire is not the effect of our compassion for old men, but the ill-judged interest of people in power ; ihese, equally indifferent to the happiness of the present* and future generations, would have all sa- crificed to their most trifling caprice. They would have it so, and are obeyed. How exalted soever the station of a man may be, to the nation and not to him the first regard is due. God, we are told, died for the salvation of all men : we should not therefore sacrifice the happiness of all to the caprice of one. All personal interest should be sacrificed to that of the community. But it will be said, these sacrifices are sometimes cruel ; yes, when they are executed by the stupid and inhuman. When the public welfare requires the misfortune of an indi- * A wise government always provides in the happiness of the present generation for that of future generations. It has been said of youth and age, tliat tlie one foresees too much, and the other too Jittle : that to-day is the mistress of the young man, andto- iTjojrow that of the old one. It is after the manner of old men that states should conduct tliemselves. vidual, TREATISE ON M'AN. 337 A prince should attend to the di-.tfesses of his subjefts. vidual, every compassion is due to his misery; there are no means to alleviate it that should not be em- ployed; it is then that the justice and humanity of a prince should be exerted: all the unfortunate have a right to his beneficence ; he should commiserate their iuiVerings. Miserable is the state of the insensible and cruel man who refuses tlie citizen even the con- solation of complaining. Lamentation, common to all that suffer, all that breathe, is always lawful. 1 would not have the lamentations of the unfortunate stop the progress of the prince in his pursuit of the public good ; but I would have him in his progress dry up the tears of misery, and prone to pity, be pre- vented by the love of his country alone from consult- ing the happiness of individuals. Such a prince, always the friend of the distressed, and always employed in promoting the happiness of his subjects, will never regard the publication of the truth as dangerous. What is to be concluded from the foregoing obser- vations on this question ? I'liat the discovery of the truth, always useful to the public, is never pernicious to any but its author. That the publication of the truth does not affect the peace of states ; that the slowness of its progress alone is a security against any such consequence. That under every form of government it is impor- tant to know the truth. VOL. I J. z That 3SS TREATISE ON MAN. .* ■•*•*• • '.'-.- Wi ■ Conclasions from the preceding observations. ■n ' . " • . • ' I • . . nr That there are properly but two sorts of govern- nienls, the one good, and the other bad. That in neither of them the happiness of the prince is connected with the misery of his subjects. That if truth be useful we owe it to mankind. That consequently all governments ought to facili- tate the means of discovering the truth. .^-Tjl 4 *r' That the most sure of all others is the fiMf^^f-1:he press. That the sciences owe their improvemets to that liberty. That an indifference for the truth is a source of error, and error a source of public calami-ties. ^ vtv t >i«\ That no friend to the trath will propose the t^crifie© of the felicity of the present generation to that of the future generation. That such an hypothesis 's impossible. Lastly, that it is from the sole publication of the truth we are to expect the future happiness of man- kind. The consequence of these several propositions is, that no one having a right to promote the misfortune of ilie state, no one has a right to oppose the publica- tion of the truth, and especially of the first principles of morality. If a man by means of force usurps the power of a rstUion, from that moment the nation is plunged into an ignorance of its true interests ; the only laws adopt- ed are those that favour avarice, and the tyranny of 2 the TREATISE ON MAN. 339 Interest makes opinions appeal- true or false. the men in power ; the public cause remains without protectors. Such is in most kingdoms the actual state of tile people. This state is the more dreadful as it requires ages to free men from it. That besides, those interested in the miseries of a people fear no anproachinGr revolution. Error is not 1^^^^'Wued^by the attack of truth, but by the s t rokfe^-^^^. -The time of its destruction will be when the prince unites his interest with that of the public ;• till then it is in vain to present the rruth to '-/'tTiankind ? it will be always misunderstood. If we are X guided in our conduct and belief by nothing but the t interest of file present moment, how sliall web}- its un- "' oeTtaiiiaiid variable irlimmer distinituish truth from far«^h0bff ?' CHAP. XV. THE SAME OPINIONS APPEAR TRUC OR rALSE> ACCOliniNG TO THE INTEREST AVE HAVE TO EELIEVE THEM THE ONE OR THE OTHER. Ai.L men agree in the truth of geometrical jnopo- Jiitions; is it because they are demonstrated? No: but because men have no interest in taking tlic false z 2 for 340 TREATISE ON MAN. Catholic melhod of proving a iiroposition. for the true. If they had such an interest, the pro- positions most evidently demonstrated would appear to them problematical ; they would prove, on occasion, that the contained is greater than the container : this is a fact of which some religions afford examples. If a Catholic divine propose to prove that there are sticks that have not two ends, nothing is to him more easy ; he will first distinguish sticks into two sorts, the one material, the other spiritual. He will then deliver an obscure dissertation on the nature of spiritual sticks, and conclude that the existence of these sticks is a mystery above, yet not contraiy to reason: and then this self-evident proposition*, *' that there is no '' stick without two ends," becomes problematical. * Every one talks of evidence. : and as this opportunity pre- sents, I shall eudeavom- to annex a determinate idea to the word. E-jidence comes from the Latin word vidcrc, to see. I see that in ell is longer than a foot. Every fact therefore that I can as- certain by my senses is to me evident. But is it so to those that cannot ascertain it by the same means ? No ; hence I conclude, tliat a proposition generally evident is nothing more than a fact, of which all men can equally and at every instant verify the exis- tence. Tliat two bodies and two bodies make four bodies, is a propo- sition evident to all men ; because all can at every instant ascertain the truth of it : but that there is in the stables of the king of Siam an elephant eight yards high, is evident to all those who have seen it, but not to me, nor to those who have not measured it. This proposition therefore cannot be cited cither as evident, or as • probuble. It is in rcalitv more reasonable to suppose that ten wit- ' " It TREATISE ON MAN. 341 Absurdity of many theological aigiimciits. It is the same, says an English author on this sub- ject, with the most obvious truths of morality : the most evident is, " that with regard to crimes, the *' punishment should be personal, and that I ought not " to be punished for a robbery committed by my neigh- " hour." Yet how many theologians are there who still main- tain that God pupishes in the present race of man- kind the sins of their first parent*. To conceal the absurdity of this reasoning they add, that the justice of Heaven is not that of the earth : but if the justice of Heaven be true (I4), and be not that of the earth, man then lives in ignorance of what justice is ; he therefore can never know if the action which he thinks equitable be not unjust, and if robbery and murder are not virtue (15). What then become of the principles of the naaural law of morality ? How can we be sure of their equity, and distinguish an honest man from villain ? nesses of tliisfact were cither deceived, or that they exaggerate, or lastly, that they falsitied, than it is to believe that there should be an elephant of twice the common height. * Why, said a missionarv to a learned Cliinese, do you admit nothing but a blind destiny '■ Because, he replied, we cannot think that an intelligent Being can be unjust and punish in one just come" into the world a crime committed 6000 years since by bis father Adam. Your stupid piety makes God to be an intelligent .and unjust Being : ours, in f;,ci more enliglitened, makes him a blind destiny. z 3 CHAP. 342 TREATISE ON MAN. Interest makes men esteem cruelty iix themselves CHAP. XVI. iNTEKEST MAKES US ESTEEM IN OURSELVES EVEN THAT C R UELT Y WIliC K WE DETEST IN OTHERS. JXLL the nations of Europe regard with horror those priests of Carthage, whose barbarity enclosed living children in the burning statue of Saturn or Moloch. There is no Spaniard however who does not respect the same cruelty in himself and his inquisitors. To what must we attribute this contradiction ? To the veneration which a Spaniard has for a monk from his infancy. To divest himself of this habitual venera- tion, he must consult his reason, expose himself at once to the fatigue of attention, and the hatred of those inoHks. The Spaniard is therefore compelled, by the combined interest of fear and idleness, to revere in the Dominican the bnrbarity which he detests in the IMcx- ican priest. I shall doubtless be told, that the difier- once of religions changes the essence of things, and that an enormous cruelty in one religion is a respec- table action in another. I shall not reply to this absurdity ; but only observe, that the same interest whicl), for example, makes me love TREITISE ON MAN. 343 Interest causes crimes to be lionorcil. love and respect in one country, the cruelty I hate and despise hi others, ought also to fascinate the eyes of jny reason in other respects, and frequently exaggerate the contempt due to certain vices. Avarice is an example of this. When a miser con- tents himself with giving nothing, and saving what he has acquired, and is in other respects guilty of no in- justice, he is perhaps of all bad men the least injurious to society ; the evil he does is properly nothing more than an omission of the ffood he miuht do. If of all the vices avarice be the most generally detested, it is the effect of an avidity common to almost all men, it is because rr.en hate those from whom they can expect nothing. The greedy misers rail at sordid misers. CHAP. XVII. INTEllEST CAUSES CHIMES TO BE HONOURED. W HATEVER im|)crfect notions men may have of virtue, there arc few who respect robbery, murder, the poisoner, or the parricide ? and yet the whole church constantly honours these crimes in its protectors. I shall cite for example Constantine and Clovis. The former, without regard to the sanctity of oaths, z 4 caused 344 TREATISE ON MAN. Clovis, Coastantiae and i'epin. caused his brother-in-law Licinius to be assassinated ,• massacred his nephew Licinius at the age of" twelve years ; put to death his son Crispus, who was illustri- ous for his vhtues ; cut the throat of his father-in-law Maximian at Marseilles, and suffocated his wife Fausta in a bath. The authenticity of these crimes forced the Pagans to exclude this emperor from their feasts and initiations ; and the virtuous Christians received him into their church. As to the ferocious Clovis, he beat out the brains of the two brothers Uegnacaire ai'd Richemer, who were i)oth his relations. But he was liberal to the church, and Savaron |)roves the sanctity of Clovis. The church, it is true, has not made a saint either of Clovis or Constanline, but in them it has at least honoured two men polluted by the most enormous crimes. Whatever extends the dominions of the church always appears innocent in its eyes : Pepin is a proof. The pope at his desire passed from Italy to France ; on his arrival he anointed Pepin, and crowned in hiui an usurper who kept his lawful king shut up in the convent of St. Martin, and the son of his master in .the convent of Fonlenelle in Normandy. But this coronation, it will be said, was the crime of the pope, and not that of the church. The silence of the pre- lates was a secret approbation of the pope's conduct. Without this tacit consent the pope, in an assembly of the principal persons of the nation, would not have ejared to legitimate the usurpation of Pepin ; he would not TREx\TISE ON MAN. 345 Interest makes saints. not have forbidden tlnnn, under pain of exconiinunica- tion, to cl)nse a king of another race. But did all the prelates really honour such princes as l^epin, Clovis, and Constantine ? Some of them doubtless blushed inwardly at those odious beatificii- tions ; but most of them saw no crime in the criminal that enriched them. What cannot the fascination of interest operate on mankind '■ CHAP. XVIII. INTEREST MAKES SAIXTS. J- SHALL take Charlemagne for an example. He wa^ a great man ; endowed with great virtues ; but with none of those that make saints. His hands were em- brued with the blood of the Saxons, wiiom he unjustly butchered ; he robbed his nephews of their patrimony ; he married four wives, and was accused of incest; his conduct was not that of a saint, but he increased the territory of the church, and the church made him a saint. It did the same by Hermenigildus, son of the Visigoth king Eurigildus. This young prince leagued with a prince of Suevia against his father, gave him buttle, lost it near Cordova, and was killed by an oifi- cer I 346 TREATISE ON MAN. The church, from interest has canonised villains. cer of Emigildus ; but as he believed in eonsub- stantiality, the church sanctified him, A thousand villains have liad the same fortune. St. Grill, bishop of Alexandria, assassinated the beautiful and sublime Hypatia, and was in like manner canonised. Philip de Commines relates on this subject, that on entering the convent of the Carmelites, at Pavia, he was shewn the body of count Yvertu ; that count who obtained the principality of Milan by the murder of his uncle Bernabo, and was the first that bore the title of duke. What! said Commines to the monk who attended him, have you canonised such a monster ! He was one of our benefactors, replied the Carmelite ; and, to increase their number, it is our custom to grant them the honours of sanctity : it is by us that fools and knaves become saints, and by them that we become rich. How many successions have been violated b}- the monks r But they rob for the church, and the church makes them saints. The history of popery is nothing more than a vast collection of similar facts. When we open the legends we read the names of a thousand canonised scoundrels ; but we look in vain for the name of Alfred the Great, who for a long time was the happiness of England ; or of Henry IV. who would have been that of France ; and for the names of those men of genius, who, by their discoveries in the arts and sciences, have been an lionour to their age and their country. The TREATISE ON MAN. 347 Power of interest in tlie Catholic cliurcli. Tlie church, always greedy of riches, constantly dis- poses of dignities in heaven in favour of those who give it great riches upon earth. Interest peoples the celestial regions. What bounds can be set to its power? If God, as they say, has made all things for himself, omnia pinpler semetipsum opcralus est Dominus, man, created after his image and resemblance, has done the same. It is always aecording to his own in- terest tliat he judges*. Is he often unhappy ? It is because he wants discernment. Idleness, a momentary * Our belief, according to some philosopher?, is independent of our interest ; these philosophers are right or wrong according to the idea they attach to the word Z»e//e/"; if they mean by it a cleer idea of the matter believed, and that they can, like the geo- metricians, demonstrate its truth, it is certain that no error is be- lieved, tliat none will stand investigation, that we form no clear idea of it, and that in tliis sense there are few believers. But if we take the word in the common acceptation, and mean by a believer an adorer of the bull Apis ; if the man uho, without having a clear idea of what he believes, believes by imitation, who, if I may be allowed the expression, believes he believes, and maintains the truth of his belief at the peril of his life ; in this sense there are many believers. The Catholic cliurch boasts continually of its martyrs ; but I know not wherefore. Every religion has its own. " lie that pretends to a revelation ought to die in the maintenance " of what he says: that is the only proof he can give of what he " asserts." It is not so with t'ne philosopher ; his propositions must be supported by facts and reasonings ; whether he die or not in the maintenance of ITis doctrine is of little importance ; his death would prove only that he was obstinately attached to his opinion; not that it was true. advantage. 548 TREATISE ON MAV. Cau'>e of the credulity 9o iKitural to iu;in. advantage, and especially a shameful submission to re- ceived opinions, are so many rocks scattered in the course of our pursuit after happiness. To avoid them we must tiiink, and we will not take the trouble: men like better to believe than lo exa- mine. How often has our credulity blinded us in the pursuit of our true interest ! Man has been defined a rational animal; I define him a credulous animal*: what can he not be made to believe ? When a hypo- crite pretends to virtue, he is reputed virtuous, and is iq consequence more honoured than an honest man. Do the clergy pretend to be without ambition ? They are regarded as such, even at the time they declare ' themselves to be the first body of the state-^j-. Do the bishops and cardinals pretend to humility r As for the rest, the belief of fanatics, always founded on an imaginary, but powerful interest in heavenly rewards, constantly imposes on the vulgar ; and it is to these fanatics that we must at- tribute the establishment of almost all general opinions. * The manners and actions of animals prove that they com- pare and judge. They are in this respect more or less rational, have more or less resemblance to man ; but what comparison is therebetween their credulity and ours j None. It is principally in the extent of credulity that we differ; and it is this perhaps which most particularly distinguishes man from animals. f If the apostles never assumed the rank of the first body of the state, if they never pretended to equal themselves to the Cisars and proconsuls, the clergy must have a very high opinion of human stupidity to call themselves Inunble, and at the same lime make such extravagant pretensions. They TREATISE ON MAN. 349 Evils lesiilling from that incredulity. They are believed on their word ; when by assuming the title of lordship, eminence, and excellence, tbe latter would even put themselves on a level with kings. Cardinales regibus (vquiparantur. The monk calls himself poor, and is reputed so, even at the time he possesses the greatest part of the reve- nue of a state ; and this monk in consequence receives alms from an infinity of dupes. To conclude, let no one be astonished at human im- becility : men, being in general badly educated, are what they ought to be ; their extreme credulit}' rarely leaving them the free exercise of their reason, they in consequence form wrong judgments and are unhappy. What is to be done where men are indifferent to the matter on which ihey are to judge*, and consequently * When an opinion appears to me indifferent, it is by the ba- lance of my reason I weigh its advantages. But if that opinioa excite in me hatred, love or fear, it is not my reason, but my passions, that judge of its truth or falsehood. Now the more vi- gorous my passions are, the less share will reason have in my judg- ments. To overcome the most gross prejudice, it is not enough to see its absurdity. Hax'e I demonstrated in the morning the non-existence of ap- paritions ? If I am at night alone in a chamber or a wood, and phantoms or apparitions seem to rise out of tlie floorer the earth, terror seizes me : the most solid reasoning cannot dissipate my fear. To stifle in me the fear of spectres, it is not sufficient to prove their non-existence ; I must have the reasons by wjiich that prejudice i^i dejtroyed as habitually present with me, as con- stantly in my memory, as the prejudice itself. Now this is a work without 550 TREATISE ON MAN. A just judgment is very rare. without altention and discernment to judge properly ; or where they have strong prejudices concerning that matter, and consequently it is the interest of the pre- sent moment that almost always directs their judg- ment ? ■ A just judgment supposes an indifference for the matter judged of*, and an earnest desire to judge rightly. Now in the present state of societies few men are endowed with these two qualities of indiff"erence and desire, or find themselves in the happy situation that produces them. Too servilely attached to the interests of the present moment, we almost always sacrifice to it our future in- terests, and judge even against evidence itself. Per- haps M. de la Riviere has expected too much from this evidence ; it is on its power lie has founded the future happiness of nations, and this foundation is not so solid as he imagines. of time, and in some cases of a very long time ; till this time I shall tremble in the dark at the very name of a spectre and magi- cian. This is a fact proved by experience. * Why is a foreigner a belter judge of the beauties of a new work than one of the same nation ? Because indifference dictates the judgment of the former, and the other is directed by envy and prejudice, at least in the first moments. Not but that among the latter there are some who take a pride in forming a sound judgment; but their number is too small to give tlieir judgment at first any weight with the public. CHAP. TREATISE ON MAN. 35i The gieat lliiiik Ibeinsclves of a superior species. CHAP. XIX. INTEREST PERSUADES THE GREAT THAT THEY ARE OF A DIFFERENT SPECIES FROM OTHER MEN. If mc admit that there was a fn*? ,we must all be of the same house, of a f^i-iiiilj^gas^iijally ancient, and consequently all noble*. j.^ Who would refuse the tit/e of gentleman to him who by extracts taken from the registers of circumci- sions and baptisms could prove a descent in a direct line from Abraham to himself? It is therefore nothing more than the preservation or the loss of extracts that distinguishes the nobleman from the plebeian. But do the great really think themselves of a race superior to the mechanic, and the sovereign of a diffe- rent species from a duke, count,&c. ? Why Aotfl have seen men, no more sorcerers than myself, think ancl call themselves sorcerers, even on the scaffold. A thou- * Nobles and heralds, by your leave, Here lie the bones of Matthew Prior, The soil of Adam and of Eve, Let Bourbon or Nassau go higher. Prior. T. sand 352 TREATISE ON MAN. The great think tUemsclves of a superior sj e ics. sand instances prove this fact. There are people who think themselves born lucky; and when fortune aban- dons them a moment, are indigent. This opinion, says Mr. Hume, is in them the effect of the constant suc- cess of their first enterprizes ; after this success they take their good fortiuie for an effect, and their star for the cause of that effect*. If such be human na- ture, can ^ve wonder that the great, debauched by the daily homage rendered to their riches and dignities, think tbemselvei^i ^f^g'^^peculiar racef. Yet they ack.,^ Ige Adam to be the pommoii father of all men ;^}^| t^but without being fully con- vinced of it : their actiu.'^, discourses, and looks, all give the lye to this acknowledgment ; and they are all persuaded that they and the monarch have the same prerogative over the common people that the farmer has over his cattle. I do not mean here to satirize the greatij:, but man- * When two facts, says Mr. Hume, happen always together, there is supposed to be a necessary dependence between them. One of them is called tlie cause, and the other tfie effect. f The antiquity of their house is in a peculiar manner dear to those who cannot attain the merit of their ancestors. 4 If all men are the descendants of Adam, does it follow that they should be equally respected ? No : there are in every society superiors that ought to have pre-eminence. But is it to great places or high birth that our respect Is due ? I answer for great places. They suppose at least some merit ; and what the public has a real interest in honouring, is merit. kind TREATISE ON MAN. 353 Reason why man is so subject to illusion. kind in general. The tradesman has the same con- tempt for his porter, that the nobleman has for him. To conclude, let no one be surprised to find man subject to so much illusion* : it would be more sur- prising to find him resist such errors as flatter his vanity. He believes, and ever will believe, what he has an interest in believing: if he sometimes employ himself in the search of truth, it is because he sometimes imagines it to be his interest to find it. * When prejudice commands, reason is silent. Prejudice makes men, in certain countries, respect the officer of quality, and despise the officer of fortune; consequently prefer birth to merit. There is no doubt that a state arrived at that degree of corruption is near its ruin. VOL. II. 2 A CHAP. 354 TREATISE ON MAX. luteiesl makes meii honour vice. CHAP. XX. INTEREST MAKES MEN HONOUR VICE IN THEIR PROTECTOR. II EN a man depends for his fortune and considera- tion on a person in power without merit, he becomes that person's panegyrist. The tirst of those men, hi- therto honest, remains so no longer ; he changes his manners, and, as it were, his being : he descends from the condition of a free citizen to that of a slave; his interest instantly becomes separate from that of the public. Solely occupied with the fortune of his protector, he thtnks every method to increase it legi- timate. Does his protector commit injustice, and oppress his fellow-citizens, and do the}"- complain ? They are to blame. Did not the priests of Jupiter make men adore in him the parricide by which they lived ? What does the protected require in the protector ? Power, not merit. What in his turn does the protec- tor require from the protected? Servility, devotion, and not virtue. It is by virtue of his devotion that the protected is raised to the first employments. If there have been instances where merit alone has raised a man TREATISE ON MAN. 355 The interest of the powerful conim^.iids opinions. man, it has been in tempestuous times, when neces- sity has made him useful. li in a civil war all important employments are given to men of talents, it is because the powerful of each party being strongly interested in the destruction of their adversaries, are forced to sacrifice their envy and other passions to their security. This interest makes them then see the merit of those whom they employ. But the danger past, and peace restored, the men in power become indiiferent to vice or virtue, talents or stupidity : merit is then degraded, and truth despised ; for what can it then do for mankind ? CHAP. XXI. THE INTEREST OF THE POWERFUL IN GENERAL COMMANDS OPINIONS MORE IMPERIOUSLY THAN THE TRUTH. JyiEN continually boast of the power of truth, and yet this power, so vaunted, is fruitless, if the interest of the prince do not make it prolific. How many truths are buried in such works as those of Gordon, Sydney, and Machiavel, and will not be recovered but by the efficacious efforts of a discerning and virtuous monarch. Such a prince, it is said, will arise sooner 2 A 2 or 556 TREATISE ON MAN. The interest of the powerful commands opinions. or later. Be it so. Till that period those truths may be regarded as materials ready prepared for a build- ing. It is certain that those materials will not be em- ployed by a potentate but in such positions and cir- cumstances as make it the interest of his glory to use them. Opinion, we are told, is the queen of the world. There are certainly periods at which the general opi- nion commands sovereigns themselves : but what has this fact in common with the power of the truth ? Does it shew that the general opinion is prodaced by it ? No : experience proves on the contrary, that almost all questions in morality and politics are re- solved by the strong and not by the rational ; and that if opinion rules the world, it is at last the powerful that rule opinion. Whoever dispenses honours, riches, and punish- ments, attaches to himself a great number of citizens. These distributions debase their minds, and give him the command over them. Such are the means by which the sultans legitimate their most absurd preten- sions, accustom their subjects to honour the title of slaves, and despise that of free men. What opinions are the most generally diffused.'^ Without doubt religious opinions. Now it is not rea- son, nor truth, but violence, by which those are es- tablished (16). Mahomet would propagate his Koran ; he armed, he flattered, he terrified the imagination. The people were by fear and hope influenced to re- ceive TREATISE ON MAN. S51 Interest blinded llic French parliaments in respect to poperj. ceive his law; and the visions of the prophet soon be came the opinion of half" the universe. But is not the progress ol" truth more rapid than that of error ? Yes, when they are equally propagated by the powerful. Truth of itself is clear ; every sound understanding can perceive it. Error, on the con- trary, is always obscure, always wrapt up in the cloud of incomprehensibility, and then becomes the con- tempt of good sense. But what can good sense do against force? It is force, fraud, and chance, more than reason and truth, that have always presided at the formation of general opinions. CHAP. XXII. A SECRET TNTEKEST ALAVAYS CONCEALED FROM THE PARLIAMENTS THE CONrOKMllY 0 1' THE MORALITY CI- THE JESUITS AVITH POl'iiUY. Phe parliaments have at the same time condemnerl the morahty of the Jesuits and respected that of Po- per)?*. The conformity of those two moralities, is. * The natural \to\, said a great pnlitirian, has made vast ra- Tagfs aniong tlie European nations; hut the moral pox (popery) lias made still a greater. 2 A J howevcrj 358 TREATISE ON MAN, Interest produces religious pt'secution. however, evident. The protection granted to the Je- suits by the pope, and the greatest part of the Catho- lic bishops (17), renders this conformity striking. We know that the Popish church always appioved, in the works of those religious, maxims that are as favour- able to Rome, as they are unfavourable to every other government ; yet the clergy in this respect were their accomplices. The morality of the Jesuits is however alone condemned. The parliaments are silent with regard to that of the church. Why ? Because they fear to contend with a criminal too strong tor them. They have a confused perception that their influence is not equal to tl;?t enterprize; that it was scarcely able to counterpoise the weight of the Jesuits. Their interest therefore advises them not to attempt more, and directs them to honour in the guilty the crime which they cannot punish. CHAP. XXIII. INTEREST MAKES MEN DAILY CONTRADICT THIS MAXIM ; DO NOT TO OTHERS WHAT THOU WOULDbT NOT THEY SHOULD DO UNTO THEE. The Catholic priest, persecuted by the Calvinist or the Mussulman^ denounces persecution to be an infrac- tion TEEATISE ON MAN. . 359 IiULTCJt produces religious peisccution. tion of the law of nuture ; biiL when this priest be- comes a persecutor, persecution appears to him legiti- mate : it is in him the effect of a holy zeal, and a love of his neighbour. Thus the same action becomes either just or unjust according as the priest is execu- tioner or malefactor. If we read the history of the difterent sects among the Christians, we find that as long as they were weak they employed no other arms in their theological dis- putes than those of argument (IS) and entreaty. But when those sects became strong, from the persecuted, as I have already said, they became the persecutors. Calvin burned Servetus. The Jesuit persecutes the Jansenist, and the Jansenist would burn the Deist. Into what a labyrinth of errors and contradictions does interest lead us ! It obscures in us even self-evident truths. What in fact does the theatre of this world present to us? Nothing but the various and perpetual movements of interest (19). The more we meditate on this prin- ciple, the more we perceive its extent and fecundity. It is an inexhaustible mine of subtle and powerful ideas. A 4 CHAP. 360 TREATISE ON MAN. Evils of popery- CHAP, XXIV. INTEREST CONCEALS PROM THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE PRIEST HIMSELF, WHO IS AN HONEST MAN, THE EVILS PRODUCED BY POPERY. The most religious countries are the most unculti- vated. It is in the ecclesiastical dominions that the greatest depopulation appears : for those countries are of all others the worst governed. In the catholic cantons of Switzerland want and stupidity reign; in the protestant cantons, plenty and industry: popery therefore is destructive to empires. It is above ail fa- tal to those nations, who, powerful by their commerce, have no interest in improving their colonies;* encou- raging industry, and advancing the arts. But among the several nations what is it that renders the papal idol so respectable? Custom. What is it among the same nations that forbids men to think ? Idleness ; which reigns over men of every condition. It is from idleness that princes see all things with the eyes of others ; and from idleness that, in certain * Rising colonies become populous by toleration, and for that reason the Christian religion should be called back to those prin- ciples on which it was founded by Jesus. cases. TREATISE ON MAN. 361 tj. ■ ■ ■ — -= Duiigcrfi of uii iiilolcrunt religion. ■ «' . . ■ t cases, luiiions and iiiiiiistcrs charge the pope wiili ihiiiking for ihem. What follows? That the pontiff profits by iliis privilege to extend and confirm his authority, which princes might limit were they firmly resolved to do it. Without such resolution it is not to be imagined that an intolerant church will break tlie chains with which she fetters the people. Intolerance is a mine under the throne that is always charged, and which ecclesiastical discontent is always ready lo set on tire. What can counteract this mine? Philosophy and virtue : for which reason the church constantly decries the information of the one, and the humanity of the other ; and always draws philosophy and virtue in hideous colours*. The object of the clergy has been to discredit them, and their means have been by calumny. Men in general like better to be- jicvc than examine ; and the clergy in consequence always find in the aversion of men for thinking the firmest support of the papal power. What other cause could blind the eyes of the French magistrates to the danger of popery ? If in the affair of the Jesuits * If the hatred that exhales in vague accusations proves the jniiocence of the accused, nothing does philosophy more honour than sacerdotal hatred. The clergy have never cited facts against it ; they did not accuse the philosophers ot the assassination of Henry IV. of the sedition of Madrid, or of the conspiracy of St. Uomingo. It was a monk, and not a philosopher, who there ,*n.-;o.i to be a crime ; which he expiated b\' a long penance. '3 B 4 ri'dit 376 TREATISE ON MAN. Tlie church claims a light to ilethrone kings. right of vengeance is to persecute men. The same in- faUibilitj that has given the church that rights has au- thorised the church to execute it, as well over kings, as over the meanest of their subjects (23). But it maj be said, ought the majesty of princes to humble itself before the pride of the priests ? Ought it to submit to the punishments inflicted b}' the sacer- dotal power ? Why not, the church will reply ? What is their pretended majesty ? An absolute nullity before the Eternal and his ministers. Can the vain title of Icing annihilate the rights of the clergy ? They cannot lose their rights. Whether prince or subject be guilty of heres}', the same crime demands the same punishment. Besides if the conduct of a prince be a law to the people ; if his example can authorize their impiety, it is the blood of kings especially that the interest of God and the priest requires. The church niade it flow in the time of Henry III. and Henry IV. and the church is always the same. Tlie doctrine of Bellarmin is the doctrine of Rome and of its semina- ries. " The first Christians, says that doctor, had a " right to kill Nero, and all the princes, their per- *' secutors. If they sufl'ered without complaining, it ** was from a want of confidence, and not a want *' of right." Samuel had no right which the Ca- tholic church, that spouse of God (24), does not still possess. Now Agag was a king : Samuel com- manded Saul to murder that king ; Saul hesitated ; he was proscribed, and his scepter given to another. Let Christians, instructed by this example know^ that the TREATISE ON MAN. 377 The pretensions of tlie clmicli piovcil liy facts. the moment God commands the punishment of a king by the mouth of a priest, it is the Christian's part to obey. To hesitate is a crime. CHAP. XXX. THE PRETENSIONS OF THE CHURCH PROVED BY FACTS. JLhe same rights, says the church, that my infallibi- lity lias given me over kings, an immemorial possession has confirmed to me. Princes have ever been my slaves, and 1 have always Aied human blood. In vaiu do the impious cite ai^ainst me this passage ; " Render **|to Caesar the things that are Cajsar's." If Ca;sar be a heretic, what should the church render to him r Death*. Is it for Catliolics to read and quote the scriptures? Do they pretend, like Protestants and Quakers, to seek their sense, and be their inter[)reters ? The letter kill- eth,but the spirit maketh alive. Let Cathohcs, by the example of the saints, humbly * It was thus in the time of Henry III. and Henry IV. of Cle- ment and Ravailhic, that tiie Sorbonnists intt.'rpretecl this passage. adore 378 TREATISE ON MAtt. The pretensions of the church proved by facts adore the decisions of the church, and acknowledge its power over the temporalities of kings. Tliat Thomas of Canterbury, that intriguing, ungrateful, audacious priest, as they call him, was a most lively defender of the sacerdotal rights, and his zeal has placed him in the rank of saints. Let the vile laity, those insects of darkness, humble their reason before the incompre- hensible scriptures, and attend their interpretation in silence : it is enough for them to know that all autho- rity is from God, revealed to his vicar, and that there is no one independent of the pope. The catholic princes have in vain endeavoured to free themselves from that holy yoke ; they have not themselves been yet able to determine the precise bounds of the two authorities*. How can they reproach the church, when the}' acknowledge its infallibility? It is there- fore void of ambition. The most authentic testimo- nies of its oAvn history cannot depose against it. In short, the most clear demonstrations are insufficient to prove it guilty of any crimes. * Is it impossible to fix these bounds ? No. If tiie priests, as they say, pretended to nothing but spiritual authority, and pro« perty of that sort, they should be allo\ved to exercise no autho- rity but in the land of spirits. As to property, they should have such only as is the most aerial or spiritual ; consequently all, from the pinnacle of the Cordeliers to the empyrean, should be theirs ; but all the rest should belong to kings and republics. Europe TREATISE ON MAN. 379 \ . ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ - — Infallibility of t)ie churcli and riglits of tlie clergj". — t. Europe now denies the infallibility of the church ; but there was no doubt made of it when the clergy tiansferred to the Spaniards the crown of Montezuma, when they armed the West against the East, when they ordered their saints to preach up crusades, and in short/ disposed of the crowns of Asia at their plea- sure. What the church could do in Asia, it can do in Europe also. What moreover are the rights claimed by the clergy ? Those that have been enjoyed by priests of all reli- gions. In the time of paganism, were not the most magnificent gifts carried in Sweden to the famous Temple of Upsal ? The most sumptuous offerings, says M. Midlet, were, in limes of public or private cala- mities made to the Druids. Now at the time the catholic priests succeeded to the wealth and power of those Druids, they had, like them, a part in all the revolutions of Sweden. How many seditions were ex- cited by the archbishops of Upsal ! How many changes made by them in the form of government ! The throne itself was not then a protection against the power of those formidable prelates. If tliey demanded the blo.*)d of princes, the people hastened to shed it. Such were in Sweden the rights of the church. In Germany they obliged the emperors, with bare heads and feet, to come before the pope and acknow- ledge in him the supreme authority. In France they commanded the kings, stripped of their habits by the ministers of religion, to be bound to 380 TREATISE ON MAN. Authority exercised by the church at different periods. to the altars, and there scourged with rods, that they might expiate the crimes of whicli the church accused them. In Portugal the inquisition disinterred the bodjr of Don John IV *, to absolve him from an excommuni- cation which he had not incurred. At the time of the difference between Paul V. and the regency of Venice, the church anathematised the learned man whose pen had revenged the public ; it did more, it assassinated father Paul, and no one contested the right f. Europe saw the action, and held a re- spectful silence concerning it. When Rome in like manner anathematised the lord of Milan J; when it declared Malatesta, Ordolaphe, and Manfredi heretics, and published crusades against them §, the princes of Europe were silent, and their * The crime of Don John was his forbidding the inquisitors to appropriate the goods of their victims ; though that prohibition was not contrary even to the new bull that the Dominicans, un- known to that prince, had obtained of the pope. f Father Paul, on receiving a stab with a poignard while he was saying mass, pronounced as he fell lliose celeijrated words, egnosco stijlum Romanum. :{: The only crime of which the pope accused Visconti was, that in quality of vassal of the empire he had shewn too much zeal in the cause of the emperor Lewis of Bavaria : for this zeal h« was declared a heretic. § The crime of Malatesta was tlie surprising of Kimini ; that of Ordolaphe and Manfredi, the making themselves masters of silence m* TREATISE ON MAN. 38 1 Inferences from the allowed infiillibiiity of the churcli. silence was a tacit acknowledgment of the right novr claimed by the church ; a right exercised by it in all times, and founded on the unshakable base of in- fallibility. Now what answer can be given to this croud of ex- amples and reasonings on which the clergy found their pretensions ? The church once acknowledged infalli- ble, and the sole interpreter of the scriptures (25)i every right it pretends to is a right established ; there can be none of its decisions that is not true : to doubt them is impiety. If it declare a king to be a heretic, he becomes such : if it condemn him to punishment, lie must suffer it. However barbarous or intole- rant a body may be, if we allow it to be infallible, we liave no right to judge its actions : to deny its Justice is to deny the immediate and evident conse- quence of the principle we admit. I shall not pursue this matter further, but content myself with observing, that if it be true, as I have said above, that every man, or at least every body of men, are ambitious^ then. Faenza, on which the pope had formed pretensions. All the popes were then usurpers, and all their enemies were declared heretics. These popes however confessed, but did not restore. 'I'heir successors enjoy without scruple what the others unlawfully obtained. This enjoyment iriight be regarded as a mystery of iniquity ; I would rather regard it as a mystery of theology. 1 Their 382 TREATISE ON MAN. Conclusions from the preceding observations. Their ambition is either virtuous or vicious, accord- ing to the means which they employ to gratify it. Tlie means employed by the church are always, destructive of the happiness of a nation. Its grandeur, founded on intolerance, must im- poverish a nation, degrade the magistrates, and en- dianger the life of the sovereign ; in short, the in- terest of the sacerdotal power never can coincide with that of the public. From these several facts we must conclude that reli-, gion, (nt^t that gentle and tolerant religion established by Jesus), but that of the priests, by virtue of which they declare themselves the avengers of the Divinity, and pretend to the right of persecuting and burning their. brethren, is a religion of discord * and of blood ; a regicidal religion, and on which an ambitious cler'n- may always establish those horrid rights of which they have so frequently made use. But what can kings do against tlie ambition of the church ? Deny it, like certain sects of Christians, 1. The qualification of infallibility; 2. The exclusive right of interpreting the scriptures ; 3. The title of the avenger of the Divinity. * If religion be sometimes a pretence for troubles and civil stai-s, the true cause we are told is, the ambition and avarice of princes ; but without the aid of an intolerant religion, their ambi- tion would never arm a hundred- thousand men. CHAP. TREATISE ON MAN. 383 Means of restraining ecclesiastical ambition. CHAP. XXXT. or THE MEANS OF RESTRAINING ECCLESIASTICAL AMBITION. VV HEN it is left to God to take his own vengeance, and to punisli heiciics ; and the inh-abilunts of" the eanh do not arrogate to themselves the rip:ht of judging of«< fences committed against heaven ('iG); in short, when the precept of toleration hecomes a precept of public instruction, the priesthood having no longer any pre- tence for persecuting mankind, fomenting the people to rebel, and usurping the temporal power; their ambi- tion will be extinct, 'ihen, divested of their ferocity, ihev will no lonuer curse their sovereigns, nor arm a Kavaillac, nor open the gates of heaven to regicides. If faith be a gift of heaven, they who have it not, de- serve to be pitied, not punished. It is the excess of inhumanity to persecute an unfortunate person. By what fatality is it then practised in matters of religion ? Toleration establislied, heaven would no longer be the reward of murder aud the most atrocious attempts. Besides, whetlier a prince be barbarous or benefi- cent, a Busiris or a Trajan, it is always his interest to establish tolefation. It is the slaves of the church only that 384 TREATISE ON MAN. Necessity of dimiuisUiii!; the power of the clergy. that il permits to be tyrants. Now Busiris would not be a slave. With regard to a prince that is virtuous and jealous of the happiness of his subjects, what will be his prin- cipal care ? That of weakening the power of the priesthood. It is the clergy that will always most strongly oppose the execution of his benevolent pro- jects. The spiritual power is always either the open or secret enemy * of the temporal. The church is tyger ; when chained by the law of toleration, it is gentle ; when the chain is broken it resumes its former fury. By what the church has formerly done, princes may judge wdiat it would again do if it were possessed of its former power. The past should inform them of the future. The magistrate who flatters himself with making the the spiritual and temporal powers concur in the same object, that is, the public good, deceives himself: their interests are too opposite. It is with these two powers, sometimes united to devour the same people, as with two neighbouring and jealous nations, which * When a sovereign grants favour and consideration to bigots, he furnislies his enemy with arms. His foreign enemies are the neighbouring princes ; his domestic are the theologians. Should he increase their power ? The multiphcity of religions in a king- dom gives solidity to the throne. Sectaries cannot be main- tained but by those of other sects. In morality, as in physics, it i» the equilibrium of opposite forces that produces rest. leagued TREATISE ON MAN. 385 Hostility of the temporal ami Siicei dotal power. which leagued against a third, attack and subdue it, that they may part the spoil between them. No empire can be wisely governed by two supreme and independent powers. It is from one alone, either divided into several, or united in the hands of a mo- narch, that all law ought to proceed. Toleration subjects the priest to the prince ; intole- rance the prince to the priest. Jt infers two rival powers in an empire. Perhaps the ancients, in the partition they made of the universe between Oromazes and Arimanes, and in the recital of tlieir perpetual combats, meant nothing luore than the perpetual war between the sacerdotal and temporal powers. The reign of Oromazes was that of light and virtue: such should be the reign of the laws. Tlie reign of Arimanes was that of daricness and wi-ckedness; and such must be that of tlie priest- hood and superstition. Who are the disciples of Oromazes ■ The philoso- phers, at present so persecuted in France by the monks, the ministers of Arimanes. Of what crimes are they accused ? None. They have, as far as was in their power, enlightened mankind ; IVeed them from the in- famous yoke of superstition ; and it is perhaps lo their writings that princes and magistrates owe, ia part, the preservation of their autliority. The ignorance of the people, the mother of a stupid devotion (27,) is a poison, that sublimed by religious chemists, spreads round the throne the mortal exhala- YOL. 11. 2 c tiona 586 TREATISE ON MAX. Misery of a nation governed bj- monks, tions of superstition. The learning of the philosophers, on the contrary, is a pure and sacred fire, that drives far from kings the pestilential vapours of fanaticism. Tl)e prince who subjects himself and his people to the sacerdotal empire, drives from him his virtuous subjects : he reigns, but it is ovefr the superstitious only ; over a people whose minds are totally degraded ; in short, over slaves to the priest. These slaves are men dead to their country; they serve it not, either by their talents, or their courage. A country where there is an inquisition cannot be the country of an honest citizen (£8). Unhappy is the nation where the monk persecutes with impunity all who despise his le- uencls, and believe not in witchcraft and fairies ; where he drags to punishment the virtuous man, i^lio does good, offends no one, mid speah the truth. Under the reign of fanaticism, says Mr. Hume, in the life of Mary of England, the most persecuted were the most honest and discerning. From the moment bigotry takes in hand the reins of an empire, virtue and ta- lents are banished : then the minds of men fall into a dejection, and the only one that is perhaps incurable. However critical the situation of a people may be, one great man is sometimes alone sufficient to change the face of affairs. The war broke out between France and England ; France had at first the advantage : Mr. Pitt was raised to the ministry ; the English nation re- sumed its spirit, and the naval officers their intrepidity. The puuishmeat of an admiral produced this change. 7 The TREATISE ON MAN. 387 Of the love of country. The minister communicated the activity of iiis genius to the commanders of his enterprizes : the avidity of the soldier and the sailor, awakened by the allurements' of gain and plunder, re-animated their courage ; and nothing was less similar than the English at the begin- ning and the end of the war. Mr. Pitt, it will be said, ruled over free men : it is doubtless easy to inspire the spirit of life into such a people. In every other country what use can be made of the powerful resource of patriotic love ? If in the East a citizen should make the interest of his nation his own ; if he should participate the glory, the shame and misfortune of his country, and it should sink un- der a load of calamities, can such a man ever pre- tend to name the authors of those evils? If he name them he is lost. A good citizen, under certain govern- ments, must therefore be punished as such, or cease to be such. Is it so in France? I know not. But this 1 know, that the only minister who iti the last war could have given some energy to the nation was the duke de Choiseul. His birth, his courage, the elevation of his character, the vivacity of his concep- tions, would doubtless have re-animated the French, if they had been capable of re-animation ; but bigotry then commanded too imperiously over the great (29). Such was its power over them, that at the time France was beaten on every side, and saw her colonies ra- vished from her, nothing was regarded at Paris but 388 TREATISE ON MAN. The affair of the Jesuits absorbed the whole attention of the French. the affair of the Jesuits*; no efforts were made but for them. * When the affair of the Jesuits was in agitation, if news came to Paris of the loss of a battle, it was scarcely regarded for a day; the next day they talked of the expulsion of the holy fathers. Those fathers, to divert the public from investigating their constitutions, exclaimed mcessantly against the Encyclope- dists. They attributed the bad success of the French arms to the progress of philosophy ; it is that, they said, debauches the minds of the generals and soldiers : the devout were convinced it was so. A thousand jackdaws repeated the same words : and yet it was the very philosopliic people of England, and the still more philosophic king of Prussia, who beat tliose French generals that no one suspected of philosophy. On the other hand, the lovers of ancient music maintained that the misfortunes of France were owing to tlie taste for buffoons, ■and Italian music ; for that music, according to them, had entirely corrupted the French manners. I was then at Paris. It is not to be imagined how ridiculous such notions, maintained by what the French call good company, made them appear to foreigners. Good sense was treated, by almost all the great ladies, as impi- ety : they talked of nothing but the reverend father Berthier ; ^nd measured the merit of a man only by the size of his missal. In every funeral oration they harangued on nothing but the piety of the deceased ; and his panegyric was reduced to this Tluit the great man so extolled was an ideot, whom the monks had aiwaiis ltd by t!ie nose. There was no exhortation or sermon that did not end with some satiric invective agadnst the philosophers and Encyclopedists, The preacher, toward the end of his dis- course, aJyanced to the edge of his pulpit, like a castrato to the Suck TREATISE ON MAN. 389 Instruction is capable of imjiroving a superstitious iiiition. Such was the spirit that reigned at Cotistantinople when besieged by JNIahomet the Second; the mini- sters held councils at the very time that sultan took possession of the suburbs. Bigotry contracts the spi- rit of the people ; toleration extends it. That alone can divest the French of their devout ferocity. However superstitious or fanatic a nation may be^ its character will be always susceptible of divers forms which it will receive from its laws, its government, and especially its public education. Instruction can do all things; and if 1 have in the preceding sections scru- pulously detailed the evils produced by an ignorance in favour of which many people now declare themselves, it was that I might more clearly shew all the impor- tance of education. What are the means to improve it to the greatest degree ? Perhaps there are ages, when content to sketch out a grand plan, we ought not to flatter ourselves with seeing it executed. It is with the discussion of this question that I shall conclude this work. edge of the stage, the oite to make his epigraniinutic point, and the other his finishing note. If the prcaci.er had forgotten, the audience would have called for his epigram, as they do on har- lequin for his antic bow. 2 c 3 NOTES. 390 TREATISE ON MAN. NOTES OV SECTION IX. NOTES. 1. (Page 304.) Xgnorance rebels against contradiction. The man of discernment can suffer it, because, being a scrupulous ex- aminer of himself, hefrequentb; detects his own errors. The igno- rant are not sensible of the want of instruction : they think thev know all things. Who does not examine himself thinks he is in- fallible, as do most men, especially the French petit maitre. I have always observed him astonished at his want of success among foreigners. He should know, that if it be necessary in the ports of the Levant to speak the language of the place, it is also neces- sary, if he would make himself understood, to speak the lan- guage of good sense, and that a petit maitre always appears ridi- culous, when in place of the language of reason he substitutes the modish jargon of his country. 2. (p. 305.) General truths enlighten the public without personally offending the man in place; why then does he not ex« cite writers to the search after truths of this sort ? Because they sometmies oppose his projects. 3. (p. 312.) It is not the novelty of a theologica) opinion that offends, but the violence employed to force its reception. This violence has sometimes produced strong commotions in empires. A noble and elevi-ted soul bears with impatience the slavish yoke of the priest ; and the pi rsecuted always avrnge tliemselves of the persecutor. ]Slan, says Maca.iavel, has a nght to think all things, speak all things, write all things, but not to impose his opinions.. Let the theologian persuade or convince me, but let him not pretend to force my Ltlief. 4. (ibij.) The only intolerable religion is an intolerant religion, \Vheu TREATISE ON MAN. 391 NOTES OM SKCIION IX. Wliensutii a religion becomes the most powerful in an empire, it lights up the torch of war, and plunges the people into number- less troubles and calamities. J. (p. 313.) When urinccs are indifferent to theological disputes, the haughty theologians, after having furiously railed at each otiier, are tired of writing without being read : tiie contempt of tiie public silences tiieni. 6. (p. 31(j.) A prudent legislator always employed some cele- brated uriter to publish such new laws as he would eslablish. After those laws have been some time exposed to tiie judgment of tlie public under tlie namcoftliat author, and have beeii approvt;d, they are then receivetl without opposition. 7. (ibid.) When a minister makes a law, or a philosopher dis- covers a truth, till the utility of that law and that truth be estab- lished, they are both exposed to the rage of envy and bigotry. "^I'heir situation is yet vcr}' diiferent ; the minister, armed with ])Ower, is exposed to invective only ; but the philosopher, desti- tute of power, is subject to persecution also. 8. (p. 317.) We hear men every day extrtl the excellency^of cca-tain foreign establishment.-:, but these estabiishments, they add, are not compatible with such a form of government. If this be true in some particular cases, it is talse inmost. Is the criminal process of the English the most proper to protect innocence? Wliy then do not the French, Germans, and Italians adopt it ? 9. (p. 318.) Princes daily change the laws of commerce ; such as regulate the collection of taxes and customs ; they cuu therefore equally change every law contrary to the public good. Did Trajan think a republican govenuuent preferable to monarchy } He offered to change that form of government ; he ollered li- berty to the Roiuans, and would have given it them, if they would have accepted it. Such an action doubtless deserves the highest commendation ; it lias filled me world with admiration. But is it so supernatural as some men imagine .' Is it not evident that hy breaking the fetters oi the Romans, Trajan would have pre- 3 c 4 served 392 TREATISE ON MAN. NOTES ON 6ECII0N IX. served the greatest authority over a people set free by his gene- rosity; that he would iiave then derived from love and gratitude almost all the power he owed to his army. Now what can be more flattering than the first of the^^e powers ! Few princes have imitated Trajan ; few men, I confess, have made a sacrifice of their private authority to the interest of the public : but their ex- cessive love of despotism is sometimes less the want of virtue, than the want of discernment. 10, (p. olo.) There is but one thing really contrary to every sort of constitution, and that is the misery of the people. Though a jirince command them, he has no right to injure them. If he knowingly make a treaty disadvantageous to his people, he exceeds his power, and renders himself criminal toward them. A n)onarch can never have any more right than his ancestors. Now every legitimate sovereignty is founded on election, on the free choice of the people. It is therefore evident that every su- preme magistrate, whatever title he bear, is nothing more than the first deputy or commissioner of his nation ; and no commis- sioner has a right to make a contract disadvantageous to those that appoint him. The society may at all times even annul its own appointments if they be too oppressive. When two nations conclude a treaty, they have, like private persons, no oiher object than tlieir reciprocal advantage and hap- piness ; when this reciprocal advantage no longer subsists, the treaty becomes void : one of the two nations may break it. Ought they to do it ? No : if there result but a small damage to them from observing it ; for then it would be better to suffer that da- mage, than be regarded as too easy violators of their engagements. Novv in the motives tliemselves that make those two people observe their treaty, v\e see the right tliat every people have to annul a treaty, when it is evidently destructive to their happiness. 11. (p. 319.) If in despotic governments the military be in- wardly hated and despised, it is because the people regard the Leys and pachas as jailors and hangtnen. If in the Greek and Koman TREATISE ON MAN. 595 - ■■' ■ ■"■■... , ' . . , ■■■',. , _a; NOTTS ON SECTION IX. " ■' ' -:: •• .. 3K Roman republics the soldier was, on tlie contrary, loved and re- spected, it was because, armed against the common enemy, he would not march against his countrymen. 12. (p. 3l9.)Is it enough that a sultan rules by virtueof alaw to render his authority legitimate : No : a usurper might by such a law, it may be said, declare his reign legitimate twenty years after his usurpation. Such an opinion is absurd. •• No society can, at the time of its establishment, put into the hands of a man the power of disposing of the property, the lives, and the liberty of the citizens at his pleasure. All arbitrary power is an usurpation against which a people may at all times revolt. When the Romans would enervate the courage of a people, render them ignorant and base, in order to keep them in servitude, what did they ! Set a despot over them. It was by this mean they enslaved the Spartans and the Britons. Now every consti- tution formed to corrupt the manners of the people, every form of government which the coniiueror imposes for this purpose on the conquered, can ncer be cited as just and legal. Is that a go-t vernment wliere all is reduced to the pleasing and obeying a sul- tan, where we sometimes meet a straggling inhabitant, but never a citizen ? Every people, that groan under the yoke of arbitrary power have a right to throw it off. The laws that are sacred are such as are conformable to the public interest; every ordinance contrary to it is not a law, but a legal abuse. 13. (p. 320.) As a despot has not a force sufficient to subdue a nation by himself, he must effect it by the aid of his janissaries, his soldiers, and his army. If he displease that army it revolts, and he is then witlicuit force : the scepter changes hands ; he is condemned by those that were his associates ; he is not judged, he is nuu-dercd. It is otherwise \\itli tlu> king who reigns by the authority of the magistrate-^ and the laws. If he commit a crime punishable by tliose la-.v;, he is at least heard in his defence, and the slowness of tiie proceeding always gives him time to prevent judgmmt 594 TREATISE ON MAN. NOTES ON SECTION 3X. judgment being given against him, by repairing tlie injustice he has done. A prince on the throne of a limited monarchy is always more firmly seated than a despot. 14. (p. 341.) Tiie justice of heaven has ever been a mystery. The church tlioughl formerly tliat in dneh iind combats God al- ways took the part of ^je ollended. E.xperience has disproved this opinion of the church. We see that in duels heaven is always oa the side of the strongest and most skilful ; and in battles on the side of the best troopeand most able general, 15. (ibid.) Few philosophers have denied the existence of a creative power ; " There is a cause of that which is, and that cause is unknown." Now whether we give to this cause the name of God, or any other, what matters it ? The disputes on this subject are but about words ; it is not so with the moral Divinity. The opposhion that is always found between the justice on earth and that of heaven, has frequently made his existence doubtful. Be- sides it has been said, what is morality ? Is it a collection of the conventions that the reciprocal wants of men have obliged them to make with each other ! Now how can a god be made of the works of men ? 16. (p. 3j6.) The proof of our little faith is the contempt we have for those that change their religion. Nothing is certainly more commendable than to abandon an error to embrace the truth ; whence then arises our contempt for a new convert ? From the obscure conviction we have that all religions are equally false*, aaid therefore whoever changes his religion is influenced by some sordid, and consequently contemptible, motive. 17. (p. 358.) If the Morality of tlie Jesuits had been tiie work of * Our author, wlien speaking of false rieligions, must be always understood to except the Christian, or he would be contiimally contradicting himself. T. - y . alaicj^ TREATISE ON MAN. 305 < NOTES ON SECTION IX. a laic, it would have been condemned as soon as printed ; tliere are no persecutions uliich its aullior would not iiave suffered. Before the parliaments interfered, that morality however was the only one generally taught in France. The bishops approved it. The Sorbonne feared the Jesuits ; tiiat fear rendered their principles respectable. In such cases, it is not the matter, but tlie author, that the clergy judge: they have always two weights and two measures : St. Thomas is an example. Machiavel, in his Prince, no where advances such propositions as that saint teaches iji his Commentaries on the Jth of the Politics, text xi. These are his own words. " For the preservatioii of tyranny, men of great power and " riches must be destroyetl, for such by their power may rise " against the tyrant. It is also expedient to destroy men of ta- " lents, for such by their talents may find means , to expel ty- *' ranny. Nor should schools be permitted, or other assemblies, " by wliicii learning may be acciuired ; for learned men have " great dispositions, and are niagn;inimous, und such men easily "rebel. For the support of tyranny it is proper that the tyrant ** contrive to make his subjects accuse eacli other of crimes, and " molest each other, so that friends may attack friends, the mean " people the rich, and the rich one another ; for by their divisions " they will be the less able to rise against him. It is also iieces- " sary to impoverisli tlie people, for they will be thereby less "able to rise against tne tyrant, .'j'axes should be established, " that is, exactions, which slioiild be great, and in great nuinl)er ; *' for thereby the subjects will be the sooner impoverished. The " tyrant should excite wars among his subjects, or else among " strangers, so that the people niay have no opportunity to con- " spire against the tyrant- A kingdom is supported by friends ; " but a tyrant ought not to trust to friends for the maintenance of ** tyranny, " It is expedient that a tyrant, for the support of tyranny, do '' not appear severe or cruel to his subjects : for by appearing > " cruel y^ 396 TREATISE ON MAN. NOTES ON SECTION IX. " cruel he will render himself odious ; which will make the peo- " pie more readily rise against him : but he ought to render him- ''■ self respectable by an excellence in some eminent virtue : for ** all respect is due to virtue ; and if he have no such excellent " quality, he ought to appear to have it. The tyrant ought so to *' deport himself as to appear to his subjects to excel in some •' eminent virtue in which they are deficient, and for which they *' may respect him. If he have no " virtues, let him so deceive " them, that they may think he has." Such are the ideas of St. Gliomas on this matter. Whether he regarded tyranny as an impiety or not, I may say with Naude, these are very strange precepts in the mouth of a saint. I shall further observe that Machiavel in his Prince is nothing more than the commentator of St. Thomas. Now, if for offering the same ideas one writer be sanctified, and his applauded works be put into the hands of all the world, and the other on the contrary be ex- communicated, and his book condenmed ; it is evident that the church has (wo weights and two measures, and that its interest alone dictates its judgments. 18. (p. 359.) The monks still dispute, but they no longer rea- son. When their opinions are opposed, and objections are made to them, they cannot answer : they affirm that they have been a long time fixed in their determinations, and in that case this answer is certainly the most artful. The people, it is true, now more dis- cerning, know that the book prohibited is that, whose maxims are in general most conformable to the public welfare, 19. (ibid,) If the hope of reward can alone excite men to the search after truth, an indifference for it supposes a great dis- proportion between the recompence annexed to its discovery, and the pains required in its investigation. Why is the discoverer of a truth so often the object of persecution ? Because the envious and the wicked have an interest in his persecution. Why does the public at first take part against the philosopher? Because the public is ignorant, and being deceived at first by the cries of the fanatics, it becomes intoxicated with their fury. But it is with the public TREATISE ON MAN. 597 NOTES ON SECTION IX. public as vitli Philip of Macedon, we may always appeal from the drunken public ito the sober puL-lic. Why do men in power rarely make use of the truths discovered by philo- sophers? Because they rarely give themselves any concern about the public welfare. But suppose they were anxious about it, and patronised the truth, what would be the consequence ? It would be propagated with an incredible rapidity. It is not so with error : when favoured by a potentate, it is generally, but not uni- versally adopted. The truth has always its secret partisans : they form, as it were so many conspirators, always ready, when oppor- tunity offers, to declare for it. One word of a sovereign is suffici- ent to destroy error ; but as for truth, its root is indestructible : it is doubtless barren till fertilised by power ; but it still subsists ; and if the root owe its branches to power, it owes its existence to philosophy. 20. (p- 364.) Among the ecclesiastics there are without doubt some men that are honest, happy, and void of ambition ; but these are not called to the government of that powerful body. The clergy, always governed by men of intrigue, will be always ambitious. 21. (ibid.) The church, constantly employed in promoting its power, reduces all the Christian virtues to abstinence, humility, and a blind submission : it never preaches the love of our country, nor of humanity. 22. (p. 370.) If the church sometimes forbids the laity to mur- der tlieir prince, it always permits it to the clergy. This is proved by its own history. It is true, the theologians will say, the popes have deposed some sovereigns, preached up ci-usades against them, and beatified such men as Clement ; but those levities were the faults of tlie pontirt", and not of the church. With regard to the culpable silence of the bishops on this matter, it was, they add, the effect of a complaisance for the papal chair, and not an appro- bation of its conduct. But ought they to have been silent when such crimes were committed, v\d to have risen with so much fury 598 TREATISE ON MAN. NOTES ON' SECTION IX. fury against the pretended extravn^ant interpretation that Luther and Calvin gave of certain passages of scripture ? Should men persecute error, and at the same time suffer the most henious crimes to escape ? Every man of sense must see, in the perpetually ecjui- vocal conduct of the church, that it had in reality but one view, and that was to be able, according to its various interests, by turns to approve or disapprove the same actions. There is no proof of its ambition more evident than the project invented by the Jesuits of associating great men, princes, and even monarchs in their order ; by that association, into which so many great men had already entered, kings became the subjects of the Jesuits and their general, and were nothing more than the vile executionei-s of their persecutions. But for the parliaments, who knows if this project, so boldly conceived, had not succeeded ? 23. (p. 376.) There is no inciuisitiou in France : however, says the church, they there imprison at my desire the Jansehlst, the Calvinist, and the Deist. They therefore tacitly acknowledge the i-ight I have to persecute. Now this right which the prince gives me over his subjects, I only wait an opportunity to claim over himself and his magistrates. 24. (ibid.) The church calls herself the spouse of God ; but wherefore I know not. The church is an assembly of the faith- ful ; these faithful are bearded or unb earded, shod or unshod, cowled or uncowled ; now that such an assembly should be the spouse of the Divinity is a pretension beyond measure, stupid and ridiculous. If the word Church, (Egllse), had been masculine, how would they have consummated the marriage ? 25. (p 381.) The church of France now refuses the pope flie right to dispose of crowns ; but is the refusal of that church sin- cere, IS it the effect of conviction ? Its past conduct must inform us. What respect can the clergy have for a human law, vhen they pretend, in quality of interpreters of the divine law, to thft power of changing and modifying it at their will. Whoever as- sumas TREATISE ON MAN. 39^ NOTKS ON SKOTION IX. Sumes the riglit of interpreting a law, always concludes by making a law. The clmrch in consequence makes itself God ; though there be nothing less alike than the religion of Jesus and that of the present papists. How would tlic apostles be surprised, if tliey were to com« again upon tlie earth and read a catechism tliey have not made ; if they should be told that the clergy have lately forbidden the laity even to read the scriptures, under the idle pretence of being scandalised by their weakness. I shall mention on this occasion a singular event ; it is an act of the English parliament, passed in 1414. In this act it is for. biden under pain of death, to read the scriptures in the vulgar tongue, that is, in a language tliey understood. AA'hat, say the reformed, has God collected hi a book the duties that he enjoins men to perform ; and has this God, who is omniscient, explained Jiis will so obscurely, that we cannot understand it vidthout an in- terpreter ? Does not that Almighty Being, who has created man, know the extent of his understanding ! V priest, what ideas have. you of the Divine wisdom ? Didthe young man of Abbeville, who was prosecuted for pre- tended blasphemy, ever pronounce any thing so horriljle ? He however was punisJied with deaUi, and you are respected. So true it is, that there is notl)ii)g but good luck and bad luck in this world, and that there is no man just but he who has power. 26. (p. 3S3.) Governments are tlie judges of actions, and not of opinions. If I advance a gross error, I am punished by ridicule and contempt ; but if in consequence of an erroneous opinion I attempt to violate the liberty of other men, it is then I becom* criminal. If, being a devout adorer of Venus, 1 burn the temple of Sera- pis, the magistrate ought to jiunish me; not as a heretic, but as a disturber of the public peace ; as an unjust man who being free ill the exercise of my own worship, would deprive my fcUow-ci- Iweos of the liberty I enjoy myself. 27. (p. 385.) 400 TREATISE ON INIAN. NOTES ON SECTION IX. 27. (p. 385.) The expulsion of the Jesuits from Spaui and Por- tugal shews the ministers to have been of a bold and lirm character. In France, the knowledge already diffused among the people faci- litated that expulsion. If the pope had complained too bitterly, his complaints would have appeared ill-placed. In a letter written on the subject of the condemnation of the mandate of M. Soissons, by the congregation of the holy office, a virtuous cardinal remonstrated to the holy father, " that there are ** certain pretensions which the court of Rome ought to bury in " eternal oblivion ; especially, he added, in these unhappy and *' deplorable times, when tlie infidels and the impious make the " fidelity of the ministers of religion suspected." Now what do the words injidel and impious mean in the eccle- jsiastical language ? The opposers of the power of the clergy. It is therefore to the infidels that kings owe their security, the people their tranquility, the parliaments their existence, and the ambition of the sacerdotal power its moderation. These impious as they are called, ought to be the dearer to the French nation, as there is nothing to fear from them. The philosophers form no separate body; they are without authority ; besides, it is impossible, as mere citizens, that they should ever have any interest which is not comiected with that of the public, under a discerning govern- ment. 28. (p. 386.) What means are there of forming virtuous citi- zens in Catholic counti-ies ? The instruction of youth is there con- fided to priests : now the interest of the priest is almost always contrary to that of the state. Never will a priest adopt this funda- mental principle of all virtue, which is, " that the justice of our " actions depends on their conformity, with the general interest." Such a principle opposes his ambition. Besides, if morality, like other sciences, cannot be improved but by time and experience, it is evklent that a religion which pretends, in consequence of its being revealed, to instruct men in all their duties, must the more efficaciously oppose the improve- 2 rr.ent TREATISE ON MAN. 401 NOIES ON SECTION IX. nient of that science, as it leaves nothing to be done by genius and experience. 29. (p, 387.) At the time that Fiance was engaged in a war with England, the parliaments were making war on the Jt suit?, and the devout court took part with the latter ; in consequence every one there was busied with ecclesiastical intrigues. One would have imagined it to be the end of the reign of Lewis XIV. Tiiey then reckoned at Versailles a few honest men, and a great number of bigots. I shall be asked, without doubt, why I regard bigotry as so fatal to a state ? Spain, it will be urged, subsists, and Spain has not yet thrown off the yoke ofthe inquisition. It is true ; but that t-mpire is weak ; it does not excite any jealousy ; it makes no conquest ; and it has no commerce. Spain lies in a separate cor- ner of Europe ; it cannot in its present situation either attack or be attacked. It is not the same with another state. France, for example, is feared and envied: it is open on all sides; its com- merce maintains its power, and its genius maintains its commerce. There is but one way of supporting industry, which is to estab- lish a mild govermnent, where the mind can preserve its spring, and the citizen his liberty of thougiit. If the darkness of ignorance be again spread over France, its industry will diminisli, and its power daily decline. A superstitious nation, like one subject to arbitrary power, is soon without morals, without spirit, and consequently without force. Rome, Constantinople, and Lisbon are proofs of this. If all ihe people there give themselves up to etfeminacy and debau- chery, it is not to be wondered at ; for where men are forbidden tlu? exercise of the mind, they will naturally resign themselves t>o that of the body. VOL. II. 2 r> SECTIOM 402 TREATISE ON MAN. Proofs of the power of education. SECTION X. OF THE POWER OF INSTRUCTION : OF THE MEANS OF IMPROV- ING IT TO THE UTMOST : OF THE OBSTACLKS THAT OPPOSE THE PROGRESS OF THIS SCIENCE. OF THE FACILITY WITH WHICH, THESE OBSTACLES REMOVED, THE PLAN OF AN EXCELLENT EDUCATION ISUGHT BE LAID DOWN. CHAP. I. EDUCATION IS CAPABLE OF. EFFECTING EVERY THING. XHE Strongest proof of the power of education is the proportion constantly observed between the diversity of instruction, and its different products or results. The Indian, indefatigable in hunting, is more swift in chace than the civilized man* ; because he is more exercised in it. * The sagacity of the savages in distinguishing the track of a The TREATISE ON MAN^ 403 Proofs of the power of education. The civilized man has more knowledge, he has more ideas than the savage, because he receives a greater number of dificrent sensations, and is by bis situation more interested to compare thein with each other. Therefore the superior agiHty of the one, and va- rious knowledge of the other, are the effects of the difference of their education. If men be comiuonly frank, loyal, industrious, and humane, under a free government ; and mean, faNe, and vile, without genius, and without courage, undei: a despotic government/ the difference in their charac- ters is the effect of the different eduealiou received under those different goyernments. From the several constiluiions of states let us pass to the different conditions of men. Wliat is the cause that so little sound judgment is to be found among theologians? The duplicity common to them in ge- neral results from their education ; they are in this re- spect more assiduously instructed than other men ; being accustomed from their youth to content them- selves vvith the jargon of the schools, and to take words for things, it becomes impossible for them to distin- guish truth from falsehood^ or sophistry froui demon- stration. .-nan through a forest is ijicrcdible : they can tell by itliis coun- try, and the fonn of liis person. To what shall we refer the supe- riority of the savage in this respect over the civilized man ? Toa multitude of experiments. Judgment of every kind is the child of obseEjation. ^2 D 2 A^n^y 404 TREATISE ON MAN. The vices of ecclesiastics are the eflfect of education. Why are the ministers of the ahar the most dreaded of ill! men ? Why does the Spanish proverb say, " take *' heed of the head of a bull, of a woman before, of a " mule behind, and of a monk on all sides ?" Proverbs being almost ail founded on experience, are almost always true. To what then attribute the wickedness of the monk ? To his education. The Sphynx, the Egyptians said, was the emblem of a priest. The face of a priest is gentle, modest, in- sinuating ; and the sphynx has that of a female. The wings declare it to be an inhabitant of heaven ; its claws announce the power that superstition gives it upon earth ; and its serpent's tail is a sign of its sup- ple nature. Like the sphynx, the priest proposes enig- mas, and throws into prison all who do not interpret them to his liking. The monk, accustomed from early youth to the practise of hypocrisy in his conduct and opinions, is in fact the more dangerous, as he has ac- quired a greater habit of dissimulation. If a son of the church be the most arrogant of all the children of men, it is because he is continually puffed up by the homage of a great number of super- stitious persons. If a bishop be the most cruel of all men, it proceeds from his not being, like most men, exposed to danger and want ; from an effeminate education that contracts his character ; and from his being perfidious and cow- ardly ; for there is nothing more cruel, says Montaigne, than weakness and cowardice. The soldier is com- moly TREATISE ON MAN. 405 Education makes all nun %\ lint they are. moiily in his youth ignorant and Hcentious. Why ? Because he has no need of instruction. In his later years he is frequently a fool and a fanatic. Why ? Because the days of debauchery being then past, his ignorance must make him superstitious. There are few great talents among the polite world ; this is the effect of their education. That of their childhood is too much neglecied ; false and puerile ideas alone are then engraved on ihcir memories. To furnish « hem afterwards with such as are just and great, the former must be effaced : now this is always a work of time, and the boy becomes old before he is a man. In almost all professions the instructive life is very short ; the only v\ay to prolong it is to form the judg- ment early. Lei the memory be charged with no ideas that are not clear and determinate ; adolescence will then become, more intelligent than is now old age. Education makes us what we are. 11 the Savoyard, from the age of six or seven years, be frugal, active, laborious, and faithful, it is because he is poor and hungry, and because he lives, as 1 have before said, with those that are endowed with the qualities re- quired in him ; in short, it is because he has for in- structors example and want, two imperious masters whom all obey*. * When we contract in infancy habits of labour, ceconomy, and fidehtv, it is witli difllculty we depart hom them ; it is not '4 J) 3 The 406 TREATIS£ ON MAN. The talents of princes are the result of education. The uniform conduct of the Savoyards results from the resemblance of their situation^ and consequently the uniformity of their education. It is the same with that of princes. Why are they reproacheJ wilh hav- ing nearly the same education r Because they have rio interest to instruct themselves, having only to will, and obtain their real and imaginary wants. Now he who can without talents and without labour satisfy both of these, is without motive to information and activity. Understanding and talents being never any thing more in men than the produce of their desires and particular situation*, the science of education maybe without a long intercourse with knaves, or passions extremely strong ; and such passions are rare. * It is to .misfortune, to tlie severity of their education, that Europe owes such princes as Henry IV. Elizabeth,,prince Henry, the princes of Brunswick, and, lastly, Frederic. It is in the cradle of calamity that great princes are nourished : their knowledge is commonly in proportion to the dangers they have experienced. If an usurper have almost always great talents, it is because his si- tuation obliges him to have them. It is not so with his descen- dants : born on the throne, if they be almost always without ge- nius, and think little, it is because thev have little occasion to think. The love of arbitrary power in a sultan is the effect of idleness : he would free himself from the study of the laws ; he wants to avoid the fatigue of attention ; and that want does not influence the visir less than the sovereign. The influence of idleness on the several governments is unknown. Perhaps I was the first that discovered the constant proportion there is between the know- ledge of the people, the force of their passions, and the form of reduced TREATISE ON MAN. 407 Great kings are extraordinary plienoiuena. reduced perhaps to ihe placing a man in that situation which will force hitii to attain the talents and virtues required in him. Sovereigns are not in this respect always the most hap[)ily placed. Great kings aie extraordinary plie- nomena in nature. These phenomena are long hoped for, and seldom appear. It is always from the prince who is to succeed that we expect the reformation of abuses; he is to perforjn miracles. That prince as- cends the throne ; nothing is changed ; the admini- stration remains the same. Why^ in fact, should we their government ; and consequently the interest they have to acquire knowledge. The savage or man of nature, solely employed in providing for his corporeal wants, is less intelligent than the polished man ; and among such savages, the most discerning are those who find the most difficulty in gratifying tiie same wants. AViiich of all the people of Africa are the most 'stupid ? They that inhabit forests of palm-trees, whose trunks, leaves, and fruit furnish, witliout culture, all the wants of man. Happiness itself can sometimes stupify the spirit of a nation. England now pro- duces few excellent works in morality and politics ; its defici- ency in this respect is perhaps the effect of its public felicity. Perhaps celebrated writers owe,' in certain countries, the melan- choly advantage of an extraordinary discernment, merely to the degree of misfortune and oppression under which their fellow-sub- jects groan. Sufferings, when carried to a certain point, enlighten mankind ; when carried beyond it, render them stupid. Will France remain for a long time intelligent ! 2 D 4 expect 408 TREATISE ON MAN. ' ■ ' ..,■.-. I On the education of princes. expect, that a monarch, frequently worse educated than his ancestors, should be more wise ? The same causes will always produce the same effects CHAP. II. ON THE EDUCATION OF PRINCES. '' A. King born on the throne is rarely worthy of it/* said a French poet. Princes in general owe their ge- nius to the austerity of their education, to the dangers that surround their infancy, and the misfortunes they have feh. The more severe the education, the more wholesome it is to those who are one day to command over others. It is in times of trouble aud discord that sovereigns receive this sort of education ; at other times they have nothing more given them than a ceremonial in- strnclion, as bad, and often as difficult to change, as the form of government of which it is the effect*. What can be expected from such instruction ? * In every despotic government where the manners are corrupt- ed, that is, where private interest is detached from that of the pub- lic, the bad educatfon of princes is the necessary effect of the bad •orni of government. All the East is a proof of this. What TREATISE ON MAN. 409 Education of a prince in Turkey. What is in Turkey the education of the heir to the throne? The young prince, confined to a part of the seraglio, 1ms for his company and amusement a wo- man and a tapestry-loom : if he go out of his retreat, it is once a week Under a strong guard to visit the sultan, and return under the same guard to his apart- ment, where he finds the same woman and the same tape.stry-loom. Now what idea can he acquire, in this relreat, of the science of government? Tliis princie mounts the throne; the first object presented to him is a map of his vast empire ; and what is recommended to him is, to be the love of his subjects and the ter- ror of his enemies. But what is he to do to be the one and the other ? He does not know. A want of the habit of application renders him incapable. The science of government becomes odious to him ; he is disgusted with it; shuts hiuiself up in his haram, and there changes his women and his visir ; impales some, bastinades others, and thinks he govern?. Princes are men, and as men they can produce no fruits but what spring from instruction. In Turkey neither sultan nor subject thinks. It is the same in the several courts of Europe, in proportion as the education of their princes approaches that of the East. The result of this chapter is, that the virtue and vices of men are always the efl'ects of their diffe- rent situations, and the different instruction they receive. This 410 TREATISE ON MAN. Method of inspiring a child with the social qualities. This principle admitted, suppose we would deter- mine the best "plan of education for every condition, what is to be done ? 1. Decide what are the talents and" virtues essen- tial to a man of such a profession. 2. Point out the means of compelling him to acquire (1) those talents and virtues. Men in general reflect tlie ideas of those that sur- round them ; and the only virtues we can be sure to make them acquire, are the virtues of necessit}'. Con- vinced of this truth, if I would inspire my so-.i with the social qualities. I would give him companions of nearly his own strength and age ; I would in this re- spect abandon the care of their mutual education, and not have them inspected by a master, but to moderate the rigor of their corrections. According to this plan of education, I should be sure that if my son was fop- pish, impertinent, conceited, or imperious, he would not remain so long, A child cannot long sustain the contempt, insults, and railleries of his comrades : theie is no social de- fect that such treatment will not correct. To be still more sure of success, it is necessary that he be almost always absent from the paternal dwelling; and that he do not return in the vacations and holidays, to catch again, from a conversation' with the people of the world, the vices his fellow-pupils had effaced. Jn general, that education is the best where the 4 child, TREATISE ON MAN. 4ll Advantages of a public over a domestic education. chilfl, most dislant iVom his parents, lias least opportu- nity oi" mixing incoherent ideas with those which he ought to acquire in the course of his studies (2). It is lor this reason that a pui)lic education will always excel a private. There are too many people however of a different opinion, to permit nie to pass ihis matter over without a further explanation. CHAP. III. OF THE ADVANTAGES OF A PUBLIC OVER A DO- MESTIC EDUCATION. Jl iiK first of these advantages is the salubrity of the place where youth receive their instructions. In a domestic education the child lives in the pater- nal house ; and that house, in great cities, is frequently small and unwholesome. In public education the house on the contrary, is in the country, and may be so spacious as to admit of all the exercises proper to fortify the body, and preserve the health of 3'^outh. The second advantage is the rigour of the discipline. In the paternal house discipline is never so exactly observed 412 V TREATISE ON MAN. Advantages of a public over a domestic education. observed as in a public education. In a college all is subject to the hour: the clock theie regulates both masters and domestics: it deteiinines the dur.ition of lueals, study, and recreation : the bell constantly pre- serves order ; and without order there can be no re- gular studies: order lengthens the days ; disorder con- tracts them. The third advantage of public instruction is the emulation it inspires. The principal incentives of early youth are fear and emulation. Now emulation is pro- duced by comparing ourselves with a great number of others. Of all the means of exciting a love of talents and virtue, this is the most certain ; but a child in the paternal house has no opportunity of making these comparisons, and his instruction is so much the more imperfect. The fourth advantage is the discernment of the in- structors. Among men, and consequenlly among fa- thers, there are discerning and stupid: the latter know not what instruction to give their children ; the former know what learning they should have, but are ignorant of the manner of making them easily conceive the ideas. This is a practical knowledge, soon acquired in a college, either by experience or tradition, but frequently unknown to the most intelligent parents. The filth advantage of a public education is firm- ness. A domestic education is seldom resolute. Pa- rents, solely concerned for the corporeal advantages of their children, and fearful of making ihem uneasy, in- dulge TREATISE ON MAN. 413 J r- ■ , . ■ ■ . ■ - ■ K Advantages ol' a public over a donieslic educution. dulge all their humours, and give to a mean comphance the name of parental affection*. Such are the several reasons that will always make a public education preferable to a private. It is from the first alone that patriots are to be expected. That alone can strongly connect in the mind of the people the ideas of private and public happiness. I shall ex- patiate no further on this subject. I have shewn all the power of education. 1 have proved that in this matter the effects are al- ways in proportion to the causes. 1 have shewn how much public education is pre- ferable to a private. I should here enumerate the almost insurmountable obstacles that in most governments oppose the ad- * Tliere is no mother who does not pretend to have a violent love for her son : but if by the word /ore is meant a desire to pro- mote his happiness, and consequently his instruction, there are scarcely any of them that may not be accused of indifference. What mother, in fact, studies the education of her children, reads the best books on the subject, and endeavours to understand them ? Do they act in the same manner when they have an im- portant cause to manage ? No : there is no woman who does not then consult her lawyer, and consider his opmions. Slie that should do neither the one nor the other, would be regarded as in- different to tlie success of her cause. The degree of attention paid to any affair, is the measure of the degree of solicitude we have for its success. Now if this rule be applied to the care commonly taken in the education of children, nothing will be found more rare tlian maternal lore. vanccment 414 TREATISE ON MAN. Of corporeal educHtiou. vanceraeiit of this science, and the facility with \vhich> those obstacles being removed, education might be carried to the highest degree of improvement. But before enumerating these particulars, I think I should point out to the reader the several parts of in- struction to which the legislature should pay a parti- cular attention. For this purpose I shall divide edu- cation into two sorts, the one corporeal, the other in- tellectual. CHAP. IV. A GENERAL IDEA OF CORPOREAL EDUCATION. The object of this education is to reader men robust and healthful, consequently more happy, and generally useful to their country, that is, most proper for the several employments to which the national interest may call them. The Greeks, convinced of the importance of corpo- real education, honoured gymnastic exercises (3), and made them part of the instruction of their youth : they employed them in their medicinal regulations, not only as a preservative, but as a sjpecific, to fortify this or that member, weakened by disease or accident. Perhaps TREATISE ON MAN, 415 Of corporeal education. Perhaps it will be expected that I should here de- scribe the games and exercises of the ancient Greeks ; but what can I say on this subject that is not to be found in the memoirs of the Academy of Inscriptions, where may be seen even the manner in which Lace- daemonian nurses began the education of the Spartan children ? But was the science of g3'mnastics carried by the Greeks to the highest degree of perfection ? 1 know not. After the establishment of these exercises, it is to be determined by an able surgeon and physician only, informed by daily experience, of \j hat degree of im- provement this science is still susceptible. I shall only observe on this subject^ that corporeal education is neglected by almost all Etiropean nations : pot ^hat governments directly oppose improvements in this part of education ; but that exercises of this sort being no longer in vogue, are no longer encouraged. There is no law that forbids the laying out of a suita- ble ground in a col'ege, where the students of a pro- per age may exercise themselves in wrestling, running, leaping, swimming, throwing or lifting of weights, S;c. If in this ground, constructed in imitation of the gym- nasium of the Greeks, prizes were to be decreed for the conquerors, there is no doubt but ihey would rekindle in youth the natural disposition they have for sucH games. But may not the mindd and ilie bodies of young people be both exercised at the saane time ? Why not 4l6 TREATISE ON MAN. Of corporeal education. not ? Let them surprcss in colleges those vacations during which children return to their parents to weary themselves with idleness, and neglect their stu- dies ; and let their daily recreations be enlarged. A child may consecrate every day seven or eight hours to his serious studies, and four or five to exer cises more or less violent ; and this he will at once invigorate both body and mind. The plan of such an education is no master-piece of invention. Nothing more is necessary to the carrying it into execution than to rouse the attention of pa- rents to this business. A good law would produce this effect*. Thus much may suffice for the corporeal * A vigorous education should be given to youth ; but can a plan of this sort take place in an age of luxury, when men are drunk with pleasure, and the government is become effeminate ? Effeminacy degrades a nation. But what is the degeneracy of their nation to the greatest part of the men in power ? They are only solicitous that a favourite son be not exposed to the danger of a blow or a cold. There are perhaps fathers who, from a discerning and virtuous tenderness, desire that their children should be healthy and robust, and tliat they should be rendered such by vigorous exercise. But if these exercises be no longer in vogue, where is the father bold enough to brave the ridicule of an in- novation ; and if he do, what means are there to resist the cries and importunities of a weak and pusillanimous mother ? Peace at home is to be purchased at any price. To change the manners of a people in this respect, the legislature must punish in parents a too effeminate education of their children, by shame and infamy; and not grant, as I have already said, any military employ to those '2 part TREATISE ON MAN. 417 Circumstances under which man is susceptible of moral education. part of education. 1 shall now pass to the moral part, which is without doubt the least understood. CHAP. V. OF THE TIME AND THE SITUATION IN -WHICH MAN IS SUSCEPTIBLE OF A MORAL EDUCATION. JVlAN, as an animal, feels different corporeal wants; these several wants are so many tutelar genii, created by nature to preserve his bod}', and enlighten his mind. It is from heat, cold, hunger, and thirst that he learns to bend the bow, to aim the arrow, to spread the net, to cover liimself with a skin, to construct a hut, Sec. As long as individuals live separate in forests they can have no moral educaiion. The virtues of tiie po- lished luan are the love of justice and his country ; those of the savage are force and activity: his wants are his only instructors, the sole preservers of his spe- vvholiavo not given proofs of a due strength, and a proper tempera- ment of body. Parents woidd then be interested in forming robust and healthful cliildreii : but it is only from such a law that we can expect such a ha()py change in corporeal education. VOL. J I. Q. II cics, 418 TREATISE ON MAN. The science of education keeps pace with civilization c'les, and that pieservalion seeins to be the only inlei^- tion ofnuiure. When men become multiphecl and united in society ; when the want of provisions obliges them to cultivate the earth, the}' make conventions among themselves^ and the study of these conventions gives birth to the science of education. Its object is to inspire men with a love of the laws and of the social virtues. The more perfect the education, the more happy the people. Hence I observe, that the progress of this science, like that of legislation, is always in proportion to the progress of human reason, improved by experience ; xvhich experience always supposes the union of men in society. We may then consider them from two points of view : 1. As citizens. 2. As citizens of this or that profession. In these two situations they receive two sorts of in- struction ; the most perfect is the latter. I have but little to say on this head, and it is for that reason I make it the first object of my examination. CHAP. TREATISE ON MAN. 419 of ttUiciiliou reliilive to tlilTcrent piofessions. CHAP. VI. OF EDUCATION RELATIVE TO DIFFERENT PROFESSIONS. W HEN a youth is to be instructed in any art or sci- ence, tlie same means present themselves to al! minds. I would make my son a Tartini* ; I instruct him in the principles of" music ; I endeavour to make him ibnd of it : in his most early youth I put a violin into his hands ; this is what is commonly done, and it is nearly all that can be done. The progress of the child, more or Jess rajjid, after- ward depends on the ability of the master, his method of teaching, more or less improved ; and lastly, the greater or less taste the scholar luis for the instrument. In like manner, when a rope-dancer would teach his sons his own trade, if from their most tender years he endeavour to give their bodies by exercise the ut- most flexibility, he instructs them in the best manner possible. When a more ditficult art is to be acquired if for example we would form a painter ; from the mo- ment a youth is able to hold a pencil, lie is taught to * A celebrated player on the violin in Italy. •2 E 'i draw 420 TREATISE ON MAN. Education of a painter. draw after the most correct prints, then after bass- reliefs, and lastly, after the most beautiful ^nodels. His memory is moreover enriched with the grand and sublime images that are to be f-^und in the poems of Virgil, Homer, Milton, Sec. The pictures of Raphael, Guido, and Gorreggio are placed before his eyes, and he is made to remark their several beauties ; he suc- cessively studies in those paintings the magic of de- sign, composition, colouring, S^c. lastly, his emulation js roused by a recital of the honours paid to celebrated painters. This is all that an excellent education can do for a young painter : it is to the greater or less desire he has to render himself illustrious that he must owe his fu- ture progress. Now chance has a great influence over the force of his desire : a commendation given to a pupil at the moment he made a masterly stroke with his pencil, has sometimes been sufficient to animate him with a love of glory, and endow him with that deter- mined attention which produces great talents. But, it will be said, there is no man who is insensible to corporeal pleasure : all therefore must love glory, at least in a country where that glory is the representative of some real pleasfure. It is true; but the greater or less force of that passion always depends on certain circumstances and situations ; in short, on that same chance whicli j>residcs, as I have proved in the second §ection, over all our discoveries. Chance . therefore hr.s nhv«vsashare in tlic formation of illustrious men. All TREATISE ON MAN. 421 Neglect of moral eJucation. All tluit an excellent educaiion can do, is to raulli- ply the number of men of genius in a nation ; it is to inoculate, if I may so say, good sense on the rest of the people : tliis it can do, and this is enough. The inocu- lation is full as valiuible as any other. The result of what I have here said is, that the part of instruction peculiarly applicable to different condi- tions and professions is in general sufficiently good. It is only necessary on the one hand to simpiifj'^ the me- thods taught, whicli is the business of the master, and on the other to increase the spring of emulation, and that is the business of sfovernment. With regard to the moral part of education, it is doubtless the most important, and the most neglected, There are no public schools in which the science of morality is taught. What do pupils learn at college from the third form up to rhetoric ? Tc make Latin verses. W^hat time do they allot for the study of vvhat they cal! ethics oi' morality ? Scarcely a month. Can we then wonder to find so few men that are virtuous, and instructed in tlieir duties toward society * ( To conclude ; suppose that in a school for public instruction they propose to give the pupils a course of moridity, vvluit is to be done ior this purpose ? Let the * Why do they not, by giving anew form to tlie civil govern- ment of Mr. Locke, explain to young people that book, which coulidns a part of the sound principles of morality ? <2 E ^J maxim* 422 TREATISE ON MAI\. Keglect of moral education. maxims of this science^ always fixed and determined, be derived from a simple principle, and from which may be deduced, as in geometry, an infinity of second- ars' principles. But this principle is not yet known ; morality therefore is not yet a science; for they can- not honour with that name a heap of incoherent and contradictory principles*. Now if morality be not a science, what method is there of teaching it ? If I may be supposed to have at last discovered the fundamental principle of morality, it should be re- membered that the interest of the priest will for ever oppose its publication ; and that in every country we may always say, " No priest, or no true morality." in Italy and Portugal it is not either religion or su- perstition tliey want. * The Sorboiine, as well as tlie church, pretends to be infallible imniiitable. By what do we discover its infallibility and immuta- bility ? By its constancy in opposing every new idea. In other respects the Sorbonne is always contradicting its own decisions. It first protected Aristotle against Descartes, and excommunicated the Cartesians ; then taught their system, gave to that same Descartes the authority of a father of the church, and adopted his errors to oppose truths the most clearly demonsti'ated. Now to what wliat shall we attribute so much inconstancy in the opinions of the Sorbonnists ? To their ignorance of the true prniciples of all sxience. Notliing would be more curious than a collection of their contradictions in t!ie successive condemnations they have issued against the thesis of the abbe Parades, the works of llousseau, ^inr^lOi)tel, ,Scr. CHAP. tREATlSE ON MAN. 423 Of the moral education of man. CHAP. VII. OF THE MORAL KDUCATION OF MAK. Lhere are few good patriots ; I'ew citizens that are always just : Why ? Because men are not educated to be just; because the present morality, as I have just said, is nothing more than a jumble ofgross errors and contradictions; because to be just a man must have discernment, and they obscure in children the most obvious conceptions of the natural law. But are children capable of conceiving adequate ideas of justice ? This I know, that if by the aid of a religious catechism we can engrave on the memory of a child articles of faith that arc frequently the most absurd, we might consequently, by the aid of a moral cjitechism, there engrave the preGC[)ts of an equity, which daily experience would prove to be at once useful and true. From the moment we can distinguish pleasure from pain; from the moment we have done aud received an iiijury, we have acquired some notion of justice. To form the most clear and [)recisc ideas of justice, what is to be done ? Ask ourselves. Q. What is man r 2 li 4 A. An 424 TREATISE ON MAN. Moral catechism. A. An animal, said to be rational, but certainly sen- .sible, weak, and formed to propagate liis species. Q. What should man do as an animal of sensibility ? A. Fly from pain, and pursue pleasure. It is to this constant flight and pursuit that is given the name of self-love*. Q. What should he also do as a weak animal ? A. Unite with other men, that he may defend him- self against animals stronger than himself ; or that he may secure a subsistence which the beasts would dis- pute with him ; or lastly, thj^^ he may surprise such of them as arc to serve him for nourishment ; hence all the conventions relative to the chase and fisheries. Q What happens to man as being an animal formed to propagate his species ? A. That the means of subsistence diminish in pro- portion as the species is multiplied. Q. What must he do in consequence ? A. W'hen the lakes and the forests are exhausted of fish and game, he must seek new means of procuring subsistence. Q. What are those means ? A. They are reduced to two. When the inhabitants * He that would understand the true pvhiciples of morality sliould, with me, recur to the principle of corporeal sensibility, and seek in the wants of hunger, thirst, &c. the cause that compels men, already multiplied, to cultivate the earth, to unite in society, and to form conventions among themselves, wliose observation or infraction makes men just or unjust. are TREATISE ON MAN. 425 *:. -^ - •!■ ■ - . . .■■:-- Moral catechism. ■ ■ ~ I are not jet very numerous, they breed cattle, and be- come pastors ; but when they are greatly multiplied, and are obliged to find subsistence within a small com- pass, they must then cultivate the land, and become agriculturists. Q. What does an improved cultivation of the land imply ? A. That men are already united in societies or vil- lages, and have made compacts among themselves. Q. What is the object of these compacts ? A. To secure the ox to his feeder, and the harvest to him that tills the land. Q. What determines man to these compacts? A. His interest and foresight. If there were an- other who could take the harvest from him who has ploughed the land and sowe^l the seed, no man would plough or sow ; and the next year the village would be exposed to the horrors of a famine. Q. What follows from the necessity of cultivation ? A. The necessity of property. Q. How far do the compacts concerning property extend ? A. To my person, my thoughts, my life, my liberty, and my property. Q. What follows from the compacts of property being once established ? A. Pains or punishments to be inflicted on those that violate them, that is, on the thief, the murderer, the fanatic, and the tyrant : abolish these punishments, and 426 tREATISE ON MAI?. Moral catechism. and all compacts between men become voir). From the moment any one can with impunity usurp the pro- perty of another, mankind return to the state of war; all society is dissolved, and men must fly from each other like lions and tygers. Q. Are there punishments established in polished countries against the violators of the law of property ? A. Yes ; at least in all those where goods are not in common (4), that is, in almost all countries. Q. What renders this right of property so sacred, and for what reason have the}' almost every where made a god of it under tlie name of Terminus? A. Because the preservation of property is the moral divinity of empires; as it there maintains domestic peace, and makes equit}' flourish ; because men as- semble but to secure their properties ; because justice^ which includes almost all virtues, consists in rendering to every onehis own, and consequently may be reduced to the maintenance of the right of property ; and be- cause, lastly, the different laws have never been any thing more than the different means of securing this right to the people. Q. But should not thought be included in the num- ber of properties, and what is then meant by that word ? A.The right, for example, of rendering to God that worship which I think most agreeable to him. Who- ever deprives me of this right, violates my property ; and, whatever be his rank, he is punishable for it. Q. Is- tREATISE ON MAN. 4^7 Moral catechism. Q. Is there any case in which a prince may oppose the establishment of a new religion ? A. Yes, when it is intolerant- Q. How is he then authorized ? A. By the public security: he knows that if such religion becomes dominant, it will become persecutive. Now the prince, being charged with the happiness of his people, ought to oppose the progress of such reli- gion. Q. But why cite justice as the root of all virtues ? A. Because from the moment that men, to secure their happiness, assemble in society, it is from justice that every one, by his good nature, humanity, and other virtues, contributes, as far as he can, to the feli- city of that society. Q. Supposing the laws of nature to be dictated by equity, what means are there of causing them to be observed, and of exciting in the minds of the people a love of their country ? A. These means are the punishments inflicted for crimes, and the rewards assigned to virtues. Q. What are the rewards for virtues r A. Titles, honours, the public esteem, and all those pleasures of which that esteem is the representative. Q. What arc the punishments for crimes? A. Sometimes death ; often disgrace, accompanied, with contempt. Q. Is contempt a punishment ? A. Y es ; at least in a iVec and well governed country. In 428 TREATISE ON MAN* Moral catechism. In such a country the punishment of contempt is se- vere and dreadful ; it is capable of keeping the great to their duty : the fear of contempt renders tiiem just, active, and laborious. Q. Justice ought doubtless to rule empires ; it ought to reign by the laws. But are laws all of the same nature ? A. No: some of them may be said to be invariable, and without them, society cannot subsist, at least not happily : such are the fundamental laws of property. Q. Is it sometimes permissible to violate them ? A. No: except in extraordinary circumstances, where the welfare of the country is concerned. Q. By what right are they then violated ? A. By the general interest, which knows but one in- variable law : Salus populi snprema lev esio. Q- Ought all laws to give way to this ? A. ^ es. If an army of Turks were marching to Vi- enna, the legislature, to famish them, mijrht for a mo- ment violate the right of property, destroy the harvest of the people, and burn their granaries, if the}' were likel}^ to fall into the hands of the enemy. Q. Are the laws so sacred that they can never be altered ? A. They ought to be altered when they are con- trary to the happiness of the majority. Q. But is not every proposal to alter them frequently regarded in a citizen as a criminal temerity ? 2 A. It TREATISE ON MAN. 429 Sloral catechism. A. It is : however, if man owe the truth to man ; if a knowledge of the truth be at all times useful ; if every one interested has a right to propose what he thinks will be of use to his associates ; every citizen, for the same reason, has a right to propose to his na- tion what lie thinks may contribute to the general felicity, Q, There are however countries where the liberty of the press, and even that of thought, is proscribed ? A. Yes; because they imagined it more easy to rob the blind than the clear-sighted ; and to dupe a people of ideols than of men of science. In every great na- tion there are always men interested in the misery of the public : they alone deny the citizens the right of informing their countrymen of the misfortunes to which one bad law will frequently expose them. Q. Wh^' are there not bad men of this sort in smaK and rising societies ? ^Vhy are the laws there almost always wise and good ? A. Because the laws are there made by common consent, and consequently for the advantage of every one; and because the citizens not being numerous cannot form private associations against the general association, nor then detach their interest from that of the public. Q. Why are the laws then so religiously observed ':: A. Because no citizen is then more strong than the ]aw!--,an(l because his happiness is then connected with tMcirobscrvarion, and his mi-cry witli their infraction. Q. Anion^ 430 TREATISE ON MAN. Moial catechism. Q. Among the various laws, are there not some that are called the laws of nature ? A. They are those, as I have already said, that con- cern property, and that we find established among almost all nations and polished societies,, because socie- ties cannot be formed without the aid of such laws. Q. Are there other laws ? A. Yes; there are sucli as are variable, and those are of two sorts : the one are variable b}' their nature ; and such are those that regard commerce, military dis- cipline, taxes, 8cc. These may, and ought to change according to times and circumstances. The other, im- mutable by their nature, are only variable from their not being yet carried to perfection. In the number of these I place the civil and criminal laws, those that regard the administration of finances, the distribution of property, wills (.5), marriages, &c. (6). Q. Is the imperfection of these laws the mere effect of the idleness and indiflference of legislatures ? A. Other causes concur with them, such as fanati- cism, and conquest. Q. If the laws established by one of these causes be favourable to knaves, what follows ? A. That they will be protected by those knaves. Q. Should not the virtuous, for a contrary reason, desire their abolition ? A. Yes ; but the virtuous are few in number ; and are not always the most powerful. Bad laws in con- sequence are not abolished, and seldom can be. Q. Why r 4 TREATISE ON MAN. 431 Moral cutfi hi^ui. Q. Why ? A. Because genius is required to substitute good laws in the place of bad, and courage to make them received. Now in almost all countries the people in power have neither the necessary genius to form good jaws, nor sutlicicnt courage to establish them, and brave the clamour of evil designing men. If man love to govern other men, it is always with the least possible care and pains. Q. Supposing a prince to have a desire to carry the science of the laws to perfection, Mhat should he do ? A. Encourage men of genius to study this science, and direct them to resolve its several problems. Q. What will then happen ? A. The variable laws, as yet imperfect, will cease to be so, and become invariable and sacred. Q. Why sacred ? A. Because excellent laws being necessarily the work of experience and of sagacious judgment, are esteemed as revelations from heaven itself; because the observation of those laws may be regarded as the wor- ship most agreeable to the Divinity, and as the only true religion ; a religion that no power, not even God himself, can abolish ; for to do evil is repugnant to his nature. Q. Have not kings in this respect been sometimes more powerful than the gods i A. Among princes there are some, doubtless, who by violating the most sacred laws of property, have made 432 TREATISE ON MAN. The science of morality maj- be adapted to all capacities. made attempts on the possessions, the lives, and liberty of their sul)ject3. They have received from heaven the power, but not the right to do harm : this right has never been conferred on any one. Can we ima- gine that, like the infernal spirits, princes are con- demned to torment their subjects ? What a horrid idea of sovereignty ! Must the people be accustomed to see an enemy only in their monarch, and in his scep- tre an instrument of torture ? It is evident from this sketch, to what a degree of perfection such a catechism might cany the educa- tion of a citizen ; how much it w^ould enlighten the subject and tlie monarch in their respective duties, and lastly, what just ideas it would give them of mo- rality. If the fundamental principle of the science of morals be reduced to the simple fact of corporeal sen-p sibility, that science will be adapted to the capacity of men of all acres and all understandinofs : all mav have the same idea of it. From the moment we regard corporeal sensibility as the first principle of morality, its maxims cease to be contradictory ; its axioms all linked together will bear the most rigorous demonstration ; in short, its principles being freed from the darkness of speculative philosophy; will become evident, and the more gene- jally adopted as the people will be the more clearly ponvincedof the interest they have to be virtuous (7)- Whoever TREATISE ON MAN. 433 New axiom of morality. Whoever shall elevate himself to this first principle, will see, if I may so say, al the first glance all the im- perfections of a legislation : he will see if the bulwark opposed by the laws to such passions as are contrary to the public good, be sufficiently strong to support their efforts : if the law rewards and punishes in such just proportion as will necessitate men to virtue : lastly, he will perceive in that so much vaunted axiom of the present morality, " Do unto others as thou wouklst they sliould do unto thee," only a secondary, domestic maxim, and one that is always insufficient to inform mankind of what they owe to their country. He will presently substitute for it that axiom which declares, "Tluit tlie public good is tlic supreme law," an axiom that includes, in a manner more general and more explicit, all that is useful in the former, and is applicable to all the different situations in which a citizen may find himself; that agrees equally well with the private man, the judge, the minister, &c. It is, if I may so express myself, from the sublimity of such a principle, that, descending even to the local conven- tions, which form the customary law of each people, every one may instruct himself in the particular na- ture of his engagements, in the wisdom or folly of the laws and customs of his country, and form a more just judgment of them, as he will more ha- voL. II. 2 F bitually 434 TREATISE ON MAN. The iiupiovement of niorai education opposed by the clergy. bitually present to his mind the grand principles by which are estimated the wisdom, and even the equity- of the laws. We may therefore furpish youth with sound and de- terminate ideas of morality. By the aid of a cate- chism of probity we may carry this part of education to tlie highest degree of perfection : but what obstacles 3 re theie to surmount ! CHAP.VIII. THE INTEKEST OF THE PRIEST, THE FIRST OB- STACLE TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE MORAL EDUCATION OF MAN. Xhe interest of the clergy, like that of every other body, changes according to time, place, and circum- stance. Therefore every morality whose principles are fixed will never be adopted by the priesthood ; they require one whose precepts being obscure and contra- dictory, and consequently variable, may be adapted to all the several positions in which they may find themselves. The priest requires an arbitrary morality*, that al- *■ There are no evident propositions that the theologians do not lows TREATISE ON MAN. 435 Rc-iifou of their opposition. ]ows him lo legitimate lo-tlu}' the action he will declare infamous to-morrow. Unhappy is the nation that confides the education of the people to the priests ! Only t'aiss ideas of justice which are still worse than none, can be expected from them. Whoever is without prejudice is the more ready to receive true knowledge, and the more susceptible of just instructions. But where are such instructions to be had ? In the history of man, of nations, of their laws, and of the motives by which they were established, Now it is not from such sources that the clergy will permit the principles of justice to be drawn ; their inte- rest forbids it : they are sensible that the people, when enlightened by that study, will measure the esteem or contempt due to different actions by the scale of public utility : and what rcs[iect will they then have for bonzes, brauiin?, and their pretended sanctity? What has the.public to do with iheirinaceratious, their hair- cloth, and blind obedience? The whole set of monastic virtues contribute nothingto the happiness of a nation. It is not so with the virtues of a citizen, that is, Avith render problematical. "VVe have seen them, according to times and circumstance?, somt'timcs maintain that it is tiie prince, and sometimes tl)e law, tliat ought to be obeyed ; vet, neither reason, nor the interest of the monarch, leaves any doubt on this subject. P'ollow the law, said Lewis XII. notwithstanding; the contrary orders that importunity may sometimes force from the sovereign. The law should be regarded as the determinate will of the prince ; his orders, as the will of his ministers and favourites. 2 ¥ 2 gene- 436 TREATISE ON MAN. The useful virtues are the effect of education not of faith. -■ ... . , , generosity, veracity, justice, fidelity, friendship,. since- rity, and the engagements made with the society to which we belong. These virtues are really useful. There is no resemblance between a saint and a virtuous citizen*. Would the clergy, to be thought useful, pretend that it is to their prayers, and the efiectsof grace, that men owe their probitj'f ? Experience proves that the probity of man is the effect of his education : that a people are what the sagacity of their laws makes them : that modern Italy has more faith and less virtue than the ancient ; and, to conclufle, that it is always to the vices of administration we ou^ht to refer the vices of individuals. When a government ceases to be oeconomical, con- tracts debts, acts indiscreetly, and, like the prodigal, begins by being a dupe, it ends by being a knave. When the great, by virtue of their power, think they * A man may be religious under an arbitrary government, but not virtuous ; tor such government, by detaching the interest of individuals from that of the public, stiHes in man the love of his country : consequently religion and virtue have nothing in common. ■f If the number of priests be quadrupled in one country, and the number of patroles in another, which will be the least infested \vith robbers ? Not that stocked with priests. Ten thousand a year in guards \v'\\\ consequently restrain more thieves end villains tlian forty thousand a year in priests. What a saving would this be to a nation ! What a numerous expensive band of robbers are a V/hole clergy to a nation ! may TREATISE ON MAN. 437 The priests would oppose the publicaliun of a moral cutecliisra. may do whatever they will, are without justice, and without honour ; under such governments the people will be without morals ; they will regard force as every thing and justice as nothing. It is by the aid of a moral catechism, by recalling to the memories of men the motives of uniting in society, and their primitive, simple conventions, that we can give them clear ideas of equity : but the more explicit such a catechism is, the more strongly its publication will be opposed. Such a catechism would require for the instructors of youth, men skilful in the laws of na- ture and nations, and of the principal laws of each em- pire. Now such men would soon transfer to the tem- poral power the veneration conceived for the spiritual. The priests therefore would for ever oppose the publi- cation of such a work, and their criminal oppositions would still find supporters. Sacerdotal ambition thinks all things lawful ; it vilifies, persecutes, blinds man- kind, and appears constant!}' justin the eyes of its par- tisans. If you reproach a monk rvith intolerance and cruelty, he will reply, that his situation requires them ; that he follows his function. Are there then professions in which men have aright to injure the public? If there be, they should be abolished. Is n(jt every man a citizen of a particular profession ? If there be any one that can justify criminality, why did they punish Car- touche ? He was the head of a band of robbers ; he robbed, he followed his function. 2 F 3 The 438 TREATISE ON MAN'. Tlie iinperfeclion of governments the second obstacles to moral education. ■ • ' ■ — The clergy therefore-have the power, but not the right, to oppose the itiiprovement of the moral part of education. The priests already dread an approaching change in public instruction ; but their fear is panic. How far are men still from adopting a good plan of education ! They will remain for a long time stupid. Let the Ca- tholic church therefore rest satisfied that in an age so superstitious, its ministers will constantly preserve suf- ficient power efficaciously to oppose every useful re- formation : necessity alone can triumph over their in- trigues, and produce an alteration that is desirable, but impracticable, without the concurrence, favour, and protection of governments. CHAP. IX. THE IMPERFECTION OF MOST GOVERNMENTS, THR SECOND OBSTACLE TO THE MORAL EDUCATION OF MAN. 1. HAT is a bad form of government where the inte- rests of the citizens are discordant and opposite ; where the laws do not oblige them equally to concur in the public good. There are therefore few good govern- ments. TREATISE ON MAN. 439 Hoslility of a corrupt goveniTuenl to virtuous precepts. ments. In those tl:at are bad, 'what are the actions to which is given the name of virtues ? Is it to such as are conformable to the interest of the majority • But such actions are often declared criminal by the edicts of power and the manners of the age. Now wiuU honest precepts in such countries can be given to the people^ and what means are there to engrave them deeply on their memories ? 1 have aheady said that man receives two educations : The one of childhood : which is given him by masters. The other of adolescence ; which he receives from the form of government, and the manners of the na- tion in which he lives. When the precepts of these two parts of education are contradictory, those of the former become void. If I inspire my son from his infancy with a love of his country, and compel him to attach his happiness to the practice of virtuous actions, that is, of actions useful to the majority ; and if on entering the world he see patriots languish in contempt, misery, and op- pression, and learn that virtuous men, hated by the rich and great, are rare in the city, and banished from the court, that is, from the source of favours, honours, and riches, (which are undoubtedly real possessions), it is one hundred to one that my son will regard me as an absurd dotard, a severe fanatic ; that he will de- s[)ise my understanding, and his contempt for me will be reflected on my maxims ; and that he will give himself 440 TREATISE ON MAN. - — Virtuous men cannot be formed in a despotic empire. himself up to all those vices that are favoured by the form of government, and the manners of his compa- triots. If, on the contrary, the precepts given in childhood are recollected in youth : and if a young man on enter- ino; the world see the maxims of his masters honoured with the public approbation, then full of respect for those maxims, they will become the rule of his conduct, and he will be virtuous. But in an empire like that of Turkey, let no one flatter himself with forming such men. Always in dread, and exposed to violence, is it in that state of in- quietude that a citizen can be the friend of virtue and his country < His wish is to repel force by force. If he would secure his happiness, he must be strong ; it is of little signification to be virtuous. But in an ar- bitrary government, who are the strong ? The}' that please the despot, and his sub-despots. Tlien favour is a power: to obtain it, every thing is to be sacri- ficed. Is it to be acquired by baseness, falsehood, and injustice ? A man becomes vile, a liar, and a knave. The man that is fraiik and sincere is misplaced in such a government, and would be impaled before the end of the year. In such a country, every villain who does not dread pain or death, may always justify the most infamous conduct. Mutual wants, he will say, have forced men to unite in society : if they have built cities, it is because they have found more advantage in living together than TREATISli ON MAN. 441 Virtuous men ciinnot be fonned iu a despotic empire. than separate : the desire of happiness has therefore been the sole principle of their union. Now the same motive, he will add, ought ro force men to vice, when by the form of government, riches, honours, and hap- piness, are its rewards. However insensible men may be to riches and gran- deur, they must, in every country where the laws are too feeble efficaciously to protect the weak against the strong, where they see none but oppressors and oppress- ed,convicts and executioners, desire riches and honours, if not as the means of performing acts of injustice, at least as the means of avoiding oppression. But there are arbitrary governments where ap- plause is still lavished on the sages and heroes of an- tiquit}' ; where people boast of their disinterested con- duct, their elevation and magnanimity of soul. Beit so : but those virtues are now out of fashion ; the praise of magnanimous men is in the mouth of every one, and iu the heart of no body. No man is in his conduct the dupe of such eulogies. I have seen the admirers of heroic times, who would have introduced the precepts of the ancients into tlieir own countries : vain efforts ! The forms of govern- ments and religions forbid it. There are ages when reformation in public instruction should be preceded by some reformation in the administration of govern- ment and the public worship. To what may the advice of a father to his son be reduced under a despotic government ? To this shock- ing sentence : "Mv son, be base and groveling, with- 1 " out 442 TREATISE ON MAN. Virtuous men cannot be foimcd in a "despotic empire. ** out virtues, without vices, witiiout talents, and with- *' out character ; be what the court would have thee, " and, every instant of thy life, remember thou art a *' slave." In such a country it will not be to instructors cou- rageously virtuous, that a father will confide the edu- cation of his children : he would soon repent it. Sup- pose that at the time of Xerxes a Laceda^.monian had been appointed preceptor to a Persian lord, what would have been the consequence ? Being brought up in the principlesof patriotism and an austere frugality, the young man would have been odious to his coun- trymen, and, by a manly courageous probity, would have ruined his fortune. O thou Greek ! too rigidly virtuous, the father would have cried, what hast thou done to my son ! thou hast ruined him. I wished him to have that mediocrity of understanding, those soft and flexible virtues, to which in Persia are given the names of wisdom, prudent conduct, knowledge of the world, Sec. Fine names, you will say, by which Persia disguises the vices that are sanctioned by its government. Be it so ; I would have my son rich and liappy : his wealth or his indigence; his life or his death, depend on the prince. This thou knowest, and shouldst have made him a skilful courtier ; but thou hast made him nought but a hero and a virtuous ci- tizen. Such would have been the language of the father ; and what reply could be made ? The prudent part of the TREATISE ON MAN. 443 A good plan of education will be rejected by a vicious government. the people would have added : How absurd, to give an honest and magnanimous education to a man destined by the form of government to be a vile courtier, an obscure villain. To what purpose inspire him with the love of virtue ? Can he preserve it in the midst of corruption ? It follows therefore, that in every despotic form of government, and in every country where virtue is odi- ous to men in power, it is equally insignificant and ri- diculous to attempt the formation of virtuous citizens. CHAP. X, EVERY IMPORTANT REFORMATIOM IN THK MORAL PART OF EDUCATION, SUPPOSES ONE IN THE LAWS AND lOU.M OF GOVERNMENT. ^ HF.N a man proposes to introduce a good plan of education in a vicious government, and flatters liimself with making it acceptable, he deceives himself: the author of such a plan is too confined in his views to accomplish any thing great. If the precepts of a new education contradict the morals of a government, they are always reputed bad. At what time will they be adopted ? When the people feel great misfortunes, 9 great 444 TRExlTISE ON MAN. Still it is useful to cultivate the science of education. great oppressions, and a happy and singular concur- rence convinces the prince of the necessity of a re- form. Till that is not felt men may, if they will, me- ditate the principles of a good education ; its disco- very must precede its establishment : besides the more we cultivate a science, the more new truths we dis- cover relative to it, and the more simple its principles become. But let us not hope to see them adopted. Some illustrious men have thrown great light on this subject ; educarion however is still the same. Why ? Because a clear discernment is sufficient to form a good plan of education, but power is required to establish it. It is not therefore wonderful that the best plans of this kind have not hitherto produced any sensible altera- tion. But ought these works therefore to be regarded as useless? No: they have really advanced the sci- ence of education. A mechanic invents a new ma- chine ; he calculates its effects, and proves its utility; the science is thereby improved : the machine is not made ; the public therefore receives no benefit from it; but it is discovered. There wants only a man of fortune to construct it, and, sooner or later, such a man will be found. Let an idea so flattering encourage philosophers to study the science of education. If there be a search worthy of a virtuous citizen, it is that of truths which may be one day useful to mankind. What a consola- tory hope it is to our labours that we are promotmg the Imppiness of posterity ! The discoveries of philo- sophers TREATISE ON MAN. 445 > . . ■ ' - Perpctnal rcvoluUon in the moral universe. sophers are in this respect so many seeds sown in good minds, that only wait a favourable event to make them spring up ; and sooner or later that event will arrive. The moral universe is, in the eyes of the undiscern- ing, in a constant state of repose and immobility ; they think that all things have been, and will be, as they are ; they sec notliing in the past and future, but the present. It is not so with the intelligent : the moral world presents to them a perpetual revolution ; the universe, continually in motion, appears to them forced to produce incessantly new forms, even to a total ex- haustion of all its combinations ; till all that can be has been, and imaginary beings can no longer be con- ceived. The philosopher therefore perceives, at a greater or less distance, the time when power will adopt the plan of instruction presented by wisdom ; and let him, ani- mated by this hope, endeavour previously to under- mine those prejudices that oppose the execution of his plan. If we would erect a magnificent monument, we should, before we lay its foundation, chuse the ground, pull down the ruins with which it is incumbered, and clear away the rubbish. Such is the business of the philosopher ; let him not be accused of constructing no new edifice* ; it is he that now substitutes a mora- * It has been long said of philosophers that they destroy all and iity 446 TREATISE QN MAN. Reluctance of governments to adopt the plans of reform. lity that is clear, sound, and deduced from the very wants of man, for one that is obscure, nionastic, and fanatic, the scourge of the present and of past ages : it is to the philosophers, in fact, that mankind will owe this first and sole principle of morality ; the public good u the supreme law. There are certainly few governments that conduct themselves by this law ; but to impute this fault to the philosophers is to make a crime of their impo- tence. When the architect has given a complete plan of a palace, he has performed his part : it is for the state to purchase the ground, and provide the funds necessary for its construction. I know that it is put off for a long time ; that they prop up the old palace a long while before they erect a new one ; and du- ring that time the plans are useless ; they lie dormant, but the V will be at length brought forth. build nothing : thpy will iio longer incur this reproach. Should the modern Hercules moreover strangle the monstrous errors only, they will still merit the approbation of mankind. The accusation brought against tliem on this account arises merely from the inclination men in general have to believe every thing, whether truth or falsehood. It is in early youth that we are made to contract this inclination; which in time becomes a desire that is continually greedy C)f gratification. When a philosopher destroys one error, men are always ready to say to him, with what other will you replace it ? They resemble a f-ick man, who says to his physician. Doctor, when \ou have cured me of my fever, what other disorder will vou give me in lieu of it ? The TREATISE ON MAN. 447 Kesults ol' the author's ohservalinns on ediiciitioii. The architect of the moral edifice is the philoso- pher : the plan is drawn ; but the greatest part of re- ligions and governments oppose its execution. When the obstacles opposed by a stupid religion or tyranny to the progress of morality are removed, mankind may flatter themselves with seeing the science of edu- cation carried to the highest degree of perfection of which it is susceptible. Without entering into the detail of the plan of a good education, I have at least pointed out the priPi. cipal parts that are to be reformed ; I have shewn the reciprocal dependence that subsists between the moral part of education and the different forms of so- vernment : and lastly, T have proved that a reforma- tion in one cannot be produced without a reformation in the other. This truth being clearly demonstrated, the attempt can no longer appear impossible : being assured that the excellence of education depends on the excellence of the laws, there is no longer any occasion to attempt to reconcile irreconcileables. If I have marked out the spot where the mine should be dug, future men of letters, better informed in their researches on this subject, will no longer wander in vain speculation, and I shall spare them the fatigue of useless labgur. CHAP. 448 TREATISE ON MAN. Means of producing a good moral education. CHAP. XI. OF INSTRUCTION, AFTER THE OBSTACLES THAT OPPOSE ITS PROGRESS ARE REMOVED. W HEN honours and rewards are always decreed in a cfountry to merit, when public and private interest are constantly united, the moral education in that country will be necessarily excellent, and the people neces- sarily virtuous. Man (experience proves) is by nature an imitator, an ape ; if he live in the midst of honest citizens, he will become honesty when the precepts of his instruc- tors are not contradicted by the national manners. When maxims and exam[)les equally concur to excite in men the desire of talents and virtue ; when the citizens regard vice with horror, and ignorance with contempt, they will be neither fools nor knaves : the idea of happiness being connected in our minds with that of merit, and the love of felicity will compel lis to the love of virtue. When I see honours heaped on those who have ren- dered themselves useful to their couniry ; when I meet with nonebutdiscerning citizens, and hear none but ho- nest discourses, I learn to be virtuous, if f may so say, as we learn our native language without perceiving it. Ii TREATISE ON MAN. 449 e ■ ■ . - ■ _=^^^ The excellence of educalioii depends on the government. In every country, if \ve except llie powerful, the wicked arc those that the hiws and instruction have made so (8). 1 have sliewn that the excellence of moral education depends on the excellence of government : J may say as much of corporeal education. Every wise govern- ment endeavours to make tlie people not only virtuous, but strong and heahhi'ul. Such men are at on?e the most hap[)y, and the most proper lor the several em- ployments to which the interest of the state may ap- point them. Every sagacious government therefore will establish gymnastic exercises. With regard to the latter part of education, whlcli consists in making men illustrious in the arts and sci- ences, it is evident that its perfection also depends on the sagacity of the legislature. When the instructors of mankind are divested of a superstitious reverence for ancient customs, and the spring of their genius is allowed to exert its full force ; when they are excited by the hope of rewards to improve the methods of in- struction, and invigorate the desire of emulation (9), it is impossible, when encouraged by such hope, that intelligent masters, who have acquired the habit of ma.iaging the minds of their pupils, should not soon give to this part of education, already the most ad- vanced, all the perfection of which it is susceptible Good or bad education, is almost entirely the work of the laws. But, it will be said, how much know- ledge is necessary to frame such as are good ^ Less ■VOL. 11. 2 G than 450 TREATISE ON MAN. Method of perfecting legislation and education. than is imagined. It is itufficient for this purpose that ihe minister have the inti rest and desire to make such laws. Suppose, however, the legislature should want information, every virtuous and intelligent citi- zen would lend him assistance: good laws would then be made, and the obstacles ihat oppose the progress of instruction would be removed. But are things' that are doubtless easy in weak and rising societies, whose interests are simple, practicable in such as are rich, powerful, and numerous ? How can the unlimited desire of man for power be there restrained ? How can the projects of the ambitious, v^ho are leagued to enslave their fellow-citizens, be there prevented ? and lastK', how constantly and effi- caciously oppose that, colossal and despotic power, which, Tounded on the contempt of talents and virtues causes the people to languish in indolence, fear, and misery ? In too extensive empires there is perhaps but one Tuethod of resolving, in a durable manner, the two- fold problem of an excellent legislation, and a perfect education ; which is, as 1 have already said, to divide those empires into a certain number of federative re- publics, which will be defended by their smaluiess against the ambilion of their fellow-citizens, and by their confederation against the ambition of their neighbours. I shall not extend this question further. What I proposed in this section was to give clear and simple ideas TREATISE ON MAN. 451 Concluding observations. ideas of corporeal and moral education ; to determine the several sorts onnstruction that should be given to men, to citizens, and to citizens of particular profes- sions : to point out the reformations that should be made in governments, and the obstacles that now op- pose the science of morality ; and lastly, to show that these obstacles being removed, the problem of an ex- cellent education will be almost entirely resolved. I shall finish this chapter with the following obser- vation, which is, that to throw more light on so impor- tant a subject, it is necessary to be well acquainted with man ; To determine the extent of the faculties of his under- standing; To shew the springs by which he is moved, and the manner in which those springs are put in action ; And lastly, to hint to the legislature new means of improving the great work of the laws. If on these different subjects I have published some new and useful truths, I have fulfilled my undertaking ; and have a right to the esteen; and acknowledgment of mankind. Among the great number of questions treated of in this work, one of the most important was to deter- mine whether genius, virtue, and talents, to which nations owe their grandeur and felicity, were the effect of the difference of nourishment and tem[)eramenl ; in short, of the ditlerence of the organs of the five senses, over which the excellence of the laws and ad- 2 u 2 ministralion 's. 45^ TREATISE ON MAN. Recapitulation of the subjects treated of in Section 1. ministration have uo influence ; or if the same genius, the same virtues, and the same talents were the effect of education, over which the laws and the form of go- vernment are all powerful. If I have pro'ed the truth of the latter assertion, it must be allowed that the liappiness of nations is in their own hands, and that it entirely depends on the greater or less interest they take in improving the sci- ence of education. To assist the reader's memory, I shall conclude this work by a recapitulation of the several principles on which I have founded my opinion ; the reader will thereby the more readily estimate its probability. TvECAPlTULATlON. After having in the Introduction to this work said a few words on its importance, and on the ignorance of mankind relative to the true principles of education, and lastly, of the dryness of the subject, and the diffi- culty of treating it, I have examined, SECTION I. n Whether education, necessarily different in diffe- ^* rent men, be not the cause of that inequality of un- " derstandings hitherto attributed to the unequal per- •' fection of their organs." To TREATISE ON MAN. 4j3 Rcciipitulation of the subjects treated of in Section I. To this purpose I have inquired at what age the education oi' man begins^ and wht) are his instructors. 1 sec that man is tlie pupil ot" every object which surrounds liim, of ail the positions in k\ hich chance has placed him, in short, of every incident that happens to him. lluit these objects, poiiilions, and incidents are not exactly the same t"(jr any two persons, and consequently no two receive tlie same instniciions. That if it were possible for two men to have the same objects before their eyes, these objects not strik- ing them at the precise moment when their minds are in the same situation, will not, in consequence, excite in them the same ideas : therefore the pretended uni- formity of instruction received, either in the schools or in the paternal house, is one of those su[)[)Ositions whose impgssibility is proved by facts, and by the in- fluence that chance, independent of instructors, iuis, and always will have, on the education of childhood and youth. These matters settled, I consider the extreme extent of ilic power of chance, and I examine. Whether illustrious men do not frequently owe to it their taste lor a particular sort of study, and conse- quently their talents and their success in that study. If the science of education can be perfected with- out restraining the bounds of tlie empire of chance. li' the contradictions at prcs.ent [)ereeived among all the precepts of education, do not extend the empire of chance. C u ;J If 454 TREATISE ON MAN. Recapitulation of the subjects treated of in Section II. W these coutradictionsj of which I have given some examples, ought not to be regarded as effects of the opposition that is found between the rehgious system and that of the pubUc prosperity. If rehgions might not be rendered less destructive of the national felicity, and founded on principles more conformable to the general interest. What tliose principles are. ]f they might not be established by an intelligent prince^ If among the lalse religions there are not some whose worship has notbeen less opposite to the welfare of society, and consequently to the improvement of the science of education. If agreeably to these several examinations, and on the supposition that all men have an equal aptitude to understanding, the mere difference in their education ought not to produce a diffc^euce in their ideas and their talents. Hence it follows, that the inequality in understanding cannot be regarded, in men commonly ueli organised, as a demonstrative proof of their un- f'qual aptitude to acquire it. i hnve examined, s);rTioN II. '^ If all men, commonly well organised, have not an '' equal aptitude to understanding r" I agree in the first place, that as all our ideas come fo us by the senses, we ought to regard the mind or nuderstandins: either as the mere effect of the greater or TREATISE ON MAN. 455 Recapitulation of the subjects trcaled of in section II. or less degree of perfection in the five senses; or of an occult and indeterminable cause, to which has been vaguely given the name of organisation. To prove the fidsity of this opinion, we nuist have recourse to experience, form a clear idea of the word Mind or Understanding and distinguish it IVoni the soul. Tliis distinction made, we must observe. On what objects the mind acts. How it acts. If all its operations are not reducible to the observ- ing of the resemblances and differences, the agree- ments and disagreements that different objects have among themselves and with us ; and if, in consequence, all judgments formed on corporeal objects are not mere sensations. If it be not the same with judgments formed on ideas to which are given the names of abstract, collec- tive. Sec. If in every case to judge and compare can be any thing else than ultonate inspection, tliut is to say, sen- sation. If we can feel the impression of objects without comparing tliein with each other. If such comparison does not suppose an interest to compare them. If that interest be not the sole and unknown cause of all our ideas, our actions, our pains, our pleasures, and, in short, our sociability. Whence I observe, that as this interest, in its last ana- lysis, takes its source in corporeal sensibility ; this^ <2 G 4 «;ensibility 456 TREATISE ON MAN. RecapituUition of tlie subjects treated of in Section 11. Sensibility is consequently the sole principle of human ideas and actions. That there is no rational tnotive for rejecting this Oj'inion. That this opinion, once demonstrated and acknow- ledged aslrue/we Mui5t necessarily regard the inequa- lity of understandings as the effect Either of the unequal extent of the memory ; Or of the greater or less perfection of the five senses. Thac in fact, it is neither the extent of the memory, nor the extreme acutenessof the senses, that pioduces^ i}.nd must produce the extent of the understanding. That with regard to the acuteness of the senses, men commonly well organised differ only in the degrees of llieir sensations. That this small difference does not change the re- lation of their sensations to each other, and conse- quently has no influence over the understanding, which is not, and cannot be any thing else than a knowledge of the true relations which objects have to each other. The cause of the different opinions of men. Tliat this difference is the effect of the uncertain signification of words, such as Good, Interest, and Virtue. That if words were precisely defined, and their de- finitions arranged in a dictionary, all the propositions of TREATISE ON MAN. 45? Uecapitnlalioii of t\ie siibjecls Ircaied of in Section II. of morality, politics, and nieta physics would become as susceptible of demonstration as the tiulhs of geo- metry. That from the moment the same ideas are annex- ed to the same words, all minds adopting the same principles, would draw from them the same conclu- sions. That it is impossible, as all objects appear to all men to have the same relations, ibr men by comparing; ob- jects with each other, (eitlier in the material world, as is proved by geometry, or in the intellectual world, which is proved by metaphysics), not to form the same conclusions. That the truth of this proposition is proved by thp resemblance of tlie tales of the fairies, philosophic tales, and religious tales of all countries, and by the uniformity of impositions, employed every where l)y the ministers of false religioiis, to preserve and increase their authority over the people. From all these facts it resulrs, that as the greater or less acuienessof the senses does not at all change the proportion in which objects strike us, all men, com- jnonly well organised, have an equal aptitude to im- flerstanding. To augment proofs of this important trulh, [ have added a demonstration of it in the same seciion, by another series of proi)ositions. I have sliewn th;!t the niost sublimeideas, once simplified, arc In the consent of 458 TREATISE ON MAN. Recapitulation of Ihe subjects treated of in Section III. of all philosophers, reducible to this clear proposition, that white is rcJiite, and black is black. That every trulh of this kind is comprehensible by all understandings ; and that therefore there is not any one, how great and general soever it maybe, which clearly represented, and disengaged from the obscu- rity of words, cannot be equally conceived by all men commonly well organised. Now to be equally able to comprehend the highest 'truths, is to have an equal aptitude to understraiuiing. Such is the conclusion of the second section. SECTION 111. The object of this section is an inquiry concerning the causes to which the inequality of understandings is to be attributed. These causes are reducible to two. The one is the unequal desire that men have of Icnowledge. The other, the diversity of positions in vvhich chance places them ; a diversity from which results that of their instruction, and their ideas. To shew that it is to these two causes only we ought to refer the diffe- rence and inequality of understandings, I have proved that most of our discoveries are the gifts of chance. That these same gifts are not granted to all. This distribution however is not so unequal as is jiDagincd. That in this respect chance is less neglectful of us, than TREATISE ON MAN. 459 Kccapituh'tion of llif subject'; treated of in Section IV. tlian we are, if I may use the expression, neglectful of chance. That in fact all men commonly well organised have an equal power of understanding, but that power is dead in them, when not put in action by some passion, such as the love of esteem, glory, 8cc. That men owe to such passions only the attention proper to fecundate the ideas offered to them by chance. That without passions their minds might be re- garded in some measure as perfect machines, whose movement issuspended till the passions put in them in action. Hence I conclude, that the inequality of under- standings in men is the produce of chance, and of the unequal vivacity of their passions; but whether those passions are the effects of the strength of tempera- ment, is what I examine in the following section. SECTION IV. 1 there demonstrate, That men commonly well organised are susceptible of the same degree of passion. That their unequal force is alwa3'3 the effect of the difference of situations in which chance has placed them. That the original character of each man, (as Pascal observes), is nothing more than the produce of his first habits : that man is born without ideas, without passi- ons, and without any other wants than those of hunger and thirst, and consequently without character : that ■ he 460 TREATISE ON MAN. Recapitulation of the subjects treated of in Section IV. he often changes it without any change in his oreani- sation : that those changes, independent of the greater or less acLiteness of bis senses, operate according to the changes that happen in his situation and ideas. That the diversity of characters depends solely on the diiferent manners in which the sentiment of self- love is moditied in men. That this sentiment, the necessary'eftect of corporeal sensibility, is common to all, and produces in all the love of power. That this desire produces envy, the love of wealth, of glory, importance, justice, virtue, intolerance, in, short, all the factitious passions, whose several names mean nothing more than the dift'erent applications of the love of power. This truth established, I shew, by a short genea- logy of the passions, that if the Jove of power be no- thing more than the mere effect of corporeal sensibi- lity, and if all men commonly well organised are sensi- ble, all are consequently susceptible of the sort of pas- sion proper lo put in action the equal aptitude they have to understanding. But can these passions be excited to an equal degree in all r Of this we may be certain, that the love of glory may he exalted in man to the same degree of force as the sentiment of self-love ; that the force of this sentiment is in all men more than sufficient to j^ive ihem the degree of attention which the discovery of the subliuiest truths requires ; that the human un- derstuiiding is consequently susceptible of perfecbili- TREATISE ON MAN. 461 Recapitulation of the subjects treated of in Section V. e , . . . . ■ ■ : =C t y ; and lastly, that in men, commonly well organised, the inequality of talents can be nothing more than tlie eft'ect of the difference of their education, in which difference I comprehend thesituations in which chance has placed them. SECTION V. What I here propose is, to shew the errors and con- tradictions of those who adopt on this question prin- ciples different from mine, and refer the inequality of understandings to the unequal perfection in the or- gans of the senses. No one has written better on this subject than M. Rousseau ; I therefore cite liim for an example. I shew, that always contradicting himself, he sometimes regards understanding and character as effects of the diversity of temperaments, and sometimes adopts the contrary opinion. That it results from bis contradictions on tbis sub- ject: That virtue, humanity, understanding, and talents are acquisitions. That goodness is not the portion of man in bis cradle. That the seeds of cruelty are in corporeal wants. That humanity is consequently in man always the produce of fear, or of education. ThatM. Rousseau, after his first contradictions, falls incessantly into others ; that he believes, by turns, education to be useful and detrimental. t *• of 462 TREATISE ON MAN. Piccapitulation of the subjects treated of in Section V[. Of the happy use that might be made, in public in- struction, of some of M. Rousseau's ideas. That, according to this author, we must not suppose childhood and early youth to be without judgment. That the pretended advantages of mature age over youth are imaginary. Of the eulogies given by M. Rousseau to igno- rance; the motives that induced him to become its apologist. That learning has never contributed to the corrup- tion of manners; that M. Rousseau himself does not believe it. Of the causes of the decline of empires; that among these causes the improvement of the arts and sciences cannot be cited : And that their cultivation retards the ruin of a des- potic empire. SECTION VI. I here consider the several evils produced by igno- rance. 1 prove that ignorance is not destructive of effemi- nacy. That it does not secure the fidelity of the subject. That it determines the most important questions without examination. That of luxury given as an example. I prove that this question cannot be resolved with- out comparing an infinity of objects with each other ; Without TREATISE ON MAN. 463 Kecapitulalion of the subjects treated of in ^'jctioii VI. Without first annexing precise ideas to the word luxury f and then examining ; If luxury may not be useful and necessary, and if it always suppose intemperance in a nation. Of the cause of luxury : if it may not be itself the effect of those public calamities of which it is accused of being the author. If, to know the true cause of luxury, we must not go back to the formation of societies, and there trace the effects of the great increase of mankind. Observe, if this increase does not produce among them a division of interest, and this division a too un- , equal distribution of the national wealth. The effects produced by the too unequal partition of riches, and by their introduction into an empire. The good and bad effects of riches. The causes of the too great inequality of fortunes. The means of opposing the too rapid accumulation of wealth in the same hands. Of countries where money is not current. What are in those countries the productive princi- ples of virtue. Of countries where money is current. That money there becomes the common object of the desireof men, and the prole of their actions and their virtues. Of the period when, like the sea, riches abandon certain countries. ^)f the stale In which a nation then is, 0 Of 4G4 TREATISE ON MAN. Recapitulation of tlie subjeets treated of in Section VII. Of the stupefaction that takes place of the loss of riches. Of the several principles of activity in nations. Of money, considered as one of these principles. Of the evils occasioned hy the love of money. If, in the present state of Curope, the judicious ma- gistrate ought to desire a too hasty diminution of this principle of activity. Thatitisnot in luxury, but in its productive cause, that we ought to look for the destructive principle of empires. If we can use too much caution in examining ques- tions of this nature. If in such questions the precipitate judgment of ig- norance do not frequently involve a nation in the great- est misfortunes. If in consequence of what has been said, we ought not to hate and despise the protectors of ignorance, and in general all those who, by opposing the progress of the human mind, impede the improvement of legisla- tion, and consequently the public happiness, entirely dependent on the goodness of the law's. SECTION VII. That it is the excellence of the laws, and not, as some pretend, the purity of religious worship, that can secure the happiness and tranquility of nations. Of the little influence which religions have on the virtue and felicity of nations. Of TREATISE ON MAN. 465 Recapitulation of the subject? treaterl of in Section VII, Of a religious spirit, destructive of tbe legislative spirit. That a religion truly useful will force the people to become intelligent. That men do not act consistently with their belief, but their personal advantage. That more consistency in their determinations would .render the popish religion more detrimental. That speculative principles in general have little in- fluence on the conduct of men, who obey only the laws of their country and their interest. That nothing better proves the prodigious power of legislation than the government of the Jesuits. That it has furnished that religious order with the means of making kings tremble, and of executing the most atrocious enterprizes. Of atrocious enterprizes. That these enterprizes may be equally inspired by the passions of glory, ambition and fanaticism. The means of distinguishing the sort of passion that commands them. Of tho time when the interest of the Jesuits urges them to great crimes. What sect in France can oppose their enterprizes. That Jansenism alone is al>le to destroy the Jesuits. That without the Jesuits we should never have known all the power of legislation. That, to carry it to perfection, it is necessary t(5 VOL. n. 2 H havCj 466 TREATISE ON MAN. - ■ ■ ■ ' ■ ■ ' ■■ ....,.,„ 1>VT;ii)italatioii of the subjects treated of in Section VIII. have, like St. Benedict, a religious order ; or, like Romulus or Peiii), an empire or colony to found. That in every other situation the legislative .genius, constrained by manners and prejudices ahead}' esta- blished, cannot soar sufficiently high, nor dictate those perfect laws whose establishment would give to nations the greatest happiness possible. Ihat to resolve the problem of the public felicity, we must previously know what constitutes the happi- ness of man. SECTION VIII. In what consists the happiness of individuals, and consequently the happiness of a nation, necessarily composed of the happiness of all the individuals? That to resolve this political problem, we must exa- mine if men can be equally happy in every condition, that is, fill up all the instants of their days in a manner equally agreeable. Of the employment of time. That this employment is nearly the same in all pro- fessions. That if empires are peopled with none but unfortu- nate persons, it is the effect of the imperfection of the laws, and the too unequal partition of riches. That ihe people may be made more easy, and this ease would moderate in them the excessive desire of lichcs. 7 Of TREATISE ON MAN. 467 Recapitulation of the subjects treated of in Section VIII. Of the several moiives which at presentjustify that desire. That among these motives the most powerful is the fear of dis<2rn9t or weariness. That the malady of disgust is more common and cruel than is imagined. Of the influence of disgust on the manners of a people and the form of their government. Of religion and its ceremonies, considered as aTe- medy for disgust. That the only remedies for this evil are lively and distinct sensations. Hence our love for eloquence, poetry, and all the pleasing arts, whose ohject is to excite sensations of that kind. Particular proofs of this truth. Of the arts of amenity ; their impression on the opulent idler ; they cannot free him from disgust. That the most opulent are in general the most dis- gusted, because they are passive in almost all their pleasures. That the passive pleasures are in general tlie most transient and most expensive. That consequently it is the rich who feel most for- cibly the want of riches. That the rich man would be always moved without the trouble of movino: iiimself. That he is without motive to divest himself of idle- 2 II 2 ncss, 468 TREATISE ON MAN. Recrtpitiilalion of the subjects treated of in Section IX. ness, from which a moderate fortune necessarily frees other men. Of the association of the ideas of happiness and riches in our minds ; that this association is the effect of education. That a different education may produce a contrary effect. That then, without heing equally rich and powerful, individuals may be, and think themselves, equally happy. Of the remote utility of these principles. That once convinced of this truth, men should no longer regard evil as inherent in the nature of society, but as an accident occasioned by the imperfection of their legislation. SECTION IX. Of the possibility of tracing out a good plan of le- gislation. Of the obstacles which ignorance opposes to its pub- lication. Of the ridicule that is thrown on every new idea, and every profound study of morality and politics. Of the hatred of ignorance for all reformation. Of the difficulty of making good lav/s. Of the first questions to be asked on this subject. Of rewards ; tliat they never corrupt the manners,. of whatever kind they be, though it were a luxury of pleasure. 2 Of TREATISE ON MAN. 469 .'« ■ -. ^ . • — ■■ g Recapitulation of the subjects treated of in Section IX. g ' ■ ■■■■■., ^ Of the luxury of pleasures : that eveiy pleasure de- creed as a public acknowledgment, cherisiies virtue, and mai«3<')?i^Xi<>?mii<9»f>f'^^»li< >" :^'B^o-»*:S«r^o./%»»P