ARTES
LIBRARY
1817
SCIENTIA
}
VERITAS
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
PLURIBUS
UNUM
TUEBOR
SI QUERIS PENINSULAM-AMŒNAM`
CIRCUMSPICE
MEMOIRS
+
}
OF
THE YEAR
Two Thousand Five Hundred.
LE TEMS PRESENT EST GROS DE L'AVENIR.
Tranflated from the French,
By W. HOOPER,
Leibnitz.
M. A.
PHILADELPHIA,
PRINTED BY THOMAS DOBSON,
AT THE STONE-HOUSE, N° 41, SOUTH SECOND-STREET.
M:DCC.XCV.
*
ľ
ADVERTISEMENT.
THE title of this work in the original
is The Year Two Thousand Four Hundred and
Forty; but as there appears no reaſon for fixing
it to any particular year, we have for the fake
of a round number, called it The Year Two
Thoufand Five Hundred. It may be proper to
add, that this is the only alteration made by the
tranflator. Though the ſcene of this narrative lies
in Paris, yet the reflections in general may be
applied, by changing the names of places and
perfons, to almoſt all the capital cities of Europe.
Who the author of this work is, we will not
pretend to determine; perhaps the reader will be
fatisfied with finding that he is a man of ſenſe,
of taſte, and learning, of a lively imagination, a
ftrong fpirit of liberty, and, what is worth them
all, a warm benevolence of heart.
A 2
CONTENTS.
Introduction
CHAP. I. Reflections on Paris, by an old Eng-
lifbman
II. I am ſeven hundred and fixty years
old
III. I purchaſe a fuit of ready-made
clothes
IV. The Porters of Paris
V. The Carriages
VI. The embroidered Hat
VII. The Bridge re-baptifed
PAGE I
3
II
14
17
20
23
26
VIII. The new Paris
28
IX. The Petitions
4I
X. The Man with a Maſk
44
XI. The New Testaments
47
XII. The College of Quatre Nations
50
XIII. Where is the Sorbonne ?
58
XIV. The Hofpital for Inoculation
63
A 2.
CHAP..
vi
CONTENTS.
CHAP.
XV. Theology and Jurisprudence
XVI. Execution of a Criminal
XVII. Not ſo far off as we thought
XVIII. The Minifters of Peace
XIX. The Temple
XX. The Prelate
XXI. The Communion of the two In-
finities
Page.
65
72
86
92
97
III
113
XXII. A remarkable Monument
124
XXIII. The Bread, the Wine, &c.
129
XXIV. The Prince a Publican
140
XXV. The Theatre
144
XXVI. The Lamps
153
XXVII. A Funeral
157
An Eclipfe of the Moon.
161
XXVIII. The King's Library
167
XXIX. The Men of Letters
192
XXX. The Academy of Science
199
XXXI. The King's Cabinet
214
XXXII. The Academy of Painting
235
XXXIII. Emblematical Paintings
241
XXXIV. Sculpture and Engraving
247
XXXV. The Hall of Audience
XXXVI. The Form of Government
XXXVII. The Heir to the Throne
252
256
272
XXXVIII. The Women,
I
284
CHAP.
CONTENTS.
vii
CHAP.
Page.
XXXIX. The Taxes
298
XL. On Commerce
311
XLI. The Evening
317
XLII. The Gazettes
328
XLIII. Funeral Oration of a Peaſant
355
XLIV. Verſailles
359
}
EPISTLE DEDICATORY
To the Year
TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED.
AUGUST and venerable Year! thou
who art to bring felicity upon the earth! thou,
alas! that I have only in a dream beheld, when
thou shalt rife from out the bofom of eternity,
thy fun fhall enlighten them who will tread upon
my afhes, and upon thoſe of thirty generations,
fucceffively cut off, and plunged in the profound
abyfs of death. The kings that now fit upon the
throne fhall be no more; their pofterity thall be
no more. Then fhalt thou judge the departed
monarch, and the writer who lived in fubjection
to his power.
The names of the friends, the
defenders of humanity, fhall live and be honoured,
their glory fhall be pure and radiant; but that
vile herd of kings, who have been, in every fenfe,
the tormentors of mankind, ſtill more deeply
plunged
X
EPISTLE DEDICATORY.
plunged in oblivion than in the regions of death,
can only eſcape from infamy by the favour of
inanity.
The thought furvives the man, and forms his
moſt glorious poffeffion; the thought rifes from
his tomb, affumcs an immutable body, becomes
immortal. While the thunders of defpotifm fall
and vaniſh, the pen of the writer, bounding over
the interval of time, abfolves or puniſhes the
mafters of the univerfe.
I
I have exerciſed that authority which nature
gave me; I have cited before my folitary reafon
the laws, the cuſtoms, and abufes of the country.
in which I have lived obfcure' and unknown.
have felt that virtuous hatred which is due to
oppreſſion from a being of humanity; I have de-
tefted, purfued with infamy to the utmoſt of my
power, oppofed all tyranny. But, alas! Auguft
and Venerable Year, perhaps to little purpoſe,
when contemplating thee, have I animated, ex-
alted my ideas; they may appear in thy eyes the
mere conceptions of fervitude. Forgive me; the
genius of my age furrounds and oppreffes me.
Stupidity now reigns; the tranquility of my coun-
try reſembles that of the grave. I fee nought
around me but coloured carcafes, who move and
talk, but in whom the active principle of life has
never produced the leaft emotion. Even now,
the
EPISTLE DEDICATORY.
xi
·
the voice of philofophy, wearied and dejected,
cries in the midſt of mankind as in the centre of
a boundleſs defert.
Oh! could I but divide the term of my exift-
ence, with what pleaſure would I inſtantly de-
ſcend to the grave! with what joy fhould I part
from the gloomy, wretched aſpects of my co-tem-
poraries, to awake in the midſt of thoſe fair days
that thou shalt bring forth; that blifsful period,
when man ſhall have regained his courage, his
liberty, his independence, and his virtue! How
happy, could I but behold thee otherwiſe than in a
dream! Haſte! thou age fo defired, thou object
of my earneſt wishes! Come, and pour down
happineſs upon the earth! But what do I fay?
Delivered from the illufions of a pleafing dream,
I fear, alas! I fear, that thy fun is more like to
caft a gloomy light on a formleſs mafs of afhes,
and of ruins.
MEMOIRS
MEMOIRS
OF THE
Year Two Thousand Five Hundred.
INTRODUCTION.
THAT all ſhould be well is the wifh of the
philofopher. By that term, which doubtlefs has
been abuſed, I mean that fagacious and virtuous
being, who defires the general happineſs, in confe-
quence of thofe determinate ideas of order and har-
mony that he entertains. Evil is difgufting to the
fight of the wife man; he therefore declaims againſt
it; he is accuſed of ill-nature; but wrongfully; he
knows that evil abounds on the earth; but, at the
fame time, he has conftantly prefent to his mind that
beautiful and ftriking perfection, which might and
ought to refult from the conduct of a rational being.
In effect, what ſhould prevent us from hoping,
that, after running round the wide-extended circle of
their follies, guided by their paſſions, men, jaded and
diſguſted, may not return to the pure lights of reaſon
Why may not the human race reſemble an indivi-
dual? Touchy, hafty, thoughtless, in youth; gentle,
patient,
B
2
INTRODUCTION.
patient, prudent, in age *. The man who argues
thus impoſes on himſelf the duty of being juft.
But do we know what is perfection? Can it apper-
tain to a weak and limited being? Is it not that great
fecret hid from us by the prefent life? Muſt we not
put off mortality ere we can comprehend that ſub-
lime enigma?
In the mean time, let us endeavour to render this
life tolerable; or, if that be too much, let us at leaſt
dream that it is fo. For me, concentered with Plato,
I dream like him. O my dear countrymen, whom
I have fo often heard groan under that load of abuſes,
of which we are wearied with complaining, when
will our dreams be realifed? Let us then fleep on;
for in that muſt we place our felicity.
Was this world created merely for that ſmall number
of men who now inhabit the furface of the earth? What
are all the beings that ever exifted, in compariſon of thoſe
that God can create ? Other generations will behold the
fame fun, occupy the place we now poffefs, and puſh us fo
far back into antiquity, that there fhall not remain of us
either footsteps or remembrance.
CHAP
[ 3 ]
CHAP. I.
REFLECTIONS ON PARIS BY AN OLD ENGLISII-
MAN.
THOU troublefome friend, why didst thou
wake me? Ah! what injury haft thou done me!
Thou haft fnatched me from a dream, whoſe ſweet
illufions were to me more defireable than the impor-
tunate light of truth. How pleafing was the deceit !
Would that I were plunged in it for the remainder of
my days! But, alas! I am again furrounded by that
frightful chaos from which I thought myfelf deliver-
ed. Sit down, and liften to me, while my mind is
yet filled with the objects by which it was but now
enrapt.
Late last night, I converfed with that old English-
man, whofe foul is fo free. You know that I love
the man truly English; we no where find better
friends; among no other people do we meet with men
of a character ſo ſtedfaſt and ſo generous; that fpirit
of liberty with which they are animated gives them
a degree of force and conftancy rarely to be met
with among other nations.
Your nation, he faid, is filled with abufes ftrange
as multifarious; they are neither to be numbered
or conceived; the mind is there loft. Nothing is to
B 2
me
4
REFLECTIONS ON PARIS.
me ſo ſurpriſing as that repofe, that apparent calm,
which broods over the horrid jars of fo many inteftine
troubles. Your capital is an incredible compound*;
the hideous monſter is the receptacle of extreme
opulence and exceffive mifery; their conteft is eter-
nal. How amazing that this devouring body, which
is confuming in every part, can fubfift in its horrid
inequality t.
In your kingdom, all things are made fubfer-
vient to the capital; cities, nay, whole provinces,
are facrificed to it. Alas! what is it but a diamond
in the midst of a dunghill! what an inconceivable
jumble of fenfe and ftupidity, of genius and fully, of
grandeur and bafenefs! I left England with preci-
pitation; I flew with hopes of arriving at that bright
centre, where men, by uniting their mutual talents,
had
*The whole kingdom is in Paris. France reſembles a
ricketty child, whofe juices feem only to encreaſe and nou-
riſh the head, while the body remains weak and emaciated.
This fort of children have frequently more wit than others
but they are generally fhort lived.
;
†The manner in which it exifts is ftill more aſtoniſh-
ing: It is not uncommon to fee a man, who cannot live.
upon one hundred thoufand livres (¶) a year, borrow ino-
ney of another, who lives at his eaſe on a hundredth part
of the money.
(1) The livre is equal to ten-pence halfpenny, confequent-
ly the French crown of fix livres is equal to five fhillings and
three-pence, and the louis-d'or of twenty four livres equal to
our guinea.
REFLECTIONS ON PARIS.
5
had eſtabliſhed the throne of all the pleaſures, fur-
rounded by eaſe and complacency. But, heavenst
how cruelly were my hopes deſtroyed! On this ſpot,
where all things abound, I behold wretches periſh-
ing for want; in the midſt of fo many fagacious
laws, a thouſand crimes are committed; among ſo
many regulations of the police, all is diforder; no-
thing to be feen but fhackles, embarraffments, and
practices contrary to the public good.
The throngs of people are every moment in dan-
ger of being cruſhed by the innumerable quantity of
carriages, in which are borne at their eaſe thoſe who
are infinitely leſs valuable than they whom they ſplaſh,
and threaten to deſtroy. I tremble when I hear the
precipitate tread of horfes in the midft of a crowd of
the aged and infirm, of children, and teeming women.
In reality, nothing is more infulting to human na-
ture than that cruel indifference, with which they
regard the dangers that each moment produces*.
t
Your affairs compel you to frequent a quarter of
the town, where there exhales a foetid and mortal
vapour thouſands of mankind are forced to breath
that poiſoned air †. Your churches afford more oc-
* Ye original inhabitants of the earth, could you have
thought that a city would ever exift, where they ſhould,
without concern, drive over the unfortunate paffengers at
fo much per leg and per arm!
+ The cemetry of the church called the Innocents, ferves
twenty-two parifhes; they have interred the dead there
B 3
for
6
REFLECTIONS ON PARIS.
cafion for fcandal than inſtruction; they are made
the high road for paffengers, and fometimes fome-
thing worfe; you are not fuffered to feat yourſelf
there but by virtue of money; a fhameful mono-
poly in a facred place, where all men, when in the
prefence of the Supreme Being, fhould furely be re-
garded as equals.
When you would copy after the Greeks and Ro-
mans, you have not even the ability to fupport their
manner, which was pure and noble; you disfigure
it, you deſtroy it, by a puerile longing after what
you call pretty. You have fome dramas that are
maſter-pieces; but, if on reading them, I find a de-
fire to ſee them reprefented, I no longer know them.
in
You have three ſmall, dark, and dirty theatres *
one you are, at a great expence, magnificently ſtunned
while you gapingly admire a heap of ridiculous ma-
chinery; in another, you are forced to laugh, when
;
you
for a thouſand years paſt. A place for this purpoſe ſhould
furely have been choſen without the walls; on the contra-
ry, it is placed in the centre of the city; and left it ſhould
not be fufficiently frequented as it ſhould feem, they have
furrounded it with fhops. It is a grave always open,
always filling, always empty. Our delicate ladies there
walk over the mouldering bones of millions of their fore-
fathers to purchaſe pompons and other baubles.
* The French and Italian comedies, or theatres, and the
opera. The epithets here uſed are applicable enough to
the two comedies; but furely the opera rather merits thoſe
of grand and elegant.
1.
1
REFLECTIONS ON PARIS.
7
you ſhould weep; nature is never confulted; and be-
fides that your tragic actors are beneath all criticiſm,
you there find fome impertinent companion, who is
alone fufficient to baniſh the moſt perfect illufion;
with regard to the third, they are a ſet of buffoons ;
who fometimes quaver the drolleries of Momus, and
fometimes fhriek an infipid air. I prefer theſe, how-
ever, to your dull French comedians, becauſe they
are more natural, and confequently more pleaſing,
and becauſe they afford the public rather more enter-
tainment*. But I must confefs at the fame time,
that a man ought to have an uncommon ſhare of
leiſure, to amuſe himſelf with the wretched trifles they
exhibit.
It affects me with an indignant pity, to ſee fuch
people as thefe, who are fupported by a fort of con-
tribution from each ſpectator, impudently crowd their
judges together in a fcanty pit, where, continually on
their feet, and preffing against each other, they fuffer
a thouſand tortures; and where they are not permit-
ted to complain, though on the point of being fuffo-
cated+. A people, who even in their entertainments,
*There is an effential difference between the French and
Italian comedies; the firſt are fully perfuaded that they are
perfons of merit, and in confequence are infolent; the
fecond are directed entirely by mercenary motives; the one,
from ſelf-conceit, ſhew a want of due reſpect for the public;
the others ſtrive to pleaſe it from a principle of avarice.
+ There are no feats in the pit at any of the French thea-
tres; and asthofe that are behind are continually endeavour-
ing to get forward, and thoſe before endeavour to keep their
ftation
REFLECTIONS ON PARIS,
can endure ſo troubleſome a fervitude, fhow to what
degree of flavery they may be reduced. Thus, all
thoſe pleaſures boaſted of at a diſtance are, on a
near approach, but troubles; and we muft walk over
the heads of the multitude, if we would breathe at
our eaſe.
As I do not find myſelf endowed with that bar-
barous courage, adieu; I fhall be gone. You may
boaſt of your fine buildings that are falling into ruins ;
ſhow with admiration your Louvre, whoſe aſpect does
you more diſgrace than honour, eſpecially when fur-
rounded by fo many gaudy baubles, which coſt you
more to ſupport than it did to erect your public mo-
numents.
But all this is yet nothing. If I ſhould dwell on
the horrible difproportion of fortunes; if I fhould
explain the fecret caufes from whence it proceeds:
if I were to defcribe your manners, without tender
and polite, within haughty and cruel*; if I fhould
paint the indigence of the unfortunate, and the im-
poffibility of redreſs, while they preferve their pro-
bity;
ſtation, they are in conſtant agitation, not much unlike the
mob at a lord mayor's fhow: to mend the matter, there are
fix of the king's guards poſted in the pit, three on each ſide;
and if any one offers to cry out, one of the guards, if it be
his will and pleaſure, takes him immediately into cuſtody.
* If we except the financiers, who are in general cruel
and unpolite, the reſt of the rich have but one of thoſe two
faults; they either politely fuffer you to die of hunger or
they roughly give you ſome relief.
REFLECTIONS ON PARIS.
9
bity; if I ſhould enumerate the riches a bad man has
acquired, and the degrees of refpect that is ſhown
him, in proportion as he becomes more depraved*;
-this would take up too much time. Good night.
To-morrow will I leave you; I fay, to-morrow; for
I can no longer live in a city fo full of mifery, and
that has fo many opportunities of preventing it.
I am difgufted with Paris as with London. All
great cities reſemble each other. Rouffeau has very
well faid, "It feems as if the more laws men make
"for their happinefs, when united in one body, the
"more depraved they become, and the more they
(6
augment the fum of their miferies." One would,
however, reaſonably imagine the contrary; but too
many are intereſted in oppoſing the general good. I
will fearch out fome village, where in a pure air, with
tranquil pleaſures, I may deplore the lot of the
wretched inhabitants of thoſe faftuous prifons they
call citiest.
It
* Formerly, though they did not affift the virtuous man,
they, however, eſteemed him. It is now no longer fo. I
remember the reply of a princefs to her intendant; lis
wages were fix hundred livres, and he complained he was
not ſufficiently paid. How then did your predeceſſor ma-
nage? faid the princefs; he was but ten years in my ſervice,
and retired with an eſtate of twenty thouſand livres a year.
Madam, he robbed you, replied the intendant. Very well,
fays the princefs, then do you rob me too.
+ Amidst the torrent of modes, projects, and amuſements,
of which one deftroys the other, and none lafts, the minds
of the great are loft, deprived of enjoyment, and become as
incapable of perceiving the great and beautiful, as they are
of producing it.
10
REFLECTIONS ON PARIS.
It was to little purpoſe that I reminded him of the
<
old proverb, Paris was not built in a day;' that all
was now perfection in compariſon of paft ages. Per-
haps, a few years hence, I faid, there will be nothing
left for you to defire; if they ſhall accomplish, in their
full extent, the different projects that have been pro-
pofed. Ah! he replied, there is the foible of your
nation; projects for ever! And can you regard
them? You are a Frenchman, my friend; and with
all your good fenfe you have an attachment to the
foil. But, be it fo; when all thofe projects are ac-
complished, I will come again to ſee you; till then
will I find another dwelling-place; I like not to in-
habit amidit fo many unhappy and difcontented mor-
tals, whofe very fuffering looks pierce my heart*.
I know that it would be eafy to remedy the moſt
preffing evils; but, believe me, they will never be
remedied; the means are too fimple to be regarded.
I am convinced that they will avoid them; I am
convinced alfo, that they will repeat amongſt you the
facred word Humanity, with much affectation, only
to avoid performing the duties it impliest. It is a
long time fince you erred through ignorance, and
therefore you will never reform Adieu.
* There is no one eſtabliſhment in France that does not
tend to the detriment of the nation.
† Accurfed be the writer who flatters the age in which he
lives, and helps to deceive it; who lulls it with the hiflory
of its ancient heroes, and virtues that are no more; palliates
the evils that undermine and devour it; and, like a fubtle
mountebank, talks of its florid complexion, while the gan-
grene
[ 11 ]
CHAP. II.
I AM SEVEN HUNDRED and SIXTY YEARS
OLD.
IT was midnight when my old Englifhman
left me.
I began to be weary; I faſtened my door,
and retired to rest. When I had clofed my eye-lids,
I dreamed that ages had paſſed ſince I laid down to
reſt, and that I was awake *. I rofe, and found a
weight oppreſs me to which I was not accuſtomed;
my hands trembled, and my feet ſtumbled; when I
looked in the glaſs, I could ſcarce recollect my viſage;
I went to bed with black hair and a florid complex-
ion;
but when I rofe, my forehead was furrowed
with wrinkles, and my hair was white; I faw two
prominent bones under my eyes and a long nofe; a
colour pale and wan was ſpread over all my counte-
nance; when I attempted to walk, I was forced to
fupport
grene is preying upon its members. The writer of fortitude
will never avail himſelf of theſe dangerous deceits. He
cries, O my countrymen, you by no means refemble your
fathers; you are polite and cruel; you have only the ap-
pearance of humanity; bafe and faithlefs, you have not even
the courage to commit great crimes; yours are all mean
and daftardly, like yourſelves.
.
* When the mind is much affected with any object, it
readily returns in fleep. There are aftoniſhing circum-
itances attending dreams. This, as will appear by the fe-
quel, is not very extravagant.
12
I AM DCCLX. YEARS OLD.
fupport myſelf by my cane; I did not find, however,
that I had any ill-nature, the too common companion
of old age.
As I went out, I faw a public place, which to me
was unknown; they had juft erected a pyramidal
column, which attracted the regard of the curious.
I advanced towards it, and read diſtinctly, The year
of grace MMD. the characters were engraved on
marble, in letters of gold. At first, I imagined that
my eyes deceived me, or rather, that it was an error
of the artift's; but I had ſcarce made the reflection,
when the furpriſe became ſtill greater; for, directing
looks towards two or three edicts of the fovereign
fixed to the wall, which I have always been curious
to read, I faw the fame date, MMD. fairly printed
on all of them. Ha! I faid to myſelf, I am then
become old indeed, without perceiving it. What!
have I ſlept feven hundred and thirty-two years*.
my
All things were changed; all thofe places that were
fo well known to me preſented a different face, and
appeared to be recently embellifhed; I loft myfelf
amidſt grand and beautiful ſtreets, that were built
in ftraight lines; I entered a fpacious fquare, form-
ed by the terminations of four ſtreets, where there
reigned fuch perfect order, that I found not the leaſt
embarraſſment, nor heard any of thofe confufed and
whimfical cries that formerly rent my ears; I faw
no carriages ready to crufh me; the gouty might
have
*This work was begun in 1768.
1 AM DCCLX. YEARS OLD.
їз
have walked there commodiously; the city had an
animated afpect, but without trouble or confuſion.
I was fo amazed, that I did not at firſt obferve
the paffengers ftop and regard me from head to foot
with the utmoſt aſtoniſhment. They fhrugged the
fhoulder and fmiled, as we ufed to do, when we
met a maſk; in fact, my drefs might well appear
original and grotefque, when compared with theirs.
A citizen (whom I after found to be a man of
learning) approached me, and faid politely, but with
a fixed gravity, “Good old man, to what purpoſe
is this diſguife? Do you intend to remind us of the
ridiculous cuſtoms of a whimſical age? We have no
inclination to imitate them. Lay afide this idle
frolick." What mean you? I replied; I am not
difguifed; I wear the fame drefs that I wore yefter-
day; it is your columns and your edicts that counter-
feit. You ſeem to acknowledge another fovereign
than Lewis XV. I know not what is your deſign;
but I efteem it dangerous; and fo I tell you; mafque-
rades of this fort are not be countenanced; men muſt
not carry their folly to fuch extent. You are, how-
ever, very free impoftors; for you cannot imagine
that any thing can convince a man against the evi-
dence of his own mind.
Whether he thought that I was delirious, or that
my great age made me dote, or whatever other ſuf-
picion he might have, he asked me in what year I was
born. In 1740, I replied." Indeed! why then
C
you
14
I PURCHASE A SUIT OF
"
you arc feven hundred and fixty years of age. We
fhould be aſtoniſhed at nothing," he faid to the crowd
that ſurrounded me; "Enoch and Elias are not yet
dead; Mathufalem and fome others have lived nine
hundred years; Nicolas Flamel traverfes the earth
like a wandering Jew; and perhaps this gentleman has
found the immortal elixir, or the philofopher's ftone.'
On pronouncing the laft words he fimiled; and every
one preffed toward me with a very particular com-
placency and refpect. They feemed all eager to in-
terrogate me; but difcretion held them mute; they
contented themſelves with faying, in a low voice,
"A man of the age of Lewis XV. Oh! what a
curiofity!"
CHAP. III.
I PURCHASE A SUIT OF READY-MADE
CLOTHES.
I BEGAN to be anxious for my ſafety.
The man of letters faid to me, "I fee you are con-
founded, and therefore willingly offer to be your
guide. But let us begin, I entreat you, by entering
the first cloth-fhop we fhall come to; for," he frankly
added, "I cannot be your companion, if you are
not decently dreffed.
"You muſt allow, for example, that, in a well-
regulated city, where the government forbids all
duels, and anſwers for the life of every individual,
it
NEW CLOTHES.
15
!
it is uſeleſs, not to ſay indecent, to wear a murder-
ing weapon by your fide, to put a fword on when
you go to pray to God, or to vifit the ladies or your
friends. A foldier can do no more in a town that
is befieged*. In your age, there were ftill fome
remains of the Gothic chivalry; it was a mark of
honour to wear at all times an offenfive weapon;
and I have read, in an author of your days, that
an old man would parade with a fword that he
could no longer ufe.
"How girding and troubleſome is your drefs;
your ſhoulders and arms are impriſoned; your body
is preffed together; your breaft is conſtrained, you
can ſcarce breathe; and, why, I befecch you, do
you expofe your legs and thighs to the inclemency
of the feafons? Each age produces new modes; but
either I am much deceived, or our dress is both
agreeable and falutary. Obferve it."
In fact, the manner in which he was dreffed,
though new to me, had nothing in it diſguſtful.
His hatt had not the dark and gloomy colour, nor
the troubleſome corners of our's; there remained
* In Paris, every man who is not a fervant, or in trade,
wears a fword, if he can find money to purchaſe one, which
he may do there for a few fhillings.
If I were to write a hiftory of France, I ſhould pay a
particular regard to the chapter of hats. This little fubje&t,
treated with care, would be curious and intercfting. I
would contraſt the Engliſh and French; and ſhow, that
C 1
when
16
I PURCHASE A SUIT OF
nothing but the cap or body of the hat, which was
furrounded by a fort of cape, that rolled up, or was
extended, as the feafon required.
His hair, neatly combed, formed a knot behind
his head, and a flight tinge of powder left the natu-
ral colour viſible *. Far diftant from the plaiſtered
pyramid of fcented pomatum; or thoſe ſtaring wings,
that give a frightful afpect to the wearer; or thofe
immoveable buckles, that deftroy the grace of the
flowing curls. His neck was not tightly bound with
muflin†; but furrounded with a cravat more or lefs
warm, according to the ſeaſon. His arms enjoyed
their full liberty in fleeves moderately large; and
his body, neatly encloſed in a fort of veft, was co-
vered with a cloak, in form of a gown, falutary in
the cold and rainy feafons.
Round his waiſt he wore a long faſh that had a
graceful look, and preferved an equal warmth. He
had
when the former wore a large, the latter wore a ſmall hat,
and the reverſe.
* There are at prefent three or four hundred methods
of dreſſing the hair of a man of faſhion. O, how profound
are the arts! Who can pretend to purfue them through
all their details!
+ The neck-pieces that are now worn are of more fer-
vice than the fuperficial obferver may imagine. The town
air, high living, and other matters, make us look pale.
Now, thoſe necks, by driving the blood up into the face,
reſtore us to a natural complexion.
NEW CLOTHES.
*
had none of thoſe garters that bind the hams and
reſtrain the circulation. He wore a long ſtocking,
that reached from the foot to the waift; and an
eafy fhoe, in form of a buſkin, incloſed his foot.
He carried me into a fhop, where I was to change
my drefs: 1 fat down in a chair; but it was not one
of thoſe that are hard ſtuffed, and fatigue inſtead of
refreſhing; it was a fort of fmall alcove, lined with
mat, and turned on a pivot, according to the direction
of the body. I could fcarce think that I was in a
tradefman's fhop; for it was quite light, and I heard
no prating about honour and conſcience.
?
CHAP. IV.
THE PORTERS OF PARIS"
My
guide became every moment more fa-
miliar; he agreed for the price of my new drefs,
which came to a louis-d'or. When I gave it the
fhop-keeper, he promiſed to keep it as an antiquity.
They paid ready money at every fhop; for thoſe peo- |
ple, lovers of a fcrupulous probity, knew not the
meaning of the word credit, which, on one fide or
* The porters of Paris carry their burdens in a long baf-
ket ſtrapped over their fhoulders, and reaches down to the
waift; and of theſe there are near as many women as
inen.
***
C 3
the
18
THE PORTERS OF PARIS.
the other ferves as a veil to an induſtrious fraud.
The art of contracting debts and not paying them
was no longer the fcience of the beau monde *
When I came out, the crowd ſtill furrounded me;
but there was nothing either jeering or infulting in
their behaviour; merely a buzz from every fide;
"That's the man who is feven hundred and fixty
years old.
How unfortunate muſt he have been in
the first part of his life †.
I was
As they
* When Charles VII. king of France, was at Bourges,
he ordered a pair of boots to be made for him.
were trying on, his intendant entered, and faid to the fhoe-
ınaker, 'Take away your boots; we cannot pay for them
for fome time; his majefty can wear his old ones a month
longer." The king commended the intendant; and he de-
ferved to have fuch a man in his fervice. What will fome
young rake fay to this, who, while he is trying on his boots,
laughs within himſelf, to think how he ſhall trick the poor
workman. He deſpiſes the man whom he has defrauded,
and spends the money in debauchery. It were happy, if
the bafenefs of his foul was imprinted on his front; on
that front which blufhes not, when he turns down the
corner of each ſtreet to fhun the eye of a creditor. I could
with, that every man in Paris, who was dreffed beyond his
ſtation, thould be obliged, under a fevere penalty, to carry
his tailor's receipt in his pocket.
+He who is in poffeffion of the fubfidies and finances of
a ftate is defpotic in the full extent of the term; and if he
does not make all bend before him, it is becauſe it is not
always for his intereſt to exert all his power.
THE PORTERS OF PARIS.
19
I was aſtoniſhed to find fo much elegance, and fo
little embarraſſment in the ſtreets. One would have
faid it was the Fete-Dieu *. The city, however,
appeared to be extremely populous.
There was in each ſtreet a guard that preſerved the
public order, and directed the courfe of the carriages,
and of the porters; it took particular care to pro-
cure a free paffage for the latter, whoſe burdens were
proportioned to their ſtrength. You heard not here
a wretch panting for breath, covered with fweat, his
eyes red with ftraining, and his head bent down,
groan under a load that would have charged a beaſt
of burden, among a humane people; the rich were
not permitted to fport with humanity, by virtue of a
few pieces of money; nor did you fee the weak and
delicate fex, born to perform the foft and pleafing
duties of life, transformed into beafts of burden; in
the public markets, bending under weights to which
their ſtrength was unequal, and accufing the cruel
infenfibility of thofe men who were the tranquil ſpec-
tators of their labours. Reftored to their proper
ſtation, the women attended to thofe duties only,
which the Creator has enjoined them, to bear children,
and be the confolation of thoſe who protect them
from the evils of life.
CHAP.
* This feaft, which is in the month of June, is at Paris,
the greateſt in the year; the fhops are not only shut, but
every houſe is hung with tapeſtry, from the first floor to
the ground; all the ſtreets through which the feveral pro-
ceffions pafs are fwept and ſtrewed with flowers; and no
carriages are fuffered to paſs.
[20]
CHAP. V.
THE CARRIAGES.
I OBSERVED, that all who went took the
right hand, and all who came the left *. This fim-
ple method of avoiding obftruction has been lately
diſcovered; fo true it is, that all uſeful inventions are
produced by time +. By this regulation all obftruc-
tions are avoided, and every paffage is left free.
From the public feftivals, where the greateft con-
courſe of people refort, to enjoy an entertainment of
which they are naturally fond, and of which it would
be unjust to deprive them, each one returns to his
home without detriment or danger. I faw not there
that ridiculous and turbulent fight of an innumerable
number of coaches entangled with each other, and
the whole body remain immoveable for three hours.
together; while the gilded fop, the helpless wretch
who fuffers himſelf to be drawn along, forgetting
that he has legs, cries out from the coach-window,
and laments that he is not able to advance ‡.
The
* A ftranger can by no means conceive what it is that in
France occaſions a perpetual movement among the people,
who, from morning to evening, are abfent from their
houfes, frequently without any buſineſs, though in an in-
comprehenfible agitation.
This method, I am informed, has been long ufed in
the imperial city of Vienna.
This droll fight of a number of carriages intended for
expedition, blocked up for a long time by each other, while
the
THE CARRIAGES.
21
The greatest quantity of people form a circulation
that is free, eafy, and perfectly regular. I met a
hundred carriages loaded with provifions or move-
ables for one coach, and even in that there was only
a man who appeared to be infirm. What are be-
come, I fuid, of thofe carriages completely gilt, paint-
ed, and varniſhed, that in my time crowded the
ftreets of Paris? Have you then no farmers of taxes,
no courtezans no petits maîtres? Formerly thoſe
three defpicable tribes infulted the public, and vied
with each other in attracting the regard of the honeft
citizen, who fled with precipitation before them, left
he ſhould be cruſhed by their chariot-wheels. The
nobility of my days regarded the streets of Paris as
the lifts of the Olympic games, and placed their glo-
ry in the havock they made with their horfes; then
it was, "let him fave himſelf that can.”
*
"Thofe fort of courfes," he replied, " are no
longer permitted. Juft fumptuary laws have fup-
preffed that barbarous luxury, which ferved only
to propagate a race of lackies and horfes +. The
favourites
the mafters are fretting and the coachmen (wearing, affords
fome fatisfaction to the perfecuted foot paſſenger.
* We have ſeen a fuperb carriage, drawn by fix horſes,
ſumptuouſly harneſſed, through two rows of wondering ar-
tifans, who bare-headed faluted a-ſtrumpet.
+ Thoſe expenſive fots, who parade with a crowd of
valets, have been juſtly compared to certain infects, who,
though they have many feet are remarkably flow in mo-
tion.
22
THE CARRIAGES.
favourites of fortune no longer indulge in that crimi.
nal luxury fo injurious to the poor. The nobles of
our day uſe their own legs, and therefore have more
money and lefs of the gout.
"You fee, however, fome coaches; they belong
to ancient magiſtrates, or to men diſtinguiſhed by
by their ſervices, and bending under the weight of
years. It is permitted to them only to roll flowly
over the pavement, where the lowest citizen is re-
fpected. Should one of theſe have the misfortune
to lame any paffenger, he would inftantly deſcend
from his coach, place the injured perfon in it, and at
his own expence, provide him with a carriage for
the remainder of his days. But this never hap
pens; they who are permitted to have coaches are
men of merit, who think it no difgrace to let their
horſes give place to a citizen.
"Our fovereign himſelf frequently goes on foot
amongſt us; ſometimes he even honours our dwell-
ings with his prefence; and almoſt always, when
tired with walking, reſts himſelf in the fhop of fome
artifan *
; he loves to obſerve that natural equality
which ought to reign among men; he meets in our
eyes with nothing but love and gratitude; our ac-
clamations proceed from the heart, and his heart
receives them with complacency; he is a fecond
Henry IV. he has the fame dignity of foul, the fame
benevolence
* This was a frequent practice of the late Staniſlaus king
of Poland, in the latter part of his life.
THE CARRIAGES.
23
benevolence of temper, the fame noble fimplicity;
but he is more fortunate: the public ways receive
from his footſteps a facred impreffion that every one
reveres; none dare breed riot; they are aſhamed to
cauſe the leaſt diſorder. "If the king ſhould come
by," they fay; that fole reflection would, I believe,
ſtop a civil war. How powerful is example, when
it proceeds from the firſt perſon iu the nation! how
does it affect! what command it has over all men!
it becomes an inviolable law."
CHAP. VI.
THE EMBROIDERED HAT.
THINGS feem to me fomewhat to be changed,
I faid to my guide; I obſerve that every one is
dreffed in a fimple modeft manner; and in all our
walk, I have not feen either gold clothes or laced
ruffles. In my time, a puerile and deftructive luxury
had turned all their brains; a body without a foul
was covered with lace; and the automaton then re-
ſembled a man." That is the very reaſon which
induced us to defpife that ancient livery of pride;
our eyes are not confined to the furface. When a
man is known to excel in his art, he has no need of
a rich habit, nor of magnificent apartments, to re-
commend him; he wants not admirers to extol him,
or protectors to fupport him; his actions fpeak, and
each citizen is defirous that he fhould receive the
recompence
24
THE EMBROIDERED HAT.
recompence of his merit; they who purfue the fame
career are the firſt to folicit in his favour; each one
preſents a petition, in which the fervices that he
has rendered the ftate are difplayed in the ftrongeſt
colours.
"Our monarch fails not to invite to his court the
man who is dear to his people; he endeavours to
receive inftruction from him; for he does not ima-
gine that all knowledge was given him at his birth;
he profits by the lucid inftructions of him that has
made fome grand object the conftant fubject of his
enquiry; he preſents that man with a hat, on which
the wearers name is embroidered; and that diſtinc-
tion far outweighs thofe ribbands, blue, red, and
yellow, with which were formerly dreffed up, men
that were abfolutely unknown to their country*.
"You will readily believe, that an infamous cha-
racter dare not prefent itſelf before a public that
would immediately difcover the deceit. Whoever
bears one of thefe honourable hats has free acceſs to
all places; at all times, he is admitted to the fout of
the throne; that is a fundamental law: therefore,
when
*The vanity of the ancients conſiſted in deriving their
origin from the gods; fome laboured to prove themſelves
the nephews of Neptune, the grandfons of Venus, the coufin
germans of Mars; others, more modeft, contented them-
félves with being defcended from fome river, nymph, or
naiad. Our modern coxcombs have a more gloomy am-
bition; they would derive their deſcent from the depths of
obfcurity.
2
THE EMBROIDERED HAT.
25
when a prince or a duke has done nothing to obtain
the embroidered hat, he enjoys his wealth but is
entitled to no honours; he is regarded with the fame
indifference as an obfcure citizen, who mixes and is
loft in the crowd.
"Both policy and reafon authoriſe this diftinc-
tion; it can be difpleafing to thofe only who find
themſelves incapable of ever attaining it. Man is
not fufficiently perfect to do good merely for the fake
of good. This fort of nobility, as you will eafily
believe, is perſonal only, not hereditary; nor is it
venal. At the age of twenty-one, the fon of an
illuftrious citizen prefents himſelf before a tribunal,
who determine whether ſhe ſhall enjoy the preroga-
tives of his father. From his paft conduct, and
fometimes from the hopes that he gives, they confirm
the honour that appertains to a citizen dear to his
country; but if the ſon of Achilles be a baſe Ther-
fites, we turn our eyes from him, that he may not
have the fhame of blushing before us; he defcends
i to an oblivion, as deep as his father's glory was
exalted.
"In your time, they pushed vice, but they
affigned no recompence to virtue; a very imperfect
legiſlation. Among us, the man of courage, who
has faved the life of a citizen*, who has prevented
fome
his own.
D
* It is aſtoniſhing that they allot no rêyard to the man
who has faved the life of another, perhaps, at the riſk of
An ordinance of the police gives ten crowns to
the waterman who takes up a drowned body, but nothing
to him who faves a citizen in imminent danger of drowning
26
THE EMBROIDERED HAT.
fome public calamity, who has performed fome act
of great utility, wears the embroidered hat, and his
refpectable name expofed to the public view, gives
him precedence to the man of wealth, though it were
equal to that of Midas or Plutus*." That, I re-
plied, is highly juft. In my time, they gave, indeed,
a red hat, which they fetched from beyond the feas ;
but it implied no merit in the wearer; it was a mere
inftance of ambition: and I know not well on what
pretence they obtained it.
•
CHAP. VII.
THE BRIDGE RE-BAPTISED.
WHEN our converfation is interefting, the
length of the way becomes imperceptible. I no
longer felt the weight of age, being quite re-juve-
nated by the fight of fo many new obje&s. Bat
what did I difcover! O heavens, what a profpect!
I found myself on the borders of the Seine, where
my enchanted fight beheld a long extent of the moſt
beautiful buildings; the Louvre was finifhed; and
the
When an extreme thirst for wealth poffeffes every
breast, the glow and fpirit of virtue vanishes, and govern-
ment can only reward by large premiums, thoſe who were
formerly fatisfied with titles of honour. Monarchs ſhould
therefore create that fpecies of wealth; but, as we ſaid, it
will be current only while the minds of men are fufceptible
of noble impreffions.
THE BRIDGE RE-BAPTIZED.
27
the ſpace that was between that and the palace cf
the Thuilleries formed an immenfe place, where they
celebrated the public fhews; a new gallery corre
fponded to the old one of Perrault, which was ftill
beheld with admiration. Theſe two auguſt monu-
ments, thus united, formed the moft magnificent
palace in the univerfe. All the artists of diftinguifh-
ed merit refided in this palace, and formed the moſt
refpectable part of the attendants of a monarch, who
valued nothing ſo much as patronizing thofe arts
that gave birth to the glory and happineſs of his em-
pire. I faw a fuperb public place that was capable
of containing the whole body of the citizens; a tem-
ple was in front; it was the temple of Juſtice; the
architecture of that building correſponded with the
dignity of the object.
How it is deco-
Is that the Pont-Neuf? I cried.
rated!" What mean you by the Pont-Neuf? We
have given it another name; and many others hive
we changed, to give them fuch as were more appofite
or fignificant; for nothing has a greater influence on
the people than the uſe of juft and expreffive terms.
Behold the bridge of Henry IV. As it forms a com-
munication between the two parts of the city, it
could not bear a more reſpectable title. In each of
the femicircles, we have placed the ftatues of thofe
great men, who, like him, were the friends of man-
kind, and fought nothing but the good of their coun-
try. We have not hefitäted to place befide him the
chancellor L'Hopital, Sully, Jeannin, and Colbert.
What a treatiſe on morality! What public lecture is
D 2
fo
28
THE BRIDGE RE-BAPTIZED.
fo eloquent, fo perfuafive, as this range of heroes,
whofe figures, though dumb, yet expreffive, tell to
every one how great and defirable it is to obtain the
public eſteem. Your age had not the glory to per-
form fuch an action."-Alas! my age found the
greatest difficulties in the ſmalleſt enterprizes; they
made the moſt extraordinary preparatives to an-
nounce with pomp an abortion; a grain of fand ſtop-
ped the movement of the moſt boaſted ſprings; in
fpeculation, they erected the moſt noble fabrics; the
tongue and the pen feemed to be the univerfal inftru-
ments. All things have their time. Our age was
that of innumerable projects; yours is that of execu
tion. I congratulate you on your felicity, and re-
joice to think that I have lived fo long.
CHAP. VIII.
THE NEW PARIS.
ON turning my fight toward that part where
food the bridge formerly called Pont-au-Change, I
faw that it was no longer loaded with wretched ho-
vels*; my view extended with pleaſure along the vaſt
courfe
The thouſands of men that refort to the fame spot,
who dwell in houfes of feven fories, who crowd together
in narrow ſtreets, who inceffantly labour an exhauſted foil,
while nature fets before them a vaft and pleaſant country,
is an object in the eye of a philofopher, highly aſtoniſhing.
The
THE NEW PARIS.
29
courfe of the Seine, and the profpect, ftrictly regular,
was further graced by novelty.
Thefe, indeed, are admirable improvements!-
"'Tis true; yet 'tis pity, that they ſhould remind us
of a fatal accident cauſed by your negligence.”-
How our negligence? if you pleaſe." Hiſtory re-
lates that you talked perpetually of pulling down.
thofe miferable houfes, without performing it. On
a certain day, therefore, when your magiftrates pre-
ceded a fumptuous feaſt with a fire-work, in order
to commemorate the anniverfary of fome faint, to
whom, doubtleſs, France had great obligations; the
firing of the cannon, the petards, and mines, over-
threw the ruinated houſes built on thoſe old bridges;
they tottered and fell on the wretched inhabitants;
the fall of one was the ruin of another; a thoufand
citizens perished; and the magiftrates, to whom ap
pertained the revenues of the houſes, curfed not only
the fire-work, but the very feaſt.
"The fucceeding years they made not fo much
noiſe about nothing; the money that fprung up in
the air, or caufed dangerous indigeftions, was em-
ployed
The rich repair thither to increase their power, and prevent
an abuſe of their power by that power itſelf. The poor
cheat, flatter, and fet themſelves to fale. They who do not
fucceed are hanged; the others become perfons of confe-
quence. It is eaſy to conceive, that in this perpetual and
brutal conflict of interefts, the duties of the man and of the
citizen are ſcarce longer to be found,
*
D 3
30
THE NEW PARIS.
ployed in forming a capital for the reſtoring and
maintaining of bridges; they regretted the not having
obferved this method before; but it was the fate of
your age to difregard their follies, though enormous,
till they were completely finiſhed.
"Let us walk, if you pleaſe, this way; you will
fee fome demolitions that we have made, I think, not
improperly. The two wings of the Quatre Nations*
no longer fpuil one of the finest quays, and perpetuate
the vindictive temper of a cardinal. We have placed
the town houſe oppofite to the Louvre. When we
give any public entertainment, we think justly that
it is intended for the people; the place is fpacious;
no one is injured by the fire-works, or by the bruta-
lity of the foldiers, who, they fay, in your time, (can
it be believed?) fometimes wounded the citizens, and
wounded them with impunity †.
"You fee that we have placed the flatue of the
ſeveral kings that fucceeded yours on the middle of
each bridge. This range of monarchs, elevated with-
out
* A college of that name, nearly oppofite the Louvre,
founded by cardinal Mazarine, for the education of fixty
pupils of four nations, which are Italy, Germany, Flanders,
and Roufillon, a county in the Pyrenees, between Langue-
doc and Catalonia.
This is what I have ſeen, and of which I here pub-
licly accuſe the magiſtrates, who ought to be more foli-
citous for the life of one citizen than for twenty public fire-
works.
THE NEW PARIS.
31
out pomp, in the centre of Paris, affords a grand and
interefting profpect over the river that adorns and
refreſhes the city, and of which they appear to be the
tutelary deities. Thus placed, like the good Henry
IV. they have a more popular air than when incloſed
in fquares, where the eye is bounded*. Thefe, grand
and natural, were erected without any great expence;
our kings, after their deceafe, did not impoſe that
laft tribute, which in your age oppreffed the fubject,
already exhaufted."
I obferve, with great fatisfaction, that you have
taken away the flaves that were chained to the feet
of the ſtatues of our kings+; that you have obliterat-
ed every faftuous infeription; and though that
grofs flattery is of all others the leaft dangerous, you
have carefully avoided even the appearance of falfe-
hood and oftentation.
They
* The houſes of the farmers of the public taxes, for the
moſt part, encircle the ftatues of our kings; fo that they
cannot, even after their death, avoid being furrounded by
fcoundrels.
+ Lewis XIV. uſed to ſay, that of all the governments
in the world, that of the Grand Turk pleafed him moſt.
A greater inſtance of pride and ignorance cannot be pro-
duced.
It
This evidently refers to the outré ſtatue of Lewis XIV.
in the Place des Victoires, and to the bombaſtic inſcription
on the pedeſtal, which calls him," the immortal man."'
is but juſtice to the Parifians to add, that they are in gene-
ral difgufted with the one and the other.
32
THE NEW PARIS.
They tell me that the Baftile has been totally de-
moliſhed by a prince who did not think himſelf a god
among men, but held the Judge of kings in due re-
verence. They fay, moreover, that on the ruins of
that hideous caftle (fo properly called the Place of
Vengeance, and of a royal vengeance) they have
erected a temple to Clemency; that no citizen is
fnatched from fociety, without his proceſs being firſt
publicly made; that a lettre de cachet is a term un-
known to the people, and ſerves only to exerciſe the
curiofity of thoſe who bufy themfelves with invefti-
gating the antiquated terms of barbarous ages.
There had been, they added, a treatife compofed,
intitled, "A Parallel between a Lettre de Cachet and
the Afiatic Bow String."
We arrived infenfibly at the Thuilleries, where
every one was admitted; and it now appeared to
me more charming than ever*. They made me no
demand for a feat in that royal garden. We found
ourfelves at the Place of Lewis XV. My guide,
taking me by the hand, faid, with a fmile, "You must
have ſeen the inauguration of this equeftrian ftatue.”
-Yes; I was then young, and no lefs curious than
at prefent." But, do you know," he faid, "that it
is a chief-d'œuvre worthy of our age? We fill con-
ftantly admire it; and when we furvey the perſpective
of the palace, it appears, eſpecially by the fetting fun,
crowned
* To refuſe the common people an entrance into this gar-
den feems to me a wanton infult, and of a higher degree
than is commonly imagined.
THE NEW PARIS:
33
C
crowned by the moſt illuftrious rays. Theſe magni-
ficent viſtas form a happy encloſure; and he who
projected the plan was, by no means, deftitute of taſte;
he had the fagacity to foreſee the effect they would
one day produce. I have read, however, that, in
your day there were men as jealous as ignorant, who
vented their cenfure againſt this ftatue and place,
which they ought to have admired*. If, at this time,
there fhould be a man ſtupid enough to utter ſuch
abfurdities, he would certainly be treated with the
higheft contempt."
I continued my entertaining walk; but the detail
would be too long: befide, in recollecting a dream,
fomething is always loft. The corner of every ſtreet
prefented a beautiful buntain, from which there.
flowed a pure and limpid ftream that fell into a ſhell,
whofe furface refembled the beaten filver, and the
tranfparency of the water invited the thirsty paffen.
gers to a falutary refreſhment. The clear ftream
that fell from the fountain, as it flowed through the
ftreets, plentifully washed the pavement.
"Behold the project of your M. Defparcieux,
member of the academy of ſciences, completely ac-
compliſhed. See how every houfe is furniſhed with
that
*It is only in France, that the art of keeping filence is
not regarded as a merit, A Frenchman is not more easily
known by his countenance and his accent than by the lege-
rity with which he talks and determines on all ſubjects; he
never knows how to ſay, “ I underſtand nothing of that.”
34
THE NEW PARIS.
that which is of all things the moſt uſeful, the moſt
neceffary. What elegance to our dwellings, what
refreſhment to the air, is derived from this fingle cir
cumſtance.
"We no longer erect thofe dangerous chimnies.
which threatened to crush each paffenger by their
fall; our roofs have not that Gothic declivity, from
which a gust of wind could blow the tiles into the
moſt frequented ſtreets."—We afcended to the top of
one of their houfes by a luminous ftair-cafe. What
a pleaſure was it to me, who love the free air and an
extenſive proſpect, to find the tops of the houſes or-
namented with pots of flowers, and covered with
fweet-fccnted arbours; the ſummit of each houſe of-
fered fuch a terras, and as they were all of an equal
height, they formed together one vaft and delightful
garden; ſo that the whole city, when viewed from the
top of fome tower, appeared to be crowned with ver-
dure, fruits, and flowers.
I need not tell you, that the Hotel Dieu was no
longer incloſed in the centre of the city. If any
ſtranger or citizen falls fick, when diftant from his
country or his family, we do not, they ſaid, impriſon
him as they did in your time, in a noifome bed, be-
tween a corpfe and one expiring in agonies, to breathe
the noxious vapours from the dead and the dying,
and convert a ſimple indifpofition into a cruel diſeaſe.
We have divided that hofpital into twenty diflint
houſes, which are placed at the different extremitics
of the city. By that means, the foul air which ex-
haled
THE NEW PARIS.
35
*
haled from that horrid gulph is difperfed, and no
longer dangerous to the capital. The fick, more-
over, are not driven to thoſe hoſpitals by extreme in-
digence; they do not go thither already ſtruck with
the idea of death, and merely to fecure an interment;
but becauſe they there find more ready and efficacious
fuccour than in their own habitations. You there no
longer fee that horrid mixture, that fhocking confu-
fion, which announced a place of vengeance rather
than cf charity. Each patient has a feparate bed,
and can expire without reviling the human race.
They have fcrutinized the accounts of the directors.
O fhame! O grief! O incredible guilt! that men
fhould enrich themfelves with the fubftance of the
poor, find happineſs in the miſeries of their fellow.
creatures, drive a gainful bargain with death!—But
no more; the time for thefe iniquities is paſt; the
afylum of the wretched is regarded as the temple
where the Divinity pours his facred influence with
the
* Six thoufand wretches are crowded together in the
wards of the Hotel Dieu, where the air has no circulation.
The arm of the river, which flows by it, receives all its
filth, and alounds with the feeds of corruption, is drank by
one half of the city. In that part of the river which washes
the quay Pelletier, and between the two bridges, a great
number of dyers pour in their dregs three times a week.
I have ſeen the water retain a dingy hue for more than fix
hours after. The arch that compoſes the quay de Gevres
is the fink of peftilence; the inhabitants of all that part of
the town drink an infected water, and breathe empoifoned
air. The money that is fo prodigally fpent in fire works
would be fufficicnt to rid the city of this curſe.
36
THE NEW PARIS.
the greatest complacency; thofe enormous abuſes
are all corrected, and the poor fick mortal has now
nothing to encounter but his diſeaſe, and, oppreffed
by that alone, he fuffers in filence *.
“Learned and humane phyſicians here affiduoufly
examine each particular patient; not pronounce fen-
tence of death, by promifcuoufly dictating general
precepts. By their difcerning and attentive conduct,
health is foon reſtored. The phyficians we rank
among the moſt refpectable of our citizens. In fact,
what
* I have ſometimes walked with flow and folitary ſleps
through the wards of the Hotel Dieu at Paris. What
place more proper to meditate on the fate of man? I have
feen there inhuman avarice decorated with the name of pub-
lic charity; I have feen the dying crowded cloſer together
than they ought to have been in the grave, precipitate the
death of their miferable companions; I have ſeen their
pångs and their tears regarded with a general unçoncern ;
the fword of death ftruck on the right and on the left,
and not a figh was heard: one would have thought that
they were killing beaſts in a flaughter houfe. I have feen
men fo hardened by this fight, as to wonder that any one
fhould be affected. A few days after, I have been at
the opera.
What a profufe amufement! Decorations,
actors, inuficians! an enormous expence to procure apom-
pous entertainment! What will pofterity fay, when they
fhall be told that two fo different places could fubfift in the
fame city. How, alas! can they exist on the fame fpot?
Does not the one neceffarily exclude the other? A ſhort
time after the royal academy of muſic overwhelmed my
foul; the firft ftroke of the bow brought before my cyes
the mournful bed of thofe dying wretches.
2
THE NEW PARIS.
37
what employment more amiable, more illuſtrious,
more worthy of a virtuous and fagacious being, than
to preferve the delicate thread of our days, by na-
ture frail and fleeting, but by art rendered ſtrong
and durable ?”—But your general hofpital, where is
that fituated?" We have no general hofpital *,
no Bicetret, no places of confinement, or rather dif
traction. A found body has no need of the cautery.
Luxury, in your time, had gangrened the vital parts.
of your conftitution; your political body was cover-
ed with ulcers; and, inſtead of gently healing thoſe
fhameful fores, you added to them freſh malignity.
You
* The Hoſpital General of Paris is a fort of general
work-houſe. It is faid to contain ten or eleven thouſand
perfons.
+ In the prifon of the Bicetre, there is a room called the
Salle de Force, that is a type of the infernal regions. Six
hundred wretches, crouded together, oppreffed by their
miferies, by a foul air, by the vermin that devour them,
by defpair, and by a rancour ftill more cruel, live in the
fermentation of a filed rage: it is the puniſhment of
Mezentius a thouſand times multiplied (¶). The magif
trates are deaf to the cries of thefe unhappy people. We
have ſeen them murder their gaolers, the furgeons, the
very prieſt that attended them, with the fole view of being
delivered from that place and expiring with more freedom
on the fcaffold. It has been justly remarked, that death
would be a lefs barbarous puniſhment than what they
fuffer. O ye inhuman magiftrates! iron-hearted wretches,
nnworthy the name of men! you offend againſt humanity
¶ Vide Virg. Æn. lib. viii. ver. 483.
B
E
A31
-38
THE NEW PARIS.
You thought to have extinguiſhed vice by cruelty;
inhuman becauſe you were incapable of forming juft
laws *.
"You found it more eafy to torment the guilty
and unfortunate than to prevent diforder and miſery.
Your barbarous violence has only ferved to harden
the hearts of criminals, and to make them more def
perate. And what have you gained by this condu&t ?
Tears, diſtracted cries, and curfes. You feem to
have modelled your places of confinement after your
ide.
fill more than thoſe you puniſh! No band of ruffians in the
midſt of their ferocity, ever exerciſed cruelties like yours.
Dare to ſeem ſtill more inhuman, but execute more ſpeedy
juftice; fet fire to their prifon, and burn them all alive;
you will ſpare them the greater mifery of attending your
determinations in their horrible flavery: but, alas! you
feem only anxious to protract it.
Might not each of thefe unhappy men, have a heavy
weight fixed to his foot, and be fent to till the ground?
No; they are the victims of an arbitrary power that you
would conceal from every eye.-I understand you.
* Yes, magiftrates, it is your ignorance, your idleness,
and precipitation, that cauſe deſpair among the poor. You
impriſon a man for a mere trifle, and place him by the
fide of a mifcrcant: you corrupt, you poifon his mind, and
then leave him, forgot, amidſt a herd of abandoned
wretches; but he does not forget your injuſtice: as you
obferve no proportion between the crime and the punith-
ment, he imitates your example, and all things become to
him equal.
+
1
幾
​THE NEW PARIS.
39
idea of that horrible dwelling you called the infernal
regions, where the minifters of vengeance accumu-
late tortures, for the horrid pleaſure of inflicting a
laſting puniſhment on beings full of agony and im-
ploring mercy.
«To conclude, for to enumerate all would take
up too much time, you even knew not how to em-
ploy your beggars; the utmoſt difcernment of your
government confifted in fhutting them up, and leav-
ing them to perifh with hunger. Thefe wretches,
who expired by a flow death in a corner of the king-
dom, have notwithstanding made us hear their
groans; we have not been deaf to their obfcure
complaints; they have pierced through a feries of
feven ages; and your baſe tyranny in that inftance
has recalled a thouſand others."
I held down my head, and was unable to reply;
for I had been a witnefs to thefe cruelties, which I
could only lament, for more was not in my power *.
After a fhort filence, faid I, Ah! do not renew the
wounds of my heart. God has avenged the evil
they did to mankind; he has puniſhed the hardneſs
of their hearts; you know—But let us purſue our
walk. You have, I think, fuffered one of our political
evils to fubfift: Paris appears to me as populous as
in my time; and it was then proved, that the head
E 2
was
† I have ſatisfied my heart, and executed juftice, in an-
nouncing this invafion of humanity, this horrid outrage that
will ſcarce be believed: but, alas! it nevertheleſs fubfifts.
40
THE NEW PARIS.
was three times too large for the body." I am well
pleafed to inform you," replied my guide, "that the
number of inhabitants in the kingdom is doubled; that
all the lands are cultivated; and confequently the
head bears now a juft proportion to the members.
This great city conflantly produces as many men of
the first rank, men of learning, of ufeful induftry,
and refined genius, as all the other cities of France
together."-But one word more, of too much im-
portance to be forgot: Do you place your magazines
of powder in the centre of the city?" We are far
from that imprudence. Nature produces fufficient
exploſions. We need not conftruct thoſe that are
artificial, and would be a hundred times more dan-
gerous *
;*.
>
छ
CHAP.
*There are magazines of powder in the centre of almoſt
every town
The lightning, and a thouſand other unfore-
feen, nay, unknown incidents, may blow them up. A
thouſand terrible examples (a thing ſcarce credible) have
not been fufficient to correct even to this hour, the weak-
nefs of mankind. The lofs of two thouſand five hundred
people, who perifhed in the ruins at Breſcia, will perhaps
render our governors attentive to an evil, which may juftly
be called the work of their hands, as it is in their power fo
eaſily to prevent it.
[ 41 ]
?
1
CHAP. IX.
THE PETITIONS.
I OBSERVED feveral officers, habited with
the enfigns of their rank, who came to receive the
complaints of the people, and make a faithful report
of them to the chief magiftrates. Every thing that
regarded the adminiftration of the police was treated
with the greateſt diſpatch; juftice was rendered to
the injured; and every one bleffed the adminiſtra-
tors*. I poured forth my praifes on this wife and
prudent government. But, gentlemen, I faid, you
are not entitled to all the glory of this inftitution. In
my days, the city began to be well governed. A
vigilant police watched over every rank and all tranf-
actions. One of thoſe who maintained it in the
greatest order, deferves to be named with eulogy
amidſt you. We read, among his judicious ordi-
nances, that for aboliſhing thofe ridiculous and
heavy figns which disfigured the city, and endanger-
ed the paffengers; that for completing, or rather
inventing, of lamps; and for the admirable plan of
a fpeedy fupply of water, by which the inhabitants
have
* When a miniſter of ſtate, by his bad management,
puts the monarchy in danger, or when a general ſheds the
blood of the ſubjects to no purpofe, and fhamefully lofes
a battle, his puniſhment is known; he is forbid to come
into the monarch's prefence. Thus crimes that may ruin
the nation are treated as mere trifles.
E 3
42
THE PETITIONS.
C
have been preſerved from thoſe fires which were
formerly fo frequent*.
"It is true," they replied, "that magiſtrate was
indefatigable, and equal to the duties of his office,
extenfive as they were. But the police had not then
received its full perfection; fpies were then the prin-
cipal agents of a government weak, reſtleſs, and
mutinousf. They were moreover very frequently
employed in a criminal curiofity, rather than in
what ſtrictly regarded the public utility; all their
diſcoveries, fo artfully procured, frequently pro-
duced nothing more than a falſe light that deceived
the magiftrate. What was worſe, this corps of in-
formers, feduced by bribes, became a corrupted mafs
that infected fociety; all the pleaſures of converfa-
tion were baniſhed‡; men could no longer open their
hearts
* If this author thinks the fires in Paris frequent, where
there is ſcarce a houſe burned in a year, and where no one
ever thought it worth while to erect an office of infurance,
what would he fay to thoſe at London? In fact the French
houfes are fo conftructed as not eaſily to be burned.
The quantity of ſpies in Paris is incredible; beſides a
great number who make it their fole buſineſs, almoſt all
that large corps, who by day clean fhoes, and at night
carry a falot, that is, a farthing candle in a paper lanthern,
are of that honourable order.
↑ All fuch frivolous and capricious regulations, all thofe
refinements in the police, can impofe on them only who
have never ftudied the heart of man. Such rigid reftrictions
produce
THE PETITIONS.
43
រឺ
3
hearts to each other; they were reduced to the cruel
alternative of imprudence or hypocrify. In vain did
the foul ſtruggle to exprefs its ideas of patriotiſm;
it dared not declare its fentiments; faw the fnare
that was ſpread, and pierced with grief, returned
cold and folitary to its fecret abode. In a word, men
were then inceffantly obliged to diſguiſe their words,
their looks, and actions. O! how diſtracting to the
generous foul, who faw the monsters of his country
fmile while they preyed upon it; who faw, and dared
not point them out*”
CHAP.
produce a hateful fubordination, fecured by bands on which
very little dependence can be placed.
* We have not yet had a Juvenal. What age ever more
deſerved ſuch a ſatiriſt? Juvenal was not a ſelfiſh wretch,
like the flatterer Horace, or the infipid Boileau; he had a
firm foul, that thoroughly detefted vice, frankly declared
war againſt it, and purſued it when fheltered under the
purple. Who now dare affume that fublime and generous
taſk? Who now has fortitude fufficient to render up his
foul to truth, and ſay to his age, "I leave thee the teſta-
ment that virtue hath dictated to me; read and blush: it
is thus I bid thee farewell."
[ 44 ]
CHAP. X.
THE MAN WITH A MASK.
BUT,
, pray, who is that man that paffes
with a maſk on his face? How faft he walks, or
rather flies!" It is an author that has wrote a bad
book. When I fay bad, I fpeak not of the defects
of judgment or ftyle; an excellent work may be made
by the aid of plain ſtrong ſenſe alone*; I only mean
that he has published dangerous principles fuch as
are inconfiftent with found morality, that univerfal
morality which speaks to every heart. By way of
reparation, he wears a maſk, in order to hide his
fhame, till he has effaced it by writing fomething
more rational and beneficial to fociety.
daily vifited by two worthy citizens, who combat
his erroneous opinions with the arms of eloquence
and complacency, hear his objections, confute them,
and will engage him to retract when he fhall be
convinced. Then he will be re-eſtabliſhed; he will
even acquire from the confeffion of his errors a
greater glory; for what is more commendable than
to abjure our faultst, and to embrace new lights
with a noble fincerity ?"-But was his book well
received?
He is
*Nothing is more true; for even the homily of fome
country curate is of more folid utility, than a book artfully
filled with truths and fophifms.
† All things are demonſtrative in theory; even error has
ts geometry.
THE MAN WITH A MASK.
45
received?" What private perfon, I beseech you,
can dare to judge of a book againſt the opinion of
the public? Who can fay what can be the influence
of a particular fentiment in a particular circumftance?
Each author anfwers perfonally for what he writes,
and never conceals his name. It is the public that
marks him with dilgrace, if he oppofe thofe facred
principles which ferve as the bafis to the conduct and
probity of man. He muft of himself likewife fupport
any new truth that he advances, and that is proper
to fupprefs fome abuſe. In a word, the public voice
is the fole judge in thefe cafes; and it is to that alone
regard is paid. Every author, as a public man, is
to be judged by the general voice, and not by the
caprice of a fingle critic, who rarely has a defcern-
ment fufficiently juſt, and knowledge fufficiently ex-
tenfive, to determine, what will appear to the body
of the people truly deferving of praiſe or blame.
"It has been abundantly proved, that the liberty
of the prefs is the true meaſure of the liberty of the
people. The one cannot be attacked without injury
to the other. Our thoughts ought to be perfectly
free; to bridle them, or ftifle them in their fanctuary,
is the crime of leze humanity. What can I call my
own, if my thoughts are not mine ?”
In my time, I replied, men in power feared
nothing fo much as the pen of an able writer; their
fouls, proud and guilty, trembled in their inmoft
receffes,
* This is equivalent to a mathematical demonſtration,
46
THE MAN WITH A MASK.
receffes, when equity boldly plucked off the veil that
covered their fhame*. Therefore, inftead of pro-
tecting that public cenfure, which, well adminftered,
would have been the ftrongest check to vice and folly,
they obliged all writings to pafs through a fieve; and
one which was fo clofe that frequently the moſt valu
able parts were left behind. The flights of genius
were in fubjection to the cruel fheers of mediocrity,
who clipt its wings without mercyt. They began to
laugh. "It muſt have been a droll fight," they
faid, "to ſee men gravely employed in cutting a
thought in tw, and weighing of fyllables. It is
wonderful that you produced any thing good, when
fo fhackled. How is it poffible to dance with grace
and cafe, when loaded with heavy fetters?-Our beſt
writers took the most natural means to fhake them
off. Fear debaſes the mind, and the man who is
animated with the love of humanity fhould have a
noble
*In a drama, intitled The Marriage of a King's Son, a
miniſter of juſtice, a court fcoundrel, fays to his valet, fpeak-
ing of philofophical writers, "This fort of people are
dangerous; we cannot countenance the leaſt act of injuſtice
but they will remark it. It is in vain that we hide our faces
under an artful maſk from the moſt diſcerning paſſenger,
Theſe men have a manner of faying, en paſant, I know
you. ."-Meffieurs Philofophers, I hope you will learn that
it is dangerous to know a man of my fort. I will not be
known by you,
+ One half of thoſe they call royal cenforers cannot be
ranked among men of letters, not even thoſe of the lowest
claſs; for it may be literally faid of them, that they know
not how to read.
THE MAN WITH A MASK.
47
noble and dauntlefs fpirit. You may now write
againſt all that offends you," they replied, "for we
have no fieves, nor fheers, nor manacles; yet very
few abfurdities are publiſhed, becauſe they would of
themſelves periſh among their kindred dirt. Our
government is far above all invective; it fears not
the keeneſt pens; it would accuſe itſelf by fearing
them. Its conduct is juft and fincere; we can only
extol it; and when the intereſt of our country re-
quires, every man, in his particular ſtation, becomes
an author, without pretending to an exclufive right
to that title."
空
​CHAP. XI,
THE NEW TESTAMENTS.
O HEAVENS! What is it you tell me?
All the world authors! Why your walls will catch
fire like gunpowder, and blow into the air. Mercy on
us! A whole nation of authors!" Yes; but with-
out ill nature, pride or difdain. Every man writes
the thoughts that occur in his brighteſt moments;
at a certain age, he collects the moft judicious re-
flections that he has made in the courfe of his days;
in his last years, he forms them into a book, greater
or leſs according to his talent for reflection, and
mode of expreffion. This book is the foul of the
deceaſed. On the day of his funeral, it is read
>
aloud;
48
THE NEW TESTAMENTS.
aloud; and that is his eulogy. Our children collect
with reverence all the reflections of their forefathers,
and meditate on them. Theſe are our funeral arns;
and feem to us more valuable than your fumptuous
mausoleums, your tombs covered with wretched
infcriptions, dictated by pride, and executed by
bafenefs.
"We thus make it a duty to leave our defcendants
a faithful image of our lives. An honourable re-
membrance is the fole property that can remain to us
on the earth*; and we do not neglect it. Thefe
immortal leffons that we leave our pofterity make
us ſtill more beloved by them. Portraits and ſtatues
preferve the body's femblance only. Why not re-
prefent the foul, and the virtuous fentiments by
which it was affected? They are multiplied by the
animated expreffion that affection excites; the hiſtory
of our thoughts and of our actions inftruct our fami-
lies; they learn, by the choice and compariſon of
thoughts, to improve their manner of thinking and
judging. Obferve, moreover, that the predominant
writers, the men of genius, in every age, are the
funs that attract the mafs of ideas, and caufe them
to circulate. It is they that give the first movements;
and as their generous hearts burn with the love of
humanity, all other hearts obey that fublime and
victorious voice, which has laid tyranny and fuper-
ftition
* Cicero frequently-aſked himſelf what they would fay of
him after his death. The man who has no regard to repu-
tation, will neglect the means of acquiring it.
2
THE NEW TESTAMENTS.
49
ftition in the dust."-Gentlemen, permit me, I en-
treat you, to defend my age, at leaſt in thoſe points
We had, I
in which it deferves commendation.
think, amongst us, fome men of virtue and of genius.
“Yes, barbarians! but they were either difregard-
ed or perfecuted by you. We have thought ourſelves
obliged to make an expiatory reparation to their
offended names; we have erected their ſtatues in
the public places, where they receive our homage as
well as that of foreigners. Under the right foot of
each is placed the ignoble head of fome Zoilus or
tyrant; under the buſkin of Corneille, for example,
you will fee the head of Richelieu*. Yes, there
were in-your time men of amazing talents; and we
are unable to account for the fooliſh brutal rage of
their perfecutors; they feem to have proportioned
their rancour to the degree of fublimity thofe eagles
attained; but they are configned to the opprobrium
which deferves to be their eternal inheritance."
On faying theſe words, he conducted me towards
a place where the ftatues of thofe great men were
erected. There I faw Corneille, Moliere, Fontaine,
Montefquieu, Rouffeau*, Buffon, Voltaire, Mira-
bean,
* I heartily with the author had informed us on whoſe
heads flood the fect of Rouffeau, Voltaire, and others whofe
names are ranked with thefe. We ſhould certainly have
heard of heads mitred and unmitred, in an uneafy lituation;
but every one has his day.
†The author of Emilius is here meant, and not that
frothy poet, void of Ideas, who had no other talent than
F
that
50
THE COLLEGE OF
beau, &c. All theſe celebrated writers are then
known to you?" Their names form our children's
alphabet; and when they attain the age of ration-
ality, we put into their hands your famous Encyclo-
pedic Dictionary, which we have carefully digefted."
-You furprife me! the Encyclopedia! an elementary
book! O what a flight you muſt have taken toward
the higher fciences! and how do I burn to receive
inftruction from you! Let me behold your treaſures,
and enjoy in one inftant the accumulated labours of
fix glorious centuries.
CHAP. XII.
THE COLLEGE OF QUATRE NATIONS*
Do you teach your children Greek and La-
you
tin? In my time they tortured them with thoſe lan-
guages. Do confecrate ten years, the moſt pre-
cious and pleafing of their lives, in giving them a
fuperficial tincture of two dead languages they will
never ſpeak?"We know better how to employ
their time. The Greek language is doubtleſs very
venerable, on account of its antiquity; but we have
Homer,
that of arranging words, and giving them a fictitious pomp,
under which he hid the fterility of his invention, and the
torpid ſtate of his genius.
*
* See the note on page 30.
QUATRE NATIONS,
5x
Homer, Plato, and Sophocles perfectly tranflated *
whatever fome pedants may have faid of the impof-
fibility of expreffing their beauties. As to the Latin
language, which, being more modern, muſt in confe-
quence be lefs excellent. It has died a natural death."
How is that?" The French language has pre-
vailed univerfally. They at firft made fuch finished
tranflations as almoft rendered it fuperfluous to have
recourſe to the originals; and they have fince com-
poſed ſuch works as are worthy to efface thofe of the
ancients. Thefe now poems are incomparably more
ufeful, and more interefting to us, more relative to
our manners, to our government, to our progreſs in
philofophical knowledge and in politics, and lafly to
that moral view of which we ſhould never lofe fight.
The two antiquated languages, of which we fhall fay
more hereafter, are now uſed by a few learned men
only. We read Livy almoſt in the fame manner as
we do the Alcoran."-I perceive the college, how-
ever, ſtill bears on its front, in large characters, Ecole
des Quatre Nations." We have preferved this build-
ing, and even its name, in order to apply it to better
purpoſes. There are now four claffes in this college,
who
* Inftead of giving us differtations on the head of Anu-
bis, on Oſiris, and a thouſand uſeleſs rhapſodies, why do
not the members of the Royal Academy of Infcriptions
employ their time in tranflating the Greek authors, whom
they pretend to underſtand fo well? Demofthenes is fcarce
known to us. That would be of more utility than to know
what fort of pins the Roman ladies wore in their head-
dreſs, the form of their necklace, and whether the claſps of
their gowns were round or oval.
F 2
52
THE COLLEGE OF
who are taught Italian, Engliſh, German and Spanish.
Enriched with the treaſures of thefe living languages,
we do not in the leaft envy the ancients. This laſt
nation, which contained within itfelf the feeds of
grandeur, that nothing could deftroy, has been fud-
denly enlightened by one of thofe powerful ftrokes,
that it is impoffible to expect or forefee; the revolu-
tion has been as fudden as happy, becauſe the light
fell at firſt on the head; whereas, in other ſtates, that
has been almost always plunged in darkneſs.
Stupidity and pedantry are banished from this col-
lege; and ftrangers have been invited thither to faci-
litate the pronunciation of the languages there taught.
The beft authors in each of them have been tranf-
lated. From this mutual correfpondence maffes of
light have been reciprocally reflected. Another ad-
vantage arifes from this, which is, that as the com
merce of thoughts is extended, natural prejudices are
infenfibly extinguiſhed; men have been convinced
that a few particular cuftoms ought not to deftroy
that univerſal reaſon which ſpeaks from one end of
the world to the other; and that their thoughts were
in reality very near the fame on thoſe ſubjects, that
have occafioned fuch long and warm diſputes."
But what does the univerfity, that eldeſt daughter of
our kings?" She is become a caft-off miſtreſs. That
old maiden, after receiving the laſt ſighs of a faſti-
dious and affected language, would have paffed it on
the world for new, blooming, and enchanting. She
tranfpofed the periods, mangled the hemiftics, and in
a barbarous and ſlovenly jargon, pretended to revive
the
QUATRE NATIONS.
53
the language of the Auguftan age. It was at laſt
perceived, that her diſcordant voice was near exhauſt-
ed, and that ſhe brought a yawning upon the court,
the city, and eſpecially on her difciples. By an arret
of the French academy, fhe was ordered to appear
before their tribunal, to give an account of the good
fhe had done for the four laſt centuries; during which
fhe had been fupported, honoured, and penfioned.
She would have pleaded her cauſe in her ludicrous
idiom, which certainly the Latins themſelves would
never have understood; for of the French ſhe was
totally ignorant; fhe therefore dared not to hazard
herſelf before her judges.
"The academy took pity on her embarraſſment;
fhe was charitably ordered to remain filent. They
had afterwards the humanity to teach her the lan-
guage of the nation; and from that time defpoiled
of her cowl, her crabbed looks, and her ferule, the
has applied herſelf ſolely to the teaching of that fine
language, which the French academy is every day,
improving; and which, leſs timid, lefs fcrupulous,
corrects it, without always diminiſhing its force.".
And the military academy, what is become of that?-
"It has fuffered the deftiny of all the rest of the col-
leges. It contained every other abufe befides thoſe
that were peculiar to its inftitution. Men are not
made as they make foldiers."-Pardon me, if I tref.
paſs on your indulgence; but this point is of too much
importance to be abandoned. In my youth, they
talked of nothing but education. Each pedant made
his book, and well it was, if merely ftupid. The beſt
E 3
of
54
THE COLLEGE OF
of them all, the moft fimple, the moſt rational, and,
at the fame time, the moſt profound, was burned by
the hands of the common hangman, and decried by
thoſe who underſtood no more of it than that hang-
man's deputy. Inform me, I entreat you, what me-
thod you purfue in the forming of men?" Men are
rather formed by the wife lenity of our government
than by any other inftitution. But to confine our-
felves to the culture of the mind: while we fami-
liarize our children with the letters, we bring them
acquainted with the operations of algebra.
art is fimple, of general utility, and not more difficult
to learn than it is to read; even the fhadow of diffi-
culty has been removed; the algebraic characters no
longer pafs among the vulgar for thofe of magic *,
We have found that this fcience habituates the mind
to confider matters rigorously as they are: and that
this mode of reafoning is of the higheſt importance
when applied to the fciences.
That
They formerly taught youth a multiplicity of
knowledge that in no degree conduced to the happi-
nefs
*Soon after the art of printing was known at Paris, fome
one undertook to print Euclid's Elements. The workman-
employed, feeing it contain a number of ſquares, circles,
triangles, &c. imagined that it was a book of forcery, in-
tended for railing the devil, who, for ought he knew,
might fetch him away in the midſt of his work; he there-
fore declined it; but his maſter infifted on his perfevering.
The poor fellow, believing that they were determined on
his deſtruction, was fo terrified, that, deaf to reafon and his
confeſſor, he died of the fright a few days after.
QUATRE NATIONS.
55
nefs of life. We have felected thoſe objects only that
will give them true and uſeful ideas; they were in-
ftructed univerfally in two dead languages, which
were imagined to contain every ſort of ſcience, but
which could not give them the leaſt idea of thofe men
with whom they were to live. We content ourſelves
with teaching them the national language, and even
permit them to modify it after their own tafte; for we
do not wiſh to form grammarians, but men of elo-
quence. The ſtyle reſembles the man; and the man
of genius cught to have a correfpondent idiom; very
different from the nomenclature, the only refource
of weak minds, whofe memories are treacherous.
We teach them little hiftory, becauſe hiftory is the
difgrace of humanity, every page being crowded with
crimes and follies. God forbid that we fhould fet be-
fore their eyes fuch examples of rapine and ambition.
By the pedantry of hiftory, kings have been raiſed
to gods. We teach our children a logic more cer-
tain, and ideas more juſt. Thoſe frigid chronologiſts,
thofe nomenclatures of every age, all thoſe roman-
tic or debaſed writers, who have been the firſt to bow
down before their idols, are obliterated, together with
the panegyrifts of the princes of the earth. What!
when the time is fo fhort and rapid, fhall we employ
our children in crowding their memories with a num-
ber
* From Pharamond to Henry IV. we can fcarce name
two kings, I will not fay who knew how to reign, but who
knew how to employ that good fenfe in their adininiſtration
that a private perfon obferves in the economy of his fa-
mily.
*
56
THE COLLEGE OF
ber of names, of dates, of facts, and genealogical
trees? What wretched trifling, when the vaft fields
of morality and phyfics lie open before us! It is to
no purpoſe to ſay that hiſtory furnishes examples of
inftruction to fucceeding ages; they are pernicious.
and infamous examples*, that ferve merely to en-
courage arbitrary power, and to render it more
haughty and more cruel, by fhewing that men have
in all ages bowed the neck like flaves; by expofing
the fruitless efforts of liberty, expiring under the at-
tacks of men who founded a modern tyranny on that
of the ancients. If a man of an amiable, virtuous
character aroſe, his cotemporaries were monfters, by
whom all his efforts were rendered abortive.
picture of virtue trampled under foot is doubtlefs
very-juft; but at the fame time, it is highly dangerous
to be expofed. It is only for the man of determined
reſolution to behold ſuch a repreſentation without
terror; and he feels a ſecret joy in reflecting on the
tranſient triumph of vice, and the eternal reward that
is the portion of virtue. But from children fuch pic-
tures fhould be concealed; they fhould be made to
contract a placid habit, with notions of order aud
equity, which ſhould, fo to speak, compofe the fub-
ftance
This
*The fcene changes in hiftory, it is true, but for the
moft part to introduce new evils; for kings are followed by
an indiſſoluble chain of calamities. A monarch, on his
advancement to the throne, thinks he does not reign, if he
purfue the ancient plans; the old fyſtems that have coſt fo
much blood, muſt be abolished, and new ones eſtabliſhed;
theſe agree not with the former, and at the fame time are
not lefs prejudicial.
QUATRE NATIONS.
57
tance of their minds. We do not teach them an
idle morality that confifts in frivolous queſtions, but
one that is practicable and may be applied to all
their actions, that ſpeaks by images, that forms their
hearts to humanity, to courage, and to facrifice ſelf-
intereft, or, to ſay all in one word, to generoſity.
"We have a fufficient contempt for metaphyfics,
thofe gloomy regions where every one erects a fyftem
of chimeras, and always to no purpoſe. It is from
thence they have drawn imperfect images of the di-
vinity, have disfigured his effence by refining on his
attributes, and have confounded human reafon by
placing it on a flippery and moveable point, from
whence it is continually ready to fall into doubt. It
is by phyfics, that key to nature, that living and pal-
pable ſcience, we are enabled to run through the la-
byrinth of this marvellous affemblage of beings, and
to perceive the wiſdom and power of the Creator;
that ſcience properly inveftigated, delivers us from
an infinity of errors, and the unformed maſs of pre-
judices give place to that pure light which it ſpreads
over all objects.
"At a certain age we permit a young man to read
the poets. Thoſe of the preſent day know how to
unite wiſdom with enthuſiaſm; they do not deceive
reafon by a cadence and harmony of words, and find
themſelves led, as it were against their inclination,
into the falſe and the capricious; nor do they amuſe
themſelves with dreffing of puppets, with fpinning of
counters, or ſhaking the cap and bells. They are
the
58
WHERE IS THE SORBONNE :
the recorders of thofe great actions that illuſtrate
humanity; their heroes are taken from all nations
where are to be found courage and virtue; that falfe
and venal clarion which vauntingly flattered the
coloffes of the earth, is totally deftroyed. Poetry has
preſerved that veridical trumpet only, which can re-
found through a long feries of ages, becaufe it de-
clares, ſo to ſay, the judgment of pofterity. Formed
by fuch models, our child en acquire just ideas of
true greatneſs; and the plow, the fhuttle, and the
hammer are become more brilliant objects than the
fceptre, the diadem, and the imperial robe."
CHAP. XIII.
WHERE IS THE SORBONNE?
IN what language then difpute the doctors of
the Sorbonne? Have they ftill their ludicrous pride,
their long gowns, and their furred hoods?" There
are now no difputations at the Sorbonne; for ſince.
the French language has been every where uſed, that
troop of wranglers has difappeared. The roofs, thank
heaven, no longer echo to barbarous terms, though
ſtill lefs extravagant than the abſurdities they were
intended to exprefs. We difcovered that the feats
on which theſe whimſical doctors fat, were formed
Of a certain wood, whofe baneful quality difordered
the beſt formed head, and taught it to fophifticate
methodi.
WHERE IS THE SORBONNE ?
59.
methodically."-O! that I had been born in your
age! Thofe miferable manufacturers of fyllogifm
were the perfecutors of my younger days. I thought
myfelf for a long time deftitute of all ability, becauſe
I could not underſtand their arguments. But what
have you done with the palace erected by that car-
dinal who made wretched verfes with enthuſiaſm,
and cut off worthy heads with all the coolness pof-
fible?" That large building contains feveral ſpa-
cious apartments, where they now purfue a courſe of
ſtudies far more uſeful to humanity. They there
diffect all forts of dead bodies; fagacious anatomiſts
fearch in the receffes of the dead, the means of dimi-
niſhing the phyſical evils of the living. Inſtead of
analyfing ridiculous propofitions, they endeavour to
difcover the fecret origin of thofe maladies that tor-
ment us; and the deceafed thus contribute to the
good of their pofterity. Such are the doctors now ho-
noured, ennobled, and pentioned by the ftate. Surgery
is moreover now united with phyfic, and the latter is
no longer at variance with itfelf."
O happy prodigy! they talk of the animofity of
contending beauties, of the jealous fury of poets, and
of the rancour of painters; but thofe are tender paí-
fions in compariſon of that hatred which in my time.
inflamed
* O cruel Richlieu, thou rueful author of all our mife-
ries, how I hate thee! How doth thy name diſtract my
ear! After having dethroned Lewis XIII. it was thou that
eſtabliſhed an arbitrary power in France. Since that pe-
riod this nation has never performed any great action; and
what can be expected from a people of flaves?
60
WHERE IS THE SORBONNE ?
inflamed the fons of Efculapius. We have feen
more than once, as a certain droll expreffed it, phyfic
on the point of calling furgery to its aid.
"All is now changed; friends, and not rivals,
they now form one body only; they afford each
other mutual affiftance, and their operations, thus
united, fometimes appear almoſt miraculous. The
phyfician does not disdain to practiſe himſelf the ope-
rations that he thinks neceffary; when he prefcribes
any remedies, he does not leave the care of pre-
paring them to a fubaltern, who, by negligence or
ignorance might render them mortal; but judges
with his own eyes of the quality, the quantity and
manner of compounding them; a matter of the
greateſt importance, as on that the cure abfolutely
depends. The fick man does not now fee by his bed-
fide three practitioners who ludicrously contemn each
other, difpute, fneer, and watch for fome blunder of
their rivals, with which they might divert themſelves
at their leiſure. A phyfician is no longer a com-
pound of the most oppofite principles; the patient's
ſtomach is not now the ſpot where the poiſons of the
fouth rencounter thoſe of the north; the beneficent
juice of plants, natives of our foil, and adapted to our
temperaments, diffipate each noxious humour with-
out deſtroying our entrails.
"This art is eſteemed above all others; for they
have now banished the fyftematic fpirit and that blind
rotation of practice, which was as deftructive to
mankind as the rapacity of kings and the cruelty of
their
I
WHERE IS THE SORBONNE ›
61
their minifters."-I am charmed to hear that mat
ters are thus; your phyficians appear to me highly
amiable, as they are no longer avaricious and cruel
empirics, fometimes addicted to a dangerous rota-
tion of practice, and fometimes, by making barba.
rous experiments, prolong the fufferings of the
fick, whom they at laft affaffinate without remorſe.
But, pray, to what floor will they go up?" To
every floor where there is any one in want of their
affiftance."-That's wonderful: in my time, the
moſt eminent anong them would never go higher
than the firft floor and as certain fine ladies admit
no vifitors that do not wear laced ruffles, fo they
would cure no patiënts that did not keep an equipage.
"A phyſician among us, who ſhould be guilty of
fuch inhumanity, would ſtamp an indelible difgrace
on his character. Every one has a right to fend for
them; they feek only to reſtore health to the fick;
and if he be not able which is rarely the cafe, to offer
a fufficient gratuity, the ftate then provides it. Every
month a regiſter is made of the fick that die or are
cured; the names of the dead are always followed
by thoſe of their phyſicians; and each one is to give
an account of his preſcriptions, and juſtify his man-
ner of treating the fick. This detail is laborious;
but the life of a man appears to us of too much im-
portance to omit any means of preferving it; and the
phyficians themselves are intereſted in obferving this
lagacious law.
r
They have rendered their art more fimple, and
diveſted themſelves of many branches of fcience that
G
are
WHERE IS THE SORBONNE ?
*
bfolutely foreign to the art of healing. You
thought unjuſtly, that a phyfician's head ſhould con-
tain every ſcience poffible; that he ſhould be a com-
plete mafter of anatomy, chemiſtry, botany and the
mathematics; and though each of theſe arts require
the whole life of a man, yet your phyficians were in
no eſteem unleſs they were befides men of taſte, wit,
and humour. Ours confine themſelves to a thorough
knowledge of diſeaſes, to a critical difcernment of
of their feveral divifions, and of the fymptoms that
attend them, and more particularly to the diftinguiſh-
ing of the temperaments in general, and that of each
patient in particular. They ufe fcarce any of thoſe
remedies called precious, or of fecret and myfterious
compofitions; they find a ſmall number of medicines
fufficient; they have diſcovered that nature acts uni-
formly in the vegetation of plants and in the nutrition
of animals. Behold the gardener, they fay; he is
defirous that the fap, that is, the univerfal fpirit,
circulate equally in every part of the tree. The
diſeaſes of the plant ariſe from the glutinous ſtate of
that wonderful fluid. In like manner, all the difor-
ders that afflict the human race proceed from the
coagulation of the blood and humours; restore them
to their natural dilution, and as foon as the circula-
tion attains its juft courfe, health begins to be re-
ftored *. This being premifed, there is no need of
a very extenſive knowledge to attain thefeend s, for
they
*This is not strictly true; if it were, whenever the
fluids were fufficiently diluted, the body would be in health,
which, unhappily, is by no means the cafe.
HOSPITAL FOR INOCULATION.
63
they preſent themſelves to us. We confider all the
odoriferous plants as univerfal remedies, feeing they
abound in volatile falts, which are in the higheſt
degree proper to dilute the viscous blood. Theſe
are the most precious gifts of nature for the prefer-
vation of health. We adminifter them to all the
fick, and have conftantly found them to effect a
cure *.”
CHAP. XIV.
THE HOSPITAL FOR INOCULATION.
PRAY, tell me what building is that I fee,
which ftands by itſelf, at a diſtance in the fields ?-
"It is the hofpital for inoculation; a practice op-
pofed in your days; as were all the good things,
that were offered to you.
You muſt have been egre-
gioufly obftinate, when fuch manifeft and repeated
experiments were not able to convince you for your
own good. Had it not been for fome ladies, more
anxious for beauty than life, and fome princes not
very defirous of refigning their fcepters into the hands
of
* Though there is fcarce any diſeaſe that may not be
cured by the juice of plants, properly prepared, yet as the
moſt efficacious remedies we know are obtained from mi-
nerals, it would be as extravagant totally to reject them
as to exclude the others.
G 2
64
HOSPIPAL FOR INOCULATION.
of Pinto, you would never have ventured on that
happy diſcovery. Succefs has fairly crowned it,
the homely dames were obliged to remain filent,
and they who had no diadems were nevertheleſs de-
firous of remaining fome tine longer here below.
"Sooner or later truth will prevail over the moſt
intractable fpirits. We now practiſe inoculation, as
they did in your time in China, Turkey and England,
We are far from profcribing falutary aids becauſe
they are new; we have not, as you had, a rage for
difputation, merely for the fake of making a figure
in the eye of the public. Thanks to our induſtry,
and to a fpirit of inquiry, we have difcovered many
admirable fecrets, which I have not now time to ex-
plain to you. A profound ftudy of thofe wonderful
fimples which you trod under foot, has taught us
the art of curing the confumption, the phthific, the
dropfy, and other diforders, which your remedies, of
whofe virtues you had little knowledge, commonly
made worfe; the hygiena efpecially is fo clearly
inveſtigated, that each one is able to take care of his
own health. We do not depend entirely on the phy-
fician, how ſkillful foever he may be. We apply
ourſelves to the ſtudy of our own temperaments, and
not leave it to be gueſſed at by a ſtranger on the firſt
fight. Temperance, moreover, that true retorative
and confervative elixir, contributes to form bodies
healthful and vigorous, and that contain minds pure
and ſtrong as their blood.
*
*The art of Preferving health.
CHAP.
-
[ 65 1
CHAP. XV.
THEOLOGY AND JURISPRUDENCE.
HAPPY mortals! you have then no theolo-
gians among you*? I fee none of thoſe mighty
volumes that ſeemed to be the pillars of our libraries,
thofe ponderous folios, that none but the printer, I
fhould imagine, ever read. Theology, however, is
a fublime fcience, and-"As our only contemplation
on the Supreme Being is to praiſe and adore him in
filence, without difputing on his divine attributes,
which are for ever infcrutable, we have determined
never more to write on that topic; fo much too fub-
lime for our intelligence. It is the foul that commu-
nicates with God, and it has no need of foreign aids
to raiſe itſelf up to himt.
" All
* We fhould not here confound the moralifts with the
theologians; the former are the benefactors, the latter the
opprobrium and ſcourge of mankind¶.
+ Let us defcend into ourfelves, and afk our own minds,
from whence they receive perception and thought they
wilk reveal to us their happy dependence; they will atteſt
that Supreme intelligence, from which they are nothing
more than feeble emanations. When the mind reflects on
its own nature, it cannot diveft itfelf of the idea of that God
of whom it is the offspring and image; it cannot doubt of
its heavenly origin. This is a truthi of perception that has
been common to all people. The man of fenfibility will be'
G3
ftruck'
66
THEOLOGY AND JURISPRUDENCE.
“All the volumes of theology, as well as thofe of
jurisprudence, are confined by large bars of iron in
the fubteraneous apartments of the library; and if
we ſhould have a war with any neighbouring nation,
inſtead of attacking them with our cannon, we ſhall
fend theſe peftiferous works among them: we pre-
ferve theſe volcanoes of inflammable matter merely
for the deſtruction of our enemies, which they will
certainly effect, by means of their fubtle poiſons, that
feize at once the head and the heart.”
To live without theology, I can eafily enough con-
ceive; but how without law, I can by no means com-
prehend."We have a jurifprudence; but different
from yours, which was both Gothic and capricious.
You ſtill bore the marks of your ancient fervitude
you adopted laws that were made neither for your
cuſtoms nor your climate. As almost every indi-
vidual became, by degrees, enlightened, they have
reformed thofe abufes, that made of the fanctuary of
juſtice a den of thieves. We are aftoniſhed how
that foul monſter, that deſtroyed the widow and the
orphan, could triumph fo long unpunished; nor can
we conceive how it was poffible for a pettifogger to
pafs the streets of the city without being ftoned by
hofe he had brought to defperation.
"The
ftruck with the profpect of nature, and without difficulty
acknowledge a munificent God, who has in ftore for us
other bounties. The man void of fenfibility will not join
to our praiſes the hymn of his admiration. The heart that
never loved was that of the firſt atheiſt.
THEOLOGY AND JURISPRUDENCE.
Sing
"The potent arm which bears the ſword of juſtice
has fmote that enormous body, but void of foul,
in which were united the avidity of the wolf, the
cunning of the fox, and the croaking of the raven,
Their own fubalterns, whom they made to periſh by
famine and vexation were the firſt to reveal their
iniquities, and to arm againſt them. Themis com-
manded, and the herd difappeared. Such was the
tragical end of thoſe rapacious vermin, who deſtroy-
ed whole families by blotting of paper."
But in my time they pretended, that without their
aid a confiderable part of the citizens would remain
idle at the tribunals, and that the courts of juſtice
themſelves might poffibly become the theatres of
licence and diforder." They were certainly the
proprietors of ftamped paper, who talked in that
manner. "But how can caufes be decided without
the aid of attornies?—“ O, our caufes are decided in
the beſt manner imaginable. We have reſerved the
order of counſellors, who know the dignity and ex-
cellence of their inftitution, and being ftill more dif
intereſted, they have become more refpectable. It
is they who take upon them to explain clearly and
conciſely the cauſe of complaint, and that without
vehemence or exaggeration. We do not now fee a
pleader, by labouring a tedious infipid brief, though
ftuffed with invectives, heat himſelf to a degree that
cofts him his life. The bad man can find no advo-
cate among theſe defenders of equity; their honour
is anfwerable for the cauſe they undertake; they
oblige the guilty, by refufing to defend them, to ap-
pear
68
THEOLOGY AND JURISPRUDENCE,
pear trembling and endeavour to excuſe themfelves
before a court where they have no advocate.
"Every man now enjoys the primitive right of
pleading his own caufe. They never fuffer a procefs
to have time fufficient to become perplexed; they are
inveſtigated and determined in their origin; the
longeſt time that is allowed for the developing any
caufe, when it is obfcure, is that of a year; the
judges, moreover, never receive any prefents; they
became ashamed of that difgraceful privilege, by
which, at first, they received but trifes, but, at laſt,
exacted the moſt enormous fums*; they were fen-
fible that they thereby gave examples of rapacity;
and that if there be any cafe in which intereft ought
not to prevail, it is in that important and awful in-
ſtance where man pronounces in the facred name of
juftice."I find that you have made amazing altera-
tions in our laws." Your laws! Stop there. How
could you give that title to an indigefted mafs of
contradictory customs, to thofe old frattered papers
that contained nothing but ideas without connection
and grotefque precedencies? How could you adopt
that barbarous mafs, in which their was neither plan,
nor validity, nor object; that confifted merely of a
difguftful compilation, where genius and perfeverance.
were abforbed in a noifome abyfs? There have arifen
men
*It conſiſted at firſt of ſome boxes of ſweat-meats; but
now the boxes must be filled with pieces of gold; fo dainty
is the prefent fafte of thofe auguft fenators, and fathers of
their country.
:
THEOLOGY AND JURISPRUDENCE.
ون
men of ability, of a love for the human race, and of
courage fufficient to induce them to undertake an
entire reformation, and of that capricious maſs to
form a regular and juft body of laws.
"Our kings have given all their attention to this
immenfe project, in which fo many thouſands were
intereſted. It has been acknowledged that legiflation
was the firſt of ftudies. The names of Lycurgus,
Solon, and thofe who have followed their ſteps, are
of all others the most refpectable. The luminous point
proceeded from the utmost north; and, as if nature
would humble our pride, it was a woman who began
that important revolution*.
"Juftice has spoken by the voice of nature,fovereign
legiflator, mother of virtue, and of all that is good
upon the earth; founded on reafon and humanity,
her precepts are wife, clear, concife, and few. All
general cauſes have been foreſeen and included in the
laws. Particular cafes have been derived from them,
as the branches that fpring from a fertile trunk; and
equity, more fagacious than law itfelf, has applied
practical juſtice to every event.
"Theſe new laws are above all things thrifty of
human blood; the puniſhment is proportioned to the
crime; we have difcarded you captious interroga-
tories,
* They privately burned at Paris an entire impreffion of
the code of Catharine II. except a fingle copy, that I by
chance, faved from the flames.
1
THEOLOGY AND JURISPRUDENCE.
tories, and the tortures of confeffion, worthy of the
tribunal of the inquifition; and thoſe horrid puniſh.
ments calculated for a nation of cannibals. We do
not put a robber to death, becauſe we know that it
would be injuftice to murder him who has never
murdered any one; all the riches on the earth is not
equal to the life of a man; we puniſh him by the
lofs of his liberty; blood is rarely fpilt; and whea
we are forced to fhed it, as a terror to bad men, it
is done with the greateft folemnity. A minifter, for
example, who abuſes the confidence of his fovereign,
by employing the power with which he is entrusted
against the people, can find no pardon. He does
not, however, languifh in a dungeon; the puniſh-
ment attends the crime; and if a doubt arifes, we
chufe rather to fhew him mercy than to run the
horrid riſk of keeping an innocent man longer in
prifon.
"A criminal, when feized, is expofed in fetters,
that he may be a public and ſtriking example of the
vigilance of juſtice. Over the place of his confine-
ment there continually remains a writing which ex-
plains the caufe of it. We do not confine men,
while
A droll picture that of the riſe of a minifter. This is
advanced to adminiſtration by means of a polite copy of
verfes; that, after having lighted the lamps, is preferred
to command a fleet, and imagines that lamps and ſhips are
to be trimmed in the fame manner; another, while his
father ftill holds the yard, governs the finances, &c. It
feems as if there was a determination to put thefe only at
the head of affairs who knew nothing of the matter.
THEOLOGY AND JURISPRUDENCE.
71
while living, in the darkneſs of the tomb, a fruitless
puniſhment, and more horrible than death itſelf! It
is in the public eye our priſoners fuffer the fhame of
their chaſtiſement. Every citizen knows why this
man is condemned to impriſonment, and that to la-
bour at the public works. He whom three chaftife-
ments does not reform, is marked, not on the ſhoul-
der, but the forehead, and banifhed for ever from
his country."
Inform me, I entreat you, about the lettres de
cachet; what is become of that ready and infallible
expedient, which cut fhort all difficulties, and was
fo convenient to pride, revenge and perfecution ?---
"If you ask this queſtion ferioufly," replied my
guide, in a ſevere tone,
monarch, to the nation,
and the lettre de cachet*
you offer an infult to our
and myfelf. The torture
are ranked together, and
only remain to polute the pages of your hiſtory."
CHAP.
* A citizen is fuddenly fnatched from his family, from
his friends, and fociety; a piece of paper becomes an in-
vincible thunder-bolt. An order for baniſhment or impri-
fonment is difpatched in the king's name, and proceeds
merely from his will and pleafure; it has no other authen-
ticity than the fignature of a minifter. Intendants and
bishops have in their poffeffion lettres de cachet, and have
nothing to do but put in the name of any one they wish to
deftroy; the place is left vacant. We have feen the
wretched grow old in prifon, forgot by their perfecutors,
while the king has never been informed of their crime, of
their mifery, or even of their exiſtence.
10
[ 72 ]
CHAP. XVI.
EXECUTION OF A CRIMINAL.
THE repeated mournful founds of a dread-
ful clarion fuddenly ſtruck my ear, and ſeemed to
murmur to the air the names of mifery and death; ;
the drums of the city guard went flowly round, beat-
ing the alarm; and theſe ominous founds, repeated
by the mind, filled it with a profound horror. Ifaw
the citizens come forth with doleful afpects; each
one addreffed his neighbour, and lifting his eyes to
heaven, wept, and fhowed all the tokens of the moſt
piercing grief. I aſked one of them, why tolled the
funeral bells, and what accident had happened?
"One that is moft terrible," he replied, with a
groan. "Juftice this day is forced to condemn a
citizen to loſe his life, of which he has rendered him-
felf unworthy, by embruing his murdering hands in
his brother's blood. More than thirty years have
paffed fince the fun beheld a crime like this. Be-
fore the day is finifhed, he muſt expire. O, what
tears have I ſhed for the fury that drove him to ſuch
a blind vengeance! Have you heard the particulars
of
It were to be wifhed, that all the parliaments in the king-
dom would unite against this monstrous abuſe of power,
and one that has no foundation in our laws. This impor-
tant cauſe once agitated, would become that of the nation;
and defpotifm would be deprived of its moft formidable
weapon.
2
'
EXECUTION OF A CRIMINAL,
73
of the crime that was committed the night before
the laſt? O grief! is it not enough that we have loft
One worthy citizen; but muſt another fuffer death ?”
-He fighed bitterly." Hear, hear the ftory of that
direful event, which has ſpread over us an univerſal
lamentation.
"One of our fellow-citizens, of a fiery difpofition,
from his birth remarkable for paffion, though other-
wife a man of merit, was on the point of being mar-
ried to a young woman whom he loved to diſtraction.
Her temper was as gentle as that of her lover was
impetuous; fhe flattered herſelf, however with being
able to foften his manners; but the many fallies of
wrath that eſcaped him, notwithſtanding all his care
to conceal them, made her tremble for the direful
confequences that might proceed from a union with
a man of his violent temper. Every woman, by our
law, is abfolute miftrefs of her perfon; fhe therefore
determined, from a fear of being miferable, to marry
another, who was of a character more conformable
to her own. The torch of thefe nuptials fet fire to
the rage of an implacable heart, which in the ten-
dereſt years had never known moderation. He gave
many private challenges to his happy rival, who
defpifed them; for he knew there was more bravery
in difdaining an infult, and in ftifling a refentment,
than in yielding to the impulfe of paffion, in a man-
ner that both our laws and reafon profcribe. The en-
raged man, liftening to nothing but jealoufy, rencoun-
tered the other, the day before yeſterday, in a private
path without the city, and on his refufing again to
combat with him, he feized a branch of a tree, and laid
↑
H
hina
74
EXECUTION OF A CRIMINAL.
him dead at his feet. After this horrid act, the in-
human wretch dared to come amongst us; but his
crime was already engraved on his front; we no
fooner faw him, than we diſcovered that he was cri-
minal, though then ignorant of the nature of his
offence. But foon we faw feveral citizens, their
cheeks wet with tears, who bore, with folemn ſteps,
to the foot of the throne of justice, the bloody
corpſe that cried for vengeance.
"At the age of fourteen, they read to us the laws
of our country. Every one is obliged to write them
with his own hand, and to make oath that he will
obſerve them*. Thefe laws command us to inform the
police of all thoſe infractions that offend againſt the
order of fociety; but they intend thoſe matters only
that caufe a real detriment. We renew this facred
oath every ten years; and without being bufy in-
formers, religiouſly watch over the preſervation of
our venerable laws.
"Yeſterday they published the monitory, which
is an act entirely civil. Whoever ſhould delay to
declare
*It is fcarce to be believed, that the most important of
our laws, as well civil as criminal, are unknown to the
greatest part of the nation. It would be extremely eaſy
to imprint them with a character of majesty; but they are
only publiſhed to thunder on the guilty, and not to excite
the citizen to virtue. The facred code of the laws is wrote
in a dry and barbarous language, and fleeps among the duſt
of the rolls. Would it not be proper to clothe it with the
charms of eloquence, and by that means render it refpecta-
ble to the multitude ?
EXECUTION OF A CRIMINAL.
75
declare what he knew would be branded with in-
famy. By this means it is that homicide is foen dif-
covered. None but a villain, for a long time fami-
liarized with guilt, can coolly deny the crime he
has juſt committed; and of this fort of monſters our
nation is purged; they no longer terrify us, but in
the hiftories of paſt ages.
"Obey, with me, the voice of juftice, that calls
all the people to be witneſs of its awful decrees. It
is the day of its triumph; and, fatal as it is, we re-
ceive it with applauſe. You will not fee a wretch
who has been plunged for fix months in a dungeon,
his eyes dazzled by the light of the fun, his bones bro-
ken by a previous and fecret puniſhment more horri-
ble than that he is going to fuffer*, advance with.
hideous and dying looks, towards a fcaffold erected in
an obfcure nook. In your time, the criminal, judged
in the fecrecy of a priſon, was fometimes broke on the
wheel in the filence of the night, at the door of ſome
fleeping citizen; who waking with terror at the cries
of
* Wretched is the ftate that refines on its penal laws.
Is not the puniſhment of death fufficient; but muſt man
add to its horror? Can he be called a magiſtrate who in-
terrogates with torturing machines, and gradually cruſhes
a wretch by a flow progreffion of the most horrid pangs?
who, ingenious in his tortures, tops death, when, gentle,
and charitable, it advances to deliver the victim? Here na-
ture revolts. But if you would be more fully convinced of
the inutility of the torture, fee the admirable Treatife on
Crimes and Punishments. I defy any man to produce
one folid reafon in favour of that barbarous law.
H 2
78
EXECUTION OF A CRIMINAL.
of the excruciated wretch, was uncertain whether he
was fuffering under the iron bar of an executioner, or
the fword of an affaffin. We have none of thoſe tor-
tures that are ſhocking to nature; we have a regard to
humanity even with them who have offended against it.
In your age, they ſeemed not to be content with mere-
ly putting a man to death, fo little effect the tragic
fcenes had upon you, all horrible as they were, and
multiplied in cold blood. The guilty, far from being
dragged along in a manner that is difgraceful to juf
tice, is not even fettered. Alas! why fhould he be
loaded with chains, when he freely delivers himſelf up
to death? Juftice has full power to condemn him to
death, but not to charge him with marks of flavery.
You will fee him walk freely in the midſt of ſome fol-
diers, who ſurround him merely to keep off the multi-
tude. We have no fear that he will a fecond time dif
grace himself by endeavouring to fly from the terrible
voice that accufes him. Whither fhould he fly? What
country, what people would receive among them an
affaffin*? and how could he ever efface that hor- .
rid mark which the hand of the Divinity imprints
on the front of a murderer; the tempeft of remorfe
is there painted in glaring characters; and the eye
accuſtomed
* They fay that Europe is civilized; and yet a man who
has committed a murder, or made a fraudulent bankruptcy,
can retire to London, Madrid, Lisbon, Vienna, &c. and
there peaceably enjoy the fruits of his iniquity. Among fo
many puerile treaties, can they not ftipulate, that the mur-
derer ſhall no where find an afylum? Is not every ſtate and
every man intereſted in his punishment? But monarchs
will as foon agree on the deftruction of the Jefuits.
EXECUTION OF A CRIMINAL.
77
accuſtomed to the aſpect of virtue will eafily dif
tinguiſh the phyfiognomy of guilt. How, in fhort,
can he ever be free who feels the immenfe weight that
preſſes upon his heart?"
We arrived at a ſpacious place that furrounded the
palace of juſtice. Along the front of the hall of au-
dience there ran a large flight of ſteps. It was on
this kind of amphitheatre that the fenate affembled
on public affairs, in the fight of the people; it was
under their inſpection that it choſe to tranfact the moſt
important affairs of the nation; the numerous body
of citizens there affembled infpired them with fenti-
ments worthy of the auguſt concerns committed to
their care. The death of a citizen was a calamity to
the ftate. The judges failed not to give their ſentence
all that folemnity, all that importance it deferved.
The order of advocates were on one fide, conftantly
ready to plead for the innocent, but filent in the cauſe
of the guilty. On the other fide, the prelate, ac-
companied by the paftors, bare-headed, filently in-
voked the God of Mercy, and edified the people,
fpread in crowds over all the place*.
The
Our form of juftice does not command awe, but excites
difguft. It is an odious and fhocking fight to fee a man
take off his laced hat, lay down his fword on the ſcaffold,
mount the ladder in a fuit of filk or lace, and dance inde-
cently on the body of the wretch that is hanging. Why not
give the executioner that formidable afpect he ought to
fhew? To what purpofe is this cold barbarity? The laws
thereby loſe their dignity, and the puniſhment its terror.
H 3
· The.
78
EXECUTION OF A CRIMINAL.
The criminal appeared; he was dreffed in a bloody
fhirt; he beat his breaſt, and fhewed all the marks
of a fincere repentance.
His vifage, however, ex-
preffed nothing of that dreadful embarraſſment ſo un-
becoming
man.
The judge is ftill more fprucely powdered than the hang-
Shall I here declare the fenfations that I have felt?
I have trembled, not for the criminal's offence, but for the
horrid unconcern of all thofe that furrounded him. There
has been none but that generous man who reconciled the
unfortunate finner to the Supreme Being, who affiſted him
in drinking the cup of death, that appeared to me to have
any remains of humanity. Do we only wish to deſtroy man-
kind? Are we ignorant of the art of terrifying the imagination
without violence to humanity? Learn at length, thoughtleſs
and cruel men, learn to be judges, learn how to prevent
crimes; conciliate what is owing to the law with what is owing
to man. I have not the power to fpeak here of thoſe artful
tortures that fome criminals have fuffered, who feem to have
been referved, fo to fay, for a privileged puniſhment. O
difgrace to my country! the eyes of that ſex which feems made
for pity remained the longeſt fixed on that fcene of horrors.
Let us draw the curtain. What can I ſay to thoſe who un-
derſtand me not?
The author here evidently refers to what is improperly
called the breaking on the wheel; for the criminal is ftretched
naked, except a cloth that goes round his waift, upon two
planks, in the form of what is called St. Andrew's croſs; and
then the executioner with an iron bar, breaks all the bones of
his armas, his legs, and thighs. A cruel puniſhment, the
reader will fay; but it is trifling to what he has to fuffer; for
he is then laid, with his face upward, on a fmall wheel, about
às wide as the length of his body only, and is truffed up
like a fowl for the fpit; his broken legs and thighs are brought
back
EXECUTION OF A CRIMINAL.
י,
79
becoming a man, who ought to know how to die
when neceffity calls, and eſpecially when he merits
death. They made him paſs by a fort of cage, where,
they told me, the body of the murdered man was
expofed. On his near approach, he was ſeized with
fuch violent remorſe, that they ſuffered him to retire.
He approached the judges, and put one knee to the
ground, to kifs the facred volume of the law. It
was
back to his arms, and he is bound round with cords, hard as a
merchant binds a bale of goods that is to go a long voyage,
till the ropes cut into he flesh, and thus left, with his head
hanging backwards off the wheel, to expire by agonies; while
the gay, polite Parifians throng from every quarter to behold
a fight that is a difgrace to their capital, to their country, and
to mankind; and while the fofter fex, as the author fays, gaze
from the windows with infatiable curiofity. This punishment
fhews how ftrong the powers of life are in fome men; what tor-
tures human nature is capable of ſuſtaining One would imagine
that a man could live hut a very ſhort time in ſuch a ſituation
but the wretch I faw, who was young, and of a vigorous
conſtitution, was placed on the wheel about fix in the even-
ing; at four the next morning he complained of thirſt, and
drink was given him; about an hour after he expired.
་
;
On revifing this note, it occurred to me that the hard bind-
ing with ropes may be humanely intended to fhorten the cri-
minal's tortures by stopping the circulation; fo when the ex-
ecutioner jumps on the ſhoulders of the man that is hanging
be certainly intends, and does, in many inftances, fhorten his
fufferings Doubtless too, a great part of the fpectators are
carried to thefe executions by a defire to fympathiſe in the
criminal's fufferings; as, when a fhip is in diſtreſs, the fond
mother flies to the fea fhore, and while fhe ftrains her infant to
her breaſt, commiferates their calamity, though utterly unable
to relieve them.
80
EXECUTION OF A CRIMINAL.
was then opened to him, and they read, with a loud.
voice, the fentence relative to homicides; they placed
the book before him, that he might read it; he then
fell on his knees, and confeffed his guilt. The head of
the fenate, mounting a platform that was prepared for
him, read his condemnation with a ſtrong and majeſtic
voice. All the counſellors, as well as the advocates,
who were ſtanding, then fat down, by which they de-
clared that no one of them would undertake his de-
fence.
When the head of the fenate had done reading,
he deigned to ſtretch out his hand to the criminal,
and raiſe him up; he then faid, "nothing now re-
mains for you but to die with firmnefs, and obtain
your pardon of God and of men. We do not hate
you; we grieve for you, and your memory will not
be held in deteftation by u15. Obey the law with
cheerfulneſs, and revere its falutary rigour. Our
tears bear witneſs that affection will take place in our
hearts, when juſtice ſhall have accompliſhed her fatal
decrees. Death is lefs dreadful than ignominy.
Submit to the one, to avoid the other. It is ftill in
your power to chooſe. If you will live, you may;
but it muſt be in difgrace, and loaded with our indig-
nation. You will behold the fun conftantly upbraid-
ing you with having deprived your fellow-being of
his genial and brilliant rays; to you they will be hate-
ful, as they will only difcover thoſe difdainful looks
with which all men regard an affaffin. You will bear
about with you every where the load of your re-
morfe, and the eternal ſhame of having refuſed to
fubmit
EXECUTION OF A CRIMINAL.
8 r
fubmit to that juft law which has condemned you.
Do juftice to fociety and condemn yourſelf *.
The criminal bowed his head; by which he de-
clared that he judged himſelf deferving of death†.
He immediately prepared to fubmit with conftancy
and with that refignation which, in our laſt moments,
is fo highly becoming of humanity. He was no
longer regarded as guilty; the body of paftors fur-
rounded him; the prelate taking off the bloody fhirt,
clothed him in a white veftment, which was the
token of his reconciliation with mankind, and gave
him
* They who are inveſted with a power that gives them au-
thority over mankind ought to take great heed how they treat
them merely according to their own demerits; they fhould
regard every criminal as a wretch more or lefs infane; they
fhould therefore treat them as beings, who, by fome uns
known cauſe, have been led out of the right path. Even
when the judge pronounces condemnation with majefty, he
fhould fecretly lament that he cannot fcreen the criminal
from puniſhment. To terrify vice by the moſt awful ap-
paratus of juſtice, and privately to reclaim the guilty, ſhould
be the two grand points of criminal jurifprudence.
+ Propitious confcience, thou equitable and ready judge,
be never abſent from me! Tell me conftantly that I cannot
do the leaſt injury to another without receiving the coun-
ter-ftroke; that I muft neceffarily wound myfelf, when I
wound another.
Agefilaus feeing a malefactor endure puniſhment with
unconcern, "O wicked man," he faid, "to make ſo bad a
uſe of fortitude.'
*
82
EXECUTION OF A CRIMINAL.
him the kifs of peace. His friends and relations
crowded to embrace him; he appeared fatisfied by
receiving their careffes, and by being vefted with
that garment which was a proof of the pardon he
received from his country. Thofe teftimonies of
friendſhip took from him the horrors of approaching
death. The prelate, advancing towards the people,
feized that moment to make a nervous and pathethic
difcourfe on the danger of paffion; it was fo elo-
quent, fo juft and affecting, that every heart was
filled with admiration and terror. Each one refolved
to watch carefully over his temper and to stifle thoſe
feeds of refentment, which increaſe in a manner un-
known to ourſelves, and foon produce the moſt un-
bridled paffions.
During this interval, a deputy from the fenate bore
the ſentence of death to the monarch, that he might
fign it with his own hand; for no one could be put
to death without his confent, as in him refided the
power of the ſword. That good father would gladly
have ſpared the life of the criminal*; but, in that
moment he facrificed the earneſt defire of his heart
to the neceffity of an exemplary juſtice.
The deputy returned. Then again the bells of
the city began their funeral tolls, the drums repeated
their
* I am forry that our kings have renounced that ancient
and wiſe cuſtom.. When they ſign ſo many papers why
ſhould they neglect one of the most auguſt privileges of
their crown?
}
EXECUTION OF A CRIMINAL.
83
their mournful march, and thofe deploring founds
meeting in the air with the groans of the numerous
people one would have thought that the city was on
the brink of an univerfal deftruction. The friends
and relations of the unfortunate man going to meet his
death, gave him the laft embrace; the prelate invoked
with a loud voice, the forgiveneſs of the Supreme
Being, and the vaulted roof of heaven refounded with
the fupplications of the whole people, who cried, with
one mighty voice, "O Almighty God, receive his foul!
O God of Mercy, forgive him, even as we forgive him!"
They conducted him, with flow fteps, to the cage
I have mentioned, ftill furrounded by his friends. Six
fufileers, their faces covered with crape, advanced;
the head of the fenate gave the ſignal, by holding
up the book of the law; they fired and the foul dif-
appeared. They took up the dead body. His
crime being fully expiated by his puniſhment, he was
again received into the clafs of citizens; his name,
that had been effaced, was infcribed again in the
public regiſter, with the names of thoſe who had died
the fame day. This people had not the cruelty to
purſue the memory of a man even to his tomb; and
to reflect on a whole innocent family the crime of an
individual;
I have frequently heard it debated, whether the per-
ſon of an executioner be infamous. I have always been
concerned when they have given it in his favour, and could
never have a refpećt for thoſe who ranked him with the
clafs of other citizens. I may be wrong, but fuch is may
⚫pinion.
84
EXECUTION OF A CRIMINAL.
individual*; they did not find pleaſure in diſhonour-
ing, without a cauſe, uſeful citizens, and make men
miferable, for the fatisfaction of making them hum-
ble. His body was carried to be burned without the
city, with his fellow-citizens, who, the preceding day,
had paid the inevitable debt to nature; his relations
had no other grief to encounter than that which
arofe from the lofs of a friend. The fame evening,
a place of truſt and honour becoming vacant, the
king conferred it on the brother of the criminal; and
every one applauded a choice that was dictated by
equity and beneficence.
""
With a heart full of tenderneſs and commiferation,
Ifaid, O, how is humanity reſpected among you!
The death of a citizen is the cauſe of univerſal mourn-
ing to his country." It is becauſe our laws," they
replied, are wife and humane; they are calculated
more for reformation than for chaſtiſement; the way
to intimidate vice is not to render puniſhment com-
mon, but formidable; it is our study to prevent
crimes; we fend the refractory to places of folitude,
where they are attended by thoſe who endeavour to
bring them to repentance, who operate by degrees
on their hardened hearts, and gradually difplay the
refined charms of virtue, to whofe attractions the
moft depraved of mortals are not infenfible. Does
the phyfician at the first attack of a violent fever
abandon
* Bafe and deſpicablé prejudice, that confounds all no-
tions of juſtice, is contrary to reaſon, and only calculated
for a weak or wicked people.
EXECUTION OF A CRIMINAL.
85
abandon his patient? Why, therefore, fhould we de-
fert the guilty who may yet be recovered? There
are few hearts fo corrupted, as not to be reftored by
perfeverance; and a little blood properly poured
forth, cements our tranquility and cur happinefs.
"Your penal laws were all made in favour of the
rich; all fell on the head of the poor; gold was be-
come the god of nations; edicts and gibbets furround-
ed all poffeffions; and tyranny, with fword in hand,
bartered the days, the fweat and blood of the unfor.
tunate; it made no diftinction in chaftifements, and
thereby taught the people to make none in crimes;
it puniſhed the leaft offence as the most infamous
villainy. What was the confequence? The multi-
plying of laws multiplied crimes, and the offenders
became as inhuman as their judges. Legiflation,
when it attempted to unite the members of fociety,
drew the bands fo tight as to throw it into convul-
ſions; and, inſtead of maintaining, deſtroyed the
connections; mournful humanity fent forth the cry
of grief, and faw too late, that the tortures of the
executioner never infpire virtue *
CHAP.
* When we examine the validity of that right which
human ſocieties have affumed of puniſhing with death, we
are terrified at the imperceptible point which ſeparates
equity from injuftice. It is to little purpofe here that we
accumulate arguments; all our lights ferve but to lead us
aſtray; we muſt return to the law of nature only, which has
far more regard than our inftitutions, for the life of a man;
I
that
[ 86 ]
CHAP. XVII,
NOT SO FAR OFF AS WE THOUGHT.
WE converfed a long time on this important
fubject; but as we became earnestly engaged, and
our debate wanted that ferenity which is fo neceffary
in an inquiry after truth, I thus bluntly interrupted
my
that teaches us, that the law of retaliation is, of all others,
the moſt conformable to right reafon. Ameng rifing go-
vernments, which have yet the fignature of nature, there
is fcarce any crime puniſhed with death In the cafe of
murder there is no doubt; for nature tells us that we ſhould
arm ourſelves againſt affaffins ; but in case of robbery, the
inhumanity of inflicting death is notorious; it is a puniſh-
ment that bears no proportion to the crime; and the voice
of millions of men, worshippers of gold, can never make
that authentic, which is in its nature invalid. It will be faid,
"The robber made a contract with me to be puniſhed with
death if he invaded my property;" but no man has a right
to make fuch a contract as it is unjuft, barbarous, and
fenſeleſs; unjuſt, as his life is not his own; barbarous, as
no proportion is obferved; and fenfelefs, as it is incompa-
rably more eligible that two men live, than that one of thern
fhould enjoy fome exclufive or fuperfluous property.
This note, fays the author, is taken from a good novel,
intitled The Vicar of Wakefield.
Notwithstanding what is here faid, this pofition certainly.
admits of doubt, at leaft. The ends of punishment are three;
to redress the injured, to reform the offender, and to deter
others,
NOT SO FAR OFF AS WE THOUGHT. 87
*
my learned companion: Tell me, I beseech you,
what is become of the Molinifts and Janfenifts? He
anſwered me with a loud burft of laughter; I could
get nothing else from him. But, pray, anfwer me,
I faid; here food the Capuchins, there the Cordeliers,
a little farther on the Carmelites. What is become
of thoſe frocked gentry, with their fandals, their
beards, and their difciplines?
A
"We no longer fatten, in our ftate," he replied,
"a fet of automatons, as troublefome to themfelves
as to others, who make a foolish vow never to be
men, and had no connection with thofe that are.
We thought them, however, more worthy of pity
than reproach. Engaged from the most tender age;
in à ſtate of which they were ignorant, it was the
laws that were culpable, in permitting them blindly
to proflitute that liberty of which they knew not the
value. Thofe réclule beings, whofe manfions of
retreat were erected with pomp in the midst of a tu-
multuous city, perceived, and gave themselves up
by degrees to the charms of fociety; when they be-
held happy fathers, united brethren, and tranquil
families, they regretted their not being able to parti-
(
cipate
others. Now, neither the murdered, nor his reprefentative,
can receive any redrefs from the death of the offender; and
with regard to the other two ends, I think it will appear, upon
a cloſe inſpection, that there are many continued puniſhments, ´´
without having recourfe to barbarities, that would be far more
efficacious We cannot be too cautious in dépriving our fellow-.
creatures, of that which God alous can give, and which, it
feems to me, he alone has the right to take away.
1 2
88 NOT SO FAR OFF AS WE THOUGHT.
cipate of that happiness. They fighed in fecret over
that fatal moment, when they abjured a life of all
others the most pleafing, and curfed each other like
galley-flaves at the oar*; while they longed for the
hour that should open their prifon doors. It was not
far diftant; the yoke was thrown off without danger
or difficulty; for the hour was then come: juft as we
fee the ripe fruit fall from the branch by the leaft
touch. Iffuing forth in crowds, with the higheſt
demonftrations of joy, they became, all flaves as they
had been, inſtantly men.
"Thofe robuft monks, in whom feemed to be
revived the vigour of the prifline ages of the world,
their
* All thofe religious houſes, where men are crowded to-
gether, teem with inteftine wars; they are ferpents that prey
upon each other in obfcurity. A monk is a cold and mo-
roſe animal; the ambition of advancing himſelf in his corps
makes him felfish; he has leiſure ſufficient to reflect on his
plan, and his concentered ambition has a gloomy turn;
when he once gets the command, he is by nature rough and
inexorable.
In matters of public adminiftration, there fhould be no
violent ſhock; nothing is more dangerous. Reaſon and
time produce the greatest events, and fix on them an inde-
lible ſtamp.
Luther, thundering with his fiery eloquence againſt the
monaftie vows, afferts, that it was as impoffible to keep
that of continence as to change our ſex¶.
There are how-
¶ Luther, it is like, judged from himſelf.
ever, great numbers of men, who, from an ill-natured conſtitu-
tion, are under no fort of temptation to break the vow of con
tinence from women.
NOT SO FAR OFF AS WE THOUGHT. 89
their fronts glowing with love and joy, efpoufed thofe
panting doves, thofe fanctified virgins, who, under
the monaftic veil, had more than once fighed for a
ftate lefs holy and more pleafing*; they performed ·
the devoirs of Hymen with an edifying fervour, and
fo
1)
the
1
* What a cruel fuperftition, to confine in a facred prifon
ſo many young beauties, who conceal all the fires permitted
to their fex, which an eternal confinement redoubles, and
even to the producing thofe conflicts they have with each
other. To have a juft fenfation of all the miſeries of a
heart that devours itſelf, we ſhould be in its place. Timid,
credulous, abuſed, intoxicated by a pompous enthuſiaſin,
a girl believes for a long time, that God and religion abforb
all her thoughts; in the midst of the tranfports of her zeal,
nature awakens in her heart that invincible, and to her
unknown, power, and makes her fubmit to its imperious
yoke. Theſe fires, once lighted up, make havock among
her fenfes; fhe burns in the calm of her retreat; he com-
bats, but her conftancy is overcome; the blushes and de.
fires; the looks round her, and finds herself furrounded
with infurmountable barriers, while all her being is carried
with violence toward an ideal object, that her heated ima-
gination has adorned with fresh charms. From that
moment, adieu repofe. She was born for a happy fertility;
an eternal chain confines her, and condemns her to fterility
and mifery. She then difcovers, that the law has deceived
her;
<<
As this paffage may appear obfcure, and as I know not
well how to make it more explicit, I fhall here give the words
of the original. Quelle cruelle fuperftition enchaine dans
une prifon facree tant des jeune beautés, qui recelent tous les
feux permis a leu fexe, que redouble encore une clôiture eter-
nelle, et jufqu'aux combats qu'elles fe livrent,"
→
I 3
90 NOT SO FAR OFF AS WE THOUGHT.
produced an offspring worthy of ſo fair a lineage;
their happy and rofy huſbands were no longer folici-
tous for the canonization of fome rotten bones; they
contented themſelves with being good fathers and
good citizens; and, I firmly believe, are as likely to
go to heaven after death, as if they had made a pur-
gatory of the prefent life.
""
"It is true, that, at the time it happened, this re-
formation appeared to the biſhop of Rome fomething
extraordinary; but he foon had ferious affairs of his
own to manage.' Who do you call the bishop of
Rome?" Him whom you called pope; but as I ob-
ferved before, we have changed many Gothic terms;
we no longer know what are canonicates, bulls, be-
nefices, and bishoprics of an immenfe revenue; we
do not go to kifs the flipper of the fucceffor of an
apoftle,
her; that the yoke which deſtroys liberty is not the yoke
of God? and that the religion, to which fhe is irrevocably
bound, is the enemy of nature and of reafon. But to what
purpoſe are her forrows and complaints? Her tears and her
fighs are loft in the filence of the night; the burning poiſon
that ferments in her veins deftroys her beauty, corrupts her
blood, and leads her, with precipitate fleps, to the grave;
glad thither to defcend, the opens herſelf the tomb, where
all her griefs are loft in peaceful Numbers.
* I cannot fee without horror, ecclefiaftic princes, fur-
rounded by all the pomp of luxury, fiile difdainfully at
public miſeries, and prefume to talk of morals and religion
in their dull mandates, wrote by fome curate's journey-
man, and which infult common fenfe with fcandalous ef-
frontery.
NOT SO FAR OFF AS WE THOUGHT
*
apoſtle, to whom his maſter gave no other examples
than thoſe of humility; and as that apoſtle recom-
mended poverty, as well by his example as his pre-
cept, we no longer fend our pure gold fo neceſſary to
the ſtate, to purchaſe indulgences, of which that good
magician was very liberal. All theſe matters gave
him at firſt ſome difguft; for we do not love to part
with our privileges, even though they be fomewhat
illegitimate; but he foon found that his true heritage
was in heaven; that his kingdom was not of this
world; and that all earthly riches were vanities, as
are all things beneath the fun.
"Time, whofe invifible and filent hand under-
mines the loftieft towers, has laid that fuperb and in-
credible monument of human credulity in the duſt*;
it fell without tumult; its ftrength was in opinion;
opinion changed, and all exhaled in fmicke. So we
fometimes behold nothing but a tranfient vapeur,
where late was feen a tremendous conflagration.
"A prince worthy to govern, rules over that part
of Italy, and that ancient Rome has again beheld her
Cæfars: by that word I refer to Titus and Marcus
Aurelius, not to thofe monsters who bore a human
face. That fine country is reanimated fince it has
been cleanſed from thoſe lazy vermin that throve in
filth.
* The mufti, among the Turks, extends his infallibility
even to hiftoric facts He thought proper, in the reign of
Amurat, to declare all thofe heretics who did not believe
that the fultan went into Hungary.
}
02
THE MINISTERS OF PEACE.
}
filth. That kingdom now holds its proper rank,
bears a lively and expreffive aſpect, after having
been wrapped up, for more than feventeen centu-
ries, in ridiculous and fuperftitious rags, which ftop-
ped its breath, and deprived it of all power of
utterance."
CHAP. XVIII.
THE MINISTERS OF PEACE.
PROCEED, thou charming inftructor! This
revolution, you ſay, was made in the moſt peaceful
and happy manner. "It was the work of philofo-
phy; it acted without noife, and, like nature, with a
force the more certain, as it was infenfible.”—But I
have many difficulties to propofe; there must be a reli-
gion." "Without doubt," he replied with warmth.
"Alas! where is the man fo ungrateful as to remain
dumb in the midſt of the miracles of creation, under
this brilliant firmament of heaven? We adore the
Supreme Being; but the worship we render him
caufes no diforder nor debate; we have but few mi-
niſters, and they are wife, experienced, and friends
to toleration; they are free from the ſpirit of faction,
and therefore more beloved and refpected; they are
only folicitous to lift up pure hands toward the
throne of the Father of mankind; they are be
neficent to all, in imitation of God, abundant in
goodness; the ſpirit of peace and concord animates
their
THE MINISTERS OF PEACE.
93
their actions as well as their precepts; they are there-
fore univerſally beloved. We have, moreover, a holy
prelate, who lives with his paftors, as with his bre-
thren, and his equals. Thefe functions are not aſ-
fumed by any, till they are forty years of age; for
not till then are the turbulent paffions at reft; and
reafon, fo flow in man, exerts its peaceful empire.
Their exemplary life diſplays the highest degree of
human virtue; it is they that comfort the afflicted;
that point out to the unhappy a merciful God, who
watches over them, and will one day recompence
their fufferings. They fearch out poverty when con-
cealed under the cloak of fhame, and adminiſter re-
lief without compelling it to bluſh; they reconcile
adverfe tempers by the words of gentleneſs and peace;
the most inveterate enemies embrace in their pre-
fence, and all the ulcers of their hearts become in-
ftantly healed. In a word, they fulfil all the duties
of men who prefume to ſpeak in the name of an
Eternal Mafter."
I am highly pleafed to hear of minifters like
thofe, I replied; but have you a fet of men peculiarly
confecrated to repeat at all hours of the day, with
a nalal twang, canticles, pfalms, and hymns? Does
any one among you aſpire to canonization? How
do you celebrate that rite? Who are your faints ?—
"Our faint! You doubtlefs mean thofe who pur-
fue the highest degree of perfection, who are elevated
above human weakness. Yes; we have men of that
celeſtial temper; but you will cafily believe that they
do not lead an obfcure and folitary life; that they do
not
94
THE MINISTERS OF PEACE
not make a merit of fafting, of chanting bad. Latin,
or of remaining dumb and flupid all their days; it is
in the fight of the world that they difplay the forti-
tude, the conftancy of their fouls; they charge them-
felves, by choice, with the most painful labours, and
fuch as are difguftful to other men; they think that
good and charitable works are to the Deity more
grateful than prayer alone.
If men, for example, are wanting to clean the
ftreets, or repair the highways, they readily offer
themſelves; they undertake the most dangerous as
well as the meanest employments, as to carry water
through the flames to extinguiſh a fire, and walk
over the burning planks; or to plunge into a river,
to fave the life of a man ready to perish, &c. Thefe
generous victims to the public good are filled, ani.
mated by an active ſpirit, by the grand and fublime
idea of being uſeful members of ſociety, and of alle-
viating the miſeries of others. They make a duty
of thefe occupations with as much pleaſure as if they
were perfectly eaſy and engaging; their actions are
altogether directed by humanity and the love of their
country, and never by ſelf-intereſt. Some conftantly
attend the bed of the fick, and adminifter relief;
while others defcend into the mines, and perform all
the laborious offices of thofe regions, fo that you
would take them to be flaves bowing under the iron
yoke of fome tyrant; but the deſign of their benefi-
cent fouls is to pleaſe the Eterual by ferving their
brethren. Infenfible to prefent miferies, they look
forward to that reward which God has in ftore for
them,
THE MINISTERS OF PEACE.
95
them, as they do not facrifice the pleaſures of this
world to a capricious bigotry, but to a real utility.
"It is needlefs to tell you that we refpeat them.
during their lives and after deaths; and as our
moit lively acknowledgments would be infufficient,
we leave it to the Author of all good to diſcharge,
that immenſe debt, being perfuaded that he alone
knows the juſt meaſure of merited rewards.
"Such are the faints that we venerate, without
fuppofing any thing more than that they have ex-
tended human nature, of which they are the glory,
to its higheſt perfection: they perform no other mi-
racles than thoſe I have mentioned. The martyrs to
Chriſtianity had certainly their merit; it was doubt-
lefs very commendable to brave the tyrants of the
mind; to fuffer the most horrible deaths, rather than
facrifice thofe fentiments that the head and the heart
had adopted. But how much more true greatneſs
is there in rendering ourfelves the perpetual bene-
factors to afflicted humanity, to dry up every tear,
and ſtop or prevent the effufion of a fingle drop of
blood * "
"Thefe
* A counſellor of parliament, in the last century, gave
all his fortune to the poor, and then went about begging
for them. He met a farmer-general in the ſtreet; he at-
tacked and followed him, faying, "Give me fomething for
my poor people, fomething for my poor people." The tax
gatherer refuſed, and replied in the ufual tone, "I have
nothing for them; Sir, I have nothing for them." The
counfellor
96
THE MINISTERS OF PEACE.
"Thefe wonderful men do not offer their manner
of living as a model to others; they do not glory in
their heroifin; they do not debafe themſelves to be
exalted by the public; and leaft of all do they rail
at the defects of their neighbours, but are much
more folicitous to procure them happy lives by their
innumerable labours. When one of thefe exalted fouls
rejoins that All-perfect Being, from whom it is an cnia-
nation, we do not encloſe the corpfe in a metal fill
more worthlefs; we write the hiſtory of his life, and
endeavour to imitate it at leaft in fome degree."-
The farther I advance, the more unexpected altera-
tions I perceive." You will yet fee many others.
If a great number of pens did not atteft the fame mat-
ters, we fhould certainly call in doubt the hiftory of
your age. Was it poffible? Could the fervants of
the altar be riotous, caballers, perfecutors? Could
a fet of miferable reptiles hate and perfecute each
other during the fhort ſpace of their lives, becauſe
they chanced to think differently, on certain vain fub-
tilties, or matters that are by their nature incompre-
henfible? Thofe weak wretches, it feems, had the
audacity to found the defigus of the Almighty, and
to make them quadrate with their ignorance, their
pride, and their folly.
"I have
Counſellor would not quit him; he argued and entreated;
he followed him quite to his hotel, and up to his apart-
ment, continually interceding for his poor people. The
brutal hoarder of millions, at laft enraged, gave him a
blow on the ear. "Very well," faid the counſellor, “that
is fomething for me and my poor people."
I
'
THE TEMPLE.
97
"I have read, that they who had the leaſt charity,
and confequently the leaft religion, were they that
preached to others; that the number of thoſe who
bore that lucrative habit, the pledge of a continued
idleneſs, was become incredible; and, to conclude,
that they lived in an infamous celibacy *. They fay,
moreover, that your churches reſembled the public
market-place; that they were equally offenfive to the
fight and the ſmell; and that your ceremonies were
calculated rather to diſtract the mind, than to elevate
it to God-But I hear the facred trump, whofe
pleaſing founds announce the hour of prayer. Come
with me, and behold our religion; let us go to the
neighbouring temple, and offer our thanks to the
Creator, for having once more beheld the tifing fun.
CHAP. XIX.
THE TEMPLE.
WE turned the corner of a treet, and I
perceived in the midſt of a ſpacious place a circular
temple crowned with a magnificent dome. This edi-
fice, fupported by a fingle range of columns, had four
grand portals; on the front of each was written,
The Temple of God. Time had already imprinted a
venerable
What a leprofy in a ſtate is a numerous clergy, that
make a public profeffion to know no wives but thoſe of
other men !
K
98
THE TEMPLE.
venerable complexion on its walls, from which it
received an additional majefty. When I arrived at
the door of this temple, what was my furpriſe, to
read the four following lines in large characters.
Loin de rein decider fur cet Etre Supréme
Gardons, en l'adorant, un filence profond;
Sa nature eft immenſe et l'esprit s'y confond;
Pour favoir ce qu'il eft, il faut etre lui-même.
In awful filence let us God adore,
"Nor ever dare his nature to explore;
To fearch thoſe boundleſs powers, by man were vain,
Which nought but boundleſs wiſdom can explain.
O, by the way, I faid in a low voice, you cannot
affert that this is of your age." It is no commen-
dation to yours," he replied, " for your theologians
fhould have stopped there." This reply, which feems
to have proceeded from the Divinity itfelf, has lain
confounded among verfes, of which very little ac-
count was made: I know, not, however, if there be
any more excellent, for the fenfe they contain; and,
I think, they are here very properly applied.
We followed the people, who, with thoughtful
looks, and tranquil, modeſt ſteps, advanced toward
the interior part of the temple. They all took their
feats, in turn, on rows of ſtools; the men feparate
from the women. The altar was in the centre; it
was totally unadorned, and each one could diftin-
guifh the priest who burned the incenfe. At the
moment he pronounced the facred hymns, the choir
of
THE TEMPLE.
99
of affiftants alternately elevated their voice; their
fweet and gentle founds expreffed the awful fenti-
ments of their hearts; they ſeemed filled with the
Divine Majefty. There were no paintings, no fta-
tues, no allegorical figures to be feen*; the facred
name of God, a thouſand times repeated, and in dif-
ferent languages, was fpread over all the walls; all
declared the unity of the Godhead; all foreign orna-
ments were rigoroufly baniſhed; in a word, God
alone poffeffed his temple.
When I lifted my eyes to the fummit of this tem-
ple, I faw the face of heaven; for the dome was not
covered with ftone, but the cleareſt glafs. Some-
times a ferene and lucid fky announced the compla.
cency of the Creator; fometimes dark clouds, that
poured down in torrents, recalled to the mind the
dark vale of life, and told us that this dull earth is
but a place of exile; the thunder announced, how
terrible is God, when offended; and the calm that
fucceeded to the flashing lightnings declared, that
contrition unarms his avenging hand; but when the
breath of ſpring poured down its balmy ſtreams, then
every heart was impreffed with that falutary and
comfortable truth, that the treafures of the divine
clemency are inexhaustible. Thus the feafons and
the elements, whofe voice is fo eloquent to thoſe who
can comprehend it, ſpoke to this difcerning people,
and
K 2
* The Proteftants are in the right; all thofe works of
men diſpoſe the people to idolatry. To exprefs an inviſible
and prefent Deity, the temple fhould contain him alone.
100
THE TEMPLE.
•
and difplayed to them the Author of the univerfe
under all his various relations *
There were here no difcordant founds; even the
voice of the infant was taught to join the majeſtic
choir; there was no profane or frifky mufic; the
organ alone, which was far from being clamorous,
was accompanied by the voice of the numerous peo-
ple, and feemed the fong of immortals, who joined
thefe public orifons; no one entered or went out du-
ring the time of prayer; no burly Swifs, no trouble-
fome beggar, interrupted the adoration of the faith-
ful fupplicants; the whole people were ſtruck with a
religious and profound awe; many lay proftrate, their
faces againſt the earth. In the midst of this univerfal
filent meditation, I was feized with a facred terror;
it feemed as if the Divinity had defcended into the
temple and filled it with his invifible prefence.
There were boxes to receive alms; but they were
placed in obfcure nooks. This people could perform
acts of charity without oftentation. During the time
of adoration, the filence was fo religioufly obferved,
that the fanctity of the place, joined to the idea of
the Supreme Being, pierced every heart with a pro-
found and affecting impreffion.
The
* A favage wandering through the woods, contemplating
heaven and earth, and diſcovering, ſo to ſay, the only Maſ-
ter that he knows, comes nearer to the true religion than
the Carthufian, buried in his cell, and converfing with none
but the phantoms of a heated imagination.
THE TEMPLE.
101
The exhortation of the paſtor to his flock was
fimple, natural, and eloquent; but more from the
matter than the ftyle. He talked of God only to
make him beloved by men, and to recommend hu-
manity, gentleneſs, and patience; he did not endea-
vour to diſplay his wit, when it was his buſineſs to
affect the heart; it was a father that converfed with
his children on thoſe matters that were moſt eligible
for them to purſue. Theſe precepts had the greater
effect, as they proceeded from the mouth of a man
whofe character was perfectly amiable. I could
never have been tired; for this difcourfe confifted
not of pompous declamation, or vague characters, or
far-fetched figures, and ſtill lefs of fcraps of poetry
mixed with the profe, by which it commonly be-
comes yet more infipid*.
"It is thus,” ſaid my guide," that every morn-
ing we make a public prayer; it laſts an hour, and
the reſt of the day the doors remain fhut. We have
fcarce any religious feafts; but we have thofe that
are civil, which relax the people without making
them
* What, in our preachers, gives me the greateſt diſguſt,
is, that they have no fixed principle with regard to morals ;
they draw their ideas from their text, and not from the
heart. To-day they are moderate and rational; to-mor-
row perfecutors and enthuſiaſts. They offer nothing but
words; and it is of little concern to thein whether they con-
tradict themſelves or not, provided they make out their
three points. I have heard one of them pillage-the Ency
clopedia, and declaim againſt the encyclopediaſts.,
K3
102
THE TEMPLE.
them licentious. On no day fhould man remain idle;
by the example of nature, which never quits its
operations, he ought never to reproach himfelf with
having been quite inactive. Repofe, however, is
not idleneſs. Total inaction is a real damage to our
country; and ceffation from labour is in fact a dimi-
nutive of death. The time determined for prayer is
fufficient to elevate the mind to God; long offices
produce inattention and difguft; and all private
prayers have lefs merit than thofe that excite the
public devotion.
"Let me recite to you the form of prayer uſed
among us. Every one repeats it, and meditates on
every fentiment it contains.
"Thou one, uncreated Being! the wife Creator
of this vaft univerfe! fince thy goodneſs hath preſented
it as a spectacle to man, fince fo weak a creature
hath received from thee the precious gift of reflecting
on this great and beautiful work, fuffer not, that after
the manner of the brute, he pafs over the furface of
this globe, without rendering homage to thy omni-
potence and thy wifdom. We extol thy glorious
works; we blefs thy fovereign hand; we adore thee
as our Judge; but we love thee as the univerfal
Father of beings. Yes, thy goodness is equal to
thy power; all things declare it; but, above all, our
own hearts. If fome tranfient evils here afflict us,
is is, doubtless, becauſe they are inevitable; more-
over, it is thy pleaſure, and that is to us fufficient;
We
THE TEMPLE.
103
we fubmit with confidence, and rely on thy infinite
goodneſs, far from complaining, we offer up our
thanks for thy having created us to know thee.
<<
'May every one adore thee after his own manner,
according to the moſt affectionate, and moſt animated
dictates of his heart. We do not wiſh to ſet bounds
to his zeal. Thou haft deigned to ſpeak to us by the
voice of nature only; all our devotion is confined
to the adoring of thee, in bleffing thy name, in cry-
ing toward thy throne, that we are weak, miferable,
limited creatures, and have for ever need of thy fup-
porting arm.
"If we deceive ourſelves, if any other worſhip,
ancient or modern, is more pleafing in thy fight than
ours, O vouchſafe to open our eyes, and diſſipate the
clouds that hang over our minds; we will faithfully
obey thy precepts. But if thou art fatisfied with this
feeble homage, which we know to be due to thy
power, and to thy truly paternal tenderneſs; give us
the conftancy to perſevere in theſe ſentiments of ado.
ration with which we are inflamed. Preferver of
human kind! thou, who with thy complacent re-
gards embraceft the whole human race, grant that
charity máy, in like manner, embrace the hearts of
all the inhabitants of this earth, that they may all
love like brethren, and pour forth to thee one fong
of love, adoration and thanfgiving!
"We do not prefume to pray for long life; whether
thou takeſt us from this earth, or permitteft us here
to
104
THE TEMPLE.
to remain, we ſhall never be abſent from thy fight;
we aſk for virtue only, left we ſhould offend againſt
thy impenetrable decrees; but humble and totally
refigned to thy will, vouchfafe, whether we pafs by a
gentle or painful death, vouchfafe to draw us toward
thee, the fource of eternal happineſs. Our hearts
pant after thy prefence. May this mortal veſtment
fall off, and may we fly to behold thy glory! What
we now ſee of thy greatneſs makes us long for a
more extenſive proſpect. Thou haft done too much
for man to refufe freedom to his thoughts; he
therefore offers up his ardent vows to thee, becauſe,
as thy creature, he knows himſelf born to receive thy
favours."
But, my dear Sir, I faid, your religion if you will
permit me to declare it, is, in a manner, the fame
with that of the ancient patriarchs, who adored God
in ſpirit and in truth, on the tops of the mountains.
"Right; you have juſtly expreffed it; our religion
is that of Enoch, of Elias, and Adam, and therefore,
is at leaſt the most ancient. It is with religion as
with laws; the moſt fimple are the beſt. Adore
God, love thy neighbour; hearken to that confcience,
that judge which continually attends thee; never
ftifle that fecret and celeftial voice; all the reſt is
impofture, fraud, falfhood*. Our priests do not
pretend to a particular inſpiration from God; they
call themſelves our equals; they acknowledge, that,
like
* Our Author cannot refrain from reflecting on the im
poſtures of the Romiſh church.
THE TEMPLE:
105
like us, they walk in darknefs; they follow, however,
that luminous point which God hath been pleaſed to
fet before us, and fhew it to their brethren without
defpotiſm, and without oftentation. Cheriſh a pure
morality, free from dogmatic principles, and you
will baniſh atheiſm, fanaticiſm, and fuperftition. We
have found this happy method, for which we return
our fincere thanks to the Author of every good.”
You adore a God; but do you admit of the im-
mortality of the foul? What is your opinion of that
great and impenetrable fecret? All philofophers have
endeavoured to refolve it; the wife man and the fool
have paſſed their judgment; fyſtems the moſt diver-
fified, the most poetic, have been erected on that
famous doctrine; it feems above all things to have
excited the attention of legiflators. What is the
opinion of your age concerning it?
"We need but look round us," he replied, "to
know that there is a God; we need but look into our-
felves to know that there is fomething within us, which
lives, which perceives, which thinks, which wills, and
determines. We believe that the foul is diſtinct from
matter, that it is intelligent by its nature. We reaſon
but little on this fubject; we love to believe all that
elevates human nature; the fyftem which exalts it
moſt is to us the moſt pleaſing; and we cannot think
that ideas which do honour to the creatures of the
Almighty God can ever be falfe. To adopt the
moſt ſublime plan is not to deceive ourſelves, but to
attain the true end. Incredulity is nothing but
weakneſs,
་
106
THE TEMPLE.
weaknefs, and boldnefs of thought is the faith of an
intelligent being. Why fhould we creep towards
inanity, when we find that we have wings by which
we can aſcend to the Moſt High, and when there is
nothing which contradicts that noble daring. If it
were poffible that we could deceive ourſelves, man
would have conceived of an order of things more
excellent than that which exifts; the fovereign power
would then become limited, I had almoſt faid his
goodnefs.
"We believe that all fouls are equal by their effence,
but different by their qualities. The foul of a man
and that of a brute are equally immaterial; but
one has advanced a step farther than the other
toward perfection; and it is that which conftitutes its
preſent ſtate, which, however, is at all times liable
to change.
虫
​"We fuppofe, moreover, that all the ftars and all
the planets are inhabited, but that nothing which is
contained in one is to be found in another. This
boundleſs magnificence, this infinite affemblage of
various worlds, this glorious circle of existence, feems
neceſſary in the vaft plan of creation. Thefe funs,
then, thefe worlds fo fair, fo grand, fo diverfified,
appear to us habitations all prepared for man; they
circulate, they correfpond, and are fubordinate to
each other. The human foul afcends to all thefe
worlds, as by a gradual and brilliant ladder, that
leads, at every ſtep, to the highest degree of perfec-
tion. In this journey it forgets nothing it has feen,
I
or
1
THE TEMPLE.
107
or has learnt; it preferves the magazine of its ideas,
which are its most valuable treafure, and by which
it is conftantly attended. When it launches forth
to fome fublime difcovery, it foars above the peopled
worlds already explored, and mounts in proportion
to the knowledge and virtue it has acquired. The
foul of Newton has flown, by its native vigour, over
all the worlds that it once weighed. It would be
unjuſt to ſuppoſe that death had power to extinguiſh
that mighty genius. Such a deftruction would be
more afflicting, more inconceivable, than that of the
whole material univerfe. It would be equally abfurd
to ſuppoſe, that his foul fhould be placed on a level
with that of an ignorant or ſtupid being. In fact, it
were to no purpoſe for a man to improve his mind,
if it were not capable of elevation, cither by con-
templation, or by the exercife of virtue: but an in-
ternal fenfe, more powerful than all objections, fays
to him, Exert all thy porvers, and defpife death; it de-
pends on thyself to conquer, and to augment thy life, which
is thought.
"For thoſe groveling fouls that are plunged in the
filth of vice, or of floth, they will return to the point
from whence they parted, or be yet more degraded;
they have been for a long time attached to the rueful
borders of inanity, have inclined toward fenfelefs
matter, and have forined a vile and brutal race;
while the generous fouls have foared toward the
divine and eternal light, they have plunged into
that darkneſs, where fcarce is feen one pale ray of
exiftence. A monarch, at his deccafe, becomes a
mole;
08
THE TEMPLE.
mole; a miniſter, a venomous ferpent, inhabiting
ſome filthy marfh; while the writer he difdained, or
rather could not comprehend, hath obtained a glo-
rious rank among intelligent beings, the friends of
humanity.
"Pythagoras difcovered this equality of fouls; he
difcerned the tranſmigration from one body to an-
other; but it was in the fame circle, and never ex-
tended beyond this globe. Our metempfychofis is
more rational, and fuperior to the ancient. To thoſe
noble and generous fouls, who have made the hap-
pineſs of their brethren the rule of their conduct, death
opens a glorious and brilliant career. What think
you of our ſyſtem ?"—I am charmed with it; it is in
no wife inconfiftent either with the power or goodneſs
of God. This progreffive march, this afcent to dif
ferent worlds, to the various revolving fpheres, all
the work of his hands, feems to me perfectly agree-
able to the dignity of that Sovereign, who lays open
all his dominions to the eye formed to furvey them.
"Yes, my brother," he replied, with rapture;
"what proſpect fo interefting as the fight of all thoſe
worlds, that will enrich our fouls with millions of
novelties, by which they will inceffantly advance
toward perfection, and become more fublime, in
proportion as they approach the Supreme Being;
will know him more perfectly, will love him with
more enlightened ardour, and at laft plunge into the
ocean of his immenſity. O my faul, rejoice thou
canſt not paſs but from wonder to wonder; a pro-
ſpect perpetually new, perpetually miraculous, at-
4
tends
THE TEMPLE.
109
tends thee. How great are thy hopes? Thou fhalt
run through the immenfe fcene of nature, till thou
art loft in God, from whom thou deriveſt thy lofty
origin." But the wicked, I faid, they who have
finned againſt the laws of nature, have fhut their
hearts againſt the cry of pity, that have murdered
the innocent, and reigned for themſelves alone, what
will become of them? Though I love not vengeance,
yet I could with my own hands erect a hell for the
puniſhment of certain inexorable fouls, who, by
pouring down tortures on the weak and the innocent,
have made my blood boil with indignation." It is
not for our weakneſs, conftantly fubordinate to fo
many paffions, to fay in what manner God will
punish them. This, however, is certain; the wicked
mufl feel the weight of justice; banifhed far from his
fight will be every perfidious and cruel being, and
all thofe that are indifferent to the misfortunes of
others. Never fhall the foul of Socrates, or Marcus
Aurelius rencounter that of Nero. This we may
venture to affirm; but it is not for us to fix the
weights that fhall enter the eternal balance. We
believe, however, that thofe crimes which have not
entirely obliterated the fentiments of humanity, that
the heart which is not become totally infenfible,
that even kings, who have not thought themſelves
Gods, may become purified, by improving their
matures during a long courfe of years; they will de.
fcend into thofe globes where phyfical evils predomi-
nating will be the ufeful fcourge to make them fenfible
of their dependence, and of the need they have of
clemency, and may ſerve to obliterate the prefliges
L
of
Iro
THE TEMPLE.
of their former pridc. If they humble themſelves
under the hand that corrects them, if they follow the
lights of reafon, if they become fenfible how far dif-
tant they are from the ſtate they might enjoy, if they
make fome efforts to obtain it, then their pilgrimage
will be greatly abridged; they will die in the prime
of life, and will be lamented; while, fmiling with
great complacency on their rueful habitation, they
will lament the lot of thoſe who are compelled to re-
main after them upon an unhappy planet, from
whence they are delivered. Thus it is, that they
who fear death know not what they fear; their ter-
rors are the offspring of their ignorance; and that
ignorance is the firſt puniſhment of their crimes.
"Perhaps too, the most criminal will be deprived
of the precious fenfation of liberty: they will not be
annihilated; for the idea of annihilation is repugnant
to the nature of the human foul: there can be no an-
nihilation under a creating, preſerving, and reſtoring
God. Let not the wicked man flatter himſelf with
that reſource, he will be for ever expofed to the all-
piercing eye; perfecutors of every kind will yet
wretchedly fubfift, but in the lowcft clafs of exift-
ence; they will be inceffantly fubject to freſh tortures,
that will renew their flavery and their miſery; but
the duration of their punishment God alone can de-
termine."
CHAP.
[ 11 ]
CHAP. XX.
THE
PRELATE.
THERE goes a living faint. That man
you fee in a plain purple robe, who fupports himſelf
by a ſtick, and whofe gait and afpect diſcover neither
oftentation nor affected modefty, is our prelate.".
How! your prelate on foot "Yes, in imitation of
the firſt apofles. They have, however, lately given
him a chair; but of that he makes no ufe, except
from abfolute neceffity. His revenue flows almoſt
entirely into the bofom of the poor; and when he
beſtows his donations, he does not firſt inquire if the
man be of his particular opinion; it is fufficient for
him that they are men, and that they are miſerable;
he is not opinionated, fanatic, inflexible, or perfecutive;
he does not abufe his facred authority to place him-
felf on a level with the throne; his afpect is con-
ftantly ferene, the image of a gentle, uniform, and
peaceful mind, that never knows warmth or folici-
tude, but in doing good. He frequently fays to
thoſe he meets, My friends, charity, as St. Paul fays,
'goes before faith; be beneficent, and you have ac-
complished the law. Reprove your neighbour, if
he err; but without pride, without bitterness. Per-
'fecute no man on account of belief; and take heed
how you prefer yourſelf, in the bottom of your
' heart, to him that you have feen commit a fault; for
to-morrow you will, perhaps be even more criminal.
،
L 2
<
• Preach
112
THE PRELATE.
<
Preach by example only. Reckon not among the
number of your enemies the man who difpofeth
abfolutely of his thoughts. Fanaticifm, in its cruel
'perfeverance, hath already cauſed too much evil,
not to be dreaded, and prevented, even in its leaft
appearances. That monfter feems at fift to flatter
human pride, and to aggrandife the foul to which
it hath accefs; but it foon hath recourfe to fraud,
'to perfidy, and to cruclty; it tramples under foot
every virtue, and becomes the most terrible ſcourge
to humanity.'
C
But who, I faid, is that magiflrate, with a venera-
ble port, that flops him, and with whom he con-
verfes with fo much friendship?" That is one of the
fathers of his country; he is the head of the fenate,
who takes our prelate to dine with him. During
their temperate and fhort repaft, frequent mention
will be made of the poor, the widow, and the or-
phan, and of the means of relieving their misfor
tunes. Such is the intereft that unites them, and
which they treat with the moft lively zcal; they never
enter into vain difcuffions of thofe antique and ludi-
crous prerogatives, which exercifed, in fo puerile a
manner, the grave heads of your times.”
CHAP.
[ 113 ]
CHAP. XXI.
THE COMMUNION OF THE TWO INFINITES..
BUT who is that young man that I fee ſur-
rounded by a bufy crowd? What joy is expreffed in
all his motions! How his vifage glows? What hap-
pineſs has befel him? From whence comes he?----
"He comes from being initiated," my guide gravely
replied; "though we have but few ceremonies, yet
we have one that anſwers to what in your time, they
called the first communion. We obſerve with a watch-
ful eye, the genius, the character, and moft fecret
actions of a young man. When we perceive that he
fearches out folitary places for reflection; when we
furpriſe him with a melting eye; gazing earneſtly on
the vaulted roof of heaven, contemplating, in a ſweet
ecftafy, the azure curtain that feems ready to be
drawn from before him, then there is no time to
lofe; then reafon appears to have attained its full
maturity, and he is become capable of receiving to
advantage a diſplay of the wonders of creation.
We make choice of a ferene night, when the ftarry
hoſt ſhine forth in their fulleft luftre. Accompanied
by his friends and relations, the young man is con-
ducted to our obfervatory; his eye is inftantly ap-
plied to a teleſcope* ; we caufe Saturn, Jupiter, Mars,
all
* The telefeope is the moral cannon that has laid in ruins
all thoſe ſuperſtitions and phantoms that tormented the hu-
L 3
man
114
THE COMMUNION OF
all the mighty bodies that float in order amidſt the
ethereal ſpace, to paſs before him; we open to him,
ſo to ſay, the infinite abyfs; all thoſe radiant globes
prefs in crowds upon his aſtoniſhed fight; then a ve-
nerable paftor fays to him, with an awful, majeſtic
voice, Young man, behold the God of the univerſe,
who reveals himself to thee in the midſt of his works;
adore the God of thefe worlds, whofe extenfive
power exceeds not only the fight of man, but even
his imagination; adore that Creator, whofe refplen-
dent majeſty is impreſſed on the front of theſe ſtars
that obey his laws. When thou beholdeſt theſe
'prodigies, the works of his hand, think with what
< bounty* he is able to reward the heart that is de-
voted to him. Remember, that among his ftu-
pendous
man race. It feems as if our reaſon has been enlarged in
proportion to the immeaſurable ſpace that has been diſco-
vered and traverſed by the fight.
Montefquieu fomewhere fays, that the pictures we
draw of hell are finiſhed; but that when we would ſpeak
of eternal happineſs, we know not what to promiſe the good
folks. This thought is an abuſe of that lively wit he ſome-
times applies improperly. Let any fenfible man reflect but
a moment on the number of keen and delicate pleaſures
that proceed from the mind. How far do they furpaſs thoſe
of the fenfes and what is the body without the mind?
What are our fenfations when we chance to fall into a pro-
• found and delicious reverie, where the imagination roves
without reſtraint, and creates to itſelf exquiſite and variega-
ted delights that have no reſemblance to any material plea-
fures? Why cannot the power of the Creator increaſe and
prolong
THE TWO INFINITIES.
115
<
'pendous works, man, endowed with the faculty of
perceiving and difcerning them, holds the firſt
'rank; and that, as the child of God, he ought to
venerate that refpectable title.'
The ſcene is then changed; a microſcope is brought,
and a new univerſe, more aſtoniſhing, more wonder-
ful than the former, is diſplayed before him. Thoſe
animated points that his eye for the first time be-
holds, that move in their inconceivable exility, and
are endowed with the fame organs as the giants of
the earth, preſent to him a new attribute of the in-
telligence of the Creator.
•
The paftor then proceeds in the fame tone: Feeble
beings as we are, placed between two infinities,
• oppreſſed on every fide by the force of the divine
'greatnefs, let us adore in filence the fame hand that
has illumined fo many funs, and impreffed with life
thefe imperceptible atoms. That fight, doubtless, ]
which has compofed the delicate ftructure of the
heart, the nerves, the minuteſt fibres of an emmet,
can eaſily penetrate the inmoſt receffes of our hearts.
• What thought fo hidden as to be concealed from
• that almighty eye, to which the lacteal way appears
no more than the horn of a mite? Let us render
our thoughts all worthy to be known by God, to
'whom
prolong that happy ſtate? Is not that ecſtaſy which fills the
foul of the juſt man, when meditating on his future ſtate,
a type of his future pleaſure, when the veil ſhall be taken
away, and he ſhall range over the vaſt plan of the univerſe,
116
THE COMMUNION OF
"
•
whom they are ever expofed. How oft in the
'courſe of the day, may the foul mount towards the
Supreme, and be ftrengthened by his prefence!
Alas! the whole courfe of our lives cannot be bet-
'ter employed than in forming, at the bottom of
our hearts, an eternal hymn of praiſe, and acts of
thankſgiving.'
"The young man remains agitated and aſtoniſhed
by the double impreffion that he receives almoſt at
the fame inſtant; he weeps with joy; he cannot fatisfy
his ardent curiofity; he is tranſported at every ad-
vance he makes in thefe two worlds; his words are
nothing but a long hymn of admiration; his heart
pants with ſurpriſe and awe. At theſe moments,
with what energy, with what fincerity does he adore
the Being of beings! How is he filled with the
divine preſence! How does the teleſcope extend,
ennoble his ideas, and render him worthy to be an
inhabitant of this wonderful univerfe? He is cured
of his terreſtrial ambition, and of the little hatreds
that it engenders; he refpects all men as animated
with the fame breath of life; he is the brother of all
that the Creator has formed *
"His glory, from that hour, is to reap in the hea-
ven ſtore of wonders; he appears to himſelf of more
confequence, fince he has been endowed with the ca-
pacity
They endeavoured to ridicule a faint, who faid, " Feed
on, thou ewe, my fifter; leap for joy, ye fifh that are my
brethren." This faint was much more eftinable than his
fellows; he was, indeed, a philoſopher.
C
THE TWO INFINITIES.
117
pacity of underſtanding theſe great truths; he fays
to himſelf, God is manifeſt to me; my eye has vifited
Saturn, the ftar Sirius, and thofe funs that crowd
the milky way; I find that my being is more noble
than I imagined, fince the Supreme has vouchfafed
to eſtabliſh a relation between my nihility and his
greatnefs. O how happy am I to have received
life and intelligence! I begin to fee what will be the
lot of the virtuous man. O moſt bountiful Godl
grant that I may eternally love and adore thee!
"He returns many times to feaſt on theſe ſublime
objects. From that day he is initiated to the rank
of thinking beings; but he religiously keeps the fc-
cret, that others, who have not yet attained the age
to enjoy ſuch prodigies, may feel the fame degree of
pleaſure and ſurpriſe. On the day confecrated to
the praiſe of the Creator, it is an affecting fight to
fee on our obfervatory the numerous adorers of God
falling on their knees, the eye applied to the telc-
fcope, and the fpirit in prayer, fending forth their
fouls with their fight, towards the Fabricator of theſe
ftupendous miracles*. We then fing certain hymns,
compofed in the vulgar tongue, by the firft writers.
of
* If to-morrow the finger of the Almighty fhould write
theſe words upon the clouds, in letters of fire, Mortals,
adore a God! doubtlefs, every one would fall on his knees.
in adoration. Alas! thoughtlefs, ftupid mortals! Is
neceffary that God fpeak to thee in French, Chineſe, or
Arabic? What are the innumerable ftars, rolling in va-
cuity, but facred characters intelligible to every eye, and
that manifeftly declare a God, who reveals himſelf to us?
118
THE COMMUNION OF
of our nation; they are in every mouth, and defcribe
the wisdom and munificence of the Divinity. We
cannot conceive how a whole people could formerly
invoke God in a language they did not underſtand:
that people muft either have been very abfurd, or
have burned with a moft devouring zeal.
"Frequently, among us, a young man, giving
way to his tranfports, expreffes to all the affembly
the fentiments with which his heart is filled *; he
communicates his enthufiafm to the moſt frigid tem-
pers; divine love inflames and invigorates his ex-
preffions. The Eternal then feems to defcend in the
midſt of us, to liften to his children, who entertain
each other with his facred cares and his paternal good-
nefs. Our philofophers and aftronomers are eager,
on thoſe days of feftivity to reveal their choiceſt diſ
coveries; as heralds of the Divinity, they make us
fenfible of his preſence, even in thoſe objects that ap.
pear to us the moſt inanimate. All things are filled
with God they fay, and all things reveal him †. We
there-
*When a young man is feized with the enthuſiaſm of
virtue, even though it fhould be falſe, or dangerous, we
fhould be cautious how we undeceive him. Leave him to
himſelf; he will diſcover his error. Should you endeavour
to correct him, you may, by one word, chance to deſtroy
his foul's health,
+ The exterior worſhip of the ancients confifted of feaſts,
of hymns, and dances, together with a very few doginas.
The Divinity was not regarded by them as a folitary being,
armed with thunder-bolts; he vouchfafed to communicate
-him-
THE TWO INFINITIES.
119
+
therefore doubt, whether, in all the extent of the
kingdom, it is poffible to find one atheift*. It is not
fear that keeps him filent; we ſhould think him too
much worthy of pity to inflict any other puniſhment
on him than ſhame; we ſhould only baniſh him from
amongſt us, if he became an enemy to the public
good, and obftinately determined to oppofe a palpa-
ble, comfortable, and falutary truth+; but firft we
fhould enjoin him to go through an affiduous courfe
of experimental phyfics. It would not be poffible
for him to oppoſe the evidence of that demonftrative
fcience; it has difcovered relations fo furprifing, fo
remote, and, at the fame time, fo fimple, when once
they are known; there are fo many accumulated won-
ders that lay hid in its bofom, and which are now
expofed to open day; in a word, nature is now fo
elucidated, even in its minuteft parts, that he who
fhould
himſelf, and to render his prefence vifible. They thought
they did him more honour by feafts than by tears and la-
mentation. The legiflature that is beſt acquainted with the
human heart will always lead it to virtue by the road of
pleafure.
* It is for the atheist to prove that the notion of a God
is contradictory, and that it is impoffible there ſhould be
fuch a being; it is the duty of him that denies to produce
his reafons.
+ When they tell me of the atheiſtic mandarins of China,
who preach the moſt admirable inorality, and devote them.
felves entirely to the public good, I will not give the lie to
the hiſtory, but I will fay, that of all things in the world, it
appears to me the moſt incredible.
I 20
THE COMMUNION OF
ſhould deny an intelligent. Creator would not only be
regarded as a ftupid wretch, but as a being totally
perverfe; and to find fuch a one among us would
be a cauſe of mourning to the whole nation*
"But, thank heaven! as no one in our city has
the miſerable folly to defire to diſtinguiſh himſelf by
notions that are extravagant, and diametrically op-
pofite to the univerſal judgment of mankind, we are
all of one opinion on that important point; and that
being fettled, you will readily believe, that principles
of the pureft morality are eaſily deduced, fupported,
as they are on that unſhaken bafist.
"They thought, in your age, that it was impoffible
to poffefs the people with a religion purely fpiritual;
that was a grievous error; many of your philofo-
phers reviled human nature on that falfe fuppofition.
The idea of a God devoid of every imperfection was
not, however, fo difficult to conceive. It is proper
to repeat here once more, That it is the foul that
perceives God.' Why fhould falfehood be more na-
tural to man than truth? It would have been fuffi.
cient for your age to have baniſhed thoſe impoftors
that trafficked in facred things, who pretended to be
mediators
* The omniprefence of a great and bountiful God enno-
bles the frame of nature, and ſpreads every where a certain
vivifying and animated air, which a ſceptic and defponding
doctrine can never give.
ተ
I fear God," ſaid a certain perfon; " and after God,
I fear none But the man who does not fear him."
2
THE TWO INFINITIES.
121
mediators between God and man, and who diffufed
prejudices even more vile than the gold by which
they were rewarded. In a word, idolatry, that an-
cient monſter, whom the painters, the ftatuaries, and
poets, have, to the misfortune and blinding of man-
kind, rivalled each other with deifying, has been
overthrown by our triumphant hands.
“That there is but one God, an uncreated fpiri-
tual Being, is the baſis of our religion. There need;
but one fun to enlighten the univerſe; there needs
but one luminous idea to enlighten human realon;
all thoſe foreign and factitious aids, with which they
would affift the mind, ferve only to confound its
they fometimes give it, we confefs, an energy that the
fimple truth does not always fhow; but that is a ſtate
of intoxication which becomes dangerous. A reli-
gious fpirit has produced fuperftition; particular
forms of adoration have been prefcribed; and the
liberty of mankind, being attacked in its moft valua-
ble privilege, has juftly revolted. We abhor that.
fort of tyranny; we afk nothing of the heart that it
does acknowledge; but is it poffible for any one to
oppoſe thoſe luminous and affecting impreffions that
are offered him merely for his own happineſs ?
"It is to offend against the infinitely perfect Being,
to calumniate human reaſon, or to repreſent it as an
uncertain and falfe guide. That divine law, which
fpeaks from one end of the world to the other, is far
preferable to all factitious religions invented by
prieſts, whofe fatal effects prove them to be falſe;
they form a tottering edifice that is in perpetual need
M
of
422
THE COMMUNION OF
A
of freſh props. The natural law is an unfhaken
tower, from whence iffue, not difcord, but peace,
and unanimity *. Thofe impoftors, who have made
God fpeak according to the particular paffions,
have caufed the moſt horrid actions to paſs for vir-
tues; and by proclaiming a barbarous God, thofe
wretches have driven many men of tender feelings
into atheiſm, who naturally became more defirous
of deſtroying the idea of a vindictive being, than of
diſplaying it to mankind†.
>
We
* The natural law, fo fimple and ſo pure, ſpeaks an uni-
form language to all nations; it is intelligible to every ſen-
fible being; it is not furrounded by fhadows and myſteries;
it is animated; it is graved on every heart in indelible cha-
racters; its decrees are fecure from the revolutions of the
earth, from the injuries of time, and from the caprice of
cuſtom; every virtuous man is one of its prieſts; errors and
vices are its victims; the univerfe is its temple; and God
is the only Divinity it adores. Theſe things have been faid
a thousand times; but it is good ſtill to repeat them. Yes,
morality is the only religion neceffary to man; when he is
rational, then he is religious; when he is ufeful, then he is
virtuous. Every man perceives, when he feriouſly exa-
mines his own heart, when he confiders his own fituation,
what he owes to himſelf and to others.
+ It is by crushing men by the weight of terrors, it is by
confounding their underſtanding, that moſt legiſlators have
made flaves, and have flattered themfelves with keeping
them eternally under their yoke. The hell that fome Chrif-
tians have imagined, is, without doubt, the moſt injurious
blafphemy that ever was offered to the divine juſtice and
.mercy. Evil ever makes a ftronger impreffion on men than
good;
THE TWO INFINITIES.
123
"We, on the contrary, it is on the goodneſs of
the Creator, fo manifeftly expreffed, that we elevate
our hearts towards him. The fhadows of this low
world, the tranfient evils that afflict us, even death
itſelf, cannot terrify us. All theſe are doubtlefs ufe-
ful, neceffary, and even tend to produce our greater
felicity. Our knowledge is bounded, and therefore
cannot comprehend the defigns of the, Omniscient.
If the whole univerſe were to paſs away, what ſhould
we fear, feeing, whatever happens, we muſt neceffa-
rily fall under the protection of God."
#
CHAP.
good; therefore, a malevolent divinity ftrikes the imagina
tion more ſtrongly, than one that is beneficent. For this
reafon it is that a gloomy, mournful afpect prevails in all
the religions of the world; they difpofe mankind to melan-
choly; the name of God perpetually renews in them a ſenſe
of terror. A filial confidence, a refpectful hope, would do.
far more honour to the Author of every good; and with
this genuine Chriftianity perfectly accords; it conveys no.
idea of puniſhment for wickedneſs but that of parental
chaftiſement, the object of which is to reform and fit the
ſufferer for felicity.
M 2
124 7
CHAP. XXII.
A REMARKABLE MONUMENT:
As I came out of the temple, they conducted
me to a place not far diftant, to fee a monument
lately erected. It was of marble; it excited my
curiofity, and infpired me with a defire to fee through
that veil of emblems with which it was furrounded.
They would not explain it; but left me the pleasure
and reputation of the difcovery.
A commanding figure attracted my regard; by the
fweet majelty of its countenance, by the dignity of
its ftature, and by the attributes of peace and con-
cord, I faw that it was facred Humanity. It was
furrounded by other kneeling ftatues, repreſenting
women in the attitude of grief and remorfe. Alas!
this emblem was not difficult to explain; they repre-
fented the nations demanding pardon of Humanity
for the cruel wounds they had given her during the
laft twenty centuries. France, on her knees, im.
plored pardon for the horrible night of St. Bartho-
lomew, for the cruel revocation of the edict of Nantes,
and for the perfecution of thofe fages that fprung
upon her bofom. How, with her gentle afpect,
could fhe ever commit fuch foul crimes! England
abjured her fanaticifm, her two rofes, and ſtretched
out her hand to philofophy; fhe promiſed to fled no
blood but that of tyrants*. Holland detented the
parties
* She has kept her word.
A REMARKABLE MONUMENT.
125
parties of Gomar and Arminius, and the puniſhment.
of the virtuous Barnevelt. Germany concealed her
haughty front, and faw with horror the hiftory of
her inteftine divifions, and of her frantic theologic
rage, that was fo remarkably contrafted by the
natural coldnefs of her conftitution. Poland beheld,
with indignation thofe defpicable confederates, who,
in my days, tore her entrails, and renewed the atro-
cities of the croifades: Spain, ftill more criminal
than her fifters, groaned at the thought of having
covered the new continent* with thirty-five millions
of carcafes, with having purfued the deplorable re-
mains of a thouſand nations into the depths of foreſts,
and into the caverns of rocks, and having taught
animals, lefs ferocious than themſelves, to drink
human blood. Spain may figh and fuplicate her fill,
but never ought to hope for pardon; the punishment
of ſo many wretches condemned to the mines ought
for ever to be urged againſt hert. The ftatuary had
reprefented
* The Europeans in the new world: what a book yet
unwrote!
+ When I think on thofe wretched beings who enjoy
nought of human nature but grief, buried alive in the en-
trails of the earth, fighing after that fun which they have.
had the misfortune once to fee, but thall never more be-
hold, who groan in their horrid dungeons each time they
breathe, and who know that they fhall never cfcape from,
that frightful night, but to enter into the eternal darkneſs.
of the grave; then a fhivering runs through all my frame,.
1.feem to defcend into their infernal regions, I breathe with,
M 3.
thena
126 A REMARKABLE MONUMENT.
repreſented ſeveral mutilated flaves, who, looking up
to heaven, cried for vengeance. We retired with
terror; we ſeemed to hear their cries. The figure of
Spain was compofed of a marble veined with blood;
and thoſe frightful ſtreaks are as indelible as the
the memory ofher crimes*.
She
At a diſtance, was feen the figure of Italy, the
original caufe of fo many evils, the firft fource of
thofe furies that have covered the two worlds.
was proftrate, her face againſt the earth; fhe ftifled
with her feet the flaming torch of excommunication;
fhe feemed fearful to folicit her pardon. I would
have examined her afpect more clofely; but, on a
near approach, I found a thunder-bolt that lately
fell had blackened her vifage and deftroyed all her
features.
Radiant Humanity raiſed her pathetic front amidſt
all theſe humble and humiliated figures. I remarked
that the ftatuary had given her the features of that
free and courageous nation, who broke the chains of
tyrants;
them the flench of the torches that illumine their hideous
dwellings; I fee that gold, the idol of mankind, in its true
afpect; and fomething tells me, that Providence ought to
attach to that metal, the fource of ſo many barbarities, the
chaſtiſement of thoſe innumerable evils that it cauſes, even
before it fees the day.
Twenty millions of men have fallen by the fword of
Spaniards, and the kingdom of Spain contains fcarce ſeven
millions.
A REMARKABLE MONUMENT.
127
tyrants; the hat of the great Tell* adorned her
head, and formed the moſt refpectable diadem that
ever bound the brows of a monarcht. She smiled
upon auguft Philofophy, her fifter, whofe pure hands
were ſpread towards heaven, by whom he was re-
garded with the higheſt complacency.
In going from this place, I obferved toward the
right, on a magnificent pedeſtal, the figure of a ne-
groe; his head was bare, his arm extended, his eye
fierce, his attitude noble and commanding; round
him were ſpread the broken relics of twenty fcep-
ters; and at his feet I read thefe words: To the
Avenger of the New World.
I cried out with furprife and joy." Yes," they
faid, with equal rapture; "nature has at laſt pro
duced
* William Tell, the famous Swifs, who was commanded
by Grifler, governor of Switzerland for the emperor Alber-
tus, to shoot an apple off his fon's head, ftanding at a con-
fiderable diſtance, which he did without hurting the child.
He was one of the principal perſons concerned in the revo-
lution which happened in that country, in the year 1307.
+ If Plato was to revifit the earth, he would certainly
regard with admiration the Helvetic republics. The Swifs
have excelled in that which conſtitutes the effence of a re-
public, which is, to preferve its own liberties without at-
tempting any thing againſt that of others. Good faith,
candour, a love of labour, an alliance with all nations, un-
known in hiſtory, ftrength and courage fupported in the
midſt of a profound peace, notwithstanding the difference
of religions, are what may ferve as a model to all nations,
and make them blush at their follies.
128 A REMARKABLE MONUMENT.
duced this wonderful man, this immortal man, who
was to deliver a world from the moſt outrageous,
the moſt inveterate and atrocious tyranny. His fa-
gacity, his valour, his patience, his fortitude, and vir-
tuous vengeance, have been rewarded; he has broke
aſunder the chains of all his countrymen. So vaſt a
number of flaves, oppreffed by the moſt odious fervi-
tude, ſeemed but to wait his fignal to become ſo many
heroes. Not the torrent that breaks the dykes, nor
the bursting thunder, have a more fudden, or more
violent effect. At the fame inſtant, they poured forth
the blood of all their tyrants; French, Spaniſh,
Engliſh, Dutch, and Portugueſe, all became a prey
to the fword, to fire, and poifon. The foil of America
drank with avidity that blood for which it had fo long
thirſted; and the bones of their anceſtors, cowardly
butchered, feem to rife up and leap for joy.
"The natives have reaffumed their unalienable
rights, as they were thoſe of nature. This heroic
avenger has given liberty to a world, of which he is
the titular deity; and the other world has decreed
him crowns and homages. He came like the ſtorm
which extends itſelf over ſome criminal city that the
thunder is ready to deſtroy; he was the exterminating
angel, to whom God refigned his fword of juſtice;
he has flown by this example, that fooner or later,
cruelty will be puniſhed; and that Providence keeps
in reſerve ſuch mighty fouls, to fend them upon the
earth, that they might reſtore that equilibrium which
the iniquity of ferocious ambition had deſtroyed*.
* This hero doubtlefs, would have fpared thofe generous
quakers, who have lately given their flaves their liberty ;
a mac.
[ 129 ]
CHAP. XXIII.
THE BREAD, THE WINE, &c.
I WAS fo pleafed with my conductor, that
I was fearful every inftant left he ſhould quit me.
The hour for dinner had been rung; as I was far
diftant from my lodging, and as all my acquaintance
were dead, I was looking out for fome tavern, where
I might civily invite him to dine, and acknowledge
his complaifance at leaft; but was continually at a
lofs, for we paffed through feveral ſtreets without
ſeeing one place of entertainment.
What is become, I faid, of all thofe taverns, all
thofe eating-houfes, that, united and divided in the
fame employ, were continually at variance with each
other*, that ſwarmed at every corner, and formerly
peopled
a memorable and affecting epoch, at which I ſhed tears of
joy, and that makes me deteſt thofe Chriflians who do not
imitate them."
*He that turns the fpit muft not lay the cloth, and he
that lays the cloth must not turn the fpit. It would be cu-
rious to examine the bye-laws of the feveral communities
of the good city of Paris. The parliament fat gravely for
feveral days, in order to fix the invariable rights of a roaſt-
ing cook.
A remarkable caufe of this kind has lately oc•
cured. The company of bookfellers of Paris pretend, that
the genius of a Montefquieu, a Corncille, &c. belongs of
right
130
THE BREAD, THE WINE, &c.
peopled the city?" That was one of the abuſes
your age fuffered to fubfift; they tolerated a mortal
fophiftication that killed the citizens when in perfect
health. The poor, that is to fay, three parts of the
town, not being able to procure the natural wines,
compelled by thirst, and by the neceffity of repairing
their exhaufted ftrength after labour, drank a flow,
poifon in that deteftable liquor, whofe daily uſe con-
cealed the perfidy; their nerves were weakened, their
entrails dried up. "What could you expect? The
duty was become fo exceffive, that it greatly furpaff-
ed the price of the commodity. One would have,
imagined that wine was forbid by the law, or that the
foil of France was become that of England. Of but
little confequence was it that a whole city was poiſon-
ed, provided the farmers of the taxes were able to
advance in their contracts every year*. The taxes
muſt
right to them; that whatever proceeds from the brain of a
philofopher forms a part of their patrimony; that all hu-
man learning, when once ftamped upon paper, becomes a
commodity in which no man has a right to deal but them-
felves; and that the author of the work can reap no fort
of advantage from it, but what they pleaſe to grant him.
Theſe extraordinary pretenſions have been publicly expoſed
in a printed memoir. M. Linguet, a man of letters, of
eloquence, and of a fruitful genius, has poured down ridi-
cule in great plenty on thofe ludicrous venders of books;
but, alas, the force of the ridicule falls on the wretched le-
giflation of the commerce of France.
* A peaſant had an aſs that carried panniers, which his
maſter filled with apples to the brim. The poor animal,
though
THE BREAD, THE WINE, &c.
131
muſt be raiſed, the price of wine muſt be enormouſly
enhanced, to fatisfy the horrible avarice of the far-
mer-general; and as the great people were not af-
fected by this feci et poifon, it was very indifferent to
them how fast the fcum of the earth difappeared, for
fo they called the labouring part of the nation.
"How was it poffible that they could willingly turn
their eyes from a murderous abuſe, and one that was
fo fatal to fociety? What! could they publicly fell
poifon in your city, and the magiftrate give himſelf
no concern about it? O barbarous people! Among
us, the crime of the cheating adulterator is capital; the
poiſoner would be put to death; but we have ſwept
away thoſe vile tax gatherers, who corrupted every
commodity they touched. Our wines arrive in the
public market as nature has formed, them, and the
citizen of Paris, rich or poor, drinks in a falutary li
quor,
though heavily loaden, trod on with obedient and patient
fteps. At a ſmall diſtance from his village, the clown faw
fome ripe apples that hung over the path. "O, ſays he,
you can carry thefe, as you carry the others fo well." The
afs, as patient as his mafter was rapacious, redoubled his
efforts, but his ftrength was unequal to his obedience. They
had not gone far before the clown faw an apple lie upon the
ground. “O, for this one, he ſaid, one can never make
any difference." The poor beaſt was unable to reply; but
his ftrength was exhaufted, he funk, and died under his
burden.
Now, the moral is this. The peaſant is the prince, and
the afs is the people: but they must be a very pacific, aſs-
like people indeed, who will fuffer themſelves to be cruſh.
edto death if they have any fpirit, they will die firft.
132
THE BREAD, THE WINE, &c.
quor, a health to his king, to the king that he loves,
and by whom he is both beloved and eſteemed.”-
And the bread, is that dear?" It is conftantly at
the fame price*; for we have wifely eſtabliſhed pub-
lic granaries, always full of corn, in cafe of necef-
fity; and which we do not imprudently fell to ftran-
gers, to buy it again twice as dear three months
after. They have balanced the intereſt of the grower
and the conſumer, and both have therein found their
account. Exportation is not forbid, as it is highly
ufeful; but it is confined to judicious bounds. A
man of ability and integrity watches over this equili-
brium, and ſhuts the ports, when it inclines too much
to one fide*. Befides, canals are now cut through
the
The best method to diminiſh the vices of a people is to
render them eafy and content. Neceffity begets three-
fourths of their crimes. The people, among whom reigns
plenty, are not peſtered with thieves or murderers. The
firſt maxim that a king fhould learn is, that the good man-
ners of a people depend upon a competency of provifions.
† We make the fineſt ſpeculations in the world; We
calculate, we write, we are immerfed in political ideas,
and never were errors fo multiplied. Common ſenſe
would certainly fet theſe matters in a much clearer light.
We are become barbarians and ſceptics, with the pretended
balance of reafon in our hands. Let us again become men.
It is the heart, and not the head, that forms great and gene-
rous actions. Henry IV. was the beſt of kings, not becauſe
he had more extenfive views than others, but becauſe
being fincerely the friend of man, his heart dictated thoſe
meaſures that fecured their happineſs. What an unhappy
age is that, when they only reaſon about it.
THE BREAD, THE WINE, &c. . 133
the kingdom; we have joined the Saon to the Mo-
felle and the Loire, and have thus formed a new
junction between the two feas infinitely more uſeful
than the ancient. Commerce ſpreads its treaſures
from Amſterdam to Nantes, and from Rouen to
Marfeilles; we have formed a canal in Provence,
which was wanted by that fine country, favoured by
the moſt benign regards of the fun. In vain, did a
zealous citizen offer you his difcoveries and his labour;
while you maintained a number of triffling workmen
at a great expence, you fuffered that great man to
attend for twenty years in a forced inactivity. In a
word, our lands are fo well cultivated, the rank of a
huſbandman is become fo reputable, and fuch order
and liberty reign throughout the country, that if any
man in power ſhould abuſe it, by committing a mo-
nopoly, juftice, who lifts her balance over the palace
of the king, would immediately bridle his temerity.
Juftice is no longer an empty name, as it was in your
age; her ſword defcends on every guilty head; and
examples of this fort fhould be calculated more to
intimidate the great than the common people, as they
are a hundred times more difpofed to fraud, to ra-
pine, and oppreffion of every kind."-Inform me
more particularly, I entreat you, of this important
matter. It feems you have adopted the prudent me-
thod of magazining your corn; that is wifely done;
you are thereby fure to prevent a public calamity.
My age committed grievous errors in this matter ;
they were ſkillful in calculations; but they never
made allowance for the horrid quantity of abuſes.
Writers, who had good defigns, fuppofed a juft re-
N
gulation,
134
THE BREAD, THE WINE, &c.
gulation, becauſe with that all things run on per.
fectly eaſy. O, how they argued about the famous
law of exportation*! and while they were bufied in
their fine difputations, how the people fuffered by
famine
* This famous law, which was to have been the ſignal of
public felicity, has been the ſignal of famine. It has de-
ftroyed the good effects of the most fruitful harveſts; it has
devoured the poor at the door of the granaries that cracked
with the weight of corn. A mortal fcourge, unknown to
the nation, has rendered its own foil a ftranger, and has
diſplayed the moſt horrid depravation of humanity; man
has ſhown himſelf the moſt cruel enemy to man. Terrible
example, and as dangerous as the fcourge itſelf In a
word, the law has confecrated private inhumanity. I am
very ready to ſuppoſe great benevolence in thoſe writers,
who have been the fupporters of this law; perhaps it may
one day do good; but it must be eternally reproached with
having caufed, though undefignedly, the death of thoufands
of men, and the miferies of thoſe that death has fpared.
They were too precipitate; they forefaw all, except the
avarice of man, fo ftrongly excited by that dangerous al-
lurement. It is a fyphon (as M. Linguet has emphatically
expreſſed it) that has been put into the hands of commerce,
and by which it has fucked out the ſubſtance of the people.
The public clamour ſhould take place of the public gazettes.
We have heard the cries of grief; therefore the inftitution
As bad. That the evil proceeds from a local caufe is no
argument; it ſhould be foreſeen and prevented; it ſhould
be remembered, that an article of the utmoft neceffity ought
not to be abandoned to fortuitous events; that fo great a
novelty, in a vaft kingdom, would give it a ſhock that
would certainly opprefs the weakest part. The pecono-
mifts, however, promifed themſelves the contrary. They
muſt avow, that they have been miſled, even by a delire to
ferve
THE BREAD, THE WINE, &c.
135
famine! "Thank Providence who has watched over
this kingdom, or you would have fed on the grafs
of the field; but it had pity on you, and pardoned
you, becauſe you knew not what you did. How
prolific is error!
"There is one profeffion, which is common to al-
moſt all the inhabitants, which is that of agriculture,
taken
1
ſerve the public; that they had not fufficiently matured
their project; that they had confidered it feparately only,
whereas in the political economy all things are connected.
It is not fufficient to be calculators; they fhould be ſtateſ-
men; they ſhould confider what will be deſtroyed or altered
by the paffions, and what effect the weight of the rich will
have on the poor. They have confidered the object from
three points of view only, and have omitted that which was
of the utmoſt importance, that which related to the labour-
ing part of the people, and who compofe three fourths of
the nation. The price of their daily labour is not increaſed,
and the avarice of the farmers-general holds them in a ſtill
greater dependence; they are not able to appeaſe the cries
of their children by redoubling their labours. The dear-
nefs of bread has been the thermometer of other proviſions,
and each private perfon has found himſelf lefs rich by one
half. This law, therefore, has only ferved as a ſcreen to
increaſe legally the most horrid monopolies; it has been
turned against the nation whom it was to have made flou
rifh. Sigh, writers and though you have followed the
generous notions of a heart truly patriotic, learn how dan-
gerous it is not to know your age and mankind, and to give
thein a wholeſome gift which they may turn into a poiſon.
It remains for you now to comfort the fick, to point out
their remedy, and, if it be poffible, to fave them from de-
ftruction. Hic labor, hoc opus..
t
N 2
136
THE BREAD, THE WINE, &c.
taken in its fullest extent. The women, as weak, are
deſtined to cares purely domeftic, never laboured the
land; their hands prepared the wool, the flax, &c.
Man would bluſh to load them with any laborious
employ.
"Three things are held in peculiar honour among
us; to be the father of a child, to cultivate a field,
and to build a houſe. The culture of the land is
alſo moderate; the huſbandman does not toil from
early dawn till after fun-fet, bear all the heat of the
day, and exhaufted fink, imploring in vain a ſmall
portion of what fprings from the labour of his hands.
Can there be a deſtiny more diftrefsful, more horrid,
than that of the poor peafant, who finds his labours
continually increafing, and fills with groans the fhort
fpace of his days? What flavery is not preferable to
the eternal ſtruggle againſt thofe vile tyrants who
continually pillage their huts, by impofing taxes on
extreme indigence? The excess of contempt, with
which they are treated, makes them infenfible even
to deſpair; and, in his deplorable condition, the op.
preffed, degraded villager, while he ploughs the heavy
land, bows down his head, and finds no difference
between himſelf and his ox.
"Our fertile plains refound with fongs of joy; the
father of each family fets the example: the taſk is
eaſy; and when it is done, joy begins; the intervals
of repofe render their labour more vigorous; and
it is conſtantly attended by ſports or rural dances.
Formerly, they went to the towns in fearch of plea-
fure;
THE BREAD, THE WINE, &c.
137
fure; now they find it in the villages, where each
one bears a ſmiling vifage. Labour has no longer
an ugly and forbidding aſpect, as it no longer refem-
bles flavery; a gentle voice invites them to their du-
ty, and all becomes eafy, and even agreeable. In
fhort, as we have not that number of idle fubjects,
which, like ftagnating humours, impedes the circula-
tion of the body politic, each individual has time for
pleafing amuſement, and no one rank is cruſhed to
fupport another.
"You will eaſily conceive, therefore, that having
no monks, nor prieſts, nor numerous domeſtics, nor
uſeleſs valets, nor workmen employed in childiſh lux-
uries, a few hours of labour are fufficient for the
public wants. Our lands produce plenteous crops of
every kind; what is fuperfluous we fend to foreign-
ers, and receive in return other commodities.
"You will find our markets abundant in all things
neceffary to life; pulfe, fruits, fowls, fish, &c. The
rich do not, by their extravagance, oppreſs the poor;
far from us is the fear of not having a fufficiency;
we never practice the infatiable avidity of procuring
three times more than we can confume; we regard
diffipation with horror.
"If nature, during one year, treats us with rigour,
the fcarcity does not coft the lives of thoufands; the
granaries are opened, and the wife precautions of
man, ſoftens the inclemency of the air and the wrath.
of heaven. A food that is meagre, dry, badly pre-
N3
pared,
138
THE BREAD, THE WINE, &c.
pared, and of unwholeſome juices, does not enter the
ftomach of the man accuſtomed to hard labour; the
rich do not ſeparate the fineſt flour, and leave to
others the bran only; fuch an outrage would be re-
garded as a fhameful crime; if we fhould know that
a fingle man languiſhed for want, we fhould all re-
gard ourſelves as culpable; every man would lament
his crime with tears.
"The pooreft fubject, therefore, is free from all
apprehenfions of want; famine, like a threatning
fpectre, does not call the labourer from his ftraw,
while he is drowning Eis griefs for a few minutes in
fleep. He rifes without forrowfully regarding the
dawning day. When he would appeafe the fenfa-
tions of hunger, he is not fearful of conveying, with
his food, poifon into his veins.
"They who are in poffeffion of riches employ them
in making new and uſeful experiments; fuch as ferve
more clearly to inveſtigate a ſcience, or carry an art
toward perfection; they erect majeſtic edifices; they
are diſtinguiſhed by honourable enterprizes; their
fortune does not flow into the lap of a foul concu.
bine, or upon an iniquitous táble, where roll three
dice; their wealth takes a form, a confiftence that is
refpectable in the pleafed eyes of the citizens. The
darts of envy, therefore, never attack their poffef-
fions; we bleſs thofe generous hands, which, as de-
pofitaries of the gifts of Providence, have fulfilled
its views, by erecting fuch useful monuments.
"But
THE BREAD, THE WINE, &c.
139
But when we confider the wealthy of your age,
the ſcavengers' carts, I think, did not contain matter
more vile than their fouls; gold in their hands, baſe-
nefs in their hearts, they formed a kind of confpiracy
against the poor; they rioted in the labour, the care,
and pains of a numerous, unfortunate people; they
regarded with unconcern the ſweat of their brows,
and thoſe terrors that made them fee an old age
abandoned to want; their violence became juſtice;
the laws were only exerted to ſanctify their robberies,
As a fire deſtroys all that is near it, ſo they deſtroyed
all that joined to their lands; and if they were rob-
bed but of an apple, they raiſed inceffant clamours,
and death alone could expiate fo enormous a crime."
-What could I reply? I held down my head; and
falling into a profound reverie, I walked concentered
in my thoughts." You will have other fubjects for
reflection," ſaid my guide; "remark (as your eyes
are fixed on the ground) that the blood of animals
does not flow in the ſtreets and awake the idea of
carnage; the air is freed from that cadaverous fcent,
which engendered fo many diſeaſes. A clean ap-
pearance is the most certain fign of public order and
harmony; it reigns in every part. From a falutary,
and I will venture to fay, moral precaution, we have
eſtabliſhed ſlaughter-houſes out of the town.
If na-
ture has condemned us to eat the fleſh of animals,
we ſhould at leaſt ſpare ourſelves the fight of their
death. The trade of a butcher is followed by fo.
reigners driven from their country, they are protected
by the law; but we do not rank them in the claſs of
citizens; no one of us exerciſes that fanguinary and
cruel
140
THE PRINCE A PUBLICAN.
:
cruel art; we are fearful left it ſhould infenfibly ac-
cuſtom our brethren to loſe the natural impreffion
of pity, which, you know, is the moſt amiable and
moſt worthy prefent nature has given us*.
CHAP. XXIV.
THE PRINCE A PUBLICAN.
"YOU are defirous to dine," ſaid my
guide; "for the walk has procured you an appetite.
Very well; let us enter this public houſe."-I ftop-
ped fhort. You do not obferve, I faid, this is fome
nobleman's gate; there are his arms; it is a prince
that lives here." Aye, certainly, he is a prince;
for he always keeps three open tables; one for him-
felf and his family, another for ftrangers, and a third
for the neceffitous."-Are there many fuch tables
kept in town." Yes, by all the princes."You
muft then have a great number of idle parafites."-
"Not at all; for when any one makes a practice of
**
*
it,
* The Banians eat nothing that has had life; they are
even fearful of killing the leaft infect; they throw rice and
beans into the river, and grain upon the earth for the nou
rishment of the fish and birds. When they meet a hunter
or fifher, they pray him earneſtly to defift from his enter-
prize; and if he be deaf to their prayers, they offer him
money for his gun or nets; and if that will not do, they
trouble the waters, and cry with all their ftrength to drive
away the birds. Hiftory of Voyages.
THE PRINCE A PUBLICAN.
141
it, and is not a ſtranger, he is marked; the cenfors
of the city inquire into his abilities, and affign him an
employment; or if he be found fit for nothing but
to eat, he is banifhed the city, as in the republic of
bees, they drive all thoſe from the hive who are only
able to confume the common ſtock."-You have then
cenfors?" Yes; or they rather merit another name;
they are monitors that bear about the torch of reaſon,
and cure indocile or rebellious fpirits, by employing
fometimes the eloquence of the heart, and fometimes
gentleness and addreſs.
«Theſe tables are intended for the aged, the fick,
teeming women, orphans, and ſtrangers. Every one
fits down without ſhame, and without heſitation;
they there find a wholeſome, light, and plentiful re-
paſt. This prince, who refpects humanity, does not
diſplay a luxury as offenfive as it is faftuous; he does
not employ three hundred men in providing a din-
ner for twelve perſons; his table does not repreſent
the decorations of an opera; he does not glory in
what is a real diſgrace, in a fenfelefs, monftrous pro-
fufion*; when he dines, it is fufficient that he has
an appetite; he thinks, it would be to make a god
of himself, to have a hundred difhes ferved up to
him,
* When we fee the print of Gargantua, that has a mouth
as large as an oven, and fwallows at one meal twelve hun-
dred pounds of bread, twenty oxen, a hundred ſheep, fix
hundred fowls, fifteen hundred hares, two thouſand quails,
a thouſand barrels of wine, fix thouſand peaches, &c. &c.
&c. who does not fay, "That is the mouth of a king?”
142
THE PRINCE A PUBLICAN.
him, which, like the ancient idols he could not
taſte."
While we were converfing, we croſſed two courts,
and entered a very long hall, which was that for
strangers. One table, already ferved in feveral
places, ran the whole length of the hall. They
honoured my great age with an armed chair; they
gave us a nouriſhing foup, fome pulfe, a few wild
fowl, and fome fruit, all plainly dreffed*.
This, I faid, is admirable. O, how excellently
are riches employed, when they feed the hungry! I
find this way of thinking far more noble, and more
worthy of their rank..... All paffed with the greateſt
order; a decent and animated converfation gave an
additional pleaſure to this public table. The prince.
appeared; he gave his orders on one fide and the
other, in a noble and affable manner; he came
finiling to me, and inquired about the age I lived
in; he conjured me to be fincere. Alas! I faid,
your diſtant anceſtors were not fo generous as you
are; they paffed their days in hunting
and at
table;
* 1 have ſeen a king, entering the hotel of a prince,
through a large court filled with wretches, who cried, with
a languiſhing voice, "Give us fome bread?" and after
hearing their cries, without making any reply, the king and
the prince have fat down to a dinner that coſt near a milliou
of livres.
Į
* The chace ſhould be regarded as an ignoble, wretched
diverfion; we ſhould never kill any animals but from necef-
fity;
}
THE PRINCE A PUBLICAN.'
143
table; if they killed hares, it was from idleneſs, and
not to feed thoſe who had fed them; they never
raiſed their minds to any great and uſeful work; they
expended millions in dogs and valets, in herfes and
flatterers. In a word, they followed the trade
of courtiers; they abandoned the cauſe of their
country.
Every one lifted up his hands in amazement: I
had the greateſt difficulty to make them believe it.-
"Hiſtory," they faid, “does not tell us this; on the
the contrary" Ah! I replied, the hiftorians
were ſtill more criminal than the princes. -
CHAP.
fity; and of all employments, it is furely the moſt ungrate
ful. I always read with a repeated attention what Mon-
taigne, Rouſſeau, and other philoſophers have wrote on
the chace. I love thofe good Indians who refpect even the
blood of animals. The natural difpofitions of men are
painted in the fort of pleatures they purfue; and what a
wretched pleaſure to bring down a bloody partridge from
the air! to maffacre a number of hares under their feet! to
follow twenty howling dogs, and fee them tear a poor ani
mal! He is weak, he is innocent, he is timidity itſelf; a
free inhabitant of the foreft, he falls into the cruel jaws of
his enemies, while man purfues, and pierces his heart with
a javelin; the barbarian fmiles to fee his beauteous fides
befmeared with blood, and the fruitles tears ftream from
his eyes.
A diverfion like this must take its fource from a
heart naturally infenfible; and the character of a hunter is
that of an indifference prompt to change into cruelty.
!
[ 144 ]
CHAP. XXV.
THE THEATRE.
AFTER dinner, they propofed going to the
play. I always loved the theatre, and ſhall love it
a thouſand years hence, if I fhould live fo long. My
heart bounded with joy. What play is it? Which
of all your dramas is reckoned the mafter-piece by
the people? Shall I fee the Perfian, Grecian, Ronian,
or French dress? Will they dethrone fome ſtupid
tyrant, or ftab fome weak unguarded wretch? Shall
I fee a confpiracy or fome ghoſt aſcend from the
tomb at the found of thunder? But, gentlemen, have
you any good actors? they have been at all times
as fcarce as great poets." Why, yes, they take
pains; they ftudy; they fuffer themſelves to be in-
ftructed by the beft authors, that they may not
wretchedly murder the fenfe; they are docile, though
lefs illiterate than thofe of your day. You could
fcarce, they fay, produce one tolerable actor or
actreſs; the reft were all worthy of the booths on the
Boulevards*. You had a ſmall miferable theatre in
a city that rivalled Rome and Athens; and that
theatre was miferably governed. The comedian, to
whom
*The Boulevards are a part of the ancient ramparts of
Paris, which in the fummer months are lined with a great
number of coffee and mufic houſes, puppet fhews, conjurers,
wild beasts, rope dancers, and every other kind of low
diverfion.
I
THE THEATRE.
145
1
whom a fortune was given that he was far from
meriting, had the infolent pride to haraſs the man
of genius, who found himſelf obliged to refign to
him his long-laboured piece*. Thefe men did
not bluſh to refufe, or play with regret, the beſt
dramas, while thofe they received with rapture
bore, by that very teftimony, the marks of fudden
reprobation. To conclude, our actors do not intereſt
the public with the quarrels of their dirty, miferable
barn.
"We have four theatres, in the middle of the four
quarters of the city. They are fupported by the
government; for they are made public fchools of
taſte and morality. We have difcovered all that
influence which the afcendency of genius has over
fenfible
* In France, the government is monarchical and the
theatre republican. By their prefent manner of proceed-
ing, the dramatic art will not be foon brought to perfection.
I will venture to affirm, that every piece of any excellence
will be profcribed by the government. Authors write
tragedies on antique fubjects; we muſt have romances, and
not reprefentations capable of affecting and inftructing the
nation; lull us with fome old ſtory of a cock and a bull; but
do not deſcribe modern events, and leaft of all fuch men as
now exist.
¶ There are no managers, or at leaſt ſeparate proprietors,
at either of the theatres of Paris. The whole company make
onc body, and divide the profits among them.
ነ
}
146
THE THEATRE.
fenfible minds*. Genius has produced the most
wonderful effects, without labour and without vio-
lence. It is in the hands of the great poets that are
depofited, fo to fay, the hearts of their fellow-citi-
zens, and which they modify after their own pleaſure.
How criminal are they, when they produce dan-
gerous principles! but how fhort is our moft lively
acknowledgment, when they combat vice and ſupport
humanity! Our dramatic authors have no other
view than the improvement of human nature; they
all ſtrive to elevate and ftrengthen the mind, and to
render
-
*At the fair, and on the ramparts, they give the people
pieces that are grofs, ridiculous, and obfcene, when it were
ſo eaſy to give them fich as are elegant, pleaſing, inſtructive,
and adapted to their capacities; but it is of little concern to
thofe that govern, whether the body be poiſoned at the
public houſe, by adulterated wine poured into pewter
veſſels, or the mind corrupted at the fair by wretched farces.
If the leſſons for theft that are given by the buffoon Nicolet,
and which are regarded as ſtrokes of wit, are followed, a
gibbet is preſently erected. There is even a ſentence of the
police that expreſsly condemns the people to fee licentious
exhibitions, and that forbids the players of the Boulevards
to perform any thing that is rational, and that out of re-
gard to the refpectable privileges of the king's comedians.
It is in a polite age; it was in the year 1767, that this ſen-
tence was publiſhed. With what contempt do they treat
the poor people! How is their inſtruction neglected, as
if there were reaſon to fear their acquiring any juſt lights!
It is true, that, in return, they cull, with the greateſt
nicety, the verſes that are to be pronounced on the French
theatre.
2
THE THEATRE.
147
render it independent and virtuous. The good citi-
zens themſelves ready and affiduous in promoting
thofe chef-d'oeuvres that affect, intereft, and en,
dow the heart with that falutary emotion that dif
poſes it to compaffion; the characteristic of true
greatnefs*.
"We arrived at a ſpacious place, in the midſt of
which was fituate an edifice of a majeſtic compofition.
On the top of the front were placed ſeveral allego-
rical figures. On the right was Thalia, plucking off
the maſk with which vice had covered her viſage,
and with her finger pointing to her deformity. On
the left, Melpomene, armed with a poignard, opened
the breaft of a tyrant, and expoſed to every eye the
ferpents that devoured his heart.
The infide of the theatre formed an advanced femi-
circle; fo that the fpectators were all commodiously
diftributed. Every one was feated; and when I re-
collected,
*What force, what effect, what certain triumph, would
not our theatre have, if government, inſtead of regarding -
it as an afylum for idlers, would confider it as the ſchool
of virtue and of the duties of a citizen! But what have men
of the greateſt genius amongſt us done? they have taken
their fubjects from the Greeks, the Romans, Perfians,
&c. they have preſented us with foreign, or rather factitious
manners. Harmonious poets, faithlefs painters, they have
drawn ideal pictures; with their heroes, their tumid verſes,
their monotony of paffions, and their five acts, they have
depraved the dramatic art; which is nothing more than a
fimple, faithful, animated painting of the manners of our
cotemporaries.
148
THE THEATRE.
collected the fatigue I had formerly fuffered to fee a
play, I found this people more prudent, more atten-
tive to the convenience of their fellow-citizens; they
had not the infolent avidity to cram in more perfons
than the houſe would conveniently hold; there were
fome places always left empty for ftrangers; the
company was brilliant; the ladies were elegantly
dreffed, and decently difpofed.
The performance opened with a fymphony adapt-
ed to the piece that was to be reprefented. Are we
at the opera? I exclaimed; this mufic is fublime.-
"We have found the mean of uniting, without con-
fufion, the two exhibitions in one, or rather of re-
viving the alliance of poetry and mufic that was
formed by the ancients. During the interacts of our
dramas, they entertain the audience with animated
fongs, that paint the fentiments, and difpofe the
mind for the enjoyment of what is going to be offer-
ed. Far from us is banifhed all effeminate, capricious,
or noify mufic, that ſpeaks not to the heart. Your
opera was a grotefque, monftrous compofition. We
have referved all of it that was good. In your own
time it was far from being fecure from the juſt re-
proach of men of ſenſe and taſte*; but now..
As he faid thefe words, the curtain rofe. The
fcene was at Touloufe; I faw its capitol, its magif
trates,
* The opera cannot but be very dangerous; but there
is no ſpectacle fo expenſive to government: it is even the
only one about which it is intereſted.
THE THEATRE.
14J
trates, the judges, the executioner, and the fanatic
people. The family of the unfortunate Calas ap-
peared, and drew tears from my eyes. The old man
came forward with his hoary locks, his tranquil
firmness, his gentle heroifm: I faw the fatal deſtiny
mark his innocent head with all the appearance of
criminality. What moſt affected me was the truth
that ran through this drama. They had been very
cautions not to disfigure this pathetic fubject by im-
probabilities, or by the monotony of our rhiming
verfes; the poet, in following the steps of this cruel
event, had attached himſelf to thofe incidents only
which the deplorable fituation of each victim pro-
duced, or rather he had borrowed their language;
for all the art confifts in faithfully repeating the voice
of nature. At the end of the tragedy, they pointed
me out: "There is the man," they faid, "who was
cotemporary to that unhappy age; he heard the cries
of the unbridled populace, excited by this David!
He was a witnefs to the fury of that abfurd fanati
cifm!"-I wrapped myſelf up in my cloak; I hid
my face, while I bluſhed for the age in which I was
born. They gave out for the next day, the tragedy
of Cromwell, or the Death of Charles I.* and all
the people appeared highly pleafed. "That piece,"
they faid, "was a chef-d'oeuvre; the caufe of kings
and of the people, had never been reprefented with
that force, that eloquence, and truth. Cromwell
was
* On what are you dreaming, tragedians? While fuch
a fubject offers itfelf, you tell us about Perfians and Greeks;
you give us romances in rhime; ah! give us Cromwell.
0 3
150
THE THEATRE.
was an avenger, a hero worthy of the fceptre he
caufed to fall from the hand of one that was perfi-
dious and criminal towards the ſtate. Kings," ſaid
they," whoſe hearts are diſpoſed to injuſtice, can
never read that drama without blanching their
haughty fronts."
They announced for the fecond piece, The Hunt
ing-Match of Henry IV. His name is conſtantly
adored; future good kings have not been able to ef-
face his memory. This piece does not ſhow that
the man disfigures the hero. The conqueror of the
league never appeared to me fo great as at that in-
ſtant, when, to fave trouble to his hofts, his victorious
arm bore a pile of difhes. The people clapped their
hands with tranſport; and by applauding the great
and beneficent mind of that monarch, they heaped
commendations on their own king.
I came away highly fatisfied. Thefe actors, Ifaid
to my guide, are excellent; they have fouls, they
feel, they exprefs; they have nothing conftrained, af-
fected, gigantic, or outré; even the very affiſtants
perform their parts; in fact, that is extraordinary.-
"It is," he replied, "on the theatre as in common
life; every one places his glory in acting well his
part, which, how low foever it may be, becomes
honourable to him who therein excells. Declamation
is regarded as an estimable and important art by our
government. Heirs of your capital works, we perform
them to a perfection that would aſtoniſh you; we know
how to do honour to that which genius has traced.
O, what
THE THEATRE.
151
O, what art is more pleaſing than that which paints
all the combinations of fentiments by the looks, the
voice, and the gefture! What an harmonious and
affecting whole! and what energy does it borrow
from fimplicity!"-You have then diveſted yourſelves
of great prejudices? I doubt whether you regard
the profeffion of a comedian as baſe." It has ceaſed
to be fo, fince they have been men of principle.
There are prejudices that are dangerous, and others
that are uſeful. In your time, it was doubtless prò-
per to bridle that feducing and dangerous difpofition,
that led youth to a profeffion, of which licentiouſneſs
was the baſis. But all is changed; wife regulations,
by making the players forget themſelves, has enabled
them to recover the path to honour; they are en-
tered into the clafs of citizens. But lately our pre-
late befought the king to give the embroidered hat
to a comedian by whom he had been remarkably
affected."-How! does your good prelate go to the
play?" Why not, fince the theatre is become the
ſchool of manners, of virtue, and fentiment? They
write, that the father of the Chriſtians amuſed him-
felf highly, in the temple of God, with liftening to
the equivocal voices of mutilated wretches; we never
hear fuch deplorable accents; they muft afflict at once
the ear and the heart. How was it poffible for men
to liſten to fuch cruel mufic? It is far inore eligible,
I think, to fee the admirable tragedy of Mahomet
performed, where the heart of an ambitious villain
is laid bare, where the furies of fanaticiſm are ſo ener-
getically expreffed, as to make uninſtructed ſouls that
have any difpofition to it, tremble.
冷
​"There
15%
THE THEATRE.
"There goes the paftor of this quarter, who, as he
returns, is reafoning with his children on the tragedy
of Calas. He enlightens their underſtanding and
their tafte; he abhors fanaticism; and when he thinks
on that foul rage, which like an epidemic diftemper,
defolated one half of Europe for twelve centuries, he
thanks heaven for having arrived fo late in the world.
At certain times of the year, we enjoy a pleaſure,
which to you was abfolutely unknown; we have re-
vived the pantomime art, ſo pleaſing to the ancients.
How many organs has nature given to man! and
how many refources has that intelligent being to
exprefs the almoſt infinite number of hi.. fenfations!
All is countenance with theſe eloquent men; they
talk as clearly to us with their fingers as you can'
with your tongue. Hippocrates formerly faid, that
the pulfe difcovered a ruling Deity. Our expert
pantomimes fhew what magnificence Providence has
ufed in forming the human head."O, I have nothing
to fay; all is perfection!"How is that? Much
yet remains to be done ere we attain perfection. We
are freed from that barbarifm in which you was
plunged; fome heads were foon enlightened; but
the nation in general was inconfequent and puerile ;
it is by degrees that minds are formed; more remains
to be done than we have yet accomplished we are
fcarce yet half-way up the ladder; patience and refig-
nation produce all things; but much I fear, that
abſolute good is not of this world. It is, however,
by conftantly pursuing it, I imagine, that we are en-
abled to render matters, at leaft, tolerable."
CHAP.
[ 153 ]
CHAP. XXVI.
THE LAMPS.
WE came out of the theatre without trouble
or confuſion; the paffages were numerous and con-
venient. I beheld the streets perfectly light; the
lamps were placed against the walls; and their
united luftre left no fhade; nor did they caft a re-
verberated glare that was dangerous to the fight;
the opticians did not promote the intereft of the ocu-
lifts. I faw not at any corner thofe proſtitutes, who,
with their feet in the kennel, their painted faces,
and looks as bold as their geftures, invited the paffen-
ger in a brutal ftile, to an entertainment as infipid
as grofs. All thofe places of debauchery, where men
went to degrade their nature, and to make themſelves
contemptible in their own eyes, were no longer tole-.
rated; for every vicious inftitution has its fellow;
they are all connected; unhappily for man, there is
no truth better proved than this that is fo fatal*.
I obferved
It is a great misfortune to any city to be pestered with
a number of prostitutes; the youth exhauft their ftrength,
or perish in a bafe or criminal debauchery; or when totally
enervated, they marry, and fuffer their young deluded
wives to languiſh by their fides; as Colardeau fays. "They
reſemble thoſe mournful lights that burn by the dead, but
are unable to warm their aſhes.”
Semblables a ce's flambeaux, a ces lugubres feux,
Qui brulent prés des mort, fans echauffer leur cendre.
154
THE LAMPS.
I obferved that there were guards who preferved
the public fecurity, and prevented any one from dif
turbing the hours of repofe." You there fee," ſaid
my guide, "the only fort of foldiers for which we
have any occafion ; we have no devouring army to
maintain in time of peace. Thoſe maſtiffs, which we
formerly nouriſhed, that they might, when command-
ed, fly upon the ftranger, were well nigh devouring
the children of the houſe; but the torch of war, once
extinguiſhed, will never more be relumined; the
fovereigns of the earth have deigned to hear the
voice of philofophy *; connected by the ſtrongeſt
bands,
* Charles XII, was in the hands of a goverpor void of
ability; he mounts the throne, at an age when we are full
of fenfations, and thofe that make the first impreffions ap-
pear immutable truths; every idea feems good, becauſe
we know not which to prefer. In this pernicious ſtate of
activity and ignorance, he reads Quintus Curtius; he there
fees the character of a conquering monarch pompously de-
fcribed and propoſed as a model, which he adopts; he no
longer finds any thing but war that can make a prince. il-
luftrious; he arms; he advances; fome fuccefs confirms
him in his flattering paffion; he lays wafte countries, de-
ftroys cities, ravages provinces and ſtates, breaks down
thrones; he immortalizes his folly and his vanity. Sup-
pofe that he had been taught in early youth, that a king
fhould aim at nothing but the peace and profperity of his
fubjects; that his true glory confifts in their love; that a
peaceful heroiſm, which ſupports the laws and the arts, far
out-weighs a warlike heroiſm; fuppoſe, in ſhort, that they
had given him juft ideas of that tacit covenant which a peq-
ple neceffarily make with their king; that they had point-
ed
THE LAMPS.
155
bands, by thofe of intereft, which they have difco-
vered after fo many ages of error; reafon has taken
poffeffion of their minds; they have attentively con-
fidered that duty which the health and tranquility
of their people impofes on them; they place their
glory in good government, preferring the pleaſure
of making a ſmall number happy to the frantic am-
bition of ruling over countries defolated, or filled with
ulcerated hearts, to whom the power of a conqueror
muſt for ever be odious. Theſe kings, by common
confent, have fixed bounds to their dominions, and
fuch as nature itſelf ſeems to have affigned, in fepa-
rating them by feas, by foreſts, or mountains; they
have learned that a kingdom of but ſmall extent is
fufceptible of the beſt form of government. The
fages of each nation dictated the general treaty, and
it was confirmed by an unanimous voice; that which
an age of iron, and dirt, and that which a man
without virtue called the dream of a pedant, has
been realized among the moft enlightened and dif-
cerning of mankind. Thofe ancient prejudices,
not lefs dangerous, that divided men on account of
their belief, are alfo aboliſhed. We regard all men
as our friends and brethren. The Indian and the
Chineſe
ed out to him the conquerors blafted by the tears of their
cotemporaries, and by the hatred of pofterity: his innate
love of glory would have been carried toward uſeful ob-
jects; he would have employed his abilities in poliſhing his
people and eſtabliſhing their happinefs; he would not have
ravaged Poland, but have governed Sweden. Thus, one falſe
idea, taking poffeffion of the mind of a monarch, carries
him away from his true intereft, and is the caufe of mifery
to millions of people.
156
THE LAMPS.
Chineſe are our countrymen, when they once fet foot
on our land. We teach our children to regard all
mankind as compofing one and the fame family, af
ſembled under the eye of one common father. This
manner of thinking muſt be the best, becauſe it has
prevailed with inconceivable rapidity. Excellent
works, wrote by men of fublime genius, have ferved
as fo many torches to illumine a thouſand others.
Men, by encreaſing their knowledge, have learned to
love and eſteem each other. The Engliſh, as our
nearest neighbours, are become our intimate allies;
two generous people no longer hate each other by
foolishly efpoufing the private animofities of their
rulers. Our learning and arts unite us in a commu
nication equally advantageous. The English, for
example, full of reflection, have improved the French,
who abound in levity; and we Frenchmen have diſ-
fipated furpriſingly the melancholy humour of the
English; thus the mutual exchange has produced a
fruitful fource of conveniences, of pleaſures, and of
new ideas, happily received and adopted. It is
printing that, by enlightening mankind, has pro-
duced this grand revolution."
*
I sprung
* It has another excellence; it is the formidable bridle
to arbitrary power, by making public its leaft encroach-
ments, by fuffering nothing to be concealed, and by eter-
nizing the vices and even the weakneſs of kings. One re-
markable act of injuftice is by this means echoed through.
all the nations of the earth, and roufes every free and fen-
fible mind. The friend to virtue will cheriſh this art; but
the bad man muft tremble, when he fees the preſs ready to
publifh his iniquities to all ages and all nations.
THE FUNERAL.
157
་ I fprung with joy to embrace the man who told
me theſe gladfome tidings. O heaven! I cried with
tranfport, then mankind are at laft become worthy
of thy regard; they have diſcovered that their
real ſtrength is in their union. I fhall die content,
fince my eyes now behold what they have fo ardently
defired. How fweet it is when we abandon life, to
be furrounded by happy mortals who meet each
other like brothers, who, after a long voyage, are
going to rejoin the author of their days!
CHAP. XXVII.
THE FUNERAL.
I SAW a carriage covered with white cloth,
preceded by inftruments of mufic, and crowned with
triumphant palms. It was conducted by men clothed
in light blue, with laurels in their hands.-What car-,
riage is that? I faid." It is the chariot of victory,”
they replied. "They that have quitted this life;
that have triumphed over human miferies, thofe hap-
py men that have rejoined the fupreme Being, the
fource of all good, are regarded as conquerors; we
hold them as facred; we bear their bodies with re-
fpect to the place that is to be their eternal refidence.
We fing the hymn on the contempt of death. In-
ftead of thofe grim fculls that crowned your tombs,
you here will fee heads with a ſmiling air; it is witla
P
that
་་
}
158
THE FUNERAL.
that afpect we regard death. No one weeps over the
infenfible aſhes. We weep for ourfelves; not for
them. We conſtantly adore the hand of Providence,
that has taken them from the world. As we must
fubmit to the irrevocable law of nature, why fhould
we not freely embrace that peaceful ſtate, which can-
not but improve our being *.
This corpfe is going to be reduced to aſhes at three
miles from the city; furnaces conftantly burning
for that purpoſe, confume our mortal remains.
Two dukes and a prince are encloſed in that chariot
with a common citizen. By death all are levelled;
and we then restore that equality which nature has
obſerved among her children. This wife cuſtom di-
miniſhes, in the minds of the people, the dread of
death, at the fame time that it humbles the pride of
the great. They then are only great in proportion
to their virtue; the reft, dignities, riches, honours,
are all effaced. The corruptible matter that com-
pofed their bodies is not them; it goes to be mixt
with the afhes of their equals; we annex no other
idea to the perishable carcafe.
We erect no pompous tombs, decorated with falfe,
tumid, and puerile epitaphst. Our kings, after their
deceaſe,
He that is in great fear of death, if he be not of a con-
ftitution remarkably timorous, is certainly a bad man.
+ O death, I blefs thy power! It is thou that felleft the
tyrants of the earth; that bridleft cruelty and ambition';
it
THE FUNERAL.
159
deceaſe, do not fill their fpacious palaces with an
imaginary terror; they are no more flattered at their
deaths than during their lives. When they leave the
earth, their icy hands do not fnatch from us a part
of our fubfiftence; they die without involving a city'
in ruin*.
L
To prevent all accidents, no dead body is removed
till the vifitor has fixed on it the feal of death. This
vifitor is a man of known ability, who remarks, at
the fame time, the age, fex, and the difeafe of the
deceased; they print in the public papers the name
of the phyfician by whom he was attended. If in
the book of reflection, that each man, as I have faid,
leaves at his death, there be any thing truly great or
uſeful, they are felected and publiſhed, and that is
the only funeral oration in ufe amongst us.
It
it is thou that layeft in the duft thofe that the world had
flattered, and that treated mankind with contempt; they
fall, and we breathe. Without thee our miferies would be
eternal. O, death! Who holdeft in awe the inexorable
and the triumphant, who pierceft the guilty fouls with ter-
ror; thou hope of the unfortunate; at length extend thy
arm over the perfecutors of my country. And you, de-
vouring infects, that people the fepulchres, our friends, our
avengers, come in crowds to receive the carcafes of thoſe
that have fattened by their crimes.
* To that funeral pomp which oftentationfly conveys a
king to an obſcure cavern, to thofe mournful ceremonics,
to thoſe numerous emblems of public grief, of univerſal
mourning, what is there wanting-One fincere tear.
P 2
1160
THE FUNERAL.
•
T
It is a falutary belief received amongst us, that the
ſpirit has the liberty of frequenting thofe places that
were dear to it; that it delights in beholding thoſe it
loved; that it hangs in filence over their heads, con-
templating the lively forrow of friendship; that it
does not lofe that fympathy, that tenderne fs which
formerly united it to fenfible hearts; that it finds a
pleaſure in their prefence, and in protecting them
from thoſe dangers that ſurround their tender frames.
Theſe benign manes correfpond to your guardian
angels. This opinion ſo pleaſing and confolatory, in-
fpires us with a confidence, as well in undertaking as
executing, that was unknown to you; who, far, from
enjoying thefe delightful conceptions, filled your ima
ginations with gloomy and frightful chimeras.
You can eaſily perceive with what a profound ve-
neration fuch an opinion inſpires a young man, who
having lately loft his father, believes that he is ftill a
witneſs of his moft fecret actions. He talks to him
in folitude; he becomes animated by that awful pre-
fence which enjoins him to virtuous actions; and if
he finds himself tempted to evil, he fays, " My father
fees me! My father hears me!"
The young man dries up, his tears, becauſe the hor-
rible idea of inanity does not afflict his foul; it feems
to
* An opinion like this fhould feem fuperfluous to him
who knows, that the great Father of the univerfe is per-
petually preſent to all his actions; but, alas, the human
mind feems incapable of retaining that great idea for any
long time together.
THE FUNERAL.
161
to him that the ſhades of his anceſtors only wait for
his coming that they may advance together toward
the eternal abode. And who can deny himſelf the
hopes of immortality! Were it even an illufion,
would it not be pleaſing and awful to us?
I think it will not he improper to add here the following
reflections, as they correfpond with the preceding chapter, and
may ferve to explain it. They are in the manner of Young,
though compofed in French.
AN ECLIPSE OF THE MOON.
(It is a Solitary that ſpeaks.)
I INHABIT a ſmall country houſe, that contributes
not a little to my happineſs. It has two different
profpects. One is extended over fertile plains, where
grows that precious grain that is the nourishment of
man. The other, more confined, prefents the laſt
afylum of the human race; the term that bounds its
pride; a narrow ſpace, where the hand of death lays
up, with equal care, its peaceful victims.
The profpect of this cemetry far from producing
gloomy ideas, the children of a vulgar terror, roufes
in my mind wiſe and uſeful reflections. There I no
longer hear the tumult of the town, which confounds
the mind. Attended by none but auguft melancholy,
I am filled with important objects. I look, with an
eye, ferene and immoveable, on that tomb where
man fceps to rife again; when he fhall acknowledge
P 3
the
162
AN ECLIPSE OF THE MOON.
the munificence of nature, and juftify the eternal
Wiſdom.
The pompous glare of day to me feems dull; I
wait the dawn of night, and that fweet obfcurity,
which lending its charms to filence, aids the foaring
of fublimeft thought. Then, while the bird of night
fending forth a mournful cry, beats the thick dark-
nefs with her heavy wing, I feize my lyre. All hail!
majeſtic fhades! while from my eyes you hide the
tranfient fcenes of this low world, to nobler fights.
exalt my foul; let me behold that radiant throne,
where fits refplendent Truth!
My ear purſues the folitary bird; foon fhe fettles
on the fcattered bones; and with her beating wing
rolls, with a hollow found, that fcull where lately
dwelt ambition, pride, and projects bold and vain.
'T'hen to fome cold ftone fhe flies, where oftentation
graved thofe names that time hath quite effaced;
and then to poverty's fair hillock, crowned with
flowers.
Duft of proud man! that never more fhall fee this
earth, to empty titles dareft thou ftill pretend? O
miferable pride in death's domain! See, where the
coffin, with its threefold fides, forbids the moulder-
ing bones to mingle with their kindred duſt.
Approach, proud mortal! to yonder tombs direct
thy fight. Say, what imports a name to that which
knows no name! A falfe epitaph expofes to the day
that
AN ECLIPSE OF THE MOON.
163
that wretched praife, which were far better in ob-
livion's fhade concealed; even as the gaudy ftreamer
for a moment floats, and then the veffel follows, by
the waves devoured.
O! far more happy he, that not vain pyramids
hath built, but in the path of honour and of virtue
conftant trod. He joyful looks to heaven; and when
this fragile frame diffolves, where fwarms of pains
diſtract the immortal foul, he gladly meets that
ftroke, which fills the finner with difmay. By oft re-
flecting on the bright example of the expiring juft,
we alfo learn to die.
He dies, the juft man dies: he fees thoſe tears that
not for him, but for ourſelves we fhed. His brethren
furround the mournful bed: Of thoſe delightful
truths they talk, with which his foul was filled, and
of that Power Divine to him revealed fo clear. The
immortal curtain feemed to rife before his dying
fight. .... He raiſed his radiant head, ftretched forth
his friendly hand, he ſmiled, and then expired.
But thou, vile finner! thou who in fuccefsful vil-
lainy haſt lived, far different thy end fhall be, thou
horrid tyrant! Then agonizing, pale, to thee ſhall
death prefent a dreadful aſpect; of his bitter cup
ſhalt thou drink deep, drink in all its horrors. Thou
canſt not lift thy eyes to heaven, nor fix them on the
earth; for well thou knoweft that both renounce,
that both reject thee. Expire in terrors, that thou
mayeft no longer live in hatred!
That
164
AN ECLIPSE OF THE MOON.
That moment dire, which turns the finner pale,
the good man placid views; to nature's fixed decrees
he tranquil yields; theſe tombs regards as veffels
formed to purge, by fire, the purer gold from every
drofs; the mortal frame diffolves, and to the bliſsful
regions flies the foul refined. Then why regard with
dread thofe cold remains that once confined the foul?
They rather fhould remind us of its happy flight.
The antique temple fomewhat of its priftine majeſty
preferves, even when in ruins'hurled.
Penetrated with a facred refpect for the ruins of
humanity, I defcended to that earth ftrewed with
the holy aſhes of my brethren. The calm, the filence,
the cold immobility, all faid to me, They fleep. I
advanced, I avoided treading upon the grave of a
friend but just filled up; I recollected myſelf, that I
might revere his memory; I ftopped; I liftened at-
tentively, as wiſhing to catch fome of thofe founds
which might chance to eſcape from that celeſtial har-
mony he now enjoys in the heavens. The planet of
the night, in her full luftre, poured her filver beams
upon the mournful fcene. I lifted my eyes toward
the firmament of heaven. They roll, thofe worlds
innumerable, thofe flaming funs fo profufely fpread
through all the ethereal space. Then again my fight
was fixed on that filent grave, where periſh the eyes,
the tongue, the heart of him with whom I had con-
verfed on theſe fublime wonders, and who extolled
the Author of theſe tranſcendent miracles,
Suddenly there came on an eclipfe of the moon,
which I had not forefeen. I was not even fenfible.
1
of
AN ECLIPSE OF THE MOON.
165
}
of it till the darknefs began to furround me. I could
then difcern a ſmall ſhining ſpace only that the ſhadow
haftened to cover. A profound darkneſs ſtopped
my ſteps; I could no longer difcover any object; I
loft the path; I turned a hundred times; the gate
feemed to fhun me; the clouds gathered; the winds
whiſtled; I heard a diſtant thunder; it arrived with
uproar on the wings of the lightening; my mind
was confounded; I fhivered; 1 ftumbled over the
ſcattered bones; terror precipitated my ſteps; I came
to a tomb juſt opened to receive the dead; I fell in;
the grave received me living; I found myſelf buried
in the humid entrails of the earth; I feemed to hear
the voice of all the dead that hailed my arrival; an
icy trembling feized me; a cold ſweat came over me;
I funk into a lethargic flumber.
Why did I not die in that peaceful ftate? I was
already entombed; the curtain that conceals eternity
was drawn up. I do not regard this life with
horror; I know how to enjoy it: I endeavour to
render it uſeful; but all cries out from the bottom
of my heart, that the future life is preferable to the
prefent.
I recovered, however, my fenfations. A faint
light began to brighten the ftarry vault; fome feat-
tering rays pierced through the clouds; by degrees,
they became more bright; they difperfed, and I per-
ceived the moon half difengaged from the fhadow;
at length it fhone with all its former luftre; that
folitary planet purfued its courfe. My fpirits return-
ed,
166
AN ECLIPLE OF THE MOON.
ed, and I fprung from the grave. The freſhnefs of
the air, the ferenity of the fky, the blushing rays of
the morning, all re-animated me, and diffipated
thoſe terrors that night had produced.
I then regarded with a ſmile, the grave that had
received me into its bofom. What was there fright-
ful in it? It was the earth from whence I ſprung,
and that demanded, after a time, the portion of
clay it had lent me. I then faw none of thoſe phan-
toms that the darkneſs had impreffed on my credu-
lous imagination. It is that, that alone, which pro-
duces inaufpicious images. I expected, in this ac-
cident, to have known what was death. I fell into
the grave with the terror of that which is, perhaps
the fole fupport againſt the troubles of this life; but
there I only experienced a gentle and, in fome degree,
even a pleaſing flumber. If this fcene was terrible,
it lafted but a moment; it fcarce exifted for me. I
awaked to the brightneſs of a ferene and pleafing
day. I have baniſhed a childish terror, and joy has
taken poffeffion of my whole heart. So after that.
tranfient fleep, which men call death, we ſhall awake
to behold the fplendor of that eternal fun, that by
elucidating the immenfe fyftem of beings, fhall dif
cover to us the folly of our timorous prejudices, and
an inexhauftible and unknown fource of felicity,
whoſe courſe nothing can ever interrupt.
Therefore, mortal, that thou mayeft dread nothing,
be virtuous! Whilft thou paffeft through the ſhort
path of life, put thy heart in a condition to fay to
thee,
~
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167
thee, "Fear nothing; advance under the eye of a
"God, that is the univerfal father of mankind; in-
"ſtead of regarding him with terror, adore his
"bounty, and rely on his clemency; have the confi-
"dence of a fon that loves, and not the terror of a
"flave that trembles, becauſe he is guilty.
?
:
CHAP. XXVIII.
THE KING'S LIBRARY.
AN unlucky door, placed near to my pillow,
by creeking on its hinges, totally difconcerted my
ideas. I loft fight of my guide, and of the city; but
as the mind is continually agitated by the ſcene that
has once made a ftrong impreffion, I happily return-
ed to my dream. I was now quite alone; it was
broad day; and by a natural propenfity I found
myſelf in' the king's library; but more than once
was I under the neceffity of affuring myſelf that it
was fo.
In the room of thofe four galleries of an immenſe
length, and which contained many thouſands of
volumes, I could only find one fmall cloſet, in which
were feveral books that feemed to me far from vo.
luminous. Surpriſed at ſo great a change, I ventured
to aſk if fome fatal conflagration had not devoured
that rich collection." Yes," they replied, "It was
66 a
168
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"a conflagration; but by our hands was it defign-
edly illumined."-Perhaps I have forgot to tell
you, that theſe are the moſt affable people in the
world; that they flew a very particular regard for
age; and that they do not reply to enquiries, in the
manner of the French, by anfwering with a queſtion.
The Librarian who was a man of real learning,
prefented himſelf to me; and well confidering all the
objections, as well as reproaches that I made, he gave
me the following account. "Convinced, by the
most strict obfervation that the mind is embaraffed
by a thouſand extrinfic difficulties, we were ſenſible
that a numerous library was the feat of the greateſt
extravagancies and the moſt idle chimeras. In your
time, to the diſgrace of reaſon, men firſt wrote and
then thought. We follow the oppofite courfe; and
have therefore deſtroyed all thoſe authors who buried
their thoughts under a monstrous heap of words or
phraſes.
}
"Nothing leads the mind farther aftray than bad
books; for the first notions being adopted without
attention, the fecond become precipitate conclufions;
and men thus go on from prejudice to prejudice, and
from error to error. What remained for us to do,
but to rebuild the structure of human knowledge?
This project appeared of infinite labour; but, in fact,
we found it only neceffary to deſtroy thofe uſeleſs
fabrics that hid from us the true point of view; as
the Louvre became a new building by fweeping away
the ruins that furrounded it. The fciences, amidſt
this labyrinth of books, were in a perpetual circula-
4.
tion,
1
1
!
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169
tion, returning inceffantly to the fame point; and
the exaggerated idea of their riches ferved only to
conceal their real indigence.
"In fact, what did that multitude of volumes con-
tain? For the most part, nothing more than perpe-
tual repetitions of the fame thing. Philofophy.
preſented itſelf to us under the image of a ftatue,
always celebrated, always copied, but never embel-
lifhed; it appeared ftill more perfect in the original.
It feemed to degenerate in all the copies of filver
and gold that have fince been made of it; doubtleſs,
it was more beautiful when carved in wood by a
hand almoſt ſavage, than when covered with extrinfic
ornaments. Since men, from a wretched indolence,
have given themfelves up to the opinion of others,
they have neceffari'y become more fervile imitators,
deftitute of invention and originality. What im-
menfe projects, what fublime fpeculations, have been
extinguiſhed by the breath of opinion! Time has
brought down to us nothing but thoſe empty, glaring
notions that have been applauded by the multitude,
while it has ſwallowed up thofe ftrong and bold
thoughts, which were too fimple to pleaſe the
vulgar.
"As our days are fhort, and ought not to be con-
fumed in a puerile philofophy, we have given a dè-
cifive ftroke to the miferable controverfics of the
fchools."-What have you done? Proceed if you
pleafe. By an unanimous confent, we brought
together, on a va plain, all thofe books which we
judged
17,0
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judged either frivolous, ufelefs, or dangerous; of
theſe we formed a pyramid, that refembled, in height
and bulk, an enormous tower; it was certainly an-
other Babel. Journals crowned this ſtrange edifice;
and it was covered, on all fides, with ordinances of
bifhops, remonftrances of parliaments, petitions, and
funeral orations; it was compofed of five or fix hun-
dred thouſand commentators, of eight hundred
thouſand volumes of law, of fifty thoufand dictio-
naries, of a hundred thouſand poems, of fixteen hun-
dred thouſand voyages and travels, and of a millard*
of romances. This tremendous maſs was ſet on fire,
and offered as an expiatory facrifice to veracity, to
good ſenſe, and true tafte. The flames greedily de-
voured the follies of mankind, as well ancient as
modern; the fire continued long. Some authors.
faw themſelves burning alive; their cries, however,
could not extinguifh the flames. We found notwith-
ſtanding, amidſt the embers, fome page of the works
of P————, of De la H, of the abbé A————; for
A-
they were fo extremely frigid, that the fire could
have no effect on them.
1
"We have therefore done from an enlightened
zeal, what the barbarians once did from one that
was blind: however, as we are neither unjust, nor
like the Saracens, who heated their baths with the
chief d'oeuvres of literature, we have made an elec-
tion; thofe of the greatest judgment amongst us
have extracted the fubftance of thouſands of volumes,
which
* A thouſand millions.
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171
which they have included in a ſmall duodecimo; not
unlike thoſe ſkillful chemiſts, who concentre the vir-
tues of many plants in a ſmall phial, and caft afide.
the refufe*.
"We have abridged what feemed of moſt im-
portance; the beſt have been reprinted; and the
whole corrected according to the true principles of
morality. Our compofers are a fet of men eftima-
ble and dear to the nation; to knowledge they have.
added tafte; and as they are capable of producing,
they have made a judicious feledion. We have re-
marked, to ſpeak justly, that it appertains to the ages
of philofophy only, to produce a ſmall number of
works. In yours, when real knowledge was not
fufficiently established, it was neceffary to bring toge
ther a great number of materials. The labourer
muſt work before the architect.
"At
On this globe, all is revolution: the minds of men
vary to an infinity the national character, alter books, and
make them no longer to be known. Is there any one author,
if he reflects, that can reaſonably indulge himſelf in the
hope of not being defpifed by the next generation? Do we
not deride our anceſtors? Can we fay what progress our
children may make? Have we any idea of the fecrets that
may ſuddenly ſpring from out of the bofom of nature Do
we completely know the extent of the human underſtand-
ing? Where is the work that is founded on a real know-
ledge of the human heart, on the nature of things, on right
reafon? Does not our phyfics prefent us an ocean with
whofe coafts we are yet ſcarce acquainted? How ridicu-
lous, therefore, is that pride, which ignorantly pretends to
preſcribe the bounds of any art.
e 2
172
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"At the beginning, each ſcience is treated in parts;
every one applies his attention to that portion which
has fallen to his lot. By this method the ſma left
details are obſerved; nothing can efcape. It was
neceffary for you to make an innumerable quantity
of books; it is our bufinefs to collect the fcattered
parts The ignorant babble eternally; the learned
and fagacious fpeak little, but well.
"This cloſet, that you fee, contains thoſe books
that have eſcaped the flames. Their number is ſmall;
but by their merit they have obtained the approba
tin of our age."
I approached with curiofity: and on examining
the fuft divifion, I found that of the Greeks, they
had preferved Homer, Sophocles, Euripides, De-
mofthenes, Plato, and particularly our friend Plu-
tarch; but they had burned Herodotus, Sappho,
Anacreon, and the vile Ariftophanes. I would have
defended in fome, degree the caufe of Anacreon; but
I was anſwered by the belt reafons in the world,
though fuch as I fhall not here mention, becauſe they
would not be intelligible to the prefent age.
In the fecond divifion appropriated to the Latin
authors, I found Virgil, Pliny, and Titus Livy *
entire; but they had burned Lucretius, except fome
poetic paffages, becauſe his phyfics they found falfe,
* I have lately read this hiftorian again; and I am con-
vinced, that the virtue of the Romans confilled in facrificing
the human race on the altar of their country. As citizens,
they are to be applauded; as men, to be abhorred.
and
THE KING'S LIBRARY.
173
1
and his morals dangerous. They had deftroyed
the tedious pleadings of Cicero, an able rhetor
rather than a man of eloquence; but they had pre-
ſerved his philofophic works, one of the moſt precious
productions of antiquity. Salluft alfo remained.
Ovid and Horace* were purged; the odes of the
latter appeared far inferior to his Epiftles. Seneca
was reduced to one fourth part. Tacitus was pre-
ferved; but, as his writings breath a dark vapour
that blackens the human race, and as we ought not
to nouriſh a baſe idea of mankind, for tyrants are not
of their number, the reading of this profound au-
thor was permitted to thofe only whofe hearts were
well formed. Catullus and Petronius had vanifhed
in fmoke. Quintilian was reduced to a volume of
the ſmalleſt fize.
The third divifion contained the Engliſh authors,
and here I found the greatest number of volumes.
Here I faw all thofe philofophers that warlike, com-
merciant, and politic ifle hath produced; Milton,
Shakeſpeare, Pope, Young†, and Richardfon, here
ftill
* This writer had all the delicacy, all the flowers of wit,
every poffible urbanity; he has, nevertheless, been too
much admired in every age. His mufe inſpires a volup-
tuous repoſe, a lethargic flumber, a pliant and dangerous
indifference; it therefore, muſt pleaſe the courtier and
effeminate mind, whofe whole morality is confined to the
prefent moment, and to the enjoyment of foft and ſolitary
pleafures.
† M. Tourneur had publiſhed a tranſlation of this poet,
which has had the greateſt and moſt determined fuccefs. Eve-
1
Q3
ry
174
THE KING'S LIBRARY.
ftill enjoyed their full renown; their creative genius
knew no reſtraint, while we are obliged to meaſure
all our words; the fruitful energy of thofe free fouls
was
ry one has read this moral work; (the author muſt here allude
to the Night Thoughts,) every one admires that ſublime lan-
guage, which elevates, cheers, and captivates the foul;
becauſe it is founded on great truths, prefents great objects
only, and derives all its dignity from their real grandeur.
For my own part, I have never read any thing ſo original,
fo new, nor even fo intereſting. I admire that profound
fentiment, which, though always the fame, yet has an in-
finity of connexions and diverſities; it is a ftream by which
I am borne down;' I am pleaſed with thofe ftrong and
Jively images whofe boldneſs correfpond with the fubject
to which they are applied. We there fee, moreover, the
moſt demonſtrative proofs of the immortality of the foul;
in no part is the mind fo much ftruck as in this; the poet
attacks the heart, fubdues it, and deprives it of all power
of contradiction; fuch is the magic of expreffion, the force
of eloquence, that it leaves a poignant fenfation in the
mind.
t
Young is in the right, in my judgment, (though in the
tranflator's note, cenfure has extorted a different opinion)
when he afferts, that, without the profpect of eternity and
future rewards, virtue would be but a name, a chimera :
Aut virtus nomen inane eft, aut decus et pretium recte petit
experiens vir. What is that good from which there refults
、 no good, either in this world or in the other? What good
refults, in this world, from virtue to fuffering innocence ?
Afk of a dying Brutus, a Cato, a Socrates. You there fee
floiciſm at its laft proof, and there it fairly diſcovers the
vanity of the fect. I remember, and ever fhall remember,
a ftriking expreſſion of J. J. Rouſſeau to a friend of mine.
He was fpeaking of a propofition made to him of making
his
THE KING's LIBRARY.
175
was the admiration of a difficult age. That futile
reproach we make them, of their want of taſte, was
difregarded by men, who, charmed with juft and
ftrong ideas, could read with affiduity, and knew
how
his fortune by a means that was difgraceful, but of a nature
to be kept feeret, "Sir," he ſaid, "thank God, I am not
a materialiſt; if I were, I fhould not be worth more than
all of them are. I know of no reward, but that which is
attached to virtue."
}
I freely confefs, that I am not more worthy than Rouffeau;
and would to God, that I were as worthy! but, if I thought
myſelf altogether mortal, I would inſtantly become my own
deity; I would make all things fubfervient to my divinity,
that is, to myſelf: I would practiſe what they call virtue,
when it promoted my pleafure; and, in like manner, vice.
I would rob to day, to give to my friend or miſtrefs; quar-
rel with, and rob them to morrow, to gratify ſome trifling
pleaſure; and in all this I ſhould act very confequentially,
becauſe I ſhould always do that which is agreeable to my
divinity; whereas, by loving virtue for the fake of a reward,
and that reward not being attached to arbitrary actions, I
I am obliged to govern myſelf, not by momentary inclina-
tion, but by that invariable rule which the Eternal Legif-
lator and Remunerator has preſcribed. It will therefore
frequently happen, that I muſt do what I ought, though not
what I pleaſe; and, if my liberty decides for that which is
right, in oppofition to a contrary inclination, then I do that
which I would, not that with which I am pleaſed. If it had
been the will of God to direct us by a love for goodneſs only,
he would have given us a rational mind, without having
added the ſenſibility of the heart; but he guides us by the
proſpect of rewards, becauſe he has made us liable to paſ-
fions and affections.
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how to meditate on what they had read. They had,
however, cut off from the philofophers thofe dan-
gerous fceptics who would have fhaken the founda-
tions of morality; that virtuous people, influenced
by what they felt, difdained fuch vain fubtilities;
for no argument could convince them that virtue
was a chimera.
In the fourth divifion were the Italian authors.
The Jerufalem Delivered, that moft beautiful of all
poems, was at the head of them. They had, how-
ever, burned a whole library of criticiſms againſt that
enchanting poem. The celebrated Treatife on Crimes
and Puniſhments had received all the perfection of
which that important work was fufceptible. I was
agreeably ſurpriſed to ſee a number of judicious and
philofophic works, which had arofe from out the
bofom of that nation. They had broke that taliſman
which feemed to promiſe a perpetuity of ignorance
and fuperftition amongst them.
At last, I came to the French writers. I haftily
feized the firſt three volumes; they were Defcartes,
Montaigne, and Charron. Montaigne had fuffered
ſome retrenchment; but as he is the philofopher,
who of all others was the best acquainted with human
nature, his writings were preferved, though all his
ideas are not abfolutely irreproachable. The vi-
fionary Mallebranche, the gloomy Nicole, the un-
pitying Arnauld, and the cruel Bourdaloue, they
had burned. All that related to fcholaftic difputes
was fo completely deftroyed, that when I spoke of
the
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177
the Provencial Letters and the deftruction of the
Jefuits, the learned librarian made a very great ana-
chroniſm, of which I informed him, and received a
candid acknowledgment. I could never meet with
thofe Provencial Letters, nor the most modern hiſtory
of that grand affair; they talked of the Jefuits, as we
at this day do of the Druids.
Into an oblivion, from whence they fhould never
come forth, were caft that crowd of thelogians called
fathers of the church, writers the molt fophiftic,
the moſt whimsical, obfcure, and irrational, that
were ever diametrically oppofed to Locke or Clerke.
"They feem," faid the librarian, "to have fet
bounds to human infanity."
I fearched for, I examined the authors of my ac-
quaintance. Heavens! what deftruction! what
mighty works evaporated in fimoke! Where is that
famous Bouffet, who, in my time, figured in fourteen
quarto volumes? I was answered, "They are all
vaniſhed.”—What! that eagle who foared to the
highest regions of the air, that genius." What,
in confcience could we preferve? That he had genius
we allow*; but to a wretched ufe did he apply it.
We
* What benefit might not human reafon have received
from fuch men as Luther, Calvin, Melancton, Eraſmus,
Bouffet, Pafchal, Arnauld, Nicole, &c. if they had em-
ployed their genius in attacking the errors of the human
mind, in improving morality, legiſlation and phyſics, inſtead
of oppoling or cftabliſhing ridiculous dogmas!
>
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THE KING's LIBRARY.
We have adopted the maxim of Montaigne: Let us
not inquire who is the moft learned, but who is the best
learned. The univerfal hiftory of that Bouffet was
nothing more than a miferable ſkeleton of chrono.
logy*. It had befide, a turn fo affected, and there
were ſo many reflections of immoderate length, that
accompanied that meagre production, that we can
fcarce think it was read for more than half a cen-
tury."But, at leaft, his Funeral Orations-" We
are highly incenfed againſt them; they breathe the
miferable language of fervitude and adulation. Shall
a miniſter of the God of peace, of the God of truth,
mount the pulpit to extol a gloomy politician, an
avaricious ſtateſman, a mean woman, a blood-thirſty
hero; and agitated like a poet with the defcription.
of a battle, never utter one figh when thinking on
that horrid ſcourge that defolates the earth. At that
moment, he has no thought of maintaining the laws
of humanity, of declaring to an ambitious monarch,
by the facred voice of religion, ſtrong and terrible
truths; he rather wishes to hear it faid, That man
talks well; he makes the encomiums of the dead, while their
afbes
* To give an air of truth to chronology, they have form-
ed certain epochs; and on this delufive foundation they
have erected that inaginary fcience, which has been en-
tirely directed by caprice. They know not to what period
they ſhould refer the principal revolutions of the world, and
yet they would fix the age in which each king reigned.
The greateſt errors reſt ſecure by means of chronological
calculations. They fet out, for example, from the foun-
dation of Rome; and that foundation is ſupported by pro-
babilities, or rather ſuppoſitions.
THE KING'S LIBRARY.
179
afbes are yet warm. With much better reafon would
he give a good dose of incenfe to monarchs that are ftill
living.
"We are no friends to Bouffet; for he was not
only a man proud and obdurate, a courtier fawning-
and ambitious, but to him alfo we owe thofe funeral
orations, which have fince multiplied like funeral
torches, and which, like them, exhale a noxious
vapour as they pafs. This fpecies of flattery ap
pears to us the most odious, futile, and dangerous of
all others; for it is at once falfe, ftupid, and ſhame-
lefs, and conftantly contradicts the public voice,
which echoes againſt thoſe walls where the orator,
whilſt pompously declaiming, inwardly laughs at
thofe falfe colours with which he has dreffed out his
idel.
"Behold his rival, his gentle and modeſt con-
queror, the amiable, the pathetic Fenelon. His
Telemachus and other works we have carefully pre-
ferved, becauſe in them we find a rare and happy
agreement between reafon and fenfibility*. To have
compofed
* The French academy have propofed his eulogy as the
next prize for eloquence; but if the work be what it ought
to be, the academy cannot crown the difcourfe, Why
give fubjects that cannot be treated in their full extent ?
I admire, however, this fpecies of writing, where, by in-
veſtigating the genius of a great man, the art itſelf is in-
veſtigated and exemplified. We have had excellent works
of this kind, and eſpecially thofe of M. Thomas, which is
the
$
180
THE KING's LIBRARY.
compofed the Telemachus at the court of Lewis
XIV. appears to us an admirable, aftonishing virtue.
Certainly that monarch did not comprehend the
book: and that is the moſt favourable ſuppoſition we
can make for his honour. Doubtlefs, that work re-
quired a more extenſive knowledge, a more profound
penetration; but, with all its fimplicity, what force,
what truth, what dignity is there difplayed! We
have placed next to his, the works of the good abbé
St. Pierre, whofe pen was weak, but his heart fub-
lime. Seven ages have given to his great and beau-
tiful ideas a juft maturity. His cotemporaries re-
garded him as a vifionary: his dreams, however, have
become realities."
Among the French poets, I found Corneille, Ra-
cine, and Moliere; but their commentators were
burned*. I aſked a queſtion of the librarian, that
will probably be aſked feven centuries hence. To
which
the most inftructive book we can put into the hands of a
young man, and from which he may draw at once uſeful
knowledge and a rational love for glory.
* They are the works of envy or ignorance. Theſe com-
mentators, with their zeal for the laws of grammar, excite
my pity. The worst defliny that can attend any man of
genius, either living or dead, is to be judged by pedantifim,
which fees nothing, and feels nothing, Thefe wretched
critics, who creep from word to word, reſemble thofe pur-
blind mortals, who miferably pore over every ftroke of a pic-
ture of Le Seucr or Pouffin, inftead of embracing the whole
at one view.
2
THE KING's LIBRARY.
181
:
which of the three do you give the preference?-
« We underſtand but little of Moliere," he replied;
"the manners that he painted are paft; he feems to
us to have attacked ridicule more than vice, and you
had more vicious than ridiculous qualities*. For
the two tragedians, whofe colours are more durable,
I know not how a man of your age can aſk the quef-
tion. He who excelled all others in painting the
human heart, who elevated and enlarged the mind
to the greatest degree; he who was the beſt ac-
quainted with the fhocks of paffion and the depths
of policy, had doubtless more genius than his har-
monious rival†, who, with a ſtyle more correct and
flowing, had lefs of force and concifion, who had not
the piercing view, nor the elevation, nor the fire,
nor the argument, nor the amazing diverfity of cha-
racters, of the other. Add to this the moral aim,
conſtantly marked in Corneille, and which drove
mankind towards the element of every virtue, to-
wards
*It is not true, as advanced in the eulogy on Moliere,
that the cure of the ridiculous is more cafy than that of the
vicious. But, if it were, to which diforder of the human
heart fhould we firſt apply remedies? Shall the poet become
an accomplice in the general perverſity, and be the firſt to
adopt thoſe miſerable compacts, which bad men make the
better to diſguiſe their villainy? Unhappy is he who does
not fee the full effect that an excellent drama can produce,
who is ignorant of the fublimity of that fcience which can
unite all hearts in one.
+ Corneille has frequently an original air of freedom and
fimplicity, and even fomething more natural than Racine.
R
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wards liberty. Racine, after effeminating his heroes,
effeminated the fpectators*. Tafte is the art of ele-
vating low fubjects; and in this Corneille was infe-
rior to Racine. Time, that fovereign judge, who
equally deſtroys both eulogies and cenfures, time has
declared, and has placed a wide diſtance between
them; the one is a genius of the first order; the other,
fome few paffages borrowed from the Greek ex-
cepted, is nothing more than a fine writer, as was
obſerved in his own age. In your time, men had no
longer the fame energy; they required finiſhed works,
and the great has ever a certain roughneſs attending
it; ftyle was then become the principal merit, as is
conftantly the cafe with thofe nations that are enlee-
bled and corrupted."
I here found the terrible Crebillon, who has painted
crimes in all thofe frightful colours by which they
are characteriſed. This people fometimes read his
works, but never fuffer them to be acted.
A
It is eaſy to be imagined, that I recollected my
friend Fontaine, equally beloved and conſtantly
read.
*Racine and Boileau were two daftardly courtiers, who
approached their monarch with the awe of two tradeſmen
of the Rue St. Dennis. It was not fo that Horace fre-
quented Auguftus. Nothing can be more mean than the
letters of these two poets, in raptures to find themſelves at
the court. It is difficult to conceive of more miferable pro-
ductions. Racine at laſt died of chagrin, becauſe Louis
XIV. caſt a contemptuous look at him in the public walks.
I
THE KING'S LIBRARY.
183
read*. Moliere, that juft judge of merit, prefented
this firft of moral poets with inmortality. Fable, it
is true, is the allegorical language of a flave, who
dares not talk to his mafter; but at the fame time,
as it moderates that feverity which there may be in
truth, it must conftantly be highly valuable in a
world expofed to all forts of tyrants. Satire is, per-
haps, the weapon of defpair alone.
How far has this age placed that inimitable fabulift
above Boileaut, who, (as the bé Coftard fays)
made himſelf the dictator of Parnaffus, and who,
void of invention, force, grace, and fentiment, was
nothing more than a tame and fcrupulous verfifier.
They had preſerved ſeveral other fables, among
which were fome by La Motte, and thcfe of Ni-
vernoist.
The
* Fontaine was the confidant of nature, and merited, by
pre-eminence, the title of poet. I am furprifed at the au-
dacity of those who have fince wrote fables with the pre-
fumption of imitating him.
+ The critic who only endeavours to depreciate an au-
thor, inſtead of explaining him, diſcovers his own vanity,
ignorance, and jealouſy. His malignity will not let him
clearly diſcern the good and bad parts of a book. Criticifm
belongs to them only whofe judgment and candour are not,
in any degree, infected by perfonal intereſt. Critic, know
thyfelf; and if thou wouldst form a right judgment of any
work, remember, that depending on thy own lights only,
thou canst judge of nothing.
‡ Seven hundred years hence, it will not be remem-
bered, perhaps, that this charming fabulift was a duke, and
R 2
wore
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The poet Rouſſeau made a diminutive figure:
they had preferved fome of his odes and cantatas,
but all his gloomy epiftles, his tedious and dry alle-
gories, his Mandragora, his epigrams, the work of
a depraved heart, had all, it is eafy to imagine, pe-
rifhed in thofe flames they had long deferved. I
cannot here enumerate all the falutary mutilations
that had been made in many works otherwife juftly
renowned. I faw none of thofe frivolous poets, who
flattered themſelves that the tafle of their age, which
diffufed over the moſt ſerious fubjects that falfe var-
niſh of wit which debaſes reaſon, would have pre-
ferved them*. All theſe fallies of a light and giddy
imagination, reduced to their juft value, were eva-
porated, like thofe fparks that fhine with the greater
luftre only to be the fooner extinguished. All thoſe
writers of romances, whether hiſtoric, moral or po-
litical, where fcattered truths are only to be met with
by chance; and thoſe in which the object is not con-
fidered in all its different points of view; and laftly,
thofe who led aftray by a prejudice for a particular
ſyſtem, had followed their own ideas only; all theſe
authors, I fay, deluded by the abfence or prefence
of genius, had diſappeared, or had undergone the
pruning, knife of a judicious critic, which is far from
being
wore a blue ribband, but doubtless that he was a ſprightly
philofopher.
* When Hercules faw the flatue of his favourite Adonis,
in the temple of Venus, he cried out, “There is no divi-
nity in thee." The faine may be faid of all thoſe poliſhed,
delicate, ingenious, and effeminate works.
THE KING's LIBRARY.
185
being a fatal inſtrument*. Sagacity and a love of
order had prefided over this new ftructure; as in
thofe thick forefts where the branches, intwined with
each other, conceal all the paths, and where there
reigns an eternal and noxious fhade; if the induſtry
of man bears the hatchet and the flame, the genial
rays of the fun enter, the flowery paths recreate the
fight, and we traverſe each route without fear or dif
guft. I perceived in a corner a curious book which
feemed to me judiciously compofed, and was intitled,
Ufurped Reputations. It contained the reaſons that
determined the extinction of many books, and of the
contempt that was caft on the pen of certain writers,
who were nevertheless admired in their own age.
The fame book redreffed the wrongs of the cotem-
poraries of great men, when their adverfaries were
unjuſt, jealous, or blinded by fome other paffion†.
I chanced to lay my hand on a Voltaire. O hea-
vens! I cried, to what a fize is he fhrunk! Where
are thofe twenty-fix quarto volumes that flowed from
his brilliant, exhauſtleſs pen? If that celebrated wri-
ter
* It would be a work worthy of a man of found judg-
ment, to form a rational and comprehenſive catalogue of
the beſt books in every ſcience, and to point out the manner
of reading them, and thofe paffages that are moft worthy
of attention. “
There still remains a good book to be wrote, though
already done; Great Events from little Caufes. But, where
is the man who can difcover the real clue; I will mention
another, very proper for the prefent age, The Placemen
who become Perfecutors to ferve the Bafeness of those they
deſpiſe; and one more, The Crimes of Sovereigns.
R 3
186
THE KING's LIBRARY.
ter could come again upon the earth, how would he be
aftoniſhed!" We have been obliged to burn a large
portion," was replied. "You know that fine genius
paid a tribute fomewhat too large to human frailty.
He precipitated his ideas, he gave them not time to
ripen. He preferred whatever had the character of
boldneſs, to a flow difcuffion of the truth. Rarely
had his writings any depth. He was a rapid fwal.
low that glanced with grace and eaſe along the fur-
face of a large river, where he drank, and dipped his
wings as he ſkimmed along. He was at once a man
of genius and of wit. We cannot refufe him the firſt,
the moſt noble and amiable of virtues, the love of
humanity. He has combated with ardour for the
intereſt of man. He not only detefted, but rendered
deteftable, perfecution and tyranny of every kind,
He brought a rational and affecting morality on the
flage. He has painted heroiſm in its proper colours.
In a word, he was the greateft poet of the French na
tion. We have preferved his Epopex; for, though the
plan be trifling, yet the name of Henry IV. has ren-
dered it imɩnortal. We are, above all, captivated with
his beautiful tragedies, in which there fhines a pencil
fo facile, fo various and fo juft. We have alfo preſerved
all his profe pieces, where he is not ridiculous, too fe-
vere, or improperly fatyrical; it is there he is truly
original*. But you know, that toward the fifteen
laft
*I am charmed with the painter of nature, who lets his
pencil run freely over the cloth, who prefers a certain eaſy
and bold liberty, that gives a luftre to his colours; to that
frigid precifion, that tame regularity, which conftantly re-
minds
THE KING's LIBRARY.
187
laft years of his life, he had only a few remaining
ideas which he reprefented under a hundred different
faces. He perpetually retailed the fame fubject. He
engaged in controverſies with thoſe he ought to have
defpifed. He had the misfortune to write infipid
and grofs reflections against J. J. Rouffeau; a furious
jealouſy ſo far tranſported him, that he even wrote
without judgment. We were obliged to burn thofe
wretched performances, which would have difho-
houred him to the moſt diſtant poſterity; ftill more
jealous of his glory than he was himself, we have
been obliged to deftroy one moiety of that great man
to preſerve the other.”
1
I am
minds me of the art and its fubterfuges. O, how brilliant
is the writer who gives himſelf up entirely to his genius,
who indulges in voluntary negligences, and fhews, with a
light hand, happy and variegated touches; who deigns to
have foibles, is pleaſed with a certain irregularity, and ne-
ver fo engaging as when in diforder! Behold the man of
fuperlative genius. A tedious fymmetry can pleafe none
but fots. Every man of a lively imagination wiſhes that
we would aid him with our wings. It is to this happy vi-
vacity, which roufes the minds, that we owe the crowd of
readers. Like the elementary fire, the writer fhould be
for ever in action. But this fecret is communicated only to
the few. The numbers labour, fweat, make a thouſand
efforts to obtain a jelid perfection. He who is born to write
in a bold, rapid, brilliant ftyle, above all rules, with the
fame ftroke of his pen expreffes his idea and imprints it with
pleaſure on the heart of his reader. Behold Voltaire, who,
like a ftag, bounds over the plains of literature, while fome
pretended imitator, fome congealed copyifts, fuch as La
H***, comes, like a tortoife, creeping after.
188
THE KING's LIBRARY.
I am charmed, I cried, to find, that you have pre-
ferved J. J. Rouſſeau entire. What a work is the
Emilius*! What a fenfibility of foul is diffuſed over
that beautiful romance, the new Eloifa! What bold,
comprehenfive, and penetrative ideas in his letters to
De la Montagne! What vigor, what fire in his other
works! With what thought does he infpire his rea-
der! Every particular appears to me worthy to be
read." So we have judged," replied the librarian.
“There muſt have been a very mean and cruel pride
in your age. In fact, you muſt not have underſtood
him; your trifling difpofition would not permit you
to pursue his arguments. He had reafon to defpife
you. Your philofophers themſelves were of the vul-
gar people. But I think we are agreed concerning
this philofopher; it is therefore needlefs to fay
more,"
In turning over the books of the laft divifion, I faw
with pleaſure many works formerly dear to my na-
tion. L'Esprit des Loix; L'Hiftoire Naturelle; the.
book De l'Esprit commented in fome parts t. Nor
had they excluded the friend of man, the Belifarius;.
the works of Linguet; the eloquent harangues of
Thomas.
• What infipidities have been printed againſt this immòr-
tal work! How can a man dare to write when he knows
not even how to read.
+ The fpider draws poiſon from the fame roſe whence
the bee extracts honey; fo a bad man frequently nouriſhes
his malignity from the fame book whence the good man
derives the greateſt confolation.
THE KING's LIBRARY.
187
Thomas*, St. Servan, Dupaty, Le Tourneur, and
the difcourfer of Phocion. I diſtinguiſhed the nume
rous and philofophic works that the age of Louis
XV. had produced+. The Encyclopedia was formed
on a new and more happy plan. Instead of that
wretched practice of reducing all things to a diction-
ary, that is, of mincing the ſeveral ſciences, they had
preferved each art entire. With a fingle glance of
the eye you faw all their different parts. This work
contained vaſt and exact drafts that followed each
other in a regular order, and were connected in a fim-
ple and pleaſing manner. All that had been wrote
against the Chriftian religion was burned, as books
that were become abfolutely uſeleſs.
I inquired for the hiftorians, and the librarian faid,
"We affign that province in part to our painters.
Facts have a philofophical certainty, which is to be
expreffed by the pencil. What is hiftory? In reality
nothing more than the knowledge of facts. The
reflections and inferences appertain to the hiftorian,
and not to the ſcience itself. The facts, however, are
innumerable. What popular reports; what ſuper-.
annuated fables; what endleſs details! The tranfac-
tions
* There is at preſent no tribune for harangues; eloquence
however is not dead. It ſtill fpeaks, fometimes thunders;
and though it cannot rouſe us to virtuous fentiments, yet,
at leaſt, it confounds us with ſhame.
+ The philofopher who is employed in examining the
nature of man, of policy and manners, diffuſes uſeful lights
over the community; his detractors are either fots, or ma-
lignant citizens.
190
THE KING's LIBRARY.
tions of each age are the moſt intereſting of all others
for the cotemporaries; and of all ages, thofe of the
prefent only are not to be inveſtigated. They have
wrote laboriouſly of ancient and foreign hiftory, but
have turned their attention from prefent facts*. The
fpirit of conjecture is difplayed at the expence of
accuracy. Many have fo little known their own
weakneſs, that feveral fingle pens have attempted
an univerfal hiftory, more romantic than the good
Indians, who allowed at least four elephants to fup.
port the world. In a word, hiftory has been fo
disfigured, ſo ftuffed with falſehoods and puerile re-
flections, that a romance to every judicious mind,
is more eligible than thofe collections of facts,
where, as on a boundleſs ocean, we fail without a
compasst.
"We have made a flight extract, painting cach
age in ftrong characters, and defcribing thoſe per-
fons
*This is natural enough in France, where there is fo
much danger in writing on recent facts; but, to our good
fortune, it it not fo here.
+ When we reflect on the nature of the human mind,
we muſt be convinced of the impoſſibility of a real ancient
hiftory. The modern is more probable; but between pro-
bability and truth there is almoft as great a diſtance, as
between truth and falfehood. Moreover, we learn nothing
from modern hiftories. Each hiftorian accomodates the
facts to his ideas, almoſt in the fame manner as a cook
does the dishes to his palate; we must dine in the tafte
of the cook: we muſt read in the humour of the hiſtorian.
1
THE KING'S LIBRARY.
191
fons only who have had a real influence on the deſtiny
of empires*. We have omitted thofe reigns where
there were nothing to be ſeen but wars and cruelties.
They ought to be concealed; for nothing fhould be
prefented that will not do honour to humanity, It
is perhaps dangerous to preferve all the exceffes to
which vice has been extended. The number of the
guilty feems to palliate the crime; and the fewer
outrages we ſee, the lefs we are tempted to commit
them. We have treated human nature like that fon
who revered his father, and covered with a vail the
diforders of ebriety."
11
I approached the librarian, and aſked in a low voice,
for the age of Louis XV. which might ſerve as a
continuation to that of Louis XIV. by Voltaire. I
found that it had been compofed in the twentieth
century. Never have I read any thing more curious,
more fingular and aftoniſhing. The hiftorian, from
a regard to the extravagance of the circumſtances,
had not facrificed any detail. My curiofity, my
aftoniſhment redoubled at every page. I was taught
to reform many of my ideas; and to know, that the
age in which we live, is, of all others, the most diftant
from
* To fay the reign of Charles VI. or Louis XIII. is a
mifnomer, and muſt miſlead the unattentive reader. A
monarch, who has no influence on the age in which he
lives, as is frequently the cafe, fhould be ranked in the clafs
of common men, and we fhould fay, for example, after the
death of Henry IV. We shall now deſcribe the age of Riche-
lieu, &c.
192
THE MEN OF LETTERS.
from us. I laughed, I admired greatly; but I wept
at leaſt as much. .
I can fay no more here;
the events of the prefent day are like fruit that ſhould
not be taſted till it is ripe*.
}
CHAP. XXIX.
THE MEN OF LETTERS.
As I went out of the library, a ftranger ac-
cofted me, and we entered into converfation. It
was concerning men of letters. I have known but
few in my time, I ſaid, but thofe I have known were
gentle, modeft, friendly, and full of probity. If
they had defects, they redeemed them by fo many
valuable properties, that a man must be incapable
of friendſhip who had not an attachment to them.
Envy, ignorance, and calumny have disfigured
the characters of authors; for every public man
is expofed to the brutal difcourfe of the vulgar,
who, however ignorant they may be, pronounce
boldlyt. The great, as deftitute, for the moſt
part
* Time produces all things. Thofe fecrets which are
thought to be completely concealed will offer themſelves to
the public, as the rivers run into the fea. To our children
all will be known.
+ A man of this clafs, who is incapable of writing á
fingle line, but has a talent for verbal fatire, in confequence
of
THE MEN OF LETTERS.
193
part, of talents as of virtue, are jealous of their at-
tracting the regard of the nation, and pretend to def-
pife them*. Writers have alfo frequently to combat
with the contemptible taſte of the public, who, the
more it is enriched by their works, becomes the more
fparing of its applaufe, and fometimes abandoning
works
of ridiculing authors and gratifying malignity, becomes at
laft perfuaded, that he is himſelf a man of taſte and in-
genuity; but he is miferably deceived, both in judging of
himſelf and of others.
* It is not to the moſt powerful monarchs, nor to the moſt
opulent princes, nor to the chief rulers of a nation, that
moſt ſtates owe their fplendor, force and glory. It is pri-
vate perfons, who have made the moſt aſtoniſhing improve-
ments in the arts, in fciences, and even in the art of govern-
ment. Who meaſured the earth? Who difcovered the
fyftem of the heavens? Who invented thofe curious manu-
factures with which we are cloathed? Who has laid open
the fecrets of natural hiſtory? Who has explored the in-
tricacies of chemistry, anatomy, and botany? Certainly
private perfons; who, in the eye of the wife man, muſt
eclipſe the pretenders to greatnefs, thofe proud dwarfs, who
cherish nothing but their own vanity. In effect, it is not
kings, miniſters, perſons inveſted with authority that govern
the world. No, it is thofe men of fuperior genius, who
cry to their cotemporaries, with their bold and irreſiſtible
voice, Baniſh thoſe wretched prejudices; purſue more eleva-
ted thoughts, defpife what thou hafl forlishly respected, and
refpe&t that which, through ignorance, thou haft deſpiſed;
profit by thy past fllies, and learn better to distinguish the
rights of mankind; adopt the ideas that I have ſet before thee.
Thy route is clearly traced, march! And I will answer for
thy fuccefs.
S
1
THE MEN OF LETTERS.
194
works of genius, run gaping after fome wretched
buffoonery. In a word, they have need of the
greateſt fortitude to fupport themſelves in a carcer,
where the pride of mankind offers them a thouſand
indignities. They have, however, braved both the
infolence and difdain of the great, and the ignorant
attacks of the vulgar. A juft renown, by blafting
their enemies, has crowned their noble efforts with
fuccefs.
"I acknowledge this portrait to be juft," my in-
terlocutor politely replied. "Men of letters are be-
come the moſt refpectable of citizens. Every one
feels how defirable it is to be diffolved in tenderness;
it is the moſt lively pleaſure the mind can enjoy. It
is to them, therefore, that the ftate has confided the
care of developing this principle of virtue. By ex-
hibiting majeſtic, terrible, and tender pictures, and
by improving the fenfibility of mankind, they dif-
pofe them to all thofe great qualities that proceed
from it. "We find," he continued, "that the
writers of your age, as to what concerns morality,
and grand and uſeful purfuits, have far furpaffed
thofe of the age of Lewis XIV. They have freely
painted the faults of kings, the misfortunes of the
people, the ravages of the paffions, the efforts of
virtue, and even the fuccefs of vice; faithful to their
vocation*, they have had the intrepidity to infult
thofe
*The famous Locufta, fkilful in the art of preparing
fubtle poifons, was lodged by Nero in his palace; and ſo
defirous
THE MEN OF LETTERS.
195
thofe bloody trophies which fervility and error had
confecrated to tyranny. Never was the caufe of
humanity more ſtrongly pleaded; and though they
have loft it by an inconceivable fatality, yet theſe
dauntless advocates remain not the lefs covered with
glory.
"All the ftreams of light that have iffued from
thefe vigorous and undaunted fouls, are preferved
and tranfmitted from age to age*: like a feed that
is for a long time trod under foot, but being fuddenly
tranfported by a favourable wind to fome place of
fhelter,
defirous was he of preferving a woman ſo uſeful to his de-
figns, that he appointed guards to attend her. It was fhe
who compofed the cup by which Britannicus periſhed.
When the poifon had blackened the vifage of that unfor-
tunate prince, Nero cauſed it to be ſpread over with white
paint, fo that it appeared with the palenefs of a natural
death; but, as they bore it to the tomb, a fudden and co-
pious ſhower of rain waſhed off the paint, and expoſed what
the tyrant thought he had fafely concealed. I find in this
fact an allegory fufficiently juft. Princes fondly carefs faith-
ful monfters; and either from ſtupidity, or contempt of the
laws, or a confidence in their own power, they think to con-
ceal their real qualities from the public; but foon hiſtory,
the fudden fhower, washes off the falfe colours, and all their
vices ſtand full expoſed to view.
* Men of common capacities, and they who have not
fathomed the depths of government beyond a certain point,
are very far from being able to difcover the connections of
fpeculation and fcience with the riches and happineſs of a
nation.
S 2
196
THE MEN OF LETTERS.
fhelter, it fprings up, increaſes, becomes a tree,
whofe fpreading branches prefent both ornament and
refuge.
"If, better informed of the nature of true great-
nefs, we defpife the pomp and oftentation of power;
if we turn our eyes towards thofe objects that are
worthy the reſearch of men; we fhall find that it is
to letters we owe it*. Our writers have ftill fur-
paffed yours in courage if a prince deviates from
the laws, they revive the renowned tribunal of the
Chinefe; they engrave his name on a dreadful plate
of brass, by which his difgrace is eternally recorded.
Hiſtory in their hands is the rock to falfe glory, the
fentence paffed on illuftrious criminals, the crucible
from which the hero exhales, if he has not been a
man.
"How ought the princes of the earth, who com-
plain that all who approach them are affected by con-
ftraint
*We may affert, with a degree of certainty, that the new
lights, which are every day difcovered, defcending by de-
grees in almost every ſtate, will, by a fure method annihi-
late the prefent capricious jumble of laws, and ſubſtitute
others more natural and more juft; the judgment of the
public will have a powerful and penetrating voice that will
change the face of nations; it will be printing that will ren-
der this great ſervice to humanity. Let us therefore con-
tinue to print; and let every one from the higheſt to the
loweſt, read; but, at the ſame time, let us print that only
which is true and uſeful; and let us well meditate before
we write.
THE MEN OF LETTERS.
197
Have
ftraint and diffimulation, to be confounded!
they not always with them thofe dumb but indepen-
dent and intrepid orators, who can, without offence,
inftru&t them, and who from their thrones, have nei-
ther favours to expect nor difgrace to fear*? We
ought to render that juftice to thofe noble writers, to
acknowledge that there is no race of men who have
better fulfilled their deftination. Some have over-
thrown fuperftition, others fupported the rights of
the people. Theſe have dug the fruitful mine of mo-
rality, thoſe diſplayed virtue under the figure of an
indulgent fenfibility. We have forgot the foibles
which they might have as private perfons; we ſee
that mafs of light only which they have formed and
aggran
* The Prometheus of Efchylus contains a beautiful and
clear allegory. It is that of an arbitrary monarch cruſhing
a man of genius; for having brought down fire from hea-
ven, with which he enlightened mankind, he is fixed to the
fummit of a rock; being flowly fcorched by the fun's rays,
the colour of his body is changed; the nymphs of the woods
and fields furround him with lamentations but are unable
to affift him; the Furies load him with irons that eat into
his fcf; but a remorſe for having been virtuous can never
enter his heart.
+ How great the 'recompence to an author who is the
friend of truth and virtue, when, as we read, we drop the
burning tear upon his book, and, at the faine moment draw
from the bottom of the heart the ſtruggling figh; then cloſe
the book, and, lifting our eyes to heaven, form ardent vir-
tuous refolutions! This, doubtlefs, is the moſt brilliant re-
ward that any writer ought to wiſh. What, to this, are the
difcordant ſhouts of applaufe, as empty as they are tranfi-
tory, as envied as they are uncertain.
•
S 3
198
THE MEN OF LETTERS.
aggrandifed, that moral fun, which can never be
extinguished but with the grand luminary of the
univerfe."
How glad fhould I be to enjoy the prefence of thoſe
great men for I have ever had a ſtrong attraction
towards writers of real merit; I love to fee them, but
ftill more to hear their diſcourſe." It happens right
luckily; to-day they open the academy, in order to
receive a man of letters."-In the room, doubtleſs,
of one that deceafed." What fay you? Muſt merit
wait till death-has deftroyed his fellow, that he may
fupply his place? No; the number of our academi-
cians is not fixed; every talent receives the crown of
its reward; there are fufficient to recompenfe them
all* "
CHAP.
An author who is not much influenced by perfonal
motives, will not give himſelf great concern to think that
he is a writer of merit in an ignorant age; if he be more
defirous of the progreſs of human knowledge, than of gra-
tifying his own vanity, inſtead of being afflicted, he will re-
joice that he cannot launch forth from his obfcurity.
*[ 199 ]
CHAP. XXX.
THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.
WE advanced toward the academy. It ſtill
preferved that name; but how different its fituation
from that where it was formerly held! It no longer
made a part of the palace of the king. How won-
derful are the revolutions of ages! A pope now fits
in the place of the Cæfars! ignorance and ſuperſti-
tion inhabit Athens! the fine arts have flown to
Ruffia! Would it have been believed in my time,
that a mountain marked with ridicule for merely af-
fording nurture to a few affes by its thiſtles, fhould
become the juft image of the ancient Parnaffus, the
feat of genius, the habitation of renowned writers?
They would have abolished the name of Mont-
martre*, but from a complaifance to received pre-
judices.
This auguft spot, clothed on all fides by venerable
woods, is confecrated to folitude; an exprefs law for-
bids the approach of all difcordant noife. The earth.
has produced freſh beds of ſtone to form the founda-
tions of this noble afylum. On this mount, bleffed
with the most genial rays of the fun, are nouriſhed
fair trees, whofe towering fummits fometimes em-
brace
* The hill Montmartre is on the north fide of Paris, and
aſmoſt adjoining to it. They fay, that on its fummit there
was once a temple dedicated to Mars, from which it took
its name.
200
THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.
brace each other, and ſometimes at diftance keep, to
afford the exploring eye a profpect of the face of
heaven
As I mounted with my guide, I obferved, here and
there, elegant hermitages diftinct from each other."
I aſked who inhabited thoſe flowery ſpots, half con-
cealed by the woods, and half expofed to view, whofe
aſpect appeared fo engaging." You fhall foon
know," was replied; "let us now haften; the hour
approaches." In fact, I faw a great number of per-
fons arrive from every fide, not in coaches, but on
foot. Their converfation feemed to be highly plea-
fing and animated. We entered an edifice fuffi-
ciently large, but decorated with great fimplicity. I
obferved no Swifs, armed with a heavy halberd, at
the door of the tranquil fanctuary of the Mufes; there
was nothing to forbid entrance amidst a crowd of
worthy men*.
The hall was remarkably fonorous; fo that the
moſt feeble academic voice might be heard at the
greateſt diſtance. The order that there reigned was
not lefs remarkable; feveral rows of benches fur-
rounded the hall; for they knew that the ear fhould be
at its eafe in an academy, as the eye in the faloon of
a painter
* I have ever been highly curious to fee a man of genius,
and have thought that I diſcovered in his port, his actions,
the air of his head, his countenance, and afpect, fomething
that diſtinguiſhed him from the common race of men. The
ſcience of phyfiognomy ſtill remains to be properly inveſ
tigated.
6
THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.
201
a painter. I confidered every object at my leifure.
The number of academics feats was not ridiculoufly
fixed; but what feemed moft fingular was, that, on
the back of each chair a feroll was displayed, on
which were diftinaly wrote the titles of that acade-
mician who chofe it for his feat; every one might
place himſelf in an armed chair without any other
previous ceremony than that of diſplaying the fcroll
that contained the title of his works. It is easy to
conceive, that no one offered to diſplay a charte
blanché, as was done in my day, by bishops, marfhals,
and preceptors*; ftill lefs would they dare to ex-
pofe to the fevere public eye the title of a work
of mean merit, or a fervile imitation; it muſt be
a work that points out fome new difcovery in the
arts, or, at least, that excels all others on the fame
fubject.
My
* We have ſeen on the Boulevards, (the old ramparts of
Paris which now ferve for recreation,) an automaton that
articulated founds, and the people flock to admire it. How
inany automata, with human faces, do we fee at court, at
the bar, in the academies, who owe their fpeech to the
breath of inviſible agents; when they ceafe, the machines
remain dumb.
+ There are no longer any means left to diſtinguiſh our-
felves, they fay. Wretches! that hunt after ſmoke, the
path of virtue ſtill lies before you; there you will find but
few.competitors; but that is not the fort of glory that you
feek. I underſtand you; you would become the fubject
of popular difcourfe. I figh for you, and for the human
race.
202
THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.
My guide pulled me by the fleeve-" You feem
aſtoniſhed; let me increaſe your wonder. Thoſe
charming habitations which you obſerved on aſcend-
ing the mountain, form the retreats of thofe who
are ftruck by an unknown power that commands
them to write. Our academicians are Carthufians*;
it is in folitude that genius difplays its powers, for-
fakes the beaten path, and difcovers unknown regions.
When does enthuliafm fpring forth? When the
author defcends into himself, when he inveftigates
his own foul, that profound mind, of whofe value
the poffeffor is not unfrequently ignorant. What
inſpirers are retreat and friendſhip†! What more is
neceffary to thoſe who ſearch for nature and truth?
Where do we hear their fublime voice? In the tumult
of cities, amidst that crowd of low pursuits, that,
unknown to ourſelves, befiege the heart? No; it is
amidſt the rural fcenes that the foul rejuvenates; it
is there that it contemplates the majefty of the uni-
verfe, that majefty, eloquent, and all-gracious; the
thought ftrikes, the expreffion glows; the image and
its fplendor become widely extended, like the horizon
that furrounds us.
"In
* Let him who would acquire a ftrength of mind,
affiduouſly exert its powers; the greateſt fluggard is ever
the greateſt flave.
Man has much longer time to live with the mind
than with the fenfes; he would therefore act wilely to
depend for his pleaſures on the former rather than on the
latter.
THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.
203
"In your days, the men of letters frequented the
circles to amuſe the coquettes, and obtain an equivo-
cal fmile; they facrificed all that was bold and
manly to the fuperftitious empire of fashion; they
diveſted the foul of its real nature, to pleaſe the
age.
Inſtead of looking forward to an auguft feries of ages,
they rendered themſelves flaves to a momentary tafte.
In a word, they purfued ingenious falfehoods; they
flifled that inward voice which cries, Be fevere as the
time that flies; be inexorable as poflerity.
"Thefe academics, moreover, here enjoy that
happy mediocrity*, which, amongst us, conftitutes.
fovereign wealth. We do not offer to interrupt
them, either with a deſire to difcover the leaſt move-
ments of their minds, or from a vanity of being
admitted to their company. We revere their time,
as we do the hallowed bread of the indigent; but at-
tentive to their defires, at the leaft fignal they find
them gratified."-If that be the cafe, you muſt have
fufficient employment. Are there not thoſe who
affume the rank to cover their idlenefs or real weak-
nefs?" No; this region is fo ftrongly illuminated,
that the leaft fpot is eaſily diſcovered. Impoſture
dare not here intrude; it can never bear the look of
a man of genius, whofe piercing eye nought can
deceive. For thoſe whom prefumption may bring
r
hither,
*The great man is modeft; the man of mediocrity dif-
plays his indifferent advantages; fo the majestic river glides
filently along, while the rivulet runs chattering over the
rugged pebbles.
204
THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.
hither*, there are perfons of a benign temper, who
effectually diffuade them from a project that cannot
redound to their honour. In a word, the law en-
joins... ”—Our converfation was interrupted by a
fudden general filence in the affembly. My whole
foul flew to my ear, when I beheld one of the
academicians prepare to read a manufcript which
he held in his hand, and with a grace by no means
infignificant.
O ungrateful memory, how could I reproach thee?
Why didft thou defert me? Would that I could re-
peat the perfuafive difcourfe pronounced by that
academic! The force, the method, the flowing pe-
riods have eſcaped me; but the impreffion on my
mind can never be effaced. No; never was I fo
enraptured. The vifage of each auditor reflected
thofe fentiments with which I was agitated; it was
one of the most delicious enjoyments my heart ever
felt. What depths! what images! what truths!
what a noble flame! how fublime a tone! The orator
declaimed against envyt, defcribed the fources of that
fatal
* There is no object that may not be viewed from a
hundred different ftations; but there is only one from
whence it can be justly beheld; and if that is not chofen,
genius and labour become uſeleſs.
How I pity the envious and jealous mind, that glances
over the valuable parts of a work, and knows not how to
enjoy them. By analogy it dwells on thofe parts only that
arc imperfect. The man of letters who by an habitual
exercife
THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.
205
fatal paffion, its horrible effects, the infamy it has
caſt on the laurels that have crowned many great
men; all its vile, unjust, deteſtable qualities were ſo
ftrongly painted, that while we deplored the fate of
its blind, unhappy victims, we trembled left our own
hearts ſhould be infected by its poifon. The mirror
was fo properly prefented before each particular
character, their meannefs expofed in fuch various and
ridiculous lights, the human heart diſplayed in a
manner fo new, fo refined, ſo ſtriking, that it was
impoffible not to know them; and when knowing,
not to form the deſign of abjuring that miſerable
weakneſs. The fear of bearing fome refemblance
to that frightful monſter, Envy, produced a happy
effect. I faw, O inftructive fight! O moment un-
heard of in the annals of literature! I faw the mem-
bers of that affembly regard each other with a tender
and fympathizing look; I ſaw them mutually open
their arms, embrace, and cry with joy; their bofoms
reſting and panting against each other; I faw (will
it be believed?) the authors difperfed about the room
imitate the affectionate tranfports of the academi-
cians, and convinced of the talents of their brethren,
fwear an unalterable, eternal friendship; I faw the
tears of affection and benevolence flow from every eye.
They were a company of brothers, who fubftituted
that
exerciſe of reaſon and taſte, improves the one and the other,
and inceffantly creates to himſelf new joys, is of all men the
moſt happy-if he can diveſt himſelf of jealouſy or of an
over fenfibility.
T
206
THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.
that honourable applauſe in the room of our ſtupid
clapping of hands.
After the full enjoyment of thofe delicious mo-
ments; after each one had expreffed the various
fenfations that he had felt, and thofe ftrokes by
which he was moſt ſtrongly affected; and after fre-
quently repeating the vows of endless friendſhip,
another member of this auguft fociety aroſe with a
fmiling air; an applauding murmur run through the
hall, for he was eſteemed a Socratic railer‡. He
raiſed his voice, and ſaid,
• GENTLEMEN,
Many reafons have induced me to offer you to
day a fhort, but, I think, curious extract of what
our academy was in its infancy, that is, about the
eighteenth century. The cardinal who was our
founder, and whom our predeceffors have fo ex-
travagantly
6
*When at the theatre or the academy, an affecting or
ſublime paſſage ſtrikes the aſſembly, inſtead of that ſigh from
the bottom of the heart, and the filent emotions, I hear thoſe.
clappings redoubled till they ſhake the roof, I ſay to myſelf,
thefe people have no feeling; they are men of wood that
ftrike two boards together.
† As a malignant raillery is the fruit of an iniquitous dif-
pofition, fo an ingenious pleafantry is the fruit of wisdom.
A fprightly temper and graceful manner were the moſt
triuniphant arms of Socrates.
Cardinal Richelieu.
THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.
207
travagantly extolled, and to whom they attributed,
in our eſtabliſhment, the moft profound defigns,
'would never have formed this inftitution, (let us
'confefs it) if he had not himſelf made wretched
verfes which he idolized, and which he was defi-
rous that we ſhould celebrate. That cardinal, I
'fay, at the time he invited the authors to form one
body, difcovered his defpotic temper, when he
'made them fubject to rules ever unknown to genius.
'Our founder had fo imperfect an idea of what fuch
'a fociety ought to be, that he limited the number
of members to forty; fo that Corneille and Mon-
tefquieu might have waited at the door to the end
of their days. This cardir. 1 imagined, moreover,
that genius would naturally remain in obfcurity,
if titles and dignities did not roufe it from its
inanity. When he formed this ftrange judgment,
furely, he could think of fuch rhimers only as Col-
'letet and his colleagues, whom he ſupported out of
' mere vanity.
• From thence it became an eſtabliſhed cuſtom,
that they who had money in the room of merit, and
titles inftead of genius, feated themfelves by thofe
• whoſe names had been celebrated by fame through-
' out all Europe. He was himself the first example,
• and he was but too well imitated. When thoſe
great men who drew the attention of their own age,
• and whofe regards were fixed on that of pofterity,
• had covered with glory the place where they held
their affemblies, the gilt and titled idiots befieged
'the door; nay, almoſt preſumed to declare, that
I 2
'they
208
THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.
they reflected honour on the fociety by their paltry
ribbons, and, in fact, believed, or pretended to be-
lieve, that, by feating themſelves by men of genius,
they actually refembled them.
Then were feen marfhals, as well victorious as
beaten, mitred heads that had never made a man-
date, men of the long robe, preceptors, and finan-
ciers, who pretended to the title of men of genius;
and though they were nothing more than the deco-
'rations of the theatre, really believed themſelves
to be capital performers. Some eight or ten among
the forty fhone by their own luftre; the reſt had
only a borrowed light; yet it was neceffary to
wait for the death of an academician in order to
fill his place, and which, nevertheless, for the moſt
part, ftill remained empty.
•
•
• What could be more ludicrous than to fee that
academy, whofe renown was ſpread over all the
capital, hold its affemblies in a ſmall, cloſe, mean
room ? There, in feveral armed chairs, that were.
formerly red, were feen, from time to time, a
number of indolent wretches, carelessly feated,
weighing of fyllables, or carefully culling the words.
• out of fome piece of profe or poetry, in order, at
laft, to applaud the moſt unmeaning among them.
• But, on the other hand, pray remark it, gentlemen,
they never erred in calculating the number of coun-
ters that each gained by the abſence of his brethren.
• Can you believe that they gave the conqueror a
gold medal in the room of a branch of oak, and
• that
THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.
209
".
that on it there was engraved this ridiculous infcrip.
tion: Al' imortalité? Alas! that immortality paffed
the next day into the goldfmith's crucible; and
that was the moſt real advantage the victorious
champion obtained.
'Could you imagine, that thofe little victories
"fometimes turned the conquerors brains, fo great
was their ridiculous vanity*? and that the judges
"exerciſed ſcarce any other function than that of dif- -
tributing thofe ufelefs prizes, about which no one
even ever made inquiry?
·
The place of their affembly was open to none
but authors; and they were admitted by tickets
only. In the morning was performed a mufical
mafs; then a trembling prieft pronounced the pa-
negyric of Lewis IX. (I know not very well why)
extolling him for more than an hour, though he
was
* Except the univerſity prizes, which give rife to a fooliſh.
pride in childiſh heads, I know of nothing more pernicious.
than the medals of our literary academies. The conqueror
really thinks himſelf a perſon of confequence, and is ruined
for the remainder of his days; he difdains every one who
has not been crowned with fo rare and illuftrious a laurel.
See in the Mercure de France, for the month of September,
1769, page 184, an inftance of the most ridiculous egotifm.
A very diminutive author informs the public, that when
he was at college, he performed his theme better than his
colleagues; he glories in it, and imagines that he main-.
tains the fame rank in the republic of letters.-Rifum tenes.
atis, amici?
T 3
210
THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.
⚫ was certainly a bad fovereign*. Then the orator
'declaimed on the croifades, which highly inflamed
the archbishop's bile, who interdicted the prieſtly
orator, for his temerity in difplaying good fenfe.
In the evening was another eulogy; but as that
was on a profane fubject the archbishop hap-
'pily did not concern himſelf with the doctrine it
' contained.
<
<
It is proper to remark, that the place where
they difplayed their wit was guarded by fufileers.
and gigantic Swifs, who underſtood no French.
Nothing was more comic than the contrast between
the meagre figure of the man of letters, and the
enormous bluftering ftature of the Swifs. This
⚫ was called a public affembly. The public, it is true,
were there; but it was at the door; a poor ac-
'knowledgment for their complaifance. In the mean
time, the fole liberty that remained to the nation
was to pronounce abfolutely, on profe or verſe, to
'condemn one author, applaud another, and fome-
times laugh at them all.
The academic rage, however, poffeffed every
'brain; every one would be a royal cenfort, and
• then
*The firſt penal edict againſt particular ſentiments or
opinions was denounced by Lewis IX. vulgarly called
St. Lewis.
+ Royal cenfor! I never hear that word without
laughter. We Frenchmen know not how ridiculous we
are, nor what right we give pofterity to regard us with pity.
THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.
211
' then an academician. They calculated the lives of
• all the members of the academy remarked the de-
gree of vigour that their ftomachs difcovered at
table; death feemed to the candidates to be flow in
his approach; the cry was, They are immortal!
• When a new member was choſen, ſome one mut-
tered foftly, Ah! when fhall I make thy eulogy at
the bottom of the long table, ftanding with my hat
on, and declare thee to be a great man as well as
• Lewis XIV. and the chancellor Seguier, while you
'fleep profoundly under your tomb-ftone decorated
with a curious epitaph.
<
<
The men of money at laſt ſo far prevailed in a
'golden age, that they completely banished the men
of letters; fo that in the following generation, mef-
'fieurs the farmers-general, were in poffeffion of the
"forty armed chairs, where they fnored as much at
their eaſe as their predeceffors; and were ſtill more
dextrous in dividing the counters. From thence
it was that the old proverb arofe, There is no enter
ing the academy without an equipage.
"
4
The men of letters, unable to regain their ufurped
dominion, and drove to defpair confpired in form.
They had recourfe to their ufual weapons, epi-
grams, fongs, and vaudevilles*; they exhauſted all
"the arrows from the quiver of fatire; but, alas! all
' their attacks were fruitlefs; the hearts of their ad-
' verfaries
* Poor arms! which even are now prohibited, and which
the infolent pride of the great at once feeks after and
dreads.
}
212
THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.
• verſaries were become fo callous as to be no longer
⚫ penetrable, even by the piercing ftrokes of ridicule;
• all the bon mots of meffieurs the authors would
have been thrown away but for the aid of a violent
indigeftion, that furpriſed the academicians on a
certain day, when affembled at a fplendid feaft.
Thofe three divinities, Apollo, Pluto, and the god
of the digeftive faculty, quarrelled with each other;
• Indigeſtion attacking them under the double title
' of financiers and academics, deſtroyed them almoſt
all; the men of letters again entered their ancient
dominion, and the academy was faved...."
There was an univerfal burſt of laughter in the
affembly. Some of them afked me in a low voice,.
if the account was juft. Yes, I replied, for the moſt
part; but when we look down on paſt times from
the fummit of feven hundred years, it is doubtleſs
eafy to give a ridiculous turn to what then exifted.
For the reft, the academy agreed, even in my time,
that each member who compofed it was of more
worth than the inftitution itself. Nothing can be
added to that confeffion. The misfortune is, that
when men meet in affemblies, their heads contract, as
Montefquieu faid, who ought to know.
I paffed into an apartment that contained the por-
traits of the academicians, as well ancient as modern;
I took particular notice of thofe that fucceeded the
academics now living; but, to avoid offence, I fhall
not name them.
Helas!
THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.
213
Helas! la verité fi fouvent eft cruelle,
On l'aime, et les humains font malheureux par elle.
VOLT.
Alas! the truth we love, though oft we find
Her cruel, and a foe to human kind.
I cannot, however, refrain from relating a fact
that will certainly give great pleaſure to every gene-
rous mind, that loves juſtice and detefts tyranny;
which is, that the portrait of the abbé St. Pierre was
reinstated in its rank with all the honours due to fuch
exemplary virtue. They had effaced the turpitude
of which the academy had rendered itſelf culpable,
while it bowed the neck to a yoke of a fervitude it
ought never to have known. They had placed this
inestimable and virtuous writer between Fenelon and
Montesquieu. I gave the praiſes due to this noble
equity. I faw no portrait of Richelieu, nor of Chrif
tina, nor of
nor -- which, though
but paintings, had been for ever difcarded,
nor
As I defcended the mountain, I caft my eyes many
times on thoſe lovely groves where dwelt the men of
brilliant genius, who, in filence, and in the contem-
plation of nature, laboured to form the hearts of
their countrymen to virtue, to the love of the true
and beautiful; when ſoftly I faid: Would that I could
render myſelf worthy of this academy!
CHAP.
[ 214 ]
CHAP. XXXI.
THE KING'S CABINET.
NOT far from this enchanting ſpot, I beheld
a vaft temple that ſtruck me with awe and admira-
tion. On its frontispiece was wrote An abridgement of
the univerſe. "You fee," ſaid my guide, "the king's
cabinet, though the edifice belongs not to him, but to
the ſtate. We give it that title merely as a mark of
the reſpect we bear his perfon. Our fovereign, more-
over, after the manner of the ancient kings, exercifes
medicine, furgery, and the arts. The happy time is
returned when men in power, who are provided with
the neceffary means for performing experiments, are
charmed with the glory of making diſcoveries of im-
portance to mankind, and are anxious to carry the
ſciences to that degree of perfection which attends
their influence and their zeal. The moit confider-
able perfons in the nation employ their opulence in
diſcovering the fecrets of nature; and gold, formerly
the fource of vice and the wages of floth, rewards
thoſe labours that are fubfervient to humanity.
On entering, I was ftruck with a pleaſing furprize.
This temple was the animated palace of nature; all
her productions were here collected with a profuſion
that was completely regular. The temple eonfifted
of four wings of an immenfe extent, in the centre of
which
THE KING's CABINET.
215
which was the moft capacious dome my eyes ever
beheld.
In different parts were placed marble ftatues, with
theſe inſcriptions: To the inventor of the faw, To
the inventor of the plane, the fcrew, the pulley, the
capftane, the crane, &c. &c. All the different forts of
animals, vegetables, and minerals were placed under
the four wings, and were vifible by one glance of the
eye. What an immenfe and aſtoniſhing affemblage!
Under the firft wing were feen all from the cedar
to the hyffop.
Under the ſecond from the eagle to the fly.
Under the third, from the elephant to the ant.
Under the fourth, from the whale to the gudgeon.
ture.
In the middle of the dome were the ſports of na-
Monſters of every kind. Productions enor-
mous, unknown, fingular in their gender. For Na-
ture, the moment fhe abandons her ordinary laws,
difcovers an intelligence ftill more profound than
when fhe adheres ftrictly to them. On the fides were
feen complete portions of matter taken from the
mines which prefented the fecret laboratories, where
nature prepares thofe metals that man has rendered
fometimes useful, fometimes dangerous. Long beds
of matter ſkilfully taken up, and artfully placed,
fhowed the interior face of the earth, and the order
*
obferved
216
THE KING's CABINET.
obferved in the different ftrata of ftone, clays, and
loam, there depofited*.
"
What follows was wrote me by a friend.
14
How
"I have
now a greater taſte than ever for the quarries. I think
"it will make me dwell among the minerals and petrifac-
"tions, and, perhaps, prepare me a tomb in the bowels of
"the earth. I have defcended near nine hundred feet into
"her bofom, hard by ****, much concerned that I could
go no farther, I would have printed my footſteps on her
"kernel, and have there enquired concerning the different
"nations that had fojourned on her furface; would have
"aſked, if among the infinite number of her children, any
❝one had ever acknowledged, her benefactions? If at the
"fpot where I meditate, far from the light of day, ſhe had
"ever produced nouriſhing fruits? And if a people, or
* a throne had been there; and how many beds, formed
"of the ruins of mankind, fhe .concealed from the depth of
❝this abyss to the laſt point of her diameter ? I would have
"entreated her to let me read all the cataſtrophies that ſhe
"had fuffered; and I fhould have bathed them with my
"tears, when I had learnt all the diſaſters from which ſhe
"had not been able to defend her numerous family; dif-
"aſters engraved on inconteſtible medals, but whofe re-
"membrance is utterly effaced; difafters that will again
"return when ſhe ſhall bury in her fides the prefent gene-
❝ration, who ſhall in their turn be trod under foot by gene-
❝rations without number, who perhaps will have no other
"refemblance to them than the participation of the fame
"misfortunes. Then, in the midft of my grief, as juft as
"humane, I ſhould have formed cruel and charitable
"" Vows; I fhould have wifhed that he would have fwal-
"lowed up every animal exiſtence; that he would have
"ſnatched every being endowed with fenfibility, from the
« light of the ſun; all of whoſe ſavours are inſufficient to
1
46 repair
I
THE KING's CABINET.
217
How great was my aſtoniſhment, when, inſtead of
a parcel of dry bones, I faw the complete whale, the
monstrous hippopotamus, the terrible crocodile, &c.
They
"repair the oppreſſion of tyrants, who divide and conſume
"her amongſt them.
"This globe, which bears fo many wretches, would
"then roll in an univerfal and happy filence; it would pre-
"ſent to the fun's rays no unfortunate being compelled
"to curfe it. No cry of lamentation would ariſe from this
"planet; it would then traverſe the heavens with a tranquil
"majeſty. Her children, fleeping in one common tomb,
"would fuffer her to obey the laws of the creation, while
they were no longer the victims of deſtructive laws, that
"fall on the head of man as on the meanest grain of fand;
"and death ſurrounding this double hemifphere with his
"peaceful fhadow, would perhaps preſent an appearance
"more ſtriking than the bluſtering reign of this vain glo-
“rious life, that draws after it a long ſeries of crimes, an
"inundation of misfortunes, and a terror even of its very
"diffolution.”
I replied to this friend, that I did not join with him in the
laſt wiſh; that phyſical evils were of all others the moſt ſup-
portable; that they were tranſient, and beſides, inevitable;
and we had nothing to do but fubmit; but that it was in a
inan's own power to defend himſelf from thoſe unhappy
paffions, that torment and difgrace him. I anſwered him
in conformity to the principles that are fufficiently explained
in the courſe of this work. I thought it but juſt, however, to
preſerve this extract, as it abounds with a ſtrong ſenſibility ¶,
¶ That there is a confiderable degree of fenfibility, and fome
Angenuity in this extract, cannot be denied; but at the fame
U
time,
218
THE KING's CABINET.
They had followed the arrangement, the degrada.
tions and varieties that nature has obferved in her pro.
ductions. The eye thus traced without labour the
chain of beings, from the greateſt to the leaſt. We
there faw the lion, the tyger, the panther, in the
fierce attitudes by which they are characteriſed; the
voracious animals were reprefented as darting on
their prey; even the energy of their motion feemed
in a manner to be preferved, as well as the creative
breath by which they were animated. The more
gentle, or more fubtle, had loft nothing of their phy-
fiognomy. Labour, cunning, and patience, art had
clofely imitated. The natural hiſtory of each animal
was engraved under it, and the attendants explained
verbally, what would have been too long to be read.
That fcale of beings, fo contefted in our day, and
which many philofophers had judiciouſly ſuppoſed,
was here confirmed by the cleareſt evidence. We
faw diftinctly that the feveral fpecies touch; that they
run, ſo to ſpeak, into each other; that by the delicate
and fenfible connections between the mere ſtone and
the plant, the plant and the animal, the animal and
man, there remained no interſtices. That their
growth, duration, and deftruction, were determined
by
time, it has certainly the air of a philofophic rant. The writer
.feems to have not believed, or at least not fufficiently regarded,
the doctrine of a future ftate. Would it have been unworthy
the wisdom and goodnefs of God, to have created this earth
for the existence of one man only, if, after a fhort duration
here, he were to inherit a glorious immortality i
THE KING's CABINET.
219
by the fame cauſes.. It was moreover remarked, that
nature in all her cperations, tended with energy to
the formation of man; and that labouring patiently,
and even at a diſtance, that important work, fhe en-
deavoured, by various effays, to arrive at the gradual
term of his perfection, which ſeemed to be the utmoſt
effort of her power.
This cabinet was by no means a chaos, an undi-
geſted maſs, where the objects, either widely fcattered,
or heaped together, afforded no determinate idea.
The gradations were ſkilfully difpofed and preferved.
But what moſt of all favoured the arrangement,
was, that they had diſcovered a preparation, which
preſerved the ſeveral ſubjects from thoſe infects that
fpring from corruption.
FX
I found myself oppreffed by the weight of fo many
miracles. My eye embraced all the luxury of nature.
How at that moment did I reverence its author!
What homage did I render to his power, his wiſdom,
and what is even ftill more precious, his goodneſs!
How important a being does man appear, when
ranging amongst thefe wonders, collected by his
hands; and which feem created for him, as he alone
has the power of difcerning their various properties.
That line fo juftly proportioned, thofe connections,
thofe feeming vacuities, but conftantly filled; that
gradual order, that plan which admits of no inter-
mediate; after furveying the heavens, what fight is
more magnificent on the earth, which itſelf, at the
U 2
fame
:
220
THE KING's CABINET.
fame time, is but an atom*? By what wonderful
perfeverance, I faid, have you been able to perform
fo great a work?
"It is the work of many kings," they replied;
All jealous of honouring the title of an intelligent
being; a ſublime and generous paffion, fupported by
a conſtant ardor, has inípired them with the curiofity
of plucking off the veil from the bofom of nature.
Instead of counting battles gained, towns taken by
affault, injuftice, and bloody conquefts; they fay of
our kings, he made fuch a diſcovery in the ocean of
beings; he accomplished fuch a project for the good
of
* It must be confeffed, that the hiftory of nature is no-
thing more than that of our own weakneſs. The little that
we know diſcovers the extent of our ignorance. Phyfics
are to us what an occult ſcience was to the ancients. We
cannot conteſt ſome parts of it, but we can deny the whole.
What axiom is there peculiar to it? The project of a natural
hiſtory is highly commendable, but it is ſomewhat faſtuous.
A man ſpends his whole life in difcovering the leaft pro-
perty of a mineral, and dies before he has exhauſted the
fubject. The immenſity of objects, animals, trees, and
plants, is fufficient to awe the capacity of a fingle man,
But ought it to difcourage him? No; it is here that auda-
city is virtue, obftinacy wifdom, and prefumption utility.
We ſhould watch nature ſo cloſely, that ſhe may at laſt, by
ſurpriſe, diſcover her fecret; to find it out feems not impoſ
fible to the human mind, provided the chain of obſerva-
tions be not interrupted, and that each philoſopher be more
anxious for the perfection of ſcience than for his own glo-
ry; a rare, but neceſſary facrifice, and one that points out
the real friend to man.
THE KING's CABINET.
221
of mankind. They no longer ſpend a hundred mil-
lion of livres for the deſtruction of their brethren in
one campaign; but employ it in augmenting their
real riches; in the encouragement of genius and in-
duſtry, and by encreafing their force, complete the
general happineſs."
There have been fecrets difcovered in all ages, by
men in appearance the moſt ſtupid. Many of them
have like lightning ſhone for a moment only. We
are fenfible, however, that nothing is loft we wish to
fave. All is laid up in the bofom of nature; we need
but fearch; it is vaft, it preſents a thouſand reſources.
Nothing is annihilated in the order of beings. By
perpetually agitating the maſs of ideas, the moſt un-
expected rencounters arife*. Fully convinced of the
poffi-
* When we regard the point from which men have ſet
out in their philofophical inquiries, and that to which they
are now arrived, it muſt be confeffed, that, with all our
machines, we do not ſufficiently extend the force of the hu
man mind. Man, left to himſelf, feems more ſtrong, than
with all thoſe foreign helps. The more we acquire, the
more indolent we become, the infinite number of experi-
ments has ferved ſcarce any other purpofe than to confe-
crate error, Content with feeing, we have thought that
we touched the extremity, and have difdained to feek fur-
ther. Our philofophers glide over a thouſand importanț
objects, of which they ought to give the folution. Experi-
mental philofophy has become an exhibition, a fort of pub-
lic legerdemain. If the experiment that has been promiſed
is tardy or diſobedient, the operator frequently corrects it
with a touch of his finger. What do we now fee? Uncons
nected
Ų 3
222
THE KING's CABINET.
poffibility of the most aftonishing difcoveries, we have
not lingered in the purfuit.
We leave nothing to chance; that word, totally
void of meaning is banifhed from our language.
Chance is a fynonimous word with ignorance. Sa-
gacity, labour, and patience, are the inftruments by
which nature is compelled to diſcover her moſt hid-
den treaſures. Men have learnt to derive every pof-
fible advantage from the gifts they have received. By
perceiving the degree to which they could afcend,
they have been ftimulated by glory to purfue the
boundleſs career that is fet before them. The life of
a fingle man, it is faid is too fhort; it is true; and
what have we done? we have united the force of each
individual; they have acquired an immenfe empire;
the one finiſhed what the other began. The chain
was never interrupted, but each link cloſely connected
with that which went before; thus it has been ex-
tended through feveral centuries, and this chain of
ideas
nected, ufelefs difcoveries; dogmatical philofophers, who
facrifice all to their fyftems; retailers of words, who con-
found the vulgar, and excite pity on the man who can take
the poliſhed covering from off their jargon. The memoirs
of the academy of ſciences prefent a multitude of facts, of
furpriſing obfervations; but all thoſe obſervations reſemble
a relation of fome unknown people, where one man only
has been, and where no one can go again. We must be-
lieve the traveller and the philofopher, even though they
ſhould have deceived themſelves; nor can we draw any
utility from their relations, on account of the diſtance of the
country, and the difficulty of applying their obfervations to
any real objects.
THE KING's CABINET.
223
ideas and of fucceffive labour, may one day furround
and embrace the univerfe. It is not merely a per-
fonal glory, but the intereft of the human race,
ſcarce thought of in your days, that ſupports the moſt
difficult enterpriſes.
"We no longer amuſe ourſelves with vain fyf-
tems*. Thanks to heaven (and to your folly they
are all exhaufted. The torch of experience alone
directs our ſteps. Our end is to know the fecret
cauſes of each appearance, and to extend the do-
minion of man, by providing him with the means
of executing all thofe labours that can aggrandife his
exiſtence.
"We have certain hermits, (of one order only)
who live in the forefts; but it is to herbalife, which
they do by choice, and from a natural propenſity.
On certain stated days they repair hither, to commu-
nicate their valuable diſcoveries.
"We have erected towers on the fummits of feveral
mountains, where they make obfervations that are
continually increasing, and that confirm each other.
We have formed artificial torrents and cataracts, by
which
* Let the fabricators of fyftems, phyſical and meta-
phyfical, explain to me the following incident. Father
Mabillon was, in his younger days, an idiot. When he
was fix and twenty, he fell with his head againſt a ſtone
ftair-cafe. He was trepaned, and became a new man;
endowed with a lively imagination, an amazing memory,
and a zeal for ſtudy rarely equalled,
224
THE KING'S CABINET.'
which is acquired a force fufficient to produce the
greateſt effects by motion*. We have eſtabliſhed
aromatic baths, to rejuvenate the bodies of thoſe
who are grown rigid by age; for God has not
created fo many falutary plants, and given the
knowledge of their virtues to man, but to confign to
his vigilance the care of preterving his health, and
extending the fragile and precious thread of his
days.
"Our public walks, which among you ſeemed
calculated for pleaſure only, pay us an uſeful tribute.
They are formed of fruit-trees, that delight the view,
and embalm the air with their odours. They have
taken place of the lime, the barren chefnut, and the
ftunted elm. We engraft, and render prolific, wild
trees, that our labours may correfpond with the bliſs-
ful liberality of nature, who only waits for that
mafter's hand, to whom the Creator, ſo to ſay, has
fubmitted them.
"We have menageries of large extent, for all forts
of animals; and have found in the depths of the
foreſts, ſeveral ſpecies that were altogether unknown
to
• The moſt brilliant and expenſive undertakings are not
the moſt to be adınired, if they are erected merely for
oftentation. The machine that raiſes the water which
fupplies the gardens of Marley, is not, in the eyes of a
wife man, of ſo much confequence as a fingle wheel, turned
by a rivulet, that grinds the corn for feveral villages, or
aids the labour of the manufacturer. Genius may be
powerful, but it is only great when uſeful to mankind.
1
THE KING'S CABINET.
225
to you. We mix theſe tribes to fee the effects they
will produce. The difcoveries we have here made
are aſtoniſhing, and highly ufeful, for the fpecies has
fometimes encreaſed to twice the common fize. To
conclude, we have remarked, that our pains beſtowed
on nature, have rarely been ineffectual.
"We have alfo recovered many fecrets that were
loft to you, merely for want of perfeverance in the
fearch; for you were more folicitous to heap up a
great number of words in the form of a book, than
to recover, by dint of application, extraordinary in-
ventions. We now poffefs, as did the ancients,
malleable glass; the tranfparent ftone; the Tyrian
purple, with which the imperial robes were dyed;
the mirror of Archimides*; the Ægyptian art of
embalming; the machine by which they erected
their obelisks; the cloth in which their bodies were
confumed on the funeral pile; the art of liquifying
flones; the inextinguiſhable lamps, and even the
Appian fauce.
"Walk into thefe gardens, where botany has re-
ceived all the perfection of which it was ſuſceptiblef.
Your
* If the moderns have not preciſely this mirror, they
have fomething very like it.
+ Thou, who wandereft over the fields, while thinking
on the veſſel that plows the waves, and bears thy treaſure ;
ſtop, ſhort-ſighted wretch! Thou treadeft upon an obſcure,
Eut falutary herb, that would communicate health and joy
to
226
THE KING's CABINET.
Your blind philofophers complained that the earth
was replete with poifons, we have difcovered, that
they are the most efficacious remedies that can be
employed. Providence has here been justified, as it
would be in every inftance, but for the weakneſs of
our knowledge. We now no longer hear complaints
upon the earth; no mournful voice cries out, "All
is evil!" We fay, that in the fight of God, "All is
good!" Even the effects of theſe poiſons we not only
forefee, but know how to prevent.
"We have extracted from plants certain pene.
trating and benign juices, which, by infinuating
themſelves into the pores of the ſkin, mix with our
fluids, eſtabliſh the temperament, and render the
body more healthful, more fupple and robuſt. We
have difcovered the fecret of diffolving the ftone
without burning the entrails. We now cure the
phthifis, and every other diſorder formerly deemed
incurable*. But the most excellent of all our enter.
prifes
to thy heart; a treaſure far more valuable than all thy fhip
contains. After having purfued a thouſand chimeras, end
thy labours like J. J .Rouffeau, by herbalizing.
It is fhameful for a man to declare that he has a fecret
uſeful to the human race, and referve it for the advantage
of himſelf and his family. Alas! What recompence would
he have? Wretch! Thou mayeft pafs through the midſt of
thy brethren, and fay to thyfelf, "Thele beings are in
debted to me for a part of their health and felicity i" But
thou art not poffeffed of that noble pride, nor affected by
•
that
THE KING's CABINET.
2.247
priſes was, the exterminating that dreadful hydra,
that cruel and fhameful plague, which attacked the
fource of life and pleaſure. The human race was
on the brink of deftruction when we difcovered that
happy fpecific, which has preſerved its being and its
pleaſure, ftill more precious*. In the courfe of our
walk, the Buffon of that age joined demonſtration
to words, by pointing out to me the objects of nature,
and adding his own reflections.”
But what moſt of all ſurpriſed me, was an optical
cabinet, where they had affembled all the properties
of light. It was a perpetual fcene of magic. They
cauſed to pafs before my eyes landſcapes, profpects,
palaces, rainbows, meteors, luminous cyphers, ima-
ginary feas; and which were more ftriking than even
the realities; it was the region of enchantment. The
profpect of creation rifing out of inanity could not
have given me a fenfation more exquiſite and aſtoniſh-
ing.
They preſented me with a microſcope, by the aid
of which, I perceived new beings that had efcaped
the piercing fight of our obfervers. So fimple and
wonderful was the art, that the eye was never
fatigued.
that benevolent idea! Gó, get gold, thou mifcreant! and
debar thy foul of that enjoyment. Thou executeſt juſtice,
thou punifheft thyself.
* I am concerned when I hear any one jeſt on this terrible
fcourge. We should never mention it without tears, and
not in this inftance, imitate the buffoon Voltaire.
228
THE KING's CABINET.
fatigued. Every advance they made, fatisfied the
moſt ardent curiofity; the ſtronger avidity it appear-
ed to have, the more numerous were the objects that
prefented themſelves. O! How great does man
here appear? I more than once exclaimed, and how
pitiful, comparatively, were they, whom, in my time,
they called great*.
What related to acouſtics was not lefs miraculous.
They had acquired the art of imitating all the articu-
lations of the human voice, of the cries of animals,
and the various notes of birds. By touching certain
fprings we feemed to be inſtantly tranſported to fome
wild foreft; where we heard the roarings of the lion,
the tyger and the bear, who feemed to be in conflict
with each other. The noiſe rent the ear. You would
have faid that the echo, ftill more terrible, repeated
at a diſtance thofe horrid and barbarous cries. But
foon the fongs of nightingales fucceeded to thofe
difcordant founds. By their harmonious organs
each
* A voluminous work might be compiled of the feveral
queftions, natural, moral, and metaphyfical, that prefent
themſelves in crowds to the inind, and about which the
man of genius knows no more than the fool; and we might
reply in one word to all theſe metaphyfical, moral, and
natural queſtions; but it ſhould be that of the profound
logogriph or enigma, which furrounds us. I do not def-
pair but that they will one day diſcover it. I expect every
thing from the human mind, when it fhall know its own
faculties, and unite thein; and when it ſhall regard its
intelligence as a power that ought to penetrate all that is,
and ſubject all that it contemplates.
4
THE KING's CABINET.
229
each particle of the air became melodious; the ear
difcerned even the tremblings of their amorous wings,
and thoſe tender and enchanting founds which the
voice of man can never perfectly imitate. To the
intoxication of pleaſure was joined the tweet furpriſe,
and the voluptuous fenfation that arofe from this
happy union, feized every heart.
This people, who had conftantly a moral aim
even in the prodigies of art, had happily deduced
an advantage from this furpriſing invention. When
a young prince talked of combats, or diſcovered à
warlike difpofition*, they conducted him to a room
which they properly named, the Hell. The artist
immediately put the fprings in motion, and faluted his
ear with all the horrors of a battle, the cries of rage
and of grief; the lamentations of the dying; the
founds of terror; the bellowing of that hideous
thunder which is the fignal of deſtruction and bears
the execrable found of death. If nature did not then
prevail on his mind, if he did not fend forth a cry of
horror, if his countenance remained unmoved and
placid,
* Ye mighty potentates, who divide the globe among
you, and are furniſhed with cannons, mortars, and nume-
rous weapons, which are diſplayed by the dazzling ranks of
thofe armies you fend to conquer a province or exterminate
a kingdom, I know not how it is, but amidſt all your waving
enfigns, you appear to me mean and wretched. The
Romans, in their public games, diverted themſelves with
the pigmies, whom they made to combat each other, but
little thought that they were in the eye of a wife man, what
the dwarfs appeared to them.
X
230
THE KING's CABINET.
placid, he was confined to that room the remainder,
of his days. Every morning, however, they re-
peated a piece of this mufic, that he might be fatis-
fied without the deftruction of the human race.
The director of this cabinet,- to my great furprife,
exhibited all his infernal opera, without acquainting
me of his intention. O heavens! mercy! mercy!
I cried with all my ftrength, stopping my ears.
fpare me, fpare me! He ftupped the exhibition.-
"How!" he ſaid, "does not this pleaſe you?".
None but a demon, I replied, can be pleafed with
fuch an horrid uproar." This, however, was in
your time a very common diverfion, which the kings
and princes of Europe all enjoyed, as they did the
chace, which, as has been very juftly remarked, is
the true picture of wart. Your poets moreover ex-
tolled
Among the many calamities that now oppreſs Europe,
that which I find the most advantageous is the depopula-
tion. Since men must be miferable, there are the fewer to
fuffer. If this reflection be cruel, let it fall on them from
whom it proceeds.
How ftrange and deplorable is the conflitution of our
political world! Eight or ten crowned heads hold the
haman race in chains; they correfpond, they afford each
other mutual aid, they keep them in their royal lands to
gripe them at their pleaſure, even till they produce con-
vulſive motions. This confpiracy is not covered with a
veil, but is open, public, and conducted by ambaffadors.
Our complaints no longer reach their lofty ears. Look
around through Europe; it is no other than a vaſt arſenal,
where
THE KING's CABINET.
231
Y
tolled them for having frightened all the birds from
the ſky for ten leagues round, and for fagaciouſly
providing provender for the ravens; but, above all
things,
་
where thouſands of barrels of powder want only a fingle
ſpark of fire to fet them in combuftion. Frequently it is the
hand of a hair-brained minifter that puts them in exploſion;
he fets fire at once to the north and the fouth, to the two ex-
tremities of the earth. What an immenſe quantity of can-
nons, mortars, mufkets, balls, bullets, fwords, balloons,
&c. of murdering flaves, obedient to the whip of diſcipline,
attend the orders of a cabinet, to diſplay its bloody parade!
Geometry itſelf has profaned its divine attributes by affift-
ing the fury fometimes of ambitious, and fometimes capri-
cious fovereigns. With what preciſion do they deſtroy an
army, bombard a camp, befiege or burn a city! I have
feen academicians in cool blood confult on the charging a
Caunon. Alas! gentlemen, ftay till you have at leaft a
principality. What imports it you whofe name governs in
any particular country? Your patriotifm is a falfe virtue,
and dangerous to humanity. Let us examine a little into
the fignification of the word patriot. To have an attachment
to any ſtate, it is neceffary to be a member of that fate.
Now, if you except two or three republics, there is, pro-
perly fpeaking, no fuch thing as a country. Why should the
Englishman be my enemy? I am connected to him by com-
merce, by the arts, and by every other relation poſſible;
there is no natural antipathy between us. Why, therefore,
would you, that by paffing certain limits, I fhould feparate
my intereſt from that of other men? What we call patriotifm
is a phantaſy invented by kings, and deſtructive to mankind;
for, if my nation were three times lefs than it is, I fhould
have three times as many more to hate; my affections thère-
fore muſt depend on the variable limits of dominions; in
the courſe of the fame year, I muſt deſtroy my neighbour,
A z
and
J
232
TAE KING'S CABINET.
things, thoſe poets were extremely fond of defcribing
a battle."-Oh! I entreat you, fpeak no more of
the epidemic diſeaſe which then afflicted the human
race. Alas! they were all feized with the ſymptoms
of rage and folly; cowardly kings, from their faſtuous
thrones, gave the word for murder; and the paffive
herd, guarded by one dog only, ran cheerfully to
the flaughter. How was it poffible to reclaim them
at-that time of illufion? how break the magic talif-
man? A little club, a ribband red or blue, a ſmall
enamelled crofs, communicated every where a ſpirit
of intoxication and fury. Others became poffeffed
by the mere fight of a cockade, or a few doits. The
cure neceffarily required time; but I was fully
convinced, that, fooner or later, the lenient balm
of philofophy would cicatrife all thofe fhameful
wounds*
}
The
and befriends with him that I endeavoured to inaffacre the
day before; fo that, in fact, I only maintain the rights of a
capricious mafter, who would hold my foul in ſubjection.
No; in my judgment, Europe fhould form but one vaſt
ſtate; and I dare to wish that it may be united under one
government. All things properly confidered, it would be
highly advantageous. Then I could be in reality a patriot;
but at the preſent day, what is it we call liberty ? “ Nothing
more," (fays a certain writer) "than the heroifin of
flavery."
* What a fight! two hundred thouſand men ſpread over
a vast country, and only wait for the ſignal to cut each
other's throats, to maffacre one another in the face of the fun
and amidſt the flowers of the fpring. It is not hatred that
excites
THE KING's CABINET.
233
They conducted me to the cabinet of the mathe-
matics. It appeared richly ftored, and in the moſt
perfect order. They had banished from this fcience
all that reſembled the ſport of children, all that was
merely dry and trifling fpeculation, or that furpaffed
the bounds of the human capacity. I faw machines
of every kind that were proper to affift the arm of
man, and fuch as contained much greater powers.
than are known to us; they were adapted to all forts
of motions; and by the aid of thefe, the heavieſt
weights were managed with facility." You have
feen," they faid, "thofe obelifks, thofe triumphal
arches, thofe palaces, and other fately buildings that
aftoniſh the fight. They are not the produce of
mere ftrength, of numbers, or dexterity: it is by the
aid of finiflied machines, that they have been con-
ftructed." In a word, I here found the greateſt
variety of the most accurate inftruments for the uſe
of geometry, aftronomy, and the other fciences.
All they who had attempted experiments that
were new, bold, maſterly, and that promifed great
utility, even though they did not fucceed (for in-
Atruction may be gained from diſappointment) had
their buſts erected, and decorated with their proper
attributes.
They
excites them: no; they are commanded by kings to mur-
der each other. If this cruel event had never happened
but once, would not they who had not been witneſſes to it,
have had a juſt right to doubt its veracity? This thought is
M. Gaillard's.
X 3
234
THE KING's CABINET.
They whiſpered, moreover, that many remarkable,
and even wonderful fecrets, were confided to the
care of a ſmall number of their fages? for there are
matters, good in themfelves, that may be abufed in
their application*. The human mind, in their
opinion, was not yet fufficiently ftrong to make uſe
of the moſt rare or moſt powerful diſcoveries without
danger t.
CHAP.
* King Ezechias (as the Scripture informs us) fuppreffed
a book that treated of the virtues of plants, for fear that,
by making a wrong uſe of it, they ſhould even create
diſeaſes. The fact is curious, and affords matter for much
reflection.
+ What a horrible day was that for the human race,
when a monk formed of falt-petre a murdering powder!
Ariofto tells us, that the devil having invented a carabine,
touched by pity, threw it into a river. Alas! There is
no longer any afylurn upon the earth; courage now is
ufelefs; the artillery is in the hands of a ſmall number
of men, and renders them abfolute mafters of our ex-
iftence.
[ 235 J
CHAP. XXXII.
THE ACADEMY OF PAINTING.
As the arts among this people are connected
not only in a figurative, but in a real ſenſe; before I
had gone many ſteps I found myſelf at the academy
of painting. I entered feveral large faloons, adorned
with the works of the greateſt maſters, each of which
afforded a moral and inſtructive treatiſe. There was
no longer ſeen that perpetual mythology, a thouſand
times repeated, which though ingenious in the infancy
of the art, was now become difguftful. The moſt
pleafing objects lofe at laſt their charms: repetition
is the language of a dunce. Thus it had happened
to all thofe grofs flatteries, with which the fawning
painters had deified Lewis XIV. Time, like truth,
had devoured all the lying canvas; as it had ſent to
their proper place the infipid verſes of Boileau, and
the prologues of Quinault, the arts were forbid to
falfify*. There, moreover, no longer exiſted any
of
*When I fee, in the gallery of Verfailles, Lewis XIV.
with a thunderbolt in his hand, feated upon the azure
clouds, like an avenging deity, the difdainful pity I feel for
the pencil of Le Brun is almost reflected on the art: but
when I conſider that the painting furvives both the thunder-
ing god, and the artist who created him, I fimile.
The first time Lewis XIV. faw a Teniers, he turned
away his head with an air of diſdain, and ordered it to be
removed
236
THE ACADEMY OF PAINTING.
of that order of men they called connoiffeurs, who
directed the artift with a golden ingot in their hands.
Genius was free, followed its own laws, and no
longer debafed itſelf.
Among thefe moral paintings there were feen no
brutal battles, no fhameful debaucheries of the fabu-
lous gods, much leſs fovereigns furrounded by vir-
tues of which they were remarkably deficient. Such
fubjects only as were proper to infpire fentiments.
of dignity and virtue were here exhibited. All the
pagan divinities, equally abfurd and fcandalous,
were avoided by the precious pencil, now deſtine l
to commemorate the most important actions; by
which is meant thoſe that give a noble idea of man;
fuch as clemency, generofity, perfeverance, courage,
and a difdain of luxury.
I found that they had exhibited all thofe important
fubjects that deſerve to paſs down to poſterity; the
greatnefs of foul confpicuous in certain fovereigns was
in particular immortalized. I faw Henry IV. nourish-
ing the city he befieged; Sully flowly counting out
a fum of money, that was deſtined for his maſter's
pleaſures; Lewis XIV. on his death-bed, crying out,
"I now find I have been too fond of war;" Trajan
tearing his veſtment to bind up the wounds of an
- unhappy
removed from the apartment. If that monarch was dif-
gufted with thofe good folks that dance and fing; if he
preferred the furious trooper ſcowering through the duſt
and ſmoke of a camp, the complexion of his mind is.ma-
nifeft.
THE ACADEMY OF PAINTING.
237
unhappy man; Marcus Aurelius defcending from
his horfe, during a hafty enterprize, to receive the
petition of a poor woman.
Titus diftributing food
and remedies to the fick. St. Hilaire ftretching out
his arm and ſhowing his fon, who wept, Tureane
feated amidst the duft; the generous Fabius putting
on the chains of a galley-flave in the room of his fa-
ther, &c. I faw no gloomy or cruel fubjects. No
beggarly courtiers here faid with a fneer, "Even
the painters now preach!" Every one acknowledged
their merit, in having felected the moſt fublime ob-
jects in human nature, that is, grand repreſentations
of the fubjects of hiftory. They had wifely, deter-
mined that nothing was more important. All the
arts had made, fo to fay, a wonderful affociation in
favour of humanity. This happy agreement had
thrown a greater luftre on the facred effigy of virtue;
it was become more adorable, and its afpect, always
charming, afforded a public inftruction, as juſt as it
was ftriking. Alas! how is it poffible to reſiſt the
power of the fine arts, when with one voice they ex-
tol and dignify the free and noble citizen?
to
All theſe pictures attracted the eye, as well by the
execution as by the defign. Theſe painters had united
the Flemish colouring with the Italian drawing; or
rather they had, by a profound ftudy, furpaffed them.
Honours, the only riches of the great man, at once
animated and rewarded his labours. Nature feemed
to appear as in a mirror. The friend of virtue was
unable to contemplate theſe beautiful paintings with-
out the tender figh of pleaſure. The guilty dared
not
238
THE ACADEMY OF PAINTING.
not to look upon them; they feared left thefe ani-
mated figures ſhould aſſume a voice, accuſe, and con-
found them.
They told me that theſe pictures were exhibited to
the people; ſtrangers were alfo admitted; for they
practiſed not that mean tyranny which excludes all
who come from beyond a certain limit. Every year
they propofed four fubjects, that the artift might
have time to give his work a due degree of perfec-
tion. The most finifhed cafily obtained the fuffrage
of the people; for attention was paid to the general
voice, which is commonly that of equity itself. The
others, however, were fure to receive their due por-
tion of praife. They were far from the injuftice of
difcouraging the fcholar. The established malters
were void of that unworthy and bafe jealoufy which
banifhed Pouffin far from his country, and cauſed
Le Seur to perifh in the flower of his day. They
had diveſted themfelves of that dangerous and fatal
prejudice, which, in my time, permitted no fcholar
to follow any other manner than that of his mafter.
They did not make infipid copyifts of thofe who, di-
rected by good precepts and then left to themfelves,
would have attained the height of their profeflion.
The difciple, in a word, did not bend under a yoke
that rendered him fpiritlefs; nor pace, with flow and
trembling ſteps, after a capricious mafter, and one
too, whom he was obliged to flatter. If he proved
to be a man of genius, he went before him, and his
preceptor was the firſt to glory in his advancement.
There
THE ACADEMY OF PAINTING.
239
There were feveral academies of drawing, paint-
ing, fculpture, and practical geometry. Thefe arts,
dangerous in my age, because they encouraged
luxury, pride, cupidity, and debauchery, were now
become highly ufeful, as they were only employed to
infpire fentiments of virtue, and to give to the city
that majefty, thofe charms, that noble and fimple
tafle, which by a fecret connection elevates the minds
of the people.
Theſe ſchools were open to the public. The dif
ciples worked under its aufpices. Every one was
permitted to declare his opinion. This did not, how-
ever, prevent the authoriſed directors from making a
proper inſpection. But no fcholar was confidered as
dependent on any particular mafter, but as related
to them all in general. By avoiding the appearance
of a defpotic power, fo fatal to a maſterly and free
genius, they were enabled to produce artiſts who had
furpaffed the chef-d'œuvres of antiquity. Their
paintings were fo highly finifled, that the remains of
Raphael and Rubens were no longer fought after,
but by fome obftinate and opinionated antiquaries.
It is needlefs to fay that all the arts and profeffions
were equally free. It is only in a weak, barbarous,
and tyrannic age, that fetters are given to induftry;
that a fum of money is required of him who would
labour in any profeffion, inſtead of affording him a
recompence. All thofe little ludicrous corporations.
ferve no other purpofe, by collecting a number of
people together, but to ferment their paffions to a
more
240
THE ACADEMY OF PAINTING.
more violent degree. A multitude of indeterminable
incidents ariſe from that bondage, which neceffarily
render them enemies to each other. So in a priſon,
men, when chained together, communicate their ran-
cour and their vices. By endeavouring to prevent
private intereſts, they have rendered it more active,
which is juſt the contrary to what a wife legiſlature
fhould purfue. A thouſand diforders proceed from
this perpetual conſtraint, by which men are prevented
from exercising their particular talents. From hence
fpring idleness and fraud. The misfortune ariſes
from the impotence of thofe who would relieve
themſelves from that deplorable ftate in which they.
are held by an arm of braſs, and which nothing but
gold can relax. The monarch, to enjoy a trifling
tribute, has deſtroyed the moft facred liberty, and
choaked up all the fources of fpirit and induftry.
Among theſe people, well inftructed in the rights.
of mankind, each one followed that particular em.
ploy to which his genius led him; the fure pledge of
fuccefs. They who had no propenfity to the fine arts,
applied themfelves to more attainable profeffions;
for no mediocrity is allowed in works of genius.
The glory of the nation appears to be affected by
thofe talents, which diftinguifh not only men, but
empires.
I
CHAP.
[ 241 1
CHAP. XXXIII.
EMBLEMATICAL PAINTINGS.
I ENTERED a ſeparate apartment, where
they had reprefented the feveral ages. To each of
them was given, befides its natural phyfiognomy,
thoſe features by which it was diſtinguiſhed from its
brethren. The age of ignorance was clothed in a
black and mournful robe. Her eyes were red and
gloomy, and in her hand fhe bore a torch. At a
diſtance was ſeen a funeral pile, before which ſtood
priests covered with a long veil, and human victims,
their eyes concealed by bandages, who were devoted
to the flames.
Further on I faw a wild enthufiaft, without any
other merit than that of a heated imagination, with
which he fired thofe of his fellow citizens, not lefs
inflammable; and by thundering forth the name of
the deity, he drew after him a croud of people, as a
docile herd run after the voice of the fhepherd. Even
kings quitted their thrones, abandoned their depopu-
lated ſtates, and believing they heard a voice from
heaven, facrificed themfelves, their crowns, and their
fubjects, in the midſt of vaſt deſerts. In the back
ground was feen Superftition ftriding over the heads
of mankind, and fhaking her murdering torch.
Gigantic monſter! her feet touched the two extre-
mities of the earth, and her arm, holding the palm
of martyrdom, was extended to the clouds.
Y
Another
242
EMBLEMATICAL PAINTINGS.
Another lefs ardent but more contemplative, was
devoted to myſtery and allegory, and wrapt up in the
marvellous; was conftantly furrounded by enigmas,
and endeavouring to thicken the fhades by which he
was enveloped. There were feen the Platonic years,
numbers of Pythagoras, the verfes of the fybils, the
powerful charms of magic, and thoſe preſtiges, fore-
times ingenious and fometimes infipid, that the mind
of man has created.
Another held in his hand an aſtrolabe, attentively
regarded the calendar, and calculated the hours for-
tunate and unfortunate. A cold and filent gravity
was imprinted on his protracted vifage. He turned
pale at the conjunction of two ftars. The prefent
hour was nothing to him, and the future was his ex-
ecutioner. His religion was directed by the ridicu
lous jargon of aftrology, and he embraced that phan
tom as an immoveable column.
Then appeared a figure covered with armour; his
head was enclofed in a brazen helmet, and in his
hand he bore a lance. He breathed nothing but fin-
gle combat. The foul of this hero was more har-
dened than the fteel that covered him. It was by
arms alone that right, opinion, juftice, and truth,
were to be decided. In the back ground were feen
the field of combat, judges and heralds fupported the
vanquilhed, or rather the guilty.
In another part was feen a figure totally burlefque.
A Gothic architect, erecting columns that had no
proportion
EMBLEMATICAL PAINTINGS.
243
proportion to the weight they fupported, and which
were charged with ridiculous ornaments; and thofe
he thought a refinement in building, unknown to the
Greeks or Romans. The fame irregularity was con-
fpicuous in his logic, which confifted of abftract
ideas, and perpetual chicanery. At a diftance were
feen a fort of fleep-walkers, who talked and acted
with their eyes open, but, plunged in a long dream,
never connected two ideas, unleſs by chance.
Thus every age fucceffively prefented itfelf; but the
detail would be here too long. I ſtood for fome time
regarding the eighteenth century, induced by my an-
cient connection with it. It was reprefented by the
painter under the figure of a woman. A number of
borrowed and coftly ornaments loaded her proud
and delicate head. Her neck, her arms, and breaft,.
were covered with pearls and diamonds. Her eyes
were bright and ſparkling, but a fomewhat affected
fmile gave an air of grimace to her mouth. Her
cheeks were covered with a flaming red. Art ap-
peared to be mixed with her words, as with her
looks; they were alluring but not true. She held in
each hand a long rofe-coloured ribband, which
feemed ornaments, but concealed two iron chains, by
which fhe was ftrongly bound. She had, however,
liberty enough to gefticulate, to prance, and gambol,
and this ſhe did to excefs, in order, (as it fhould feem)
to diſguiſe her flavery, or at leaſt to make it more
eafy and pleafing. I examined her figure with at-
tention, and tracing the drapery of her veſtment, I
perceived that her pompous robe was at the bottom
Y 2
in
4
244
EMBLEMATICAL PAINTINGS.
in tatters, and covered with dirt. Her naked feet
were plunged in a kind of bog; her lower extremities
were as hideous as her head was brilliant. She ap-
peared in this drefs not much unlike one of thofe
ftrumpets who walk the streets at the beginning of
the night. I difcovered behind her a number of chil.
dren, with meagre livid afpects, who cried to their
mother while they devoured a morfel of black bread.
She endeavoured to hide them with her robe, but
between the tatters thofe wretched infants ſtill ap-
peared. At a diftance in the picture were feen fuperb
palaces, buildings of marble, parterres artfully laid
out, vaft foreſts peopled with deer, where the horn
refounded from afar. But the country, half uncul
tivated, was filled with wretched peafants, who ha-
raffed by fatigue, funk under their burthens: then
appeared men who forced away part of them to the
wars, and took from the reft their beds and their
kettles*.
The
* Tyranny is a dangerous tree which fhould be rooted
out as foon as planted. The beauty of this tree is deceitful.
While young it appears crowned with flowers and laurels,
but is fecretly nourished by blood. It foon grows, fpreads
its branches, and lifts its lofty head. It covers all that fur-
rounds it with a faftuous and deadly fhade. The neigh-
bouring fruits and flowers perith, deprived of the beneficent
rays of the fun, which it intercepts. It compels the earth
to nouriſh none but itſelf. It at laſt becomes like that ve.
nomous tree, whoſe ſweet fruit is poifon, and that changes
the drops of rain which diftil from its leaves into a corrofive
fluid, that gives the weary traveller at once fleep and death.
In the mean time its trunk becomes knotty, its fap is changed
into
น
EMBLEMATICAL PAINTINGS.
245
The characters of the different nations were ex-
preffed with equal fidelity. By colours variegated
with a thouſand mixtures, by a gloomy and melan-
choly countenance, was diftinguifhed the jealous and
vindictive Italian. In the fame picture his thought-
ful looks diſappeared in the midit of a concert; the
painter had feized with remarkable addrefs, that
crifis to make him become fupple in an inftant. The
back ground contained a reprefentation of the droll
jefls of pantomimes.
The Englishman, in an attitude rather haughty
than majeſtic, ſtanding upon the point of a rock,
commanded the ocean, and gave to a veffel the fignal
to vilit the new world, and bring him back its trea-
fures. His bold looks declared that his private liberty
was equal to that of the public. Contending fleets,
growling under the ftrokes of the tempeft, afforded
his ear fweet barmony. His hand was conflantly
ready to feize the fword of civil war, and with a
fmile he looked fledfaſt at a fcaffold, on which fell a
head and a crown.
The German, under a fky that flafhed with light-
ning, was deaf to the roaring of tlie elements: it was
hard to fay whether he braved them, or was infen-
fible. His eagles tore each other by his fide, which
to him was mere diverfion. Wrapped up in himſelf
he
ť
Y 3·
into hard wood, and the branches of its brazen root are ex-
tended; the ax of liberty becomes blunt, and can make mo
impreffion on it.
246
EMBLEMATICAL PAINTINGS.
he beheld his deftiny with a philofophic or infenfible
eye.
The Frenchman full of noble and elevated graces,
preſented a refined afpect. His figure was not ori-
ginal, but his manner was great. Imagination and
judgment were expreffed in his countenance; he
fmiled with an addreſs that ſeemed to approach de-
ceit. There ran through the whole of his figure
much uniformity. His colours were pleafing, but:
there was nothing of that boldneſs, nor of that fine
effect of lights, which were admired in the other pic-
tures. The fight was fatigued by a multiplicity of
details, that reciprocally injured each other. An
innumerable crowd bore little drums, which they
were continually beating, and thought they imitated
the roaring of cannon: It was a paffion, as bufy and
boisterous, as it was weak and tranfient..
:
:
CHAP.
I 247 J
*
CHAP. XXXIV.
SCULPTURE AND ENGRAVING.
SCULPTURE, not lefs pleafing than her
elder fifter, difplayed in turn all the wonders of her
art, which was no longer proſtituted to thofe impu-
dent fons of wealth, who debafed it by executing
repreſentations of their venal figures, or fome other
fubject equally deſpicable. The artiſt, provided for
by the government, confecrated his talent to merit
and virtue only. There was not here ſeen, as in our
apartments, by the fide of the king's buſt, the vile
tax-gatherer who deceived and defrauded him, pre-
fenting without fhame his baſe phyfiognomy. Does
a man, by advancing himſelf in a carcer of memora-
ble actions become worthy of the regard of pofterity?
Does another perform fome great and valiant ex-
ploit? The animated artiſt then charges himſelf
with the public acknowledgment; he meditates in
private one of the moſt maſterly performances of his
days, and, without adding the portrait of the author,
he preſently produces his work and obtains permif-
fion to immortalize himſelf with the hero; his labour
ſtrikes every eye, and has no need of a frigid com-
mentary. The fculptor was exprefsly forbid thofe
fubjects that did not ſpeak to the mind, and confe
quently the fine marble, or other matters equally
valuable, were no longer wafted.
All thoſe licentious fubjects that loaded our chim-
mey pieces were strictly prohibited. Men of merit
had
248
SCULPTURE AND ENGRAVING. .
had no conception of our legiflation, when they read
in hiſtory that in an age which fo frequently pronoun-
ced the words Religion and Morality, the father of
a family ſhould exhibit fcenes of debauchery to the
eyes of his children, under pretence that they were
mafter-pieces of art; that they ſhould expofe objects
capable of heating the most tranquil imagination, and
of filling young minds, open to every impreffion,
with diforderly ideas; they were grieved at this
public and criminal practice of depraving the mind
before it was completely formed*.
An
Among other public abufes propofed to be redreffed,
may be ranked thofe licentious fhews that offend not only
against found morals but good fenfe, equally refpectable.
When fpeaking of the theatres, we forget to mention the
tumblers and rope-dancers; but the difpofition of a work
of no great moment, provided the author there includes
all his ideas. I fhall, like Montaigne, turn back upon
every occafion; I difregard the cenfure of the critics; I
flatter myfelf, that, at least, I fhall not be, like them,
difguftful. To return then to the tumblers and rope-
dancers, fo common and ſo ſhocking; fhould they be tole-
rated by humane magiftrates? After having employed all
their time in exercites "equally aſtoniſhing and frivolous,.
they riſk their lives in public, and tell a thouſand ſpectators,
that the death of a man is a matter of very little confe-
quence. The attitudes of thefe performers are befide in-
decent, and offend both the eye and the heart. They
perhaps alſo accuftom minds not yet formed, to find no
pleaſure but in that which is attended with danger, and
to think that the life of a man may make part of our diver-
fions. It will be faid, that this is moralizing on very
trifling fubjects; but I have remarked that theſe wretched
performances
SCULPTURE AND ENGRAVING.
249
An artiſt, to whom I applied for information,":
carefully explained to me all thefe great changes.
He told me, that in the nineteenth century there'
was a great ſcarcity of marble, fo that they were
obliged to have recourfe to the heap of financiers,
tax-gatherers, and fecretaries bufts, which were fo
many blocks in part ready prepared; they were
therefore eaſily reformed, and became finiſhed pieces.
I paſſed into the laſt gallery, not lefs curious than
the others for the multiplicity of pieces it contained.
There was affembled an univerfal collection of draw-'
ings and engravings. Notwithſtanding the great
improvements in the laſt art, they had preferved the
works of the preceding ages; for it is not with prints
as with books; a book muſt be either good or bad,
whereas a print, which prefents itfelf to the eye only,
may always ferve as an object of compariſon.
This gallery, which owed its origin to the age of
Lewis XV. was now very differently diſpoſed. It
was no longer a ſmall room, in the midſt of which
was a fmall table that could fcarce contain a dozen
artiſts, and where you might go ten times before
you found a vacant place. That clofet, moreover,
was open only on certain days, in the whole ſcarce
a tenth part of the year, and which fmall portion
was liable to be abridged at any time by the caprice
of
performances have much more influence on the multi-
tude than all thoſe arts that have fome appearance of ra-
tionality.
1
}
250-
SCULPTURE AND ENGRAVING.
of the director. Thefe galleries were open every
day, and committed to the care of polite affiftants,
who were punctually paid, that they might ferve the
public with the fame punctuality. In this fpacious
room, you were fure to find a print of each painting
and ſculpture contained in the other galleries; it pre-
ſented an abridgment of thoſe chef-d'œuvres, which
they had laboured to immortalize, and to diffuſe to
the greatest degree poffible.
Engraving is as fruitful and happy as printing ;
it has the advantage of multiplying its impreffion, as
printing does its copies; and by that means every
private perſon, every ftranger, may procure a rival,
copy of a painting. All the inhabitants decorate,
without jealoufy, their walls with thefe interefting,
fubjects, which reprefent examples of virtue and he-.
roifm. We no longer fee thofe pretended connoif-
feurs, no lefs futile than ignorant, who purſue an
imaginary perfection at the expence of their eafe and
their wealth, conftantly liable to be duped, and to
which they were remarkably difpofed.
I ran over with avidity thoſe voluminous works in
which the engraver had defcribed, with fo much
facility and precifion, not only the contours, but the
colours of nature; all the paintings were expreffed
to perfection; but what had moft engaged their at
tention were thoſe objects that relate to the arts and
fciences. The plates of the Encyclopedia had been.
entirely re-engraved, and they had more carefully at-
tended to that rigorous precifion which is their chief
merit,
!
SCULPTURE AND ENGRAVING.
251
merit, as the leaft error is of the higheft confequence.
I obferved a magnificent courfe of natural philofophy
treated in the fame manner; and as that fcience is,
in a peculiar manner, the object of the fenfes, it is
by the figures relative to it, that, perhaps, we
attain juſt ideas of all its parts. An art that affords
fo many uſeful fubjects is deferving of high efteem,
and they had here given it freſh marks of confidera-
tion.
I obſerved, that all was executed in true taste;
that they followed the manner of Gerrard Audran,
and which they had improved by carrying it to the
higheſt degree of perfection poffible. The flouriſhes
in books were no longer called cochins; and many
other like miſerable phraſes were abolifhed*.
The engravers had defifted from the ufe of that
pernicious glaſs, which deftroyed their fight entirely.
The connoiffeurs of this age were no admirers of
thofe little points in which all the merit of modern
engraving conſiſts; they preferred large, free, regular
ftrokes, that expreffed every thing with certain
touches that were juft and nobly defigned. The
engraver readily confulted the painter, who, in his
turn, avoided affecting the caprice of a maſter.
They efteemed one another, they lived together as
friends and equals, and were far from reflecting the
faults of any work on each other. Engraving was,
moreover,
* M. Voltaire fhould be fatisfied before-hand; he, who
has to long pleaded for this important reformation.
252
THE HALL OF AUDIENCE,
moreover, become of great advantage to the ftate,
by the commerce of prints with foreigners, fo that of
theſe artists it may be faid, that under their propitious
hands copper becomes gold.
ミ
​CHAP. XXXV.
THE HALL OF AUDIENCE.
I COULD not quit thefe rich galleries with-
out the greateſt regret; but my inſatiable curioſity,
that would leave nothing unfeen, carried me into the
centre of the city. I faw a great multitude, com-
pofed of each fex, and of every age, that flocked with
precipitation toward a portal that was magnificently
decorated. I heard from different parts, "Let us
make hafte! our good king has, perhaps, already
mounted his throne; we fhall fcarce fee him afcend
it to-day."—I followed the crowd, but was much
aſtoniſhed to find that there were no ferocious guards
to beat back the thronging people. I came to a
moſt ſpacious hall, fupported by many columns; I
advanced, and at laft came near to the monarch's
throne. No; It is impoffible to conceive an idea of
royal majeſty more pleafing, more auguft, more
graceful and engaging. I was melted, even to tears.
I faw no thundering Jupiter, no terrible apparatus,
no inftruments of vengeance. Four figures of white
marble, repreſenting fortitude, temperance, juftice,
I
and
1
253
THE HALL OF AUDIENCE.
and clemency, fupported a plain armed chair of
white ivory, which was elevated merely to extend the
voice. The chair was crowned with a canopy, fup-
ported by a hand, the arm of which feemed to come
out of the vaulted roof. On each fide of the throne
there were two tables; on one fide was engraved the
law of the ftate, and the limits of the royal authority;
and on the other, the duties of kings and of fubjects.
In front was a woman fuckling a child; a faithful
emblem of royalty. The firſt ſtep to the throne, was
in the form of a tomb. Upon it was wrote in large
characters, ETERNITY. Under this ſtep repofed
the embalmed body of the laſt monarch, there to
remain till deplaced by his fon. From thence he
cried to his heirs, that they were all mortal; that the
dream of royalty was near finiſhed; that then nothing
would remain to them but their renown.
This vaft place was already filled with people,
when I faw the monarch approach, clothed in a blue
mantle that gracefully flowed behind him; his fore-
head was bound with a branch of olive, that was his
diadem; he never appeared in public without this
reſpectable ornament, which was revered by others
and by himſelf. There were loud acclamations
when he mounted the throne, and he did not appear
infenfible to the cries of joy. Scarce was he feated,
when an awful filence was fpread over the whole
affembly. I liftened with attention. His minifters
read to him, with a loud voice, an account of every
thing remarkable that had paffed fince the laft
audience. If the truth had been difguifed, the peo-
Z
ple
***
254
THE HALL OF AUDIENCE.
ple were there to confound the detractor. Their
demands were not forgot. An account was render-
ed of the execution of orders before given. This
reading always concluded with the daily price of
provifions and merchandize. The monarch hears,
and approves by a nod, or refers the matter to a
more minute examination. But if from the bottom
of the hall there fhould be heard a voice complaining,
or condemning any one article, though it were that of
the meanest citizen, he is brought forward to a little
circle formed before the throne; there he explains
his ideas*; and if he appear to be right, he is at-
tended to, applauded, and thanked; the fovereign
regards him with a favourable afpect; but if, on the
contrary, he advances nothing to the purpofe, or
what appears plainly to be founded on private ad-
vantage, he is diſmiſſed with diſgrace, and the hoots
of the people follow him to the door. Every man
may prefent himfelf without any other apprehenfion
than that of incurring the public derifion, if what he
propoſe be unjuft or felf-intereſted.
Two
*It is one of the greatest misfortunes in France, that
the police and adminiſtration of all affairs is directed entirely
by the magiſtrates, by men invefted with a place and a
title, who never deign to confult (at least on the part of the
public) private perfons that are frequently endowed with
knowledge and fagacity to an eminent degree. The moſt
worthy and accomplified citizen cannot difplay his uſeful
talents and the dignity of his fentiments, unlefs poffeffed of
a public employment; he muſt ſtifle his noble deſigns, be
a witneſs to the moſt flagrant abuſes, and be ſilent.
THE HALL OF AUDIENCE.
255
Two principal officers of the crown accompany
the monarch in all public ceremonies, and walk by
his fide; the one carries, on the point of a fpear, an
ear of corn, and the other a branch of the vine*,
which ferve conftantly to remind him that they are the
two ſupports of the ftate and the throne. He is fol-
lowed by the pantler of the crown, bearing a baſket
of loaves, which he diftributes to every one that aſks.
This bafket is the fure thermometer of the public
diftrefs; and when it is found empty, the minifters
are difmiffed and punished; the basket, however,
conftantly remains full, and declares the public
profperity.
This auguft feffion is held every week, and lafts
three hours. I went from the hall with a heart
filled with complacency, and with the profoundeſt
reſpect for this monarch, whom I loved as a father,
and revered as a protecting divinity.
I converfed with feveral perfons on all that I had
feen and heard; they were furpriſed at my aſtoniſh-
ment; all theſe things feemed to them quite fimple
and natural." Why," faid one of them, "will
you have the rafhnefs to compare the prefent time
to an extravagant and capricious age; that enter-
tained falfe ideas of the moft fimple matters, when
pride
*The emperor. Tai-fung walking in the country, and
ſeeing a number of peasants at work, faid to his fon, who
attended him, "Without the ſweat and labour of theſe men,
neither you nor I ſhould have any empire.”
Z 2
250
THE HALL OF AUDIENCE.
*
pride was greatnefs, when fplendor and oftenta-
tion were all, and when virtue was regarded as a
phantom, the mere imagination of dreaming phi-
lofophers*."
CHAP. XXXVI.
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
MAY I afk what is the prefent form of go-
vernment? Is it monarchical, democratic, or arifto-
cratic+It is neither of them; it is rational, and
made for man. Monarchy is no more. Monarchical
governments, as you knew, though to little purpoſe,
loſe themſelves in defpotifm, as the rivers are loft in
the bofom of the ocean; and defpotifm foon finks
under
*We fhould pay a refpect to popular prejudices! is the
language of narrow and pufillanimous fouls, to whom the
mere exiſtence of a law is fufficient to make it facred. Does
the man of virtue, to whom alone it belongs to love or
hate, acknowledge this criminal moderation? No; he
charges himſelf with the public vengeance, his right is
founded on his genius, and the juftice of his caufe on the
acknowledgment of pofterity.
+ The genius of a nation does not depend on the atmo-
fphere that furrounds it; the climate is not the phyſical
cauſe of its grandeur or debafement. Force and courage
belong to all the people of the earth; but the caufes that
put
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
257
under its own weight*. This has been all literally
accompliſhed, and never was there a more certain
prophecy.
"When
put them in motion and ſuſtain them, are derived from
certain circumftaces, that are fometimes fudden, fometimes
flow in their operations; but, fooner or later, they never
fail to arrive. Happy are the people who, by information
or by inſtinct, ſeize the crifis!
* Would you know what are the general principles that
habitually prevail in the councils of a monarch? here fol-
lows the fubftance of what is there done. Taxes of every
kind fhould be multiplied, for the prince can never be rich
enough, confidering that he is obliged to maintain armies
and the officers of his houthold, who ought, by all means,
to be extremely magnificent. If the people complain of
theſe loads they do wrong, and muſt be curbed.
No injuſtice can be done them, for in reality they have no-
thing but what the good will of the prince gives them, and
which he may take again whenever he fhall think fit, eſpe-
cially if the intcreſt or fplendor of his crown require it.
Beſide, it is notorious, that a people at their eaſe, and in
the midſt of plenty, become lefs laborious, and may become
infolent. We fhould therefore retrench their profperity
that we may add to their fubmiffion. The poverty of the
fubject is for ever the ſtrongeſt rampart of a monarch; and
the poorer the individuals are, the more obedient the nation
will be. Once taught to fubmit, they will perform it by
habit, which is the moſt certain method of being obeyed.
It is not fufficient that they merely fubmit, they thould be
taught to believe that the ſpirit of wifdom here prefides in
the higheſt perfection and fubmit accordingly, without
daring
Z3
258 THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
"When we confider the lights that have been ac-
quired, it would doubtless be a difgrace to the human
race, to have meaſured the diftance between the fun
and the earth, to have weighed the heavenly orbs,
and not to have difcovered thofe fimple and effica-
cious laws by which mankind fhould be governed.
It is true, that pride, luxury, and ſelf intereſt pro-
duce a thouſand obſtacles; but how glorious is it to
diſcover the means of making thoſe private paffions
fubfervient to the general good! The veffel that
plows the ocean commands the elements at the fame
moment that it is obedient to their empire; fubmif-
five to a double impulfe, it inceffantly re-acts againſt
them. You there fee, perhaps, the moſt lively image
of
daring to difpute about the decrees that proceed from our
infallible knowledge.
If a philofopher fhould have acceſs to this prince, and
advancing to the midſt of his council, fhould fay to him,
"Take heed how you give credit to theſe evil counſellors;
you are furrounded by the enemies of your family: your
grandeur and fecurity are founded lefs on an arbitrary
power than on the love of your people. If they are un-
happy they will the more ardently with for a revolution,
and will ſhake either your throne or that of your children.
The people are immortal but you muſt pafs away. The
majefty of the throne refides more in a truly paternal ten-
dernefs, than in an unlimited power; that power is violent,
and contrary to the order of nature. By being more mo-
derate, you will become more potent.
juſtice, and know that it is by morality alone that a prince
becomes powerful and refpectable." This philofopher
would certainly be taken for an enthufiaft, and perhaps
they would not even vouchſafe to puniſh him for his virtue.
Set an example of
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
259
of a ſtate; borne up by tempeftuous paffions, it re-
ceives from them its movements, and at the fame
time refifts the ftorm. "The art of the pilot is all.”
Your political light was nothing more than a cre-
puſcle; and you wretchedly complained of the Au-
thor of nature, at the fame time that he had given
you both intelligence and ftrength for government.
There only wanted a loud voice to roufe the multi-
tude from their lethargy. If oppreffion thundered
on your heads, you ought to have accufed your own
weakneſs only. Liberty and happineſs appertain to
thoſe who dare to ſeize them. All is revolution in
this world; the most happy of all has had its point
of maturity, and we have gathered its fruits *.
"Freed from oppreffion, we have taken care not
to place all the ftrength and fprings of government,
all the rights and attributes of power, in the hands
of one mant. Inftructed by the misfortunes of paſt
ages,
* In certain ſtates it is an epoch that becomes neceſſary;
an epoch terrible and bloody, but the fignal of liberty. It
is of a civil war that I fpeak. It is that calls forth all the
men of exalted genius, fome to attack, and others to defend
liberty. A civil war difplays the moſt hidden talents. Men
of wonderful abilities arife, and appear worthy to command
the human race. It is a horrid remedy! But in the ftupor
of a ſtate when the minds of men are plunged in a deep
Lethargy, it becomes neceffary.
Jothai
† A defpotic government is nothing more than a league
between a ſovereign and a fmall number of favourite ſub-
jećts, in order to cheat and plunder the reft. In that cafe
the
260
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
ages, we are become lefs imprudent. If Socrates or
Marcus Aurelius fhould again vifit the earth, we
fhould not confide to them, an arbitrary power; not
from a miſtruft, but from a fear of depreciating the
facred character of a free citizen. Is not the law the
voice of the general will of the people? And how
can we dare to commit fo important a depoſit to a
fingle man? Has he not his unguarded moments?
And, even fuppofing him to be free from them, ſhall
men refign that liberty which is their moft valuable
inheritance*.
« We
the monarch or he that reprefents him, divides and deſtroys
ſociety, becomes a feparate and central body, that lights up
every paſſion as it lifts, and fets them in motion for its per-
ſonal intereſt. He creates juftice and injuſtice, his humour
becomes a law, and his favour the meaſure of public eſteem.
This fyftem is too violent to be durable. Juſtice, on the
contrary, is a barrier that equally protects the fubject and
the prince. Liberty alone can form animated citizens, the
only citizens, in fact, among rational beings. A king is
never powerful but at the head of a free and contented
people. The nation once debafed, the throne finks.
*Liberty begets miracles, it triumphs over nature, it
cauſes harveſts to grow upon rocks; it gives a fmiling air to
the moſt doleful regions; it enlightens the peafant, and
makes him more penetrative than the proud ſlaves of the
moft polished court. Other climates, the most finished
works of the creation, delivered up to fervitude, exhibit
nothing but defolated lands, pale and dejected vifages, that
dare not lift their cyes to heaven. Chooſe then, man! be
happy or miſerable; if yet it be in thy power to chooſe:
fear tyranny, detcft flavery, arm thyfelf, live free, or die.
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
261
We have experienced how contrary an abſolute
fovereignty is to the true intereft of a nation. The
art of raifing refined tributes, all the powers of that
terrible machine progreffively multiplied; the em-
barraffment of the laws, one oppofing another; chi-
canery devouring the poffeflions of individuals; the
cities crowded by privileged tyrants; the venality of
offices; minifters and intendants treating the differ-
ent parts of the kingdom as conquered countries; a
ſubtle hardneſs of heart that juftifies inhumanity;
royal officers, who are in no degree refponſible to
the people, and who infult them, inſtead of liſtening to
their complaints; fuch was the effect of that vigilant
defpotiſm which collected every intelligence, to em-
ploy it to a bad pupofe; not unlike thofe burning
glaffes that collect the fun's rays, to deſtroy fuch ob-
jects as are prefented to them. When we paffed
through France, that fine kingdom which nature has
favoured with her propitious regards, what did we
behold? Diſtricts defolated by tax gatherers; cities
become boroughs, and boroughs villages; the people
pale and meagre; in a word, beggars inftead of in-
habitants. All theſe evils were known; but evident
principles were avoided to embrace a fyftem of dif
fipation*, and the fhadows that were raiſed, au-
thoriſed the general depredation.
"Can
* An intendant of the province, defirous of giving the
**, who was going to Soiffons, an idea of the abundance
that reigned in France, caufed the fruit-trees of the country
round about to be dug up, and planted in the ſtreets of the
city,
?.
262
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
"Can you believe it? The revolution was effected
without trouble, and by the heroifm of one great
man. A philofophic prince, worthy of a throne, be-
cauſe he regarded it with indifference; more foli-
citous for the happinefs of mankind than for the
phantom of power, diftrufting pofterity, and diftruft-
ing himſelf, offered to put the eſtates of the nation in
poffeffion of their ancient prerogatives; he was fen-
fible that in an extenfive kingdom there ſhould be an
union of the different provinces in order to its being
well governed; as, in the human body beſide the
general circulation, each part has one that is peculi-
arly adapted to itself; fo each province, while it obeys
the general laws, modifies thofe that are peculiar to
it, agreeable to its foil, its pofition, its commerce and
reſpective intereſts. Hence all lives, all flourishes.
The provinces are no longer devoted to ferve the
court and ornament the capital*. A blind order
from
city, by digging up the pavement. Thefe trees he decorated
with garlands of gilt paper. This intendant was, without
knowing it, a very great painter.
* From error and ignoronce ſpring all the evils that op-
prefs humanity. Man is wicked only becaufe he miſtakes
his true intereft. In fpeculative phyſics, in aftronomy, and
mathematics, we may err without any real detriment; but
politics will not admit of the leaſt error. There are vices
in government more deſtructive than natural plagues. An
error of this kind depopulates and impoveriſhes a kingdom.
If the moſt ſevere, the moſt profound fpeculation is ever ne-
ceffary, it is in thofe public and problematic cafes, where
reaſons of equal weight hold the judgment in equilibrium.
Nothing
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
203
from the throne, does not carry troubles into thoſe
parts where the king's eye has never penetrated.
Each province is the guardian of its own fecurity
and its own happiness; its principle of life is not
too far diftant from it; it is within itfelf, always
ready to aſſiſt the whole, and to remedy evils that
may arife. The prefent fuccours are left to thoſe who
are intrufted in its welfare, and will not palliate the
cure, much lefs will they rejoice at thoſe incidents
that may weaken their country.
"The abfolute fovereignty is now abolished; the
chief magiftrate preſerves the name of king; but he
does not foolishly attempt to bear all that burden
which oppreffed his anceſtors. The legiflative power
of the kingdom is lodged in the ftates affembled.
The adminiſtration of affairs, as well political as
civil,
Nothing is then more dangerous than the tricks of office;
they produce inconceivable errors; and the ftate is not
fenfible of its condition till arrived on the brink of ruin.
We cannot, therefore, be too clear in the complicated art
of government, as the leaft deviation is a line that conſtantly
recedes as it increafes, and produces an immenfe error.
The laws have been hitherto nothing more than palliatives,
that have been turned into general remedies; they are, as
has been very juſtly faid, the offspring of neceflity, and not
of philofophy; it belongs to the latter to correct their de-
fects. But what courage, what zeal, what love of hu-
manity muſt he have, who, froin fuch a chaos, ſhall form
a regular fyftem! But, at the fame time, where is the
man that would be more dear to the human race? Let him
remember, that it is of all objects the moſt important; that
the happiness of mankind, and confequently their virtues,
are therein highly interefted.
264
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
civil, is affigned to the fenate; and the monarch,
armed with the fword of juſtice, watches over the
execution of the laws. He propofes every uſeful
eftablishment. The fenate is refponfible to the king,
and the king and fenate are reſponſible to the ftates;
which are affembled every two years. All is there
decided by the majority of voices. The enacting of
new laws, the filling of vacant pofts, and the re-
dreffing of grievances, appertain to them; particular,
or unforeſeen cafes are left to the wifdom of the
monarch.
"He is happy*, and his throne is fixed upon a
bafis the more folid, as his crown is guaranteed by
the liberty of the nationt. Thofe fouls, that would
have
* M. d'Alembert fays, that a king who does his duty
is of all men the moſt miferable; and that he who does it
not, is of all others the moſt to be. pitied. But why is the
king who does his duty the moſt miferable? Is it from the
multiplicity of his labours? No; a happy labour is a real
pleaſure. Does he make no account of that inward fatis-
faction which arifes from a confcioufnefs of having pro-
moted the happineſs of mankind? Does he not believe that
virtue is its own reward? Beloved by all except the wicked,
cap the heart of fuch a king be infenfible to pleaſure? Who
has not felt the fatisfaction that refults from doing good ?
The king who does not fulfil his duty is the moll to be
pitied. Nothing more true, especially if he be fenfible to
remorfe and infamy; if he be not, he is fill more to be
pitied. Nothing more juft than this laft propofition.
1
*It is good in every ftate, even in a republic, to have a
limited chief. It is a fort of spectre, that drives away all
I
projects
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
265
have been but mean, owe their virtue to that internal
fource of greatnefs. The citizen is not ſeparated
from the ſtate; he is incorporated with it*, and, in
return, he ſhows with what zeal he exerts himſelf,
in all that can intereſt its glory.
"Every act publiſhed by the fenate, explains, in a
few words, its origin and its defign. We cannot
conceive how it was poffible in your age, that pre-
tended fo much difcernment, for magiftrates to dare,
in their furly pride, to publiſh dogmatic arrets, like
the decrees of the theologians. As if the law was
not the public reafon, or it was not neceffary that
the people ſhould be inſtructed, in order to their more
ready obedience. Thoſe ancient magiftrates, who
called themſelves the fathers of their country, muſt
have been ignorant of the great art of perfuafion;
that art which acts fo powerfully, and without
labour; or rather, they must have had no fixed
point of view, no determinate courfe, but fome-
times riotous and feditious, and fometimes creep-
ing flaves, they flattered or haraffed the throne: by
turns
projects from the mind of the ambitious. Royalty in this
cafe is like a ſcare-crow in a field, that prevents the birds
from feeding upon the corn.
** They who have faid, that in a monarchy, the king is
the depofitory of the will of the people, have afferted an
abfurdity. There is, in fact, nothing more ridiculous,
than for intelligent beings, like men, to fay to one or more,
"Will for us," the people have always faid to their
monarch; "A&t for us," after you have clearly understood
what is our will.
A a
266 THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
turns wrangling for trifles, and felling the people for
a bribe.
"You will readily believe that we have diſcarded
thoſe magiftrates, accustomed from their youth to all
that infenfiblity which is neceffary coolly to difpof
of the property, the honour, and lives of their fellow-
citizens. Bold in defence of their meaneft privileges,
careleſs of what concerned the public welfare, they
funk at laſt into a perpetual indolence, and even
fpared others the trouble of corrupting them. Very
different are our magiftrates; the title of fathers of
their country, with which we honour them, they merit
in the fullest extent of the term.
"The reins of government are now committed to
wife and refolute hands, that purfue a regular plan.
The laws reign, and no man is above them; which
was a horrid evil in your Gothic government. The
general good of the nation is founded on the fecurity
of each individval. No one fears man, but the laws;
the fovereign himſelf is fenfible that they hang over
his head*. His vigilance renders the fenators more
* Every government where one man alone is above the
laws, and can violate them with impunity, muſt be iniqui-
tous and unhappy. In vain has a man of genius employed
all his talents to make us acquiefce in the principles of an
Afiatic government: they offer too great violence to human
nature. Behold the proud veffel that plows the ocean,
there needs but an imperceptible paffage to admit the water
and cauſe her perdition. So one man that is above the law,
may
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
267
ttentive to their feveral duties; the confidence he
epofes in them foftens their labours, and his authority
rives the neceffary force and activity to their decifions.
Thus the fceptre, which oppreffed your kings, is light
n the hands of our monarch. He is not a victim
pompously decorated, and inceffantly a facrifice to
he exigencies of the ftate; he bears that burthen only
which is proportioned to the limited ftrength he has
received from nature.
"We have a prince that fears the Almighty, that
s pious and juft, whofe heart is devoted to God and
his country, who dreads the divine vengeance, and
the cenfure of poſterity, and who regards a good
confcience, and a fpotlefs fame, as the higheſt de-
gree of felicity. It is not fo much great talents, or
an
may cauſe thoſe acts of injuſtice and iniquity to enter a ſtate,
which, by an inevitable effect, will haften its ruin. What
matters it whether we perish by one or many The mif-
fortune is the fame. What imports it whether tyranny
have a hundred arms, or one only, that extends itſelf over
the whole empire; if it fall on every individual, if it ſpring
out fresh at the very inſtant it is cat off? Befide, it is not
defpotiſm that terrifies and confounds; it is its propagation.
The viziers, the pachas, &c. imitate their maſters; they
devour others while they expect to be devoured. In the
government of Europe, their ſhocks, the fimultaneous re-
action of their ſeveral bodies, affords moments of equili
brium, during which the people breathe; the limits of
their reſpective powers, perpetually diſordered, holds the
place of liberty; and the phantom is, at leaſt confolatory
to thoſe who cannot attain the reality.
A a 2
268
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
an extenſive knowledge, that does good, as the
fincere defire of an upright heart that loves it,
and wishes to accomplish it: Frequently the boaft-
ed genius of a monarch, far from advancing the
happineſs of a kingdom, is exerted in deftroying its
liberties.
"We have conciliated what ſeemed almoſt incom-
patible, the good of the nation with that of indi-
viduals. They even pretended that the general
happiness of a ſtate was neceffarily diftinct from that
of fome of its members. We have not eſpouſed
that barbarous policy, founded either on an ignorance
of juft laws, or on a contempt of the pooreft, but
moſt uſeful men in the ftate. There were cruel and
deteſtable laws that ſuppoſed men to be wicked; but
we are much difpofed to believe that they have
only become fo fince the inftitution of thoſe laws.
Arbitrary power has griped the human heart, and
by its irritation has rendered it enflamed and ulce-
rated.
"Our monarch has every neceffary power and
opportunity to do good, but is prevented from do-
ing evil. We repreſent the nation to him always
in a favourable light; we diſplay its valour, its
fidelity toward its prince, and its hatred of a foreign
yoke.
"There are cenfors who have the right of ex-
pelling from about the prince all who are inclined to
irreligion,
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
269
irreligion, to licentioufnefs, to falfehood, and to that
baneful art of covering virtue with ridicule*. We
do not admit amongſt us that claſs of men, who, under
the title of nobility (which, to render it completely
ridiculous, was venal) crawled about the throne,
and would follow no other profeffion than that of a
foldier or courtiers; who lived in idlenefs, fed their
pride with old parchments, and diſplayed a deplorable
fpectacle of equal vanity and mifery. Your grena-
diers fhed their blood with as much intrepidity as the
moſt noble among them, without rating it at fo high
a price. Such a denomination, moreover, in our
republic would give offence to the other orders of
the ſtate. Our citizens are all equal; the only
diſtinctions we know are thofe which naturally
arife among men from their virtue, their genius, and
induſtry†.
"Befides
I am much inclined to believe that fovereigns are almoſt
always the moſt honeft men in their courts. The foul of
Narciffus was ftill more foul than that of Nero.
+ Why cannot the French fuffer a republican govern-
ment? Who in this kingdom is ignorant of the pre-emi-
nence of the nobleffe, founded on the inſtitution itſelf, and
confirmed by the cuftom of many ages? Yet when under
the reign of John, the third eſtate roſe from their abject
condition, they took their feat in the affembly of the nation;
that haughty and barbarous nobleffe beheld it without com-
motion, affociate with the orders of the kingdom, though
the times were ſtill filled with prejudices of the police of
the fiefs, and the profeffion of arms. The honour of the
French nation, a principle ever active, and fuperior to the
A a 3
wifeft
270
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
"Befides all thoſe ramparts, thoſe barriers, and
precautions uſed to prevent the monarch from
forgetting, in time of public calamities, what he
owes to the poor, he obferves every year a folemn
faft, which continues for three days, during which
time he ſuffers continual hunger and thirſt, and fleeps
upon the ground. This fevere and falutary faft im-
prints on his heart the most tender commiferation
towards the neceffitous. Our fovereign, it is true,
has no need of this penance to remind him; but it is
a law of the ſtate, a facred law, conftantly followed
and refpected. By the example of our monarch,
every man who has any connection with govern-
ment, makes it his duty to feel what is want; and
is from thence more difpofed to affift thoſe who are
obliged to fubmit to the imperious and cruel law of
extreme neceffity*
But
wiſeſt inſtitutions, may therefore one day become the foul
of a republic; efpecially when a taſte for philoſophy, a
knowledge of political laws, and the experience of fo many
evils, fhall have deftroyed that levity, that indifcretion
which blafts thofe brilliant qualities that would make the
French the firſt people in the univerfe; if they would well
confider, ripen, and fupport their projects.
* In the front of a philofopher's hermitage there was a
rich and lofty mountain, favoured with the moſt benign
regards of the fun. It was covered with beautiful paftures,
with golden grain, with cedars and aromatic plants. Birds,
the most pleafing to the fight, and delicious to the taſte,
fanned the air in flocks with their wings, and filled it with
their harmonious warblings. The bounding deer peopled
the
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
27I
But, I faid that thefe changes must have been long,
laborious, and difficult. What efforts you muſt have
made! The philofopher with a pleafing fmile, re-
plied, "Good is not more difficult than evil. The
human paffions are frightful obftacles; but when the
mind is once convinced of its true intereft, the man
becomes juſt and faithful. It ſeems to me that a
fingle perfon might govern the world, if the hearts
of men were diſpoſed to toleration and equity. Not-
withſtanding the common inconfequence of thofe of
your
the woods. Some genial lakes produced in their filver
waters the trout, the perch, and dace. Three hundred
familes were fpread over this mountain, and there
found a bleft abode, in the midſt of peace and plenty, and
in the bofom of thofe virtues they conftantly practifed: each
morn and eve they fent their grateful thanks to heaven.
But behold the indolent and voluptuous Ofman mounts the
throne, and all theſe families are preſently ruined, driven
from their abodes, and become vagabonds upon the earth.
The beauteous mountain was feized by his vizier, a noble
robber, who feafted his dogs, his concubines, and his flat-
terers with the plunder of the unhappy people. Ofman
one day loſing himſelf in the chace, met the philofopher,
whofe hut had eſcaped that torrent which had ſwept all elfe
before it. The philofopher recollected the monarch, with-
out his fufpecting it: he treated him with a noble courteſy.
They talked of the preſent times.-" Alas! faid the fage
old man, we knew what pleaſure was fome ten years fince ;
but now all fuffers; extreme poverty has drove the poor
from their habitations; wrings their fouls, and each day
fees them go drooping to the grave, oppreffed by extreme
milery."—" Pray tell me, faid the monarch, what is that
mifery?" The philoſopher ſighed, remained filent, and fet
the prince in the way, to his palace.
272
THE HEIR TO THE THRONE.
your age, it was foreſeen that reaſon would one day
make a great progrefs; its effects have become vifi-
ble, and the happy principles of a wife government
have been the firſt fruits of its reformation."
CHAP. XXXVII.
THE HEIR TO THE THRONE.
MORE inquifitive than was ever the bailiff
of Huron*, I continued to exerciſe the patience of
my companions. I have feen the monarch on his
throne, but I forgot to afk, Gentlemen, where was
the king's fon; whom in my time they called the
dauphin. One of the most polite among them re-
plied:
"As we are convinced that it is on the education
of the great that depends the happineſs of the people,
and that virtue is learned as vice is communicated,
we watch with the greateſt affiduity over the early
years of our princes. The heir to the throne is not
at court, where fome flatterers would dare to per-
ſuade him that he is fomething more than other men,
and that they are leſs than infects. His high deſtiny
is
* The Huron, or the Candid Man, a romance by Vol-
taire, and one of the beſt his pen has produced. The Hu
ron confined in the Baftile with a Janfenift, is of all things
in the world the moſt happily imagined.
THE HEIR TO THE THRONE.
273
is carefully conccaled from him. When he is born,
a royal mark is imprinted on his fhoulder, by which
he is afterwards known. He is placed in the hands of
thefe whofe difcreet fidelity has been as well proved
as their probity. They take a folemn oath before
the Supreme Being never to reveal to the prince that
he is one day to be king: a tremendous oath, and
which they never dare to violate.
"As foon as he comes out of the hands of the
women he is inured to exercife; and regard is had to
his natural education, which fhould always precede
the moral. He is cloathed like the fon of a common
peafant; he is accuſtomed to the plaineſt meats; and
is early taught fobriety; he will be the better able
hereafter to teach economy by his own example,
and to know that a falfe prodigality ruins a ftate,
and diſhonours thoſe that promote it. He travels,
fucceffively through all the provinces; they explain
to him the various labours of the husbandman, the
different manufactures, and the productions of the
feveral foils; he fees all things with his own eyes; he
enters the hut of the ploughman, eats at his table,
affifts in his labours, and learns to refpect him. He
converfes freely with every man he meets; his cha
racter is fuffered to difplay itſelf freely, while he
thinks himſelf as far diftant from the throne as he is
near to it.
"Many kings have become tyrants, not becauſe
they had bad hearts, but becauſe they never knew the
real
274
THE HEIR TO THE THRONE.
*
real ſtate of the common people of their country
If we were to abandon a young prince to the flatter-
ing idea of a certain power, perhaps even with a vir-
tuous mind, confidering the unhappy difpofition of
the human heart, he would at laſt endeavour to ex-
tend the limits of his authority t. For in that it is
that many princes unhappily make the royal gran-
deur to confift; and confequently their intereft is
always at variance with that of the people.
"When the prince has attained the age of twenty
years, or fooner, if his mind appears to be early
formed, he is conducted to the hall of audience; he
mixes with the crowd as a common fpectator; all
the orders of the ftate are then preſent, and all have
received their inftructions. On a fudden the king
rifes,
* Prejudice conftantly attends the throne, ready to pour
its errors into the ears of kings. Timorous Truth is in
doubt of obtaining a victory over them, and waits for the
fignal to approach; but fhe fpeaks fo ftrange a language,
that they turn to thofe deceitful phantoms that are maſters
of the common dialect. Kings! learn the fevere philofo-
phic language of truth! It is in vain that you feek her, if
you underſtand her not.
+ Men have a natural diſpoſition to arbitrary power, as
nothing is more convenient than to be obeyed by merely
moving the tongue. Every one has heard of that fultan
who commanded his attendants to amufe him with enter-
taining ſtories, on pain of being ſtrangled. Other monarchs
hold pretty much the fame language, when they ſay to the
people, Divert me, and die with hunger.
THE HEIR TO THE THRONE.
275
((
rifes, and calls the young man three times by his
name; the crowds of people open; aſtoniſhed, he ad-
vances with timid ſteps toward the throne, and trem-
bling mounts the ſteps; the king embraces him, and
declares him in the fight of all the people to be his
fon. "Heaven," he fays with an affecting and ma-
jeſtic voice, "Heaven has deſtined thee to bear the
"burden of royalty; we have laboured for twenty
66 years to render thee worthy of it; do not fruſtrate
"the hopes of this great people that you fee before
you. My fon, I expect from you the fame zeal that
"I have ſhown for this nation." What a crifis!
what a crowd of ideas prefs upon his mind! The
monarch then fhows him the tomb where refts the
preceding king; that tomb on which is engraved in
large characters, ETERNITY. He proceeds with
the fame awful voice; "My fon, all has been done
"for this moment. You now ftand on the aſhes. of
"your grandfather; in you he is to revive; fwear
"to be juſt as he was. I fhall foon deſcend to ſupply
"his place; but remember that I fhall accufe you
" from this tomb if you abuſe your power. Ah!
"
my dear fon, the eyes of the Almighty and of this
"nation are upon you; no one thought can be con-
"cealed. If any incitements to ambition or pride
<< reign at this moment in your heart, there is yet
"time to avoid their effects; renounce the diadem,
"deſcend from the throne, and mix again with the
people; you will be greater and more reſpectable
as a common citizen, than as a vain and daftardly
"monarch. Let not the chimera of authority flat-
"ter your young heart, but the great and pleafing
"idea
276
THE HEIR TO THE THRONE.
"idea of being really uſeful to mankind; I promiſe
C6
you for recompence the love of this people that
"furrounds us; of my affection, the eſteem of the
"world, and the affiftance of the Monarch of the
"univerfe; it is he that is King, my fon, we are only
"his agents, that are fent upon the earth to accom-
"pliſh his great defigns*."
"The young prince is furprifed and affected, his
viſage is covered with a modeſt ſhame; he dares not
look upon that great affembly, whofe regards are
eagerly fixed on him. His tears begin to flow; he
weeps at the profpect of his extenfive duties; but
foon an heroic ſpirit poffeffes him; he is taught that
a great man ought to facrifice himſelf for the good
of mankind; and that as nature has not prepared for
man a happineſs without allay, it is by that benign
power which the nation has depofited with him, that
he is enabled to do that for them which nature has
refuſed. That noble idea penetrates, animates, in-
flames him; the oathis are adminiſtered to him by his
father; he calls the facred afhes of his grandfather
to witnefs his fincerity; he adores the Supreme Be-
ing;
* Garnier caufes it to be faid to Nabuchedonofer, puffed
up with his power and his victories, "Who is that God
who commands the rain, the winds and the tempeſts ? Over
whom reigns he? Over the feas, the rocks, &c." To
which he replies, “Inſenſible ſubjects! I command over
men; I am the only God of this earth where we dwell.
Infenfibles fujets! moi je commande aux hommes;
Je fuis l'unique Dieu de la terre ou nous fommes.
2
THE HEIR TO THE THRONE.
277
ing; he is crowned. The orders of the ftate falute
him, and the people with tranfports of joy cry out,
"O thou that art taken from amongst us, whom
"we have fo long and fo nearly beheld, may the pre-
ftiges of greatneſs never make thee forget who thou
(f art, and who we are*."
46
"He cannot mount the throne, till the age of two
and twenty; for it is repugnant to common ſenſe,
that a nation ſhould be governed by an infant king.
For a like reafon the king lays down the fceptre at
the age of feventy years, becaufe the art of governing
requires an activity of body, and a certain fenfibility,
which unlucky age extinguifhes in the human
mind†. Befide, we are fearful left habit ſhould pro-
duce in his mind that concentrated ambition they
call avarice, which is the laft and moſt rueful paffion
that
*The Greeks and Romans experienced fenfations far
more poignant than ours. A religion altogether fenfible;
thofe frequent occurrences that concerned the grand intereſt
of the republic; a ftate dignity that was awful without
being fatuous; the acclamations of the people; the affem-
blies of the nation, and the public harangues; what an in-
exhauftible fource of pleafures! When compared with
thofe people, we feem but to languifh, or fearce to exiſt.
How pleafing is it when years have whitened our heads,
to be able to retire, and reflect on thoſe acts of humanity
and beneficence that we have performed in the course of
our days! Of all that we now are there will then nought
remain but the fenfation of having been virtuous, or the
fhame and torment of vice.
B b
278
THE HEIR TO THE THRONE.
that man has to encounter *. The inheritance is in
the line direct, and the feptuagenary monarch ftill
ferves the ſtate by his councils, or by the example of
his past virtues. The time between the public ac
knowledgment of the prince, and the day of his ma-
jority, is ſtill fubject to new proofs. They conftantly
talk to him by ftrong and fenfible images. If they
would prove, that kings are not otherwife formed
than common men; that they have not a hair more
on their heads; that they are equally weak at their
entrance into this world; equal in infirmities, and
equal in the fight of God, and that the fuffrage of
the people is the fole baſis of their grandeur; they
introduce by way of diverfion, a young porter of his
fize and age, and they wreſtle together; though the
king's fon be vigorous, he is commonly overcome;
the other continues the attack till the prince is forced
to own the defeat. They raiſe him up, and fay to
him, "You fee that no man by the law of nature
ought to fubmit to another, that no man is born a
flave; that monarchs are born men, and not kings;
in a word, that the human race were not created for
the pleaſure of fome particular families. That even
the Almighty, according to the natural law, would
not govern by force, but over the free-will. To en-
deavour therefore to make men flaves, is to act with
temerity
* Prodigality is equally to be feared. A young prince
will fometimes refufe, becauſe he has that in him which may
atone for refuſal; but the old man conftantly confents, be-
cauſe he has nothing to fupply the vacuity of the want of
liberality.
THE HEIR TO THE THRONE.
279
temerity toward the fupreme Being, and to exerciſe
tyranny over the race of mankind." The young
man who had conquered, then bows before him, and
fays, "I may be ſtronger than you, but there is
"neither right nor glory in that; true ftrength is
"equity, and true glory greatnefs of mind. I render
"you homage as my fovereign, and the depofitory
"of the force of every individual; when any one
"would tyrannize over me, it is to you I muft fly
"for fuccour; you will then hear and fave me from
"the unjuſt and powerful."
•
"If the young prince commits any remarkable
fault or imprudence, the next day he fees it in the
public ´papers* ; he is fometimes aftonifhed and
offended. They answer him coolly, "It is a faith-
"ful and vigilant tribunal, that records each day the
"actions of princes. Pofterity will know and judge
"all that you have faid and done; it depends on
"yourſelf to make them fpeak honourably of you."
If the young prince reflect, and acknowledge his
fault, then the papers of the next day declare that
token of a happy. character, and give to the noble
action all the eulogy it defervest.
"But
* I could wiſh that a prince had ſometimes the curioſity
to know what the people think of him; he would learn
enough in a quarter of an hour to afford him matter of reflec-
tion all the reſt of his life.
+ You fay, "I fear not the fword of man. I am brave."
But you deceive yourself. To be truly brave you muſt
B b z
fear
280
THE HEIR TO THE THRONE.
"But what they moft ftrongly recommend, and
imprefs on him by multiplied images, is a horror of
that vain pageantry, which has deftroyed fo many
ftates, and difhonoured fo many fovereigns*. Thofe
gilded palaces, fay they, are like the decorations of
a theatre, where paper appears to be maffy gold.
The child imagines that it beholds a real palace. Be
not a child. Pomp and oftentation are abufes, in-
troduced by pride and policy. They difplay that
parade to inſpire the greater refpect and fear. By
that means the ſubject contracts a fervile difpofition,
and becomes accuſtomed to the yoke. But is a king
ever debafed by putting himſelf on a level with his
fubjects? What are thofe inceffant empty fhews, in
compariſon with that open and affable manner that
attracts the affections of all the people to his perfon?
The wants of a monarch are not lefs than thoſe of
the meanest of his fubjects. There is no difference
between his ftomach and that of a clown, fays J. J.
Rouffeau. If he would tafte the pureft of all plea-
fures, let him talte that of being beloved, and let him
render himſelf worthy of it.
"To
fear neither their tongues nor their pens. But in this cafe,
the greateſt kings of the earth have ever been the greateſt
poltroons. The Gazette of Amfterdam prevented Louis
XIV. from fleeping.
*That luxury, which is the caufe of the deftruction of
ftates, and that tramples under foot every virtue, takes its
fource from corrupted hearts, and which all others copy
after.
+ Duke *** of Wirtemberg, the firſt of that name, was
dining with a fovereign prince, his neighbour, and ſome
othe
THE HEIR TO THE THRONE.
281
"To conclude: there paffes no day on which he
is not reminded of the exiſtence of a fupreme Being,
whofe eye conftantly furveys this world; of the duty
that he owes him, of a reverence for his providence,
and a confidence in his infinite wifdom. The moft
horrid of all beings is without doubt an atheiflical
king: I had far rather be in a veffel toffed by the
tempeft, and directed by a drunken pilot; I fhould at
leaſt have a chance to be faved.
"It is not till the age of twenty-two that he is
permitted to marry. He takes a native of our
country to his throne. He does not fend in queft of
a foreign wife, who frequently brings from her
country a difpofition, which being widely different
from the nanners of our nation, baſtardizes the blood
of France, and caufes us to be governed by Spaniards
or Italians, rather than by the defcendants of our
brave ancellors. Our king does not offer that infult
to a whole nation, to imagine that beauty and virtue
are to be found in a foreign foil only. She who, in
the courſe of his journeys, has touched his heart, and
has loved him without a diadem, mounts the throne
with
other petty potentates, each of whom was talking of his
forces and power. After hearing all their pretenſions, the
Duke faid, “I do not envy any one of you that power which
God has given you, but there is one thing of which I can
boaft, which is, that in my little ftate 1 can walk at all
hours alone, and in fecurity. I ramble among the woods,
I lay me down to fleep under fome tree, quite unconcern-
ed, for I fear neither the fword of a robber, nor of an in-
jured fubjećt.
Bb3
282
THE HEIR TO THE THRONE.
A
with her lover, and becomes dear and refpectable to
the nation, as well from her own virtues, as for
having been able to pleaſe a hero. Befide the ad-
vantage of infpiring all the young women with a love
of wisdom and virtue, by fetting before them a recom-
pence worthy of their efforts, we hereby avoid all
thofe family wars, that are abfolutely foreign to the
intereft of the ftate, and that have fo often defolated
Europe*.
"On the day of his marriage, inſtead of foolishly
fquandering money in pompous and tirefome feafts,
in fenfelefs and guady fhews, in fire-works, and other
expences equally extravagant and difguftful, the
prince erects fome public monument, as a bridge, an
aqueduct, a public road, a canal, or a theatre. This
monument bears his name. We remember his bene-
faction, while thofe irrational profufions are forgot,
or only remembered by the horrid accidents they
occafioned. The people, fatisfied with the gene-
rofity
* Moft of our wars have proceeded, as every one knows,
from thofe alliances that are pretended to be political. If
indeed Europe and Africa could efpoufe Afia and America,
well and good.
+ Shall I here recall the horrible night of the 30th of
March, 1770? It will eternally accuſe our police, that is
favourable to the rich alone, and that protects the barbarous
luxury of carriages. It was by them that horrid difafter
was
Carriages are far more dangerous in Paris than London,
as they drive much faſter, and there is no feparate path for
foot paffengers.
.
THE HEIR TO, THE THRONE.
283
rofity of their prince, are under no temptation to
whiſper to each other that ancient fable, in which the
poor frog laments in his marth the fight of the
nuptials of the fun*
CHAP.
was occafioned. But if this dreadful accident has produced
no ſtrict ordinance by which the citizens may walk the
ſtreets without danger, what are we to expect of other evils
that are more deeply rooted, and more difficult to remedy?
Near eight hundred perfons periſhed by being crowded
together, and fix weeks after it was not mentioned.
* I met, in a piece of poetry, with theſe verſes:
Ces rois enorgueillis de leur grandeur fupréme,
Ce font des mendians que couvre un diadême.
:
"Thefe puffed-up monarchs, with their mighty grandeur,
are nothing more than beggars covered with a crown."
In fact, they are craving inceffantly it is the people that
pay for the robes of the pompous bride; for the feaſts, the
fire-works, the embroidery of the nuptial bed, &c. and
when the royal babe is born, cach one of its cries is me-
tamorphofed into a new tax.
:
[ 284 ]
CHAP. XXXVIII.
THE WOMEN.
My affable and polite inftructor continued
in the fame free manner." You fhould know that
our women have no other portion than their virtue
and their charms; they are, therefore, intereſted in
improving their moral faculties. By this ftroke of
legiflation we have deftroyed the hydra, Coquetry,
fo fruitful of contention, of vices and ridicule.-"
How! no portion? the women bring nothing with
them? and who will marry them?" Women have
no portion, becauſe they are by nature dependant on
that fex from whom they derive their ftrength and
glory, and that nothing may with-hold them from
that legitimate empire, which is conftantly lefs ter-
rible than the yoke they give themſelves in their fatal
liberty. Beſides, the confequence is the fame; a
man who marries a wife without any fortune, is
enabled to difpofe of his daughters without emptying
his purfe. We never fee a girl proud of her fortune,
who feems to do her huſband a favour by accepting
him*. Every man is bound to provide for his wife;
and
* An Athenian lady aſked a Lacedemonian, what portion
The brought her huſband? "Chaſtity," the replied¶.
It is no uncommon thing for a modern lady to bring her
huſband this portion, though he may chance to difpofe of it
afterwards for her own private emolument.
THE WOMEN.
285
and fhe, depending entirely on her husband, is the
better difpofed to fidelity and obedience. The law
being univerſal, no one can complain. The women
have no other diftinction than what is reflected on
them by their husbands. Conftantly fubmiffive te
the duties that their fex requires, their honour is to
obferve the ſtrict laws that reſult from them, by which
alone they can fecure their happineſs.
"Every citizen that has not defamed himſelf,
though he fhould be of the loweſt claſs, may claim a
daughter of the higheſt, provided fhe confent, and
there be no feduction or difproportion of age. Every
one refumes the primitive equality of nature in form-
ing a contract fo pure, fo free, and fo neceffary to
our happineſs, as is that of matrimony. There
ends the bounds of paternal power*, and that of
civil authority. Our marriages are fortunate, be-
caufe intereft, which corrupts all things, does not
foil
* How indecent, how monftrous is it, to ſee a father ap-
peal to twenty tribunals, animated by a barbarous pride
that will not let him give his daughter to a man, because
he had fecretly deſtined her for another. He dares, in this
cafe, to cite civil ordinances, while he forgets the most
facred laws of nature, which forbids him to opprefs an un-
fortunate daughter, over whom he has no legitimate autho
rity, but what may conduce to her happiness. It is a re-
markable and melancholy circumftance, that in this age
the number of bad parents has exceeded that of unnatural
children, Where is the fource of this evil? Alas! in
our laws.
286
THE WOMEN.
foil their amiable bands. You cannot eaſily imagine
how many vices and foibles, fuch as flander, jealouſy,
idlenefs, the pride of excelling a rival, crimes of every
kind, have been banifhed by this fimple law *. Wo-
men, inſtead of exercifing their vanity, have culti
vated their minds; and in lieu of riches, have furniſhed
themſelves with gentlenefs, modefty, and patience.
Mufic and dancing no longer form their principal
accompliſhments; they have vouchſafed to learn the
arts of œconomy, of pleafing their huſbands, and
educating their children. That extreme inequality
of rank and fortune, the moſt deſtructive vice in every
political fociety, is here no longer feen; the meaneſt
citizen has no reafon to blufh at his condition; he
affociates with the higheft, who difdains not his
connection. The law has equalled mankind to the
greatest degree in its power; inſtead of creating
thofe injurious diftinctions, that produce nothing but
pride on one fide, and hatred on the other, it has
been folicitous to deftroy all thofe obftacles that
might divide the children of the fame mother.
"Our wives are, what were thofe of the ancient
Gauls, fincere and amiable companions whom we
reſpect and conſult on all occafions. They do not
affect that miſerable jargon ſo much in vogue among
you
* Nature has deftined women to domeftic employments,
and to cares every where of the fame kind. They have
much leſs variety in their characters than have men; almoſt
all women reſemble each other; they have but one end,
and which they manifeft in every country by fimilar effects,
THE WOMEN,
287
1
you, and which they called wit*. They do not buſy
themſelves with affigning the rank due to the feveral
forts of genius; they are content with good fenſe, a
qualification far preferable to thofe artificial flashes
that are the wretched amuſements of idleneſs. Love,
the fruitful fource of the moſt excellent virtues, pre-
fides over, and guards the intereſt of our country.
The more happineſs we enjoy in her hofom, the more
dear fhe becomes. Judge then what is our attach-
ment to her. The women, doubtleſs, make a part of
this felicity. Instead of thoſe empty and faſtidious
pleaſures, which they purſued from vanity, they now
enjoy all our tenderneſs and eſteem, and find a feli-
city more folid and more pure in the poffeffion of
our hearts, than in, thofe tranfient pleafures, whofe
very purſuit was attended with anxiety. Charged
with the care of fuperintending the firſt years of our
children, they have no other preceptors; for being
more fagacious and vigilant than they were in your
days, they are more fenfible of the delicious pleaſure
of being mothers in the full extent of the term.”
But, I ſaid, notwithſtanding all your improvements,
man is ſtill man, liable to weakneſs, humour, and
diſguft.
* A woman ſhews very little diſcretion, who is defirous
of fhewing her wit upon every occafion. She ought, on
the contrary, to uſe all her art to conceal it. In fact, what
is it we men look after? Innocence, candour, fimplicity,
truth, an intereſting timidity. A woman that diſplays her
wit feems to fay to you, "Sir, addreſs yourſelf to me; I
am a woman of wit; I fhall be more perfidious, perverfe,
and artful than another."
238
THE WOMEN.
difguft. If Difcord, with her torch, fhould take the
place of Hymen, what do you then? Are divorces
permitted*?" Doubtlefs, when they are founded
on
* Nicholas I. erecting himself into the reformer of the
laws divine, natural, and civil, abrogated divorces in the
ninth century. They were then in uſe among all the peo-
ple of the earth, authorifed by Jews and Chriftians. How
ftrange is the lot of human kind? One man alone has de..
prived them of a precious liberty; of a civil contract has
made a facrcd indiffoluble chain, and for ever fomented do-
meſtic variance. Many paft ages have given to that fooliſh
and whimſical law an inviolable ſanction; and thoſe intef-
tine wars that diſtract the domeftic economy and promote
the depopulation of ſtates, are the fruits of the caprice of a
pontiff. It is evident, that were divorces permitted, mar-
riages would be more happy¶. We ſhould be leſs fearful
of forming a contract, when we knew that it could not bind
us to mifery.. The wife would be more attentive and ſub-
miflive. The durability of the band depending on the will
of the parties bound, would become more ſtrong. Popula.
tion, moreover, being far below its true ſtandard, it is to
the
There are no divorces permitted in France, not even in
cale of the moſt flagrant adultery. They," fays the lordly
pricft, "whom God," that is, I and my church," has put to-
gether, no man can put afuuder." The only refource for the
huſband is to petit:on the king; and if, by great chance, he
have intereft fufficient, the wife is fent to a convent; where
the will pafs her time difagreeably enough, if the be not able
to bribe the Cerberus at the door, which they fay, is not un-
frequently done. I remember a lady of the first quality, who
was fent to a monaftery, and early the next morning, the good
abbefs came to her bed-fide, and gave her a long lecture on the
ful.ject of incontinence-The gallant all the while lay fnug
under the bed clothes,
I
THE WOMEN.
289-
on legitimate reaſons; as when both parties, for ex-
ample, folicit a divorce at the fame time; an incom-
patibility of humours is fufficient to diffolve the band.
People marry only to be happy. It is a contract of
which peace and mutual regard fhould be the end.
We are not fo fenfelefs as to force two people to live
together, whofe hearts are eſtranged from each other,
and thereby to renew the puniſhment of the cruel
Mezentius, who faftened a living body to a loath-
fome carcafe. A divorce is the only eligible remedy,
as it at leaſt renders to fociety two perfons that are
loft by their connection with each other. But (would
you believe it?) the greater the facility is, the more
averſe they are to profit by it, as there is a ſort of
difhonour in not being able to bear together the
troubles of a tranfient life. Our women, virtuous by
principle, are delighted with domeftic pleaſures. We
are always happy when our duty coincides with our
defires; nothing is then difficult, all things bear a
pleafing afpect.”
O how
the indiffolubility of marriages that we ought to attribute
the ſecret caufe of that evil which undermines the catholic
monarchies. If it fhould be tolerated for any confiderable
time longer, and celibacy ſhould continue to prevail among
them, (the fruit of a wretched adminiſtration) together with
the ecclefiaftic celibacy which feems to be of right divine,
they will have none but enervated troops to oppoſe the nu-
merous, healthful, and robuſt armies of thoſe people who
permit divorces. The fewer fingle people there are in a
ftate, the more chafte, happy, and fruitful marriages will
be. The diminution of the human race neceffarily tends to
the total ruin of an empire.
Cc
1
290
THE WOMEN.
•
O how unfortunate I am to be fo old! I exclaimed;
I would immediately marry one of thefe amiable
women. Ours were fo haughty and infolent, and, for
the most part fo faithlefs, fo badly educated, that
marriage was regarded as an egregious folly. Co-
quetry, with an immoderate love of pleaſure, and an
abfolute unconcern for every thing but themſelves,
compofed the character of a woman of my time.
They derided all fort of ſenſibility, and had ſcarce
any humanity but towards their gallants. Every tafte
but that of luxury was in a manner a ſtranger to their
minds. Ifpeak not of modefty, for that was cfteemed
ridiculous. Therefore, a prudent man being to
chooſe of two evils, preferred celibacy as the leaſt.
The difficulty of bringing a child up, was an argu-
ment not lefs ftrong. Men avoided giving children
to a flate that would load them with diftrefs. So the
generous elephant, once made captive, refufes to in-
dulge himſelf in the moſt pleaſing inſtinct, that he
may not entail flavery on his pofterity. The huſband
himſelf, in the midſt of his anxiety, watched an op-
portunity of getting rid of a child, as we endeavour
to drive away a voracious animal. Human beings,
fled from each other, as their union neceffarily re-
doubled their mifery; the wretched virgins, fixed,
to the foil where they were born, languiſhed like
flowers, that, fcorched by the fun, turn pale, and drop
from their ſtalks; the greater part carried with them,
even to the grave, the defire of being wives; difgu t
and anxiety embittered every moment of their days;
and they could not procure any atonement for that
privation, but by the riſk of their honour, and the
lofs
THE WOMEN.
291
lofs of their health. In fhort, the number of ſingle
perfons was become frightfully great; and, to com-
plete the miſery, reaſon ſeemed to juſtify that outrage
to humanity*. But proceed, that you may comfort
me by defcribing a pleaſing picture of your manners?
How were you able to drive away that plague, which
threatened to devour the human race?
My guide raiſed his voice, and, with an animated
dignity, faid, lifting his eyes to heaven, "O God, if
man is unhappy, it is by his own fault; it is becauſe
he fhuns fociety, and confines all his cares to himſelf.
Our induſtry is confumed on futile objects; and thoſe
that would enrich us we neglect. By forming man.
for fociety, Providence has placed by our misfortunes
thofe aids that are deſtined to relieve them.
ftronger obligation is there than mutually to affiſt
each other? Is it not the general defiie of mankind?
Why then does he fo frequently mistake his intereft?
What
"I repeat
The
* A tafte for celibacy will begin to prevail when a go-
vernment is become as bad as it poffibly can be.
citizen detached from the moft pleafing connection, will
infenfibly detach himſelf from the love of life itſelf; fuicide
will be frequent; the art of living will become fo painful,
that exiſtence itfelf will be a burden. Men can bear all the
phyſical evils united; but the political evils are a hundred
times more horrible, becauſe they are not neceffary. Man
curfes that fociety which ought to alleviate his pains and
break his fetters. They reckoned at Paris, in the year
1769, one hundred and forty-feven perfons who put an end
to their own lives.
Cc 2
292
THE WOMEN.
"I repeat it; our women are wives and mothers;
and from thoſe two virtues all others are derived.
They would difhonour themſelves, were they to daub
their faces with paint, or ftuff their heads with fnuff,
or debauch their ftomach with drams; if they were
to fit up all night, or fing licentious ſongs, or practiſe
the leaſt indecency with men. They have more
certain attractions; gentlenefs, modefty, the native
graces, and that noble decency, which are their inhe-
ritance, and their true glory *.
They fuckle their own children without think.
ing it a labour; and as it is done without affectation,
their milk is pure and plentiful. The body of the
child is early invigorated; he is taught to fwim, to
hurl, and to carry burdens. The bodily education
appears to us of importance; we form his conftitu-
tion before we excrcife his mind, which fhould not be
that of a parrot, but that of a man.
"His mother watches over the morning of his
rifing thoughts; fhe reflects on the method to be
purfued in forming his mind to virtue; how fhe fhall
turn his fenfibility into humanity, his pride into
greatneſs of foul, and his curiofity into a knowledge
of fublime truths. She meditates on thoſe engaging.
fables ſhe ſhall ufe, not to conceal the truth, but to
render
While the women govern in France, while all things
are made to conform to their tafte, while they judge of the
genius and merit of men, the French will never have that
ftability, that fage economy, that gravity, nor that nervous
character which becomes free men.
THE WOMEN.
293
render it more amiable; that its luftre may not
dazzle the weakneſs of his inexperienced mind; ſhe
carefully weighs all her words and actions, that no
one of them may make a bad impreſſion on his
heart. Thus fhe preſerves him from that breath of
vice, by which the flower of innocence is fo fuddenly
withered.
"Education differs among us according to the
ſtation the child is hereafter to hold in fociety; for
though we are delivered from the yoke of pedantry,
it would be ftill ridiculous to teach him what he mult
hereafter forget. Each art is unfathomable, and to
excel in it requires our whole attention. The mind-
of man, notwithstanding all thofe aids recently dif
covered, miracles apart, is not able to embrace more
than one object; it is fufficient for him to attach
himself ftrongly to that, without attempting excur-
fions that cannot but diftract him. It was the ridi-
cule of your age to endeavour to be univerfal; we
regard it as a madnefs.
"In a more advanced age, when his mind is able
to diſtinguiſh thofe connections by which he is united
to fociety, then inftead of that futile knowledge with
which the minds of youth are indifcriminately load-
ed, his mother with that natural and tender elo-
quence peculiar to women, teaches him what are
manners, decency, virtue. She makes choice of that
ſeaſon, when nature, dreſſed in all her ſplendor, ſpeaks.
to the moſt infenfible heart, when the genial breath
of fpring has decorated the groves, the fields, and
forests,
T
Cc3
294
THE WOMEN.
foreſts, with all their ornaments. "My fon," fhe
fays, preffing him to her maternal bofom*, "behold
"theſe verdant fields, thefe trees adorned with ſpread-
"ing branches; it is not long fince, that, deprived of
"all their ornaments, they were congealed by that
"cold which pierces the inward parts of the earth;
"but there is a gracious Being, who is our common
"Parent, and who never abandons his children; he
"dwells in heaven, and from thence beholds, with
"the kindneſs of a father, all his creatures. At the
"moment that he fmiles, the fun darts its rays, the
"trees flourish, the earth is crowned with flowers,
"and with herbs for the nouriſhment of thoſe beafts
"whofe milk we drink. And why do we ſo love
"the Lord? Hear, O my child! it is becaufe he is
66
powerful and good; all that you fee is the work of
"his hands, and all this is nothing to what is con-
"cealed from you. Eternity, for which every in-
"mortal foul was created, will afford thee an end-
"lefs proceffion of joy and wonder. His power and
goodneſs know no bounds; he loves us, becauſe
"we are his children; from day to day he will fhow
"us greater kindneſs, if we are virtuous, that is, if
"we obey his laws. O! my fon, how can we but adore
“and blefs his name!" At theſe words, the mother
and the child fall proftrate, and their united prayers
afcend together to the throne of the Almighty.
"It
* Cebes repreſents impoſture as fitting at the gate that
leads to life, and obliging all who prefent themſelves to
drink of the cup of error. That cup is fuperftition. Happy
are they who only taſte it, and then throw the velfel away,
THE WOMEN.
295
"It is thus that fhe poffeffes him with the idea of
a God, that fhe nourishes his foul with the milk of
of truth, and that ſhe fays to herſelf, " I will fulfil
"the will of the Creator who has committed him to
(6
my care. I will be fevere to thoſe baneful paffions
"that may injure his happinefs; to the tenderness
"of a mother I will unite the unwearied vigilance of
a friend."
"You have feen at what age he is initiated to the
communion of the two infinities. Such is our edu.
cation; it is, as you fee, altogether fentimental; we
deteft that jeering wit, which was the most terrible
fcourge of your age; it dried up, it burned all it
touched; its buffooneries were the fource of all your
vices. But, if a frivolous difpofition be fo dangerous,
what is reafon itſelf without fentiment? A meagre
frame, without colour, without grace, and almoſt
without life. What are new, and even profound
ideas, if they have nothing animating and affecting?
What need have I of a cold truth that chills my
blood? It lofes its force and its effect. It is in the
heart that truth difplays its charms and its power.
We cheriſh that eloquence which abounds in lively
and ftriking pictures; it is that gives wings of fire
to our thought; it fees and ſtrikes the object; it be-
comes attached to it, becauſe the pleaſure of being
affected is joined to that of being enlightened*..
"Our
* We reckon more on exterior manners, that is, upon.
cuſtom, than on any thing elſe, for which reaſon it is that
We
296
THE WOMEN.
"Our philofophy, therefore, is not fevere; and
why ſhould it be fo? Why not crown it with flowers?
Are diſguſtful or mournful ideas more honourable
to virtue than thoſe that are pleafing and falutary?
We think, that pleaſure, proceeding from a bene-
ficent hand, is not fent upon earth to make us fhun
its approach. Pleafure is not a monster; it is, as
Young fays, virtue under a gayer title. Far from
endeavouring to deſtroy the paffions, the inviſible
movers of our being, we regard them as precious
gifts that we fhould carefully economife. Happy
is the man endowed with frong paflions; they form.
his glory, his grandeur, and his opulence. A wife
man among us cultivates his mind, difcards his pre-
judices, and acquires ufeful and agreeable feiences.
All the arts that can extend his judgment and render
it more difcerning, are exercifed and improved by
his mind; that done, he attends to the voice of nature
only,
we neglect education. The ancients treated each ſubject in
a manner altogether fentimental, and threw on the ſciences I
know not what allurement, the fecret of which is loft to
us. The genius of the moderns is conftantly defective for
want of fentiment. The moſt happy talents are become
callous under the ferule of pedantry. Is there in the world
a more ridiculous inftitution than that of our colleges,
when we compare their dry and lifelefs maxims with the
public education the Greeks gave their youth, ornamenting
wifdom with all thofe attractions which charm that tender
age?
Our preceptors appear like favage mafters; it is no
wonder, therefore, that their diſciples are the firft to avoid
and fly from them.
THE WOMEN.
297
only, fubject to the law of reafon, and reafon directs
him to happiness*.
* The warmth of the paffions is not the caufe of our
irregularities; the furious, ungovernable courfer, that runs
away with the bad rider, that throws and tramples him under
foot, 'is obedient to the bridle under the direction of a ſkil-
ful matter; and gains the prize in a glorious courfe. The
weaknels of paffions diſcovers a poverty of nature. What,
in fact, is that heavy, filent citizen, whofe infipid foul is
void of all fenfibility; who is peaceful, becauſe he is in-
capable of action; who vegetates, and fuffers himſelf to
be eaſily led by the magiftrate, becauſe he has no defires?
Is he a man, or a ftatue? Place by him a man full of lively.
fentiments, who rides upon the impetuofity of his paſſious.
He tears off the veil from the fciences; he will commit.
faults, and he will difplay his genius. An enemy to repoſe,
and thirſting after knowledge, he will draw from the com
motions of the world a. luminous and fublime fpirit that
will enlighten his.country.. he will afford, perhaps, occafion ·
for cenfure; but he will have exerted all the energy of his
faul; the ſpots in his character will diſappear, becauſe he
will be greatly uſeful to mankind,
+
:
:
CHAP.
[ 298 ]
CHAP.
XXXIX.
THE TAXES
TELL
me, I beseech you, how are your
public taxes levied? for let the legiflature be as
perfect as it may, taxes, I think, muft always be
paid.
My friends hear this apologue. Toward the beginning
of the world there was a vaft foreft of citron trees, that
bore the most beautiful, large and pleaſant fruit. The
branches bent under their burthens, and the air far round
was embalmed with their fragrant odour. The impetuous
winds chanced to blow down feveral citrons, and to break
fome of the branches: certain travellers paſſing that way,
quenched their thirſt with the juice of the fruit, and caft
away the rind. This accident induced the race of citron-
trees to chooſe guardians, who were to drive away paffen-
gers, and to incloſe the foreft with high walls, to oppoſe the
fury of the winds. Theſe guardians appeared at firft faithful
and difintereſted, but they foon found that fuch hard labour
produced a violent thirft; they therefore made this propo-
fition to the citrons: "Gentlemen, we are ready to periſh
by thirſt in labouring for you; permit us to make a ſmall
incifion in each of you, that we may have a drop of liquor to
refresh our parched throats; you will not be poorer, and
we and our children fhall thereby acquire fresh ftrength for
your fervice."
The credulous citrons thought this requeft not unreafon-
able, and fubmitted to the imperceptible contribution.
But what was the confequence? When the incifion was
once made, the hands of meffieurs, the guardians, preffed
them
THE TAXES.
249
paid. As a full anfwer, the worthy man, my con-
ductor took me by the hand, and led me to a ſpacious
place, formed by the termination of four ſtreets. I
obferved a ſtrong cheft that was twelve feet high;
it was fupported on four wheels; there was a ſmall
opening at top, which was fecured from the rain by
a kind of awning; on this cheft was wrote, Trilule
due to the King reprefenting the ftate. Hard by was
another cheft, of a fmaller fize, with theſe words;
Free gifts. I faw feveral people, with eafy, cheerful,
contented looks, throw fealed packets into the cheft,
as in our days they threw letters into the poſt-office.
I was fo aftonifhed at this eafy manner of paying
taxes, that I made a thouſand ridiculous inquiries :
they therefore regarded me as a poor old man that
was come from a far diftant country; yet their in-
dulgent affability would never fuffer me to wait for
a reply. I confefs that it is only in a dream a man
4
can
them every day more clufely. They at laft found that
citron juice was neceffary in all their food; they obferved
too that the clofer they preffed the fruit, the more juice
it yielded. The citrons feeing themfelves thus profufely
bled, thought to have reduced their contribution to the
primitive ftipulation; but the guardians, grown more ftrong,
difregarding all their complaint, put them in the prefs; and
when nothing else remained, they forced a juice from the
rinds, by the aid of terrible machines. They at laſt bathed
themſelves in the juice of citrons. The beautiful foreſt
was foon defpoiled; the race of citrons became extinct;
and their tyrants, habituated to that refreſhing liquor, by
their prodigality had totally deprived themſelves of it.
They all fell fick, and died of the putrid fever. Amen,
fo be it.
300
THE TAXES.
can expect to meet with people fo extremely complai-
fant. O, what a loyal nation!
"That large coffer you fee, they ſaid, is our
receiver-general of the finances. It is there that
every citizen depoſits his contribution for the fupport
of the ſtate. We are there obliged to depoſit the
fiftieth part of our annual income. He that has no
property, or what is only juſt fufficient for his main-
tenance, is exempt*; for why Ihould we take bread
from
"We
Hear what the labourer, the inhabitant of the country,
in fhort, the people, fhould fay to their fovereigns.
have raiſed you over us, we have engaged our lives and
properties to fupport the
fecurity of your perfon.
to procure us abundance, and to protect us from alarms.
Who would have believed that, under your government,
joy ſhould have fled from us, and that our feaſts ſhould be
turned into mourning; that fear and terror ſhould have
fucceeded to a pleafing confidence! Formerly our verdant
fields finiled upon us, and promifed to repay our labours.
Now the ſweat of our brows produces fruit for ftrangers.
Our villages, that once we were pleaſed with improving,
now fall into ruins: our old men and children know not
where to lay their heads. Our complaints are loft in the
air, and each day a more cruel poverty fucceeds to that
we yeſterday deplored. The appearance of humanity is
fcarce left us, and the animals that crop the grafs are far
lefs miferable.
fplendor of your throne, and the
You have promiſed, in return,
The most heavy ſtrokes have fell upon our heads. We
are difpifed by the man in power, who will not allow us
to have any fenfation of honour; he comes to 'moleſt our
buts,
I
THE TAXES.
30F
from him whoſe daily labour is but fufficient for his
maintenance? In the other coffer are the voluntary
offerings, intended for ufeful defigns, for the execu-
tion
huts, and to feduce the innocence of our daughters: he
fnatches them from us, and they become a prey to brutal
luft. In vain do we implore the aid of juſtice; juſtice turns
from us, it is deaf to our cries, and only ready to affift them
that opprefs us.
The parade of magnificence infults our mifery, and
renders it ſtill more infupportable. They drink our blood,
and forbid us to complain. The hardened wretch, fur-
rounded by an infolent luxury, prides himſelf on the works
that our hands have erected. While he thirfts for gold,
our induſtry is forgot; he regards us as flaves, becauſe we
are not riotous nor revengeful.
Thofe inceffant wants that furround us have corrupted
the purity of our manners: perfidy and rapine have crept
in amongſt us; for the neceffities of life commonly overcome
virtue. But who has given us examples of rapine? Who
has extinguiſhed in our hearts that fource of candour which
made us dear to each other? Who has cauſed our mifery,
the mother of our vices? Many of our inhabitants havé
refuſed to give exiſtence to children that must be a prey to
famine in the cradle. Others, in their defpair, have blaf-
phemed againſt Providence. Who are the real authors of
all our crimes?
May our complaints pierce through that vapour by which
thrones are furrounded! May kings roufe from their
lethargy, and remember that they might have been born in
our ſtation, and that their children may one day deſcend to
it Attached to our country, or rather forming the moſt
D d
effential
302
THE TAXES.
tion of fuch projects as have been approved by the
public. This fometimes is richer than the other;
for we love liberality in our gifts, and no other
motive is neceffary to excite it than equity and a love.
for the ftate. Whenever our king fends forth an
ufeful edit, that merits the public approbation, we
run in crowds to the cheft with our marks of ac-
knowledgment; he has 'but to propofe, and we furniſh
him
effential part of it, we do not wish to be exempt from con-
tributing to its fupport. All we wish is a man of equity,
who will estimate the degree of our force, and not cruſh us
by a burden, which, if proportioned to our ftrength, we
fhould bear with pleaſure. Then tranquil and rich in
our economy, contented with our lot, we ſhould behold
the grandeur of others without repining at our humble
ſtation.
More than the moiety of our days is already paft. Our
hearts are more than half delivered of their grief: we have
but a little time to live. Our prayers are more for our
country than for ourſelves. It is we that fupport it: but
if oppreffion fhall continually incrcafe, we muſt fink; our
country will be overthrown, and by its fall it will cruſh
our tyrants. We do not with for this fruitlefs and rueful
vengeance. What folace can the miſeries of others afford
us, when furrounded by the grave? We ſpeak to you, ()
fovereigns! If you be yet men, if your hearts be not
totally hardened, you will yet remember that we know how
to die; and that the death by which we fhall foon all be
fwallowed up, will one day be to you far more dreadful
'than to us.
}
This note is taken, in part, from a book intitled Les
"Flommes.
THE TAXES.
393
him with the means of accompliſhing every important
project. There is a fimilar trunk in every quarter
of the city, and in every city in the provinces, which
receives the contributions of the country, that is, of
the farmer at his eafe, for the labourer, whoſe pro-
perty is in his arms and his hands, pays nothing.
The beef and the hogs are likewife exempt from that
odious tax, which was firft laid on the head of the
Jews*, and which you paid without being fenfible
of your fervile ſtate.”
How! I faid, do you leave it to the good-will
of the people to pay their taxes? there must be then
a great number that pay nothing, without your
knowing it." Not at all; your fears are vain. In
the first place, we give with a free will; our tribute
is not by compulfion, but founded on reafon and
equity. There is fcarce a man amongst us who does
not esteem it a point of honour to difcharge the moft
facred and moft legitimate of all debts. Befide, if
a man in condition to pay fhould dare to neglect it,
you there fee the table on which the name of the head
of every family is engraved, by which we ſhould foon
fee who had not thrown in his packet, on which
fhould be his feal. In that cafe he covers himfelf
with
*The Jews in France are at this day liable to pay a tax
on entering a town, in the fame manner as oxen and hogs;
there feems fomething whimſical in connecting them with
the laſt mentioned animals; it is however certainly far more
infamous for a nation that pretends to humanity to impoſe
a tax on any people on account of their religion, than it is
for them to pay it when compelled.
Dd z
:
3:04
THE TAXES.
with an eternal infamy, and we regard him as you
regard a thief; the appellation of a bad citizen follows
him to the grave.
"Examples of this fort are very rare, for the free
gifts frequently amount to more than the tribute.
We know that by giving a part to the ftate, we
render a benefit to ourſelves, and that if we would
enjoy certain conveniencies, we must make a previous
advance. But what are words, when we can teach
by example? You fhall prefently fee much better
than I can explain to you. It is to-day that there
arrives from every part, the juft tribute of a
faithful people to a beneficent monarch, who con-
fiders himſelf merely as the depofitory of the gifts
they offer.
"Let us repair to the king's palace; the deputies
of each province are by this time near arrived."-In
fact, we had gone but a fhort way before I faw mèn
drawing fmall cars, on which were placed chefts
covered with laurels. They broke the feals of thofe
coffers, and put them in the balance, by which,
allowing for the weight of the cheft, they found
the juft quantity of filver that each contained; and
as all the payments were made in filver, they knew
the exact produce of the whole, which was publicly
declared by found of trumpet. After the general
examination, an account in writing was fixed up for
public infpection, and by that each one knew the
revenue of the ſtate. The money was then placed in
the royal treafury, under the care of the comptroller
of the finances.
This
THE TAXES.
305
คา
This was a day of rejoicing; they wore garlands
of flowers, and cried, "Long live the king." They
came in proceffion before each car of tribute. The
deputies of the ſeveral provinces faluted each other,
and made reciprocal prefents. They drank to the
health of the monarch by the found of cannon, which
were anfwered by thofe of the capitol, as expreffing
the thanks of the fovereign. The whole people ap-
peared on that day as one family. The king pre-
fented himſelf in the midft of this joyful people; he
replied to the acclamations of his fubjects by thofe
tender and affable regards, that infpire confidence,
and render love for love: he difdained the art of
treating politically with a people whom he regarded
as his children. His vifits did not diftreſs the citi
zens, as they coft them nothing but cries of joy*,,
the.
* I once faw a prince make his public entry into a foreign.
city. The cannon proclaimed his approach. He was
magnificently dreffed, and drawn in a gilded car, loaded
with pages and lacquies. The horfes neighed and bounded
as if they had drawn the chariot of felicity. All the windows
were thrown up, the roofs were covered, and the ſtreets
crowded with the multitudes. The cavalry brandiſhed
their fabres, and the infantry exercifed their muſkets. The.
air reſounded with the echo of the trumpets. The poet
ftrung his lyre, and the orator attended his deſcent from the
chariot. The prince arrives; he is conducted to the palace,
and his prefence infpires an awful joy. I was at a window,
and faw all that paffed, which afforded me. fome fingular
reflections. Walking in the ſtreets a few days after, I was
furpriſed to meet this prince on foot, alone, and in diſguiſe.
No one took any notice of him, bút treated him as a vulgar
perfon. At that moment there arrived a mountebank,,
Dd3
feated:
30.5
THE TAXES.
the moſt brilliant and moſt flattering of all recep-
tions. They did not defift from their labours, on the
contrary, every citizen was proud of appearing be
fore his king in the occupation he had embraced.
An intendant, invefted with all the neceffary marks
of power, went into every province, received their
petitions, examined himſelf the abuſes, and bore di-
rectly to the foot of the throne the complaint of the
fubject. He vifited indiſcriminately every town, and
where any abuſe was abolished, they erected a pyra-
mid in commemoration. What hiſtory more inftruc-
tive than theſe moral monuments, which afferted that
the fovereign really applied himſelf to the art of go-
verning. Theſe intendants fet off and arrive incog-
nito, they are perpetually diſguiſed, and made their
informations fecretly; they are ſpies, but they act for
the good of their country*.
But
feated in a fort of chaife, drawn by a number of large dogs,
with a monkey for their poſtilion. The windows were all
thrown up, the people fhouted, and all their looks were
fixed on the mountebank; the prince himſelf, attracted by
the crowd, became one of his admirers. I looked atten-
tively at him, and methought I heard him ſay to himſelf,
"The empty acclamations of the multitude fhall never
more dazzle my mind with a foolish pride. It is not this
man the people throng to fee, but his ftrange equipage. It
was not I that attracted their regards, but my valets, my
hofes, the richneſs of my drefs, and the ſplendor of my
gilded chariot."
* In Turkey, and at prefent in France, a governor is as
much mafter as the moſt abfolute monarch; it is that which
caufes
THE TAXES.
307
But your comptroller of the finances, I faid, muſt
be a man of wonderful integrity *. You remember.
the fable: the faithful dog, directed by temperance,
carried his maſter's dinner, without ever offering to
touch it, but freely to eat his part at laft, when in-
vited by example. Your officer muſt have a double
virtue conſtantly to defend, and never dare to touch
it!" Be affured he builds no palace or villa. He
does not advance his diftant couſins, or ancient
valets, to the firſt poſts in the government. He does
not ſcatter his wealth as if all the revenue of the
kingdom was at his difpofalt. Befide, all thefe in
whofe hands the public treaſure is depofited cannot
make uſe of money on any pretence whatever. It
would be high treaſon to receive from them a ſingle
piece of coin. They pay fome particular expences
by notes figned with the king's own hand. The ſtates
pro-
cauſes the mifery of the people. This fort of civil admi-
niftration is of all others the moft deplorable.
* Fouquet faid, "I have all the money, and the tariff
of all the virtues in the kingdom.”
† After the minifters, the financiers, the monopolizers,
have facrificed their reputation for probity to a defire of
enriching themſelves; after they have fubmitted to become
odious, they do not even think of making a good uſe of
their plunder; they endeavour to cover their original mean-
nefs under a pompous appearance. They intoxicate them-
ſelves with diſſipations in order to drown the remembrance
of what they have been, and what they have done, even
this is not the greateſt evil, for by their oftentatious wealth
they corrupt thoſe who behold it with envy.
308
THE TAXES.
provide for all their expences; but they have not the
leaſt property*. They can neither buy, nor fell, nor
build. Their lodgings, their tables, their diverfions,
are all charged to the ftate. They enter a draper's
fhop, order fuch cloth as they want, and depart; the
tradefman enters in his book; delivered fuch a day,
to fuch a depofitory of the ftate, fo much; the ſtate.
pays it: and fo of every other profeffion. You will
eafily imagine, that if a comptroller of the finances
has any modeſty he will make a moderate ufe of this
privilege; and if he ſhould even abuſe it, we ſhall
ftill be gainers, compared with what the comptrollers
coft you. We have likewife fuppreffed the regifters,
which ferved only to fcreen the robberies of the na-
tion, and to make them authentic by a method that
may be called legitimate."
And who is your prime minifter? "Can you afk
it? The king himſelf. Can royalty be transferred†.
The
The interior vices, that prepare the ruin of a ſtate, are,
that enormous diffipation of the public treaſure; thoſe ex-
travagant gifts beſtowed on ſubjects without merit; thoſe
faftuous prodigalities unknown to the moft lawleſs ufurpers.
We may obferve in hiftory, that the moſt fubtle tyrants
have been the moſt prodigal. I have fomewhere read, that
Auguftus, the mafter of the world, maintained an army of
40 legions for 12 millions per annum. This furely affords
matter for reflection.
† The general hiſtory of wars may be called, The history
of the private paffions of minifters. One of thefe, by his in-
fidious negociations, fets a diftant and tranquil empire in
flames, merely to revenge fome trifling offence he has per-
fonally received.
THE TAXES.
309
The general, the judge, the ſtatefman, may then act
by their proxies. In cafe of fickneſs, or when on a
journey, or engaged in fome particular bufinefs, if
the monarch charges any one with the accomplish-
ment of his orders, it is perhaps his friend only; there
is no motive but that which can induce a man to
charge himſelf voluntarily with fuch a burden; and
our cfteem alone gives him the momentary power.
Animated and recompenfed by friendſhip, he knows,
like Sully and Amboife, how to fpeak the truth to
his mafter, and the more faithfully to ferve him,
fometimes to oppofe him. He combats his paffions.
He loves the man while he has at heart the glory of
the monarch*. By bearing part in his labours, he
acquires a fhare of the veneration of his country,
doubtless the moſt honourable inheritance he can
leave his deſcendants, and that alone of which he is
jealous."
When we talked of taxes, I forgot to afk, if you
have periodical lotteries, where, in my time, the poor
people depofited all their little hoards? "Certainly
not. We do not ſo abuſe the credulous hope of man;
we do not levy on the indigent part of our people a
tax
* Fidelity does not confiſt in that fervile obedience to the
will of another, which is repreſented by the emblem of a
dog, who every where follows, continually flatters, and im-
plicitly obeys the orders of an unjuft or tyrannic maſter.
It feems to me, that true fidelity is an exact obfervance of
the laws of reafon and juſtice, rather than a fervile ſubmiſ-
tion. Sully appears to me faithful when he tore the promiſe
of marriage that Henry IV. had made.
310
THE TAXES.
tax fo ingenioufly cruel. The wretched, who
weary of the prefent, lives on expectation only, car-
ries the price of his labour and watchings to that
fatal wheel, from whence he is in continual hope that
Fortune will viſit him; but is conftantly deluded by
that cruel goddefs. The urgent defire of happineſs
prevents him from reaſoning, and though the fraud
be palpable, as the heart is dead to hope before life
dies, every one imagines that at laſt he ſhall be ſuc-
cefsful. It is the favings of the indigent that have
built thoſe ſuperb edifices, to which they go begging
their bread. It is to them thofe altars owe their
luxury, to which they are hardly admitted. For
ever a ſtranger, for ever repulfed, the poor are not
permitted to fit on the ftone they have paid for
carving; pompous prieſts richly endowed, live under
thofe roofs, that in equity, at leaft, ought to afford,
them an aſylum.”
CHAP
[311]
CHAP. XL.
ON COMMERCE.
IT feems, by what you have told me, that
France has no longer any colonies in the new world;
that each part of America forms a feparate king-
dom though united under one fpirit of legiflation?
"We ſhould be highly ridiculous to fend our dear
fellow citizens two thouſand leagues from us. Why
fhould we thus eftrange ourſelves from our brethren?
Our climate is at leaft as good as that of America.
Every neceffary production is here common, and by
nature excellent. The colonies were to France what
a country-houſe is to a private perfon: the houſe in
the country, fooner or later, ruins that in town.
"We have a commerce, but it confifts merely in the
exchange of fuperfluities among ourfelves. We have
prudently banished three natural poifons, of which
you made perpetual ufe; fnuff, coffee, and tea. You
ftuffed your heads with a villanous powder, that de-
prived you Frenchmen of what little memory you had.
You burned your ſtomach with liquors that deſtroyed
it by encreaſing its action. Thofe nervous diforders
fo common among you were owing to the effeminate
liquor which carried off the nourishing juice of the
animal 'life. We cultivate an interior commerce
only, of which we find the good effects; founded
principally on agriculture, it diftributes the moſt ne-
ceffary aliments; it fatisfies the wants of man, but
not his pride.
"No
312
ON COMMERCE.
"No man bluſhes to till his own ground, and to
improve it to the highest degree poffible. Our mo-
narch himſelf has feveral acres which are cultivated
under his own eye. We have not among us any of
thofe titled gentry, whofe only purfait was idleness.
<<
Foreign traffic was the real father of that de
ftru&tive-luxury, which produced in its turn that hor-
rid inequality of fortunes, which caufed all the
wealth of the nation to paſs into a few hands. Be-
caufe a woman could carry in her ears the patrimony
of ten families, the peafant was forced to fell the
land of his ancestors, and to fly, with tears, from that
foil where he found nought but mifery and difgrace:
for thofe infatiable monſters, who had accumulated
the gold, even derided the misfortunes of thofe they
had plundered*. We began by deſtroying, thofe
great
I file with indignant pity when I fee fo many fine
projects offered for the improvement of agriculture and
population, while the taxes continually increaſing, rob the
people of the fweat of their brow; and the price of corn is
augmented by the monopoly of thoſe who have all the ino-
ney of the kingdom in their hands. Muft we for ever cry
to thoſe proud and obdurate ears. "Give us a full and
unbounded liberty of commerce and navigation, and a di-
iminution of taxes." Thefe are the only means of nouriſh-
ing the people, and preventing that depopulation which we
fee already begun. But, alas! patriotiſm is a contraband
virtue. The man who lives for himſelf alone, who thinks
of nought but himſelf, who is filent, and turns away his eyes
for fear of horror, he is the good citizen; they even praiſe
his prudence and moderation. For my own part, I cannot
remain
•
4
ÓN COMMERCE.
313
great companies, that abforbed all the fortunes of
individuals, annihilated the generous boldness of a
nation, and gave as deadly a blow to morality as to
the ſtate.
"It may be very agreeable to fip chocolate, to
breathe the odour of fpices, to eat fugar and ananas,
to drink Barbadoes water, and to be clothed in the
gaudy ftuffs of India. But are theſe fenfations fuf-
ficiently voluptuous to clofe our eyes againſt the
crowd of unheard of evils that your luxury engen-
dered in the two hemifpheres? You violated the moſt
facred ties of blood and nature on the coaft of Gui-
nea. You armed the father against the fon, while
you pretended to the name of Chriftians and of men.
Blind barbarians! You have been but too well con-
vinced by a fatal experience. A thirft for gold ex-
tolled by every heart; amiable moderation baniſhed
by avidity; juftice and virtue regarded as chimeras;
avarice pale, and reftlefs, plowing the waves, and
peopling with carcafes the depths of the ocean; a
whole race of men bought and fold, treated as the
vileft animals; kings become merchants, covering
the feas with blood for the flag of a frigate: Gol i,
to
remain filent, I must declare what I have feen. It is into
moſt of the provinces of France that we must go to fee the
people completely miferable. It is now, in 1770, three
winters together that we have feen bread dear. The last
year one half of the peafants had need of public charity,
and this winter will complete their ruin; for they who have
lived till now felling their effects, have nothing left to fell,
Theſe poor people have a patience that makes me admire
the force of the laws and of education.
Ee
314
ON COMMERCE.
to conclude, flowing from the mines of Peru like a
flaming river, and running into Europe, burned up
every where in its courfe the roots of happineſs,
and was then for ever loft on the eaſtern world,
where fuperftition buried in the carth, on one fide,
what avarce had painfully drawn from it, on the other.
Behold a faithful picture of the advantages that
foreign commerce produced to the world.
"Our veffels do not make the tour of the globe,
to bring back cochineal and indigo. Know you
where are our mincs? Where is our Peru? In labour
and affiduity. All that promotes eafe and con-
venience, that directly tends to afift nature, is culti-
vated with the greateſt care. All that belongs to
pomp, to oftentation and vanity, to a puerile defire
of an exclufive poffeffion of what is merely the work
of fancy, is feverely prohibited. We have caft into
the fea thofe deceitful diamonds, thofe dangerous
pearls, and all thoſe whimſical ſtones that rendered the
heart, like, them impenetrable. You thought your-
felves highly ingenious in the refinements of luxury,
but your purſuits were merely after fuperfluities,
after the fhadow of greatnefs; you were not even
voluptuous. Your futile and miferable inventions
were confined to a day. You were nothing more
than children fond of glaring objects, incapable of
fatisfying your real wants. Ignorant of the art of
happineſs, you fatigued yourſelves, far from the
object of your purſuits, and miſtook, at every step,
the image for the reality.
"When
ON COMMERCE.
315
"When our veffels leave their harbours, they take
not thunder with them, to feize on the vaft extent of
waters, a fugitive prey that forms a point fcarce per-
ceptible to the fight. The echo of the waves bears
not to heaven the hideous cries of furious wretches
that dispute, at the expence of life itfelf, a paffage
over the immenfe and vacant ocean. We vifit diftant
nations, but inſtead of the productions of their lands,
we bring home the moſt uſeful difcoveries relative to
their legiſlature, their phyfical life, and their man-
ners. Our veffels ferve to connect our aftronomical
knowledge; more than three hundred obfervatories
erected on this globe are ready to mark the lealt
alteration that occurs in the heavens. The earth is
the poft where watches the centinel of the firmament
who never fleeps. Aftronomy is become an impor-
tant ſcience, as it proclaims, with a majeſtic voice,
the glory of the Creator, and the dignity of that
thinking being who has proceeded from his hands.
But now we talk of commerce, let us not forget the
moſt extraordinary kind that ever exifted. You
ought to be very rich," he faid, "for in your youth,
doubtlefs, you placed out money on annuities, efpe-
cially on furvivorships, as did one half of Paris. An
invention of wonderful ingenuity was that fort of
lottery, where they played at life and death, and the
winnings were to go to the longest liver! You fhould
have a moft plentiful annuity! They renounced
father and mother, brother and fifter, all friends and
relations, to double their revenue. They made the
king their heir, then flept in a profound indolence,
and lived only for themfelves."-Ah! why do you
E e 2
tell
31.6
ON COMMERCE.
tell me of theſe matters? Thofe rueful edicts that
completed our corruption, and diffolved connections,
till then held facred; that barbarous refinement
which publickly confecrated felf love, that detached
the citizens from each other, and made them folitary
and lifeleſs beings, drew tears from my eyes, when I
reflected on the future condition of the ſtate. I faw
private fortunes melt away, and the exceflive mafs
of opulence fwell by their diffolution; but the fatal
blow that was given to morals affected me ftill more
deeply; no longer any connection between hearts
that ought to be devoted to each other; they gave
to intereft a keener fword; intereft of itſelf already
fo formidable; the fovereign authority laid thofe
barriers at its feet, that it would never have dared
to attack of itſelf." Good old man," ſaid my guide,
"you have done well to fleep, or you would have
ſeen the annuitants and the ftate puniſhed for their.
mutual imprudence. Politics, fince that period, has
made no fuch folecifm; it does not now ruin, but
unite and enrich the citizens.”
CHAP.
[ 37 ]
!
CHAP. XLI.
THE EVENING.
THE fun was was going down. My guide
invited me to go with him to the houfe of one of his
friends, where he was to fup. I did not want muck
intreaty. I had not yet feen the infide of their houſes,
and that, in my judgment, is the moſt intereſting
fight in every city. In reading hiftory, I pafs over
many paffages, but am ever curious in examining the
detail of domeſtic life that once done, I have.
no need to learn the reft; I can form a natural con--
jecture..
:.
On entering, I found none of thoſe petty apart.
ments that ſeem to be cells for lunatics, whoſe walls
are fcarce fix inches thick, and where they freeze in
winter, and fcorch in fummer.. The rooms were
large and fonorous; you might walk at your eaſe.
A folid roof guarded them from the piercing cold
and the burning rays of the fun; theſe houſes, more--
over, did not grow old with thoſe that built them.
1 entered the faloon, and prefently diftinguifhed.
the maſter of the houſe. He faluted me without
grimace or reſerve*. His wife and children behaved
/
in
How falfe and diminutive is our politeness! And how
odious and infulting is that affumed by the great! It is a
Ee 3
maſk
318
THE EVENING.
in his prefence in a free but reſpectful manner; and
monfieur, or the eldeſt fon, did not give me a ſpeci-
men of his wit by ridiculing his father; neither his
mother, nor his grand-mother would have been
charmed with fuch witicifms*. His fifters were
neither affectedly polite, nor totally infenfible; they
received us in a graceful manner, and refumed their
feveral employments; they did not watch all my
motions, nor did my great age and broken voice
make them once fmile; they difplayed none of that
unnatural complaifance, which is fo contrary to true.
politenefs. This room was not decorated with twenty
brittle, taſtelefs bawbles.. There was no gilding,
varniſhing, porcelaint, or wretched figures. In
their place was a lively tapestry, pleafing to the
fight, and fome finifhed prints; a remarkable neat-
neſs graced this faloon, that of itſelf was elegant and
lightfome.
We
All
maſk more hideous than the moft ugly of all faces
thoſe reverences, thoſe affected gefticulations, are inſufter-
able to a real man. The falfe brilliancy of our man-
ners is more difguttful than the groffeft behaviour of a
clown.
* There is a licentioufnefs of the mind which is far more
dangerous than that of the fenfes; and it is at this time the
principal vice that infects the youth of our capital.
+ What a miſerable luxury is that of porcelain ! A cat,
a brush with the fleeve, may deftroy in a moment morc
than the produce of twenty acres.
1
THE EVENING.
319
We joined converfation, but there was no fport-
ing with paradoxes*; that execrable wit, which
was the plague of the age I lived in, did not give
falſe colours to things that were by nature perfectly
fimple. No one maintained the direct contrary of
what was afferted by another, merely to difplay his
talentst. Theſe people talked from principle, and did
not
* Converfation animates the rencounter of ideas, brings
forth the treasures of the mind, and is one of the greateſt
pleafures of life: it is moreover that of all others I mot
highly enjoy. But in the world, I have remarked, that
inftead of nourishing, ftrengthening, and elevating the
mind, it enervates and degrades it. All things are now
become problematical. By an abuſe of reaſon, the very
exiſtence of objects is in a manner deftroyed. We meet
with panegyrics on the moſt enormous abuſes.
All things
are juftified. They embrace, unknown to themſelves, a
thouſand puerile and extravagant ideas —Their minds
become distorted by the collifion of oppofite opinions. There
is, I know not what poiſon, that infinuates itſelf, mounts
to the head, and clouds your primitive ideas, which are
commonly the moſt juſt Avarice, ambition, and luxury,
have fo fubtle a logic, that after hearing them, you have
no longer your former abhorrence for thofe by whom they
are practiſed; they all prove themſelves to be innocent.
We must quickly fly to folitude to regain a vigorous abhor-
ence of vice. The world makes us familiar whith thofe
cirmes it applauds, and affectsus with its delufive fpirit. By
too much frequenting men, we become lefs men; we receive
from them a falfe light that leads us aftray. It is by fhut-
ting the door that we recollect ourſelves, that we perceive
the pure light of truth, which never fhines among the
multitude.
†The decrees of idleness are as unjust as thofe of vanity.
THE EVENING.
320
ont contradict themſelves twenty times in a quarter
of an hour. The fpirit of this converfation was not
directed by ſtarts, and without being profuſe or dull,
they did not paſs, in the fame breath, from the birth
of a prince to the drowning of a dog.
The young people did not affect a childiſh manner,
a drawling or lifping language, nor a proud care-
leſs aſpect and attitude*. I heard no licentious pro--
pofal, nor did any one declaim in a gloomy, tedious,.
heavy manner, againſt thoſe confolatory truths, that
are the delight and comfort of fenfible minds. The
women did not affect a tone by turns languiſhing:
and imperious; they were decent, reſerved, modeſt,.
and engaged in an eafy fuitable employment; idle-
nefs had no charms for them; they did not rife at
noon becauſe they were to do nothing at night. I
was highly pleaſed with their not propofing cards;
that infipid diverfion, invented to amufe an idiot
monarch, and which is conftantly pleafing to the
numerous herd of dunces, who are thereby enabled:
to conceal their profound ignorance, had difappeared:
from
* A pretty fellow in France must be flender, weakly,.
and not have more than twelve ounces of flesh on his bones;
be ſhould likewife have a pain in his ftomach, and a very.
poor ſtate of health. A man that is ftrong and hearty.
is a hideous creature.
It becomes the Swifs and porters.
only, to have a mafculine figure and a florid ſtate of
health..
+ Pyrrhonifm fuppofes fometimes, more prejudices than
a natural diſpoſition to receive the appearances of truth..
THE EVENING,
321
..
from among a people who knew too well how to
improve the moments of life to waſte them in a prac-
tice at once fo dull and faftidious*. I faw none of
thofe green tables, on which men ruin themſelves
unpitied. Avarice did not moleſt theſe honeſt citi-
zens, even in the moments confecrated to leifure.
They did not make a fatigue of what ſhould be a
mere relaxationt. If they played, it was at draughts,
or chefs, thoſe ancient and ſtudious games, that offer
an infinite variety of combinations to the mind.
There were alſo other games they called mathema-
tical recreations, and with which even their children
were acquainted.
I obferved that each one followed his incli-
nation without being remarked by the reft of the
company.
* With our author's leave, card-playing is not always
a proper employment for dunces; for though cards are
frequently, indeed commonly, introduced to fupply a dearth
of converfation, yet there are feveral games that require a
ſtrong exertion of all the faculties of the mind. No dunce,
no man of indifferent capacity, ever played the game of
piquet or ombre well.
+ I dread the approach of winter, not for the feverity of
the ſeaſon, but becauſe it brings with it a wretched thirſt
for gaming. That ſeaſon is the`moſt fatal to morals, and
the moſt infupportable to philofophy. It is then thoſe noiſy
and infipid affemblies ftart up; where all the futile paffions
exerciſe their ridiculous empire. The tafte for trifles then
dictates the mode. All the men, metamorphofed into ef-
feminate flaves, are fubordinate to the caprice of the wo-
men, for whom, at the very time, they have neither efteem
nor affection.
322
THE EVENING.
company. There were no female fpies, who, by cen-
furing others, diſcharged themſelves of that foul hu-
mour which rankles their fouls, and which they fre-
quently owe as much to their deformity as their
folly. Thefe converfed, thofe turned over a book
of prints, one examined the pictures, and another
amufed himſelf with a book in a corner. They form-
ed no circle to communicate a gaping that runs all
round. In a room adjoining was a concert; it was
that of ſweet flutes united with the human voice.
The clanging harpficord, and the monotonous fid-
dle, here yielded to the enchanting powers of a fine
woman; what inftrument can have greater effect
upon the heart? The improved harmonica, however,
feemed to difpute the prize; it breathed the moſt
pure, full, and melodious founds that can charm the
ear. It was a ravishing and celeftial mufic, that is
far from being rivalled by the clamour of our operas,
where the man of taſte and fenfibility feeks for the
confonance of unity, but feeks in vain.
I was highly charmed. They did not remain
continually feated, nailed to a chair, and obliged to
maintain an eternal converfation about nothing, and
that too with the utmoft folemnity *. The women
were not continually wrangling about metaphyfics;
and if they spoke about poetry, of dramas, or au-
thors, they conftantly acknowledged themſelves,
notwith-
* In common converfation we meet with two circum-
ftances equally difagreeable, to have nothing to fay, and yet
be forced to talk; or to have fomething to fay when the
converfation is over.
THE EVENING.
323
50
notwithſtanding their great abilities, unequal to the
fubject*.
They defired me to walk into an adjoining room,
where fupper was prepared. I looked at the clock
with furprize, it was not yet feven. Come, Sir, faid
the mafter of the houfe, taking me by the hand, we
do not paſs our nights by the light of wax candles.
We think the fun fo beautiful, that it is to us a plea-
fure to ſee its firſt rays dart on the horizon. We do
not go to bed with a loaded ſtomach, to experience
broken flumbers attended by fantaſtic dreams. We
carefully guard our health, as on that the ferenity of
the mind depends†. We are moreover fond of
and pleaſing dreams‡.
gay
There
* A woman never thinks clofely but when the meditates
on the leſſons of a favourite gallant ¶; and how many men
are there like women?
This is certainly not juft; our author, as a Frenchman,
fhould have remembered the name of Dacier, and not have
expreffed himself in fuch unlimited terms.
+ Health is to happiness, what the dew of heaven is to
the fruits of the carth.
Happy are they who enjoy the fenfation of health; that
tranquil ſtate of body, that equilibrium, that perfect agree-
ment of all the humours, that happy difpofition of all the
organs, by which their ftrength and agility are fupported.
That general perfect health is of itſelf a high enjoyment.
It is not rapturous; granted: but as it alone furpaffes all
other pleaſures, it gives that contentment to the mind, that
internal
324
THE EVENING.
There was a general filence. The father of the
family bleffed the food that was fet before us. This
graceful and holy cuftom was revived; and it ap-
peared to me important, as perpetually reminding
us of that gratitude we owe to God, who inceffantly
fupplies us with fubfiftence. I was more bufy in ex-
amining the table than in eating. I fhall not dwell
on the neatneſs and elegance that there prevailed.
The domeftics fat at the bottom of the table, and eat
with their maſters; they had therefore the more ref-
pect for them; they received by this means leffons
of probity, which they laid up in their hearts; they
thereby became more enlightened, and were not
coarſe or infolent, as they were not longer regarded
as bafe. Liberty, gaiety, a decent familiarity, dilated
the heart and glowed in the front of every gueft.
Every one had his mefs placed before him; no one
crowded his neighbour; no one coveted a difh that
was diftant from him; he would have been reckoned
a glutton, who was not content with his portion, for
it was quite fufficient. Many people cat exceffively
more from habit than real appetite*.
They had
learned
internal and delicious calm, which makes exiftence dear to
us, enables us to admire the face of nature, and render
grateful thanks to the Author of our being. Not to be fick,
is alone a foothing pleaſure. I readily call him a philofo-
pher, who, fenfible of the dangers, of excefs, and the ad.
vantages of moderation, knows how to bridle his appetites,
and live without pain: how important a fecret!
* Anatomy demonftrates, that our organs of pleaſure are
covered with finall pyramidical eminences. The lefs ob-
I
tufe
THE EVENING.
325
learned to correct that fault without a fumptuary
law.
None of the meats I tafted had any difcernable
ſeaſoning, for which I was not forry. I found a favour
in them, a natural falt which feemed to me delicious.
I faw none of thofe refined diſhes that pafs through
the hands of feveral fophifticators, of thofe ragouts,
thoſe inflammatory fauces, rarified in fmall, but coſtly
diſhes which haften the deftruction of the human.
race, at the fame time that they burn up the entrails.
Theſe were not a voracious people, who devour more
than the magnificence of nature, with all her genera-
tive
tufe they are made by frequent ufe, the more fenfible and
elaſtic they remain, and the more ready to recover their
tone. Nature, a tender and careful mother, has fo con-
ftructed them, that they preferve their fpring to advanced
age, when their requifite fubtility, their due afperity is not
deftroyed. It depends therefore on man to referve plea-
fure for every age of life. But what does the intemperate
wretch? He deftroys this precious organifm: he vitiates
that delicate ſenſation, by making thoſe parts flat and hard
he reduces a being almoſt celeftial, and endowed with plea-
fures peculiar to himſelf, to the rank of a wretched auto-
maton. What animal, in matters of enjoyment has been
more favoured than man? Who but he can contemplate
the firmament, diftinguiſh the pleafing forms and colours
of the minuteſt bodies, breathe the most grateful -odours,
and comprehend all the various inflections of the voice,
receive rapturous pleafure from paintings, cloquence, and
poetry, and plunge with the greateſt delight into the depths
of algebra and geometry, &c.? He who faid that man was
an abridgment of the univerſe, afferted a great and pleafing
truth. Man appears to be connected with all that exifts.
Ff
326
THE EVENING.
tive faculties, can produce. If ever luxury be odious,
that of the table is the moſt deteftable; for if the
rich, by an abuſe of their wealth, diffipate the nou-
rifhing fruits of the earth, the poor muſt neceffarily
pay the dearer for them, and, what is worſe, fre
quently not have a competency
The herbs and fruits were all of the feaſon; they
knew not the ſecret of producing wretched cherries in
the midſt of the winter, they were not folicitous for
the first produce, but left nature to ripen her fruits.
The palate was thereby better plefed, and the body
better nouriſhed. They gave us a defert of fome
excellent fruit and fome old wine; but none of thofe
coloured liquors diſtilled from brandy, fo much in
ufe in my time; they were as feverely prohibited as
arfenic. This people were fenfible, that there was no
pleaſure in procuring a flow and cruel death.
The mafter of the houfe faid to me with a fmile,
"You muſt certainly think this a pitiful defert; here
are neither trees, nor castles, nor wind-mills, nor any
other figures of confectionary t; that ridiculous ex-
travagance
* The unfeeling man is precifely him whom the world
calls a man of taſte.
+ France! O my country! wouldst thou know wherein
thy true glory now confifts, thy real pre-eminence over
other nations? Hear: thou excelleft in the invention of
faſhions; they are adopted in the extremities of the North,
in all the courts of Germany, even within the Seraglio; in
a word, by all the four parts of the earth Thy cooks, thy
confectioners are the most excellent in the univerfe; and
every nation in Europe admires thy dancers.
THE EVENING.
327
travagance which could not produce the leaſt real
pleasure, was formerly the delight of thofe great
children that were become dotards. Your magi-
ſtrates, who, at leaſt ought to have given examples
of frugality, and not authoriſed by their practice, an
infolent and pitiful luxury; thoſe magiſtrates, they
ſay, thoſe fathers of the people, at the commence-
ment of every parliament, were in extafies at the fight
of grotefque figures made of fugar; from whence
we may eaſily judge of the emulation of other ranks
to excel the men of the long robe." You can have
but an imperfect idea of our induftry, I replied; in
my time, they exhibited, on a table ten feet wide, an
opera of ſweetmeats, with all its machines, decora-
tions, orchestra, actors, and dancers, with the fhifting
of the fcenes, in the fame manner as at the theatre
of the Palais Royal. During the exhibition, the
whole people befieged the door, to enjoy the great
happineſs of a glimpſe of this fuperb defert, the whole.
expence of which they certainly paid. The poor peo-
ple admired the wonderful magnificence of their
princes, and thought themſelves very infignificant,
when compared with fuch greatnefs. . . . . The whole
company laughed heartily; we rofe from table with
gaiety; we rendered thanks to God; and no one com-
plained of vapours or indgeftion.
F f 2
CHAP.
[328 ]
CHAP. XLII.
THE GAZETTES.
ON returning to the former room, I faw
lying on the table large fheets of paper, twice as
long as the English news-papers. I eagerly feized
thefe printed fheets, and found that they were intitled,
News public and private. As nothing can equal the
fuprife I felt on reading every page, determined as
I was never more to be ſurpriſed, I fhall here tran-
fcribe thofe articles that ftruck me moft, as near as
my memory will permit.
From PERIN, the ....
They reprefented before the emperor the tragedy
of Cinna. The clemency of Auguftus, with the
beauty and dignity of the other characters, made a
great impreſſion on all the audience.
O what an impudent lying gazette is here! I faid
to the perſon who ſtood next me. Read...." Nay,"
he replied very coolly, "there is nothing more
likely. I myſelf have feen the Orphan of China
reprefented at Pekin. You muſt know, that I am
a mandarin, and that I love letters as much as juſtice.
I have traverfed the Royal Canal*; I arrived here
in
* The Royal Canal divides China, from north to ſouth,
for the ſpace of fix hundred leagues. It is joined by lakes,
rivers,
THE GAZETTES,
329
in about four months, and amufed myſelf by the way.
I was anxious to fee that Paris, of which I had
heard fo much, and to inform myfelf of a thoufand
things, which it is abfolutely neceffàry to fee, clearly
to comprehend. The French language has been
common at Pekin for thefe two centuries paft; and,
on my return, I fhall take with me feveral good
books that I intend to tranflate:"You do not then,
Mr. Mandarin, ftill ufe your hieroglyphic language,
and have abrogated that extraordinary law, which
forbade any one of you to leave the empire?" It was
quite neceffary to change our language and adopt
more fimple characters, if we would maintain a cor-
refpondence with you. This was not more difficult
than it is to learn algebra or geometry. Our emperor
has repealed the law that forbade travelling,, as he
very rightly judged, that you did not all refemble
thoſe prieſts whom we named demi-diables, from
their attempts to allumine the torch of difcord even
in our diſtant country. If I do not miſtake the epoch,.
a more cloſe and intimate connection was formed on
account of certain copperplates which you had en-
graved..
rivers, &c. This empire abounds with like canals, many
of which run ten leagues in a ſtraight line; they ſupply moſt.
of the cities with provifions. Their bridges have a bold-
nefs and magnificence fuperior to any thing of the kind that
Europe can produce, And we, weak, trifling, pitiful in all
our public works, we employ our ingenuity, labour, and
wonderful knowledge, in ornamenting objects of mere
vanity, in erecting magnificent bawbles; almost all that we
call mafter-pieces of art are nothing more than the fports of
children.
•
Ff 3
330
THE GAZETTES.
graved. That art was then new to us, and highly
admired. We have fince almoſt equalled you.”—O,
I underſtand you; the defigns of thofe plates repre-
fented battles; they were fent to us by that poetic
monarch to whom Voltaire addreffed a beautiful ode;
and our king having charged his beſt artiſts with
their execution, fent them as a prefent to The charm-
ing emperor of China." Right. Since that time the
intercourfe has been established, and by degrees the
fciences have paffed from one country to the other,
like bills of exchange. The opinions of one man
have become thoſe of the univerfe. It is printing,
that noble invention, which has propagated this light.
The tyrants of human reaſon, with their hundred
hands, have not been able to ſtop its invincible courſe.
Nothing can be more rapid than that falutary
motion given to the moral world by the fun of arts;
it has furrounded every object with a pure and du-
rable fplendor.
"The baſtinado is no longer practifed in China;
and the mandarins do not now reſemble the heads of
a college; the common people are not flothful and
fraudulent, as the greateſt pains has been taken to
improve their minds; ignominious punishments no
longer cruſh them to the earth; they have been in-
fpired with notions of honour. We conftantly vene-
rate Confucius, who was almoſt cotemporary with
your Socrates, and who, like him, did not fubtilize
on the principal of Beings, but contented himſelf
with declaring that nothing is hid from him, and that
he will punish vice and reward virtue. Our Confucius
had
THE GAZETTES.
331
had one advantage over the Grecian fage; he did
not boldly attack thoſe religious prejudices, which,
for want of a more noble ſupport, were the baſis of
the morals of the people; he waited patiently, till
truth, without tumult and labour, fhould exert its
own power. In fhort, it was he, who proved that
a monarch muſt neceffarily be a philofopher to govern
his people juftly. Our emperor ftill holds the
plow; but it is not an act of vain economy or puerile
oftentation...."
Urged by a defire to read and hear at the fame
time, while I liftened on one fide, my eye, not leſs
curious, ran over the pages of this gazette. I read as
follows.
JEDDO, the capital of Japan, the....
The defcendants of the great Taico, who cauſed
Dairi, to be regarded as an impotent, though revered
idol, have juft tranflated the Spirit of Laws, and the
Treatife on Crimes and Puniſhments.
The venerable Amida has been conducted through
all the ſtreets; but no one offered himſelf to be cruſh-
ed by his chariot-wheels.
A free entrance is granted at Japan; and every
one there eagerly profits by the arts of foreigners.
Suicide is no longer a viitue among thefe people;
they
332
THE GAZETTES.
they have difcovered that it was the confequence of
defpair, or of a foolish and criminal infenfibility.
PERSIA, the...
The king of Perfia has dined with his brothers,
who have remarkable fine eyes. They afflift in the
government of the empire; their principal employ-
ment is to read the difpatches. The facred books
of Zoroafter and Sadder are conftantly read and re-
fpected; but there is now no mention made of Omar,
or of Ali.
****
MEXICO, the.....
This city has completely regained the ancient
fplendor it enjoyed under the augult government of
princes defcended from the renowned Montezu na..
Our emperor, on his advancement to the throne,
rebuilt the palace in the form it had in the days of
his ancestors. The Indians no longer go bare-foot
and without linen. They have erected in the great
fquare the ftatue of Gatimozin, extended on the
burning coals; and under it are wrote theſe words,,
And I, am I on a bed of rofes?.
~
Pray tell me, I faid to the Mandarin, is it then:
forbid to name the empire of New Spain? He replied
"When the avenger of the New World had drove
away
THE GAZETTES.
333
away the tyrants, (the talents of Mahomet and Cæfar
united would not have nearly equalled thofe of that
wonderful man) this formidable deliverer contented
himſelf with being a legiflator. He laid down the
fword, to diſplay to the nations the facred code of
the laws. You can form no idea of fo tranfcendent
a genius; his powerful eloquence refembled the voice
of the divinity defcended upon the earth. America
was divided into two empires; that of North America
contains Mexico, Canada, the Antilles, Jamaica,
and St. Domingo; to that of South America belongs
Peru, Paraguay, Chili, the land of Magellan, and
the country of the Amazons; but each of thefe
kingdoms has a feparate monarch, who is himſelf
fubject to a general law, almoft in the fame manner
as, in your time, the flourishing empire of Germany,
while divided into various monarchies, formed but
one body under one general fovereign.
"Thus the blood of Montezuma, for a long time
obfcured and concealed, again mounted the throne.
All theſe monarchs are patriot princes, who have no
other object than the maintenance of public liberty.
This great man, this renowned legiflator, this negro,
in whom nature had exerted all her force, has in-
fpired them with his great and virtuous fpirit. Theſe
vaſt ſtates repoſe and flouriſh in a perfect concord,
the flow, but infallible work of reaſon. The ravages
of the ancient world, their cruel and childiſh wars,
the rivers of blood idly waſted, and the fhame for
having cauſed them; in a word, the folly of ambition,
plainly
334
THE GAZETTES.
plainly demonſtrated, has been fufficient to induce
the new continent to make peace with the titular deity
of their country. In our days a war would difhonour
a ftate, as robbery difhonours a private perfon." I
continued to read and liften.
PARAGUAY, from the city of the Affumption, the....
We have juſt held a folemn feaſt, in memory of
the abolition of that difgraceful flavery to which this
nation had been reduced, under the defpotic empire.
of the Jefuits. For fix centuries paft, we have re-
garded it as a ſpecial favour of Providence that en-
abled us to drive out thofe wolf-foxes from their lat
retreat. This nation, however, is not ingrate, for
it acknowledges the advantage of being raifed from
wretchednefs and inſtructed in agriculture and the
arts by thofe Jefuits. Happy, if they had contented
themſelves with inftructing mankind, and giving them
facred laws of morality.
From PHILADELPHIA, the capital of Pennſylvania,
the....
This province, where humanity, faith, liberty,
concord, and equality, have taken refuge for more.
than eight hundred years, is covered with the moſt
elegant and flourishing cities. Virtue has performed
more here than courage has among other nations.
Thofe
$
THE GAZETTES.
335
Thofe generous quakers*, the moft virtuous of man-
kind, by affording to the world a people that are all
brethren, have ferved as a model to hearts that have
become humanized by their example. We know that
they have been able, from the time of their origin,
to give mankind a thouſand examples of generofity
and beneficence. It is well known that they were
the first who refuſed to fhed the blood of man; and
that they regard war as a weak and barbarous frenzy.
It is they that have undeceived thofe nations who
were the miferable victims of the quarrels of their
kings. They have juft publiſhed their annual ex-
hortation, in which are contained thofe practical
virtues, which fet to their faith the feal of perfec-
tion.
MOROCCO,
* How can the princes of the North refrain from cover-
ing themſelves with immortal glory by banishing flavery,
from their dominions, by reſtoring to the labourer of the
land at least his perfonal liberty? How can they be deaf to
the cry of humanity, which conftantly excites them to that
act of glorious beneficence'? By what motive can they be
induced to hold in an odious fervitude, and one that is con-
trary to their real intereft, the most induſtrious part of their
fubjects, when they have before their eyes the example
of thoſe quakers who have given liberty to all their negro
flaves? How is it poffible for them not to be fenfible, that
their fubjects will be more faithful by being more free:
and that they muſt ceaſe to be flaves ere they can become
men.
336
THE GAZETTES.
*
MOROCCO, the....
We have difcovered a comet that is going toward
the fun. This is the three hundred and fifty-firft that
has been obferved fince the erecting of our obferva-
tory. The obfervations made in the interior parts of
Africa, correfpond exactly with ours.
They have put to death an inhabitant who had
affaulted a Frenchman, in conformity to the ordi-
nance of our fovereign, whoſe will it is that every
ſtranger ſhall be regarded as a brother who is come
to vifit his intimate friends.
**
SIAM, the.
Our navigation makes a moft aftoniſhing progrefs.
We have launched fix veffels of three decks, which
are deſtined for long voyages.
Our king preſents himſelf to all that defire to be-
hold his auguft perfon. There is not a more affable
monarch exifting, efpecially when he reforts to the
pagod of the great Sommonacodom.
The white elephant is kept at the menagery, but
merely as an object of curiofity, as he is perfect in
the exercife of the riding-fchool.
I
From
THE GAZETTES,
337
**
From the COAST of MALABAR, the....
The widow. . . . who is young, handfome, and
adorned with every accompliſhment, has fincerely
deplored the death of her huſband, who was burned
alone; and after mourning, more in her heart than
in her dreſs, has been re-married to a young man,
by whom ſhe is alfo tenderly beloved. This new
connection has rendered her ftill more reſpectable to
all her fellow-citizens.
*
From the LAND of MAGELLAN, the . . .
The twenty fortunate iflands, who lived, without
knowing it, in all the innocence and happinefs of
the firſt ages, are lately united; they now form an
affociation truly fraternal and reciprocally useful.
***
From the LAND of PAPOS*, the .
As we advance into this fifth part of the world,
our diſcoveries become every day more extenfive and
intereſting. We are ſurpriſed at its riches, fertility,
and its numerous inhabitants, who here live in con-
tinual peace. They may juſtly difdain our arts; their
morality is ſtill more admirable than their phyfics.
The
* The land of Papos is four thousand leagues diſtant
from Paris.
Gg
338
THE GAZETTES.
The fun, in all thefe immenfe regions, more extenſive
than Afia and Africa united, beholds not one unfor-
tunate being; while Europe, fo diminutive, ſo poor,
and divided into fo many parts, has almoſt hardened
her foil with human bones.
***
From the Island of TAITI in the South Sea, the....
When M. Bougainville difcovered this happy
ifland where reign the manners of the golden age, he
did not fail to take poffeffion of it in the name of his
maſter. He at laſt re-embarked and took with him
a Taitian, who in 1770 attracted the curiofity of Pa-
ris for a week. It was not then known that a French-
man induced by the beauty of the climate, the can-
dour of its inhabitants, and fill more by the mifery
which threatened that innocent people, concealed
himſelf at the time his comrades embarked. The
veffel had no fooner difappeared, than he prefented
himſelf to the people; he affembled them in a large
plain, and made the following fpeech:
<<
"I have chofe to remain among you for my own
happiness, and for yours. Receive me as a bro-
"ther; you will fee that I deferve that title, as I
"offer to fave you from the moſt horrid calamity. O
"happy people, who live in all the fimplicity of
nature! little do you think of the miferies that
"threaten you! Theſe ftrangers you have enter-
"tained, and who feemed fo polite, whom you have
"loaded with civilities and prefents, and whom at
"this
THE GAZETTES.
339
"this moment I betray, if it be treachery to prevent
«the ruin of a virtuous people; theſe ſtrangers, my
"<
countrymen, will foon return, and bring with them
"all thofe plagues that afflict other countries; they
"will infect you with poifons and maladies of which
you have no conception; they will load you with
"fetters; and, by their cruel arguments they will
prove it to be for your advantage. Behold this
"pyramid they have erected, which declares, that
"this land is already dependent on them, and marks
st
66
you as the ſubjects of a monarch, of whofe very
"name you are ignorant. You are all deſtined to
"obey new laws. They will ſtrip the harveſt from
your lands, will defpoil your trees of their fruit,
"and feize on your perfons. That happy equality
"which reigns among you will be abolished. Per-
"haps, your blood will bathe thofe flowers that now
"bend under the weight of your innocent embraces.
"Love is the god of this iſland; it is confecrated, fo
"to fay, to his worship. Hatred and vengeance will
"take his place. You are yet even ignorant of the
"uſe of arms; they will teach you what is war, mur-
"der, and flavery...."
At thefe words, the people turned pale, and re-
mained fixed in aftoniſhment. Thus a company of
children, interrupted in the midst of their pleafing
fports, will be feized with terror, when a dreadful
voice fhall tell them the world is at an end, and make
them fenfible of calamities that their tranquil minds
had never conceived.
Ggz
The
340
THE GAZETTES.
The orator continued, " People, whom I love,
"and for whom my heart yearns! There is yet a
"way to preferve your liberty and your happiness.
"Let every ftranger that lands on your coaft be
"facrificed to the fafety of your country. The de-
"cree is cruel; but the love of your children and of
your pofterity fhould make you embrace it. You
"would be more fhocked, were I to relate to yon
“the horrid cruelties that the Europeans have ex-
erciſed toward people, who, like you, were weak.
"and innocent. Guard yourſelves againſt the con-
"
t
tagious breath that proceeds from their lips; even
"their very fmiles are fignals of the miferies with
"which they intend to overwhelm you."
The heads of the nation aſſembled, and by an
unanimous voice inveſted him with the chief autho-
rity who had been their general benefactor, by pre.
ferving them from fuch horrible calamities. The
decree of death againſt every ſtranger was executed
with a virtuous and patriotic rigour; as it was for-
merly in Taurida, by a people in appearance as inno-
cent, but jealous of forming any connection with na-
tions who were ſkilful in arts, but at the fame time,
cruel and tyrannic.
They write, that this law has been lately abolished,
becauſe by repeated informations they have learned
that Europe is no longer the enemy of the other three.
parts of the globe; that it does not now attack the
liberty of peaceful nations far diftant from it; that
it is not ſhamefully jealous of the power of its ſeveral
fove.
THE GAZETTES.
341
ſovereigns; that it is ambitious of forming friends,
and not making flaves; that its veffels go in fearch
of examples of fimple and refined manners, and not
of contemptible riches, &c. &c. &c.
***
齐
​PETERSBURGH, the.
The moſt noble of all titles is that of legiflator. A
fovereign then approaches nearest to the Divinity,
when he gives fagacious and durable laws to a nation.
We ſtill repeat with rapture the auguft name of Ca-
tharine II. We no longer talk of her conquefts and
her triumphs, but of her laws. Her ambition was
to diffipate the darkneſs of ignorance, and to fubfi-
tute, in the room of barbarous cuſtoms, laws dictated
by humanity. More happy, more glorious than Pe-
ter the Great, becauſe more humane, fhe applied her-
ſelf, notwithſtanding all oppofite examples, to make
her people flourishing and happy; which they were,
in defiance of public and domeſtic ſtorms that ſhook
her throne. By her courage, fhe was enabled to for-
tify a crown that the univerſe beheld with pleaſure
on her brow. We muſt go very far back into anti-
quity to find a legiflator of equal dignity and fagacity.
-The chains that bound the labourers of the land
were broken. She raiſed her front, and faw them
with delight exalted to the rank of men. The fa-
bricators of luxury no longer found their profeffions
more lucrative or more honourable. The genius of
humanity cried aloud to all the inhabitants of the
North, Men! be free; and remember future generations,
Gg3
that
342
THE GAZETTES,
that it is to a woman you owe all the happiness you
enjoy.
At the last numbering of the inhabitants of all the
Ruffias, they amounted to forty-five millions of peo-
ple. In 1769, they counted only fourteen millions;
but, by the fagacity of the legiflator, her humane
codę of laws, and the throne of her fucceffors being
firmly eſtabliſhed by their generofity and affability,
the population of this empire is become equal to its
extent, which is greater than that of Auguftus or
Alexander. The conftitution of government, more-
over, is no longer military; the fovereign calls him-
felf only autocrate, the univerfe in general is too
enlightened to bear the former odious government *
***
.: i
WARSAW, the....
An anarchy the moſt abfurd and injurious to the
rights of man, who is born free, and the moft op-
preffive to the people, no longer troubles Poland.
The renowned Catherine II. had formerly a won-
derful influence over the affairs of this kingdom;
and they ſtill remember with gratitude, that it was
fhe
*He who had faid fourfcore years fince, that at Peterf-
burgh they would, at this time, follow our modes, our pe-
rukes, our coifs, and comic opcras, would certainly have
paffed for a madman. We muft patiently confent to be
called fools, when we publifh ideas that extend beyond the
horizon of the vulgar. All things in Europe tend to a ſud-
den revolution.
THE GAZETTES.
343
fhe who gave to the peafant his perfonal liberty, and
the property of his effects. The king died at fix laſt
night: his fon mounted the throne in peace the fame
evening, and received the homage of all the palatine
nobles.
***
CONSTANTINOPLE, the....
It was a great happiness for the world when the
Turk, in the eighteenth century, was driven out of
Europe. Every friend to humanity rejoiced at the fall
of that baneful empire, where the monſter Defpotiſm
was careffed by the infamous bafhaws, who only pro-
ftrated themſelves before him, that they might ex-
ceed his horrid oppreffions. The fans, a long time
exiled, re-entered the poffeffions of their fathers, not
dejected, but triumphant, robuft, in a ftate to im-
prove them. The ufurpers of the throne of the Con-
ſtantines funk into the bogs of their ancient marſhes;
and thofe barriers that Superftition, and its infepara-
ble and dreadful colleague, Tyranny, had placed
againſt reafon and the arts, from the rivers Save and
the Danube, to the borders of the ancient Tanais,
were broke down by a people of the North, with the
iron hand that fupported them. Philofophy again
appeared in her original fanctuary, and the country
of Themistocles and Miltiades again embraced the
ftatue of Liberty: It rofe as bold and noble as in
thofe fair days when it fhone in all its fplendor, and
with a power extended over all its original domain.
There was no more feen a Sardanapalus fleeping,
oppreffed
THE GAZETTES.
344
oppreffed by the weight of barbarities, caufed by a
vizier and a bow-ftring, while his vaft dominions,
defpoiled and languiſhing, were plunged in the fleep
of death.
The animating breath of liberty now gives them
fresh vigour. It has a creative ſpirit that produces
prodigies unknown to ſlaviſh nations. The dominions
of the Grand Signior were at first poffeffed by his
neighbours; but two centuries after they formed a
republic, that commerce renders flouriſhing and for-
midable.
They had given a grand maſquerade, where form-
erly was the feraglio; the moſt delicious wines, and
every other refreſhment, was there provided, with a
profufion that did not in the leaſt interfere with the
moft refined delicacy. The following evening they
reprefented the tragedy of Mahomet, in the theatre
built on the ruins of the ancient mofque called St.
Sophia.
ROME, the.
*
The emperor of Italy has received at the Capitol,
the vifit of the biſhop of Rome, who very refpectfully
offered
* How execrable is the name of Rome to my ears! How
fatal has been that city to the univerfe! From its firſt foun-
dation, owing to a handful of ruffians, how faithful has it
been
THE GAZETTES.
343
offered up his prayers to heaven for the prefervation
of that monarch's days, and the profperity of his
dominions.
been to its original inftitution. Where fhall we find a more
voracious, fubtle, and inhuman ambition? It hath extended
the chains of oppreffion over the whole known world.
Neither ſtrength, nor valour, nor the moſt heroic virtues,
has been able to preferve mankind from flavery. What
demon has prefided over its conquefts, and precipitated
the flight of its eagles! O, fatal republic! What monstrous
defpotifm has ever had fuch defteftable effects! O Rome,
how I hate thee! What a people are they who go about
the earth deſtroying the liberties of others, and at laſt deſtroy
their own! What a people were they, who, when fur-
rounded by all the arts, could enjoy the entertainment of
gladiators, fix a curious eye on the wretch whoſe blood
gufhed forth, and required the victim to affume an uncon-
cern for death, to give the lie to nature in his laſt moments,
by appearing delighted with the applaufe of myriads of bar-
barous hands! What a people were they, who, after having
affumed an unjuſt dominion over the univerſe, could fuffer,
without complaining, fo many emperors to rule them with
a rod of iron, and who fhewed a fervility as bafe as their
tyranny had been arrogant. But all this was trifling. A
fuperftition, the moſt abfurd and moſt ridiculous, affumed
in its turn, the throne of defpotic power, and had for her
miniſters Ignorance and Barbarity. After Rome had de-
voured mankind in the name of its country, it devoured
them in the name of God. Then blood was fhed for the
chimerical ſervice of heaven, a cruelty of which the world
had produced no inftance. Rome was the infectious gulf
from whence exhaled thofe fatal opinions that divided man-
kind, and armed them against each other for phantoms.
Soon it engendered, under the name of pontiffs, who called
themſelves the vicars of God, the moſt odious monſters.
When compared with thofe tygers that bore the keys and
the triple crown, Caligula, Nero, and Domitian, were but
vulgar
346
THE GAZETTES.
dominions. The bifhop returned on foot, with all
the humility of a true fervant of God. All thofe
beautiful
vulgar villians. The people, as if ftruck by a petrifying
rod, vegetated a thouſand years under a defpotic theocracy.
The facerdotal empire covered all, concealed all in its
darkneſs. Human beings no longer exiſted but to obey the
decrees of a deified mortal. He ſpoke, and his voice was
the commanding thunder. Then were feen croifades, a
tribunal of inquiſitors, proſcriptions, anathemas, excom-
munications: invifible thunders, that were hurled to the
ends of the earth. Thoſe Chriſtians, with faith and rancour
in their hearts, were not able to fatisfy themfelves with
murders: a new world, a world entire, was neceſſary to
glut their rage. They would compel mankind by force to
adopt their chimeras. It was the image of the croſs that
was the fignal for thoſe horrible devaſtations: wherever it
appeared, blood flowed in torrents and even at this day
the fame religion authorizes the flavery of wretches, who
fearch, in the entrails of the earth, that gold of which Rome
is the most fhameleſs idolator.
Thou city of feven hills! what fwarms of calamities have
iffued from thine infernal womb! What art thou! Whence
derivest thou thy power over this unhappy globe? Has the
maleficent Arimanis, the origin of evil, fixed his feat with-
in thy walls? Art thou the gate at which misfortunes enter ?
Do thy foundations touch the roof of hell? When will that
fatal talifman be broken, which, though it has loft fome-
what of its power, is ftill fo baneful to mankind? O Rome,
ſo
how I hate thee! May at leaſt the memory of thy iniquities
remain! may it conftitute thy infamy, and never be effaced !
and may every heart, burning with juft indignation, be
filled, like mine, with horror at thy name!
* The throne of defpotic power is fixed on the altar,
which only fupports it to ſwallow it up.
THE GAZETTES.
347
beautiful antique monuments that were caft into the
Tyber, where they have lain buried for fo many
years, have been lately taken up and placed in dif
ferent parts of Rome. They have found means of
recovering them without infecting the air with any
dangerous exhalation.
The bishop of Rome is continually employed in
forming a code of rational and affecting morality.
He has published the Catechifm of human reafon.
He particularly applies himſelf in furniſhing a new
degree of evidence to thofe truths that are of real
importance to man. He keeps a regiſter of all
generous, charitable, and illuftrious actions; he makes
them public, and characterifes every fpecies of virtus.
Judge of kings and of nations, by virtue of his
ardent love for humanity, he reigns by that inviſible
empire which invets him with the fpirit of wifdom, of
juſtice, and truth. He foftens, he conciliates the dif-
ferences of mankind. His bulls, wrote in all lan-
guages, announce not obfcure, uſeleſs dogmas, or
fentences of eternal divifions, but expatiate on the at-
tributes of the Divinity, of his univerfal prefence,
of the life to come, and the fublimity of virtue. The
Chinefe, the Japanefe, the inhabitants of Surinam
and Kamfchatka, read them with edification.
****
NAPLES, the ...
to a candidate named
Our academy of belles lettres has given the prize
The ſubject was, an
exact determination of what cardinals were in the
eighteenth
348
THE GAZETTES.
eighteenth century, the principles and manners of
that extraordinary fort of men; what paffed in the
priſon of the conclave, and the precife time when they
became again what they were in the infancy of
Christianity. The fuccefsful author has fully fatisfied
the inquiries of the academy. He has even given a
deſcription of the cap and red hat. This differtation
is not leſs entertaing than elaborate.
They have reprefented at a booth in the fair, the
farce of St. Januarius, which was formerly treated
in fo ferious a manner. All the world knows that
his blood was fuppofed to liquify every year. They
have parodied this ridiculous ſtory in a manner highly
comic.
The treaſures of our Lady of Loretto*, that uſed
to be employed in feeding and clothing the poor,
have been lately applied to the conftructing an aque-`
duct, as there are no longer any poor. The riches
of
* For fifteen centuries paft we have ſeen ſcarce any other
public buildings in all Europe than Gothic churches, with
high pointed ſteeples. The pictures we there fee offer very
few fubjects but what are hideous and difguftful. But what
monaſteries richly endowed! What opulent univerſities!
What afylums open to idleness and a theological jargon
It was, however, at the time the people were in the greateſt ·
poverty, that the ſecret was found of erecting theſe ſumptu-
ous cathedrals and monafteries. How flouriſhing would
thoſe nations have been, if they had employed in aqueducts
and canals, thofe immenfe fums that were fquandered away
in enriching prieſts and nuns ?
2
THE GAZETTES.
349
of the ancient cathedral of Toledo, deftroyed in the
year 1867, ought to be applied to the fame purpoſe.
See on this fubject the learned differtations of-
in 1999.
* *
MADRID, the..
Enacted, that no perfon fhall take the name of
Dominic, as it is that of the barbarian who formerly
eſtabliſhed the inquifition*. Enacted, that the name
of Philip II. fhall be erafed from the lift of the
Spaniſh monarchs.
The fpirit of induſtry is every day more manifeft,
by the uſeful diſcoveries they make in all the arts. The
academy of ſciences have juft given a new fyftem of
electricity, founded on more than twenty thoufand
ſeparate experiments.
***
LONDON, the....
This city is three times as large as it was in the
eighteenth century. The whole ftrength of the nation.
may
* Every mind in which fanaticiſm has not ftifled all fen-
timents of humanity, muſt be diſtracted with indignation
and pity on the thought of thofe barbarities, thofe ftudied
tortures that religious fury has incited men to invent. The
ftories of Cannibals and Anthropophagi are leſs horrible.
Torquemada, inquifitor of Spain, boafted of having deſtroy-
ed, by fire and fword, more than fifty thoufand heretics.
We every where find bloody traces of that religious ferocity.
Is that the divine law which calls itſelf the ſupport of
politics and morality!
H h
350
THE GAZETTES.
may refide, without any ill confequence, in the capi
tal, as commerce is the foul of it, and the commerce
of a republican people does not draw after it thoſe
fatal evils that attend a monarchy. England con-
ftantly maintains its ancient fyftem. It is good, be-
cauſe it enriches, not the monarch, but the people;
from whence arifes that equality which prevents ex-
ceffive opulence and exceffive mifery.
The English are conftantly the firſt people in Eu-
rope. They enjoy the ancient glory of having of-
fered to their neighbours, an example of that form
of government which becomes men jealous of their
rights and their happiness.
}
They no longer regard the anniverfary of the
death of Charles I. They are more perfect in their
politics. A new ftatue of Cromwell has been lately
crected; the colours of the marble are fo intimately
blended, that it is hard to fay whether it be black or
white. The affemblies of the people will be here-
after held in the prefence of this ftatue, as that great
man was the real author of their happy and immu-
table conftitution*.
The
J. J. Rouffeau attributes the ftrength, the fplendor,
and liberty of England, to the deftruction of thoſe wolves
with which it was formerly infefted. Happy nation! It has
drove away wolves a thousand times more dangerous, and
fuch as fill defolate other countries.
Many objects look best at a distance; it would be happy
for us if we could fer our country from the fame point of light
with this foreigner.
$
THE GAZETTES.
351
The Scotch and Iriſh have prefented a petition to
parliament, that the names of Scotland and Ireland
may be abolished, and that they may make but one
body, fpirit, and name, with the English, as they are
one by that patriotic fpirit with which they are ani-
mated.
***
VIENNA, the...
•
Auftria, who has ever provided Europe with a
Face of amiable princeffes, announces that he now
has feven marriageable beauties, who will efpoufe
thofe princes of the earth that have given the faircft
proofs of tendernefs for their people.
***
From the HAGUE, the ..
This laborious people, who have made a garden
of a foil the most marfhy and barren, who have
brought all the productions fcattered over the earth
to a ſpot that ſcarcely produces a flint, are inceffantly
exercising their ſurpriſing induſtry, and fhowing the
world, what fortitude, patience, and perfeverance
can perform. An extreme thirst for gold no longer
prevails among them. This republic has become
more powerful by diſcovering thoſe ſnares that were
fecretly intended to deftroy it. They found that it
was more eaſy to ſet bounds to the enraged ocean,
than to refift an infidious metal; and they now de-
fend
Hh 2
352
THE GAZETTES.
fend themſelves with as much refolution againſt
luxury as against the affaults of the fea.
***
PARIS, the ....
Twelve veffels, of fix hundred tuns each, are ar-
rived at this capital, and have brought plenty of pro-
vifions. We now eat fifh without paying ten times
their original value. The new bed of the Seine, dug
from Rouen to this city, requiring fome reparations,
they have affigned the fum of a million and a half of
livres, to be taken from the public treaſury. That
fum will be fufficient, as they make no ufe of regiſters
or undertakers.
A moſt devouring, infolent, puerile, capricious and
enormous luxury, no longer reigns on the borders of
the Seine; but one that promotes induſtry, that cre-
ates new commodities, and adds to our conveniences;
an uſeful and neceffary luxury, fo eafy to be diftin-
guiſhed, and which ought never to be confounded
with that of pride and oftentation, which infults the
ſtation of the common people, and tends to render it
wretched by its effects and example *.
The
* When ſhall we ceafe to fee that monftrous inequality
of fortunes, that exceffive opulence, which produces fo
much extreme indigence, and is the fource of all our
crimes! When fhall we ceafe to fee the poor labourer,
unable to relieve himſelf by his induſtry, from a miſery in
which he is held by the very laws of his country! Another
ftretch-
THE GAZETTES.
353
;
. They have repaired the ftatue of Voltaire, which
the literati, the most diflinguiſhed by their talents
and their probity, erected while he was yet living.
His right foot is placed on the ignoble front of F***;
but as the public contempt has much disfigured the
face of that Zoilus, they would repair it in a manner
that fall fhew all fenfelefs critics the fate that will
attend them. As they have not preferved the por-
trait of that feribler, who wrote a periodical work
for bread; they want to know the head of what baſe,
envious and malignant animal they hall put in its
Atead?
They not
They no longer
affigned to another
The Parifians have now juft notions of their na-
tural, civil, and political rights.
ftupidly imagine that they have
the property of their perfons and effects. They are
ftill fond of bon mots, of fongs and vaudevilles;
but they have learned, at the fame time, to give a
folidity to thofe pleaſantries.
****
I turned and returned thefe loofe fheets; I ftill
fought fomething curious. I looked for the article
Verſailles,
ftretching forth a trembling hand, fearful at once of the
looks and the repulfe of his fellow-mortal! When ſhall
we ceaſe to ſee thoſe monſters, that turn away their heads,
and refuſe him a morfel of bread! When will thoſe very
men ceaſe to famiſh a city, by making the proviſions as
dear as in a town that is besieged! But the finances are
exhauſted, commerce in general finks, the nation is har-
raffed with miſeries; all ſuffers, and the manners of people
conſequently ſuffer a horrid depravation. Alas! alas.l:
Hh3
1
}
354
THE GAZETTES.
Verfailles, but my eager fight could never find it.
The maſter of the houſe perceived my embarraſſ-
ment, and aſked me what I fought. The most in-
terefting article in the world, I replied; news froma
the place where the court commonly refides; in fhort,
the article of Verfailles; fo particular, fo various, and
intereſting in the French gazette *. He fmiled and
faid; "I know not what is become of the French
gazette, ours is that of truth, and is never guilty of
the fin of omiflion. Our monarch conſtantly refides
in the capital. He is furrounded by the regards of
the people. His ear is conftantly open to their cries.
He does not hide himſelf in a fort of defert, ſur-
rounded by a herd of gilded flaves. He refides in
the centre of his dominious, as the fun in the centre
of the univerfe. That, moreover, is a bridle that
holds him within the courſe of his duty. He has no
other way to learn all that he ought to know, than
by that univerſal voice which pierces directly to his
throne. To check that voice would be to rebel
againſt the laws; for the monarch is made for the
people, and not the people for the monarch.
CHAP.
* How fevere a fcourge is printing, when it tells a whole
nation, that, on fuch a day, fuch a man put on at court the
habit of a flave! That another difhonoured himfelf with all
the pomp imaginable! And that a third had at length ob-
tained the reward of his infamous conduct! What a collec-
tion of infipidities! What a grovelling wretched ſtyle ?
[ 355 1
CHAP.
XLIII.
THE FUNERAL ORATION OF A PEASANT.
CURIOUS to fee what was become of that
Verſailles where I had formerly beheld on one fide,
the fplendor of a king in the highest degree of often-
tation; and on the other a race of clerks, infolent
fcribblers, extending their impertinent idleness to the
highest degree poffible. I dreamt that like Jofhua,
I topped the courſe of the fun, as it was haftily de-
clining; it ſtood ftill at my prayer, as at that of the
Jewifh general; and my intention was, I think, lefs
criminal than his.
I was on the road in a carriage, that was not a pot-
de-chambre*. Paffing by a village I faw a company
of peasants, their eyes dejected and wet with tears,
who were entering a temple. The fight ftruck me;
I ordered the carriage to ftop, and followed them in.
I faw in the middle of the temple the corpfe of an.
old man, in the habit of a peaſant, whoſe white hairs
hung down to the ground. The paftor of the village
mounted a fmall eminence, and ſaid :
"My fellow countrymen,
"The man you here fee was for ninety years a be-
"nefactor to man kind. He was the fon of a hufband-
.6.6 man,
*This is the name given to the hackney coaches that ge
between Paris and the court. They are commonly filled
with valets, that go to Verſailles in ſearch of plunder, and
may therefore properly be faid to carry the dregs of France.
356
THE FUNERAL ORATION
F
"man, and in infancy his feeble hands attempted
"to guide the plough. As foon as his legs could
“fupport him he followed his father in the furrows.
"When years had given him that ſtrength for which
"he long withed, he faid to his father, Ceafe from
66 your labours: and from that time, each rifing fun
"has feen him till the ground, fow, plant, and reap
"the harveft. He has cultivated more than two
"thouſand acres of freſh land. He has planted the
"vine in all the country round about; and to him
'you owe thofe fruit trees that nourish your village,
"and afford you ſhelter from the fun. It was not
"avarice that made him unwearied in his labours ;
"no, it was the love of induftry for which he was.
"wont to fay, man was born; and the great and
"facred belief that God regarded him when culti-
"vating his lands for the nourishment of his chil
❝dren.
66
"He married, and had. twenty-five children. He
"formed them all to labour and to virtue, and they
"Have all maintained an unblemished character. He
as taken care to marry them properly, and led
"them with a fmiling afpect to the altar. All his
"grand children have been brought up in his houſe;
"and you know what a pure, unalterable joy dwells
"upon their countenances. All theſe brethren love
one another, becauſe he loved them, and made
"them fee what pleaſure he found in loving them.
"On days of rejoicing, he was the firſt to found
"the rural inftruments; and his looks, his voice,
and
OF A PEASANT.
357
"and gefture, you know, were the fignals for univer-
"fal mirth. You cannot but remember his gaiety,
"the lively effect of a peaceful mind, and his fpeeches
"full of fenfe and wit; for he had the gift of exer-
"ciling an ingenious raillery without giving offence.
"He cheriſhed order, from an internal fenfe he had
"of virtue. Whom has he ever refuſed to ferve?
"When did he fhew himfelf unconcerned at public
"or private misfortunes? When was he indifferent
"in his country's caufe? His heart was devoted to
"it; in his converfation he conſtantly wished for its
profperity.
"
"When age had bent his body, and his legs trem-
"bled under him, you have feen him mount to the
“ſummit of a hill, and giye leffons of experience to
"the young huſbandmen. His memory was the
"faithful depofitory of obfervations made during the
"courfe of fourfcore fucceffive years, on the changes
"of the feveral feafons. Such a tree, planted by
"his hand, in fuch a year, recalled to his memory
"the favour or the wrath of heaven. He had by
"heart what other men forget, the fruitful harveſts,
"the deaths and legacies to the poor. He feemed
"to be endowed with a prophetic fpirit, and when
"he meditated by the light of the moon, he knew
"with what feeds to enrich his garden. The even-
"ing before his death he faid, My children, I am
"drawing nigh to that Being, who is the Author
"of all good, whom I have always adored, and in
"whom I truſt. To-morrow prune your pear-trees,
"and
358
THE FUNERAL ORATION, &e.
"and at the ſetting of the fun, bury me at the head
" of my grounds.
"You are now, children, going to place him there,
"and ought to imitate his example. But, before
<<
you inter thefe white hairs, which have fo long
"attracted refpest, behold with reverence his hard-
"ened hands; behold the honourable marks of his
"long labours."
The orator then held up one of his cold hands.
It had acquired twice the ufual fize by continual
labour, and ſeemed to be invulnerable to the point
of the briar, or the edges of the flint. He then
reſpectfully kiffed the hand, and all the company
followed his example.
His children bore him to the grave on three ſheaves
of corn, and buried him as he had defired, placing
on his grave, his hedging-bill, his fpade, and a
plough-fhare.
Ah! I cried, if thofe men celebrated by Boffuet,
Flechier, Mafcaron, and Neuville, had the hundredth
part of the virtue of this villager, I would pardon
them their pompous and futile cloquence.
CHAP.
[ 359 ]
CHAP. XLIV.
VERSAILLES.
I ARRIVED at Verfailles, and looked round
for that fuperb palace, from whence iffued the deſtiny
of many nations. What was my furpriſe! I could
perceive nothing but ruins, gaping walls, and mutil-
lated ſtatues; fome porticos, half-demolifhed, afforded
a confufed idea of its ancient magnificence. As I
walked over thefe ruins, I faw an old man fitting upon
the capital of a column. Alas! I faid to him, what
is become of this vaft palace?" It is fallen.".
How?" It was cruſhed by its own weight. A
"man in his impatient pride would have here forced
"nature. He hastily heaped buildings upon build-
"ings; greedy of gratifying his capricious will he
"haraffed his fubjects; all the wealth of the nation
"was here fwallowed up; here flowed a ſtream of
"tears to compoſe thoſe reſervoirs of which there
"are now no traces. Behold all that remains of that
"coloffus which a million of hands erected with fo
"much painful labour. The foundations of this
"palace were laid in iniquity; it was an image of
"the wretched greatneſs of him that built it*. The
"kings,
*We magnify thofe pompous fpectacles given to the
Roman people; and from them we would infer the grandeur
of that empire; but it was wretched when it began to ex-
hibit thoſe faftuous fhews, in which the fruits of their
victories were diffipated with prodigality. Who built their
circufes, their theatres, their baths? Who dug thofe
artificial lakes, where a whole fleet was exercifed as in open
fea?
360
VERSAILLES.
kings, his fucceffors, were obliged to fly from it,
"left they fhould be crushed by its fall. O, may
"theſe ruins cry aloud to all fovereigns; that they
"who abuſe a momentary power, only diſcover their
"weakneſs to future generations."-At theſe words,
he fhed a flood of tears, and turned his eyes to
heaven with a mournful, repenting look. Why do
you weep? I faid. All the world is happy, and
theſe ruins by no means declare any public calamity.
He raiſed his voice and faid: "Oh, how wretched is
<< my fate! Know that I am Lewis XIV. who built
"this rueful palace. The Divine Juſtice has again
"illumined the torch of my days, to make me con-
"template more nearly my deplorable enterprize.
"How tranfient are the moments of pride; I muſt
"now and for ever weep. O, that I had but
"known*....." I was going to aſk him a queſtion,
when one of the adders, with which this place fwarm-
ed, darted from a broken column, flung me on the
neck, and I waked.
Thoſe crowned monſters, whoſe tyrannic pride cruſhed
one half of the people to divert the other. The enormous
boaſted pyramids of Egypt are nothing more than monu-
ments of defpotifm. Republics may conftruct acqueducts,
canals, highways, and public places; but every palace that
is erected by an arbitrary monarch, forms the foundation of
an approaching calamity.
*Placed in the middle of Europe, commanding the
ocean, and by the long extent and winding of its coafts,
over the feas of Flanders, Spain, and Germany, commu-
nicating with the Mediterranean, &c. what a kingdom is
France and what people feem to have more right to be
happy!
THE END.