CURIOUS THOUGHTS HISTORY OF MAN; CHIEFLY ABRIDGED O& SELECTED FROM THE CELEBRATED WORKS OF LORD KAIMES, LORD MONBODDO, DR. DUNBAR, AND THE IMMORTAL MONTESQUIEU: REPLETE WITH USEFUL AND ENTERTAINING INSTRUCTION, ON A VARIETY OF IMPORTANT AND POPULAR SUBJECTS; viz. POPULATION COMMERCE LANGUAGK GOVERNMENT MANNERS PATRIOTISM PROPERTY AGRICULTURE LOVE PEACE AND WAR MATRIMONY TAXES, POLYGAMY MUSIC MARRIAGE - CEREMO- GAMING NIES LUXURY, &C. DESIGNED TO PROMOTE A SPIRIT OF ENQUIRY IN THE BRITISH YOUTH OF BOTH SEXES, AND TO MAKE THE PHILOSOPHY, AS WELL AS HISTORY OF THE HUMAN SPICIES, FAMILIAR TO ORDINARY CAPACITIES. The proper Study of Mankind is Man." POPE. BY THE REV. JOHN ADAMS, A. M. LONDON: PRINTZD FOR G. KXARSLEY, AT JOHNSON'S HEAD, FLEET-STREET. M DCC LXXX1X, ADVERTISEMENT. THE Grecian fage was, declared to be the wifeft of men, for uttering this fentence, " Know thyfelf." Human nature is a very interefting fubject, and ought to be well underftood. We may ftudy it in the page of hiftory, in our own paffions and actions, and in thofe of others. Without a competent knowledge of mankind, we fhall be but ill qualified to act our part on the theatre of the world. In the following fheets, fuch a delightful view is given of this fubject, and fo many ingenious fentiments do every where pre- fent themfelves, as muft afford an elegant entertaintment to all who take pleafure in reading, and engage .them to fay, in the beautiful language of the poet, " Let us, fmce life can little more fupply " Than juft to look ab'out us and to die, " Expatiate free o'er all this fcene of man, " A mighty maze! but not without a plan." A 2 1048888 CONTENTS. Chap. Page I. /*VN the focial Nature of Man - i II. V-^ On the chief Caufes which gave rife to civil Society - 6 III. On Hunting and the Paftoral Life - ir IV. On Population 15 V. On Property - - jy VI On Commerce - 21 VIII. On Manners _ ^ VII. On the talk for Cleanlinefs - 32 IX. Remarks on feveral Nations, refpecling Cleanlinefs - ^4 X. On Language . 37 XI. On the Criterion of a poliflred Tongue 42 XII. On Mufic - 44 XIII. On the Simplicity of ancient Manners 47 A 3 XIV. On Chap. Page XIV. On Cruelty and Humanity - 48 XV. Of indelicate Manners - - 50 XVI. Inftancesof low ancient Manners 53 XVII. On the Influence of War on the hu- man 'Cbarater ' , 55 XVIII. On the Influence of Perfecution on Manners 57 XIX. On Selfifhnefs 58 XX. On the Influence of Opulence on Man- ners 6 1 XXI. On the Intention of Light and Darknefs 64 XXII. On gaming - - V / 66 XXIII. On particular Cuftoms ^ V 67 XXIV. On unnatural Cuftoms ' -7 ' r ; L #9 XXV. On the Refcmblance of the Orang Ou- tang to Man i^rfy ^5 XXVI. Of the influence of Climate on the human Conftitution - 86 XXVII. On the Female Sex 93 XXVIII. On the Origin of Love - 96 XXIX. Falfe Opinions concerning Love 98 XXX. Of Love in an Infant Society 99 XXXI. Of Love in a Society where Manners begin tobefoftened - TOO XXXII. Of Chap. Page XXXII. Of Love, in a Society aggrandized by Riches - - 101 XXXIII. Of Love in a Republic - * 102 XXXIV. Love of the Orientals - 103 XXXV. Of Love in Monarchies 105 XXXVI. Of Love among the Northern Na- tions - - 107 XXXVII. On the Neceffity and Happinefs of Matrimony - - 109 XXXVIII. On Polygamy - - 112 XXXIX. On the Education of Afiatic Wo- men - - 124 XL. On Marriage Ceremonies - - 126- XLI. On Female SuccefTion - 129 XLII. Curious I nftances of falfe Reafoning 132 XLI1I, On the Anticipation of futurity 143 XLI V. On our Propenfity to the Belief of the Marvellous - - 144 XLV. On the Tendency of the human Mind to Myfteries and hidden Meanings 149 XLVI. On the Tendency of moral Charafter to diverfify the human Form 153 XLVI I. On Luxury ... 166 XLVIII. Re- ( via ) Chap. Page XLVIII. On Refinements in Cookery 166 XLIX. On Houfes and Furniture 168 L. On the different Ideas of Luxury 171 LI. On Luxury in Eating and Drinking, par- ticularly of the Englifh 176 LII. On the Luxury of fome London-Ladies 178 LIU. On Coaches ' - '< 180 LIV, On the pernicious Effects of Luxury 182 LV. Luxury viewed in a political Light 185 LVI. On the Averfion of neighbouring Tribes to each othe'r '* 186 LVII. On mental Attraction and Repulfibn 191 LVI 1 1 . On our Tafte for Variety r *fS 193 LIX. On intellectual Exercife 195 LX. On Government **" ;' - J 98 LXI. On different Forms of Government. 201 LXII. OnDefpotifm 204 LXI 1 1. On the Depreflion of Mind in Sub- jects of Defpotifm - 206 LXIV. On the Influence of Defpotifm on the fmeft Countries - - 207 LXV. On that Form of Government, which is moft favourable to Patriotifm 211 ? LXVI. On f i* ) Cfiap. p i LXVI. On the Influence of Opulence in dif- ferent Forms of Government 214 LXVII. On the peculiar Advantages of fmall States - . 21 6 LXVI II. On the fplendid Works of great States 217 LXIX. On the Artifices of Minifters in a de- fpotic Government 22Q LXX. On the internal Convulfions and Revo- lutions of an extenfive Monarchy 223 LXXI. On the Difficulty of guarding the Frontiers of a great Empire 223 LXXI I. On the hereditary Genius of Nations 226 LXXIII. On Peace and War 243 LXX IV. The generous Officer 244 LXXV. An affeding Incident 346 LXX VI. A Comparifon between War and Peace 250 LXX VI I. On the Vigour of Mind, which the EngliQi Constitution infpires 254 LXXVIII. OnPatriotifm 255 LXXIX. On Patriotifm, as being favourable to Virtue 257 LXXX. On Patriotifm, as the Bulwark of liberty 258 LXXXL On Chap. Pa,e LXXXI. On Emulation, as affeaing Pa- triot ifm 2,60 LXXXII. On the Effba of Faaion on Patrio- tifm .f 261 LXXXIII. OntheEfFedofRicheson Patrio- tifm - 262 JLXXXIV. An illuftrious Example of Patrio- tifm in a negro Prince 269 LXXXV. On the Difad vantages of a great City 271 LXXXVI. On Agriculture - - 279 LXXXVII. Of Agriculture among the An- cients - - 281 LXXXVIII. Of Agriculture among the Mo- derns 284 LXXXIX. Mifcellaneous Remarks on Agri- culture 287 XC. On Taxes 291 XCI. On the Foundation of Taxes 294 XCII. On different Sorts of Taxes 296 XCIII. Rules for Taxing 303 XCI V. On exceptionable Taxes 3ip XC V, On Taxes favourable to Commerce 333 XCVI. On Chap. Page XCVI. On Man as the Arbiter of his own For- tune 321 XCVI I. On the Origin and Progrefs of Reli- gion 333 XCVIII. The Opinions of feveral Tribes of Mankind concerning the Deity 337 XCIJC- Of fuperftitious Opinions 341 C. On the Chriftian Religion 350 CI. On religious Worfhip, Forms and Cere- monies 353 CII. On human Nature 357 CURIOUS BOOKS lately pubUJhed by G. KEARSLEY, at JOHNNS'ON'S HEAD, FLEET-STREET. I A Complete Abridgement of CAPTAIN COOK's THREE j[\ VOY AGES round the WORLD. Ornamented with a considerable Number of Plates, well exe- cuted, a Chart of the New Difcoveries, and a Defcription of, the Inhabitants, with their Manners and Cuftoms. A faithful Account of the interesting TranfadYions in each Voyage} thofe relative to the Death of Captain Cook arc given in full detail, with a Sketch of his Life, price 8s. N. B. To this improved Edition is added a Narrative of Lord Mulgrave's Voyage towards the North Pole. Captain Cook'* Third Voyage may be had alone, price 45. a. The BEAUTIES of the RAMBLER, ADVENTURER, CONNOISSEUR, IDLER, and WORLD 3 in two Volumes, price 6s. 3. The BEAUTIES of the SPECTATOR, TATLER, and GUARDIAN ; price 6s. N. B. Either maybe had feparate. Thefe Selections are judicioufly formed, and we recommend them as a desirable purchafe to thofe who wifh to have much amuferaent, fine writing, and infttudlion, for little money. Vide Analytical Review. 4. The Tenth Edition of the BEAUTIES of STERNE, cal- culated for the Heart of Senfibility. This Volume contains a Selection of Mr. Sterne's Familiar Letters, the Story of Le Fevre and Uncle Toby, Maria, Shandy's Bed of Juftice, Yorick's Horfe, Corporal Trim's Brother, the Dwarf, the Pulfe, the Pye-man, the Sword, the Supper, the Starling, the Afs, Or. Slop and Obadiah, Dr. Slop and Sufan, &c. &c. Alfo feveral of his moft celebrated Sermons. It is likewifc ornamented with five new Plates, engraved from. the Defign* of Mr. Wixta, price 35. 6d. CURIOUS THOUGHTS ON THE HISTORY OF MAN. CHAP. I. ON THE SOCIAL NATURE OF MAN* BY the original order and conftitution of nature, men are fo framed, that they ftand in need of each other's help, in order to make them comfortable and happy in the world. A mutual intercourfe gra- dually opens their latent powers ; and the extenfion of this intercourfe is generally productive of new fources of pleafure and delight. Withdraw this intercourfe, and what is man ! " Let all the " powers and elements of nature," fays an illuftri- ous philofopher, " confpire to ferve and obey one " rhan ; let the fun rife and fet at his com- " mand ; the fea and the rivers roll as he pleafes, " and the earth furnilh ipontaneoufly whatever may " be ufeful or agreeable to him ; he will flill be " mifejable> till you give him fome one perfon at B "leaft, *' leaft, with whom he may fhare his happinefs, *' and whofe efteem and friendfliip he may enjoy." Society then is the theatre on which our genius expands with freedom. It is efiential to the origin of all our ideas of natural and of moral beauty. It is the prime mover of all our inventive powers. Every effort, beyond what is merely animal, has a reference to a commumity ; and the folitary favage, who traverfes the defart, is fcarce raifed fo far by nature above other animals, as he is funk by fortune beneath the ftandard of his own race. The deftitute condition of man as an animal, has been an ufual topic of declamation among the learned ; and this alone, according to fome theories, is the foundation both of focial union and civil combinations. After the population of the World, and the growth of arts, mutual alliances and mutual fupport became indeed efTential in our divided fyftem ; and it is no wonder, if certain appearances in the civil 32ra have been transferred, in imagination, to all preceding times. At firft, however, it may be quef- tioned, whether there reigned not fuch an indepen- dence in our ceconomy, as is obfervable in other parts of the creation. The arts of life, by enervating our corporeal powers, and multiplying the objects of defire, have annihilated perfonal independence, and formed an im- menfechain of connexions among collective bodies. Nor { 3 ) Nor is it perhaps fo much the call of neceflity, or mutual wants, as a certain delight in their^kind, congenial with all natures, which conftitutes the fundamental principle of affociation and harmony throughout the whole circle of being. But man, it is pretended, by nature timid, runs to/oticfy for relief, and finds an afylum there. Nor is he fin- gular in this. All animals, in the hour of danger, crowd together, and derive confidence and fecurity from mutual aid. Danger, however, it may be anfwered, far from fuggefting a confederacy, tends in mofl cafes to diffolve rather than to confirm the union. Secure from danger, animals herd together, and Teem to difcover a complacency towards their kind. Let but a fingle animal of more rapacious form prefent himfelf to view, they inftantly difperfe. They de- rive no fecurity from mutual aid, and rarely attempt to fupply their weak nefs in detail, by their collec- tive ftrength. This fingle animal is a match for thoufands of a milder race. The law of dominion, in the fcale of life, is the ftrength of the individual merely, not the number of the tribe ; and of all animals, man almoft alone becomes confiderable, by the combination of his fpecies. In 'fociety, animals are rather more prone to timidity from the prevalence of the fofter inftin&s. Thofe of the ravenous clafs, generally the moft foli- tary, are accordingly the moft courageous j and man B 2 him- ( 4 ) hi m&lf declines in courage, in proportion to the ex- tent of his alliances ; not indeed in that fpecies of it, which is the genuine offspring of magnanimity and heroic fentiment ; but in that constitutional boldnefs and temerity, which refides in our ani- mal nature. Hence intrepidity is a predominant feature in the favage character. Hence the favage himfelf, feparately bold and undaunted, when he ats in concert with his fellows, is found liable to panic from this public fympathy. And it is hence, perhaps, according to the obfervation of a diftin- guifhed writer,* that the molt fignal victories, re- corded in the annals of nations, have been uniform- ly obtained by the army of inferior number. In fome parts of our conftitution, we refemble the other animals. There is, however, fome in- ward confcioufnefs, fome decifive mark of fuperi- ority, in every condition of men. But the line, which meafures that fuperiority, is of very variable extent. Let us allow but equal advantages from culture to the- mind and body, and it is reafonable to infer, that favages, in fome of the wilder forms, muft be as inferior to civilized man in intellectual abilities, and in the peculiar graces of the mind, as they furpafs him in the activity of their limbs, in the command of their bodies, and in the exertion of all the meaner functions : Some ftriking inftances of favage tribes, with fo limited an understanding, Sir William Temple. ( 5 y. as is fcarce capable of forming any arrangement for futurity, are produced by an Hiftorian, who traces tbe progrefs of human reafon through various ftages of improvement, and unites truth with eloquence in his defcriptions of mankind.* The progrefs of nations and of men, though not exactly parallel, is found in feveral refpects to cor- refpond j and, in the interval from infancy to man- hood, we may remark this gradual opening of the human faculties. Firft of all, thofe of fenfe ap- pear, grow up fpontaneoufly, or require but little culture. Next in order, the propenfities of the heart, difplay their force ; and a fellow-feeling with others unfolds itfelf gradually on the appearance of proper objects. Laft in the train, the powers of intellect begin to bloffbm, are reared up by culture, and demand an intercourfe of minds. *Hiftory of America, v f i. p. 309. CHAP. CHAP. IT. OF TH1 CHIEF CAUSES V^HICH GAVE RISE TO CIVIL SOCIETY, AS man was formed a focial creature, fothe ne- cefFrties of human life made fociety abfolutely Decenary to him. Thefe neceflhies were either the want of fuftenance, or of defence againft fu- perior force and violence. As to the want of fufte- nance it appears evident, that, in certain countries and climates, the natural produce of the earth is fufficient for man, as well as other animals, with- out either fociety or arts. But, in the firft place, he may multiply fo much, that the fpontaneous growth of the earth, without art or culture, cannot fupport him ; or he may go to countries and cli- mates, which by nature are not fitted to fupport him. In either of thefe cafes, he muft have re- courfe to fociety and arts. It is, by means of thefe that man has multiplied more than any other ani- mal of equal fize, and has become an inhabitant of every country and climate ; whereas, every other animal has only certain countries or climates where it can fubfift. The other motive which I mentioned, as indu- cing men to enter into fociety was felf defence ; the neceflity of which will appear the greater, if we confider, C 7 ) confideiy that man is by nature weaker, and not fo well armed, as many of the beads of prey. The Author of nature, indeed, endued man with fu- pcrior fagacity. That however would not have availed him in the fingle ftate ; but it dire&ed him to aflbciate himfelf with others of the fame fpecies, to aft in concert with them, in fhort, to in- flitute civil fociety, to invent arts and fciences, and to acquire dominion over animals much ftronger and fiercer than himfelf. The face of the earth he has changed by his art and induftry, and even the ele- ments and powers of nature he has made fubfervieat to his purpofes. * Audax omnia perpeti " Gens humana. ' Expertus vacuum Dsedalus ara " Pennis non homini datis.* " Perrupit Acheronta Herculcus labor. " Nil mortalibus arduum. HOR. * This ftory of Dsdaluj is no doubt a poetical fi<3!on, though, like other poetical fictions, it has a foundation in historical truth ; for the fact appears to have been, that Daedalus made his efcape from Crete in a fwift-failing veffel of his own invention. But it is not a fiction, that Bifliop Wilkins, a moft ingenious as well as learned man, did try to invent an art of flying, and was fo con- fident of his fuccefs, that he faid he did not doubt but that ha ihould hear men calling for their ivingt, as they do now for their B 4 la ( 8 ) In fruitful countries, and benign climates, inert may live in the natural ftate ; but in rude climates, and barren countries, they cannot fubfift at all with- out fociety and arts. In fuch a country as Canada, for example, which is covered for feveral months of the year with deep fnow, how is it poftible the Indians could live without the arts of fiftiing and hunting, by the firft pf which they fupport them- felves in the fummer, and by the laft in the winter - ? As it is, they very often perifh by hunger; but, without thofe arts, or agriculture, and the art of preferving, as well as railing, the fruits of the earth, it is evident they could not live a fingle year. For, fuppofing that men could fubfift upon herbs or foli- age, as horfes and cattle can do, without feeds or fruits, which, in reality, they cannot ; or fuppo- fing that they could be nourifhed by the roots of certain vegetables, which, perhaps, may be the cafe ; and fuppofing further, that they could dig for them with their fingers ; yet where are the leaves or herbage to be found, in fuch countries, for one half of the year ? And how could fingle men, without inftruments of art, dig for roots in ground hardened like iron by froft, and covered with five or fix feet of fnow ? From ihefe confi derations we may infer, that men never could have lived in the natural ftate in fuch countries ; that is without fociety and arts ; and confequently, that in thofe countries, the human ( 9 ) race never could have a beginning, and that there- fore they muft have been peopled from milder cli- mates, by tribes and colonies of men already civili- zed, and who brought with them arts, by which they were enabled to fubfift in thofe rougher cli- mates. This explains a fal in the hiftory of mas, in which both facred and profane hiftory agree, " That the progrefs of the human race has always been, fo far as we can trace it, from the eaft, and particu- larly from the fouthern parts of Afia, where, ac- cording to our facred books, the human race firft began." For thofe parts of Afia are much mpre delightful than Europe, and have always produced finer bodies of men, and other aminals, as well as better vegetables.* This of itfelf makes it highly probable, even if it were not attefled by hif- tory, that men having firft affociated in thofe milder and more fruitful regions of Afia, dic^from thence fpread themfelves into Europe, and other parts of the world, where the climate was not fo propitious to the human race, and there fubfifted. by arts which they had imported. It cannot be doubted that man, in a warm and fertile climate, may eafily fubfift upon the natural fruits of the earth. It is for this reafon, that Linnaeus makes fuch climates to be the native B 5 country * This Is an obfervation of Hippocrates the pbjfician. country of man, where he lives naturally and c choice, whereas, in other climates, he lives only by compulfion, non naturd Jed eoa&e. If this be fo, mankind muft have had their origin in thofe countries, where the productions of a genial foil could afford them fubfiftence. Then becoming too numerous to live in that way, they would in- vent arts, fuch as hunting, fifhing and agriculture ; and when even thofe arts became infufficient for their fubfiftence, they would be obliged to move to other climates lefs favourable, and there fubfift by the arts, which they had brought with them. And in this way the whole earth has been at laft peopled, even the worft parts of it, lying .. i. Extra annifolifque vias, and altogether uninhabitable by every other animal of the milder climates. CHAP, ( II ) CHAP. III. ftM HUNTING AND THE PASTORAL LIFZ. HUNTING, it is probable, was the firft ex- pedient that men fell upon for fupplying the want of the natural fruits of the earth ;it being much eafier than planting, fowing, or any kind of culture of the ground, before inftruments of art were in- vented. For man, by his natural ftrength and agility, with the addition only of a ftick, can get the better of a great number of quadrupeds.* One natural confequence of hunting would be, that, in procefs of time, they would think of the expedient of catching certain animals alive, taming them, and breeding out of them, wliich would greatly add to their ftock of provifions. This pro- duced the paftoral life, which is the only means of the fubfiftence of whole nations at this day. But it may be obferved, that, unlefs in countries where flocks and herds can live through the winter * With refreft to hunting it may be obferved, that as it be- comes lefs and iefs neceflary in the progrefs from cold to hot countries, the appetite for it keeps pace with that progrefs. It rs vigorous in very cold countries, where men depend on hunting . for food. It is lefs vigorous in temperate countrift, where they are partly fed with natural fruits 5 and there is icarce any vef- tige of it in hot countries, where vegetabks are the food of men, and where meat is an article of luxury, B 6 vpon upon the natural produce of the earth, it is impofti- ble that men can be fupported in that way, with- out the affiftance of other arts, and particularly agriculture. And this is a good reafon why the Indians of North America, not having the art of agriculture, have never attempted the paftoral life, or to tame any animals, except dogs that live upon flefh. In Lapland the fhepherd-ftate muft always pre- vail, for it is quite unfit for corn. It produces no vegetable but mofs, which is* the food of no ani- mal but the rein-deer. This circumftancc folely is what renders Lapland habitable by men. With- out rein-deer, the fea-coafts within the reach of fifli would admit fome inhabitants ; but the inland parts, would be a defert. As the fwiftnefs of that animal makes it not an eafy prey, the taming of it for food muft have been early attempted ; and its na- tural docility made the attempt fucceed. It yields to no other animal in ufefulnefs. It is equal to a horfe for draught. Its flefh is excellent food ; and the female gives milk more nourifhing than that of a cow. Its fur is fine ; and the leather made of its fkin is both foft and durable. Though a great part of Tarfary lies in the temperate zone, it produces very little corn. The Tartars, indeed, have had flocks and herds, for many ages ; and yet, in a great meafure, they not only continue hunters, but retain the ferocity of that ( '3 ) that ftate. They arc not fond of being IhephercTs, and have no knowledge of husbandry. This, ia appearance, is fingular ; but nothing happens with- out a caufe. Tartary is one continued moun- tain from weft to eaft, rifmg high above the coun- tries to the fouth, and declining gradually to the northern ocean, A few fpots accepted, a tree above the fize of a fhrnb cannot live in it. Thus ihe Tartars, like the Laplanders, are chained to the fhepherd-ftate, and never advance to be huf- bandmen. If they ever become fo populous, as to require more food than the paftoral life can fup- ply, migration will be their only refource. Neither the hunter nor fhepherd-ftate, perhaps, ever exifted in the torrid zone. The inhabitants, it is probable, as at prefent, always fubfifted on vegetable food. In Manila, one of the Philip- pine iflands, the trees bud, bloflcxn, and bear fruit, all the year. The natives, driven by Spanifh invaders from the fea-coait to the inland parts, have, no particular place of abode, but live under the flicker of trees, which afford them food as well as habitation ; and when the fruit isconfumed in one fpot, they remove to another. The orange, lemon, and other European trees, bear fruit twice a year j and a fprig planted bears fruit within the year. This picture of Manila anfwers to numberlefs places in the torrid zone. The Marian or Lad- rone iflands are extremely populous, and yet the inhabitants ( '4 ; inhabitants live entirely on fifh, fruits and roofs. The inhabi tants of the new Philippine iflands live on cocoa-nuts, fallads, roots, and fifh. The inlandne- groesmake but one meal a-day, which is in the even- ing. Their diet is plain, confiding moftly of rice, fruits, and roots. The ifland of Otaheite is healthy, the people tall and well made ; and, as vegetables and fifh are their chief nourifhment, they live to a good old age, almoft without any difeafe. There is no fuch thing known among them as rotten teeth. The very fmell of wine or fpirits is dif- agreeable; and they never ufe tobacco or fpiceries. In many places Indian corn is the chief nourifh- ment, which every man plants for himfelf. The inhabitants of Bildulgerid and the defert of Zaara have but two meals a-day, one in the morning, and one in the evening. Being tempe- rate, and ftrangers to difeafes arifing from luxury, they generally live to a great age. Sixty with them is the prime of life, as thirty is in Europe. An in- habitant of Madagafcar will travel two or three days without any food but a fugar-cane. There is indeed little appetite for animal food in hot cli- mates ; though beef and fowl have in fmall quan- tities been introduced to the tables of the great, as articles of luxury. CHAP, CHAP IV. ON POPULATION. THE chief caufe of population is plenty of food. The fouthern provinces of China produce two crops of rice in a year, fometimes three ; and an acre well cultivated gives food to ten perfons. Hence the extreme populoufnefs of China and other rice countries. In Negroland, two hundred children are often born to one man by his different wives. Food, therefore muft be in great plenty to enable a man to maintain fo many children. What wonderful flcili and labour would it require to make Europe fo populous? A country, where the inhabitants live chiefly by hunting, muft be very thin of inhabitants, as 10,000 acres are fcarce- fufficient for the fupporting a fingle family. If the multiplication of animals depended chiefly on fecun- dity, wolves would be more numerous than fheep. Yet we fee every where large flocks of fheep, and but few wolves. The reafon is obvious. The former have plenty of food, the latter very little. A wolf refembles a favage who lives by hunting, and confumes the game of five or fix thoufand acres. Agriculture and manufactures are favourable to population ; and perhaps no manufacture contri- (jutes { 16 ) butes more to it than that of filk. It employs as many hands as wool ; and it withdraws no land from tillage or pafture. Olivares hoped to repeople Spain by encoura- ging matrimony. Abderam, king of Cordova, was a better politician. By encouraging indufhy, and procuring plenty of food, he repeopled his kingdom in lefs that thirty years. There is not a greater enemy to population than luxury. Cookery depopulates like a peftilence ; becaufe, when it becomes an art, it brings within the compafs of one ftomach, what is fufficient for - ten in days of temperance ; and is fo far worfe than a peftilence, that the people never recruit again. People of rank, where luxury prevails, are not prolific. A barren woman among the labouring poor is a wonder. Could women of fortune be perfuaded to make a trial, they would find more felt-enjoyment in temperance and exercife, than in the moit refined luxury; nor would they have caufe to envy others the bleffing of a numerous and healthy offspring. Deipotifm is a greater enemy to the human fpecies than the Egyptian plague. It (bikes at the very root of population. By rendering men mifera- ble, it prevents their increafe. Free dates, on the contrary, are always populous. People, who are happy, wiili for children to make them alfo happy. The inhabitants of ancient Greece, and of ( '7 ) of the Leffer Afia, were free and numerous. The prefent inhabitants are reduced by flavery to a iinall number. C H A P. V. ON PROPERTY. MA.N is by nature a hoarding animal, having an appetite for ftoring up things ef. ufe ; and the fenfe of property isbeftowed on men, for fecuringto them what they thus {lore up. This fenfe difcovers itfelf at a very early period. We fee that children poflefs it ; for they are capable of diitinguifhing their own chair, and their own fpoon. In the earlieft ages, perhaps, every man feparately hunted for himfelf and his family. But as chance prevails in that occupation, it was found more convenient to carry it on in common. \Ve find, accordingly, the practice of hunting and fifhing in common, even among grofs favages. In fmall tribes, where patriotism is vigorous, or in a country thinly peopled in proportion to its fertility, the living in common is agreeable. But in a large ftate, where felfiftmefs prevails, or in any ftate, where great population requires ex- traordinary culture, the beft method is to permit every man to (hi ft for himfelf and his family. Men \virn to labour for themfelves ; and they hbour more ardently for themfelves, than for the public. The The fcnfe of property is not confined to the hu- man fpecies. The beavers perceive the timber they (lore up for food, to be their property ; and the bees feem to have the fame perception with refpec~l to their winter's provifion of honey. Sheep know when they are in a trefpafs, and run to their own pafture on the firft glimpfe of a man ; monkies do the fame, when detected in robbing an orchard. Sheep and horned cattle have a fenfe of property, with refpect to their refling-place in a fold or inclo- fure, which every one guards againft the encroach- ments of others. He muft be a fceptic indeed, who denies that perception to rooks. Thieves there are among them, as among men. But, if a rook purloin a flick from another's neft, a council is held, much chattering enfues, and the lex talionis is applied by demolifhing the neft of the criminal. To man are furnifhed rude materials only. To convert thefe into food and clothing requires in- duftry ; and if he had not a fenfe that the product of his labour belongs to himfelf, his induftry would be faint. In general, it is pleafant to obferve, that the fenfe of property is always given where it is ufeful, and never but where it is ufeful. An ingenious writer, defcribing the inhabitants of Guiana, who continue hunters and fifhers makes an eloquent harangue upon the happinefs they enjoy, in having few wants and defires, and little notion of private property, " Tho manners ef thefe Indians exhibit an amiable picture of pn- mceval innocence and happinefs. The eafe, with \vhich their few wants, are fupplied, renders di- vifion of land unneceffary ; nor does it afford any temptation to fraud or violence. That pronenefs to vice, which, among civilized natiens, is efteem- cd a propenfity of nature, has no exiftence in a country, where every man enjoys in perfection his native freedom and independence, without hurting or being hurt by others. A perfect equality of lank, baniming all distinctions but of age and per- fonal merit, promotes freedom in converfation, and firmnefs in action, and fuggefts no defires but what may be gratified with innocence. Envy and dif- content cannot fubfift where there is perfect equa- lity. We fcarce even hear of a difcontented lover, as there is no difference of rank and fortune, the common obftacles that prevent fruition. Thofe \vho have been unhappily accuftomed to the refine- ments of luxury, will fcarce be able to conceive, that an Indian, with no covering but what modefty requires, with no fhelter that deferves the name of a houfe, and with no food but of the coarfeft kind, painfully procured by hunting, can feel any happi- nefs. And yet to judge from external appearance, the happinefs of thefe people may be envied by the wealthy of the moft refined nations ; and juftly, becaufe their ignorance of extravagant defires, and cadlefs purfuits, that torment the great world, ex- cludes ( 20 ) eludes every wifh beyond the prefent. In a word", the inhabitants of Guiana are an example of what Socrates juftly obferves, that they who want the leaft, approach the neareft to the gods, who want nothing." It is admitted, that the innocence of favages, here painted in fine colours, is in every re- peel more amiable than the luxury of the opulent. But is there not a middle (late more fuitable than either extreme to the dignity of human nature. The appetite for property is not bellowed upon us in vain. It has given birth to many arts. It furnifhes opportunity for gratifying the mofr. dignified natural affections ; for, without private property, what place would there be for bene- volence or charity . ? Without private property there would be no induftry ; and without indurtry, men could never be civilized. The appetite for property, however, in its na- ture a great blefling, degenerates into a great curfe, when it tranfgreffes the bounds of moderation. Before money was introduced, the appetite feldom Was immoderate, becaufe plain neceflaries were its Only objects. But money is a fpecies of property, of fuch extenftve life as greatly to inflame the ap- petite. Money prompts men to be induftrious ; and the beautiful productions of induftry and art, roufing the imagination, excite a violent defire for grand houfes, fine gardens, and for every thing gay and fplendid. Habitual wants multiply. Luxury Luxury and fenfuality gain ground. The appetite for property becomes headftrong, and is often gra- tified at the expence of juftice and honour. CHAP. VI. ON COMMERCE. IN the firft ftage of fociety, the few wants of men are fupplied by barter, which proves miferably deficient, when men and their wants multiply. That fort of commerce cannot be carried on at a diftance; and, even among neighbours, it does not always happen, that the one can fpare what the other has occafion for. The numberlefs wants of men cannot readily be fupplied, without fome commodity in general eftimation, which will be gladly accepted in exchange for every other. - Gold and filver, when firft ufed in commerce, were probably bartered, like other commodities, merely by bulk. Rock-falt in Ethiopia, white as fnow, and hard as ftone, is to this day bartered, in that manner, with other goods. It is dug out of the mountain Lafta, formed into plates a foot long, and three inches broad and thick ; a portion is broken offequivalent in value to the thing wanted. But more accuracy was foon obferved in the com-> xnerce of gold and filver. Inftead of giving it loofe- ly by bulk, every portion was weighed in fcales ; which method of barter is pradlifed in China, in Ethiopia ( 22 ) Ethiopia, and in many other countries. Evem weight Vas at length difcovered to be an imperfect ftandard. Ethiopian fait may be proof againft adul- teration : but weight is no fecurity againft mixing gold and filver with bafe metals. To prevent that fraud, pieces of gold and filver are imprefled with a public mark, vouching both the purity and the quantity ; and fuch pieces are termed coin. Though we cannot eafily trace the fleps, by which commerce was introduced among the ancient nations, \ve may, from detached paflages in facred writ, afcertain the progrefs which had been made in it during the patriarchal times. We know, from the hiftory of civil fociety, that the commercial in- tereft between men muft be pretty confiderable, before the metals came to be confidered as the me- dium of trade ; and yet this was the cafe even in the days of Abraham. It appears, however, from the relations which eftablifh this fad, that the ufe of money had not been of ancient date. It had no mark to afcertain its weight or finenefs; and in a contract for a burying-place, in exchange for which Abraham gave filver, the metal is " weighed in prefence of all the people." But as commerce im- proved, and bargains of this fort became more com- mon, this practice was laid afide ; and the quantity of filver was afcertained by a particular mark, which faved the trouble of weighing it. But this does not appear to have taken place, till the time of Jacob, Jacob, the fccond from Abraham. The rejtlaj), of which we read in his time, was a piece of money framped with the figure of a lamb, and of a pre- cife and ftated value. It appears from the hiftory of Jofeph, that the commerce, between different nations, was by this time regularly carried on. The Ifhmaelites and Midianites, who bought him of his brethren, were travelling merchants, refembling the modern caravans, who carried fpices, perfumes, and other rich commodities, from their own country into Egypt. The fame obfervations may be made from the book of Job, who, according to the beft writers, was a native of Arabia Felix, and alfo contemporary with Jacob. He fpeaks of the roads of Thema and Saba, that is, of the caravans which fet out from thofe cities of Arabia. If we refle6t, that the commodities of this country were rather the luxuries than the conveniencies of life, we fhall have reafon to conclude, that the countries into which they were fent for fale, and particularly Egypt, were confiderably improved in arts and re- finement ; for people do not think of luxuries, until the ufeful arts have made high advancement among them. The value of gold and filver In commerce, like that of other commodities, was at firft, we may be- lieve, both arbitrary and fluctuating. With re- fpeft to value, however, there is a great difference between money and other commodities. Goods 6 that ( 24 ) that are expenfive in keeping, fuch as cattle, or that are impaired by time, fuch as corn, will al- ways be firft offered in exchange for what is want- ed ; and when fuch goods are offered to fale, the vender muft be contented with the current price. In making the bargain, the purchafer has the ad- vantage^ for he fuffers not by referving his money to a better market. And thus commodities are brought down by money, to the loweft value, that can afford any profit. At the fame time, gold and filver fooner find their value than other commodities. The value of the latter depends both on the quan- tity and on the demand. The value of the former depends on the quantity only, the demand being unbounded. And even, with refpedl to quantity, thefe precious metals are lefs variable than other Commodities. Gold and filver, being thus fooner fixed in their value than other commodities, become a ftandard for valuing every other commodity, and confequent- ly for comparative values. A bufhel of wheat, for example, being valued at five (hillings, and a yard of broad cloth at fifteen, their comparative values are as one to three. A flandard of values is effential to commerce ; and therefore, where gold and filver are unknown, other ftandards are eftablifhed in pradtice. The only ftandard among the favages of North America is the (kin of a beaver. Ten of thefe are given for a gun 4- ft gun, two for a found of gun-powder, one for four pounds of lead, one for fix knives, one for a hatchet, fix for a coat of woollen cloth, five for a petticoat, and one for .a pound of tobacco. Some nations in Africa employ fliells, termed couries, for a Standard. Induftry and commerce are much affeted by the quantity of circulating coin. While the quantity of money in circulation, and the quantity of goods in the market continue the fame, the price will rife and fall with the demand. For when more goods are demanded than the market affords, thofe who offer the higheft price will be preferred. But, when the goods brought to market exceed the de- mand, the venders have no refource but to entice purchafers by a low price. The price of filh, fleih, butter,, and cheefe, is much higher than formerly; for thefe being now the daily food even of the low- eft people, the demand for them is greatly in- creafed. When a fluctuation only takes .place in the quan- tity of goods, the price falls as the quantity in- creafes, and rifes as the quantity decreafes. The farmer, whofe quantity of corn .is doubled by a favourable feafon, muft fell at half the ufual price ; bccaufe the purchafer, who fees a fuperfluity, will pay no more for it. The contrary happens, when the crop is fcanty. Thofc, who Avant corn, mud iforve, or give the market price, however high. C The The manufactures of wool, flax, and metals, arc much cheaper than formerly ; for though the de- mand has increafed, yet by flcill and induftry the quantities produced have increafed in a greater proportion. More vegetables are confumed than formerly ; and yet, by fkilful culture, the quantity is fo much greater in proportion, as to have low- ered the price to lefs than one half of what it was about eighty years ago. In Europe, and in every country where there is \vork for all the people, an addition to the circu- lating coin, raifes the price of labour and of manu- factures. But fuch addition has no fenfible effect in a country where there is a fuperfluity of hands, who are always difpofed to work, when they find employment. Manufactures can never flourifh in a country, abounding with mines of gold and filver, if there be not a fuperfluity of hands. This in effect is the cafe of Spain. A conftant influx of thefe metals, raifing the price of labour and manufactures, has deprived the Spaniards of foreign markets, and alfo of their own. They are reduced to purchafe from ilrangers even the neceffaries of life. What a difmal condition will they be reduced to, when their mines are exhaufted ! The gold coaft in Guinea has its name from the plenty of gold that is found there. As it is warned from the hills with the foil, in fmall quantities, every one is on the watch watch for it ; and the people, like gamefters defpife every other occupation. Indolence and poverty, therefore, are the confequence. The kingdom of Fida, which is contiguous, produces no gold, but is populous. Induftry prevails, manufactures flou- rifh, and the people are all in eafy circumftances. With regard to Spain, the rough materials of filk, wool, and iron, are produced there in greater perfection, than any where elfe ; and yet flourifhing manufactures of thefe, would be fo far from being beneficial to it in its prefent ftate, that they would ruin it. Let us only fuppofe, that Spain itfelf could furnifh all the commodities that are demanded in its American territories, what would be the con- fequence ? The gold and filver produced by that trade would circulate in Spain. Money would become a drug. Labour and manufactures would rife to a high price ; and every neceflary of life, not excepting manufactures of filk, wool, and iron, would be fmuggled into Spain, the high price there being fufficient to overbalance every rifk. Spain would be left without induftry, and without people. Spain was actually in the flourifliing ftate here fuppofed, when America was difcovered. The American gold and filver mines inflamed the dif- eafe, and confequently was the greateft misfortune that ever befel that once potent kingdom. The exportation of our filver coin to the Eaft Indies, fo loudly exclaimed againfl by mallow C 2 politicians, politicians, is to us, on the contrary, a moft fub itantia! bleffing. -It keeps up the value of filver, and confequently leflens the value of labour and of goods, which enable us to maintain our place in foreign markets. Were there no drain for our filver, its quantity, in our continent, would fink in value fo much, as to render the American mines unprofitable. Notwithftanding the great flow of money to the Eaft Indies, many mines in the Weft Indies are given up, becaufe they afford not the ex- pence of working ; and were the value of filver in Europe brought much lower, all the filver mines in the Weft Indies would be abandoned. Thus our Eaft- India commerce, which is thought ruinous by many, becaufe it is a drain to much of our filver, is for that very reafon profitable. The Spaniards profit by importing it into Europe ; and other nations profit, by receiving it for their manufac- tures. H A P. CHAP. VII. ON MANNERS. MANNERS fignify a mode of behaviour pecu- liar to a certain perfon, or to a certain na- tion. An action, confidered as right or wrong, belongs to morals ; but when it is confidered as belonging to a perfon or to a people, it belongs to manners. Some perfons have a peculiar air, a peculiar manner of fpeaking or of adling, which, in oppofition to the manners of the generality, are termed their manners* Thofe pecularities in a whole nation, which diflinguifh it from other nations, or from itfelf at d life-rent periods, are termed tke manners of that nation. The firft thing that attracts attention is external appearance. The human countenance and geftures have a greater variety of exprellions, than thofe of any other animal . Some perfons differ fo widely from the generality, in thefe expreffions, as to be known by their manner of walking, or even by fo flight an aftion as that of putting on or taking off a hat. Some men are known even by the found of their feet in walking. Whole nations are diftinguifhed by fuch peculiarities. And yet there is lefs variety in looks and geftures, than the different tones of Hiiml would produce, were men left to the impulfe C 3 *f ( 30 ) of pure nature. External behaviour is nearly uni- form among thofe who ftudy to be agreeable j wit- nefs people of fafhion in France. Under external appearance drefs is alfo compre- hended. Providence hath clqthed all animals that are unable to clothe themfelves. Man can clothe himfelf ; and he is endowed befides with an appe- tite for food. That appetite is proportioned, in degree, to its ufe. In cold climates it is vigorous ; in hot climates, faint. Savages muft go naked till they learn to cover themfelves j and they foon learn where covering is neceffary. The Patagonians, however, who go naked in an exceeding cold cli- mate, muft be very ftupid. "And the Pi&s, a Scotch tribe, who, it is faid, continued naked down to the time of Severus, did not probably much furpafs the Patagonians in the talent of in- vention. Savages probably at firft thought of clothing as a protection only againft the weather ; but they foon difcovered a beauty in drefs. Men led the way, and woman followed. Such favagee, as go naked, paint their bodies, excited by the fame fondnefs for ornament that our women fhew in their party- coloured garments. Among the Jews, the men wore ear-rings as well as the women. When Media was governed by its own kings, the men were fumptuous in drefs. They wore loofe robes, floating in the air. They had long hair covered ( 3' ) with a rich bonnet, bracelets, chains of gold, and precious ftones. They painted their faces, and mixed artificial hair with that of nature. As authors are filent about the women, they pro- bably made no figure in that kingdom, being ihut up, as at prefent, in feraglios. In the days of Socrates, married women in Greece were entirely devoted to houfehold drudgery. Xeno- phon introduces an Athenian of great riches and reputation, difcourfing to Socrates of his family affairs, " that he told his wife, that his principal objecT: in marrying her was to have a perfon, in whofe difcretion he could confide, who would take proper care of his fervants, and lay out his money with ceconomy ; that one day he obferved her face painted, and that me had high heeled fhoes ; that he chid her feverely for fuch follies, and alked her how (hecouldimagine to pafs fuch filly tricks on a hufband ? If (he wanted to have a better complexion, why not weave at her loom (landing upright, why not employ herfelf in baking and other family ex- crcifes, which would give her fuch a bloom as no paint could imitate ?" But when the Athenian manners became to be more poliflied, greater indulgence was given to the ladies in drefs and ornament. They confumed the whole morning at the toilette, employing paint, and every drug for cleaning and whitening the flcin. They laid red even upon their lips, and took great C 4. care ( 3* ) care of their teeth. Their hair, made up in buckles with a hot iron, was perfumed and Tpread upon the fhoulders. Their drefs was elegant and artfully Contrived to fet off a fine fhape. Jofephus informs us, that the jfewifh ladies pow- dered their hair with goM duff ; a fafhion that was carried from Afia to Rome. The firft writer, who mentions the hair-powder now in ufe, is L'Etoile in his journal for the year 1593. ^ e re " lates that nuns walked the ftreets of Paris curled and powdered. That fafhion fpread by degrees through Europe. CHAP VIII. ON THE TASTE FOR CLEANLINESS. CLEANNESS is remarkable in feVeral nations, which have made little progrefs in the arts of life. It ap'pears, therefore, to be inherent in the nature of man, and not entirely a refinement of polifhed nations. The favages of the Caribbee iflands, once a numerous tribe, were remarked by writers as neat and cleanly. In the ifland Qtaheite both fexes are cleanly. They bathe fre- quently, and wafh both before and after their meals. They warn morning and evening, and perfume themfelves with aromatic herbs. In the city of Benin, women are employed to keep the flreets clean ; 6 f 33 ) clean ; and in that refpedl they are not outdone by the Dutch. In Corea, people mourn three years for the death of their parents ; during which time they never warn. Dirtinefs muft appear difmal to that people, as well as to us. There are, indeed, feveral inftances to the con- trary. A Traveller, who vifited the Tartars -in 1246, fays, " That they never wafli face nor hands ; that they never clean a difh, a pot, nor a garment ; and that, like fwine, they make food of every thing." The prefent inhabitants of Kamtfchatka anfwer to that defcription in every article. The naftinefs of North- American favages, in their food, in their cabins, and in their garments, pafTes all conception. The Efquimaux, and many other tribes are equally nafty. This dirtinefs, however, proceeds from indolence counteracting nature ; for cleannefs is agreeable to all, and nafti- nefs difagreeable. No perfon prefers dirt ; and even thofe, who are the mod accuftomed to it, are, pleafed with a cleanly appearance in others. Nor is a tafte for cleannefs beftowed on man in vain: Its final caufe is confpicuous ; for it is extremely wholefome, and naftinefs no lefsunwholefome. Captain Cook, during a voyage round the world, loft but a fmgle man by difeafe, who at the fame time was fickly when he entered the fliip. One main article that preferved the health of the crew was cleannefs. The Captain regularly, one morn- C 5 ing f 34- ) ing every week, reviewed his fhip's company, to fee that every one of them had clean linen; and he beftowed the fame care, with refpecl to their clothes and bedding. In Conftantinople peftilential fevers, and other putrid difeafes, very much prevail ; not from un- healthinefs in the climate, but from the narrownefs and naftinefs of the ilreets. CHAP. IX. REMARKS ON SEVERAL NATIONS, RESPECT- ING CLEANLINESS. THE Japanefe are fo finically clean, as to find fault even with the Dutch for dirtinefs. Their inns are not an exception ; nor their little houfes, in which water is always at hand for wafli- ing after the operation. Many centuries ago, it is recorded of the Eng- lifli, that fliey had an averfion to the Danes on ac- count of their cleannefs. They combed their hair, and put on a clean ftiirt once a-week. It was re- puted an extraordinary effort in Thomas a Becket, that he had his parlour ftrewed every day with clean ftraw. The celebrated Erafmus, who vifited England in the reign of Henry VIII. complains of the naftinefs and flovenly habits of its people ; afcribing to that caufe the frequent plagues which infeffed ( 35 ) fnfefted them. " Their floors," fays he, " are commonly of clay fire wed with rufhcs, under which lies unmolefted a collection of beer, greafe, fragments, bones, fpittle, excrements of dogs and cats, and of every thing that is naufeous." And the ftrewing a floor with ftraw or rufhes was com- mon in Queen Elifabeth's time, not excepting even her prefence-chamber. In thofe days, however, induftry was as great a ftranger to England as cleannefs. We may there- fore infer, that the Englifli are indebted, for their cleanlinefs, to the great- progrefs of induftry among them in later times. Does not this place induftry in an amiable light ? The Spaniards, who are very indolent, are to this day as dirty, as the Engliih were three cen- turies ago. Madrid, their capital, is naufeoudy nafty. Heaps of unmolefted dirt, in every ftreet, raife in that warm climate a peftiferous fteam, which threatens to knock down every ftranger. A purgation was lately fet on foot by royal au- thority. But people habituated to dirt are not eafily reclaimed. To promote induftry is the only ef- fectual remedy. Till the year 1760 there was not a neceflary in Madrid, though it be plentifully fupplied with water. The ordure, during night, was thrown fsoni the windows into the ftreet, where it was C 6 gathered gathered into heaps. By a royal proclamation ne- ceflaries were ordered to be built. The inhabi- tants, though long accuftomed to an arbitrary go- vernment, refentedthis proclamation as an infringe- ment of the common rights of mankind, and ilrug- gled vigoroufly againft it. The phyficians wer<3 the mod violent oppofers. They remonftrated, that if the filth was not thrown into the ftreets, a fatal ficknefs would enfue ; becaufe the putrefcent particles of air, which the filth attracted, would be imbibed by the human body. Befides induftry, other caufes tend to promote cleanlinefs. The moifture of the Dutch climate has a confiderable influence, in this repecl ; and, joined with induftry, produces a furprifing neat- nefs and cleannefs among people of bufinefs. Men of figure and faihion, who generally refort to the Hague, the feat of government, are not fo clean- ly. On the other hand, the French are lefs clean- ly than the Englifh, though not lefs induftrious. But the lower clafles of people, being in England more at their eafe than in France, have a greater taftc for living well, and in particular for keeping thcmfelves clean, CHAP. ( 37 ) CHAP. X. ON LANGUAGE. LANGUAGE may be accounted in part ra- turat, in part artificial. In one view it is the work of providence, in another it is the work of man. And this difpenfation of things is exactly conformable to the whole analogy of the divine government. With refpecl to the organs of fpeech, the fame external apparatus is common to us and to other animals. In both the work- manfhip is the fame. In both are difplayed thtf fame mechanical laws. And in order to confer on them the fimilar endowments of fpeech, nothing more feems neceflary, than the enlargement of their ideas, without any alteration of anatomical texture. Man then is not the only creature, perhaps, whofe organs are capable of forming fpeech. The voice of fome animals is louder, and the voice of other animals is more melodious than his. Nor is the human ear alone fufceptible of fuch impref- fions. Animals are often confcious of the im* port, and even recognize the harmony of found. In the great fcale of life, the intelligence of fome beings foars, perhaps as high above man, as the objeas of hit undemanding foar above animal life. Let us then imagined man, in fome other planet, to refute among beings of this exalted charader. Inftrucled ( 3 ) Inftm&ed in their language, he might admire the magnificence of founds louder or more melodious than he had heard before. But by reafon of a dif- fimilarity anddifproportion of ideas, thefe founds could never conduct him to fenfe ; and the fecrets of fuch beings would be as fafe in his ears, as ours are in the ears of any of our domeftic animals, Between the lower claffes and man, however, there fubfifts one important diftin&ion. They are formed ftationary ; he progreflive. Had the exact meafure of his ideas, as of theirs, been at firft af- fjgned, his language muft have flood for ever as fixed and immutable as theirs. But time and na- tural intercourfe prefenting new ideas, and the fcenes of life perpetually varying, the expreflion of language muft vary in the fame proportion ; and in order to trace out its original, we muft go back to the ruder ages, and beginning with the early dawn, follow the gradual illuminations of the human mind. Man, we may obferve, is at firft pofiefled of few- ideas, and of ftill fewer defires. Abforbed in the prefent object of fenfe, he feldom indulges any train of reflexion on the part ; and cares not, by anxious reafoning to anticipate futurity. AH his competitions with his fellows are rather exertions of body than trials of mind. He values himfelf on the command of the former, and isdcx>- 4. trous ( 39 ) trous in the performance of its various fun&ions. The feelings of the heart break forth in vifible form. Senfations glow in the countenance, and pafiions fiafti in the eye. The emotions of pleafure and pain, hope and fear, commiferation, forrow, de- fpair, indignation, contempt, joy, exultation, triumph, alfume their tones ; and independently of art, by an 'inexplicable mechanifm of nature, declare the purpofes of man to man. Such accents and exclamations compofe the firft elements of a rifing language. And in thefe dif- tant times, interjection is a part of fpeech, which retains its primaeval character. It is fcarce articu- lated in any tongue, and is exempted from ar- bitrary rule. After the introduction of artificial figns, the tone and cadence of the natural were long retained ; but thefe fell afterwards into difufe ; and it be- came then the province of art to recal the accents of nature. The perfection of eloquence is allowed to con- fift in fuperadding to fentiment and di&ion, all the emphafis of voice and gefture : And aclion is extolled by the moft approved judges of antiquity as the capital excellence. The decifive judgement of Demoithenes is well known ; and Cicero, who records that judgment, expatiates himfelf, in al- moft every page, on that comprehenfive language, which ( 40 ) which add refles itfelftoall nations, and to every understanding. In a certain period of fociety, there reigns a natural elocution, which the greatefl matters after- wards are proud to imitate, and which art can fel- dom fupply. At firft, the talent of the orator, as of the poet, is an inborn talent. Nor has Demofthenes, or Tully, or Rofcius, or Garrick, in their moft animated and admired performances, reached, perhaps, that vivacity and force which accompany the rude accents of mankind. Speech is much influenced by temper and dif- pofition. Let a pa (lion be bold, rough, cheerful, tender, or humble, ftill it holds, that the natural founds prompted by it, are in the fame tone. And hence the reafon why thefe founds are the fame in all languages. Some flight refemblance of the fame kind is difcoverable in many artifical founds. The lan- guage of a favage is harfh j of polite people, frnooth ; and of women, foft and mufical. The tongues of favage nations abound in gutturals, or in nafals. Yet one would imagine that fuch words, being pronounced with difficulty, fhoulJ be avoided by favages, as they are by children. But temper prevails, and fuggefts to favages harfh founds comformable to their roughnefs. The Efquimaux have a language compofed of the barfheft gutturals ; and the languages of the nor- thern ( 41 ) them European nations are not remarkably fmoother. The Scotch peafants are a frank and plain people ; and their dialect is in the tone of their character. Government hath a confiderable influence in forming the tone of a language. Language in a democracy is commonly rough and coarfe;- in an ariftocracy, manly and plain ; in a monarchy, courteous and infmuating ; in defpotifm, im- perious with refpe<5t to inferiors, and humble with refpeft to fuperiors. The tone of the French language is well fuited to its nature and government. Every man is po- litely fubmiffive to thofe above him ; and this tone forms the character of the language in general, fa as even to regulate, the tone of the few, who have occafion to fpeak with authority. The freedom of the Englifli government forms the manners of the people. The Englifh language is accordingly mo*e. manly and nervous than the French, and abounds more with rough founds. The Lacede- monians of old, a proud and auftere people, af- fe&ed to talk with brevity, in the tone of command more than of advice ; and hence the Laconic ityle* dry but mafculine. The Attic flyle is more dif- ficult to be accounted for. It is fweet and copious, and had a remarkable delicacy above the ftyle of any other nation. And yet the democracy of Athens produced rough manners j witnefs the comedies ( 42 ) comedies of Ariftophanes, and the orations of EfchU nes and Demofthenes. We are rot fo intimately acquainted with the Athenians, as to account for the difference be- tween their language and their manners. We are equally at a lofs about the Ruffian tongue, which, notwithstanding the barbarity of the people, is fmooth and fonorous ; and, though the Malayans are the fierceft people in theuniverfe, their language is the fofteft of all that are fpoken in Afia. All that can be faid is ; that the operation of a general caufe may de difturbed by particular circumftances. CHAP XI. OF THE CRITERION OF A POLISHED TONGUE. THE connexion of language and manners is an obvious connexion. They run parallel with each other, through different periods of their progrefs. Yet language from various caufes may arrive at a pitch of refinement, unauthorifed by the tone of public manners. And, on the other hand, public manners may acquire a fuperior caft of refinement, which the language alone would not authorife us to expect. Words fluctuate with the modes of life. They are varied, or exterminated as harm an4 diffonant, ( 43 ) upon the fame principle, that any mode or fafhion is varied or exterminated as rude and vulgar. And the prevalence of this principle ultimately tends to the eftablifhment of a general diftinclion. Hence the fmoothnefs of the Ionic dialect, rather than the Toughnefs of the Doric, recommends itfelf to a polifhed age. Peter the Great considered the German as a fmooth and harmonious tongue, and ordered it as fuch to be ufed at Court. In proportion as the Court of Peterfburgh became more polifhed, the German was difcarded, and the French fubftituted in its room. In general, the fuperior refinement of the French eftablifhed its currency, in all the politer circles of the North of Europe. And upon the fame prin- ciple the Greek, which had no charms for the Romans, in the ruder ages of the republic, ravifh- ed the ears of imperial Rome. After the Emperor Charles V. had pleafantly character i fed the feveral languages of Europe, the general effect of found alone exhaufted the criti- cifm*. He infmuated no other comparifon, nor * " Francefe ad un amico Tudefco al fuo cavallo Italiano alia fua fignora Spagnuolo a Dio Inglefe a gli ucelli." This apothegm, like an imperial edift, has been rung, for above two centuries, in the ears of Europe. Though rather plefant than ferious, it intimates, from high authority, the general eftl&s of found. enquired f 44 } enquired Into their artificial fabric. The criterion, however, ' of a polifhed tongue feems principally to refide there. It may in general be maintained, that the great excellence of a rude tongue confifts, if not in ptr- fpictiity, at leaft in vivacity and Jtrength. In thefe modes of excellence our moft remote progenitors far furpafled us. And the advantages of a culti- vated tongue, when oppofed to thefe, will confift chiefly in eopioufnefs of expreflion, in the grace of alhifion, and in the combination of more melo- dious found. CHAP. XII. ON MUSIC* A Different ftyle and compofition in Muitc are found beft accommodated to the genius of different nations. The French mufic, accordingly, as well as the Italian is univerfally exploded among the Turks ; and whether from the texture of their organs, or from climate, or from certain habitudes of life, pofleiles no powers to ravifh their ears with har- mony-, or to intereft the paflions. In general European mufic is difrelimed, or ex- ploded in the Ekft. " Your mufic/' faid a native of of Egypt to a celebrated traveller, " is a wild and offenfive noife, which a ferious man can hardly endure." Nor is this an anomalous ex- ample. When Ifmenias, the greateft mafter in mufic at the court of Macedon, was commanded to perform before the king of Scythia ; the king, hav- ing heard the performance, far from acquiefcing in the public admiration, fvvore, " that to him the eighing of a horfe was more agreeable." So little acceptable to Scythian ears, and to a barbarous monarch, were the moft admired compofitions of the Greeks. Even among nations of equal refinement, there is to each appropriated a ftyle in mufic, refulting from local circumftances, or from certain peculiari- ties of character; and national mufic, becaufe more intelligible, will ever be more acceptable than foreign, to the inhabitants of every country. " The admiration, fays a late popular writer,* pretended to be given to foreign mufic in Britain is, in general, defpicable affectation. In Italy, we fee the natives tranfporled at the opera with all that variety of delight and paffion, which the compofer intended to produce. The fame opera in England is feen, with the moft remarkable liftleflhefs and inattention. It can raife no pafiion in the audience, becaufe they do not underftand the language in which it is written," * Dr, Gregory, The (- 46 ) The fame writer, after enumerating feveral caufes, which conferred pre-eminence on the mufic of the ancients, proceeds to obferve, " That if we were to recover the mufic, which once had fo much power in the early periods of the Greek ftates, it might have no fuch charms for modern ears, as fome great admirers of antiquity imagine," The extent of thefe charms, it may be added, even for the ears of Greeks, is magnified beyond the truth. It can hardly be imagined, that their mufical education was eflential to public morals, or to frame their governments ; though it might con- tribute, in fome degree, to fway the genius of the youth, to counterbalance the tendency of their gym- naftic exercifes, and to heighten the fenfibilities of that refined and ingenious people. CHAP. ( 47 ) CHAP. XIII. ON THE SIMPLICITY OF ANCIENT MANNERS. TN early times, people lived in a very fimple man- ner, ignorant of fuch habitual wants as are com- monly termed luxury. Rebecca, Rachael, and the daughters of Jethro, tended their father's flocks. They were really fhepherdefles. Young women of famion drew water from the well with their own hands. The joiner, who made the bridal-bed of Ulyfles, was Ulyfles himfelf. The Prin- cefs of Naufica warned the family clothes. Queens were employed in fpinning. It is from this fafliion that young women, in England, are denominated fyinjlers. Priam's car is yoked by his own fons, when he goes to redeem from Achilles the body of his fon Hector. Telemachus yokes his own car. Homer's heroes kill and drefs their own victuals. The ftory of Ruth is a pleafing inftance of fim- plicity in ancient times ; and her laying herfelf down to fleep at the feet of Boaz, is a no lefs pleaf- ing inftance of innocence in thofe times, No pea- pie lived more innocently than the ancient Germans, though men and women lived together without re- ferve. They flept promifcuoufly around the walls of their houfes ; and yet we never read of adultery among them. The Scotch Highlanders to this day live in the feme manner. Not ( 48 ) Not to mention gold, diver was fcarce in England during the reign of the third Edward. Rents were paid in -kind ; and what money they had was locked up in the coffers of the great barons. Pieces of plate were bequeathed, even by kings of England, fo trifling in our eftimation, that a gentleman of moderate fortune would be a,fhamed to mention fuch in his will. CHAP. XIV. ON CRUELTY AND HUMANITY. r A ff Very acute philofopher* derives, from the JL\. difference of food, the mental qualities of cruelty and humanity. " Certain it is," fays he, ct that the people, who fubfift moftly on animal food, are cruel and fierce above all others. The barbarity of the Englifh is well known. The Guarcs, who live on vegetables, are the fweeteft- tempered of all men." Before venturing on a general rule, one ought to be well prepared, by anejctenfive induction of .par- ticulars. What will Mr. Roufleau fay as to the Macaflars, who never tafte animal food, and yet are acknowledged to be the fierceft of mortals ? And what will he fay as to the Negroes of New Guinea, remarkably ( 4-9 ) remarkably brutal and cruel ? A favourite dog, companion to his mafter, lives commonly on the re- fufe of his table, and yet is remarkably gentle. The Englifh are noted for love of liberty. They cannot bear oppreffion ; and they know no bounds to refentment againft oppreflbrs. He may call this cruelty, if he be fo difpofed ; but others more can- did will efteem it a laudable property. But to charge a nation, in general, with cruelty and ferocity, can admit of no excufe but flubborn truth. Ignorance cannot be admitted ; and yet he (hews grofs igno- rance, as no people are more noted for humanity. In no other nation do fympathetic affections more prevail. None are more ready, in cafes of diftrefs, to ftretch out a relieving hand. Did not the Eng- lifh, in abolifhing the horrid barbarity of torture, give an illuftrious example of humanity to all other nations ? Nay his inflance, that butchers are pro- hibited from being put upon a jury, the only par- ticular inftance he gives of their cruelty, is, on the contrary, a proof of their humanity. For why are butchers excluded from being judges in criminal caufes ? For no other reafon, than that being inured to the blood of animals, they may have too little re- gard to the lives of their fellow-fubjecls. Flefh is compofed of particles of different kinds. In the ftomach, as in a ftill, it is refolved into its component particles. Will Mr. RoufTeau venture to fay, which of thefe component particles it is, D that ( 50 ) generates a cruel difpofition ? Man, from the form of his teeth, and from other circumftances, is evi- dently fitted by his Maker, for animal as well as vegetable food ; and it would be an imputation on providence, that either of them Ihould have any bad effect on his mind, more than on his body. CHAP XV. OF INDELICATE MANNERS. TH E manners of the Greeks were extremeljr coarfe ; fuch as may be expected from a people living among their flaves,_ without any fociety with virtuous women. And is it not here natural to remark that the rough and harfh manners of our Weft-Indian planters, proceed from the unreftrain- ed licence of venting ill humour upon their negro flaves ? The behaviour of Demoflhenes and /Efchines to each other, in their public harangues, is exceedingly coarfe. But Athens was a democracy ; and a de- mocracy, above all other governments, is rough and licentious. In the Athenian comedy neither Gods nor men are fpared. What ftronger inftance would one require of in- delicacy in the manners of the Greeks, than that they held all the world, except themfelves, to be barbarians? barbarians ? In that particuliar, however, they are not altogether fingular. The people of Congo think all the world to be the work of angels, except their own dear country, which they hold to be the handy- work of the Supreme Architect. The Green- landers have a high conceit of themfelves, and in private make a mock of the Europeans. Defpifing arts and fciences, they value themfelves on their fldll in catching feals, conceiving it to be the only ufeful art. They confider themfelves as the only civilized and well-bred people ; and when they fee a modeft (hanger, they fay, " he begins to be a man ;" that is to be like one of themfelves. Sometimes, however, fparks of light are perceiv- ed breaking through the deepeft gloom. When the Athenians were at war with Philip King of Macedon, they intercepted fome letters addreffed by him to his minifters. Thefe they opened for in- telligence. But one to his Queen Olympias they left with the meflenger untouched. This was done, not by a fingle perfon, but by the authority of the whole people. So coarfe and indelicate were Roman manners, that whipping was a punifhment inflicted on the officers of the army, not even excepting Centurions. Doth it not (how extreme grollhefs of manners, to ex- prefs in plain words what modefty bids us conceal ? And yet this is common in Greek and Roman writers ? D 2 The ( 5* ) The manners of Europe, before the revival of letters, were no lefs coarfe than cruel. In the days of Charlemagne, judges were forbidden to hold courts but in the morning, with an empty ftomach. It would appear, that men in thofe days were not afhamed to be feen drunk, even in a court of juftice. k , , How lamentable would our condition be, were we as much perfecuted as our forefathers with omens, dreams, prophefies, aftrologers, witches, and apparitions ? Our forefathers were robuft both in mind and body, and could bear, without much pain, what would totally overwhelm us. Swearing, as an expletive of fpeech, is a violent fymptom of rough and coarfe manners. Even \vomen in Plautus ufe it fluently. It prevailed in Spain and in France, till it was banifhed by po- lite manners. Our Queen Elifabeth was a bold fwearer ; and the Englifh populace, who are rough beyond their neighbours, are noted by Grangers for that vice. In vain have ac~ls of parliament been made againft fwearing. It is eafy to evade the penalty, by coining new oaths. Polifhed manners are the only effectual cure for that ma- Jady. When a people begin to emerge out of bar- barity, loud mirth and rough jokes come in place of rancour and refentment. About a century ago, it was ufual for the fervants and retainers of the Court ( 53 ) Court of Sefllon in Scotland, to break out' into riotous mirth and uproar the laft day of every term, throwing bags, duft, fand or ftones, all around. We have undoubted evidence of that diforderly practice from an act of the Court, pro- hibiting it under a fevere penalty, as difhonourable to the Court, and unbecoming the civility requifite in fuch a place. CHAP XVI. INSTANCES OF LOW ANCIENT MANNERS. THERE is a great difference between low, and fimple manners. The latter are agree- able, not the former. Among the ancient Egyp- tians, to cram a man was an act of high refpect. The Greeks, in their feafts, diftinguifh'ed their heroes by a double portion. Ulyfles cut a fat piece, out of the chine of a wild boar, for Demo- docus the bard. The fame refpedtful politenefs is practifed, at prefent, among the American fa- vages. So much are men alike, in fimilar cir- cumftances. Telemachus complains grievoufly of Penelope's fuitors, that they were gluttons, and confumed his beef and mutton. In Rome, every gueft brought his own napkin to a feaft ; which a flave carried home, filled with what was left of the entertainment. D 3 The r 54- ) The manners of the Greeks did not correfpond to the delicacy of their tafte in the fine arts : Nor can it be expected, when they were ftrangers to that polite fociety with women, which refines be- haviour, and elevates manners. To live by plunder was held honourable, by fome of the Grecian ftates ; for it was their opini- on, that the rules of juftice are not intended for reftraining the powerful. All ftrangers were aC- counted enemies, as among the Romans, and inns were unknown, becaufe people lived at home, hav- ing very little intercourfe even with thofe of their own nation. Inns were unknown in Germany, and to this day are unknown in the remote pans of the highlands of Scotland: but the reafon is quite oppofite. For hofpitality prevailed greatly among the ancient Germans, and continues to prevail fo much among our highlanders, that a gentleman takes it for an affront, if a ftranger pafshis door. At a congrefs between Francis I. of France, and Henry VII I. of England, among other fpelacles for public entertainment, the two Kings had a wreftl ing- match. Had they forgot that they were fovereign prince? ? CHAP. ( 55 } CHAP. XVII. OF THE INFLUENCE OF WAR ON THE HUMAN CHARACTER. ONE would imagine war to be a foil too rough for the growth of civilization ; and yet it is not always an unkindly foil. War between two two fmall trib.es is fierce and cruel ; but a large ftate mitigates refentment, by directing it not againft individuals, but againft the ftate. Cruelty fubfides; and magnanimity, in its (lead, trans- forms foldiers from brutes to heroes. Some time ago, it was ufual in France to demand battle ; and it was held difhonourable to decline it, however un- equal the match. Before the battle of Pavia, Francis I. wrote to the Marquis Pefcara, the Im- perial General, " You will find me before Pavia, and you ought to be here in fix days : I give you twenty. Let not the fuperrority ot my forces ferve for an excufe ; I will fight you with equal num- bers." Here was heroifm without prudence ; but, in all reformations, it is natural to go from one extreme to another. While the King of England held any poffefiions in France, war was perpetual between the two na- tions, which was cornrnonly carried on with more magnanimity, than is ufual between inveterate D 4 enemies. ( 56 ) enemies. It became cuftomary to give prifoners their freedom, upon a fimple parole to return with their ranfom at a day named. The fame was the cuftom in the border- wars between the Englifh and Scots, before their union under one monarch. Both parties found their account equally in fuch honourable behaviour. Edward Prince of Wales, in a pitched battle againft the French, took the illuftrious Betrand du Guefclin prifoner. He long declined to accept a ranfom ; but, finding it whifpered that he was afraid of that hero, he inftantly fet him at liberty without a ranfom. This may be deemed impolitic, or whimfical. But is love of glory lefs praife- worthy than love of conqueft ? The Duke of Guife, who was victorious in the battle of Dreux, refted all night in the field of battle ; and gave the Prince of Conde, his prifoner, a mare of his bed, where they lay like brothers. Never was gallantry in war carried to a greater height, than between the Englifh and Scotch bor- derers, before the crowns were united. The night after the battle of Otterburn, thevidors and vanquished lay promifcuoufly in the fame camp, without apprehending the leaft danger from one an- other. The manners of ancient warriors were very dif- ferent. Homer's hero, though fuperior to all in bodily ftrength, takes every advantage of his enemy, and ( 57 ) and never feels either companion or remorfe. The policy of the Greeks and Romans in war, was to weaken a ftate by plundering its territory, and deftroying its people. Humanity with us pre- vails even in war. Individuals, not in arms, are fecure, which faves much innocent blood. CHAP. XVIII. OF THE INFLUENCE OF PERSECUTION ON 1 MANNERS. MANNERS are deeply arMed by perfecu- tion. The forms of procedure in the In- quih'tion enable the inquifitors to ruin whom they pleafe. A perfon accufed is not confronted with the accufer. Every fort of accufation is welcome, and from every perfon. A child, a common pro- ftitute, one branded with infamy, are reputable witnefles. A man is compelled to give evidence againft his father, and a woman againft her huf- band. Nay, the perfons accufed are compelled to inform againft themfelves, by guefling what fin they may have been guilty of. Such odious, cruel, and tyrannical proceedings madt all Spain tremble. Everyman diftrufted his neighbour, and even his'' own family. A total end was put to friendfhip, and to foeial freedom. Hence the gravity and re* D 5 ferve ( 58 J ferve of a people, who have naturally all the vi- vacity, arifing from "a temperate clime and bounti- ful foil*. Hence the profound ignorance of that people, while other European nations are daily improving in every art, and in every fcience. Human nature is reduced to its loweft ebb, when governed by fuperftition clothed with power. CHAP. XIX. ON SELFISHNESS. SELFISHNESS prevails among favages ; be- caufe corporeal pleafures are its chief objects, and of thefe, every favage is perfectly fenfible. Be- nevolence and real affection are too refined for a favage, unlefs of the fimpleft kind, fuch as the ties of blood. While artificial wants were unknown, felfifhnefs, tho* prevalent, made no capital figure. The means of gratifying the calls of nature were in plenty ; and men who are not afraid of ever be- ing in want, never think of providing againft it. The Carribbeans, who know no wants but what nature infpires, are amazed at the induftry of the Europeans The populace of Spain, too low game for the Inquifittan, are abundantly chearful, perhaps more fo than thofe of France. The Spanifh women, it is laid, are perpetually dancing, tinging} laughing, or talking, in ( 59 ) in amaffing wealth. Liften to one of them cx- poftulating with a Frenchman in the following terms : " How miferable art thou to expofe thy perfon to tedious and dangerous voyages, and to fuffer thyfelf to be opprefled with anxiety about futurity ! An inordinate appetite for wealth is thy bane ; and yet thou art no lei's tormented in pre- ferving the goods thou haft acquired, than in ac- quiring more. Fear of robbery or fliipwreck fuf- fers thee not to enjoy a quiet moment. Thus thou groweft old in thy youth, thy hair turns gray, thy forehead is wrinkled, a thouland ailments af- fiicl thy body, a thoufand diftrefles furround thy heart, and thou moveft with painful hurry to the grave. Why art thou not content wi,th what thine own country produceth ? Why not contemn fuperfluities, as we do ?" But men are not long contented with fimple neceiTaries. An unwearitcl appetite to be more and more comfortably provided, leads them from neceflarics to conveniencies, and from thefe to every fort of luxury. Avarice turns headftrong ; and locks and bars, formerly unknown, become ne- ceflary to protect people from the rapacity of their neighbours. When the goods of fortune come to be prized, felfiftinefs foon difplays itfelf. Admiral Watfon being introduced to the King of Baba, in Madaga- D6 fear ( 60 ) fear, was afked by his Majefty, what prefents he had brought ? Hence the cuftom, univerfal among barbarians, of always accofting a king, or any man of high rank, with prefents. Sir John Chardin fays, that this cuftom prevails almoft through all Afia. It is reckoned an honour to receive pre- fents. They are received in public j and a time is chofen when the crowd is greateft. It is a max- im too refined for the potentates of Afia, that there is more honour in beftowing than in re- ceiving. One peculiar excellence of man, above all other animals, is the capacity he has of improving by education and example. In proportion as his faculties refine, he acquires a relifh for fociety, and finds a pleafure in benevolence, generofity, and in every other kind affe&ion, far above what felfifh- nefs can afford. How agreeable is this fcene ! Alas, too agreeable to be lafting. Opulence and luxury inflame the hoarding appetite ; and felfifhnefs at laft prevails, as it did originally. CHAP, 61 CHAP. XX. OF THE INFLUENCE OF OPULENCE ON MANNERS. RU D R and illiterate nations are tenacious of their laws and manners ; for they are govern- ed by cuftom, which is more and more rivetted by length of time. A people, on the contrary, who are polifhed by having patted through various fcenes, are full of invention, and conftantly thinking of new modes; Manners, in particular, can never be ftationary in a nation refined by profperity and the arts of peace. Good government will advance men to a high degree of civilization ; but the very beft government will not preferve them from cor- ruption,- after becoming rich by profperity. Babylon is arraigned by Greek writers for luxury, fenfuality and profligacy. But Babylon reprefents the capital of every opulent kingdom, ancient and modern. The manners of all are the fame ; for power and riches never fail to produce luxury, fen- fuality, and profligacy. In no other hiftory is the influence of profperity and opulence on manners fo confpicuous, as in that of old Rome. During the fecond Punic war, when the Romans were reduced by Hannibal to fight pro arts ft fads, Hiero, King of Byracufe, 5 feni ( 62 ) fent to Rome a large quantity of corn, with a gol- den ftatue of victory weighing three hundred and twenty pounds, which the fenate accepted. But, though their finances were at the lowed ebb, they accepted but the lighted of forty golden vafes, pre- fented to them by the city of Naples ; and politely returned, with many thanks, fome golden vafes fent by the city of Paeftum in Lucania ; a rare in- ftance of magnanimity. But no degree of virtue is proof againtt the corruption of conqueft and opu- lence. Upon the influx of Afiatic riches and luxury, the Romans abandoned themfelves to every vice. They became, in particular, wonderfully avarici- ous, breaking through every reflraint of juftice and humanity. " After it had become an honour to be rich," fays Salluft, " and glory, empire and power, became the attendants of riches, virtue de- clined apace, poverty was reckoned difgraceful, and innocence was held fecret malice. Thus to the introduction of riches our youth owe their luxury, their avarice, and pride." The profligacy of the Roman people, during the triumvirate of Caefar, Pompey and Craflus, is paint- ed in lively colours by Appian. " For a long time, 5 * fays he, " diforder and confufion overfpread the commonwealth. No office was obtained but by faction, bribery, or criminal fervice. No man was afhamed to buy votes, which were fold in open market. One man there was, who, to obtain a lucrative ( 63 ) lucrative office, expended eight hundred talents.* Ill men enriched themfelves with public money, or with bribes. No honeft man would ftand can- didate for an office ; and into a fituation fo mifer- able was the commonwealth reduced,, that once for eight months it had not a fingle magiftrate." The free (rates of Italy, which had become rich by commerce, employed mercenary troops to fave their own people, who'were more profitably em- ployed at home. But, as mercenaries gained no- thing by victory or bloodfhed, they did very little execution againfr. one another. They exhaufted the flares which employed them, without doing any real fervice. Our condition is in fome degree fimilar. We employ generals and admirals, who, by great appointments, foon lofe the relifli for glory, intent only to prolong a war for their own benefit. According to our prefent manners, where luxury and felfiflinefs prevail, it appears an egregious blun- der, to enrich a general or admiral, during his command. Have we any reafon to expect, that he will fight like one whofe fortune depends en his good behaviour? This fingle error againft good policy has reduced Britain more than once to a low condition, and may prove its ruin at laft. About 150,000 pounds* CHAP. CHAP. XXI. ON THE INTENTION OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS. LIGHT is intended by our Maker for a&ion, and darknefs for reft. In the fourteenth century, the fliops in Paris were opened at four in the morning ; at prefent a fhopkeeper is fcarce awake at feven. The King of France dined at eight in the morning, and retired to his bed-cham- ber at the fame hour in the evening ; an early hour at prefent for public amufements. The Spaniards adhere to ancient cuftom ; for manners and fafhions feldom change where women are locked up. Their King, to this day, dines precifely at noon, and fups no lefs precifely at nine in the evening. During the reign of Henry VIII. fafhionable people in England breakfafted at feven in the mom- ing, and dined at ten. In Elizabeth's time, the nobility, gentry, and (Indents, dined at eleven in the morning, and fupped between five and fix in the afternoon. In the reign of Charles II. four in the afternoon was the appointed hour for ading plays. At prefent, even dinner is at a later hour. The King of Yeman, the greateft prince in Arabia Felix, dines at nine in the morning, fups at five in the afternoon, and goes to reft at eleven. From From this fhort fpecimen it appears, that the occupations of day-light commence gradually later and later ; as if there were a tendency, in polite nations, of converting night into day, and day into night. Nothing happens without a caufe. Light dif- pofes to action, darknefs to reft. The diverfions of day are tournaments, tennis, hunting, racing, and other active exercifes. The diverfions of night are fedentary ; plays, cards, and converfation. Balls are of a mixed nature, partly active in dancing, partly fedentary in converfing. Formerly active exercifes prevailed among a robuft and plain people. The milder pleafures of fociety prevail as manners refine. Hence it is, that candle-light amufements are now fafhionable in France, and in other polifhed countries ; and when fuch amufements are much relimed, they banifh the robuft exercifes of the field. Balls, perhaps, were formerly more frequent in day-light. At prefent, candle-light is the fa- vourable time. The active part is, at that, time, equally agreeable, and the fedentary part, more fo CHAP. ( 66 ) CHAP. XXII. ON GAMING. GAMING is the vice of idle people. Savages are addided to gaming ; and thofe of North America, in particular, are fond to diftradion of a game termed the platter. A lofmg gameitcr will ftriphimfelfto the fkin ; and fomehave been known to flake their liberty, though by them valued above all other blcffings. Negroes on the flave-coaft of Guinea, will ftake their wives, their children, and even themfelves. The Greeks were an active and fprightly people conftamly engaged in war, or in cultivating the fine arts. They had no leifure for gaming, nor any knowledge of it. Happy for them was their ig- norance ; for no other vice tends more to render men felfifh, difhoneft, and, in the modifh ftyle dif- honourable. A gamefter, a friend to no man, is a very great enemy to himfelf. The luxurious of the prefeflt age pafs every hour in gaming, that can be fpared from fenfual pleafure. Idfenefs is their ex- cufe, as it is among favages; and they would, in fome degree, be excufeable, were they never actu- ated by a more difgraceful motive. CHAP. CHAP. XXIII. ON PARTICULAR CUSTOMS. WRITERS do not carefully diftinguifh par- ticular cuftoms from general manners. For- merly, women were not admitted upon the ftage in France, Italy, or England. At that very time, none but women were admitted in Spain. From that fafhion, it would be ram to infer, that women have more liberty in Spain, than in the other countries mentioned ; for the contrary is true. In Hindoftan, eftablifhed cuftom prompts women to burn themfelves alive with the bodies of their de- Ceafed hufbands ; but from that fingular cuftom, it would be a falfe inference, that the Hindoo women are either more bold, or more affectionate to their hufbands, than in other countries. The Po!anders,even after they became Chriftians, in the thirteenth century, adhered to the cuftoms of their forefathers, the Samaritans, in killing infants born deformed, and men debilitated by age ; which would betoken horrid barbarity, if it were not a fingular cuftom. Roman Catholics imagine, that there is no re- ligion in England, nor in Holland ; becaufe, from a fpirit of civil liberty, all fe&s are there tole- rated. 4 The ( 68 ) The encouragement given toaflaflmation in Italy, where every church is a fancluary, makes ftrangers ramly infer, that the Italians are all aflaffins. Writers fometimes fall into an oppofite miftake, attributing to a particular nation certain manners and cuftoms, common to all nations, in one or other period of their progrefs. It is remarked by Heraclides Ponticus, as pecu- liar to the Athamanes, that the men fed the flocks, and the women cultivated the ground. This has been the practice of all nations in their progrefs from the fliepherd-ftate to that of hufbandry - 9 and is at prefent the practice among American favages. The fame author obferves, as peculiar to the Celtae and Aphitasi, that they leave their doors open without hazard of theft. But that practice is common among all favages in the firft ftage of fociety, before the ufe of money is known*. CHAP. ( 69 ) CHAP. XXIV. OF UNNATURAL CUSTOMS. IF we furvey the condition of rude nations, in various corners of the world, we lhall find the human frame degraded by violent and unnatural cuftoms. Nor is it in the option of individuals to embrace, or to refift fuch cuftorns. The violence is frequently, by the impofition of parents, render- ed almoft coeval with exiftence. The body, in its infant ftate, being pliant and du&ile, is more eafily di- verted of its juft proportions, and the limbs and mem- bers are then capable of being moulded into a variety of unnatural and artificial forms, impracticable in maturer years. If diftortions, then, of feature and perfon, are thus early introduced, more ferious and extenfive confequences may poflibly arife from the fame fource. Among the Chinefe, the fmallnefs of the feet of the women is reckoned a principal part of their beauty, and no fwathing is omitted, when they are young to give them that accomplishment ; fo that when they grow up, they may be faid to totter rather than to walk. This fanciful piece of beauty was probably invented by the ancient Chinefe, in order to palliate their jealoufy. This violence being directed to the extremities of the body, iltuated at a diftance from the princi- pal ( 70 ) pal organs of fenfation, the effeft on the animal ceconomy is more fupportable, and the vitals of the conftitution probably elude the injury. But, un- fortunately, the impreflion is made by fome tribes of mankind, where the conftitution is moft vulner- able, and the more fenfible parts fuftain a fhock, annoying to the whole nervous fyftem. Among one people, to flatten the dimenfions of the head ; among another, to render it more convex ; parents have recourfe to the moft fhocking expedients of art, and the natural guardians of infancy become its chief tormentors. The names, by which cer- tain Indian tribes in North America have been dif- tinguifhed, areexprefliveof fuch unnatural charac- leriftics. The Caraibees of the Weft Indies, by contrivances and applications of art nearly fimilar, have acquired a caft of phyfiognomy altogether peculiar. The Indians of Afta are not entirely exempted from the fame odious abufes. But the principal feat of the enormity is certain regions of Africa, where the art of disfiguring the human per fon is, perhaps, the only art, which has made fuch progrefs among the rude inhabitants as to mark their departure from a ftate of nature. In fuch deplorable fafhions, which ftifle the voice of nature, the fufferers, and the authors of the fuf- ferings, almoft equally claim commiferation. But, to diftort the natural form, with an avowed purpofe to derange the intellectuals of man, is a condudt fo flagitious ( 7* ) flagitious and enormous, as has nerer ftained the manners of favage and untutored tribes ; yet, not many ages ago, even this enormity exifted in the manners of Europe, where, in various inftances, the forming fools for the entertainment of the great, was the ultimate end propofed in mutilating the human figure. The recital of fuch examples fills humanity with horror, and the poffibility of their exiftence would hardly be admitted in a cultivated period, did not hiftory eftablifh the fats, upon inconteftible au- thority, and number them among the corruptions,, which are found in fo many focieties of men, to ^degrade the dignity of our fpecies. There is a variety of other cufloms among rude tribes, which take their rife from the illufions of imagination. In obferving the gradations of colour among the races of mankind, our ideas of beauty are often entirely governed, or greatly influenced, :by a regard to the mod general form of nature we are accuftomed to contemplate. Among a nation of Blacks, the White ; among a nation of Whites, the Black was never the approved complexion. The Hottentots, an ambiguous race, equally allied to either extreme, are at pains to deepen the made of Black., as if to maintain a conformity with the pre- vailing complexion of Africa. On the other hand, ihe Moors of Barbary, the counterpart of the Hot- tentots in the northern hemifphere, who poflefs, like like them, the medium complexion, difcover little predilection for either extreme, which is owing, probably, to an almeft equal correfpondence with African and European nations. Upon the fame principle, the copper colour of the Americans is regarded among them as a cri- terion of beauty ; and it feems to be the object of art, by painting the face with vermilion, to main- tain, in all its perfection, the predominant com- plexion of the Indian race. Even the univerfal principles of tafte, when not duly regulated, may lead to egregious abufe. Un- equal degrees of beauty, of elegance, and of ftrength, enter into the various contexture of the human body ; and all attempts are vain to fuperinduce by violence or art, that perfection, which is denied by nature. Conftitutional blemifhes or defeats may be heigh- tened by too eager a defire to abolifh them ; and by the violent fubftitution of other proportions, and lineaments than are confident with the primaeval configuration of the parts, though more conformable, perhaps, to fome ideal ftandard of perfection. But fome of the more flagrant examples of vio- lence done to the perfon, to be met with in the cuftoms of rude tribes, are neither authorized nor fuggefted by any perception of beauty. They are defigned, in reality, to create oppofite emotions, and are dictated by the ferocity of warlike people, on purpofe to confound their enemies, by appearances fcarcely human. The ( 73 ) The gentler fex, whofe conflant aim is to im- prove the beauty of the outward form, and who fubdue mankind only by their charms, even in the African climates, never deviate fo far from nature. In the ifland of Biirao, near to the river Gambia, the matrons are dreffed in decent attire ; and the perfons of the young, though without all fort of apparel, are not unadorned. The degrees of em- bellifliment indicate rank and condition ; and the cldeft danghter of the reigning monarch is diftin- guiihed from the other ladies of the court by elegance of painting, and the richnefs of her brace- lets. But all the happier refinements of fancy are difregarded in the apparatus of war. The Giagas, thofe bloody favages of Africa, who are as regardlefs of natural as of moral beauty, aflume the moft infernal afped to render themfelves more formidable to other tribes. The fame principle authorizes the abufe of perfon among various In- dian tribes in North America ; and authorized it, according to Tacitus the Roman Hiftorian, among a tribe of the ancient Germans. But an afpec"l fo tremendous to a foreign enemy, may become venerable among people of the fame tribe. The dignity of the expreflion is more con- fidered than the deformity of the pi&ure. The beau- tiful is abforbed in the fublime ; and the fpe&acle, how odious foever in itfelf, is endured, as defcrip- E tive ( 74 ) tlve of the degrees of heroifm and martial vigour j virtues chiefly refpedled in a rude age. Religious fanaticifm, it may be obferved, is fre- quently another fource of the moft wretched de- 'bafement. Penances, mortifications, Monkifh feverities, and a number of flagrant obfervances, in the ritual of fuperftition, that annoy our frame, have, to the difgrace of the world, been deemed meritorious in the fight of Heaven ; as if one fpecies of guilt could be expiated by another ; or, as if to deform and abufe our nature, could ever be acceptable to the author of all beauty and excel- lence. But it is not neceflary to carry our refearches anxioufly into the principles, which have concur- red, to the introduction and eftablifhment of fo many abfurd cuftoms among mankind. It is fuf- -ficient to obferve, that the cuftoms themfelves, from what fountain foever they flow, are often at- tended with confequences, no lefs deftruclive, than odious. Thus, what arifes from human folly, may become undiftinguifhable from the original workman/hip; or rather, certain diftin&ions, at dftrft adventitious, may become the chara&eriftics of a tribe, and even be, in part, tranfmiflible and hereditary to future generations. The cuftoms, indeed, under review, belong chiefly to an unpolimed ftate of fociety ; but they are often fucceeded by others of a tendency fome- what f 75 J what fimilar. The fwathing of infants, the con- finement of drefs, and other abfurd practices in our osconomy, unprecedented among barbarians, might be mentioned as counterparts of the fame violence, among polimed nations. In general, perhaps> the hardy difcipline of early times is more aufpicious to health, vigour, and fymmetry of form, than the more refined culture, and fofter habits, of a luxurious age. But, without running the parallel of public manners, in different periods of civil progrefs, it may be affirmed, that fome of the groflfer and more heinous abufes, we have here remarked, are irre- coverably deftru&ive of the human figure, and perhaps remotely touch the fprings of our intelleo tustl frame. CHAP. C H A P. XXV. ON THE RESEMBLANCE OF THE ORANG OUTANG TO MAN. THE Orang Outang, in a great meafure, re- fembles man in the ftruclure of his body, and therefore, fays Mr. Buffon, the Indians are ex- cufable for having aflbciated him with the human race, under the name of Orang Oufang, which fig- nifiesin their language, a wild man. As to the relations of travellers concerning this animal, I (hall begin, fays Lord Monboddo% with that of Bontius, who was firft phyn'cian in Bata- via, and has written a learned natural hiftory of India, in which he relates, that he faw feveral Orang Outangs, of both fexes, walking ere& ; and he particularly obferved the female, that (he (hewed figns of modefty, by hiding herfelf from men, whom fhe did not know. And he adds that me wept and groaned, and performed other hu- man actions : fo that little feemed to be wanting in her, except fpeech. Purchas, in his colled ion of voyages, reports, upon the credit of one Battel, whom he faw and converfed with, that there is, in Africa, an ani- mal, which he calls Pongo, refembling a man in * This curious account is taken fr The attentive mind, " -By this harmonious aftion on her pow'rs, ' " Becomes herfelf harmonious." But this adjuftmcnt is not equally indifpenfible, throughout the habitable globe. For, independent- ly of culture the fcene from the hand of nature is more or lefs magnificent, more or lefs adorned. Here are immenfe. deferts ; there delicious plains. This, the region of clouds and ftorms ; that, of a more placid and benignant fky. Here predomi- nates the beautiful ; there the fublime. The emotions hence generated correfpond ;> and the tone of temper, and of manners, is in unifon with the natural world. CHAP. C 93 ) CHAP XXVII. ON THE FEMALE SEX. WITH regard to the outlines, men and women are the fame. Nature, however, intending them for mates, has given them difpofitions dif- ferent but concordant, foas to produce together deli- cious harmony. The man, more robuft, is fitted for fevere labour, and for field exercife. The woman, more delicate, is fitted for fedentary oc- cupations ; and particularly for nurfing children. That difference is remarkable in the mind, no lefs than in the body. A boy is always running about ; delights in a top or a ball, and rides upon a flick as a horfe. A girl has lefs inclination to move. Her firft amufement is a baby, which me delights to drefs and undrefs. I have ken oftener than once a female child under fix getting an infant in its arms, careflirg, finging, and walking about, daggering under the weight. A boy never thinks of fuch a paftime. The man, bold and vigorous, is quali- fied for being a protector. The woman, delicate and timid, requires protection. The man, as a protector, is directed by nature to govern. The woman, confcious of inferiority, is difpofed to obey. Their intellectual powers correfpond to the distinction of nature. Men have penetration and folid ( 94 ) folid judgment, to fit them forgoverning, Women have a fufficient underftanding to make a decent figure under good government. A greater propor- tion would excite dangerous rivalfhip. Women have more imagination and more fenfibility than men ; and yet none of them have made an emi- nent figure in any of the fine arts. We hear of no fculptor nor ftatuary among them; and none of them have rifen above a mediocrity in poetry or painting. Nature has avoided rivalfhip between the fexes, by giving them different talents. The gentle and infinuating manners of the fe- male fex, tend to foften ; and wherever women are indulged with any freedom, they are fooner polimed than men. " The chief quality of women," fays Roufieau, " is fweetnefs of temper. Made by nature for fub- mifTion in the married ftate, they ftught to learn to fuffer wrong, even without complaining, Sour- nefs and ftubbornefs ferve but to increafe the huf- band's unkindnefs, and their own diftrefles. It was not to indulge bad humours, that Heaven be- flowed on them manners infinuating and perfua- five. They were not made weak, in order to be imperious. A fweet voice fuits ill with fcolding* Delicate features ought not to be disfigured with paflion. They frequently may have reafon for complaints j but never to utter them publkkly." S Thefc ( 95 ) Thefe are not the only particulars that diftin- guim the fexes. With refpect to matrimony, it is the privilege of the male, as fuperior and pro- te&or, to make a choice. The female preferred has no privilege but barely to confent or to refufe. Nature fits them for thefe different parts. The male is bold, the female bamful. Hence among all nations it is the practice for men to court, and for women to be courted. Another diftinftion is equally vifible. The maf- ter of a family is immediately connected with his country. His wife, his children, his fervants, are immediately connected with him, and with their country through him only. Women accord- ingly have lefs patriotifm than men ; and lefs bit- ternefs againfl the enemies of their country. The peculiar modefty of the female fex is alfo a diftinguifhing circumftance. Nature hath pro- vided them with it, as a defence againft the artful felicitations of the other fex before marriage, and "Ufa as a fupport of conjugal fidelity. C H A P, ( 96 } CHAP. XXVIII. ON THE ORIG-IN OF LOVE. LOVE is compofed of that phyfical want to which the Creator attaches the propagation of the fpecies, and of that univerfal tie of the mo- ral world, which induces us to join ourfelves lo a determined objet, to^form a fmall fociet'y. To prove this truth, one need only examine what happens to every attentive man in a nume- rous aflembly of women. He will not always be moft taken with the handfomeil. He will moft frequently be determined in favour of a woman by her phyfiognomy, or graces. Now, that phyfiog- nomy, and thofe graces are outward figns of the qualities and difpofuion of the foul. AVe confe- quently determine for the qualities of that charac- ter, whofe conformity with our own, or the efteem -in which we hold them, promife us the greateft happinefs in an intimate commerce. The fliape alone let others prize The features of the fair ; I look for fpirit in her eyes, And meaning in her air. A damaflc cheek, and ivory arm, Shall ne'er my wifhes win : Give me an animated form That fpeaks a mind within. 4 A face, ( 97 ) A face, where awful honour mines, Where fenfe and fweetnefs move, And angel innocence refines The tendernefs of love. Thefe are the foul of beauty's frame, Without whofe vital aid Unfinifti'd all her features feem, And all her rofes dead. But ah ! were both their charms unite, How perfect is the view, With every image of delight, With graces ever new! Of power to charm the greateft woe, The wildeft rage controul ; Diffufing mildnefs o'er the brow, And rapture through the foul. Their power but faintly to exprefs All language muft defpair; But go, behold Maria's face, And read it perfect there. CHAP. f 98 ) CHAP XXIX. FALSE OPINIONS CONCERNING LOVE. SOME philofophers, ftruck with the force of the phyfical want, admit in love only that grofs defire. The call of nature alone, fay they, is worth heeding in that pailion ; the reft is only a refinement of felf-love, which man adds for his torment. This cynical opinion degrades humanity, and puts us upon a level with the brutes. Hap- pily for us, the inward fentiments of every rea- fonable man flatly contradict it Others, either enthufiafts or hypocrites, banifli from love, all that intcrefts, the pleafures of the fenfes. They talk to us of an univerfal harmony, an inclination for the primitive beauty, a fym- pathy of fou\? which, feparated, feek every means to rejoin each other. Thus tearing man to pieces, they form to themfelves a phantom, of which ex- perience mews them the non-exiftence, by making them feel that they have a body as well as a foul. Of thefe two falfe and over-drained opinions, the laft is however the moft fufferable. Upon feeing two ftrangers, one of whom mould be moft fmitten with the mind and graces, and the other with beauty, I fhould be prejudiced in favour of the former. .( 99 ) former. Regularity of features, and finenefs of complexion, arc not the marks of a fair foul. The pcrfon, who is {truck with them only, is fen- fual, and little fit to attain to virtue or great ta- lents. He that efteems, that cherifhes the ilgns of beauty in the foul, proves to me, by that analogy of ideas, his difpoikion to acquire, or his happinefs in poflclling the mod eftimable qualities. The perfon, who is taken by the eye only, difcovers a little mind. A beautiful, as well as very fcnfiblc lady declares, that (he looks upon this unhappy dif- pofition to be one of the greateft defects. CHAP. XXX. OF LOVE, IN AN INFANT SOCIETY. AN infant fociety, \vhofe .fubfiftence is but precarious, is wholly taken up with provi- ding the firft necefiaries of life. The members of fuch a fociety, embarraffed for a livelihood, feel love as a part of their wants, and fatisfy it as grofsly, as they do hunger and thirft. Their vagrant life hindering them from having any pecu- liar poffeflion, their women will be almoil com- mon. The favages prefent us the picture of an infant fociety. They treat love in a manner fuitable to F 2 their their barbarous ftate. To fee a woman for the firft time, and to receive the greateft favours (he can grant, are things quite ufual among them. Encomiums are beftowed upon what is called the vigorous, the manly manners of ancient times ; times when fierce men abandoned themfelves to wrath, to revenge, to the mofl violent paflions ; when a woman opened her arms to receive the firft comer. Is not this praifing barbarifm r Is it not commending the fweetnefs of the acorn, whilfl we have plenty of themoft delicious meats ? CHAP. XXXI. OF LOVE IN A SOCIETY, WHOSE MANNERS BEGIN TO BE SOFTENED. AS a fociety acquires ftrength and confidence, its maners are foftened, and the fpirit of pro- perty introduces itfelf. It is as natural to wifh to be the fole pofleflbr of a fine woman, as pf a convenient houfe, or a fruitful field. When r all the faculties of the foul are no longer engroflfed by care and folicitude for abfolute neceflaries, the comforts of fociety are better felt, the focial virtues are better known. The defires of love join with friendftiip, and that paflion aflumes a more decent form. Thefc Thefe alterations in the manners of men are effected only by flow degrees, and in the courfe of feveral ages. The Greeks, not far removed from the heroic times, which might rather be call- ed favage and barbarous, retained an afloniihing roughnefs of manners. Their way of confidering and treating love is mockingly grofs, and artlefs to a degree that difgufts. CHAP. XXXII. OF LOVBi IN A SOCIETY AGGRANDIZED BY RICHES. WHEN a fociety has fubfifted for any length of time, when it has aggrandized itfelf, and acquired riches, and when thofe riches have fa- voured the culture of the fciences and arts, it ne- ceflarily falls into an excefs of luxury. Luxury, being by its nature inclined to abufe all proper- ty, will alfo abufe that of women. They will again become almoft common. Manners grow corrupted ; decency difappears. What fcenes of grofs and unbridled vices do not the voluptuous courts of the fucceflbrs of Alexander, and Rome under the tyrannical government of her Emperors, prefent to our view. This is the circle prefcribed to the form of love, as well as to public happinefs. We are at firft barbarians, F 3 and ( 102 ) and confcquently uncivilized and unhappy. Quit- ting that barbarifm, \ve become for a while ac- quainted with happinefs and politenefs. We then are plunged into luxury. That luxury enervates and corrupts us, and our refinements throw us back into unhnppinefs and barbarifm. A Roman lady reproached a Britifh lady with the barbarous cuftom of ancient Britain, which a- bandoned its fine women to all warriors. " We are as much barbarians as you," anfvvered the Briton ; " the only difference is, that we do open- ly with men of merit, what you do privately with the meaneft of men." CHAP. .XXXIII. OF LOVE IN A REPUBLIC. THE form of government generally deter- mines the manners of a people. It ought alfo to determine the manner of treating love. In republics, whofe conflitution depends on vir- tue, the manners are fimple and pure. The fpirit of patriotifm, and the defire of glory, poflefs all the faculties of thofe republican fouls, and leave but little activity to the other paffions. The civil inftitutions are ftable and refpe&ed. Love, in a republic, will confequently preferve its natural fimplicity and marriages will be the more fccure. All All the members of a good- republic think them- fclves concerned in the government. IncefTantly bufied with great interefts, they feel little of thofc humiliating hours of idle wearinefs of mind, which make men run after frivolous amufements, ho- noured with the name of pleafures. They will live little with women, who, by the fimplicity of their manners are kept within doors. They will give them only the moments confecrated todomef- tic friendihip. The idle, and the fenfual, will be obliged to feek for difguft among defpicable wo- men. Hiftory informs us, that this method of treating love was that of the Greeks and Romans, in the noblefl times of their republics. CH'AP LOVE OF THE ORIENTALS, THE political flavery of defpotifm neceflarily draws after it civil flavery, and domeftic fervitude. Among the people of thofe unhappy nations, a wife is only the fiave of her hufband. The great put a fine woman into their feraglio, as we put a fine bird into an aviary. The number of thefe melancholy victims fhews the grandeur of their matter. Thefe women, whofe fouls are enervated, whofe minds are deftroyed, and whofe F 4 fentiments ( "4 J fentiments are debafed by a bad education, are not capable of infpiringa real attachment. A fcornfiil mafter fees them, to pafs an idle hour, out of a habitude of grofs pleafure. In thofe wretched countries, the phyfical want only is known. Jea- loufy, the natural confequence of that flavery, banifhes the women from fociety. Such is the love of the Turks. The dogmas of Mahomet have undoubtedly contributed to the contempt in v.hich his followers hold wo- men. The MufTulmen look upon them as the in- ftruments of their pleafures in the life to come ; they cannot, by confequence, have a higher idea of them in this. Their contempt preferves them from all attachment to a degraded fex, and pre- vents the activity of focial inftindt. CHAP. CHAP. XXXV. OF LOVE IN MONARCHIES. IT is in monarchies that love takes the moft dif- ferent forms. Honour, the great fpirit of that kind of govermnent, keeps its nature in great fouls and remains what it ought to be, the love of true glory. In little fouls, it degenerates into vanity. In a ftate, where every individual endeavours to raifehimfelf, they, whofe feeble talents cannot af- pire to great enterprizes, form others proportion- ed to their weaknefs. Not being able to conquer enemies, they endeavour to triumph over the pre- judices of women. A fort of glory is tacked to thefe frivolous conquefts, to (hew the merit of which, fuch arguments are alledged, as ought oftea to humble the pride of him that ufes them. Thefe ridiculous conquerors, unable to perform things truly great, ftrive to make themfelves amends m their own conceit, by bringing little ones into vogue. Such is the pedigree of foppery. Few citizens in a monarchy, are charged with the cares of government. Few well know how to nourilh the great pafiions, ambition, and the love of true glory. They will purfue thofe which are more eafily fatified. Love, with them, will act a principal part. The idlenefs of the men, and the freedom of the women, the natural confequences of F 5 this ( io6 ) this form of government, will produce a continual commerce between the two fexes. Thofe women, who {hall find themfelves poflefied of talents, and who cannot have employment, will give into in- trigue, and will have a great influence in affairs. This influence of the fair fex, joined to the foppifli- nefs of the men, will beget a romantic idea of love. Great fentiments will be held in honour. A great monarchy, which fuppofes power and riches, falls into great luxury as its power and riches increafe. If luxury gets poflefliou of a nation, the fublime idea of love will vanifh, and be fuceeded by one quite oppofite. It is the nature of luxury to fubfift by a continual change of taftes, and this reft- lefsnefs of taftes leads to fancies. Enervated fouls can no longer fix to any thing, but glory in their inconfiftence and levity. Falfe delicacy, dwelling upon no one object, exhaufts them all ; and, finding no longer the means of fatisfying itfelf with what really exifts, forms to itfelf phan- toms. This habit of inconftancy and falfe tafte extends to the mode of the paifions. A folid at- tachment becomes ridiculous. Pleafure is run after Without being found. Inftead of love, connections are formed founded on vanity, and that paffion is fto longer any thing more than the wrong turn of a difordcrcd brain. CHAP. CHAP. XXXVI. OF LOVE AMONG THE NORTHERN NATIONS. ODIN, the great legiflator of the North, pro- mifes to his warriors a paradife, where they will enjoy all me pleafures of the fenfes, drink de- licious beer, and have beautiful women. Already, in this life, the pofleflion of a fine woman was the reward of courage. Prejudices fo favourable to the fex gained him great diftinction. The people of the North in general, and the Germans in par- ticular, faw fomething divine in women. They were confulted in weighty affairs. They were the prophetefles of the nation. Their perfons were facred. Women, among the ancient Greeks and Ro- mans (as we have before hinted) feem to have been confidered merely as objects of fenfuality, or of domeftic conveniency. They had few attentions paid them, and were permitted to take as little fhare in the converfation, as in the general com- merce of life. But the northern nations, who paid a kind of devotion to the fofter fex, even in their native forefts, had no fooner fettled themfelves in the provinces of the Roman empire, than the female character began to aflume new confequence. Thofe fierce barbarians, who feemed to thftft only for F 6 blood, blood, who involved in one undiftinguiftied ruin the monuments of ancient grandeur and ancient ingenuity, and who devoted to the flames the knowledge of ages, always forbore to offer any violence to the women. They brought along with them the refpedlful gallantry of the North, which had power to reftrain even their favage ferocity ; and they introduced into the Weft of Europe, a ge- nerofity of fentiment, and a complaifance toward the ladies, to which the moft polifhed nations of antiquity were ftrangers. Thefe fentiments of generous gallantry were foftered by the inftitution of chivalry, which lifted woman yet higher in the fcale of life. Inftead of being nobody in fociety, (he became its PRIMUM MOBILE. Every knight devoting himfelf to danger, declared himfelf the humble fervant of fome lady, and that lady was often the objeft of his love. Her honour was fuppofed to be intimately connected with his, and her fmile was the reward of his valour. For her he attacked, for her he de- fended, and for her he fhed his blood. Courage, animated by fo powerful a motive, loft fight of every thing but enterprize. Incredible toils were chearfully endured ; incredible actions were per- formed ; and adventures, feemingly fabulous, were more than realized. The effect was reciprocal. Women, proud of their influence, became worthy of the heroiftn which f I0 9 ) which they had infpired. They were not to be approached, but by the high-minded and the brave ; and men then could only be admitted to the bofom of the cliafte fair, after proving their fidelity and affection by years of perfeverance and of peril. CHAP. XXXVII. ON THE NECESSITY AND HAPPINESS OF MATRIMONY. PROVIDENTIAL care defcends even to ve- getable life. Every plant bears a proftilion of feed, and in order to cover the earth with vegeta- bles, fome feeds have wings, fome are fcattered by means of a fpring, and fome are fo light as to be carried about by the wind. Brute animals, which do not pair, have grafs and other food in plenty, enabling the female to feed her young, without needing any adiftance from the male. But, where the young require the nurfing care of both parents, pairing is a law of nature. -f \Vhen other races are fo amply provided for, can it be feriouily thought, that Providence is lefs at- tentive to the human race ? Man is a helplefs be- ing before the age of fifteen or fixteen ; and there may be in a family ten or twelve children of differ- ent births, before the eldeft can fhift for itfelf. Now in the original ftate of hunting and fiming, which f "o } which are laborious occupations, and not always fuccefsful, a woman, fuckling her infant, is not able to provide food even for herfelf, much lefs for ten or twelve voracious children. Matrimony, therefore, is fo neccllary to the human race, that it muft be an appointment of Heaven. This con- clufion cannot be refilled by any one who believes in Providence, and in final catifes. To confirm this doctrine, let the confequenccs of a loofe commerce between the fexes be ex- amined. The carnal appetite, when confined to one object, feldom transgrefTes the bounds of tem- perance. But were it encouraged to roam, like a bee, fucking honey from every flower, every new object: would inflame the imagination. Satiety with refpect to one, would create new defires with refpect to others, and animal love would become the ruling palfion. Friend fhip conftitutes the greateft part of our happinefs. Without this, there is nothing agree- able in fociety. Without this, glory and riches ( are but a burden, and pleafure itfelf hath no relilh. Now, where can this be found fo perfect, and fo fraught with the moft pure delights, as in the mar- riage ftate ? Where can fuch refemblance or con- formity of affections be expected, as between two perfons, who ought to have the fame heart, and the lame foul i 1 What converfation can be more free and referved, than that between thofe, who have come under Under mutual engagements never to part ? Can there be a greater fatisfaclion in life, than to have a faithful companion, to whom we may freely difcover every joy and every forrow, and with whom we may intruft every private thought with an entire confidence ? How delightful is that fociety, in which every inflant furnilhcs either fide, with new occafions to commend and rejoice in their choice ; in which felicity and public approbation fhine continually upon two fortunate perfons, who have given them- fclves to each other for life ; in which all their de- fires are inceffantly fatisfied ; and in which the love of diftindtion has nothing to feek beyond that fo- ciety ? Oh ! woman ! lovely woman ! Nature made you To temper man : We had been brutes without you ! Angels are painted fair to look like you : There's in you all that we believe of heav'n, Amazing brightnefs, purity and truth, Eternal joy and everlafting love ! OTWAY, All other goods by Fortune's hand are given, A wife, is the peculiar gift of Heaven . POPE. CHAP. CHAP. XXXVIII. ON POLYGAMY. T^OLYGAMY is a grofs infringement of the JL law of nature. The equal number of males and females is a clear indication, that Providence in- tends every man to be confined to one wife, and every woman to one hufband. That equality, which has fubfifted in all countries, and at all times, is a fignal inltance of over-ruling provi- dence ; for the chances againft it are infinite. All men are, by nature, equal in rank. No man is privileged above another to have a wife ; and therefore polygamy is contradictory to the plan of Providence. Were ten women born for one man, as is erroneoufly reported to be the cafe in Bantam, polygamy might be the intention of Pro- vidence j but from the equality of males and females, it is clearly the voice of nature, as well as of the facred Scripture, "'That a man mail leave his fa- ther and mother and cleave to his wife ; and they fliall be one flefh." However plaufible polygamy may appear in the prefentftate of things, where inequality of rank and fortune have produced luxury and knfuality, yet the laws of nature were not contrived by our Maker for a forced ftate, where 'numberlefs in- dividuals dividuals are degraded below their natural rank, for the benefit of a few, who are elevated above it. To form a jufl notion of polygamy., we mud look back to the original (late of man, where all are equal. In that Hate, every man cannot have two wives ; and cpnfequently no man is entitled to more than one, till every other be upon an equal footing with him. At the fame time, the union of one man with one woman is much belter cal- culated for continuing the race than the union of one man with many women. Think of a favage, who may have fifty or fixty children by different wives, all depending for food upon his induftry. Chance muft turn out much in his favour, if the half of them perilh not by hunger. How much a better chance for life have infants, who are dif- tributcd more equally in different families ? Polygamy has an effedt frill more pernicious, with refpedl to children even of the mod opulent families. Unlefs affe&ion be reciprocal and equal, there can be no proper fociety in the matrimonial ftate, no cordiality, nor due care of offspring. But fuch affection is inconfiftent with polygamy. A woman, in that (late, far from being a companion to her hufband, is degraded to the rank of a fer- vant, a mere inftrument of pleafure and propaga- tion. Among many wives there will always be a favourite. The reft turn peevim ; and if they re- fent not the injury againft. their hufband, and againft the it their children as belonging to him, they will at leaft be clifhcartenccl, and turn negligent of them. At the fame time, fondncfs for the favourite wife and her children, makes the hufband indifferent about the reft ; and woeful is the condition of children, who are neglected by both parents. To produce fuch an efreft, is certainly not the purpofe of nature. It merits peculiar attention, that Providence has provided for an agreeable union, among all crea- tures who are taught by nature to pair. Animal love,, among creatures who pair not, is confined within a narrow fpace of time. While the dam is occupied about her young, animal love lies dor- mant, that fhe may not be abftra&ed from her duty. In pairing animals, on the contrary, animal love is always awake. Among the wild birds, that build on trees, the male, after feeding her mate in the neft, plants himfelf upon the next fpray, and cheers her with a fong*. There is (till greater enjoyment provided for tho human race in the matrimonial (late, and ftrongcr incitements to conftancy. Sweet is the fociety oi a pair fitted for each other, in whom arc coUe&cd * A canary bird, finging to his mate on her neft in a breeding- cage, fell down dead. The female alarmed, left her neft, an4 p-cked at him; but finding him immoveable, fl;e refufed nourishment, and died at his fide. tht ( "5 ) the affe&ions of hufband, \vife, lover, friend, the tendereft affections of human nature. Public government is in perfe&ion, when the fovereign commands with humanity, and the fubjets are cordial in their obedience. Private government in conjugal fofiety arrives at ftill greater perfection, where hufband and wife govern, and are governed reciprocally, with entire faiisfa&ion to both. The man bears rule over his wife's perfon and conduct ; me bears rule over his inclinations. He governs by law ; fhe by perfuafion. " The empire of a woman," fays a celebrated, writer, "is an empire of foftnefs, of addrefs, of complacency. Her commands are carefTes ; her menaces are tears. She ought to reign in the family, like a minifter in the ftate, by making that which is her inclination be enjoined to her as her duty. Thus it is evident, that the beft do- meftic oeconomy is that, where the wife has moft authority. But when (he is infenfible to the voice of her chief, when fhe tries to ufurp his prerogative, and to command alone, what can refult from fuch diforder, but mifery, fcandal, and dishonour ?" The Emprefs Livia being queftioned by a mar- ried woman, how (lie had obtained fuch an afcen- dancy over her hufband Auguflus, anfwcrcd, <" By being obedient to his commands, by not wifhing to to know his fccrets, and by hiding my knowledge of his amours." The late Queen of Spain was a woman of fin- gular prudence, and of folid judgment. A charac- ter of her, publifhed after her death, contains the following paifoge : " She had a great afcendancy over the King, founded on his perfuafion of her fuperior fenfe, which me mowed in a perfect fub- miflion to his command^ ; the more eafily. obeyed, as they were commonly, though to him imper- /ceptibly, di fluted by berfelf. She cured him of many foibles \ and, in a word, was his Minerva, under the appearance of Mentor." The chief fources of polygamy are favage man- ners, and voluptuoufnefs in warm climates, which inftigates men of wealth to tranfgrefs every rule of temperance. Strength and boldnefs are the only qualities \vhich favages value. In thefe, females are very deficient, and, therefore, are defpifed by the males, as beings of an inferior order. The North-American tribes glory in idlenefs. The drudgery of labour degrades a man in their opinion, and is proper for women only. To join young perfons in marriage is, accordingly, the bufmefs of parents ; and it would be unpardonable meannefs in the bridegroom, to mew any fondnefs for the bride. Young men are admitted into fo- ciety with their feniors, at the age of eighteen ; after ( "7 ) after which it is difgraceful to keep company with women. In Guiana, a woman never eats with her huf- band ; but, after every meal, Ihe attends him with water for warning. In the Carribbee iflands, wives are not even per- mitted to eat in the prefence of their hufbands ; and yet we are allured, that women there obey with fuch fweetnefs and refpeft, as never to give their hufbands occafion to remind them of their duty. " An example," adds our author*, " worthy the imitation of Chriftian wives, who are daily in- ftrudted from the pulpit, in the duties of obedience and conjugal fidelity, but to very little purpofe.'" Dampier obferves in general, that, among all the wild nations he was acquainted with, the women carry the burdens, while the men walk before, and carry nothing but their arms. Women, even of the higheft rank, are not better treated. The fove- reign of Giaga, in Africa, has many wives, who are literally flaves. One carries his bow, one his arrow ; and one gives him drink ; and while he is drinking, they all fall on their knees, clap their hands, and fing. In Siberia, and even in Ruflia, the capital ex- cepted, men treat their wives in every refpedl as flaves. The regulations of Peter I. put marriage upon * Labat's voyages. upon a more refpectable footing, among people of rank ; and yet fuch are the brutal manners of the Ruffians, that tyrannical treatment of wives is far from being eradicated. Thus the low condition of the female fex, among favages and barbarians, paved the way to polygamy. Excited by a tafte for variety, and Hill more by pride, which is gratified by many fervants, they delighted in a multiplicity of wives. The cuftom of purchafing wives is intimately connected with polygamy. A woman, purchafed as a wife, has no juft caufe for complaining, that others are purchafed as (he was* This practice, and, by confequence, polygamy was prevalent among the Jews. Sechem, demanding in mar- riage Dinah, Jacob's daughter, faid, " Aik me ever fo much dowry and gift, and I will give ac- cording as yc iliall fay unto me : But give me the damfel to wife." To David demanding Saul's daughter in marriage, Saul faid, " The king defireth not any dowry, but an hundred forcfkins of the Philiftines." Jacob, having nothing elfe to give, fervc-d Laban fourteen years for two wives. The ancient Spaniards purchafed their wive?. We have the authority of Herodotus, that the Thracians followed the fame practice. The latter adds, that if a wife was ill treated, her relations could could demand her bade, upon repaying the price they got for her. The Babylonians and the Aflfyrians, at ftated times, collected all the marriageable young women, and difpofed gf them by auction. Rubruguis, in his voyage to Tartary, reports, that there every man bought his wife. " They believe," he adds, " that their wives ferve them in another world as they do in this ; for which reafon a widow has no chance for a fecond huf- band, whom me cannot ferve in another world.'* Glaus Magnus, remarking that among the an- cient Goths no dower was provided on the bride's part, gives a reafon, better fuited perhaps to the time he lived in, than to what he defcribes. *' Among the Goths," fays he, " a man gave a dowry for his bride, inftead of receiving one with her; to prevent pride and infolence, which com- monly accompany riches on the woman's part." As if the hazard of petulance in a wife would hinder a man to accept a dower with her : a fad docVme for an beircfs. By the laws of King Ethelbert, a man, who committed adultery with his neighbour's wife, was obliged to pay him a fine, and to buy him another wife. Giraldus Cambrenfis, in his defcription of Wales, fays, that there, men purchaied their 5 wives, C '20 ) wives, with liberty to return them, if they proved not agreeable. The bride's parents retained the dowry, and her chance for a hufband was as good as ever. Among barbarous nations, fuch as the Tartars, the Samoides, the Oftiacs, as well as the inha- bitants of Pegu, Sumatra, and the Molucca iflands, the practice of purchasing their wives ftill continues. In Timor, an Eaft-Indian ifland, men fell even their children to purchafe more wives. Among the Carribbees, there is one inftance where a man gets a wife, without paying for her. After a fuccefsful war, the vi&ors are entertained at a feaft, when the General harangues on the valour of the young men, who made the befl figure. Every man, who has marriageable daugh- ters, is eager to offer them to fuch young men, without any price. Opulence, in a hot climate, is the other caufe of polygamy. Men, fo circumftanced, will pur- chafe wives, rather than be confined to one. And purchafe they muft ; for no man, without a valu- able confideration, will furrender his daughter to be one of many who are deftined to gratify the carnal appetite of a fmgle man. The numerous wives and concubines in Afiatic harems are all 'purchafed with money. In the hot climate of 4 Hindoflan Hindoftan polygamy is univerfal, and men buy their wives. The fame obtains in China. After the price is adjufted and paid, the bride is con- ducted to the bridegroom's houfe, locked in a fcdan, and the key delivered to him. If he be not fatisfied with*his bargain, he fends her back, at the e>:pence of lofing the fum he paid for her. If fatisfied, he feafts his male friends in one room, and Jhs her female friends in another. A man, who has little fubftance, takes a wife for his fon from an hofpital, which faves him a dowry. It has been pleaded for polygamy in warm cli- mates-, that women have no children after the age of twenty-five, while men are yet in the prime of life ; and therefore that a fecond wife ought to be permitted, who can have children. Are women then to be laid afide as ufelt-fs, when they ceafe to have children ? In the hotted climates, a woman may be the mother of ten or twelve children ; and are not both parents ufefully employed in rearing fuch a number, and fitting them to do for them- fclves ? After this important tafk is performed, is not the woman well entitled, for the remainder of life, to enjoy the conjugal fociety of a man to whom (he dedicated the flower of her youth ? The argument for polygamy might indeed be conclufive, were a greater number of femJe> born than of males. But as an equality of males and G females C 12* ) females is the invariable rule of Nature, the argu- ment has no force. All men are born equal by nature ; and to permit polygamy, in any degree, is to authorize fome to ufurp the privilege of others. As polygamy is a forced ftate, contradictory to nature, locks and bars are the only fure means for reftraining a number of women confined to one hufband. When the King of Perfia, with his wives, removes from Ifpahan to any of his villas, the hour of his departure, and the ftreet through which he is to pafs, are proclaimed three days before, in order that every man may keep out of the way. In contradiction to the climate, Chriftianity has baniflied polygamy from Ethiopia, though the judges are far from being fevere upon that crime. The heat of the climate makes them wifh to in- dolge in a plurality of wives, even at the expence of purchafing each of them. Amorg the Chrif- tians of Congo polygamy is in ufe, as formerly when they v. ere Pagans. To be confined to one wife is held, by the moft zealous Chrift&ns there, to be altogether irrational. Rather than be fo con- fined, they would renounce Chriftianity. The Chinefe are fo jealous of their wives, as even to lock them up from their relations ; and, x fo great is their diffidence of the female fex in ge- neral, that brothers and fitters are not permitted to converfe converfe together. When women go abroad, they are fhut up in a clofe fetlan, into which no eye can penetrate. The intrigues carried on by the wives of the Chinefe Emperor, and the jealoufy that reigns among them, render them unhappy. But luckily, *as women are little regarded, where polygamy is indulged, their ambition and intrigues give lefs diflurbance to the government, than in the courts of European princes. The ladies of Hindoftan cover their heads with a gauze veil, tven at home, which they lay not afide, except in the company of their neareft rela- tions. A Hindoo buys his wife ; and the firft time he is permitted to fee her without a veil is after marriage in his own houfe. In feveral hot countries, women are put under the guard of eunuchs, as an additional fecurity ; and black eunuchs are commonly preferred for their uglinefs. But, as a woman, deprived of the fociety of mefl, is apt to be inflamed even with the appearance of a man, fome jealous nations, re- fining upon that circumftance, employ old maids, termed duennas, for guarding their women. In the city of Moka, in Arabia Felix, women of fafhion never appear in the ftreets in day light ; but it is a proof of manners, refined above thofe in neighbouring countries, that they are permitted to vifit one another in the evening. If they find men G a in in their \vay, they draw afide to let them pafs. A French furgeon being called by one of the King of Yeman's chief officers, to cure a rheumatifm, which had feized two of his wives, was permitted to handle the parts affeded ; but he could not get a fight of their faces. C H A P. XXXIX. ON THE EDUCATION OF ASIATIC WOMEN. IN the warm regions of Afia, where polygamy is indulged, the education of young women is extremely loofe, being intended folely for animal pleafure. They are accompliflied in fuch graces and allurements, as tend to inflame the fenfual ap- petite. They are taught vocal and inftrumental mufic, with various dances that cannot (land the left of decency. But no culture is beftowed on the mind, no moral inflru&ion, no improvement of the rational faculties ; becaufe fuch education as qualifies them for being virtuous companions to men of fenfe, would infpire them with abhorrence at the being made proftitutes. In a word, fo cor- rupted are they by vicious education, as to be unfit obje&s of any dcfire, but what is merely fenfual. Afiatic wives are not trufted even with the ma- nagement ( '25 J nagement of hou&holtl affairs, which would afford opportunities of infidelity. In Perfia, fays Chardin, the ladies are not per- mitted, more than children, to choofe a gown for themfelves. , No lady knows in the morning what fhe is to wear that day. The education of young women in Hindoflan is confiderably different. They are not taught mufic nor dancing, which are reckoned fit only for ladies of pleafure. They are taught all the graces of external behaviour, particularly to converfe with fpirit and elegance." -They are taught alfo to few, to embroider, and to drefs with tafte. Writing is neglected ; but they are taught to read, that they may have the confolation of itudying the Alcoran ; which they never open, nor could underftand if they did. Notwithftanding fuch care in educating Hin- doftan females, their confinement in a feraglio renders their manners extremely loofe. The mod refined luxury of fenfe, with idlenefs, or with reading love-tales ftill worfe than idlenefs, cannot fail to vitiate the minds of perfons deprived of li- berty, and to prepare them for every fort of irj- temperance. The wives and concubines of grandees in Con- ftantinople are permitted fometimes to walk abroad for air and exercife. A foreigner {tumbling acci- C 3 dentally dentally on a knot of them, about forty in number, attended with black eunuchs, was, in the twinkling of an eye, feized by a brilk girl, with the reft at her heels, who all accofted him with loofe expref- fions. An old JaniiTary, Itanding at a little dif- tance, was amazed. His Mahometan bafhfulnefs would not fuffer him to lay hands upon women ; but, with a Stentorian voice, he roared to the black eunuchs, that they were guardians of profti- tutesy not of modeft women j urging them to free the man from fuch harpies. CHAP. XL. ON MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. MARRIAGE-ceremonies vary in different countries, and at different times. Where the practice is to purchafe a wife, whether among favages, or among pampered people in hot climates, payment of the price completes the marriage, "without any other ceremony. Other ceremonies, however, are fometitnes pra&ifed. In old Rome, the bride was attended to the bridegroom's houfe with a female Have, carrying a diftaff and a fpindle, importing that ihe ought to fpin for the family. Among the favages of Canada, and of the neigh- bouring countries, a (trap, a kettle, and a faggot, arc ' ( "7 ) ;vre put in the bride's cabin, as fymbols of her duty, viz. to carry burdens, to drefs victuals, and to provide wood. On the other hand, the bride, in token of her flavery, takes her axe, cuts wood, bundles it ip, and lays it before the door of the bridegroom's hut. All the falutation file receives is, " It is: time to go to reft." The inhabitants of Sierra Leona, a negro coun- try, have in all their towns a boarding-fchool, where young ladies are educated for a year, under the care of a venerable old gentleman. When their education is completed, they are carried in their beft attire to a public aflembly ; which may be termed a matrimonial market, becaufe there young men convene to make choice. Thofe, who fit themfelves to their fancy, pay the dowry ; and, over and above, gratify the old fuperintendant for his extraordinary care in educating the bride. In the ifland of Java, the bride, in token of fub- jeftion, wames the bridegroom's feet ; and this is a capital ceremony. In Ruflia, the bride prefents to the bridegroom a bundle of rods, to bt ufed againft her when (he deferves to be chaftifed ; and at the fame time fhe pulls off his boots. The prefent emprefs, intent upon reforming the rude manners of her fubjecls, has difcountenanced that ceremony among people of fafhion. G 4 Very ( '28 ) Very different were the manners of Peru, before the Spanilh conqueft. The bridegroom carried (hoes to the bride, and put them on with his own hands. But there, purchafing of wives was un- known. Marriage ceremonies in Lapland are di- rected by the fame principle. It is cuftomary there for a man to make prefents to his children of rein-deer ; and young women, who have a large ftock of thefe animals, have lovers in plenty. A yourg man looks for fuch a wife at a fair, or at a meeting for paying taxes. He takes to the houfe of the young woman's parents fome of his relations ; being folicitous in particular to have an eloquent fpeaker. They are all admitted, except the lover, who muft wait till he be called in. After drinking fome fpirits, the fpoktfman addrefles the father in humble terms, bowing the knee, as if he were in- troduced to a prince. CHAP, ( 129 ) CHAP. XLI. ON FEMALE SUCCESSION. THE gradual advance of the female fex to an equality with the male fex, is viiible in the laws of female fucceffion that have been ellablifhed at different times, and in different countries. It is not probable that, in any country, women were early admitted to inherit land. They are too much defpifed among favages, for fo valuable a privilege. The fiercenefs and brutality of the ancient Romans, in particular, unqualified the women to be their companions. It never entered their thoughts, that women fhould inherit land, which they cannot defend by the fword. But women came to be re- garded, in proportion as the national manners re- fined. The law, prohibiting female fucceflion in land, eftablifhed in days of rurticity, was held to be rigorous and unjuft, when the Romans were more polifhed. The barbarous nation?, who crufhed the Roman, power, were not late in adopting the mild man- ners of the conquered. They admitted women to inherit land, and they exacted a double compofition for injuries done to them. By the Salic law among the Franks, women were exprefsly prohibited to inherit land. But G 5 this this prohibition was in time eluded, by the follow- ing folemnity. The man, who wanted to put his daughter upon a footing with his fons, carried her before the commiflary, faying, " My dear child, an ancient and impious cuftom bars a young wo- man from fuceeding to her father : but, as all my children, are equally given me by God, I ought to love them equally; therefore, my dear child, my will is that my effects be divided equally be- tween you and your brethren." In polifhed ftates women are not excluded from fucceeding even to the crown. Ruffia and Britain afford examples of women capable to govern, in an abfolute, as well as in a limited monarchy. Among the Hurons in North Amarica, where the regal dignity is hereditary, and great regard paid to the royal family, the fuccellion is continued through females, in order to preferve the royal blood untainted. When the chief dies, his fon does not fucceed, but his fitter's fon ; who certain- ly is of the royal blood, whoever be the father. And, when the royal family is at an end, a chief is elected by the nobleft matron of the tribe. The fame rule of fucceffion obtains among the Natches, a 'people bordering on the MifTiflippi ; it being an article of their creed, " That their royal family are children of the fun." On the fame belief was founded a law in Peru, appointing the heir of the crown to marry his lif- ter 5 ter; which, equally with the law mentioned, pre- ferved the blood of the fun in the royal family. Female fucceflion depends, in fome degree, on the nature of the government. In Holland, all the children, male and female, fucceed equally. The Hollanders live by commerce, which women are capable of as well as men, Land, at the fame time is fo fcanty in that country, as to render it im- practicable to raife a family, by engroffing a great eftate in land ; and there is nothing but the am- bition of raifmg a family, that can move a man to prefer one of his children before the reft. The fame law obtains in Hamburgh, for the fame reafons, Exteniive eftates in land fupport great families in Britain, a circumftance unfavourable to younger children. But probably in London, and in other great trading towns, mercantile men provide againft the law, by making a more equal diftiibution of their effects among their children. Upon a review of the hiftory of the fair fex, would not one be apt to conclude, that originally females were every where defpifed, as they are at prefent among the favages of America; that wives, like flaves, were procured by barter ; and that polygamy was univerfal. The northern na- tions of Europe, however, muft be excepted from thefe concluiions. Among them, women were from the beginning courted and honoured, nor- was polygamy ever known among them. G 6 CHAP, ( 132 ) CHAP. XLII. CURIOUS INSTANCES OF FALSE REASONING. WHEN we confider the many caufes that miflead from juft reafoning, in days ef- pecially of ignorance ; the erroneous and abfurd opinions that have prevailed, and ftill continue, in fome meafure, to prevail in the world, are far from being furprifmg. Were reafon our only guide in the condudt of life, we fhould have caufe to complain ; but our Maker has provided us with the moral fenfe, a guide little fubjecT: to- error in matters of impor- tance. To exemplify erroneous and abfurd reafonings of every fort, would be endlefs. Let the follow- ing amufing inftanees, therefore, fuffice. Plato, taking it for granted, " That every being which moves itfelf rnuft have a foul," concludes that the world mull have a foul,, becaufe it moves itfelf. Appion ridicules the Jews for adhering literally to the precept of reding on their fabbath, fo as to fuffer Jerufalem to be taken* that day by Ptolemy fon of Lagus. Mark the anfvver of Jofephus. " Whoever patTes a fober judgment on this mat- ter, will find our practice agreeable to honour and virtue i for what can be more honourable and vir- tuous,. f 133 ) tuous, than to poftpone our country, and even life itfelf, to the fervice of God, and of his holy religion ?" A ftrange idea of religion, to put it in direft oppofitionto every moral principle! ,A fuperljitious and abfurd do&rine, " that God will iriterpofe by a miracle to declare what is right, in every controverfy, has occafioned much erroneous reafoning, and abfurd practice. The practice of determining controverfies, by fingle combat, com- menced about the feventh century, when religion had degenerated into fuperftition, and courage was efteemed the only moral virtue. The parlia- ment of Paris, in the reign of Charles VI. ap- pointed a fingle combat, in order to have the judgment of Heaven, whether the one had cony- mitted a rape with the other's wife. The trials by water, and by fire, reft on the fame erroneous foundation. In the former, if the perfon accufed funk to the bottom, it was a judg- ment pronounced by God, that he was innocent. If he kept above, it was a judgment that he was guilty. . Fleury remarks, that if ever the perfon accufed was found guilty, it was his own fault. In Sicily, a woman acccufed of adultery, was compelled to fwear to her innocence. The oath, taken down in writing, was laid on water ; and if it did not fink, the woman was innocent. We find the fame practice in Japan, and in Malabar. One ( 134 ) One of the articles infifted on by the reformers in Scotland, was, " that public prayers be made, -and the facraments administered in the vulgar tongue," The anfvver of a provincial council was in-the following words : " That to conceive public prayers, or adminifter the facraments in any lan- guage but Latin, is contrary to the traditions and practice of the Catholic church, for many ages paft; and that the demand cannot be granted, without impiety to God, and difooedience to the church." Here it is taken for granted, that the 'praftice of the church is always right ; wJiich is building an argument on a very rotten foundation. The Caribbeans abltairi from eating turtle, which they think would infect them with the lazi- nefs and ftupidity of that animal. Upon the fame erroneous notion, the Brafilians abitain from the fleth of ducks and of every creature that moves fknvly. It is obferved of northern nations, that they do not open the mouth fufficiently for diftinft articu- lation ; and the rcafon given is, " that the cold- nefs of the air makes them keep the mouth as clcfe as pofiible.7 People inured to a cold climate are as little affected by cold in the mouth, as in any other part of the body. The real caufe is, that northern tongues abound with confonants which admit but a fmall aperture of the mouth. A talent ( 135 J A talent for writing feems in Germany to be efti mated by weight, as beauty is faid to be in Holland. Cocceius, for writing three weighty folio volumes on law, has obtained among his. country- men the epithet of Great. This author, handling the rules of fticceflion in land-eftates, has, with moft profound erudition, founded all of them upon The following very fimple propofition. In a com- petition, that defcendant is entitled to be preferred, who has the greateft quantity of the predeceflbr's blood in his veins. Has a man any of his prede- ceflbr's blood in his veins, otherwife than meta- phorically ? Simple indeed! to build an argument in law upon a pure metaphor. To convince the the world of the truth of the four gofpels, Ireneus urges the following arguments, which he calls demonftration. " There are four quarters of the world, and four cardinal winds, confequently there are four gofpels in the church, as there are four pillars that fupport it, and four breaths of life that render it immortal." Again, " There have been four covenants ; the firfl^under Adam, the fecond under Noah, the third under Mofes, the fourth under Jefus Chrift." St. Cyprian, in his exhortation to martyrdom, afte; having applied the myfterious number feven, to the feven days of the creation, to the feven thou- fand years of the world's duration, to the feven fpirits C 136 J fpirits that ftand before God, to the feven lamps of the tabernacle, to the feven candlefticks of the Apocalypie, to the feven pillars of wifdom, to the feven children of the barren woman, to the feven women, who took one man for their hufband, to the feven brothers of the Maccabees, obferves, that St. Paul mentions that number as a privileged number ; which, fays he, is the reafon why he did not write but to feven churches. Jofephus, in his anfvvcr to Appion, urges the following argument for the temple of Jerufalem : " As there is but one God, and one world, it holds by analogy, that there mould be but one temple.'* At that rate, there ihould be but one worfhipper. And why mould that one temple be at Jerufalem,. rather than at Rome, or at Pekin ? The Syrians and Greeks did not for a long time eat nm. Two reafons are affigned. One is, that fifh is not facrificed to the Gods j the other, that being immerfed in the fea, they look not up to heaven. The firft would afford a more plaufible argument for eating fifli. And, if the other have any weight, it would be an argument for facrificing men, and neither nm nor cattle. In juftification of the Salic law, which prohibits female fuccedion, it was long held a conclufive argument, " That in the Scripture, the Him are faid neither to work nor to fpin." Peter ( '37 ) Peter Hantz of Horn, who lived in the laft cen- tury, imagined that Noah's ark is the true conllruo tion of a ftiip ; " which," faid he, " is the work- mar.mip of God, and therefore perfeil ;" as if a verTel, made only for floating on the water, were the bed alfo for failing. The Spaniards, who laid wade a great part of the Weft Indies, endeavoured to excufe their cruel- ties, by maintaining, that the natives were not men, but a fpecies of the Ouran (Jutang; for no better reafon, than that they were of a copper colour, fpoke an unknown language, and had no beard. In 1440, the Porttiguefe foliated the Pope's permillion to double the Cape of Good Hope, and to reduce to perpetual fervitude the negroes, be- caufe they had the colour of the damned, and never went to church. In the Frederician Code, a propofition is laid down, " that by the law of nature, no man can make a tellamcnt." And infupportof that propofi- tion the following argument is urged, which is faid to be a dcmonftration : " No deed can be a tefta- ment while a man is alive, becaufl it is not necef- farily his lajl will ; and no man can make a tefta- ment after his death." Both premifes are true, but the negative conclufion does not follow. It is true a man's deed is not his lajl will, while he 1H is alive. But does it not become his laft will, when he dies without altering the deed? The Roman Catholics began with beheading heretics, hanging them, or ftoning them to death. But fuch punifhments were difcovered to be too flight, in matters of faith. It was demonftrated that heretics ought to be burnt in a flow fire. It being taken for granted, that God punifhes them in the other world with a flow fire ; it was inferred, " That, as evory prince and every magiftrate is the image of God in this world, they ought to follow his example*" -Here is a double error in reafon- ing ; firft, the taking for granted the fundamental propofition, which is furely not felf-evident ; and next, the drawing a conclufion from it, without any connection. Huetius, Bifhop of Auvranches, declaiming againft the vanity of eftablifhing a perpetual fuc- ceflion of defendants, obferves, that other writers had expofed it upon moral principles, but that he would cut it down with a plain metaphyfical ar- gument. " Father and fon are relative ideas ; and the relation is at an end by the death of either. My will therefore to leave my eftate to my fon is abfurd ; becaufe after my death, he is no longer my fon." By the fame fort of argument he de- monftrates the vanity of fame. " The relation that fublifts between a man and his chara&er, is at M ( 139 ) an end by his death; and therefore, the cha- rader given him by the world, belongs not to him nor to any perfon." HuetiuS is not the only writer, who has urged metaphyfkal arguments contrary to common fenfe. It was once a general opinion among thofe who dwelt near the fea, that people never die but during the ebb of the tide. And there were not wanting plaufible reafons. The fea, in flowing, carries with it vivifying particles that recruit the lick. The fea is fait, and fait preferves from rottennefs. When the fea finks in ebbing, every thing finks with it. Nature languifhes, the lick are not vi- vified. They die. The Jews enjoyed the reputation, for feveral centuries, of being fldlful phyficians. Francis I. of France, having long laboured under a difeafe that eluded the art of his own phyficians, applied to the Emperor Charles V. for a Jewifh phyiician from Spain. Finding that the perfon fent had been converted to Christianity, the King refufed to em- ploy him ; as if a Jew were to lole his (kill, upon being converted to Chriftianity. Why did not the King order one of his own phyficians to be con- verted to Judaifm ? In reafoning, inftances are not rare, of miftaking the caufe for the effet, and the effcft for the caufe. When a ilone is thrown from the hand, the con- tinuance.' ( I 4 o ) tinuance of its motion in the air, was once univcr- fally accounted for as follows : " That the air follows the ftone at the heels, and pufhes it on." The effect here is mif taken for the caufe. The air indeed follows the (tone at the heels ; but it only fills the vacuity made by the (lone, and does not pulh it on. It has been ilyly urged againft the art of phyfic, that phyficians are rare among temperate people, who have no wants but thofe of nature ; and that where phyficians abound, difeafes abound. This is miftaking the caufe for the efTed, and the effect for the caufe. People in health have no occalion for a phyfician ; but indolence and luxury beget difeafes, and difeafes beget phyficians. In accounting for natural appearances, even good writers have betrayed a weaknefs in reafoning. Defcartes afcribcs the motion of the planets to a vortex of ether whirling round and round. He thought not of enquiring, whether there really be fuch a vortex, nor what makes it move, M. Buffbn forms the earth out of a fplinter of the fun, ftruck off by a comet. May not one be permitted humbly to enquire of that eminent phi- lofopher, what formed the comet ? This pafTes for folid reafoning; and yet we laugh at the poor Indian, who fupports the earth from falling by an elephant, and the elephant by a tortoife. Ancient Ancient hiftories are full of incredible fails, that paifed current, during the infancy of reafon, which at prefent would be rejected with contempt. Every one, who is converfunt in the hiftory of ancient nations, can recall inftanccs without end. Does any pcrfon believe at prefent, though gravely re- ported by hiftorians, that in old Rome there was a law, for cutting into pieces the body of a bank- rupt, and diftributing the parts among his cre- ditors ? The flory of Pbrfenna and Scevola is highly romantic ; and there is little reafon to believe, there ever was fuch a (late as that of the Amazons. Abfurd conclufions have been deduced from pro- hibitions taken literally, againft common fenfe. Lord Clarendon gives two inftances ; both of them relative to the great fire of London. The mayor propofing to pull down a houfe, in order to Hop theprogrefsof the fire, was oppofed by the lawyers, who declared the act to be unlawful ; and the houfe was burnt without being pulled down. About the fame time, it was propofed to break open fome houfes in the Temple for laving the furniture, the poileflbrs being in the country ; but it was declared burglary to force open a door with- out confent of the poifeflbr. Such literal interpretation, contrary to common fenfe, has been extended even to inflict punifh- vnent. Ifadas was bathing, when the alarm was 5 given ( 142 j given in Lacedasmon, that Epaminondas was at hand with a numerous array. Naked as he was, he rufhed againft the enemy with a fpear in one hand, and a fword in the other, bearing down all before him. The Ephori fined him for going to battle unarmed ; but honoured him with a garland for his gallant behaviour. How abfurd to think, that the law was intended for fuch a cafe ! And how much more abfurd to think, that the fame act ought to be both puniftied and rewarded ! It is a falutary regulation, that a man who is abfent cannot be tried for his life. Pope For- mofus died fuddenly, without fufFering any pu- nifhment for his crimes. He was raifed from his grave, dreifed in his pontifical habit ; and in that fhape a criminal procefs went on againft him. Could it ferioufly be thought, that a rotten carcafe, brought into court, was fufficient to fulfil the law ? The fame abfurd farce was played in Scotland, upon the body of Logan of Reftalrig, feveral years after his interment. The body of Tancred, King of Sicily, was raifed from the grave, and the head cut off for fuppofed rebellion. Henry IV. of CaftMe, was depofed in abfence; but, for a colour of juftice, the following ridiculous fcene was acted. A wooden ftatue, dreiTed in a royal habit, was placed on a theatre ; and the fentence of depo- fition was folemnly read to it, as if it had been the King himfelf. The Archbimop of Toledo feized feized the crown, another the fceptre, a third the fvvord, and the ceremony was concluded, with proclaiming another king. CHAP. XLIII. ON THE ANTICIPATION OF FUTURITY. NO bias in human nature is more prevalent, than a defire to anticipate futurity, by being made acquainted beforehand with what will happen. It was indulged without referve in dark times ; and hence omens, auguries, dreams, judicial aftrology, oracles, and prophecies, without end. It mows flrange weaknefs not to fee, that fuch fore-know- led^e would be a gift more pernicious to man, than Pandora's box. It would deprive him of every mo- tive to a6lion ; and leave no place for fagacity, nor for contriving means to bring about a defired event. Life i-s an enchanted caftle, opening to intereftihg views that inflame the imagination, and excite in- dullry. Remove the veil that hides futurity To an adlive, buttling, animating fcene, fucceeds a dead ftupor, men converted into ftatues, paffive, like inert matter, becaufe there remains not a fingle motive to alion. Anxiety about futurity roufes our fagacity to prepare for .what may hap- pen ; but an appetite to know, what fagacity cannot difcover, is a weaknefs in nature, incon- JLftent with every rational principle. 4 CHAP. CHAP. XLIV. ON OUR PROPENSITY TO THE BELIEF OF THE MARVELOUS. T}ROPENSITY to things rare and wonderful, A is a natural bias no lefs univerfal than the for- mer. Any ftrange or unaccountable event roulls the attention, and inflames the mind. We fuck it io greedily, wifh it to be true, and believe it upon the flighted evidence. A hart taken in the foreft of Senlisby Charles VI. of France, bore a collar upon which was infcribed " Cxfar hoc me donavit." Co-far gave me ibis. Every one believed- that a Roman Emperor was meant, and that the bead mud have lived at lead a thoufand years ; overlooking that the Emperor -of Germany is alfo dyled Cafar t and that it was not neceifary to go back fifty years. This propenfity difplays itfelf even in childhood. Stories of ghods and apparitions are anxioufly liilen- ed to, and by the terror they occafion, firmly be- lieved. The vulgar, accordingly, have been cap- tivated with fuch dories, upon evidence that would not be fufficient to afcertain the fimpled fact. The abfurd and childim prodigies that are every where fcattered through the hidory of Titus Livius, not to mention other ancient hidorians, would be un- accountable in a writer of fenfe and gravity, were it not for the propenfity mentioned, But I H5 ) But human belief is not left at the mercy of every irregular bias. Our Maker has fubje&ed belief to the fubjedtion of the rational faculty ; and accor- dingly, in proportion as reafon advances towards maturity, wonders, prodigies, apparitions, incan- tations, witchcraft, and fuch fluff, lofe their in- fluence. That reformation, however, has been ex- .ceeedingiy flow, becaufe the propenfity is very ftrong. Such abfurdities found credit among wife men, even as late as the 'laft age. The Earl of Clarendon gravely relates an inci- dent concerning the afTaflination of the Duke of Buckingham, the fum of which follows. *' There were many ftories fcattered abroad at that time, of prophecies and predictions of the Duke's untimely and violent death ; -one of which was upon abetter foundation of credit, than fuch difcourfes are ufu- ally founded upon. There was an officer in the King's wardrobe in Windfor caftle, of reputation for honefty and difcretion, and at that time about the age of fifty. About fix months before the miferable end of the Duke, this man being in bed and in good health, there appeared to. him at mid- night a man of a venerable afpect, who drawing the curtains, and fixing his "eye upon him, faid, " Doyouknowme, Sir?'* The poor man, half dead with fear, anfwered, that he thought him to be Sir George Villiers, father to the Duke. Upon which he was ordered by the apparition, to go to H the the Duke and tell him, that if he did not fomewhat to ingratiate himfelf with the people, he would be fuffered to live but a fhort time. The fame perfon appeared to him a fecond and a third time, reproach- ing him bitterly for not performing his promife. The poor man pluck'd up as much courage as to excufe himfelf, that it was difficult to find accefs to the Duke, and that he would be thought a madman. The apparition imparted to him fome fecrets, which he faid would be his credentials to the Duke. The officer, introduced to the Duke by Sir Ralph Freeman, was received courteoufly. They walk- ed together near an hour ; and the Duke fometimes fpoke with great commotion, though his fervants with Sir Ralph were at fuch a diftance, that they could not hear a word. The officer, returning from the Duke, told Sir Ralph, that when he mentioned the particulars that were to gain him credit, the Duke's colour changed ; and he fwore the officer could come to that knowledge only by the devil ; for that thefe particulars were known only to him- felf, and to one perfon more, of whofe fidelity he was fecnre. The Duke, who went to accompany the King at hunting, was obferved to ride, all the the morning, in deep thought ; and before the morning was fpent, left the field and alighted at his mother's houfe, with whom he was (hut up for two or three hours. When the Duke left her, Jris countenance appeared full of trouble, with a mixture . . ( H7 ) mixture of anger, which never appeared before in converfing with her ; and fhe was found overwhelm- ed with tears, and in great agony. Whatever there was of all this, it is a notorious truth, that when fhe heard of the Duke's murder, fhe feemed not in the leaft furprifed, nor did fhe exptefs much forrow." The name of Lord Clarendon calls for more at- tention to the foregoing relation than otherwife it would deferve. It is no article of the Chriftian faith, that the dead preferve their connection with the living, or are ever fuffered to return to this world. We have no folid evidence for fuch a facT: ; and rarely hear of it, except in tales for amufmg or terrifying children. Secondly, The ftory is incon- fiftent with the fyftem of Providence ; which, for the heft purpofes, has drawn an impenetrable veil between us and futurity. Thirdly, This appa- rition, though fuppofed to be endowed with a mi- raculous knowledge of future events, is, however, deficient in the fagacity that belongs to a perfon of ordinary underftanding. It appears twice to the officer without thinking of giving him proper cre- dentials ; nor does it think of them till fuggefted by the officer. Fourthly, Why did not the apparition go directly to the Duke himfelf ; what neceffity for employing a third perfon ? The Duke muft have been much more affe&ed with an apparition to him- felf, than with the hearing it at fecond hand. The H 2 officer officer was afraid -of being taken for a madman; and the Duke had fome reafon to think him fuch. Laftly, The apparition happened above three months before the Duke's death ; and yet we hear not of a fingle ftep taken by him, in purfuance of the advice he got. The authority of the writer, and the regard we owe to him, have drawn from me, fays Lord Kaimes, the foregoing reflections, which with re- fpect to the flory itfelf are very little neceflary ; for the evidence is really not fuch as to verify an ordi- nary occurrence. His Lordihip acknowledges, that he had no evidence but common report, faying, that it was one of the many ftories fcattered abroad at that time. He does not fay, that the ftory was related to him by the officer, whofe name he does not even mention, or by Sir Ralph Freeman, or by " the Duke, or by the Duke's-mother. .If any thing happened like what is related, it may with good reafon be fuppofed that the officer was crazy, or en- thufiaftically mad. Nor hare we any evidence be- yond common report, that he communicated any fccret to the. Duke. CHAP. C 149 ) CHAP. XLV. ON THE TENDENCY OF THE HUMAN MIND TO MYSTERIES AND H ID-DEN MEANINGS. ANOTHER fource of erroneous reafoning, is a fingular tendency in the mind of man to myfteries and hidden meanings. Where an object makes a deep impreflion, the bufy mind is feldom fatisfied with the iknple and obvious meaning. In- vention is roufed to allegorize, and to pierce into hidden views and purpofes. Religious forms and ceremonies, however arbitrary, are never held to be fo. If an ufeful purpofe do not appear, it is ta- ' ken for granted that there muft be an hidden mean- ing ; and any meaning, however childifh, will ferve, when a better cannot be found. Such propenfity there is -in dark ages for allegorizing, that evenour Saviour's miracles have not efcaped. " Sacrifice to the cceleftial gods with an odd number, and to the terreftrial gods with an even number," is a precept of Pythagoras. Another is, " Turn round in adoring the gods, and fit down when thou haft worfhipped." The learned make a ftrange pother about the hidden meaning of thefe precepts. But, after all, have they any hidden meaning ? Forms and ceremonies are ufeful in ex- ternal worfhip, for occupying the mind ; and.it is of no importance what they be, provided they pre- 11 3 vent vent the mind from wandering. Why fuch parti- ality to ancient ceremonies, when no hidden mean- ing is fuppofed in thofe of Chriftians, fuch as bowing to the eaft, or the prieft performing the liturgy, partly in a black upper garment, partly in a white ? No ideas are morefimple than of numbers, nor lefs fufceptible of any hidden meaning ; and yet the profound Pythagoras has imagined many fuch meanings. The number one, fays he, having no parts, reprefents the Deity. It reprefents alfo or- der, peace, and tranquillity, which refult from unity of fentiment. The number two repre- fents diforder, confufion, and change. He dif- covered in the number three the mod fublime myfteries. All things arecompofed, fays he, of three fubftances. The number four is holy in its nature, and confli tutes the divine eflence which confifts in uni- ty, power, benevolence, and wifdom. Would one believe, that the great philofopher, who demonftrated the forty-feventh propofition of the firft book of Eu- clid, was the inventor of fuch wild conceits ? Perhaps Pythagoras only meant to divert hi mfelf with them. Whether ^he did fo or not, it feems difficult to be explained, how fuch trifles were preferved in me- mory, and handed down to us through fo many generations. All that can be faid is, that during the infancy of knowledge, every novelty makes a figure, figure, and it requires a long courfe of time to ieparate the corn from the chaff. The following precepts of the fame philofopher, though now only fit for the Child's Guide, were originally cherilhed and preferved in memory as emanations of fuperior wifdom. " Do not enter a temple for worlhip but with a decent air. Ren- tier not life painful, by undertaking too many affairs. Be always ready for what may happen. Never bind yourfelf by a vow nor by an oath. Irritate not a man who is angry." The feven wife men of Greece made a figure in their time ; but it would be unreafonable to expect, that what they taught during the infancy of know- ledge, fhould make a figure in its maturity. A certain writer, fmitten with the conceit of hidden meanings, has applied his talent to the con- ftellations of the zodiac. The lion typifies the force or heat of the fun, in the month of July, when he enters that conftellation. The conftellation, where the fun is, in the month of Auguft, is term- ed the virgin, fignifying the time of harveft. He enters the balance in September, denoting the equa- lity of day and night. The fcorpion, where he is found in October, is an emblem of the difeafes that are frequent during that month. The balance, it muft be acknowledged, is well hit off; but the refemblance of the force of the lion to the heat ot" H 4 the r '52 ) x the fun, is not fo clearly feen, and ftill lefs that of harveft to a virgin. -The fpring would be more happily reprefented by a virgin, and the harveft by a woman that is pregnant. Our tendency to myftery and allegory difplays , itfelf with greater vigour, in thinking of our fore- fathers, and of the ancients in general, by means of the veneration that is paid them. Before writing, was known, ancient hiftory is made up of tradi- tional fables. A Trojan Brutus peopled Eng- lam] ; and the Scots are defcended from Scota, daughter to an Egyptian king. Have we not equally reafon to think, that the hiftories of the heathen Gods are involved in fable ? We pretend not to draw any hidden meaning from the former, why mould we expedt any fuch meaning in the latter ? Defcartes was the greateft geometer of the age he -lived in, and one of the greateft of any age ; which infenfibly, led him to overlook intuitive knowledge, and to admit no propofition, but what is-demonftrated or proved, in the regular form of fyllogifm. He took a fancy to doubt even of his "own exiftence, till he was convinced of it by the following argument. Cogito, ergo fum: I think, therefore I exijl. And what fort of a demonftra- tion is this after all ? If nothing is to be taken for granted, an argument is no lefs neceflary to prove that he thinks, than to prove that he exifts. It is true ( 153 ) true, that he has intuitive knowledge of his think* ing ; but has he not the fame of his exifting ? Would not a man deferve to be laughed at, who, after warming himfelf at a fire, mould imagine the the following argument neceflary to prove its exif- tence. " The fire burns," therefore " it exifts," CHAP. XLVI. ON THE TENDENCY OF MORAL CHARACTER TO DIVERSIFY THE HUMAN FORM. THE mind itfelf is often the original feat of diforder which is transferred to the animal fyftem. In thehiflory of individuals, it is obvious to obferve, that a diftempered imagination, and irregular paflion?, frequently prey upon the body, wafte its vigour, and even haften its difiblution. Judging then from analogy, it feems not unreafona- ble to expect, that the paffions, to which fociety is occafionally obnoxious, may be productive of fimi- lar effects upon the multitude, appear in exterior fymptoms, impair the foundnefs of public health, and enervate the principle of animal life. What form of fociety is moft open to this annoyance, is a problem which, perhaps, the hiftory of the fpecies is not able to refolve. But, in general, it may be pronounced of human life, that the vindictive, H 5 th the envious, and unfocial paflions, are Wtile to the poffeflbr, while all the oppofite emotions diffufe a kindlier influence over our animal frame. " How miferable are the damned !" faid Saint Catherine of Genoa ; " they are no longer capable of love." So clofe is the focial union, that if the fierceft tyrant that ever exifted in human form was doom- ed to be himfelf the executioner of his bloody edicts, the victims of his tyranny would become the inftru- ments of his punilhment, and the torture inflicted would be more than he could endure. The little tyrant of Greece, whom the Hecuba of Euripides chafed from the public theatre, all bathed in tears, retained, in defiance of himfelf, the fenfibility of nature. And if the heart is thus liable to be fubdued by fiction, how mould it fuf- tain, in fimilar circumftances, the actual prefence of woe ? To be callous to fuch impreflions, is to be more or lefs than man ; and, even where virtue is extinct, our organized fyftem is liable to be af- fected by this powerful fympathy of minds. Varieties of national character we obferve im- printed on the phyfiognomy of nations. The fe- veral qualities of levity or vanity dignity or pride, pufillanimity, fortitude, dulnefs, vivacity, ferocity, meeknefs, and a thoufand nicer gradations of moral character, rife up in the vifage, and mark the ex- terior of man. Individuals, it is allowed, are of- ten ( 155 ) ten found devoid of the charadteriftics that pre- dominate in the family, in the tribe, or in the nation to which they belong, while they retain, neverthelefs, all the ufual marks of thofe charao teriftics. Hence, phyfiognomy is a delufive art. Men are belied by appearances, till at laft the genuine exprefTion of the individual is inter- preted, and declares t the fallacy of more equivo- cal and general figns. Thefe general figns, the accumulated effect, perhaps,, of prevailing habit for generations, may become congenial to a race ; and, being wrought into the organization, cannot be effaced at once by the abience of the caufes, which contributed to their formation. To correct, and to eftablifn mental habit, is the prerogative of a moral agent. But the lineaments and proportions of the body are not variable with the gradations of intellectual improvement ; and hence the mind is fo often at variance with the forms which the countenance affumes, in confe- quence of its primaeval caft. When the moft exalted genius of antiquity*, by the exer;:on of this prerogative, had reformed and ennobled all the features of his character, a phyfiognomift, by the rules of art, judged of him from his conftitutioiui propenfities. Some latitude, however, is allowed to man in this adjuftment of things. He can often conceal H6 or * Socrats. ( 156 ). or difguife his fentiments by the fuppreffion of the natural fign. He can aiTume appearances, without the feelings to which they belong. In the exer- cife of this talent he difplays confummate addrefs j and artificial language, more at command, favours the deceit, and countervails the language of nature. Such artifices confer a falfe and temporary phyfiog- nomy, that violates the connection of things, and belies the fyftem of the mind; fo difficult, however, and laborious, is this effort of art, that the moft dexterous diflemblers, aided by all the power of words, often fail in the attempt. A writer, profoundly verfed in the human cha- racter, yet more difpofed to heighten its blemifhes than its perfections, has remarked, in one of the great ftatefmen of his time, this ftruggle between art and nature. " It is indeed true," fays Dean Swift of Lord Somers, " that no man is more apt to take fire upon the leaft appearance of provoca- tion, which temper he ftrives to fubdue with the utmoft violence upon himfelf ; fo that his breaft has been feen to heave, and his eyes to fparkle with rage, in thofe very moments when his words and the cadence of his voice, were in the humbled and fofteft manner. Perhaps that force upon his nature may caufe that infatiable love of revenge, which his de- tractors lay to his charge, who confequently reckon diffhmilation among his chief perfections*." To * Hifto.ry of the four laft yeai;s of the Queen. ( '57 ) To form falfe combinations is not only difficult, but the execution probably is always imperfect ; and hence the great matters in expreffion, whether orators, or actors on the ftage, muft endeavour to feel all the emotions they would difplay to advan- tage. This may even influence the moral cha- racter. In often perfonating the hero, there is ac- quired a caft of heroifm ; and in perfonating mean wretches, there is a clanger of actual debafement. Sentiments find an eafy ingrefs through the ima- gination into the heart, and the occafional fen- timents of the actor may become the habitual principles of the man. Thus, the profligate or libertine, long acted, abates the love of decorum ; and he who can fuftain the enthufiafm of any vir- tue, though in^a borrowed character, has probably appropriated to himfelf fome mare of its real energy. It is. this mode of proceeding, which difcrimi- nates the actor of genius from the inferior mimic, whofe talents are exhaufted in the tranfcript of vifi- ble figns, regardlefs of their foundation in the human mind. In the one cafe, the reprefentation is juft and, natural ; in the other aukward and ina- nimated ; and, by fuch a criterion, a fagacious ob- ferver will diftinguifti real excellence from me- chanical imitation, in the fictitious drama : as in the drama of the world, candour from affectation, and the truth of character from diffimulation, and impofture. Upon ( 158 ) Upon the whole, it may be concluded, that moral fentiment diverfiftes the outward form. And though the varieties, which indicate national character, may often be equally confident with health and vigour, yet, in certain circumftances of fociety, there is reafon to believe, that the predo- minant feelings of our nature become highly in- jurious to the animal oeconomy. Let us fuppofe a tribe of mankind, reduced to a fituation the moft humiliating and calamitous, cramped in their intellectual exertions by an illi- beral difcipline, prone to the fentiments they muft learn to diffemble, and averfe from other fen- timents they are obliged to counterfeit, at perpe- tual variance with fortune, and led, by the rigour of its perfecutions, to cherim the odious, the ran- corous, the vindictive, to the exclufion of all the gentler paflions. Under fuch circumftances, it were contrary to the whole analogy of nature, if the bodily conftitution remained found and un- touched. This picture is not copied from imagination, and aflumed m'erely_on the prerogative of hypothefiy. The original is to be contemplated in the hiftory of both the ancient and modern world ; among the h bondtnen of Judsea, the helots of Sparta, the fubjccls of domeftic tyranny among the Romans, and a large proportion of the fpecies, in another hemifphere. Of Of all the nations of antiquity, the Athenians treated flaves with mod humanity ; the Spartans with the leaft. If, in the treatment of their women, the Spartans have appeared worthy of fuch fuperior praife ; in this other branch of public manners, they are far inferior to the rival ftate. The moft wan- ton debafement of Haves entered into the avowed plan of their civil difcipline. The helots were even compelled to commit vice, in order to infpire an abhorrence of it in the Spartan youth ; to befot themfelves with intoxicating liquors, in order to afford a leflbn of moderation to the free citizen. But how mocking is that policy, which fported with humanity in one form, to give it dignity in another ; and authorifed a breach of morality, with a view to enforce its precepts ! Irt general, however, the condition of ancient flaves was lefs unhappy, than that of modern ones. The Chroma of the Greeks, the Saturnalia of the Romans, could even invert the diftinclion of ranks. Slaves, on thefe feftivals, were fervtd by their matters ; and all ranks of men were reminded, by an admirable eftablimment, of that primitive equali- ty, which was fuppofed to have fubfifted in the reign of Saturn, and the golden age. Some inter- vals of freedom were thus permitted ; fome Ihort refpite to the wretched. But the negro tribes are unacquainted with any fuch indulgences. And, without accufing their American mafters of inhu- manity ( 160 ) manity beyond the nations of antiquity, we may obferve peculiar circumftances in their deftiny, that enhance its rigour. Their mafters, without being more inhuman by nature, are, in practice, more unjuft. Ahcient flaves found a refuge in the fym- pathy of their mafters, which the negroes do not fo eafily excite. Their features and complexion, furnifhing an occafion for unreafonable contempt, or antipathy approaching to hatred, extinguish that fellow-feeling with their fufferings, by which their grievances would often be lightened, and the hand of the oppreflbr difarmed. Hatred, envy, and revenge, grow up naturally under fuch fufferings. But the love of liberty, the moft ftubborn principle of the heart, is at length "eradicated. Self- reverence is gone ; and emanci- pation itfelf cannot reftore them to the honours- of human nature. In time, they view themfelves almoft in the light, in which they are viewed by their rulers ; and it is thus they finally acquiefce in their deftiny, and ceafe even to think like free men, after having ceafed to be free. If then the unfortunate natives of Africa, the fubjets of our difhonourable and odious commerce, do, in reality, degenerate in the various regions to which they are transferred, and, far from multi- plying, cannot even keep up the number of the ftock without perpetual recruits, it is not improba- ble that the infolence of tyranny > and the violence 3 offered C r6r ) offered to the ftubborn paffions and feelings of na- ture, contribute as largely to that degeneracy in their frame, as the fmart of the rod, or malignity of climate, or the labours they are forced to en- dure. The reduction of the negro tribes to perpetual fervitude was contended for, in the fifteenth cen- tury, on this notable ground, " -that they had the colour of the damned." This ground can only be occupied in an ignorant and fuperftitious age. But the arguments, by which the fame conduct: is ftill attempted to be vindicated, though more fubtle and refined, are equally repugnant to reafon, to hu- manity, and to found policy. Thofe arguments have accordingly been refuted from all thefe con- fiderations, by fome of the moft refpec~lable writers in our own and other nations ; by Hume, by Smith, by Montefquieu ; and in a manner the moft deci- five and animated, by an author*, who unites to the warmed zeal for the rights of mankind, a com- prehenfive knowledge of their interefts ; and who has adorned a work, abounding in various and ufe- ful information for all nations, with all the lights of philofophy, and all the fplendor of eloquence. The conviction of men of fcience is now the con- vicYnan of mankind in general, and, it is hoped, will have its due weight with thofe higher powers, to * Hift. Phi!, et Polit. tome iv. p. 161. ( 162 i to whom alone it belongs, by prohibiting the im- portation of flaves under the fevereft penalties, to annihilate for ever a traffic, which throws fo great a ftain on the political ceconomy of modern ages. CHAP. XLVII. ON LUXURY. ME N, who live by hunting, can bear a long faft, and gorge voraciouily when they have plenty, without being the worfe for it. Whence it is that barbarians are great and grofs feeders. They are equally addi&ed to drunkennefs, and pecu- liarly fond of fpirituous liquors. Cyrus preparing to attack his brother Artaxerxes, King of Perfia, publifhed a manifefto, that he was more worthy of the throne than his brother, becaufe he could fvval- low more wine. The ancient Scandinavians, who, like other favages, were intemperate in eating and drinking, fwallowed large cups to their gods, and to fuch of their countrymen as had fallen bravely in battle. To hold much liquor was reputed a heroic virtue. Anciently, people fed but once a-day, a fafliion which continued, even after luxury was indulged ifl other refpeds* In the war of Xerxes againft Greece^ 163 I Greece, it was pleafantly faid of the Abderitcs 1 , who were burdened with providing for the King's table, that they ought to thank the gods, for not inclining Xerxes to eat twice a-day. Plato held the Sicilians to be gluttons, for having two meals every day. In the reign of Henry VI. the people of England fed but twice a-day. He6"lor Boyes, in his hiftory of Scotland, exclaiming againftthe grow- ing luxuries of his contemporaries, fays, that fome perfons were fo gluttonous, as to have three meals every day. Fcafts in former times were carried beyond all bounds. William of Malmfbury, who wrote in the days of Henry II. fays, " That the Englilh were univerfally addicted to drunkenncfs, continu- ing over their cups day and night, keeping open houfe, and fpending the income of their eftates in riotous feafts, where eating and drinking were car- ried to excefs, without any elegance." People, who live in a corner, imagine that every thing is peculiar to themfelves. What Malmfbury fays of the Englifh is common to all nations, in advancing from the felfifhnefs of favages to a relifh for focicty, but who have not yet learned to bridle their appe- tites. Giraldus Cambrenfis, fpeaking of the Monks of Saint Swithin, fays, that they threw themfelves proflrate at the feet of Henry 1 1 . and with many tears complained, that the Biihop, who was their abbot f * J abbot, had withdrawn from ^hem three of their ufual number of dimes. Henry, having made them acknowledge, that there ftill remained ten dimes, faid, that he himfelf was contented with three, and recommended to the Bilhop to reduce them to that number. About this period, angels, prophets, and patri- archs," were fet upon the table in plenty. A cu- rious defert was fometimes exhibited, termedjutte!fie f . viz. pafte moulded into the fhape of animals. A feaft given by Trivultius to Lewis XII. of France, in the city of Milan, makes a figure in- Italian hiftory. No fewer than 1200 ladies were invited ; and the Cardinals of Narbon and St. Severin, with many other prelates were among the t dancers. After dancing, followed the feaft, to regulate which there were no fewer employed than f 60 mafter- houfeholds. Twelve hundred officers in an uniform of velvet, or fatin, carried the vic- tuals, and ferved at the fide-board. The bill of fare of an entertainment, given by Sir Watkin Williams Wynn to a comp.iny of 1500 perfons, on his coming of age, is a fample of an- cient Englifh hofpitality, which appears to have nothing in view but crowding and cramming. The following paflage is from Hollinmed: " That the length and fumptuoufnefs of feafts formerly in ufe, are not totally left off in England ; notwithftand- ing f 1*5 ) ing that it proveth very beneficial to the phyficians, who moft abound, where greateft excefs and mif- government of our bodies appear." He adds, that claret, and other French wines were defpifed, and ftrong wines only in requeft. The beft, he fays, were to be found in monasteries ; for that the mer- chant would have thought his foul would go ftraight way te the devil, if he fhould ferve monks with -other than the beft. In Scotland, fumpruous entertainments were common at marriages, baptifms, and burials. In the reign of Charles II. a ftatute was thought ne- cefTary to confine them within moderate bounds. Of old, there was much eating with little va- riety. At prefent, there is great variety, with more moderation. From a houfehold-book of the I^arl of Northumberland, in the reign of Henry VIII. it appears that his family, during winter, fed moftly ^on fait meat, and fait fifh ; and with that view there was an appointment of 160 gallons of muf- tard. On flefh days, through the year, breakfaft for my Lord and Lady was a loaf of bread, two manchets, a quart of beer, a quart of wine, half a chine of mutton, or a chine of beef boiled : On meagre days, a loaf of bread, two manchets, a quart of beer, a quart of wine, a difh of butter, a piece of fait fifh, or a difh of buttered eggs. Dur- ing lent, a loaf of bread, two manchets, a quart of beer, ( 166 ) beer, a quart of wine, two pieces of fait fifli, fix baconed herrings, four white herrings, or a difh of fproits. There was as little variety in the other meals, except on feftival days. The above way of living, was at that time high luxury. A lady's waiting woman, at prefent, would never have done with grumbling at fuch a table. We learn from the fame book, that the Earl had but two cooks for dreffing victuals to more than 200 domeftics. In thofe days, hen, chicken, capon, pigeon, plover, partridge, were reckoned fuch deli- cacies, as to be prohibited, except at my Lord's table. CHAP. XLVIII. ON REFINEMENTS IN COOKERY. AS luxury advanced, delicacies became more familiar, Hollinftied obferves, A. D. 1570, " that the nobility, rejecting their own cookery, employed* as cooks mufical-headed Frenchmen, and ftrangers." He fays, that even merchants, when they gave a feaft, rejected butcher's meat as un- worthy of their tables ; having jellies of all colours, and in all figures, reprefenting flowers, trees, beafts, fifli, fowl, and fruit." 4 Henry f 167 ) Henry Wardlaw, Archbifhop of St. Andrews, cbferving the refinements in cookery, introduced by James I. of Scotland, who had been eighteen years a prifoner in England, exclaimed againft the abufe, in a parliament held at Perth 1433. ^ e obtained a law, reftraining fuperfluous diet, and prohibiting the ufe of baked meat to any under the degree of gentlemen ; and permitting it to gentle- men on feitival days only; which baked meat, fays the bifhop, was never before feen in Scotland. The peafants in Sicily regale themfelves with ice during fummer. They fay, that fcarcity of fnow would be more grievous ta them than fcarcity of corn or of wine. Such progrefs has luxury made, even among the populace. People of fafliion in London and Paris, who em- ploy their whole thoughts on luxurious living, would be furprifed to be told, that they are ftill deficient in that art. In order to advance the luxury of the table to the acme of perfection, there ought to be a cook for every dim, as in ancient Egypt there was a phyfician for every difeafe. Barbarous nations, being great eaters, are fond of large joints of meat j and love of (Low retains great joints in fafhion, even .after meals t>ecomj| more moderate. A wild boar was roafted whole, for a fupper-difh io Anthony and Cleopatra \ and fluffed wkh poultry and ( 1*8 ) and wild-fowl, it was a favourite difh at Rome, termed the Trojan boar, in allufion to the Trojan horfe. The hofpitality of the Anglo-Saxons was fometimes exerted in reading air ox whole. Great joints are left off gradually, as people be- come more and more delicate in eating. In France, great joints are lefs in ufe than formerly ; and in England, the enormous furloin, formerly the pride of the nation, is now in polite families banimed to the fide- board. In China, where manners are carried to a high degree of refinement, dimes are compofed entirely of mir.ced meat. CHAP. XLIX. t)N HOUSES AND FURNITURE. IN early times, people were no lefs plain in their houfes, than in their food. Toward the end of the fixteenth century, the people of England were beginning to build with brick and ftone. Formerly houfes were made of timber ports, wattled together, and plaiftered with clay to keep out the oold. The roof was draw, fedge, or reed. It was an obfervation of a Spaniard in Queen Mary's days, " Thefe Englifh have their houfes of (licks and dirt) but they fare as well as the king." From From Lord Northumberland's houfehold-book, it would feem, that grates were unknown at that time, and that they burnt "their coal upon the hearth. A certain fum is allotted for purchafing wood ; be- caufe fays the book, coals will not burn without it. There is alfo a certain fum allotted for pur- chafing charcoal, that the fmoke of the fea-coal might not hurt the arras. In the fourteenth century, the houfes of private perfons in Paris, as well as in London, were of wood. Morrifon, who wrote in the beginning of the laft century, fays, that, in London, the houfes of the citizens were very narrow in the ftreet-front, five or fix ftories high, commonly of wood and clay with plaifter. The ftreets of Paris not being paved, were covered with mud ; and yet fora wo- man to travel thefe ftreets in a cart, was held an article of luxury and as fuch prohibited by Philip the Fair. Paris is enlarged two thirds fince the -death of Henry IV. though at that time it was, perhaps, no lefs populous than at prefent. People were equally plain in their houfehold- furniture. While money was fcarce, fcrvants got land inftead of wages. An old tenure in England, binds the vaffal to find ftraw for the King's bed, and hay for his horfe. From Lord Northumberland's houfe hold- book, mentioned above, it appears, that the linen allow- ed for a whole year amounted to no more than fe- I venty -( i 7 o venty ells ; of which there were to be eight table- cloths for his Lordfhip's table, and two towels for warning his face and hands. Hollinfhed mentions his converting with old men, who remarked many alterations in England within their remembrance ; that their fathers, and themfelves formerly, had nothing to fleep on but a ftraw pallet, with a log of wood for a pil- low ; a pillow, faid they, being thought neceflary only for a woman in child- bed ; and that if a man, in feven years after marriage, could purchafe a flock-bed, and a fack of chaff to reft his head upon, he thought himfelf as well lodged as the lord of the town, who, perhaps, lay feldom on a bed entirely of feathess. Another thing they re- marked, was change of houfehold-veflels from tim- ber plates into pewter and from wooden fpoons into tin or filver. CHAP. f *7' ) CHAP. L. ON THE DIFFERENT IDEAS OF LUXURY. MEN in different ages differ widely in their notions of luxury. Every new object of fenfual gratification, and every indulgence beyond what is ufual, are commonly termed luxury ; and ceafe to be luxury when they turn habitual. Thus, every hiftorian, ancient and modern, while he in- veighs againft the luxury of his own times, won- ders at former hiftorians, for chara&enfing as luxury, what he confiders as conveniencies only, or rational improvements. Galvanus Fiamma, who in the fourteenth cen- tury wrote a hiftory of Milan, his native country, complains, that in his time plain living had given way to luxury and extravagance. He regrets the times of Frederic Barbaroffa, and Frederic II. when the inhabitants of Milan, a great capital, had but three flefh-meals in a week, when wine was a rarity, when the better fort made ufe of dried wood for candles, and when their fhirts were of fcrge, linen being confined to perlons of the higheft rank. " Matters." fays he, " are wonderfully changed. Linnen is a common wear. The wo- men drefs in filk, ornamented frequently with gold and filver ; and they wear gold pendants in their ears." A hiftorian of the prefent times would I 2 laugh laugh at Fiamma, for ftating as articles of luxury, what are no more than decent for a tradefman and his wife. John Muflb, a native of Lombardy, who alfo wrote in the fourteenth century, declaims againft the luxury of his contemporaries, particularly againft that of the citizens of Placentia, his countrymen. *' Luxury of the table," fays he, " of drefs, of houfes, and houfehold furniture, in Placentia, be- gan to creep in after the year 1300. Houfts have at prefent halls, rooms with chimneys, porticos, wells, gardens, and many other conveniencies un- known to our anceftors. A houfe that has now many chimneys, had none in the laft age. The fire was placed in the middle of the houfe, without any vent for the fmoke but the tiles. All the family fat round it, and the victuals were drelTed there. The expence of the houfehold furniture is ten times greater than it was fixty years ago. The tafte for fuch expence comes to us from France, from Flanders, and from Spain. Eating- tables, formerly but twelve inches long, are now grown to eighteen. They have table-cloths, with cups, fpoons, and forks of iilver, and large knives. Beds have ft Ik .coverings and curtains. They have got candles of tallow or wax, in candlefticks of iron or copper. Almoft every where there are two fires, one for the chamber, and one for the kitchen. Coufedions ( '73 ) Confeclions have come greatly in 'ufe, and fen- fuality regards no expsnce." About eighty years ago, French wine, in Edin- burgh taverns, was prefented to the guefts in a fmall tin vefTel, meafuring aboxit an EnglHh pint. A fingle drinking-glafs ferved a company the whole evening ; and the firft perfons, who infifted for a clean glafs with every new pint, were accufed of luxury. A company of highlanders benighted, wrapped themfelves up in their plaids, and lay down in the fnow to fleep. A young gentleman, making up a ball of fhow, ufed it for a pillow. His father, (hiking away the ball with his foor, " What, Sir," fays he, "are you turning effeminate/' In the mountainous ifland of Rum, one of the Weftern iflands of Scotland, the corn produced ferves the inhabitants but a few months in the win- ter. The red of the year they live on flefh, fifh, and milk ; and yet are healthy and long-lived. In the year 1768, a man died there aged 103, who was 50 years old before he ever tafted bread. This okl man frequently harangued upon the plain fare of former times ; finding fault with his neighbours for indulging in bread, and upbraiding them for toiling like (laves, to produce fuch an unneceflary article of luxury. Thus, every one exclaims againft the luxury of the prefent times, judging more favourably of the I 3 paft; ( 174 ) part ; as if what is luxury at prefent, would ceafe to be luxury when it becomes cuftomary. What is the foundation of a fentiment fo univerfal ? In judging of things that admit of degrees, comparifon is the ordinary ftandard. Every refinement in cor- poreal pleafure, therefore, beyond what is cuftom- ary, is hdd to be a blameable excefs, below the dignity of human nature. For that reafon, every improvement in living is pronounced to be luxury while recent, and drops that character when it comes into common ufe. For the fame reafon, what is moderation in the capital, is efteemed luxury in a country-town. Doth luxury then de- pend entirely on comparifion ? Is there no other foundation for diftinguifhing moderation from ex- cefs ? This will hardly be maintained. This fubjedl is rendered obfcure by giving dif- ferent meanings to the term luxury. A French writer holds every fort of food to be luxury, but raw flelli and acorns, which were the original food of favages ; and every fort of covering to be luxury but fkins, which were their original cloathing. According to that definition, the plough, the fpade, the loom, are all inftruments' of luxury ; in which view, he juftly extols luxury to the fides. We are born naked, becaufe we can clothe ourfelves ; and artificial cloathing is to man as much in the order of nature, as hair or feathers are to other animals. But whatever accords to the common nature of man* 1S right ; and for that reafon cannot in a proper fenfe be termed luxury. Shoes are a refinement from walking barefoot ; and Voltaire, taking this refinement to be luxury, laughs at thofe who declaim againft luxury. The true definition of luxury is " & faulty exceft in the gratification of the external fenfes." It does not, however, belong to every one of thefe. The fine arts have no relation to luxury, A man is not even faid to be luxurious, merely for indulging in drefs, or in fine furniture. Hollinfhed inveighs againft drinking glafles as an article of luxury. At that rate, a houfe adorned with fine pictures or ftatues, would be an imputation on the proprietor. In proper language, the term luxury is not ap- plicable to any pleafure of the eye or ear ; but is confined to thofe pleafures which are merely cor- poreal. What excefs in fuch pleafures may juftly be denominated faulty, it is not difficult to deter- mine. Though our prefent life be a ftate of trial, yet our Maker has kindly indulged us in every pleafure, that is not hurtful to the mind nor to the body ; and therefore no exCefs, but what is hurtful, falls under the cenfure of being luxurious. It is faulty, as a tranfgreilion of felf-duty ; and, as fuch, is con- ' demned by the moral fenfe. The moft violent declatmer againft luxury will not affirm, that bread I 4 is is luxury, or a fnow-ball ufed fora pillow. Thefe are innocent, becaufe they do no harm. As little Will it be affirmed, that dwelling-houfes, more capacious than thofe originally built, ought to be condemned as luxury ; flnce they contribute to chearfulnefs as well as to health. The plague, fome centuries ago, made frequent vifits to Lon- don, promoted by air ftagnating in narrow ftreets and fmall houfes. From the great fire in 1666, when the houfes and ftreets were enlarged, the plague has not once been in London. C H A P. , LI. ON LUXURY IN EATING AND DRINKING, PAR- TICULARLY OF THE ENGLISH. TOO great indulgence in corporeal pleafure feldom prompts violent exercife ; but there are numberlefs inftances, of its relaxing even that moderate degree of exercife, which is healthful both to mind and body. This, in particular, is the cafe of too great indulgence in eating or drinking. Such indulgence, creating a habitual appetite for more than nature requires, loads the ftpmach, de- preffes the fpirits, and brings on a habit of liftlefs- nefs and inactivity, which renders men cowardly and effeminate. People who are attached to riches, or to fcnfual pleafure, cannot think, without hor- ror, C 17? ) ror, of abandoning them. A virtuous man con- fiders himfelf as placed here, in order to obey the will of his Maker.. He performs his duty, and is ready to quit his port upon the firft fummons. And what does the epicure gain by his excefs ? In a grand palace, the mafter occupies not a greater fpace that his meaneft domeftic ; and brings to his moft fumptuous feaft lefs appetite than any of his guefts. Satiety makes him lofe the reliuh even of rarities, which afford to others a poignant pleafure. What enjoyment, then, have the opulent above others? Let them beftow their riches in making others happy. Benevolence will double their own happinefs ; firft, in the direct aft of doing good ; and next, in reflecting upon the good they have done, the moft delicate of all feafts. Had the Engliih continued Pagans, they would have invented a new deity to prefide over cookery. A luxurious table, covered with every dainty, feems to be their favourite idol. A minifter of ftate never withftands a feaft. Luxury in eating is not unknown in their univerfities ; the only branch of education that feldom proves abortive. It has not efcaped obfervation, that between 1740 and 1770, no fewer than fix Mayors of Lon- don died in office, a greater number than in the preceding 500 years. Such havock doth luxury in eating make among the fons of Albion. I 5 Suicide Suicide is not influenced by foggy air ; for it is not more frequent in the fens of Lincoln or Eflex, than in other parts of England. A habit of daily excefs in eating and drinking, with intervals of of downy eafe, relax every mental fpring. The man flags in his fpirits, and becomes languid and low. Nothing moves him. Every connection with the world is diflblved. A t tedium vita en- fues ; and then Providence has provided the gout, as a beacon on the rock of luxury, in order to warn us againft it. But in vain. During diftrefs, vows of tem- perance are made. During the intervals thefe vows are forgot. Luxury has gained too much ground in this ifland, to be retrained by admo- nition. CHAP. LII. ON THE LUXURY OF SOME LONDON-LADIES. indulging in down-beds, foft pillows, A and eafy feats, is a fpecies of luxury ; be- caufe it tends to enervate the body, and to render it unfit for fatigue. Some London Ladies employ an operator for paring their nails. Two young women of high quality, who were fifters, employed a fervant with foft hands to raife them gently out of ( 179 ) of bed in a morning. Nothing lefs than all power- ful vanity can make fuch perfons fubmit to the fatigues of a toilet. How can they ever think of - fubmitting to the horrid pangs of child-bearing ! In the hot-climates of .Afia, people of rank are rubbed, and chaffed twice a-day ; which, befides being pleafant, is necefiary for health, by moving the blood in a hot country, where floth and indo- lence prevail. The Greeks and Romans were curried, bathed, and oiled, daily, though they had not the fame excufe for that practice. It was luxury in them, though not in the Afiatics. Nations, where luxury is unknown,' are troubled with few difeafes, and have few phyficiansby profef- fion. In the early ages of Rome women and , flaves were the only phyficians, becaufe vegetables were the chief food of the people. When luxury prevailed among the Romans, their difeafes mul- tiplied, and phyfic became a liberal profeflion. 16 CHAP. W 1 CHAP. LIII. ON COACHES, ITH refpeft to exercife, the various ma- chines that have been invented for execu- ting every fort of work, render bodily ftrength of lefs importance than formerly. This change is favourable to mental operations, without hurting bodily health. The travelling on horfeback, though a lefs vigorous exertion of ftrength than walking, is not luxury, becaufe it is a healthful exercife. This cannot be faid of wheel-carriages. A fpring- coach, rolling along a fmooth road, gives no ex- ercife ; or fo little, as to be preventive of no di- feafe. It tends to enervate the body, as well as the mind. The increafe of wheel-carriages, with- in a century, is a remarkable proof of the growth of luxurious indolence. During the reign of James I. the Englifh judges rode to Weftminfter on horf-back, and probably did fo for many years after his death. Charles I. iflued a proclamation, prohibiting hackney-coaches to be ufed in London, except by thofe who travel at leaft three miles out of town. At the Reftoration, Charles II. made his s public entry into London on horfeback, be- tween his two brothers, the Dukes of York and Gkmcefter. We We are told by Rufhworth, that in London, not above a hundred years ago, there were but twenty hackney-coaches; which did not ply on the ftreets, but were kept at home till called for. He adds, that the King and council published a proclama- tion againft them, becaufe they raifed the price of provender upon the King, nobility, and gentry. At prefent 1000 hackney-coaches ply in the ftreets of London. The firft coach with glafTes in France was brought from Bruflels to Paris, in the year 1660, by the prince of Conde. Sedan-chairs were not known in Eng- land before the year 1634. Cookery and coaches have reduced the military fpirit of the Englifh no- bility and gentry to a languid (late. The former, by overloading the body, has infeftcd them with difpiriting ailments. The latter, by f offering eafe and indolence have banifhed labour, the only anti- dote to fuch ailments. CHAP. ( i8a I CHAP. LIV. ON THE PERNICIOUS EFFECTS OF LUXURY. THE enervating effects of luxury upon the body, are, above all, remarkable in war. The officers of Alexander's army were foon tainted with Afiatic manners, Moft of them, after bath- ing, had fervants for rubbing them, and, inftead of plain oil, ufed precious ointments. Leonatus, in particular, commi (Honed from Egypt the pow- der he ufed when he wreflled, which loaded feveral camels. Alexander reproved them mildly : I wonder that men, who have undergone fuch fatigues in war, are not taught by experience, that labour produces fweeter and founder fl. p than indolence. To be voluptuous, is an abject and flavim Hate. How can a man take care of his horfe, or keep his armour bright, who difdains to employ his own hands upon what is d'eareft to him, his own body ? \Vith refpect to the mind in particular, manifold are the pernicious effects of luxury. Corporeal' pleafures are all felfifh ; and, when much indulged, tend to make felfilhnek the leading principle. Voluptuoufnefs, accordingly, relaxing every fym- pathetic affection, brings on a beaftly felfiflinefs which leaves nothing of man but the external 4 figure. figure. Befides, luxury renders the mind fo effemi- nate, as to be fubdued by every diftrefs. The flighteft pain, whether of mind or body, is a real evil ; and any higher degree becomes a torture. The French are far gone in that difeafe. Pictures of deep diftrefs, which attract Englilh fpeclators, are to the French infupportable. Their averfion to pain overcomes the attractive power of fympathy, and debars from the ftage every diftrefs, that makes a deep impreffion. The Britons are gradually finking into the fame weaknefs. Venice Preferv'd colleds not fuch numbers as it did originally ; and would fcarce be endured, were not our fympathy blunted by familiarity. A new play, in a fimilar tone, would not take. The gradual decay of manhood in Britain, ap- pears from their funeral rites. Formerly the de- ceafed were attended to the grave by relations and friends of both fexes ; and the day of their death was preferred in remembrance with folemn lamen- tation, as the day of their birth was with exhilara- ting cnps. In England, a man was firft relieved from attending his deceafed wife to the grave ; and afterwards from attending his deceafed children ; and now fuch effeminacy of mind prevails there, that, upon the laft groan, the deceafed, abandoned by every relation, is delivered to an undertaker by profeflion, who is left at leifure to mimic the funeral rites. In Scotland, fuch refinement has not yet taken f 1*4 7 taken place. A man is indeed excufed from at- tending his wife to the grave ; but he performs that duty in perfon to every other relation,, his chil- dren not excepted. Luxury is a great enemy to population. It en- hances the expence of living, and confines many to> the batchelor-ftate. Luxury of the table, in par- ticular, is remarkable for that effccr.. " The fole glory of the rich man," fays Buffbn,. tf is to con- fume and deftroy; and his grandeur confifts in laviming in one day, upon the expence of his table,, what would procure fubfiftence for many families- He abufes equally animals and his fellow creatures; a great part of whom, a prey to famine, and lan- guifhing in mifery, labour and toil to fatisfy his immoderate defines, and infatiable vanity ; who>, deftroying others by want, deftroys himfelf by ex CHAP. CHAP. LV LUXURY VIEWED IN A POLITICAL LIGHT. TO confider luxury in a political view, no re- finement of drefs, of the table, of equipage, of habitation, is luxury in thofe, who can afford the expence ; and the public gains by the encourage- ment that is given to arts, manufactures, and com- merce. But a mode of living, above a man's an- nual income, weakens the (late, by reducing to poverty, not only the fquanderers themfelves, but many innocent and induftrious peifons conne&ed with them. Luxury is, above all, pernicious in a commer- cial ftate. A perfo'n of moderation is fatisfied with frnall profits. But the luxurious defpife every branch of trade, that does not return great pro fits. Other branches are engrafted by foreigners, who are more frugal. The merchants of Amfterdam, and even of London, within a century, lived with more osconomy, than their clerks do at prefent. Their country- houfesi and gardens make not the greateft articles of their expence. At firft, a merchant re- tires to his country-houfe on Sundays only and holi- days ; but beginning to relifh indolent retirement, bufmefs grows irkfome, he trufts all to his clerks,, lofes the thread of his affairs, and fees no longer with his o\v eyes. la In all times, luxury has been the ruin of every ftate where it prevailed. Nations originally are poor and virtuous. They advance to induftry, commerce, and perhaps conqueft and empire. But this ftate is -never permanent.. Great opulence opens a wide door to indolence, fenfuality, corrup- tion, proftitution, perdition. In ancient Egypt, execution againft the perfon of a debtor was prohibited. Such a law could not obtain but among a temperate people, where bank- ruptcy happens by misfortune, and feldom by luxury or extravagance. In Switzerland, not only a bankrupt, but even his fons are excluded from public office, till all the family debts be paid. CHAP. LVL * ON THE AVERSION OFNEIGHBOURING TRIBES TO EACH OTHER. THE inhabitants of Greenland, good-natured and inoffesfive, have not even words for ex- preffing anger or envy. Stealing from one another is abhorred ; and a young woman, guilty of that crime, has no chance for a hufband. At the fame time they are fairhlcfs and cruel to thofe who come among them. They confider the rert of mankind as a different race, with whom they rejedt all fociety, The The morality of the inhabitants of New Zealand not more refined. Plan Carpin, who vifitecl Tartary in the year i 24.6, obferves of the Tartars, that, though full of veracity to their neighbours, they did not think rhemfelves bound to fpeak truth to (hangers. The Greeks anciently were held to be pirates: but not properly ; for they committed depredations upon ftrangers only. Casfar, 'fpeaking of the Germans, fays, " They hold it not infamous to rob, without the bounds of their canton." This was precifely the cafe of our highlanders, till they were brought under due fubjetion after the rebellion in 1745. Bougainville obferves, that the "inhabitants of Otaheite did not hefitate to fteal from his people, though they never fteal from one another, having neither locks nor bars in their houfes. The people of Benin, in Negroland, are good- natured, gentle, and civilized ; and fo generous, that if they receive a prefent, they are not at eafe, till they return it double. They have unbounded confidence in their own people ; but are jealous of Grangers, though they politely hide their jealoufy. The different tribes of Negroes, fpeaking each a different language, have a rooted averfion to each other. This averfion is carried along with them to Jamaica j. Jamaica ; and they will rather fufFer death from the Englifti, than join with thofe of a different tribe in a plot for liberty. Ruffian peafants think it a greater fin to eat meat in lent, than to murder one of a different country. Among the Koriacs, bordering on Kamatfkatka, murder within the tribe is feverely puniflied j but to murder a ftrangcr is not minded. While Rome continued a fmall (late, neighbour and enemy were expreffed by the fame word. In England of old, a foreigner was not admitted to be a witnefs. In ancient hiftory, we read of wars without m- termiilion among fmall ftates in. clofc neighbour- hood. It was fo in Greece. It was fo in Italy, during the Infancy of the Roman republic. It was fo in Gaul, when Cefar commenced hoftilities againft that country ; and it was fo over the whole world. Many iflands in the South Sea, and in other re- mote parts, . have been difcovered by Europeans ; who commonly found the natives with arms in their hands, refolute to prevent the flrangers from land- ing. Orellana, lieutenant to Gonzales Pifarro,. was the firir. European who failed down the river Amazon to the fea. In his paffage, he was con- tinually aflaulted by the natives with- arrows from the banks of the river ; and fome even ventured ta attack him in their canoes. Nor Nor does fuch averfion wear away, even among polifhed people. An ingenious writer* remarks, that almoft every nation hate their neighbours, with- out knowing why. I once heard a Frenchman fwear, fays that writer, that he hated the Englifli, " parce qu'ils verfent du beurre fondu fur leurveau roti;" becaufe they pour melted butter upon their waft veal. The populace of Portugal have, to this day, an uncommon averfion to ftrangers, Even thofe of JLifbon, though a trading town frequented by many different nations, muft not be excepted. Travellers report, that the people of the duchy of Milan, remarkable for good nature, are the only Italians who are not hated by their neighbours. The Piedmontefe and Genoefe have an averfion to each other, and agree only in their antipathy to the Tufcans. The Tufcans dillike the Venetians ; and the Romans are not over- fond of the Tufcans, Venetians, or Neapolitans. Very different is the cafe, with refpe& to diftant nations. Inilead of being objects of averfion, their manners, cuftoms, and Angularities, greatly amufe us. Infants differ from each other in averfion to ftran- gers. Some are extremely my, others lefs fo ; and the like difference is obfervable in whole tribes. * Baretti. The I -190 ') The inhabitants of fome South Sea iflands appear to have little or no averiion to Grangers. But that is a Fare inftance, and has fcarce a parallel in any other part of the globe. Nations, the moft remarkable for patriotifm, are equally remarkable for averfion to (hangers. The Jews, the Greeks, the Romans, were equally re- markable for both. Patriotifm, a vigorous principle among the En- glilh, makes 'them extremely averfe to naturalize foreigners. _ The inhabitants of New Zealand, both men and women, appear to be of a mild and gentle difpo- fition. They treat one another with affection ; but are implacable to their enemies, and never give quarter. The love of their country, their property, and their friends, and the apprehenfions tribes are under of being attacked by their neighbours, are, perhaps, the caufe of their averfion ; which, in individuals, frequent intercourfe with mankind gradually con- quers. CHAP. CHAP. LVIL ON MENTAL ATTRACTION AND REPULSION. WE are taught by the great Newton, that at- tralion and repulfion in matter, are, by alteration in circumftances, converted one into the other. This holds alfo in affection and averfion, which may be termed, not improperly, mental at- traflion and repulfion. Two nations, originally ftrangers to each other, may, by commerce, or other favourable circum- ftances, become fo well acquainted, as> to change from averfion to affe6lion. The oppofite manners of a capital and a country-town, afford a good illuf- tration. In the latter, people, occupied with their domeftic concerns, are in a manner ftrangers to each other. A degree of averfion prevails, which gives birth to envy and detraction. In the former, a court, and public amufements, promote general acquaintance. Repulfion yields to attraction, and people become fond to afTociate with their equals. The union of two tribes into one, is another circumftance that converts repulfion into attraction. Such converfion, however, is far from being inftan- taneous ; witnefs the different fmall ftatesof Spain, tvhich were not united in affe&ion for many years after they were united under one monarch ; and this ( '92 ) triis was alfo the cafe of the two kingdoms of England and Scotland. In fome circumftances the convcrfion is inftan- taneous ; as where a ftranger becomes an object of pity, or of gratitude. Many low perfons in Britain contributed cheerfully for maintaining fome French feamen, made prifoners at the commence- ment of a late war. It is no k-fs inftantaneous, when ftrangers, relying on our humanity, truft themfelves in our hands. Among the ancients, it was hofpitality to ftrangers only, that produced mutual affection and gratitude. Glaucus and Diomede were of different countries. Hofpitality to ftrangers is a fypmtom of improving manners. Ca:far, fpeaking of the Germans, fays, " They hold it facrilege to injure a ftranger. They protecl from outrage, and venerate thofe who come among them. Their houfes are open to them, and they are welcome to their tables." The ancient Spaniards were fond of war, and cruel to their enemies ; but in peace, they paflfed their time in Tinging and dancing, and were re- markably hofpitable to the ftrangers who came among them. It (hews great refinement in the Celtas, that the killing a ftranger was capital, when the killing a citizen was only baniihment, The ( 193 ) The Swedes and Goths were very hofpitabte to Grangers ? as indeed were all the northern nations of Europe. The native Brazilians are fingularly hofpitable. A (tranger no fooner arrives among them, than he is furrounded by women, who wafh his feet, and give him to eat the beft things they have. If he viiit the fame village more than once, the per (on, -whofe gueft he was, takes it much amifs, if he \hink of changing his lodging. CHAP. LVIH. ON OUR TASTE FOR VARIETY. AN uniform life of peace, tranquillity, and fe- curity, would not be longrelifhed. Conftant repetition of the fame pleafures would render even a golden age taftelefs, like an Italian Iky during a long fummer. Nature has, for wife purpofes im- prelfed upon us a tafte for variety. Without this, life would be altogether infipid. Paraguay, when governed by the Jtfuits, affords a ftriking illuftration. It was divided into parities, in each of which a Jefuit .prefided as king, pritft, and prophet. The natives were not fuffered to have any property, but laboured incefianitly for their daily bread, which was delivered to them out of a public K magazine. ( '94 ) magazine. The men were employed in agricul- ture, the women in fpinning j and certain hours were allotted for labour, for food, for prayer, and for fleep. They foon funk into fuch a liftlefs ftate of mind, as to have no regret at dying, when at- tacked by difeafe, or by old age. Such was their indifference about what might befal them, fhat, though they adored the Jefuits, yet they made no oppofition, when the Fathers were, in the year 1767, attacked by the Spaniards, and their famous republic demolifhed. Yet this Jefuit republic is extolled by M. de Voltaire, as the mod perfect government in the world, and as the triumph of humanity. The monkifh life is contradictory to the nature of man. The languor of that ftate is what, in all probability, tempts many a monk and nun, to find occupation even at the expence of virtue. The life of the Maltefe Knights is far from be- ing agreeable, now that their knight-errantry againfl the Turks has fubfided. While they refide in the ifland, a ftrict uniformity in their manner of living is painfully irkfome. Abfence is their only relief, when they can obtain permiflion. There will not remain long a knight in the ifland, except fuch, as by oflke are obliged to attendance. Familiarity with danger is neceflary to eradicate our natural timidity ; and fo deeply rooted is that principle, that familiarity with danger of one fort docs does not harden us, with refpect to any other fort. A foldier, bold as a lion in the field, is faint-hearted at fea, like a child j and a feaman, who braves the winds and waves, trembles when mounted on a horfe of fpirit. Even in the midft of dangers and unforefeen accidents, courage does not, at prefent, fuperabound. Sedentary manufacturers, who are feldom in the way of harm, are remarkably pufil- lanimous. What would men be, then, in a {late of univerfal peace, concord, and fecurity ? They would rival a hare or a moufe in timidity. Farewell, upon that fuppofition, to courage, magnanimity, heroifm, and to every paffion that ennobles hu- man nature ! CHAP. LIX. ON INTELLECTUAL EXERCISE. EXERCISE is no lefs eflential to the mind than to the body. The reafoning faculty, for example, without conftant and varied exercife, will remain weak and undiftinguifhing to the end of life. By what means does a man acquire pru- dence and forefight, but by experience ? In this refpedl, the mind refembles the body. Deprive a child of motion, and it will never acquire any ftrength of limbs. The many difficulties that men K 2 encounter. C 19* ) encounter, and their various objects of purfuit, roufe the underftanding and fet the reafoning faculty at work for means to accomplifh defire. The mind, by continual exercife, ripens to its per- fection ; and by the fame means, is preferved in vigour. It would have no fuch exercife in a ftate of uniform peace and tranquillity. Several of our mental faculties would be dormant ; and we mould even remain ignorant that we have fuch faculties. The' people of Paraguay are defcribed as mere children in underftanding. What wonder, con- fidering their condition under Jefuit government, without ambition, without property, without fear of want, and without defires ? The wants of thofe who inhabit the torrid zone are eafily fupplied. They need no clothing, fcarce any habitation ; and fruits, which ripen there to perfection, give them food without labour. Need we any other caufe for their inferiority of under- Handing, compared with the inhabitants of other climates, where the mind, -as well as body, are conflantly at work for procuring neceflaries ? The bleilings of eafe and inaction are mod poeti- cally difplayed in the following tlefcription. " O happy Laplander," fays Linnaeus, . " who, on the utivunt verge of the habitable earth, thus liveft ob- fcure, in reft, content, and innocence. Thou fear- eft not the fcanty crop, nor ravages of war ; and thofe C *97 ) tnofe calamaties, which wafte whole provinces and towns, can never reach thy peaceful fhores. Wrapt in thy covering of fur, thou canft fecurely fleep, a ftrangcr to each tumultuous care, unenvying, and unenvied, Thou feareft no danger but frorri the thunder of heaven. Thy harrnlefs days flide on in innocence, beyond the period of a century. Thy health is firm, and thy declining age is tran- quil. Millions of difeafes, which ravage the reft of the world, have never reached thy happy climate. Thou lived as the birds of the wood. Thou cared not to fow nor reap, for bounteous Providence has fupplied thee in all thy wants." So eloquent a panegyrift upon the Lapland life would make a capital figure upon an oyfler. No creature is freer from want,, no creature freer from war, and pro- bably no creature is freer from fear j which, alas I is not the cafe of the Laplander. CHAP. f 198 ) CHAP. LX. ON GOVERNMENT, IT is fo ordered by Providence, that there are always, in every fociety, men who are quali- fied to lead, as well as men who are difpofed to follow. Where a number of people convene for any purpofe, fome will naturally aflume authority, without the formality of election, and the reft will as naturally fubmit. A regular government, found- ed on laws, was probably not thought of, till peo- ple had frequently fuffered by vicious governors. During the infancy of national focieties, govern- ment is extremely fimple, as well as mild. No in- dividual is, by nature, entitled to exercife magifterial authority over his fellows ; for no individual is born with any mark of pre-eminence to vouch that he has fuch a privilege. But nature teaches refpedl for men of age and experience ; who, accordingly, take the lead in deliberating and advifing, while the execution is left to the young and vigorous. Such as are acquainted with no manners, but what are modern, will be puzzled to account for the great veneration paid to old age in early times. Before writing was invented, old men were the re- pofitories of knowledge, which they acquired by experience j and young men had no accefs to know- ledge ( 199 ) ledge but from them. At s the fiege of Troy, Neftor, who had feen three generations, was the chief advifer and director of the Greeks. But, as books are now the moft patent road to knowledge, to which both old and young have accefs, it may juftly be faid, that by the invention of writing and printing, old men have loft much of their priftine importance. War cannot be carried on without a com- mander. His authority, however, was originally limited to actual war; and he returned home a private perfon, even when crowned with victory. The wants of men were originally fo few, and fo eafily fatisfied, as feldom to occafion a contro- verfy among members of the fame tribe. And men> finding vent for their diflbcial paffions againft other tribes, were glad to live peaceably at home. The introduction of money made an amazing change. Wealth, beftowed by fortune, or procu- red by rapine, made an impreflion on the vulgar. Different ranks were recognized. The rich be- came imperious, and the poor mutinous. Selfifh- nefs prevailing over focial affection, ftirred up every man againft his neighbour ; and men, overlooking their natural enemies gave vent to diflTocial paffions within their own tribe. It became neceflfary to ftrengthen the hands of the fovereign, in order to reprefs paflions inflamed by opulence, which tend K 4 to ( 200 ) to the diflblution of focitty. This flight view fair- ly accounts for the gradual progrefs of government from the mildeft form to the moft defpotic. In every nation, democracy was the original form of government. Before ranks were diftin- guifhed, every man was entitled to vote in matters of common concern. When a tribe becomes too numerous for making one body, or for being convened in one place, the management falls naturally to the elders of the peo- ple ; who, after^acquiring authority by cuftom, are termed thefenafe. From this form of government, the tranfition is eafy to a limited monarchy. Ab- folute monarchy, contradictory to the liberty that all men fhould enjoy in every government, can never be eftablifhed but by force, CHAP, ( 201 ) CHAP. LXI. ON DIFFERENT FORMS OF GOVERNMENT, PURE democracy, like that of Athens, Argos, and Carthage, is the worft form of govern- ment, except defpotifm. The people, in -whom the fovereign power refides, are infolent in pro- fperity, timid in adverfity, cruel in anger, blind and prodigal in affection, and incapable of em- bracing fteadily a prudent meafure. The fate of Socrates is a fad inftance of the changeable^ as well as violent, difpofition of a democratical ftate. He was condemned to death for attempting innovations in the eftablifhed reli- gion. The fentence was highly unjufh Heat- tempted no innovation ; but only, among his friends exprefled purer notions of rhe Deity, than were common in Greece at that time. But his funeral obfequies were fcarce over, when bitter remorfe feized the people. His accufers were put to death without trial. Every perfon was banifhed, who had contributed to the fentence pronounced againft him, and his ftatue was eredled in the moft public part of the city. The great Scipio in his camp near Utica, was furrounded with three Carthaginian armies, which Waited only for day light to 'fall upon him. He pre- vented the impending blow, by furprifing them in KS the ( 202 ) the dead of night ; which gave him a complete viclory. This misfortune (for it could fcarce be called bad conduct) provoked the democracy of Carthage, to pronounce fentence of death againft Afdrubal their general. A commonwealth is the beft form of government for a fmall ftate. There is little room for in- equality of rank, or of property ; and the people can at in a body. Monarchy is preferable for a large ftate, where the people, widely fpread, cannot be eafily collected into a body. In a great commonwealth, ambition is apt to trample upon juftice, felfifhnefs upon patriotifm, and the public is facrificed to private views. To prevent corruption from turning incurable, the only remedy is a ftridt rotation in office, which may be aptly compared to a group of jets d'eau, rifing one above another in beautiful order, and preferving the fame order in defcending. The Form of the group continues invariable, but the forming parts are always changing. By fuch rotation, every citizen in his turn go- verns, and is governed. The higheft office is limited as to time, and the greatefl men in the ftate muft fubmit to the facred law of obeying, as well as of commanding. A man, long accuftomed to power, is not happy in a private ftation. That corrupting habit is pre- 4 vented, by an alternate fucceflion of public and private life ; which is more agreeable by variety, and contributes no lefs to virtue than to happi- nefs. This form of government, in ancient Rome, produced citizens without number, illuftrious for virtue ahd talents. Reflect upon Cincinnatus, eminent among heroes for difinterefted love to his country. Had he been a Briton, a feat in parlia- ment would have gratified his ambition, as affording the beft opportunity of ferving his country. In parliament he joins the party that appears moft zealous for the public. Being deceived in his friends, patriots in name only, he goes over to the court ; and, after fighting the battles of the miniftry for years, he is compelled by a mattered fortune to accept a port or a penfion. Fortunate Cincin- natus ! born at a time, and in a country where virtue was the paflport to power and glory. Cincinnatus, after ferving with honour and reputation as chief magistrate, cheerfully retired to a private ftation, in obedience to the laws of his country. Nor was that change a hardlhip on a man, who was not corrupted by a long habit of power. Political writers define a free ftate to be, where the people are governed by laws of their own mak- ing. This definition, however is imperfect ; for laws eude by the people are not always juft. K 6 There There were many unjuft laws enacled in Athene, during the democratical government ; and in Bri- tain, inftances are not wanting of laws, not only unjuft, but oppreffive. The true definition of a free (late is, where the laws of nature are (triclly adhered to, and where every municipal regulation is contrived to improve fociety, and to promote honeftyand induftry. CHAP. LXII. ON DESPOTISM, DESPOTISM is the worft fpecies of govern* ment v being contrived to fupport arbitrary will in the fovereign, without regarding the laws of nature, or the good of fociety. The lawlefs cruelty of a King of Perfia is paint- ed to the life, by a fingle expreflion of a Perfian grandee, " That every time he left the King's apartment, he was inclined to feel with his hand, whether his head was on his moulders." In the Ruffian empire men approach the throne with terror. The flighted political intrigue is a fufficient foundation for banilhing the greateft no- bleman to Siberia, and for confifcating his eftate. Defpotifm is every where the fame. It was high treafon to fell a ftatue of the Roman emperor; and C 205 > and it was doubted, whether it was not high trea- fon to hit an emperor's ftatue with, a flone thrown at random. When Elifabeth, Emprefs of Ruffia, was on her death-bed, no perfon would dare to enquire about her; and, even after her death, itw-as not at firft fafe to fpeak of it. The following incident is a ftriking example of the violence of paffion, indulged in a defpotic go- vernment, where men in power are under no con- troul. Thomas Pereyra, a Portuguefe general,, having aflifted the King of Pegu in a dangerous war with his neighbour of Siam, was a prime favourite at court, having elephants of ftate, and a guard of his own countrymen. One day coming from court mounted on an elephant, and hearing mufic in a houfe where a marriage was celebrating between a daughter of the family and her lover, he went into the houfe, and defired to fee the bride. The parents took the vifit as a great honour, and cheerfully prefented her. He was inftantly fmitten with her beauty, ordered his guards to feize her, and to carry her to his palace. The bridegroom,, as little able to bear the affront as to revenge it, cut his own throat. CHAP, ( 206 ) C HAP. LXIII. ON THE DEPRESSION OF MIND IN THE SUB- JECTS OF DESPOTISM. SERVILITY and depreflion of mind, in the fubje&s of a defpotic government, cannot be better marked, than in the funeral rites of a Ro- man Emperor, defer ibed by Herodian. The body being burnt privately, a waxen image, reprtfc-nting the Emperor, was laid in a bed of ftate. On one fide fat the fenators feveral hours daily, clothed in black ; and on the other, the moft refpectable ma- trons, clothed in white. The cererrlony lafted feven days ; during which, the phyficians from time to time approached the bed, and declared the Emperor to be worfe and worfe. On the day appointed for declaring the Emperor dead, the moft dignified of the nobility carried the bed upon their moulders, and placed it in the. old forum, where the Roman magiflrates formerly laid down their office. Then began doleful ditties, fung to his memory by boys and women. Thefe being ended the bed was carried to the Campus Martius, and there burnt upon a high ftage with great folemnity. When the flames afcended, an eagle was let loofe, which was fuppofed to carry the foul of the Emperor to heaven. Such Such a farce was more ridiculous than a puppet- fhow. Dull muft have been the fpeclator, who could behold thefolemnity without fmiling at leaft, if not laughing out right ; but the Romans were crufhed by defpotifm, and nothing could provoke them to laugh. That ridiculous farce continued to be acled till the time of Conftantine. CHAP. LXIV. ON THE INFLUENCE OF DESPOTISM ON THE FINEST COUNTRIES. THE fineft Countries have been depopulated by Defpotifm ; witnefs Greece, Egypt, and the leffer Afia. The river Menam, in the king- dom of Siam, overflows annually like the Nile, depofiting a quantity of flime, which proves a rich manure. The river feems to rife gradually as the rice grows ; and retires to its channel, when the rice, approaching to maturity, needs no longer to be watered. Nature befides has beftowed on that rich country variety of delicious fruits, requiring fcarce any culture. In fuch a paradife, would one imagine that the Siamites are a miferable people ? The government is defpotic, and the fubje&s are flaves. They muft work for their' monarch fix months every year, without wages, and even with- out receiving any food from him. What C 208- ) What renders them ftill more miferable is, that they have no protection, either for their perfons or their goods. The grandees are expofed to the rapacity of the King and his courtiers ; and the lower ranks are expofed to the rapacity of the grandees. When a man has the misfortune to poffefs a tree, remarkable for good fruit, he is required in the name of the King, or of a courtier, to pre- ferve the fruit for their ufe. Every proprietor of a garden, in the neighbour- hood of the capital, muft pay a yearly fum to the keeper of the elephants ; otherwife it will be laid wafte by thefe animals, . whom it is high treafon to moleft. From the fea-port of Mergui to the capital, one travels ten or twelve days through immenfe plains of a rich foil, finely watered* That country ap- pears to have been formerly cultivated, but is now quite depopulated, and left to tygers and elephants. In the ifland of Ceylon, the King is fole pro- prietor of the land, and the people are fupinely indolent. Their huts are mean, without any. thing like furniture. Their food is fruit that grows fpontaneoufly ; and their covering is a piece of coarfe cloth, wrapped round the middle- The fettlement of the Dutch Eaft India com- pany, at the Cape of Good Hope, is profitable to them in their commerce with the Eaft-Indies; 5 and and it would be much more profitable, if they gave proper encouragement ta the tenants and pofleflbrs of their lands. But thefc poor people are ruled with a rod of iron. The produce of their land is extorted from them by the company at fa low a price, as fcarce to afford them common neceflaries. Avarice, like many other irregular paflions, ob- ftruts its own gratification. Were induftry duly encouraged, the produce of the ground would be' in greater plenty, and goods be afforded voluntarily at a lower price, than they are at prefent obtained by violence. The Peruvians are a fad example of the effe&s of tyranny ; being reduced to a ftate of (tupid in- fenfibility. No motive to adtion influences them ; neither riches, nor luxury, nor ambition. They are even indifferent about life. The only pleafure they feel is to get drunk, in order to forget their mifery. The provinces of Moldavia, Walachia, and Beflarabia, are remarkable for fertility of foil. The paftures, in particular, are excellent, produ- cing admirable horfes, with an incredible number of ftieep and horned cattle ; and corn, wine, oil, and wax, were formerly produced there in great plenty. So populous was Walachia, a few cen- turies ago, that its Prince was able to raife an army ( 210 ) of feventy thoufand men. Yet, notwithstanding all thefe advantages, the wretched policy of the Turkifh government has reduced thefe provinces to be almoft a defart. A defpotic government flifles in the birth all the bounties of nature, and renders the fined fpots of the globe equally iterile with its barren mountains. When a patriotic king travels about to vifit his dominions, he is received with acclamations of joy. A defpotic prince dares not hope for fuch a reception. He is locked up in his feraglio, igno- rant of what pafTes ; and indolently fuffers his people to be pillaged, without even hearing of their dif- trefTes. A defpotic prince accordingly, whofe wants are all fupplied with profufion, and who has nothing left him, either to wifli for or defire, car- ries on a moft languid exiftence. The following fentiments of Roufleau, on this fubje&, are very juft: " Tout Prince qui afpire au defpotifme, afpire aj'honneur de mdurir d'ennui. Dans tons les royaumes du monde cherchez-vous 1'homme le plus ennuye du pays ? Allez toujours dire&ement au fouverain ; furtout s'il eft tres abfolu. C'eft bien la peine de faire tant de miferables ! ne faudroit-ii s'cnnuyer a moindres fraix ? CHAP. ( 211 ) CHAP. LXV. ON THAT FORM OF GOVERNMENT, WHICH IS MOST FAVOURABLE TO PATRIOTISM. EVERY form of government muft be good that infpires patriotifm ; and the beft form to in- vigorate that noble paffion is a commonwealth founded on rotation of power; where it is the ftudy of thofe in office to do good, and to merit approbation from their fellow-citizens. In the Swifs Cantons, the falaries of magiftrates and public officers are fcarce fufficient to defray their expences ; and thofe worthy perfons defire no other recompence, but to be efteemed and honoured. Thus, thefe offices are filled with men of ability and character. The revenues of Geneva fcarcely amount to thirty thoufand pounds a year ; which however, by a well-regulated ceconomy, is more than fufficient to defray the current expences. And this republic is enabled to provide for the fecurity of its fubjects, from an income, which many individuals, both in France and England, fquander in vain pomp, and vicious diffipation. A republic, fo modelled, infpires virtues of every fort. The people of Switzerland feldom think of a writing to confirm a bargain. A law- fuit is fcarce known among them ; and there ard many. many, who never heard of a counfellor, nor of an attorney. Their doors are never mut but in win- ter. Patriotifm, however, is obferved of late years to be on the decline among the citizens of Bern ; and no wonder, confidering that luxury and felfiuV nefs are the never-failing offspring of opulence. When felfifhnefs becomes the ruling palTion of that people, thofe in power will pilfer the public ireafure, which is immenfe and^ enrich themfelves with the fpoils of the republic. Confufion and anarchy muft enfue, and the {late will fettle in a monarchy, or, more probably, in an odious demo- cracy. It is patriotifin that Montefquieu has in view, when he pronounces virtue to be the leading prin- ciple in a republic. He has reafon to term it fo> becaufe patriotifm is connected with every focial virtue; and, when it vani flies,, every focial virtus vanifties with it. Induftry and frugality may, in fotne meafure, have the fame effedt with patriotifm, where riches are gained by labour, not by inheritance. Man- chefter is one of the greateft manufacturing vil- lages in England. Induftry there flourimes, and with it frugality and honefty.. It is remarkable, that its numerous inhabitants, amounting to above 40,000, are governed by a magiftrafe of no higher rank than a juftice of peace conftable ; and by his authority authority, fmall as it is, peace and good order arc preferred. The beft citizens are not unwilling to be conftables ; and fome are ambitious of the of- fice. There are in England many other great ma- nufacturing villages, that are governed pretty much in the fame manner. Democracy will never be recommended by any enlightened politician, as a good form of govern- ment ; were it for no other reafon, but that pa- triotifm cannot long fubfift where the mob go- verns. In monarchy, the King is exalted fo high above his fubjedts, that his minifters are little better than fervants. Such condition is not friendly to pa- triotifm. It is as little friendly to ambition ; for minifters are Mill fervants however much raifed above other fubjedls. Wealth, being the only remaining purfuit, promotes avarice to be their ruling pallion. Now, if patriotifm be not found in minifters, who have power, far lefs in men who have no power ; and thus, in a monarchy, riches are preferred before virtue, and every vicious offspring of avarice has free growth. The worft fort of monarchy is that which is elelive ; becaufe patriotifm can have no ftable footing in fuch a ftate. The degeneracy'of the Poles is owing to an elective monarchy. Every neighbouring ftate being interefted' in .the ele&ion, money is the great engine that influence's the ( 2M- ) the choice. The electors, being tempted by every motive of intereft, lofe fight of the public, and each of them endeavours to make as advantageous a bargain as poflible. CHAP. LXVI. ON THE INFLUENCE OF OPULENCE IN DIF- FERENT FORMS OF GOVERNMENT. THOUGH riches, joined with ambition, pro- duce bold attempts for power, yet they are not dangerous in monarchy, were the fovereign is fo far fuperior, as to humble to the duft the moft afpiring of his fubje&s. But riches, joined with ambition, are dangerous in a republic. Ambition will fuggeft the poffibility of fowing diflenfion among the leaders j and riches will make the at- tempt fuocefsful. Wealth, accumulated by commerce in Carthage and in Athens, extinguifhed patrjotifm, and ren- dered the^ democracies unjiift, violent, and tyran- nical. It had another bad effect j which was, to make them ambitious of conqueft. The fage Plutarch charges Themiftocles with the ruin of Athens. u That great man," fays he, " infpired his countrymen with defire of naval power. That power produced extenfive commerce, and confe- quently riches. Riches again, beftdes luxury, in- - ( 215' ) fpired the Athenians with a high opinion of their power, and made them rafhly engage in every quar- rel among their neighbours." Supprefs the names, and one will believe it to be a cenfure on the con- duit of Britain. A ftate, with a fmall territory, fuch as Hamburgh or Holland, may fubfift long as a commonwealth, without much hazard from the opulence of indi- viduals. But an extenfive territory, in the hands of a few opulent proprietors, is dangerous in a com- monwealth ; on account of their influence over numbers, who depend on them for bread. The ifland of Britain is too large for a cornmon- wealth. This did not efcape a profound political *writer, who is an honour to his country ; and, to remedy the evil, he propofes an Agrarian law. But fondnefs for a fyftem of his own invention made him overlook a defect in it, that' would not have efcaped him, had it been the invention of another ; which is, that accumulation of land can never be prevented by an Agrarian law. CHAP. * Harri2 preflion, they are prepared before-hand for defpot- ifm. The fubjefts of a great ftate are dazzled with the fplendor of their monarch ; and as their union is prevented by diftance, the monarch can lately employ a part of his fubjefts againft the reft, or a {landing army againft all. CHAP. LXVIII. ON THE SPLENDID WORKS OF GREAT STATES. A Great (late poffefles an eminent advantage, viz, ability to execute magnificent works. The hanging gardens of Babylon, the pyramids of Egypt, and its lake Masris, are illuftrious exam- ples. The city of Heliopolis in Syria, named Ballek by the -Turks, is a remarkable inftance of the power and opulence of the Roman empire. Even in the ; ruins of that city, there are remains of great mag- nificence, and exquifite tafte. If the imperial palace, or temple of the fun, were the work of any European prince' exifting at L prefent, ( 218 ) prefent, it would make a capital figure in the an- nals of his reign. And yet fo little was the eclat of thefe works, even at the time of execution, that there is not a hint of them in any hiftorian. The beneficence of fome great monarchs is worthy of (till g/eater praife. In the principal roads of Japan, hot baths are creeled at proper diftances, with other conveniencies, for .the ufe of travellers. The beneficence of the Chinefe government to thofe who fuffer fliipwreck, gives a very advan- tageous impreflion of that monarchy. In the year 1728, the fhip Prince George took her departure from Calcutta in Bengal for Canton in China, with a cargo worth fixty thoufand pounds. A vio- lent ftorm drove her afhore at a place named Timpau, a great way Weft from Canton. Not above half the crew could make the fhore, worn out with fa- tigue and hunger, and not doubting of being maf- facred by the natives. How amazed were they to be treated with remarkable humanity I A Mandarin appeared, who not only provided for them plenty of victuals, but alfo men {killed in diving to aflift them in fifhing the wreck. " In a few days," fays our author, " we recovered five thoufand pounds in bullion, and afterwards ten thoufand pounds more. Before we fet forward to Canton, the Man- darin our benefactor took an exal account of our money, whh^he names of the men, furni/hed us with f 2i 9 J with an efcort to conduct us through his diftricl, and conligned us dead or alive to one Suqua at Canton, a Chinefe merchant, well known to the Englifh there. In every one of our refting places, victuals were brought to us by thevillagers in plenty, and with great cordiality. In this manner, we palfed from one diftricl to another, without having occafion to lay out a '(ingle farthing, till we reached Canton, which we did in. nine days, travelling fometimes by land, and fometimes by water. Our cafe had been reprefented to the court at Pekin, from whence orders came to diftribute amongft us a fum of money ; which was done by the Chuntuck, Hoppo, and other officers, civil and military, af- fembled in great (late. After a fhort fpeech, ex- prefling regret for our calamity, with an eulogium on the humane and generous difpofition of their matter, to each of us was prefented the mailer's bounty in a yellow bag, on which was infcribed the nature of the gift. The firft fupercargo receiv- ed 450 tales in filver, the fecond 350, myfelf 250, the mate 75, and each common feaman 154 the whole amounting to about 2000 tales, or eight hundred pounds. This is an example worthy of imitation, even where Chriftianity is profefled ; though its tenets are often, on like occafions fcan- daloufly perverted." This bounty was, no doubt, eftabliihed by law ; for it has not the appearance of an occafional or fingular a6l of bene^jfence. If fo, L, 2 China ' t 220 ) China is the only country in the world, where charity to (trangers in diftrefs is a branch of public police. CHAP. LXIX. ON THE ARTIFICES OF MINISTERS IN A DE- SPOTIC GOVERNMENT. GREAT monarchs, being highly elevated above their fubjeds, are acquainted with none but their minifters. And minifters, who in a defpotic government are fobjecl: to no controul but that of their matter, commonly prefer their own intereft, without regard to his honour. Solyman Emperor of the Turks, though accom- plifhed above any of his predeceflbrs, could not efcape the artifices of his wife Roxalana, and of his Vifir Ruftan. They poifoned his ears with re- peated calumnies againft his eldeft fon Muftapha, a young prince of great hopes. Tfoy were not in hazard of detection, becaufe no per fon had accefs to the emperor but by their means. And the con- cluding fcene, was an order from the Emperor to put his fon to death.* If a great monarch lie thus open, in his own palace to the artifices of his minifters, his authority, \ve may be certain, will be very flight over the governors Dr. Robert/en's hiftory of Charles V. ( 221 ) governors of his diftant provinces. Their power is precarious ; and they opprefs the people without intermiflion, in order to amafs wealth. The com- plaints of the people are difregarded ; for they never reach the throne. The Spanifh governors of the Philippine iflands afford a deplorable inftance of this obfervation. The heat of the climate promotes luxury ; and luxury promotes avarice, which rages without con- troul, the diftance of the capital removing all fear of detection. Arbitrary taxes are impofed on the people, and exceffive duties on goods imported ; which are rigoroufly exacted, becaufe they are con- verted by the governor to his own ufe. An arbi- trary eftimate is made of what every field may pro- duce ; and the hufbandman is feverely punimed, if he fail to deliver the appointed quantity, whether his land has produced it or not. Many thoufands have abandoned their native country ; and the few miferable wretches who remain, have taken refuge among inacceflible mountains. CHAP. ( 222 ) CHAP. LXX. ON THE INTERNAL CONVULSIONS AND REVO- LUTIONS OF AN EXTENSIVE MONARCHY. AN extenfive monarchy is liable to internal con- vulfions or revolutions, occafioned common- ly either by a (landing army, or by the governors of diftant provinces. With refpecl; to the former, the government of a great kingdom, enervated by lux- ury, muft be military, and confequently defpotic. A numerous army will foon learn to contemn a pufillanimous leader, and to break loofe from every tie of fubjedlion. The fovereign is often changed at the caprice of the army ; but defpotifm continues to triumph. In Turkey, the Jannifaries dethrone the Sultan, without fcruple ; but being fuperftitioufly attached to the royal family, they confine themfelves to it in electing a new Sultan. The pretorian bands were the Janiftaries of the Roman empire, who never fcrupled to dethrone the emperor, if he gave them the flighted offence. With refpel to the latter, the governors of dif- tant provinces, accuftomed to al without controul, become greedy of power, and fet no bounds to am- bition. Let them but gain the affe&ion of the people they govern, and boldnefs will do the reft. The monarch is dethroned before he is prepared for for defence, and the u fur per takes his plac6 with- out opposition. Succefs commonly attends fuch undertakings ; for the fovereign has no foul, and the people have no patriotifm. CHAP. LXXL ON THE DIFFICULTY OF GUARDING THE FRON- TIERS OF A GREAT EMPIRE. A Kingdom, like an animal, becomes weak, in proportion to its excefs above a certain fize. France and Spain would be lefs fitted for de- fence, were they enlarged beyond their prefent ex- tent. Spain, in particular, was a very weak king- dom, while it comprehended the Netherlands, and the half of Italy. In their prefent , extent, forces are foon collected to guard the moft diftant fron- tiers. Months are required to affemble troops in an overgrown kingdom like Perfia. If an army be defeated at the frontier, it muft difp'erfe, fortified places being feldom within reach. The victor, advancing with celerity, lays fiege to the capital, before the provincial troops can be formed into a regular army. The capital is taken, the empire diffolved ; and the conqueror, at leifure, difputes the provinces with their governors. L 4 ( 224- ) The Philippine iflands made formerly a part of the extenfive empire of China ; but, as they were too diftant to be protected or well governed, it Jhowed confummate wifdom in the Chinefe govern- ment to abandon them, with feveral other diftant provinces. A fmall ftate, on the other hand, is eafily guard- ed. The Greek republics thought themfelves fuf- ficiently fortified againft the Great King, by their courage, their union, and their pat?iotifm. The Romans, while circumfcribed within Italy, never thought of any defence againft an enemy, but good troops. When they had acquired a vaft em- pire, even the Rhine appeared a barrier too weak. The numberlefs forts and legions, that covered their frontiers, could not defend them from a panic* upon every motion of the barbarians. The ufe of cannon, which place the weak and ftrong upon a level, is the only refource of the lux- urious and opulent againft the poor aud hardy. In our times, the nations, whofe frontiers lie open, would make the moft refolute oppofition ta an invader j witnefs the German ftates, and the Swifs cantons. Italy enjoys the ftrongeft natural barrier of any country, that is not an ifland ; and yet, for cen- turies, it has been a prey to every invader. ' Three plans, at different times, have been put in execution, fox fecuiing the frontiers of an extern five five empire, viz. building walls, laying the fron-v tiers wafte, and eftablifliing feudatory princes. The firft was the ancient practice, proper only for an idle people, without commerce. The Egyptians built a very extenfive wall, for protecting themfelves againft the wandering Arabs. The famous wall of China to protect its effeminate inhabitants againft the Tartars, is known over all the world : and the walls built in the north of England againft the Scott and Picls, are known to every Briton. To protect the Roman territory from German invaders, the Emperor Probus conftructed a ft one wall, {lengthened with towers. It ftretched from Ratifbon on the Danube to Wimpfen on the Necker ; and terminated on the bank of the Rhine, after a winding courfe of 200 miles. Such walls, though erected with ftupendous la- bour, prove a very weak bulwark ; for a wall of any extent is never fo carefully guarded, as at all times to prevent furprize. And, accordingly, ex perience has taught that walls cannot be relied on.. This, in modern times, has introduced the two- other methods mentioned. Sha Abbas, King of Perfia, in order to prevent the inroads of the Turks, laid wafte part of Armenia, carrying the inhabitants to Ifpahan, and treating them with great humanity. Land is not much, valued by the great monarchs of Afia. It is pre- L 5 cious ( 226 ) clous in the fmaller kingdoms of Europe 5 and the frontiers are commonly guarded by fortified towns. The other frontiers of Perfia are guarded by feu- datory princes ; and the fame method is practifed in China, in Hindortan, and in the Turkim em- pire. The princes of Little Tartary, Moldavia, and Wallachia, have been long a fecurity to the Grand Signior, againft his powerful neighbours in .Europe. G "fi A P. LXXII. ON THE HEREDITARY GENIUS OF NATIONS, TH E empire of the imagination and the paf- fions, by diverfifying the natural form, and leaching the organization of man, has appeared to be extenfive. But, without invigorating or ener- vating the principle of mere animal Itfe, perhaps his genius and character, in one age, may affedt the original genius and character of fucceeding generations. The feparation of families and the diftindion-ef ranks are eflential to all political eftablifhments. No divifion of property, no rules of patrimonial fuccelfion, no fumptuary, no agrarian laws can long preferve a parity of rank and fortune among any people. The ( 2*7 ) , The greater number, indeed, in every ftate are rendered fubfervient to the few ; are confounded together in one clafs, and compofe the rude vulgar of mankind. Thus, in the plan of the Comitiaof Rome, the people were diftiibuted into fix clafles, and every Roman was allowed fome fhare of po- litical power ; but the loweft clafs gradually funk into neglect. The whole power of the comitia was transferred to their fuperiors, andthofe of each clafs, though equal in their collective capacity, were, as men and as citizens, of very unequal con- fideration. Thefeus instituted at Athens an order of nobility, and debarred the people at large from all the honourable functions of civil government. And if Solon, by permitting every citizen to vote in the public aflembly, feemed to confer on the meanefl of them a fort of political exiftence ; yet, even by Solon's plan, the Athenians were divided into three clafles, while the mafs of the people, diftinct from thefe, were legally excluded from all offices of truft or honour^ In Sparta alone an- equality of fortune was the aim of the legiflator, and an avowed maxim of government. But the ex pedients of Lycurgus were not effectual for that purpofe ; and, even in the pureft ages of the commonwealth, the diftinction of riches and poverty was not totally unknown. L 6 Such ( 228 ) Such is the condition of men in the moft'demo- cratical ftates. The forms of fociety require fub- ordination. The detail of affairs calls for different occupations ; and mankind are diftributed into clafles, to which belong unequal degrees of impor- tance. That the fubdivifion of arts, which is fo condu- cive to their perfection, degrades the character of the common artizan, is a propofition confonant to the uniform experience of civilized nations- The molt fimple manufacture is executed by the joint labour of a number of people, each of whom being expert only in his own peculiar branch, perceives neither the perfection of the defign, nor the refult of the combination. That fyftematic knowledge belongs only to the mafter artift ; and the detail of the execution feems to refemble, in fume fort, the proceedings of inftinct in animal life, where we fo often obferve, by .the wifdom of nature, a regular, though blind, co-operation of numbers towards an unknown end. The manufacture of a pin is a trite exarmple, ferving well to il-luftrate this fubdivifion of labour. That bufmefs is fubdivided into about eighteen dif- tinct operations, which are fometimes all perform- ed by diftinct hands. In manufactures of a more complicated fabric, the operations are ftill farther fubdivided, and often tend, among the various orders of artizans, to debilitate the body, and to engender difeafe. But exclufive of this confe- ss quence, ( 229 ) quence, the life of fuch an artizan is filled up -with, a feries of actions, which, returning with an in- fipid uniformity, affords no exercife to genius or capacity. And if the tendency of his occupation is not counteracted by.fome expedient of government, he is fuffered to fall into a torpor of intellect, which implies the abfence or annihilation of every manly virtue. Such occupations, in the ancient republics of Greece and Rome, were confidered as beneath 'the dignity of free citizens, and were commonly cxercifed by flaves. In the prefent ftate of the arts among European , nations; perhaps the mod refpedable character, among the inferior ranks, is bred by the profeflion of arms. Its functions, which have more compafs and variety, are more animated and interefting than thofe of a mechanical trade. The whole detail of military exercife polifhes and fafhions the body, and even confers the graces, which elevate the mind. In the bread of a private foldier, accordingly, there often reigns a fenfe of perfonal dignity and honour, which fcarce ever enters into the mafs of the people, and is but rarely to be met with in men of fuperior affluence and figure. A certain caft of character and genius adheres to every condition. Different degrees of refinement and civility characterize the various orders of citi- zens ; and the dignity or meannefs , annexed to the fphere in which they move is, by no violent tran- iition of imagination, transferred to their imme- diate ( 230 ) diate, and even Jp remote defcendants, and regard- ed as appendages to pofterity. Thus families are Formed, where men become deflined, from birth alone, to occupy, in civil fo- ciety, more or lefs exalted ftations. Antiquity of family, then, implies a defcent from a feries of ancef- tors long feparated from the crowd, and exalted to fome eminence in the ranks of life. Now, it will not be denied, that in the firft generation, the refemblance of children to parents is often confpicuous in the features, both of body and mind. The one fpecies of refemblance is fometimes confpicuous, where the other is fcarcely difcernible ; and the other fpecies is fometimes no lefs predominant, where the former fubfifts in an inferior degree. Thefo principles, though blended occafionally in their operations, feem to be diftincl: and indepen- dent. Various caufes, to us unknown, may in- terrupt the law of refemblance in the outward form. Various caufes, alike unknown, may interrupt the law of refemblance in the moral ceconomy. Thefe connections and dependencies we attempt not to explore. We know not how far the cha- racter of parents touches the elements of the amo- rous paifion, or diverfifies the mode of inftincT:, fo as to affect the progeny of phyfical love. It is fuf- ficient, if general experience declare fuch connec- tions to have a foundation in nature. 4 Admit f 231 ) Admit then, that certain qualities of mind, as well as body, are transmiffible in the firft genera- tion, and do not terminate there ; is there not rea- fon to expc6l, from the accumulated efforts of the fame caufes, that fome general inheritance may be derived in a courfeof ages, and confequently, that a greater orlefs propenfity to refinement, to civility, and to the politer arts, may be connected with an illuftrious, or more obfcure original ? But this fpecies of influence, which is (Iriclly moral, ought to be variable in every country, with the order, the policy, and the arrangements of civil fociety. It is the genius of popular and free go- vernments to annihilate, in fome fort, family dif- tindions. Citizens, born to equal privileges, and conftituted in fimilar points of exterior rank, will tranfmit to pofterity more equal proportions of the gifts of nature. Under a more unequal government, where dif- tin&ions abound, where there reigns the ftrongeft contrail of circumftances, and where a difparity of condition has been cherimed and preferved forages, the moral diverfity will be more confpicuous ; and civil diftindions long maintained, will open a fource of natural diftinilions in fucceeding times. Hereditary chara&eriftics, accordingly, attracted the attention of mankind, in fome degree, under aH the ancient governments. A regard ( 23* ) A regard to defcent, which amounted to a fpe- cies of idolatry among fome nations, has not been altogether exploded in free and popular ftates. In the Gentoo government of Indoitan, the diftinction of calls or tribes was never violated by promifcu- ous commerce. And fuch was the public folicitude of the Indians, about the future generation, that phyfical education might be faid to commence antecedently to birth. A guardian was appointed for an infant yet unborn ; and it was his province to lay down a regimen for the mother, during the months of pregnancy. The improvement of the race of citizens was a favourite object of Spartan policy. And while with this view, the laws authorifed, under certain regulations, a community of wives, they permitted not alliances or intermarriages among the different orders of citizens. Such alliances and intermar- riages were alfo exprefsly forbidden by the laws of Rome, for upwards of three hundred years. The free fpirit of the Romans, , indeed, at laft rebelled againft fuch odious cliftinctions, and open- ed to every citizen the way to civil honours. Yet the Romans themfelves, after fo glorious a ftruggle for privilege, againft the ufurpations of a proud nobility, teftified, in the very moment of victory, their reverence for Patrician blood*. Imagination furely, in all fuch cafes, influences the * Tit. Livt cap. 6, lib, iv. the judgment of the people ; and while it inclines them fo often to beftow unmerited preference, it fometimes elevates the character of the individuals, to whom that preference is given. Men nobly born are animated with the idea, and think themfelves called upon, in a peculiar manner, to emulate the virtues, and to fuftain the honours of their name. " Et Pater Anchifes,et avunculus excitat Hector." They feel not what they are but what they ought to be; till at laft, by feeling what they ought to be, they become what they were not. And thus, by reverencing the dignity of anceftors, they learn to aflert their own. There is often an invifible preparation of fe- cond caufes, which concurs with trie civil order of things, in prolonging thehonours or even the in- famy of a race ; and hereditary charactenftics are interwoven into the genius and eflTence of the mind. Let us review the condition of a family emerging from rudenefs into the dignity of civil life. Let us fuppofe the founders conftituted in a (late of in- dependence, and of decent affluence, graced with every circtimftance that can command refpect, improved by all the advantages of moral and of civil culture, and exalted to a mode of thinking, and of acting, fuperior to vulgar minds. Some traces of this fpirit, we may affirm, without being charged ( 234, } charged with excefTivc refinement, are likely to ad- here to their immediate progeny. But, how fcanty or latent foever this inheritance may be at firft, if the caufes are not difcontinued, the conftitutional effecl will be more coafpicuous in the fecond generation. If the former hnpref- fions are not effaced, the third generation will have their conftitution more ftrongly impregnated with the fame elements ; till at laft, by happy alliances, and by preferving the line on one fide long un- broken, there (hall refult an aflbciation of qualities, which being confolidated into the conftitution, form the charadleriftics of a race. The fame reafoning is eafily transferred to a fa- mily of an ignoble line. Inftead of competence, independence, culture, fubftitute indigence, fervi- lity, rudencfs. Extend this allotment over an equal feries of pofterity, and you will probably reverfe all the propenfities of nature. It is only an alfemblage of great talents, or the long predominance of fome one ftriking quality, that attracts the obfervation of the world. The great qualities of the laft Athenian King flourifhed in the Archons for above three hundred years. The daughter of Scipio was mother of the Gracchi. The heroifm of the younger Brutus was the heroifm of his remote progenitor. The 'houfesof thePublicolze, the Metfalae, antf VaferJi, were illuflrious for fix hundred years. The Deeii, retain ing* retaining, equally long, their primeval charade*, attempted the revival of the Roman virtue in the decline of the empire. And, if expectation might be raifed upon fuch foundations, a Briton might al- inoft anticipate fome of the actors on the public flage, at fome future nsra. Yet we are far from confidering birth as the criterion of any one perfection of the mind or body. Neither do we fuppofe, in general, that an exalt- ed ftation calls forth the greateft talents, or is moll favourable to the growth of moral, or intellectual endowments. Thofe in the middle ranks of life, in a flouriming and cultivated nation, promife to tranfinit as fair an inheritance to poflerity. The accefs to refinement, to culture, and to civil ho- nours, which is opened to them in the progrefs of government, allows them almoft every advantage ; while they are often exempted from corruptions, which are foftered by fuperior rank. In ancient times, when profeffions were heredi- tary, when intermarriages among different claiFes were not permitted, or were held difhonourable, when conjugal love was rarely violated, and genealogy was a fafliionable fcience, hereditary talents wouM be more obfervable, and their influence in fociety more ftrongly defined. Upon the whole, it mufl be admitted, that the character of anceftors has an influence on the line of pofterity, and that 3 long feries of cau-fes, antece- dent to birth, has affected, in each individual, not only only the mechanical and vital fprings, but, in Tome degree alfo, the conftitutional arrangements of his intellectual nature. The circumftance, therefore, of birth alone, may be regarded as more or lefs aufpicious. It may be allowed, on fome occafions, to heighten or to de- prefs expectation ; but cannot, without the great- eft abfurdity, enter farther into the account, or be rendered a topic of exultation or reproach, in the cftimation of jperfonal merit. Iphicrates, an upftart Athenian replied with be- coming fpirit to a perfon of noble birth, who had tlared to arraign his pedigree, " The honours of my family begin with myfelf: the honours of yours end in you." How often might thofe, in a humble fphere, exchange places with men, who fit in the cabinets of kings ? How pften, as in the Roman government, might we. call a dictator from the plough ? The diftin&ion here opened, far from flattering the arrogance, or juftifying the ufurpations of men, if extended from individuals, and families, to the larger aflbciations of mankind, will herp to explain the hi (lory of the world, with the lead poffible violence to the common prerogatives of the fpe- cies. A cultivated and polifhed nation may, in fome refpcds, be regarded as a (landing family. Thq one { 237 ) one is, relatively to the greater number of the com- munities of mankind, what the other is, relatively to the greater number of citizens under the fame civil ceconomy* The conduct of the one, and of the other, towards their fuppofed inferiors, is often ex^ actly fimilar. \ Both carry themfelves with equal infolence, and feem alike to forget or to deny the inherent and unalienable rights of the fpecies. Illultrious rank is no more to be regarded, as a Criterion of perfection, in forming the general efti- mate of nations, than in forming the particu- lar eftimate of the feveral families or members of the fame community. The greateft nation is not always bleffed with the mod equal government, nor adorned witli the mod accomplished citizens. The collective wifdom of a people is not to be eftimated by that proportion of it, which actuates their public councils, or even by the detail of their civil government. Yet that government is certain- ly, in onerefpect, well constituted, which calls abili- ties and diftiuguifhed worth into public view. Sir William Temple has pronounced this eulo* gium on the ccnftitution of the United Provinces of Holland, though rather at the expence of the national character. " Though perhaps the nation,'* fays that writer, " be not generally wife, yet the government is, becaufe it is compofed of the wlftft of the nation, which may give it an advantage over many others, where ability is of more common growth growth, but of lefs ufe to the public, if it happens that neither wifdom nor honefty are the qualities, which bring men to the management of ftate affairs, as they ufually do, in this common wealth. " It is, however, no fmall point of wifdom to diftinguilh fuperior worth ; and the men who arc difpofed to regard with juft admiration noble talents, are inferior only to the men who poiTefs them. But it may be queftioned, whether the happicft periods, even of free governments, are the periods moft conducive to the perfections of mankind. Perhaps the higheft national, as well as private vir- tue, is bred in the fchool of adverlity. A nation certainly may derive fplendor from thofe very cir- cumftances, which fink the character of its citi- zens. The fcience of mechanics, which is the glory of human reafon, has enlarged the abilities, and dignified the afpedl of nations. Yet the lower clafles of artizans and manufacturers, in moft of the civi- lized governments of modern Europe, who are fo inftrumental in promoting public opulence and commercial profperity, may be pronounced to be themfelves in a ftate of intellectual debafement, to which there is fcarce any parallel in the hiftory of rude barbarians. Qualities, which refift for ages the change of government and of climate, muft be allowed to be congenial and hereditary to the tribes, among whom they are found to predominate. Perhaps Perhaps the hiftory of the Jews furnifhcs an ex- ample of a race, whofe peculiar qualities, thus cir- cumftanced, have defcended through a long courfe of generations. Tsta people, it may be affirmed, have ever figured on the theatre of nations, with a deftiny fo iingular as theirs. Their hiftory, whe- ther drawn from facred or profane records, whe- ther regarded as miraculous, or in the order of nature, affords matter of abundant fpeculation. The maxims of their religion .and policy* pre- ferved them, in all the revolutions of fortune, as a diftinct people. After the final diiTolution of their government, and djfperfion all over the habitable globe, a fyftemof prejudices peculiar to themfelves, but directed, in its operations, to fulfil the ends of Providence, has preferved their genealogy and prevented alliances or intermarriages, with any other race. Certain marks of uniformity are, accordingly, difcernible among them in every period. The fame fpirit, which wasfo untractable under their own governors, difpofed them to mutiny and rebellion, when a Roman province. And, that perverfenefs of temper, which Jed them fo often to aportacy and to idolatry, when in poflTellion of the true faith, has rendered them tenacious of a falfe religion. As numerous, perhaps, at this day, as when a fettled nation, the relation of confanguinity, under all the various governments and climates, where their f 240 ) " their lot is cafl, marks their character. Yet, had this unfociable people remained in their prefent pofleflions, and, without foreign connexions or intermarriages, had fubfifted under the fame poli- tical eftablifhment, the moft fingular, furely, that ever was formed, the lineaments of their charac- ter, both of inward and outward form, had, we may well believe, been dill more ftrongly marked. In general it may be obferved, that the confined intercourfe of the fpecies tends ultimately to the formation of a peculiar genius and temper. Thus ( in the ancient Germans, the uniformity of indivi- duals was as aftoniming, as the diverlity of all from very other people ; and from the fingularity of thefe appearances, the Roman Hiftorian fup- pofes them a pure and diftindl race, not derived from Afia, from Africa, from Italy, or from any other region*. The new hemifphere prefented appearances ex- actly fimilar. The aftoniming refemblance which was there obferved among mankind, feems to evi- dence that it was peopled originally by the fame race, and at an zera. of no high antiquity. The branches, though widely fpread, had probably not been long feparated from the common ftock ; or perhaps a fimilarity in the modes of life contributed, more than any other caufe, throughout that im- mcnfc * Tatitus de Mor, German. C 241 ) . menfe continent, to exclude variety in the human fpecies. The hiftory of Hindoftan, where the Aborigines are fo clearly defined from the other natives of the fame regions, might be mentioned as another ftriking example of a genius and conftitutton, which confanguinity has in part contributed to cherifh and preferve for ages. Thus we may obferve mankind, eflentially the fame, yet in different .regions of the globe, varying continually from a fixed ftandard, ex- celling in the rational, in the moral, or in the ani- mal powers, born with a fuperior fitnefs for refinement, for arts, for civil culture, or caft in a rougher mould, and by native temper more indocible and wild. Yet, all the capital diftinclions in individuals, families, or tribes flow from caufes fubfequent to birth, from education, example, and forms of government, from the maxims and genius of re- ligion, from the lights of fcience and philofophy, and, in fome degree, from the infallible opera- tions of the external elements. To run the parallel of nations, and decide on their comparative perfections, is not an eafy tafk ; for the appearances in civil life are very often de- lufive. The manners, and the crimes of illiterate favagc tribes, are apt enough to appear to us in their full M dimenfion rfimenfion and deformity ; but the violations of natural law, among civilized nations, have a folemn varnifh of policy, which difguifes the enormity of'guilt. The greatnefs too of a community dazzles the eye, and confers an imaginary value on its mem- bers. It eclipfes the milder luftre of more hum- ble tribes. Yet the virtue of nations, as of in- dividuals, frequently courts the fhade, and the beau- tiful figure of the poet is equally applicable to both : " Full many a flower is born to blufh unfeen. " And wafte its fweetnefs on the defert air." Hiftory, which ought to be the miftrefs of hu- man life, affeds magnificence, and feems to de- fcend from her dignity, in recording the tranfac- tions of little ftates. She forgets that men may grow lefs by elevation, and permits the honours of nations to be distributed by the hands of fortune. It is hence the Greeks and Romans are regarded by us, with a veneration fo far above all the nations of antiquity. Hence Europe, in modern times, boafts a pre-eminence that feems to infult the reft of the world. It belongs to reafon and philofophy to re-judge mankind ; and, under an endlefs variety of ap- pearances, more or lefs equivocal, to obferve and 5 fix ( 243 ) fix the principles which affect, in every age and country, the proportion of human happinefs, and of human perfection. Let not nations then, or individuals, regard themfelves as fingle in the creation. Let them view their interetb on the largeft fcale. Let them feel the importance of their ftation to themfelves and to the fyitem, to their contemporaries, and to future generations, and let them learn, from the ettabliflied order of fecond caufes, to refpect, to adorn, and to exalt the fpecies. CHAP. LXXIII. ON PEACE AND WAR. THE bleffings of peace are too well known to need illuftration. Induftry, commerce, the flne arts, power, opulence, &c. depend on peace. Has war, then, any thing in (tore for balancing fo fubftantial bleffings ? On due consideration, we will find that it has. Humanity, it muft be acknowledged gains no- thing from the wars of fmall ftates in dole neigh-" bourhood. Such wars are brutal and bloody ; becaufe they are carried on with bitter enmity againft individuals. Thanks to Providence, that war, at prefent, bears a lefs favage afpet We M 2 fpare ( 244 ) {pare individuals, and make war upon the nation' only. Barbarity and cruelty give place to mag- nanimity, and foldiers are converted from brutes into heroes. Such wars give exercife to the elevated virtues of courage, generofity and difintereftednefs, which are always attended with confcioufnefs of merit and dignity. CHAP. LXXIV. THE GENEROtJS OFFICER. IN the war carried on by Louis XII. of France againft the ,Venetians, the town of Brefcia, be- ing taken by ftorm, and abandoned to the foldiers, fuffered for feven days all the diftreifes of cruelty and avarice. No houfe efcaped but that where Chevalier Bayard was lodged. At his entrance, the miftrefs, a woman of rank, fell at his feet, and deeply fobbing, " Oh ! my lord, fave my life, fave the honour of my daughters." " Take courage, Madam," faid the Chevalier, *' your life, and their honour, fliall be fecure, while I have life." The two daughter?, brought from their hiding place, were prefenttd to him ; and the family, reunited, beftowed their whole attention oh their deliverer. A dangerous wound he had received 4 gave ( 245 ) gave them opportunity to exprefs their zeal. They employed an eminent furgeon. They attended him by turns day and night ; and when he could bear to be amufed, they entertained him with con- certs of muiic. Upon the day fixed for his departure, the mother faidto him, " To your goodnefs, my Lord, we owe our lives ; and to you all we have belongs by right of war. But we hope, from your fignal benevolence, that this flight tribute will content you." On faying this, me placed upon the table an iron coffer full of money. " What is the fum ?" faid the Chevalier. My Lord," anfwered me trembling, " no more but 2500 ducats, all that we have ; but if more be neceffary, we will try our friends." " Madam, fays he, ' your kindnefs is more precious in^ my eyes, than a hundred thoufand ducats. Take back your money, and depend al- ways on me." " My good Lord, you kill me in refufing this fmall fum. Take it only as a mark of your friend- fhip to my family.", " Well," faid he, " fmce it will oblige you, I take the money ; but give me the fatisfa&ion of bidding adieu to your amiable daughters." They carne to him with looks of regard and affec- tion. " Ladies," faid he, " the impreflion you M 3 have have made on my heart, will never wear out. What return to make I know not, for men of my pro- feilion are feldom opulent. But here are 2500 ducats, of which the generofity of your mother has given me the difpofal. Accept them as a marriage prefent ; and may your happinefs in marriage equal your merit." " Flower of chivalry," cried the mother ; "May (he God, who rules the univerfe, reward you here and hereafter." Can peace afford fo fweet a fcene ! C H A P. LXXV. ' AN AFFECTING INCIDENT. THE following incident is ftill more interefting, It is of a late date among our countrymen ; and will, for that reafon, make the deeper im- preifion. The fcene of action was in Admiral Watfon's fliip, at the fiege of Chandernagore, where Captain Speke, and his fon, a youth of fix- teen, were both wounded by the fame (hot. The hiftyry is related by Mr. Ives, furgeon of the fhip ; which follows in his own words, only a little abridged. The Captain, whofe leg was hanging by the fkin, faid to the Admiral, " Indeed, Sir, this was a cruel (hot, to knock down both father and fon." ML. ( 247 ) ?vlr. Watfon's heart was too full for a reply ; he only ordered both to be carried down to the fur- geon. Xhe Captain, who was firft brought down, told me how dangeroufly his Billy had been wounded. Prefently after, the brave youth himfelf appeared, with his eyes overflowing with tears, not for him- felf, but for his father. Upon my affurance, that his father's wound was not dangerous, be became calm ; but refufed to be touched, till his father's wound mould be firft drefled. Then pointing to a fellow-fufferer, " Pray, Sir, drefs alfo that poor man, who is groaning fo fadly befide me." I told him, that the man had already been taken care of; and begged that I now might have liberty to examine his wound. He futtmitted : and calmly faid, " Sir, I fear you muft amputate above the joint." I replied, " My dear, I mud;" He clafped his hands together; and, lifting up his eyes toward heaven, he offered up the follow- ing fhort, but earnefi petition : " Good God ! do thou enable me to behave, in my prefent circum- ftances, worthy of my father." He then told me he was all fubmiflion. I per- formed the operation above the joint of the knee ; and, during the whole time, the intrepid youth never fpoke a word, nor uttered a groan that could be heard at the diftance of a yard. M 4 It f 248 J It is eafier to imagine, than to exprefs the feel- ings of the father at this time. But, whatever he felt, tears were the only expreflion. Both of them were carried to Calcutta. The father was lodged in the houfe of his brother-in-law ; and the fon was placed with me in the hofpital. For the firft week I gave comfort to both, carry- ing good tidings to them of one another. But alas I all the good fymptoms, that had attended the young man, began to difappear. The Captain perceived all in my countenance ; and, fo unwilling was he to add to my diftrefs, as feldom to fpeak about his fon. One time he faid, " How long, my friend, do you think my Billy may remain HI a ftate of un- certainty ?" I replied, th'at, if he furvived the fif- teenth day after the operation, there would be ftrong hopes of his recovery. On the thirteenth he died ; and, on the fixteenth, the Captain, looking me ftedfaftly in the face, " Well, Ives, how fares it with my boy ?" Dif- covering the truth from my filence, he cried bitterly* fqueezed my hand, and begged me to leave him for one half- hour. When I returned, he appeared, as he ever after did, perfectly calm and ferene. The excellent youth had been delirious the even- ing before his death ; and, at two o'clock in the morning, he fcnt me a note written with a pencil, of C 249 ) of which the following is a copy. " Mr. fves will confider the diforder a fon muft be in, when he is dying, and is yet in doubt about his father. - If Mr. Ives is not too bufy to honour this note, which nothing but the greateft uneafinefs could draw from me The boy waits an anfwer." I immediately repaired to himj and he had (till fenfe enough to know me. He then faid, " And is he dead? " Who, my dear?" " My father, Sir." " No, my love ; nor is he in any danger ; he is almoft well." " I thank God : I am now fatisfied, and am ready to die." He had a locked jaw, and was in great pain, but I underftood every word he uttered. He begged my pardon for having difturbed me at fo early an hour ; and, before the day was ended, he furren- dered a life that deferved to be immortal. " Does peace afford any fcene," fays Lord Kaimes, " that can compare with this, in moving our fympaihetic feelings ?" CHAR CHAP. LXXVI. A COMPARISON BETWEEN WAR AND PEACE. T^RIENDSHIP is, in peace, cool and languid ;. JL but, in a war for glory, exerts the whole fire of its enthufiafm. The long and bloody war, fuftained by the Netherlanders, againft the tyrant of Spain, made even Dutchmen heroes. They forced their way to the Indies, during the hotteft period of the war ; and gained, by commerce, what fupported them againft their ferocious enemy. What have they gained fince by peace r Their, immenfe commerce has eradicated patriotifm, and every appetite but wealth. Had their violated rights been reftored without a ftruggle, they would have continued a nation of frogs and fimermen. The Swifs, by continual ftruggles for liberty, againft the potent houfe of Auftria, became a brave and alive people. Their federal union has fecured to them peace and tranquility ; which, notwith- Itanding their mountainous fituation, would have funk them into effeminacy, but for a commerce they carry on of hiring out their men for foldiers. plonks are commonly pufillanimous. Their way of life, which removes them from danger, en- ervates the mind, and renders them fpiritlefs and cowarjy. Induftry, Induftry, manufactures, and wealth are the fruits of peace. But advert to what follows. Luxury, a never-failing concomitant of wealth, is a (low poifon, that debilitates men, and renders them in- capable of any great effort. Courage, magnanimity, and heroifm, come to be ranked among the mira- cles, that are fuppofed never to have exifted but in fable ; and the fafhionable propenfities of fenfuality, avarice, cunning, and diflimulation, engrofs the mind. In a word, man, by conftant profperity and peace, degenerates into a mean, impotent, and felfifli animal. War ferves to drain the country of idlers, few of whom are innocent, and many not a little mifchiev- ous. In the years 1759 and 1760, when we were at war with France, there were but twenty- nine criminals condemned at the Old Bailey. In tfte years 1770 and 1771, when we were at peace with all the world, the criminals condemned there amounted to one hundred and fifty- one. War, however, when not und^r proper regula- tions, is a dreadful thing. The condition of Europe was deplorable in the dark ages, when vaflals alTu- med the privilege of waging war, without confent of the fovereign. Deadly feuds prevailed univerfally, and threatened didblution of all government. The human race never were in a more woeful condition. But anarchy never fails, foon or late, to redify itfelf, which effeminacy, produced by long peace, M 6 never ( 252 ) never does. Revenge and cruelty, it is true, are the fruits of war. So likewife are firmnefs of mind and undaunted courage ; which are exerted with better will, in behalf of virtue, than of revenge. The crufades gave a new turn to the fierce man- ners of our anceftors. A religious enterprife, uni- ting numbers formerly at variance, enlarged the fphere of focial affection, and fweetened the man- ners of Chriftians to one another. Thefe crufades filled Europe with heroes, who, at home, were ready for any new enterprize, that promifed laurels. Moved with the horror of deadly feuds, they joined in bends of chivalry, for fuccouring the dif- trefled, for redrafting wrongs, and for protecting widows and orphans. Such heroifm inflamed every one, who was fond of glory and warlike achieve- ments. Chivalry was relilhed by men of birth ; and even kings were proud to be of the order. An inftitution, blending together valour, religion, and gallantry, was wonderfully agreeable to a mar- tial people ; and humanity and gentlenefs could not but prevail in a fociety, whofe profeflion it was to fuccour every perfon in diftrefs. As glory and honour were the only wifhed for -recompence, chivalry was efteemed the fchool of honour, of truth, and of fidelity. It is true, that the enthufiafm of protecting widows and orphans, degenerated fometimes into ex- ( 253 ) ' - ' . extravagance ; witnefs knights, who wandered about in queft of adventures. But it would be unfair to condemn the whole order, becaufe a few of their number were extravagant. The true fpirit of chival- ry produced a fignal reformation in the manners of Europe. To what other caufe can we fo juftly afcribe the point of honour, and that humanity in war, which characterize modern manners r* Are peace, luxury, and felfifhnefs, capable of producing fuch efFeds ? Upon the whole, perpetual war is bad, becaufe it converts men into beads of prey. Perpetual peace is no better, becaufe it converts men into beafts of burden. To prevent fuch woeful degene- racy on both hands, war and peace alternately are the only effectual means ; and thefe means are adopted by Providence. * Dr, Robertfon's Hi dory of Charles V. CHAP, f 254 } CHAP. LXXVII. ON THE VIGOUR OF MIND, WHICH THE ENG~ LISH CONSTITUTION INSPIRES. "|\ yjONTESQUIEU, in a warm panegyric on JL V 1 the Englifh conftitution, has overlooked one particular in which it is fuperior to every other monarchy ; and that is, the frequent opportunities it affords to exert mental powers and talents. What agitation among the candidates, and their electors, on the approach of a new parliament! What free- dom of fpeech and eloquence in parliament! Mini- flers and their meafures are laid open^to the world, the nation is kept alive, and infpired with a vigour of mind that tends to heroifm ! This government, it is true, generates factions, which fometimes generate revolutions. But the golden age, fo lufcioufly defcribed by poets, would to man be worfe than an iron age. At any rate, it is better to have a government liable to ftorms, than to feek for quiet in the dead calm of defpo- tifm. " Many writers," fays a profound politician,* *' have faid a great deal on thofe factions which de- ftroyed Rome. But they want the penetration to fee, that thofe factions were necefTary ; that they had always fubfifted, and ever muft have fubfifled. It was * Montefjuieu. C 255 > was the grandeur of the (late, which alone octa- fioned the evil, and changed into civil wars the tumults of the people. There muft of neceility have been factions in Rome : for, how was it poifible, that thofe who abroad fubdued all by their undaunted bravery, and by the terror of their arms, ihould live in peace and moderation at home r To look for a people, in a free ftate, who are intrepid in war, and, at the fame time, timid in peace, is to look for an impoffibility ; and we may hold it as a general rule, that, in a ftate which profelfes a. republican form of government, if the people are quiet and peaceable, there is no real liberty." .CHAP. LXXVIII. ON PATRIOTIS M. IT is fo ordered by providence, that a man's country and his countrymen, are to him, in conjunction, an object of a peculiar affection, term- ed amor patriot or patriotifm. This affection rifes very high among a people intimately connected by regular government, by husbandry, by commerce,, and by a common interefl, " Our parents," fays an agreeable writer, " are dear to us ; foare our children, our relations, and our friends. All thefe our country comprehends ; and {hall we fear to die for our country ?" In f 256 ) In a man of a folitary difpofition, who avoids fociety, patriotifm cannot abound. He may pof- fibly have no hatred to his countrymen : but, were he defirous to fee them happy, he would live among them, and put himfelf in the way of doing good. The affection a man has for the place he r was bred in, ought to be diftinguifhed from patriotifm,. being a paflron far inferior, and chiefly vifible in the low people. A ruftic has few ideas but of external fenfe. His hut, his wife, his children, the hills, trees, and rivulets around him, compofe the train of his ideas. Remove him from thefe objects, and he finds a d.f- mal vacuity in his mind. Hiftory, poetry, and other fubje&s of literature, have no relation to time nor place. Horace is as much relifhed in a foreign country, 33 at hoinq. The pleafures of converfation depend on perfons,. not on place. CHAP. ( 257 ) CHAP. LXXIX. ON PATRIOTISM, AS BEING FAVOURABLE TO VIRTUE. NO fource of enjoyment is more plentiful, than that of patriot! fm, where it is the ru- ling paflion. It triumphs over every felfifh motive, and is a firm fupport to every virtue. In fait, wherever it prevails, the morals of the people are found to be pure and correct. There is, perhaps, only one bad effect of real patriotifm. It is apt to infpire too great partiality for our countrymen. This is excufable in the vul- gar, but unbecoming in men of rank and figure. The Duke de Montmorenci, after a victory, treated his prifoners with great humanity. He yielded his bed to Don Martin of Arragon, fent his furgeon to drefs his wounds, and vi filed him daily.. That Lord, amazed at fo great humanity, faid one day to the Duke, " Sir, were you a Spaniard, you would be the greateft man in the univerfe." One is rather forry to hear it objected to the Englim, that they have too much of the Spaniard in their, fenti- ments. C H A P. CHAP. LXXX. ON PATRIOTISM, AS THE BULWARK Of- LIBERTY". "PATRIOTISM is the great bulwark of civil' A liberty, equally abhorrent of dcfpotifm on the one hand, and of licentiousnefs on the other. While the defpotic government of the Tudor family fubfifted, the Englilh were too much de- preffed to have any affeclion for their country. But when manufactures and commerce began to flourifli, in the latter end of Elizabeth's reign, a national fpirit broke forth, and patriotifm made fome figure. That change of difpofirion \vas perhaps the chief caufe, though not the moft vifible, of the national ftruggles for liberty, which were frequent during the government of the Stewart family, and which ended in a free government s.t the Revolution. Patriotifm is too much cramped in a very fmall ftate, and too much relaxed in an extenfive monar- chy. It is inflamed by a ftruggle for liberty, by a civil war, by refilling a potent invader, or by any incident that forcibly draws the members of a ftate into (tricl: union for the common intereft. The refolute oppofition of the Dutch to Philip II. of Spain, in the caufe of liberty, is an illulrri- ous inftance of the patriotic fpirit rifing to a degree of enthufiafrn. Patriotifm^ Patriotifm, ronfed among the Corficans by fhc oppreffion of the Genoefe, exerted itfelf upon every proper object. Even during the heat of the war, they ereled an univerfity for arts and fciences, a national bank, and a national library. Thefe im- provements would not have been thought of in their torpid ftate. Alas! they have fallen a vidtim to thirft of power, not to fuperior valour. Had provi- dence favoured them with fuccefs, their figure would have been as confiderable in peace, as in war. The elevation of fentiment, that a ftruggle for liberty infpires, is confpicuous in the following in- cident. A Corfican being condemned to die for an atrocious crime, his nephew, with deep concern, addreflfed Paoli in the following terms. " Sir, if you pardon my uncle, his relations will give to the ftate a thoufand zechins, and will furnifh befides fifty foldiers, during the fiege of Furiali. Let him be banifhed, and he (hall never return." Paoli, know- ing the virtue of the young man, fatd, " You are acquainted with the circumftances of the cafe : I will confent to a pardon, if you can fay as an honeft man, that it will be juft or honourable for Corfica." The young man, hiding his face, burft into tears, faying, " I would not have the honour of our country fold for a thoufand zechins." CHAP. CHAP. LXXXI. ON EMULATION AS AFFECTING PATRIOTISM, THERE is a great intricacy in human actions. Though men are indebted to emulation for their heroic adions, yet fuch adlions never fail td fupprefs emulation in thofe who follow. A perfon of fuperior genius, who great city is a great evil ; and that a capital may be too great for the ftate, as a head may be for the body. People born and bred in a great city are common- ly weak and effeminate. Vegetiup observing, that men bred to hufbandry make the bed foldiers, adds what follows. " Cut fometimes there is a riecefllty for arming the townfpeople, and calling them out to fervice. When this is the cafe, it ought to be the firft care, to inure them to labour, to march them up- and down the country, to make them carry heavy burdens, and to harden them againft the weather. Their food fhould be coarfe and fcanty, and they fliould be habituated to deep alternately in their tents, and in the open air. Then is the time to inftrucl: them in the exercife of their arms. If the expedition is a diftant one, they fhould be chiefly employed in the (rations of ports N 4 or v: (272 } or xpreffes, and removed as much as pofllble from the dangerous allurements that abound in large cities ; that thus they may be invigorated both in mind and body.'* The luxury of a great city defcends from the higheft to the loweft, infecting all ranks of men ; and there is little opportunity in it for fuch cxer- cife, as to render the body vigorous and robuft. With regard to morality ; virtue is exerted chief- ly in reftraint, and vice, in giving freedom to defire. Moderation and felf- command form a character the moft fufceptible of virtue. Superfluity of ani- mal fpirits, and love of pleafure, form a character the moft liable to vice. Low vices, pilfering for example, or lying, draw few or no imitators ; but vices, that indicate a, foul above reftraint, produce many admirers. Where a man boldly ftruggles againft unlawful reftraint, he is juftly applauded and imitated ; and the vulgar are not apt to diftinguim nicely between lawful and unlawful reftraint. The boldnefs is vifible, and they pierce no deeper. It is the unruly boy, full of animal fpirits, who at public fchool is admired and imitated ; not the virtuous and modeft. Vices, accordingly, that mow fpirit, are ex- tremely infectious ; virtue very little fo. Hence the corruption of a great city, which increafes more ( 273 ) . more and more, in porportion to the number of inhabitants. When confidered in a political light, a great town is a profeiled enemy to the free circulation of money. The current coin is accumulated in the capital, and diftant provinces muft fmk into diftrefs ; for without ready money, neither arts nor manu- factures can flourifh. Thus we find lefs and lefs activity, in proportion commonly to the diftance from the capital ; and an abfolute torpor in the extremities. The city of Milan affords a good proof of this obfervation. The money that the Emperor of Germany draws from it in taxes is carried to Vien- na. Not a farthing is left, but what is barely fuf- ficient to defray the expence of government. Manufactures and commerce have gradually declined in proportion to the fcarcity of money ; and the above mentioned city, which, in the laft century, contained 300,000 inhabitants, cannot now mufter above 90,000. Money, accumulated in. the capital raifes the price of labour. The temptation of high wages, in a great city, robs the country of its beft hands. And, as they who refort to the capital are com- monly young people, who remove as foon as they are fit for work, diftant provinces are burdened with their maintenance, without reaping any be- nefit by their labour. N 5 But - , ( 274 ) But the worft effeft of a great city, is the pre- venting of population, by Shortening the lives of its inhabitants. Does a capital fwell in proportion to the numbers that are drained from the country ? Far from it. The air of a populous city is in- fected by multitudes crouded together ; and people there feldom make out the ufual time of life. With refpecl to London in particular, the fa& cannot be diflembled. The burials in that im- menfe city greatly exceed the births. The dif- ference, fome affirm, to be no lefs than 10,000 yearly. By the moft moderate computation, it is not under feven or eight thoufand. As London is far from being on the decline, that number muft be fupplied by the country ; and the annual fupply amounts probably to a greater number, than were wanted annually for recruiting our armies and navies in the late war with France. If fo, London is a greater enemy to population, than a bloody war would be, fuppofing it even to be perpetual. What an enormous tax is Britain thus fubje&ed to, for fupporting her capital ! The rearing and edu- cating yearly, for London, feven or eight thoufand perfons, require an immenfe fum. In Paris, if the bills of mortality can be relied on, the births and burials are nearly equal, being each of them about 19,000 yearly; and, accord- ing to that computation, Paris fhould need no re- cruits C 275 ) emits from the country. But in that city, the bills of mortality cannot be depended on for burials. It is there the univerfal practice, both of high and low, to have their infants nurfed in the country, till they be three years of age ; and confequeritly thofe who die before that age, are not regiftered. What proportion thefe bear to the whole is uncer- tain. But a conjecture may be made from fuch as die in London, before the age of three, which are computed to be one half of the whole that die*. Now, giving the utmoft allowance for the healthinefs of the country, above that of a town, children from Paris that die in the country, before the age of three, cannot be brounght fo low, as a third of thofe who die. On the other hand, the London bills of mortality are lefs to be depended on for births, than for burials. None are reg'nlered but infants baptifed by clergymen of the Engliih church. The nu- merous children, therefore, of Papifts, DifTenters, and other fectarves, are generally left out of the account. Giving full allowance, however, for children, who are not brought into the London bills of mortality, there is the highelt probability, that a greater number of children are born in Paris, than in London ; and confequently, that the former requires fewer recruits from the country than the N 6 latter. * Dr. Pike. latter. 7n Paris, domeftic fervants are encouraged to marry. They are obferved to be more fettled than when bachelors, and more attentive to their duty. In London, fuch marriages aredifcouraged, - as rendering a fervant more attentive to his own family, than to that of his mafter. But a fervant, attentive to his own family, will not, for his own fake, neglect that of his mafter. At any rate, is he net more to be depended on, than a fervant, who continues fingle ? What can be expected of idle and pampered bachelors, but diffipated and ir-. regular lives. The poor-laws, in England, have often been called the folio of corruption. Bachelor-fervants in London, then, may well be confidered as a large appendix. The poor-laws indeed make the chief difference between Paris and London, with refpecl to the prefent point. In Paris, certain funds are eftablimed for the poor, the yearly produce of which admits but a limited number. As that fund is always pre-occu- pied, the low people who are not on the lift, have little or no profpecl: of bread, but from their own induftry ; and to the induftrious, marriage is in a great meafure neceflary. In London, a parifh is taxed, in proportion to the number of its poor ; and every perfon, who is pleafed to be idle, is entitled to maintenance. Moll things thrive by encouragement, and idlenefs above above all. Certainty of maintenance, renders the low people in England idle and profligate ; efpecially in London, where luxury prevails, and infects every rank. So infolent are the London poor, that fcarce one of them will condefcend to eat brown bread. There are accordingly, in London, a much greater number of idle and profligate wretches, than in Paris, or in any other town, in proportion to the number of inhabitants. " Thefe wretches," in Doctor Swift's ftyle, " never think of pofterity, be- cailfe pofterity never thinks of them." Men who hunt after pleafure, and live from day to day, have no notion of fubmitting to- the burden of a family. Another objection to an overgrown capital is, that by numbers and riches, it has a diftrefiing influ- ence in public affairs. The populace are ductile,and eafily mifled by ambitious and defigning magiftrates. Nor are there wanting critical times, in which fuch magiftrates, acquiring artificial influence, may have power to difturb the public peace. That an over- grown capital may prove dangerous to fovereignty, has more than once been- experienced both in Paris and London. The French and Englifh are often zealoufly dif- puting about the extent of their capitals, as if th profperity of their country depended on that cir- cumftance. It would be as rational to glory in any contagious diftemper. They would be much better employe**, in contriving means for leffening thefe cities. C 278 ) cities. There is not a political meafure that would tend more to aggrandize the kingdom of France, or of Britain, than to fplit their capitals into feveral great towns. With regard to London,* my plan would be to limit the inhabitants to 100,000, compofed of the* King and his houfehold, fupreme courts of juftice, government-boards, prime nobility and gentry, -with neceiTary {hop-keepers, artifts, and other de- pendents. Let the reft of the inhabitants be diftri- buted into nine towns properly fituated, fome for internal commerce, fome for foreign. Such a plan would diffufe life and vigour through every corner of the ifland. The two great cities of London and Weftminfter are extremely ill fitted for local union. The latter, the feat of government and of the nobleiTe, infects the former with luxury, and with love of fhow. The former, the feat of commerce,, infers the lat- ter with love of gain, The mixture of thefe oppo- fite palfions is productive of every groveling vice. * Lord Kaimes. CHAP. ( 279 } CHAP. LXXXVI. ON AGRICULTURE. THAT we are (kves to fafhion, is an old ob- fervation, and unfortunately for ns it is a very true one. That fpirit of levity and inconftancy, which produces continual changes in our manners and morals, is no longer confined to the limits of France, its native country. It has diffufed itfelf over all Europe. It has infected ahnoit all na- tions. Fafhion, when it is content to regulate the ex- terior and frivolous, is a matter of great indifference with refpecl: to morality. But it now no longer confines itfelf within that fphere. It extends its empire over the-arts and fciences. If a few geniufes chance to acquire reputation by any particular branch of knowledge, people, in general, immediately ap- ply themfelves to it, without confidering whether it deferves the pains they beftow upon it. We have feen the reigns of deep erudition, wit, and geometry, pafs fucceflively away. That of philofophy, and particularly natural philofophy, rules the prefent age. When thofe tranfient reigns are over, one is often furprifed at the high value fet upon certain parts of knowledge, which, in fa&, deferve but a moderate efleem, There ( a8o ) There cannot be a ftronger proof of the unrea- fonablenefs of thefe viciflitudes, than what has hap- pened to the moft neceflary and moil ufeful of arts, agriculture. Among the Gothic remains of a military govern- ment, we prized only the talents calculated for war. Hufbandry was abandoned to a fet of degraded flaves, whofe low condition caft a reflection on the very occupations they exercifed. In the time of a polite court, the miftaken deli- cacy of a courtier immerfed in effeminacy, defpifed every thing that did not bear the (lamp of that re- fined luxury, which was the charafteriftic of the age. Nothing was more ridiculous than a country gentleman. Nothing terrified the nobility more, than the fad neceffity of retiring to their country feats, and infpecting the culture of their 1 ands . A man who is fenfible that he is bleft with fufficient talents, and who has opportunities of ferving his country, would doubtlefs neglect his duty, in burying himfelf in a rural retreat. Of late years, the public feem to difcard thofe unjuft prejudices. Philofophers ftudy agriculture, and meet with encouragement from the great. But, as men are fond of extremes, too great a ftrefs is perhaps laid upon this art, and too much expected from its improvement. We have authors, who preach up nothing but agriculture ; who declaim againft philofophy, literature, the fine arts, manu- factures^ failures, and commerce, and who reduce almoft every clafs of men to that of farmers ; who propofe the eftabliftmient of academies, with the appoint- ment of even minifters of ftate, whofe fole employ- ment mould be on objects of hufbandry. By following thofe fentiments in their extremes,- we fhould foon fee the ages of barbarifm return. With a tafle turned to agriculture only, and with that military fyftem, which prevails in Europe, we fhould foon be a troop of Goths and Vandals. The happinefs of a people does not require every clafs of them to devote themfelves to hufbandry. It is fufficient, if they, who are deftined to it, meet with protection, and encouragement. CHAP. LXXXVII. OF AGRICULTURE AMONG THE ANCIENTS. A GRI CULTURE was held in high efteem by jT\. the ancients. Not to fpeak of thofe early ages, when a grofs fimplicity rendered people in- fenfible to the charms of the pleafing arts, and fuf- fered them to exercife only the neceflary ones ; we find, in the moflT enlightened ages, works upon hufbandry, compofed by the greateft men, whole high ilation proves th value that was fet upon the art they taught. Xenophon, ( 282 ) Xenophon, equally diftinguifhed in philofophy as in arms, read, in the middle of Athens, Ic&ures on agriculture. Hiero, king of Syracufe, did not think it beneath himfclf to iriftru6t his fubjedts, by \vritingupon fo ufeful an art. The chiefs of the two greateft republics in the world, CatoofRome, and Mago of Carthage, are, in the opinion of the ancients* the mod celebrated writers upon this fabjeft. Amidft the Afiatic luxury, and that of the Ro- man empire, we find valuable treatifes upon huf- bandry, compofed by Attains, king of Pergamus, by Archelaus, king of Cappadocia, by Valerius- Afiaticus, a man judged worthy of the empire after the death of Caligula, and by the emperor Albinus* The Romans were more intereiled in the progrefe of agriculture, than any other nation in the world. Italy, covered with the vaft and fuperb villas of the great men of Rome, and peopled with an immenfe number of inhabitants, enjoyed only a precarious fubfiftence. She was forced to draw the necefi'aries of life from the neighbouring provinces, when her fields could no longer maintain her inhabitants. Several events taught the Romans the advantages of a country, which receives its fuftenance from its own foil* The younger Pompey, by making hinv- felf matter of Sicily, reduced Auguftus to the brink of ruin ; and that emperor, fenfible of the impor- tance of the granaries of Italy* made a law, where* by he forbad the fenators to enter into Egypt. A contrary wind, or a ftorm, which prevented the arrival of fhips with corn, made the matters of the world tremble for their lives. The lead revolt would have ftarved them. This precarious fub- liftence of fome provinces, was perhaps-one reafon of the amazing weaknefs of the Roman empire, which rendered it a prey to fwarms of the northern, barbarians. The depopulation of the Roman provinces, occa- fioncd by thofe deftru6tive invafions, was as fatai to agriculture, as to the reft of the arts and fciences. Thofe conquering barbarians were either fhepherds, or huntfmen, like the prefent Tartars and thefava- ges of America. They contented themfelves with enjoying, without labour or trouble, vaft dcfarts which they acquired by their arms. They culti- vated, fuperricially only, a fpot of ground near their habitations. The revival of the arts, and the increafe of com- merce, augmented by degrees the number of the inhabitants of Europe. Large cities were built. Paftures, cattle, and hunting, being no longer fuf- ficient to maintain the now numerous people, it was found necellary to return to hufbandry, to clear the forcrts, and plow up the heaths, and commons. CHAP, ( 284 ) CHAP. LXXXVIII. OF AGRICULTURE AMONG THE MODERNS. AFTER the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, num- bers of ingenious men turned their thoughts towards natural hiftory, and to perfect arts and agriculture. The Swedes, who inhabit a country naturally barren in its foil, cramped, and confined in its trade, have made fuccefsful efforts to correct the defects of their northern climate. The memoirs of Stock- holm will be an everlafling monument of the patri- otic fpirit of the greateft and moft illuflrious perfo- nages, in that magnanimous nation. In France, philofophers have made experiments in hufbandry, to which their fovereign, like the emperor of China, has vouchfafed to lend his aftif- tance. The greateft men in the kingdom have in- terefted themfelves in the matter. Their Acade- mies have crowned with applaufe thofe works, which inftruc"l us in the culture of vines, the nature of wool, of turf, and of the diftempers incident to corn. In Germany and Sweden, lectures upon agri- culture are read in the univerfitics ; and the youth of thofe countries enjoy the advantage of gaining, while they rummage over heaps of fcholaftic learn- ing, ing, at lead fome knowledge of real ufe in life. The officers of the king of Sweden do not think it beneath them to fill the chairs of thofe univerfities, whilft the German nobility chufe rather to faunter away their time idly, in an antichamber, than to labour for the good of their country. The King of Pruflia, ever great in all his views, rfbund the way to oblige his fubjeds to qualify them- felves for his fervice, at leaft for preferment in it, by the fludy of agriculture. In the univerfity of Edinburgh, a profeflbr was lately appointed to read lectures on agriculture, in which the Scotch, for feveral years paft, have made very confiderable progrefs. Swift makes Gulliver relate to one of the kings of his imaginary country all the artifices of the Euro- pean fyftem of politics. " If," anfwers the king, after hearing him with great indifference, " I had a man, who knew how to make two ears of corn grow, where but one grew before, J mould efteem him more than all your fine .politicians put to- gether." It is to the Englifii that the firft progrefs of good agriculture is owing. The dearths, formerly fo frequent in England, (hewed this commercial and warlike people, that in order to execute their great defigns of trade, they muft firft fecure to themfelves a fubfiftence independent of their neighbours. After ( 286 ) After the long civil war between the unfortunate Charles I. and his parliament, England being ex- haufted, ftrenucus endeavours were made to repair her laJTes by an extenfive commerce ; and in order to eflablilh that commerce, good agriculture was made its bafts. The learned eradicated old preju- dices, by introducing better methods ; while the government made regulations favourable to the far- mers. From that epoch may be dated the gran- deur, the riches, and the power of England. It is known, that a middling harveft in this country furnimes fufficient food for its numerous inhabitants for three years, and a good one, for five. England can by that means employ an infinite num- ber of hands in arts and manufactures, as well as in the army and navy,- without fear of wanting necalTaries. " That fear," as a modern writer affirms, " has, for a century part, ftopt France in the middle of her conquefts. Either an adlual, or an impending dearth forces her to make peace. We know with what immenfe quantities of corn the Englifh have, for many years part, furnifhed fome provinces of France. Peace alone fecures that refource. Dearths weaken and depopulate Spain ^ and thofe dearths are owing both to the difcouragements the hufbandman labours under, and to the melancholy itate of negle&ed agriculture." CHAP. CHAP. LXXXIX. MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS ON AGRI CULTURE. LAND, in order to be fruitful, requires that the productions expecled from it be fuited to its nature. It is well known that all plants do not. thrive equally in all foils. The experiments upon the feveral forts of wheat, which grow in foreign countries, have not been fufficiently varied. The Syrian wheat fucceeds very well in Germany. In Sweden feveral forts of buck-wheat, brought from Siberia, are cultivated with advantage. If it were not for a kind of large millet, the fandy plains of Mefopotamia would not be fufficient for the fup- port of their inhabitants. The 'Countries, where the climate permits the culture of rice, enjoy a great advantage. A fingle acre of land, planted with rice, feeds eight peafants in China. Maize affords a ftill more healthy, and more abun- dant nourishment. Afavage,goingtovvar, eafily car- rieshisprovifion with him for two months. In Pied- mont, this kind of corn is the principal food of the common people ; and in the neighbourhood of the Rhine, in places, where it was difficult to raife wheat, vaft fields are covered with maize, and this culture occafions a profitable trade, in the exchange 5, <* { 283 ) of cattle fattened by the maize, for the wheat which the adjacent diftricls produce in great abundance. There are vegetables, which fupply the place of corn, or at leaft alleviate the want of it. A cer- tain plant, brought from America, feeds the com- mon people even in the depths of the north, where one would have expected it to be a ftranger. It is to be prefumed, that even the mod didant climates have natural productions, which might be familia- rized with ours. There can be no doubt, but that the culture of the mod neceflary of all provifions deferves our firft attention. But in places, which are not favourable to the growth of corn, or which abound in it, might we not cultivate a greater proportion of thofe plants, which are abfolutely neceflary for our trade and manufactures ? Hemp and flax are become almoft as neceflary to us as bread. Wet foils produce little corn, and madder is fond of them. Some provinces of France, and fome diftricts oi Germany, have gained riches by woad and the greening- vreed. All our fruit-trees are originally the productions of foreign countries. Our gloomy climates natu- rally produce none but wild fruits. We are rich only by the fpoils of Afia. The vaft regions of America fpread before us a great variety of excellent fruits, wliich we may accuftom to our foil. Hither- 6 to to we have exhaufted only her mines. Let us alfo accept of her more ufeful, and lefs dangerous offers. The vine is an important object in general agri- culture, l^otwithftanding its importance, it is far from being brought to perfection. The great va- riety of vines natural to the fouthern countries, is only an ornament in the gardens of our curious,, without being ufed to meliorate our wine. Our love of pleafure joined with the prevailing tafte for ceconomics, ought to induce us to force our foil to furnifli us with a liquor, the perfection of which would fave us vaft expences. Few places imitate the example of Champagne, which, by continual trials, a careful choice, and judicious mixture of the grapes, has attained the art of making its wines, fo fuperior to thofe of former ages. " I have learnt in my travels," fays Mr. Mills, " feveral fecrets, which wine-merchants make ufc- of to meliorate their wines. A certain prejudice pre- vails againft thofe methods. They are called brew- ing, though ftri&ly fpeaking what wine is not brewed ? It is an artificial liquor, the goodnefs of which depends partly on the goodnefs of the grape, full as much on a lucky fermentation, and often on a juiicious addition of means to affift that fermenta- tion. If thofe means contain nothing difagreeable to the palate, nor prejudicial to the health, I fee no O reafon afon to exclaim againft them. It is true, we have not yet fathomed the nature of fermentation ; we are yet to find the manner of directing it, and its concurring with the true mixture of the wine. Too ftrong, and too long a fermentation weakens it ; and if the fermentation is ftopt too foon, the wine is unwholefome." People complain of the fcarcity of wood, an article abfolutely neceflary. Yet there are countries vvhofe fertile plains are covered with forefts ; plains which if converted into arable land, would yield greater profit, and be of fervice to population, by affording them larger means of fubfifting. Whether this fcarcity is real or imaginary, little care is taken to prevent it. Scarce any forefts are planted. Yet nature muftbe feconded by art. By fowing, and by planting woods, lands might be better laid out, and trees. chofen which grow quick, which are more fuited to the nature of the foil, and which yield a greater quantity of wood. There are in foreign countries, particularly the fouthern, ufeful trees, which might be familiarized to our climate, and would entirely enrich our forefts. The chefnut, a native of Great-Tartary, and the -Canadian tulip tree, adorn our garden- walks and alleys. The cedar, and feveral trees of Siberia thrive in Germany. We know well what a rich harveft M. Kalm brought from North-America. Upwards of fifty new forts ot trees bear the cold of Sweden. Sweden, and grow there perfe&ly well. It is not for want of wild trees of our own that we adopt foreign ones ; but becaufe thefe laft promife either a quicker growth, or ufeful fruits, or, befides their wood, are of advantage to our arts and manufactures. The wax-tree, planted in Europe, might create a new branch of commerce. It grows well in Ger- many. A furprifmg quantity of trees, natives of other climates, grow in the open fields of England find France. CHAP. XC. ON TAXES. THE art of levying money by taxes was fo lir- tie underftood in the fixteenth century, that, after the famous battle of Pavia, in which the French -King was made prifoner, Charles V. was obliged to dilband his victorious army, though confifting only of 24>ooo men, becaufe he had not the art to levy, in his extenfive dnminions, a fum neceflary to keep it on foot. So little knowledge was there in England of political arithmetic in the days of Edward III. that 1 1. 2s. 4d. on each parifh was computed to be fuf- ficient for raifing a fubfidy of 50,000. It being found, that there were but 8700 parifties, exclufive O 35 Of ( 292 ), of Wales, the parliament, in order to raife the faid fubfldy, aflefled on each parifh 5!. 1 6s. In impofmg taxes, ought not the expence of liv- ing to be deduced, and the remainder confidered as the only taxable fubject ? This mode was adopted in the ftate of Athens. The tax was not in pro- portion to the eftate, but to what could be fpared out of it; or, in other words, in proportion to the ability of the proprietor. Ability, however, muft not be eflimated by what a man actually Taves, which would exempt the profufe and profligate from paying taxes, but by \vhat a man can pay, who lives with oeconomy ac- cording to his rank. This rule is founded on the very nature of government. To tax a man's food, or the fubjecl: that affords him bare neceffaries, is worfe than denying him protection : It ftarves him. Hence the following propofition may be laid down as the corner {tone to taxation-building, " That every man ought to contribute to the public revenue, not in proportion to his fubftance, but to his ability." This rule is not, perhaps, fufficient- ly regarded in Britifh taxes ; though nothing would contribute more to fweeten the minds of the people, and to make them fond of their government, than a regulation fraught with fo much equity. It C 293 ) T' It is an article of importance in government (a have afcertained, what proportion of the annual income of a nation may be drawn from the people by taxes, without impoverifhing them. An eighth part is held to be too much. Hufbandry, com- tnerce, and population, would fufter. Davenant fays, that the Dutch pay to the public annually, the fourth part of the income of their country ; and he adds that their ftric~l ceconomy enables them to bear that immenfe load, without raifing the price of labour fo high, as to cut them out of the foreign market. It was probably fo in the Days of Davenant ; but of late, matters are much altered. The dearnefs of living, and of la- bour, has excluded all the Dutch manufactures from the foreign market. Before the French war, in King William's reign, England paid, in taxes, no more than a twentieth part of its annual income. O * CHAP. f 294' /' CHAP. XCI, N THE FOUNDATION OF TAXES. '"IpHE celebrated Locke, in his effay on govern^ -* ment, has fuggefted the folid foundation of faxes, viz. " That every one who enjoys his fhare of protection, fhould pay out of his eflate his pro- portion for the maintenance of government." The duties of fovereign and of fubject are recip- rocal ; and^commonjuftice requires, that a fubjeft, or any perfon, who is protected by a government* ought to pay for that protection. Similar inftances,. without number,, of fuch reciprocal duties, occur in the laws of every civilized nation. A man calls for meat and drink in a tavern. Is he not bound to pay, though he made no agree- ffient beforehand ? A man wafted over a river in a ferry-boat, mud pay the common fare, though he made no promife. Nay, it is every man's in- tereft to pay for proteclion. Government cannot fubfift without a public fund. And what will be- come of individuals, when left open to every rapa- cious invader ? Thus taxes are implied in tjie very nature of government ; and the interpofition of fovereign authority is only neceflary for determining the expediency of a tax ; and the quota, if found ex- pedient. If 295 If it be aflted, " By what a&s a man is under- flood to claim protection of a government," it may be anfwered, " By fetting his foot within the terri- tory." If, upon landing at Dover, a foreigner be robbed, the law interpofes for him as for a native. And as he is thus protected, he pays for protection, when he purchafes a pair of moes, or a> bottle of beer. The cafe is clear, with refpect to a man,, who can chufe the place of his refidence. But what mail be faid of children, who are not capable of choice, nor of confent ? They are protected ; and protection implies the reciprocal duty of paying taxes. As foon as a young man is capable of acting for himfelf, 4ie is at liberty to choofe other pro- tectors, if thofe who have hitherto protected him be not to his tafte. An author of fbme note* maintains, " That the food and raiment, furnilhed to the fociety by huf- bandmen and manufacturers, are all that thefe good people are bound to contribute ; and fuppofing them bound to contribute more, it is not till others have done as much for the public."' At that rate, lawyers and phyficians ought alfo to be exempted from contributing ; efpecially thofe who draw the greatefl fums, becaufe they are fup- pofed to do the moft good. That argument, the fuggeftion of a benevolent heart, is no proof of an 04 en- * L'ann des hommes. enlightened underftanding. The . labours of the farmer, of the lawyer, of the phyfician, contribute not a mite to the public fund, nor tend to defray the expence of government. The luxurious proprietor of a great eftate has fltll a better title to_be exempted than the hufbandman ; becaufe he is a great benefador to the public, by giving bread to a variety of induftrious people. In a word, every man ought to contribute for being protected ; and if a hufbandman is protected in working for himfelf one-and-fifty weeks yearly, he ought thankfully to work one week more foi defraying the expence of that protection. CHAP. XCII. ON DIFFERENT SORTS OF TAXES. A Tax laid on a man perfonally, for himfelf and family, is termed a capitation-tax. A tax laid on him for his property, is termed a fax an A capitation-tax goes upon an erroneous prin- ciple, as if all men were of equal ability. What prompts it is, that many men, rich in bonds and other moveables, 'which can eafily be hid from public infpe&ion, cannot be reached otherwife than by a capitation-tax. Ruflia C 297 Ruffia labours under a capitation-tax. Some years ago, a capitation-tax was impofed in Denmark, obliging even day labourers to pay for their wives and children. Upon the fame abfurd plan, a tax was impofed on marriage. One would be tempted to think, that population was intended to be dif- couraged. A capitation-tax lies open to many objections. It cannot fail to raife the price of labour, a poifon- ous effect in a country of induftry ; for the labourer will relieve himfelf of the tax, by heightening his wages. It would be more prudent to lay the tax: directly on the employer, which would remove the pretext for heightening wages. The taxing of day-labourers, whether by capi- tation, or in any other manner, has befide an effect contrary to what is intended. Inftead of increafing the public revenue, it virtually leffens it, by raifing the pay of foldiers, failors, and of every workman employed by government. Taxes upon goods are of two kinds, viz. upon things confumable, and upon things not con>- fumable. With regard to the latter ; The land-tax in. Britain, paid by the proprietor, according to an invariable rule, and levied with very little expence, is of all taxes the moft juft, and the moft effectual. The proprietor knowing beforehand the fum he is fubjected to, prepares accordingly. And, as eack O 5 proprietor proprietor contributes in proportion to his eflate, the tax makes no variation in their relative opu- lence. In France, the land-tax feems to have been eftablifhed on a very falfe foundation, viz. " That the clergy perform their duty to the ftate, by praying and inftru&ing, that the noblefle fight for the ftate, and confequently, that the only duty left to the farmer, is to defray the charges of govern- ment." This argument would hold, if the clergy were not paid for praying, nor the nobleire for fighting. Such a load upon the pooreft members of the ftate* is an abfurdity in politics. " Were it related," obferves a French writer, " in fome foreign hiftory, that there is a country extremely fertile, in a fine climate, enjoying navi- gable rivers, with every advantage for the commerce of corn ; and yet the product is not fufficient for the inhabitants, would not one conclude the people to be ftupid and barbarous ? And yet this is the cafe of France." He adds the true reafon, which is, the difcouragement husbandry lies under, by oppreflive taxes. It is a grofs error to maintain, that a tax on land is the fame with a tax on the product of land. The former, which is the Englifh mode, is no difcou- xagement to induftry and improvements. On the contrary, the higher the value of land is raifed, the lefs ( 399 ) * lefs will the tax be in proportion. The latter, which is the French mode, is a great difcourage- ment to induftry and improvements ; becaufe the more a man improves, the deeper he is taxed. The tenth part of the product of land, is the only tax that is paid in China. This tax, of the fame nature with the tithe paid among us to the clergy, yields to the Britifh mode of taxing the land itfelf, and not its product. It is, however,, lefs exceptionable than the land- tax in France, be- caufe it is not arbitrary. The Chinefe tax, paid in kind, is ftoredin magazines, and fold from time to time for maintaining the magiftrates and the army, the furplus being remitted to the treafury. In cafe of a famine it is fold to the poor at a mode- rate price. In Tonquin, there is a land-tax, which, like that in France, is laid ' upon the peafants, exempting people of condition, and the literati in particular. Many grounds, that bear not corn, contribute hay for the king's elephants and cavalry. The poor peafants are obliged to carry it to the capital, even from the greateft diftance ; a regulation no lefs in- judicious than flavifh. The window-tax, the coach-tax, and the plate- tax, come under the prefent head, being taxes upon things not confumable. In Denmark, a farmer is taxed for every plough he ufes. If the tax be intended for difcouraging O 6 extenfive extenfive farms, it is a happy contrivance, agreeable to found policy ; for fmall farms increafe the number of temperate and robuft people, fit for every fort of labour. With regard to things confumable ; The taxes ^hat appear the leaft oppreflive, becaufe difguifed, are what are laid on our manufactures. The tax is advanced by the manufacturer, and drawn from the purchafer as a part of the price. Thus with re- fpect to our taxes on foap, fhoes, candles, and other things confumable, the purchafer thinks he is only paying the price, and never dreams that he is pay- ing a tax. To fupport the illufion, the duty ought to be moderate* t To impofe a tax twenty times the value of the commodity, as is done in France on fait, raifes more difguft in the people, as an attempt to de- ceive them, than when laid on without difguife. Such exorbitant taxes, which are paid with the ut- moft reluctance, cannot be made effectual* but by fevere penalties. Taxes on things confumable are attended with one fignal advantage. They bear a proportion to the ability of the contributors, the opulent being commonly the greateft confumers. The taxes on coaches and on plate are paid by men of fortune, without loading the imluftrious poor. On that ac- count, they are excellent. Being impofed, how- evxr, f 301 ) ever, without difguife, they are paid with more reluctance by the rich, than taxes on confumption are by the poor. A tax on confumption, however, muft not be praifed, as attended with no inconvenience. The retailer, under pretext of the tax, raifes the price higher, than barely to indemnify himfelf ; by which means the tax is commonly doubled on the confu- mer. There is another inconvenience much more diC- trailing, becaufe it admits of no remedy, and be- caufe it affects the ftate itfelf. Taxes on confump- tion, being commonly laid on things of the greatefl life, raife a great fum to the public, without much burdening individuals ; the duty on coals, for ex- ample, on candles, on leather, on foap, on fait,, on malt, and on malt-liquor. Thefe duties, ho^vever, carry in their bofom a flow poifon, by raifing the price of labour, and of manufactures. De Wit obferves, that the Dutch taxes upon confumption have raifed the price of their broad cloth forty per cent. Our manufactures, by the fame means, are raifed at leaft thirty per cent. Britain has lo?ig laboured under this chronical diftemper ; which by excluding her from foreign markets, will not only put an end to her own manufactures, but will open a wide door to the foreign f 302 ) foreign, as fmuggling cannot be prevented, where commodities imported are much cheaper than our own. The Dutch taxes on confumption are exceed- ingly high ; and yet neceflary, not only for defray- ing the expence of government, but for guarding their frontier, and, above all, for keeping out the fea ! The induftry, however, and frugality of the people, enable them to bear that heavy burden, without murmuring. But other European nations have now acquired a mare of the immenfe com- merce formerly carried on by the Dutch alone. Their trade, accordingly, is on the decline ; and, when it finks a little lower, the heavy taxes will undoubtedly depopulate their country. Taxes on confumption are not equally proper in every cafe. They are proper in a populous country, like Holland ; becaufe the expence of col- lecting is but a trifle, compared with the fums collected. But, in a country thinly peopled, fuch taxes are improper ; becaufe the expence of col- lecting makes too great a proportion of the fums- collected. In the highlands of Scotland, the excife on ale and fpirituous liquors defrays not the ex- pence of levying. The people are burdened, and the government is not fupported. Perhaps the window-tax, in Scotland, lies open to the fame objection. A* C 303 ) A lottery is a tax entirely voluntary. An appe- tite for gaming, inherent even in favages, prompts multitudes to venture their money, in hopes of a high prize ; though they cannot altogether hide from themfelves the inequality of the play. But it is well, that the felfifli paflions of men can be made fubfervient to the public good. Lotteries, however, produce one unhappy effect. They blunt the edge of induftry, by directing the attention to a more commodious mode of gain. At the fame time, the money acquired by a lottery, feldom turns to account j for what comes without trouble, goes commonly without thought. CHAP. XCIII. RULES FOR TAXING. THE firft rule is, That, wherever there is an opportunity of fmuggling, taxes ought to be moderate ; for fmuggling can never be effe&ually reftrained, where the cheapnefs of imported goods is, in effecl:, an infurance againft the rifle : In which view, Swift humoroufly obferves, that two and two do not always make four. A duty of 15 per cent, upon printed linen, im- ported into France, encourages fmuggling. A lower duty would produce a greater fum to the public C 34 J public, and be more beneficial to thie French manu~ fa&urer. Bone-lace, imported into France, is charged with a duty of 2o per cent, in order to favour that manu- facture at home. Bone-lace, however, is eafily fmuggled, and the price is little higher than be- fore. To favour oar own cambric manufacture, the importation of it is prohibited. The unhappy circumftance is, that fine cambric is eafily fmug- gled. The price is great, and the bulk fmall. Would it not be more politic, to admit importation under a duty fo moderate, as not to encourage fmuggling. The duty applied for promoting our own cambric-manufadlure, would in time fo far improve it, as to put us above the hazard of rival- fhip, with refpeft at leaft to our confumption. High duties on. importation are immoral, as well as impolitic. For, is it not unjuftifiable in a legi- flature, firft to tempt, and then to punim for yield- ing to the temptation ? On this head it may be obferved, that a tax upon a fafhion, which can be laid afide at pleafure, can- not be much depended upon. In the year 1767, a duty was laid on chip-hats, worn at that time by women of falhion. They, were inftantly laid afide, and the tax produced nothing. A fecond rule is, That taxes expenfive in the levying ought to be avoided j being heavy on the % people,. ( 305 ) people, without a proportional benefit to the reve- nue. Our land-tax is admirable. It affords a great fum, levied at very little expence. The duties on coaches, and on gold and filver-plate, are fimilar. The taxes that are the moft hurtful to >trade and manufactures, fuch as the duties on foap, candles, leather, are expenfive in levying. A third rule is, To avoid arbitrary taxes. A tax laid on perfons in proportion to their trade, or their prudence, muft be arbitrary, even where llric~t juftice is intended ; becaufe it depends on vague opinion or conjecture. Every man thinks himfelf injured ; and the fum levied does not balance the difcontent it occafions. The tax laid on the French farmer, in propor- tion to his fubftance, is an intolerable grievance* and a great engine of oppreffion. If the farmer exert any activity in meliorating his land, he is fure to be doubly taxed. Hamburgh affords the only inftance of a tax on trade and 1 riches, that is willingly paid, and that confequently is levied without oppreffion. Every merchant puts privately into the public cheft the fum that, in his own opinion* lie ought to con- tribute; a fmgular example of integrity in a great trading tovAi, for there is nofufpicion of wrong in that tacit contribution. But this ftate is not yet corrupted by luxury. Fourthly; Fourthly ; As many vices, thatpoifon a nation, arife from inequality of fortune, in order to remedy that inequality as much as poflible, " Let the poor be relieved, and the rich burdened." Heavy taxes are ealily borne by men of overgrown eftates. Thofe proprietors efpecially, who wound the pub- lic, by converting much land from profit to plea- fure, ought not to be fpared. Would it not con- tribute greatly to the public good, that a tax of 50 pounds mould be laid on every houfe that has 50 windows, 150 pounds on houfes of 100 windows, and 400 pounds on houfes of 200 windows, By the fame principle, every deer-park of 2oo acres, ought to pay 50 pounds, of 500 acres, 200 pounds, and of 1000 acres, 600 pounds. Fifty acres of pleafure-ground mould pay 30 pounds, an 100 fuch acres, 80 pounds, 150 acres, 200 pounds, arid 200 acres, 300 pounds. Such a tax would have a collateral good effe&. It would pro- bably move high-minded men to leave out more ground for maintaining the poor, than they are commonly inclined to do. Fifthly; Every tax, which tends to impoveriih. the nation, ought to be rejected with indignation. Such taxes, contradid the very nature ot govern- ment, which is to protect, not to opprefs. Whether taxes impofed on common necefTaries, which fall heavy upon the labouring poor, be of the kind now mentioned, deferves the mod ferious . deliberation. ( 307 ) Deliberation. Where they tend to promote induflry, they are highly falutary. Where they deprive us of foreign markets, by railing the price of labour, and of manufactures, they are highly noxious. When the expence of living equals, or nearly equals, what is gained by bodily labour, moderate taxes, renewed from time to time, after confider- able intervals, will promote induftry, without raif- ing the price of labour; but permanent taxes, will unavoidably raife the price of labour, and of ma- nufactures. In Holland, the high price of provifions and of labour, occafioned by permanent taxes, have ex- cluded from the foreign market every one of their manufactures, that can be fupplied by other nations. Heavy taxes have annihilated their once flouriming manufactures of woolj of filk, of gold and filver, and many others. The prices of labour and of ma- nufactures have, in England, been immoderately raifed by the fame means. To prevent a total downfall of our taxes, feveral political writers hold, that the labouring poor ought to be difburdened of all taxes. The poor-rates, however, have already produced fuch profligacy among the lower ranks in England, that to relieve them from taxes would probably make them work lefs, but would not make them work cheaper. It is vain, therefore, to think of a remedy againft idlenefs and high wages, while the poo- poor-rates fubfifl in their prefcnt form. Davenant pronounces, that the Englilh poor-rates will, in time, be the bane of their manufactures. He computes, that the perfons receiving alms in Eng- land, amounted to one million and two hundred thoufand ; the half of whom, at leaft, would have continued to work, had they not relied on pariih- charities. Were the poor-rates abolished, a general a& of naturalization would not only augment the ftrength of Britain, by adding to the number of its people, but wouid compel the natives to work cheaper, and confequently to be more induftrious. If thefe expedients be not relimed, the only one that remains for preferving our manufactures, is, to encourage their exportation by a bounty, fuch as may enable us to cope with our neighbours in fo- reign markets. Laftly, " Let taxes, which require the oath of the party, be avoided." They are deltrudlive of morals, as being a temptation to perjury. Few are fo wicked, as to hurt others by perjury. There are not many of the lower ranks, however, that fcruple much at perjury, when it prevents hurt to them- felves. Confider the duty on candles. It is not only oppreflive, as comprehending poor people, who make no candles for fale ; but it is alfo fubver- five of morals, by requiring their oath, upon the quantity they make for their own ufe. The f 39 ) The manner of levying the fait tax in France, is indeed arbitrary, but it has not an immoral ten- dency. An oath is avoided ; and every matter of a family pays for the quantity he is prefumed to confume. French wine is often imported into Britain as Spanifh, which pays lefs duty. To check the fraud, the importer's oath is required; and, if per- jury be fufpecled, a jury is fet upon him in the ex- chequer. This is horrid. The importer is tempted by a high duty on French wine to commit perjury, for which he is profecuted in a fovereign court, open to all the world. He turns defperate, and lofes all fenfe of honour. Thus cuftom-houfe oaths have become a proverb, as meriting no regard ; and corruption creeping on, will become univerfal. Some goods imported pay a duty ad valorem ; and to afcertain the value, the importer's oath is re- quired. In China, the books of the merchants are trufted without an oath. Why not imitate fo laudable a pradice ? If our people be more cor- rupted, perjury may be avoided, by ordaining the merchant to deliver his goods to any who will de- mand them, at the rate ftated in his book ; with the addition of ten per. cent, as a fufficient profit to himfelf. CHAP, CHAP. XCV. ON EXCEPTIONABLE TAXES. OUR forefathers feem to have had no notion of taxes, but for increafing the public revenue, without once thinking of the hurt that may be done to individuals. In the reign of Edward VI. a poll-tax was laid on fheep. And fo late as the reign of William III. marriage was taxed. To this day, we have feveral taxes, that are more oppreflive upon the people, than gainful to the public revenue. Multiplied taxes on the neceflaries of life, fuch as candles, foap, leather, ale, fait, &c. as obferved before, raife the price of labour, and confequently of manufactures. If they mall have the effect: to deprive us of foreign markets, depo- pulation and poverty muft enfue. The fak-tax, in particular, is a very detrimental one. With refpe to the other taxes mentioned, the rich bear the greateft burden, being the greatefl confumers ; -but the fhare they pay of the falt-tax is very little, becaufe they rejecl: fait provifions. The falt-tax is ftill more abfurd in another refpec~l, fait being a choice manure for land. One would be amazed to hear of a law prohibiting the ufe of lime as a manure. He would ftill be more amazed to hear of the prohibition being extended to fait, which ( 3" ) tvhidi is a manure much fuperior ; and yet a heavy tax on fait, which renders it too dear for a manure, furprifes no man. But the mental eye refembles that of the body. It feldom perceives but what is dire&ly before it. . Confequences lie far out of fight. During the prefent reign, however, the ab- furdity of with-holding from us a manure fo profi- table has been difcovered, and remedied in part, by permitting Englifti foul fait to be ufed for manure, on paying fourpence of duty per bufhel. The window-tax is more detrimental to the peo- ple, than advantageous to the revenue. In the firfl place, it encourages large farms, in order to fave windows and houfes. Whereas, fmall farms tend to multiply a hardy and frugal race, ufeful for every purpofe. In the next place, it is a difcouragement to manufactures, by taxing the houfes in which they are carried on. Manufacturers, in order to relieve themfelves as much as poflible from the tax, make a fide of their houfe but one window ; and there are inftances, where in three '(lories, there are but three windows. And laftly, a very great objection to this tax is, that it burdens the poor more than the rich. A houfe, in a paltry village, that affords not five pounds of yearly rent, may have a greater number of windows, than one in London rented at fifty. The plate-tax is not indeed hurtful to manu- factures and commerce j'-becaufe plate converted 3 iinto ( 3*2 ) into money, may be the means of favirig the nation at a crifis, and therefore ought to be encouraged, inftead of being loaded with' a tax. On all pictures imported into Britain, there is a duty laid in proportion to their fize. In order to roufe a genius for painting, our youth ought to have ready accefs to all good pictures. It is, in- deed, fo far lucky, that the moft valuable pictures are not loaded with a greater duty, than the moft paltry. Fifh, both fait and frefh, brought to Paris, pay a duty of 48 per cen\.. by an arbitrary eftimation of the value. This tax is an irreparable injury to France, by difcouraging the multiplication of fea- men. It is beneficial, indeed, in one view, as it tends to check the growing population of that great city. The duty on coals water-borne, is a great ob- ftruction to many ufeful manufactures that require coals; and indeed to manufactures in general, by increafing the expence of coals, a very efiential ar- ticle in a cold country. No fedentary art nor occu- pation, can fucceed in our climate, without plenty of fuel. One may, at the firft glance, diftinguifh the coal counties from the reft of England, by the induftry of the inhabitants, and by plenty of ma- nufacturing towns and villages. Now, in many parts of Britain, that might be provided with coals by water, the labouring poor are deprived of that comfort comfort by the tax. Had cheap firing encouraged thefe people to profecute arts and manufactures, it is more than probable, that at this day, they would be contributing to the public revenue, by other du- ties, much greater fums than are drawn from them by the duty on coals. At the fame time, if coals muft pay a duty, why not at the pit, where, they are cheap ? It is a capital plunder to lay a great duty on thofe, who pay a high price for coals, and no duty on thofe who have them cheap. CHAP. XCVI. ON TAXES FAVOURABLE TO COMMERCt. NOTHING can fet in a ftronger light the po- litical ignorance of former ages, than a maxim univerfally adopted, " That to tax expor- tation, or to prohibit it altogether, is the beft means for having plenty at home. In Scotland, it was not thought fufficient to prohibit the exportation of corn, of fi(h, and of horfes. The prohibition was extended to manufactures, fuch as linen-cloth, candle, butter, cheefe, and fhoes. Oil was the only commodity, that, by the laws of Solon, was permitted to be exported from Af- rica. The figs of that country, which are delicious, came to be produced in fuch plenty, that there was P no f 3H ) no confumption for them at home ; and yet the law prohibiting exportation was not abrogated. Sycophant, denotes a perfon, who informs againft the exporter of figs. But, the prohibition appear- ing abfurd, fycophant became a term of reproach. When Sully entered on the adminiftration of the French finances, corn in France was at an exorbitant price, occafioned by a neglect of hufbandry, du- ring the civil wars. That fagacious minifter dif- covered the fecretof re-eftabliihing agriculture, and of reducing the price of corn, which is, to allow a free exportation. So rapid was the fuccefs of that bold, but politic meafure, that in a few years, France became the granary of Europe ; and, what at prefent may appear almoft incredible, we find in the Englifh records, in the year 1621, grievous complaints of the French underfelling them in their own markets. Colbert, who, fortunately for us, had imbibed the common error, renewed the ancient prohibition of exporting corn, hoping to have it cheap at home for his manufacturers. But he was in a very great miftake ; for that prohibition has been the chief caufe of many famines in France, fince that time. The corn-trade in France, by that means, lay long under great difcouragements ; and the French JTiiniftry continued long blind to the intereft of their country. At laft, edicls were ifliied, autho- rizing the commerce of corn to be abfolutely free, whether ( 3'5 ) whether fold within the kingdom, or exported. The generality, however, continued blind. In the year 1768, the badnefs of the harveft ha- ving occafioned a famine, the diftreffes of the peo- ple were excefiive, and their complaints univerfal. Without having taken into confideration the bad harveft, they attributed their mifery to the new law. It was in vain urged, that freedom in the corn trade encourages agriculture. The popular opinion was adopted, even by moft of the parliaments. So dif- ficult is it to eradicate eftablifhed prejudices. In Turkey, about forty years ago, a grand vifir permitted corn to be exported more freely than had been done formerly, a bufhel of wheat being fold at that time under feventeen pence. Every nation .flocked to Turkey for corn ; and in particular, no fewer than three hundred French veiTels, from 2o to 200 tons, entered Smyrna bay in one day. The Janilfaries and populace took the alarm, fearing that all the corn would be exported, and that a famine would enfue. In Conftantinople they grew mutinous, and were not appeafed till the vifir was ftrangled, and his body thrown out to them. His fucceflbr, cautious of fplitting on the fame rock, abfolutely prohibited exportation. In that country, rent is paid in proportion to the pro- du6t ; and the farmers, who faw no demand, ne- gle&ed tillage, In lefs than three years, the bufhel ?2, Of (. 3*6 ) of wheat rofe to fix fhillings ; and the cliftrefics of the people became intolerable. To this day the fall of the grand vifir is lamented. . We have improved upon Sully's difcovery, by a bounty on corn exported, which has anfwered our moft fanguine expectations. A great increafe of gold and filver, fubfequent to the faid bounty, which hasraifed the price of many other, commo- dities, muft have alfo raifed that of corn, had not a {till greater increafe' of corn, occafioned by the bounty, reduced its price even below what it was formerly ; and, by that means, our manufactures have profited by the bounty, no lefs than our huf- bandry. The bounty is ftill more important in another refpect. Our wheat can be afforded in the French ijiarkets cheaper than their own ; by which, agri- culture, in France, is in a langifhing ftate. And, it is in our power, during a war, to dafh all the "French fchemes for conqueft, by depriving them of bread. This bounty, therefore, is our palladium, which we ought religioufly to guard, if we would ' avoid being a province of France. Between the years 1715 and 1755, there was of wheat exported from England to France, twenty- one millions of feptiers* eftimated at two hundred millions of Hvres. The bounty for exporting corn has fometimes amounted to 150,000 pounds for a fingle year. But this furn is not all loft to the re- venue ; for frequently our corn is exchanged with goods that pay a high duty on importation. Some politicians object againft this bounty for exporting wheat, as feeding our rival manufacturers cheaper than our own; which is doubtful, as the expence of exportation commonly equals the bounty. But, fuppofmg it true, will the evil be remedied by withdrawing the bounty ? On the contrary, it will difcourage manufactures, by raifing the price of wheat at home. It will, befides, encourage French hufbandry, fo as, in all probability, to reduce the price of their wheat below what we afford it to them. > In France, labour is cheaper than in England, the people are more frugal, and they poflefs a better foil and climate. What have we to balance thefe fignal advantages, but our bounty ? And, were that bounty withdrawn, one would not be furprifed to fee French corn poured in upon us, at a lower price than it can be furnifhed at home. Public granaries, which reft on a principle con- trary to that of exportation, are hurtful in a fertile and extenfive country like Britain, being a difcou- ragement to agriculture; but are beneficial in great towns, which have no corn of their own. Swif- ferland could not exift without her granaries. It is not always true policy to difcourage the ex- portation of our own rude materials. Liberty of P 3 expor- (exportation gives an encouragement to produce therh in greater plenty at home ; which confequently lowers the price to our manufacturers. But, where the exportation of a rude material will not increafe its quantity, the prohibition is good policy. For example, the exporting of rags for paper may be prolu'bited ; becaufe liberty of exporting will not oc- cafion one yard more of linen cloth to be con- fumed. The exportation of Britifh manufactures to Ame- rica, ought to meet with fuch encouragement, as to prevent them from rivalling us. It would be a great blunder to encourage their manufactures, by impofing a duty on what we export to them.. We ought rather to give a bounty on exportation; which, by underfelling them in their own markets, would quafh every attempt to rivalfhip. The meafures laid down, for regulating the im- portation of foreign commodities have different views. One is, to keep down a rival power ; in which view, it is prudent to prohibit importation from one country, and to encourage it from ano- ther. It is judicious in the Britifh legiflature to load French wines with a higher duty than thofe of Portugal ; and, in France, it would be a proper meafure to prefer the beef of Holftein, or of Ruflia, before that of Ireland ; and the tobacco of the Ukraine, or of the Palatinate, before that of Vir- ginia. ginia. But fuch meafures of government ought to be fparingly exercifed, for fear of retaliation. There is no caufe more cogent for regulating im- portation, than an unfavourable balance. By per- mitting French goods to be imported free of duty, the balance againft England was computed to be a million yearly. In 1678, that importation was regulated, which, foon turned the balance of trade in favour of England. The Britifh regulations, with regard to the im- portation of goods, mould be contrived for the en- couragement of our own manufactures. This, it muft be acknowledged, is generally the cafe. To favour a new manufacture of our own, it is proper to lay a duty on the fame manufacture imported. To encourage the art of throwing filk, the duty on raw iilk imported is reduced, and that of thrown filk is heightened. For encouraging the exportation of commodities formerly imported, one method praclifed with fuc- cefs, is, to reftore to the merchant, the whole, or part of the duty paid at importation ; which is termed a drawback. This in particular is done with refpecl: to tobacco ; which by that means can be afforded to foreigners at twopence halfpenny per pound, when the price at home is eightpence half- penny. Tobacco, being an article of luxury, it was well judged to lay a heavier duty on what is confumed at home, than on what is exported. P 4 Upon ( 320 ) Upon the fame principle, the duty that is paid on the importation of coffee and cocoa, is wholly drawn back when exported. But as China earthen ware is not entitled to any encouragement from us, and as it is an article of luxury, it gets no drawback. The exporter of rice from Britain, firft imported from America, is entitled to draw back but half the duty paid on importation. Rice imported duty-free might wval our wheat crop. But the whole duty ought to be drawn back on exportation. It ought to be afforded to our neighbours at the lowed rate* partly to rival their wheat-crqp, and partly to en- courage our fettlements which produce rice. A French author remarks, that in no country are commercial regulations better contrived than in Bri- tain ; and inftances the following particulars. Firft ; Foreign commedities, fuch as may rival their own, are prohibited, or burdened with duties. Secondly ; Their manufactures are encouraged t by a free exportation. Thirdly ; Raxv materials, which cannot be pro- duced at home ; cochineal, for example, indigo, &c. are imported free of duty. Fourthly ; Raw materials of their own growth, fuch as wool, fuller's earth, &c. are prohibited to be exported. Fifthly; Every commodity has a free courfc through the kingdom, without duty. * And C 321 ) And Laftly ; Duties paid on importation, are re- paid on exportation. This remark, isJbr the moft part well founded ; and yet the fa6ls above fet forth will not permit us to fay, that the Englifh commercial laws have as yet arrived at perfection. CHAP. XCVII. ON MAN AS THE ARBITER OF HIS OWN FORTUNE. MAN has a range allowed him in the creation peculiar to himfelf alone ; and he feems to have had delegated to him a certain portion of the government of the natural world. Revolutions, indeed, are brought about in various regions by the univerfal laws of motion, uncontrouled, and un- controulable by any human power. But, under certain limitations, foil and climate are fubjedl 19 his dominion ; and the natural hiftory of the terrar queous globe varies with the civil ftiftory of na^ tioas. In the defcriptions of ancient and modern Eiv rope, the fame countries appear to be effentially different. The climates beyond the Atlantic are altered fince the days of Columbus. But fuch dif- ferences and alterations are more rightly imputed to P 5 the ( 32* } the conduct and operations of men, than to any mutability in the courfe of nature. Nor are fuch alterations confined to thofe fettle- ments on which additional culture has been beftow- ed. The arts of tillage and agriculture have a more diffufive and general effedl. The country of Italy, though not better cultivated than in the days of the Romans, has undergone, fince thofe days, a vicif- litude of temperature, which has arifen, in all pro- bability, from the more improved ftate of Ger- many and France. The temperature of climates throughout Ame- rica, fo different from that which predominates under the fame parallels of latitude in the ancient world, is not entirely to be afcribcd to fixed and permanent caufes, but rather to the more recent exiftence of nations in the new hemifphere, and the inferior cultivation it has confequently received from the hand of man. Thus much is certain, that by opening the foil, by clearing the forefts, by cutting out paflages for the ftagnant waters, the new hemifphere becomes aufpicious, like the old, for the growth and population of mankind. The hiftory of the colonies, and commercial eftablifhments of the European nations, teftifies that, in almoft every corner, a healthful and falu- brious climate is the fure effect of perfevering and well-conducted labour. Nor is the oppfite effect chargeable merely on the neglect of culture, and the atmofphere ( 3*3 ) atmofphere, that overhangs the defert, alone malig- nant. The malignancy is often dire&ly charge- able on manners, on police, and on civil eftablifti- ments In fome of the moft malignant climates on the Guinea coaft, the impure habits of the natives have been afligned as the efficient caufe. The ex- halations of a negro village, negroes only can en- dure. " The plague," fays Dr. Chandler in his travels into the Eaft, " might be wholly averted fromthefe countries, or at lead prevented from fpreading, if lazarettos were creeled, and falutary regulations enforced, as in fome cities of Europe. Smyrna, would be affected as little perhaps, as Marfeilles, if the police were as well modelled. But this is the wifdom of a fenfible and enlightened people." A fpecies of neceflity, however, in fome coun- tries, conducts mankind to certain decorums in life and manners, which wait, in other countries, the ages of tafte and refinement. The Dutch, certainly are not the moft polite among the Eu- ropean nations ; yet the nature of their civil fettle- ment, as if anticipating the dictates of refinement, introduced among them from the beginning, a degree of order in their police, and of cleanlinefs in their houfhold oeconomy, not furpafled, perhaps unequalled, by any other people. On a principle of health, an attention to cleanli- nefs, is more or lefs incumbent on all communities. P 6 It ( 324 ) It prefents an emblem of inward purity, and is dignified, perhaps not improperly, in fome fyftems of ethics, with the appellation of a moral virtue. But with all imaginable precaution on this fcore, the confluence of Hiambers, in a crowded fcene, is generally productive of difeafe, Hence peftilential diftempersare fo often bred in the camp, and ufually march in the train of war. And hence the eftablifh- ment of great cities, under the beft regulated police, can be demonftrated, from the bills of mortality, to be deftructive, in a high degree, of population and public health. *. But all thefe examples relate to artificial, not to natural climate ; and there feems to be little ground, in the hiftory of the terraqueous globe, to ailbciate, with any fixed and immutable conftitution of the atmofphere, the happinefs or perfections of the human fpecies. Yet, local prejudices every where abound. The moft accomplifhed citizens, in nations and ages the moft accompliftied, have not been exempted from their fway. Plato returned thanks to the im- mortal Gods that he was an Athenian, notaThe- ban born, that he breathed on the fouthern, not on the northern fide of the Afopus. But, if Athens was eminent for refinement, /Ihere were other caufes than the climate. And, if the Dr. Price. f 325 ) the Boeotians were dull to a proverb, it was only temporary ; for Pindar, Pelopidas, and Epaminon- das mall vindicate the foil. Thus much we may with certainty affirm, that foil and climate, if not altogether foreign to the mind, are, like the mind, fufceptible of improve- ment, and variable, in a high degree, with the progrefs of civil arts. Settlements, abandoned by one colony, have been repeopled with fuccefs by another. Projects, thought defperate in days of ignorance, have been refumed, and conducted to a profperous iflue, in more enlightened times. In- dividuals have often failed in their attempts, for want of public encouragement. Public enterprizes have failed for want of concurrence among nations. Eftablifti, then, concert and union among man- kind ; all regions become habitable, and the ele- ments almoft ceafe to rebeL There feems to be a certain regimen of life, fuited to the local circumftances of mankind, which is fuggefted to them at firft by inftindt, or is the flow refult of experience, A different regimen recommended in a fimilar manner, is beft adapted to their circumftances in another region ; and fudden or injudicious alterations in the modes of life, are among the fatal confequences, that attend the commerce of nations. The transference too of epidemical diftemper, from region to region, is another confequence of that that commerce, no lefs definitive. Diftempers, local in their origin, being thus diffufed over the globe, become, \vhen tranfplanted, more formi- dable than in their native foils. The plague, fo defolating when it invades Europe, commits not equal havoc in the Eaft. The malady, imported by Columbus, was lefs virulent in the American climate?. On the other hand, the fmall pox, in- troduced into thofe climates by Europeans, threat- ened the depopulation of the new hemifphere. Time, however, which corrects the effects of migrations, feems alfo to correcl: the virulence of the tranfplanteil diftemper. Either the human con- ftitution oppofes it with new vigour, or the art of medicine combats it with more fuccefs, or the poifon, by being long blended with the furround- ing elements ceafes to be fo deftrudlive. It may alfo be obferved, that fome di (orders leave impreflTions in the conftitution, which prevent in future the pofiibility of fimilar annoyance. Hence the expediency of inoculation, a practice firft in- troduced into Europe from the Eaft, which folicits difeafe - through a fafer channel, as a prefervative againft its eventual attack, in all the circumftances of its native malignancy. But returning from this digrefilon, let us furvey the farther tendency of the commercial arts. The natural productions of one corner fupply the demands of luxury in another, and the moft diftant tribes ( 3*7 ) tribes may approximate each other, in their ani- mal temperament, by mutual traffic. Even the natives of the moft penurious foil, may exchange the rude fimplicity of their anceltors, for the ex- travagance of the moft pampered nations. Penury and wealth, fimplicity and prodigality, indolence and toil, create conftitutional diftin&ions among the different orders of citizens. For the impreffion of the commercial arts is often confpi- cuous in the upper departments of life, before it reaches thofe of inferior condition. But the circle gradually widens. The exclufive pofleffion of opulence cannot be long maintained ; and the fluc- tuation, fo natural to commercial dates, muft dif- feminate the effeds over the public at large. In the laft period of the Roman government, the different provinces of the empire became contami- nated with the luxury of the Eaft, whofe influence on the bodily temperament may have contributed, along with moral and political diftemper, to the fuccefs of the Horthern armies. Szevior armis " Luxuria incubuit, vi&umque ulcifcitur orbem." Such confequences, however, imply no impu- tations on the arts of civil life. The food, the raiment, the occupation of the polifhed citizen, may be as innocent as thofe of the favage. The latter is even guilty of excelfes, which difappear in the f 3*8' ) the age of refinement. The immoderate ufe of intoxicating liquors, is generally mod predominant in the ruder forms of fociety. It is relinquifhed ih the progrefs of refinement, and feems to be fcarce compatible with the elegant luxuries of a highly cultivated people. A propenfity, indeed, to vicious excefs may be accidentally combined in the fame character, with a high relifh for the luxuries of life. But the paffions themfelves are totally diftinft. A prone- nefs to luxury, with an averfion to all riot or excefs, is no uncommon character; and a pronenefs to excefs, with an averfion to luxury, though more rare, is by no means without example. A ftriking example occurs in the character of the famous Irifh rebel, who, in the reign of Elifabeth, aflumed the rank and appellation of King of Ulfter. He was a man," fays the hiftorian, " equally noted for his pride, his violence, his debaucheries, and his hatred of the Englifh nation. He is faid, to have put fome of his followers to death, becaufe they endeavoured to introduce the ufe of bread, after the Englifh fafhion. Though, fo violent an enemy to luxury, he was extremely addicted to riot, and was accuftomed, after his intemperance had thrown him into a fever, to plunge his body into mire, that he might allay the flame which he had raifed by former excefies." Luxury, Luxury, according to its fpecies and direction, may be pronounced .to be, either falutary or de- flruclive. By its connexion with induftry and aflive exertion, it is productive of the nobleft effects. It is the parent of ingenious arts, and conducts a peo- ple to honour and diftinclion. Objects, however, which are not only innocent* but beneficial in the purfuit, may prove dangerous* in the pofleffion ; and the acquisitions of national virtue may become the occafion of its fall. Habits there furely are, incident to different periods of fociety, which tend to enervate the body, and to vitiate the blood. The mechanical fprings of life reft not on the energy of one caufe, but on the combination of many, pofleffing often oppofite and qualifying powers. It were improper, there- fore, to expatiate on the intenfity of one principle* without attending to others, which ferve to heighten or to mitigate its force. One writer magnifies the power of climate; another the effects of aliment ; a third the efficacy of labour or reft, and the peculiar influence of certain modes of life. But thefe circumftances are relative to each other, and it is the refult of the combination, with which we are alone concerned. It was well anfvvered by the Spartan to the King of Syracufe, who found fault with the coarfenefs of the Spartan fare, " In order," fays he, " to make thefe ( 330 ) thefe victuals relifli, it is neceflary to bathe irt the Eu rotas." By the progrefs of agriculture and rural ceconomy in our climates, that mode of oeconomy is become the moft eafy, which was formerly the moft diffi- cult. And it were well, perhaps, for mankind, in moft countries of Europe at this day, if the great and opulent exchanged, with thofe of inferior con- dition, many of the daily articles of confumption. Vegetable aliment feems to be better adapted to the more indolent clafs of citizens. The labouring part of fociety require a larger proportion of animal food. But it is often difficult for the meaner fort to procure for themfelves fuitable fubfiftence, and more difficult for their fuperiors to abftain from improper gratifications. " If I were not Alexander," faid the Prince of Macedon, " I would chufe to be Diogenes." Yet the generality of people would rather imitate the conduct of Ariftippus, who, for the pageantry of a court, and the pleafures of a luxurious table, could forego independence, and defcend from the dignity of philofophy to the adulation of Kings. The conduct, however, of mankind, in uncor- nipted times, was more conformable to nature ; and their reafon taught them to form fuch habits and combinations, as were moft congruous with . their external condition. Different fyftenns of po- licy grow out of thcfe combinations ; and ufages and and laws, relative to climate, make a capital figure in ancient legiilation. Even fuperftition, on fome occafions, has proved . a guardian of public manners, and a ufeful auxili- ary to legislative power. Abitinence from the flelh of animals, abttinence from wine, frequent puri- fications and other external obfervances among the Indians, Perfians, and Arabians, how abfurd foever if transferred to other countries, formed on the oc- cafions, and in the countries where they were in- flituted, important branches of political osconomy. The Egyptians prefcribed by law a regimen for their Kings. In fome inftances, certain rules of proportion were eftablifhed ; and fuitable to the different claffes of citizens, there was a fpecial allotment of aliment prefcribed by the religion of Brama. The Chriftian difpenfation alone, divine in it origin, and defigned to be univerfal, defcends not to local inftitutions ; but, leaving the details of policy to the rulers of nations, inculcates only thofc pure and elfential doctrines, which are adapted to all climates and governments. Yet the Vedam, the Sha/ler, the Koran, and other ancient codes, which afford in one view, fo fink- ing examples of credulity and fanaticifm, maybe regarded in another, as monuments of human fagacity. Happy f S3* '}; Happy had it been for the world, if the founders of religion and government had feparated, in fuch cafes, the pure gold from the drofs, and connived only at illufions conne&ed with public felicity, It were often happy for rude tribes, if they were taught a local fvperftition, how abfurd foever in its details, that tended to preferve the fimplicity of their morals, and debarred them, in many inftances, from adapting foreign cuftoms and manners. How fortunate would it have been for the In- dian tribes, throughout the continent of North America, if they had been debarred, by the folemn fan&ions of a religion, as abfurd ns that of Ma- homet, from the ufe of intoxicating liquors, a practice derived to them from European com- merce* and which contributes, in the new hemif- phere, more, perhaps, than any other caufe, to the deftrudion, and what is worfe, to the debafement of the fpecies. Our voyages of difcovery, which in fome refpefte are fo honourable, and calculated for noble ends, have never yet been happy for any of the tribes of mankind vifited by us. The vices of Europe have contaminated the natives, who will have caufe to lament for ages, that any European veffel ever touched their fhores. Moral depravity is a fertile fource of pliyfical ills to individuals, to families, and to nations. Nor re the ills inherent only in the race, which bred the ( 333 ) the diforder. They fpread from race to race, and tire often entailed, in all their malignity, on pof- terity. Thus hereditary diftemper has a founda- tion in the natural, as in the moral world. Nor does this reflect upon eternal juftice, or breed con- fufion in the univerfe, or derogate from the fum of its perfections. If we are puniflied for the vices, v/e are rewarded too for the virtues of our fathers. Thefe oppofite principles of exaltation and de- bafement, tend to the equilibrium of the fyftem. They ferve alfo to a farther end. They fcrve to draw clofer the tics of humanity, to remind us of our duty, by reminding us of the relations of our being, and of thofe indiflbluble connexions and dependencies, which unite us with the pall:, and will unite us with all fucceeding ages. CHAP, xcvnr. ON THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF RELIGION. DEITY is an awful object, and has ever roufed the attention of mankind. But they, being incapable of elevating their ideas to all the fublimity of his perfections, have too often brought down his perfections to the level of their own ideas. This is more particularly true, with regard to thofe nations, whofe religion had no other foundation but the na- tural ( 334 ) tural feelings, and more frequently the irregular pafllons of the human heart, and who had received ivo light from heaven refpecling this important ob- ject. In deducing the hiftory of religion, there- fore, we muft feparate what is human, from what is divine ; what had its origin from particular reve- lations, from what is the effect: of general laws, and of the unadifted operations of the human mind. Agreeably to this diftinclion, we find, that in the firft ages of the world, the religion of the eaftern nations was pure and luminous. It arofe from a divine fource, and was not then disfigured by human fancies or caprice. In time, however, thefe began to have their influence. The ray of tradition was obfcured ; and among thofe tribes, which feparated at the greateft diftance, and in the fmalleft numbers, from the more improved focieties of men, 'it was altogether obliterated. In this fituation, a particular people were felect- ed by God himfelf, to be the depofitories of his law and worfhip. Bui the rcrt of mankind were left to form hypothefes upon thefe fubje&s, which were more or lefs perfect, according to an infinity of circumftances, which cannot properly be reduced under any general heads. The moft common religion of antiquity was Polytheifm,or the doctrine of a plurality of gods. The polymeifm of the ancients, however, feems 4 neither ( 335 ) nehher to have been the fruit of philofophical fpe- culations, nor of disfigured traditions, concerning the nature of the divinity. It feems to have arifen during the rudeft ages of fociety, while the rational powers were feeble, and while mankind were under the tyranny of imagination and padion. It was built, therefore, folely upon fentiment. As each tribe of men had their heroes, fo likevvife they had their gods. Thofe heroes, who led them forth to the combat, who prefided in their councils, whofe image was engraved on the fancy, whofe exploits were imprinted on their memory, even after death enjoyed an exiftence in the ima- gination of their followers. The force of blood* of friendship, ofaffe&ion, among rude nations, is what we cannot eafily con- ceive. But the power of imagination over the fenfes is what all men have in fome degree ex- perienced. Combine thefe two caufes, and it will not appear ftrange, that the image of departed heroes mould have been feen by their companions, animating the battle, taking vengeance on their enemies, and performing the fame functions, which they performed when alive. An appearance fo unnatural would not excite terror among men, unacquainted with evil fpirits, and who had not learned to fear any thing but their enemies. Two orders of gods, therefore would be eftablimed ellablifhed, the propitious and the hoftfle ; the gods who were to be loved, and thofe who were to be feared. But time, which wears off the imprefllons of tradition,, the frequent invafions, by which the na- tions of antiquity were ravaged, defolated, or trans- planted, made them lofe the names, and confound the characters of thofe two orders of divinities, and form various fyftems of religion, which, though warped by a thoufand particular circumftances, gave no fmall indication of their firft texture, and original materials. For, in general, the gods of the ancients gave abundant proof of human infirmi- ty. They were fubjec~l to all the paflions of men. They partook even of their [partial affec- tions, and, in many inftances, difcovered their pre- ference of one race or nation to all others. They did not eat and drink the fame fubftances with men. They lived on neclar and ambrofia. They had a particular pleafure in fmelling the fteam of the facrifices, and they made love with a ferocity unknown in northern climates. The rites by which they were worfhipped naturally refulted from their charafter. It muft be obferved, however, that the religion of the ancients was not much connected, either with their private behaviour, or with their political arrangements. If we except a few fanatical fo- cieties, the greater part of mankind were extremely 3 tolerant ( 337') ly tolerant in their principles. They had their own gods, who watched over them. Their neigh- bours, they imagined, alfo had theirs ; and there was room enough in the univerfe for both to live together in good fellowlhip, without in- terfering or joftling with one another. CHAP. XCIX. THE OPINIONS OF SEVERAL TRIBES OF MAN- KIND CONCERNING THE DEITY. THE belief of one fupreme benevolent Deity, and of fubordinate deities benevolent and malevolent, is, and has been, more univerfal, than any other religious creed. The different favage tribes in Dutch Guiana, agree pretty much in their articles of faith. They hold the exiftence of one fupreme Deity, whofe chief attribute is benevolence ; and to him they afcribe every good that happens. But, as it is againft his nature to do ill, they believe in fubor- dinate malevolent beings, who occafion thunder, hurricanes, earthquakes, and who are the authors of death, difeafes, and of every misfortune. To thefe evil fpirits, termed in their language Yowa- hoos, they direct every Replication, in order to avert their malevolence ; while the fupreme Deity Q. is ( 338 ) is entirely negle&ed. So much more powerful, among favages, is fear than gratitude. The negroes of Benin and Congo, and the inhabitants of Java, of Madagafcar, and of the Molucca iflands, have all a notion of a fupreme Deity, creator and governor of the world ; and of inferior deities, fome good, fome ill. Thtfe ard fuppofed to have bodies, and to live in much the fame manner as men do, but without being fub- jedted to any diftrefs. The Chingulefe, a tribe in the iflaiuLof Ceylon, acknowledge one God creator of the univerfe, with fubordinate deities, who a6l as his deputies. Agriculture is the peculiar province of one, and navigation of another. The creed of the Ton- quinefe is nearly the fame. The inhabitants of Otaheite believe in one fu- preme Deity i and in inferior deities without end, who prefide over particular parts of the creation. They pay no adoration to the fupreme Deity, thinking him too far elevated above his creatures to concern himfelf with what they do. They believe the ftars to be children of the fun and moon. Thus they eafily account for an eclipfe. The North - American favages acknowledge one fupreme Being or giver of life, to whom they look up as the fource of good, and from whom no evil can proceed. They acknowledge alfo a bad fpirit ( 339 ) fpirit of great power, by whom all the evils that befal mankind are inflicted. To him they pray in their diftreffes ; begging that he will either avert their troubles, or mitigate them. They acknow- ledge, befides, good fpirits of an inferior degree, who, in their particular departments, contribute to the happinefs of mortals. But they feem to have no notion of a fpirit diverted of matter. They believe their gods to be of the human form, but of a nature more excellent than man. They believe in a future (late ; and that their employments will be fimilar to what they are engaged in here, but without labour or fatigue ; in mort, that they (hall live for ever in regions of plenty, and enjoy, in a higher degree, every gratification they delight in here. According to Arnobius, certain Roman deities prefided over the various operations of men. Puta aflifted at pruning trees, and Peta in requefting benefits. Nemeftrinus was god of the woods. Nodutus ripened corn, and Terenfis helped to threm it. Vibilia afTifted travellers. Orphans were under the care of Orbona, and dying per- fons of Na^nia. Offilago hardened the bones of infants. Mellonia protected bees, and beftowed fweetnefs on their honey. The ancient Goths, and feveral other northern nations, acknowledged one fupreme Being, and ( 340 ) at the fame time worfhipped three fubordinate deities, Thor, reputed the fame with Jupiter, Oden, the fame with Mars, and Friga, the fame with Venus. Socrates, taking the cup of poifon from the executioner, held it up toward heaven, and pouring out fome of it as an oblation to the fupreme Deity, pronounced the following prayer : *' I implore the immortal God, that my tranflation hence may be happy." Then, turning to Crito, he faid, " O Crito ! I owe a cock to ^fculapius ; pay it." From this incident we find that Socrates (baring above his countrymen, had attained to the belief of a fupreme benevolent Deity. But in that dark age of religion, fuch purity is not to be ex- pected from Socrates himfelf, as to have rejected fubordinate deities, even of the mercenary kind. H A P. CHAP. C. OF SUPERSTITIOUS OPINIONS. IN days of ignorance, the conduct of Providence is very little understood. Far frqm having any notion, that the government of this world is carried on by general laws, every important event is attributed to an immediate interpofition of the Deity. As the Grecian gods were thought to have bodies like men, and like men to require nourifhmenr, they were imagined to acl: like men, forming fhort-fighted plans of operation, and varying them from time to time, according to exigencies. Even the wife Athenians had an utter averfion to philo- fophers, who attempted to account for effects by . general laws. An eclipfe being held a prognoftic 'given by the gods of fome grievous calamity, Anaxagoras was accufed of Atheifm, for attempting to explain the eclipfe of the moon by natural caufes. He was thrown into prifon, and with difficulty was relieved by the influence of Pericles. Protagoras was banimed from Athens for maintaining the fame do6lrine. Agathias, beginning at the battle of Marathon, fagely maintains, that from that time downward, there ( 342 ) there was not a battle loft, but by an immediate judgment of God, for the fins of the commander, or of his army, or one perfon or other. Our Saviour's do&rine, with refped to thofe who fuffered by the fall of the tower of Siloam, ought to have opened men's eyes ; but fuperftitious eyes are not eafily opened. It is no lefs inconfiftent with the regular courfe of Providence, to believe, as many formerly did, that in all doubtful cafes the Almighty, when ap- pealed to, never fails to interpofe in favour of the right fide. The inhabitants of Conftantinople, in the year 1284, being fplit into parties about two contending patriarchs, the Emperor ordered a fire to be made in the church of St. Sophia, t and a paper for each party to be thrown into it ; never doubting, but that God would fave from the flames the paper given in for the party, whofe caufe he efpoufed. But to the utter aftonimment of all beholders, the flames paid not the leaft regard to either. The fame abfurd opinion gave birth to the trial by fire, by water, and by fingle combat. And, it is not a little remarkable, that fuch trials were common among many nations, who had no inter- courfe with one another. Even the enlightened people of I ndoftan try crimes, by dipping the hand of a fufpe&ed perfon in boiling oil. In ( 343 ) In cafes of doubtful proof, they have recourfc in the kingdom of Spain, as in many other coun- tries, to artificial proofs, One is to walk bare- foot through fire. As the Siamites are accuftomecl to walk bare-footed, their foles become hard ; and thofe who have fkill have a good chance to efcape without burning. The art is to fet down their feet on the fire with all their weight, which excludes the air, and prevents the fire from burn- ing. Another proof is by water. The accufer and accufed are thrown into a pond ; and he who keeps the longeft under water is declared to be in the right. Such uniformity is there, with refpect even to fuperftitious opinions- The Emperor Otho I. obferving the luw-do&ors to differ about the right of reprefentation in land- eftates, appointed a duel ; and the right of repre- fentation gained the victory. Appian gravely reports, that when the city of Rhodes was befieged by Mithridates, a ftatue of the Goddefs Isis was feen to dart flames of fire upon a bulky engine raifed by the befiegers to overtop the wall. It is equally erroneous to believe, that certain ceremonies will protect one from mifchief. la the dark ages of Chriftianity, the figning with a figure of the crofs, was held not only to be an an- tidote againft the fnares of malignant fpirits, but 04 to ( 344 ) lo infpire refolution for fupporting trials and cala- mites. For which reafon no Chriftian, in thofe days, undertook any thing of moment, till he had ufed that ceremony. It was firmly believed in France, that a gold r filver coin of St. Louis, hung from the neck, was a protection againft all difeafes ; and we find accordingly a hole, in every remaining coin of that king, for fixing it to a ribband. During the minority of Charles VIII. of France, the three eftates, in the year 1484, fupplicated his Majefty, that he would no longer defer the being anointed with the holy oil, as the favour of Heaven was vifibly connected with that ceremony. They affirmed, that his grandfather Charles VII. never profpered till he was anointed ; and that Heaven afterward fought on his fide, till the Englifli were expelled out of his kingdom. That ridiculous ceremony is kept up to this day. So great is the power of cuftom. It is perform- ed in the following manner. " The Grand Prior of St. Remi opens the holy phial, and gives it to the Archbifbop, who, with a golden needle, takes fome of the precious oil, about the fize of a grain of wheat, which he mixes with confecrated ointment. The King then proflrates himfelf be- fore the altar on a violet coloured carpet, embroi- dered with feurs de Us while they pray. Then the ( 345 ) the King rifes, and the Archbifliop anoints him on the crown of the head, on the ftomach, on the two elbows, and on the joints of the arms. After leveral anointings, the Archbifhop of Rheims, the Bifhops of Laon and Beauvais clofe the openings of the fhirt. The High Chamberlain puts on the tunic and the royal mantle. The King then kneels again, and is anointed in the palms oi his hands. '* The high altar of St. Margaret's church, in the ifland of Icolmkill, was covered with a plate of blue marble finely veined ; which has fuffered from a fuperftitious conceit, that the fmaileft bit of it will preferve a fhip from finking. It has accord- ingly been carried off piece-meal ; and at prefent there is fcarce enough left ^ to make the experi- ment. In the Sadder, a book abounding with foolifli ceremonies, certain prayers are enjoined when one fneezes, or makes water, in order to chafe away the devil. Cart-wheels, in Lifbon, are compofed of two clumfy boards, nailed together in a circular form. Though the noife is intolerable, the axles are never greafed. The noife, fay they, frightens the devil from hurting their oxen. Nay, fo far has fuperftition been carried, as to found a belief, that the devil, by magic, can con- troul the courfe of Providence. CIS I" ( 346 } In the capitularies of Charlemagne, in the canons of feveral councils, and in the ancient laws of Norway, punifhments are ena&ed againft thofe who are fuppofed able to raife tempefts, termed Tempeftarii. During the time of Catharine de Medicis, there was in the court of France a jumble of politics, gallantry, luxury, fuperftition, and Atheifm. It was common to take the refemblance of enemies in wax, in order to torment them, by roafting the figure at a flow fire, and pricking it with needles. If an enemy happened, in one inftance of a thou- fand, to pine and die, the charm was eftablifhed for ever. Sorcery and witchcraft" were fo univerfally be- lieved in England, that in a preamble to a ftatute of Henry VIII. in the year 1511, it was fet forth, " That fmiths, weavers, and women, boldly take upon them great cures, in which they partly ufe for- cery and witchcraft." The firft printers, who were Germans, having carried their books to Paris for fale, were condem- ned by the parliament to be burnt alive as forcerers; and did not efcape punifhment but by a precipitate flight. It had, indeed, mnch the appearance of forcery, that a man could write fo many copies of book, without the flighted variation. Superliition flourifhes in times of danger and dif- may. During the civil wars of France and Eng- land ( 347 ) land, fuperftition was carried to extravagance. Every one believed in magic, charms, fpells, forcery, and witchcraft. The mod abfurd tales part current as gofpel truths. All the world is acquainted with the hiftory of the Duchefs of Beaufort, who was faid to have made a compact with the devil, to procure Henry I V. of France for her lover. This ridiculous ftory was believed through all France, and is reported as a truth by the Duke of Sully. Superftition muft have certainly been at a high pitch, when that great man was infected with it. James Howel, eminent for knowledge, and for the figure he made, during the civil wars of Eng- land, relates, as an undoubted truth, an abfurd fic- tion concerning the town of Hamelen, that the devil with a bagpipe enticed all the rats out of the town, and drowned them in a lake ; and becaufe his promifed reward was denied, that he made the children fuffer the fame fate. In an age of fuperftition, men of the greateft judgment are infected. In an enlightened age, fuperftition is confined among the vulgar. Would one imagine, that the great Louis of France is an exception ? It is hard to fay, whether his vanity, or his fuperftitition was the moft eminent. The Duke of Luxembourg was his favourite, and his moft fuccefshil general. In order to throw the Duke out of favour, his rivals accufed him of Q,. 6 having ( 348 ) having a compact with the devil. The King per- mitted him to be treated with great brutality, on evidence no lefs foolifh and abfurd, than that on which old women were, fome time ago, condemn- ed as witches. A very fingular effort of abfurd fuperftition, is a perfuafion, that one may controul the courfe of Providence, by a promife or bargain. A tribe of Tartars in Siberia, named by the Ruffians Baravinjkoi, have in every hut a wooden, idol, about eighteen inches high, to which they ad- drefs their prayers for plenty of game in hunting, promifing it, if fuccefsful, anew coat, or anew bonnet. This fort of bargain, however ridiculous, is perhaps more excufible in mere favages, than what is made with the Virgin Mary by enlightened Roman Catholics; who, upon condition of re- lieving them from diftrefs, promife her a waxea taper to burn on her altar. There is no end of fuperftition in its various modes. In dark times, it was univerfally be- lieved, that by certain forms and invocations, the fpirits of the dead could be called upon to reveal future events. A lottery in France, gainful to the grovernment and ruinous to the people, gives great fcope to fuperftition. A man, who intends to purchafe tickets-muft faft fix and thirty hours-muft repeat a certain (349 J certain number of Ave- Maries and P at er-N often' f muft not fpeak to a living creature, muft not go to bed, muft continue in prayer to the Virgin and to faints, till fome propitious faint appear, and declare the numbers that are fuccefsful to him. The man, fatigued with fading, praying and, ex- pectation, falls afleep. Occupied with the thought he had when .'awake, he dreams that a faint ap- pears and mentions the lucky numbers. Jf he be difappointed he is vexed at his want of memory ; but trufts in the faint as an infallible oracle. He falls afleep again. Again he fees a vifion ; and is again difappointed. Lucky and unlucky days were, in ancient times, fo much relied on, as even to be marked in the Greek and Roman calendars. The Tartars never undertake any thing of mo- ment on a Wednefday. That day is confidercd by them as very unlucky. The Nogayan Tartars hold every thirteenth year to be unlucky. They will not even wear a fword that year, believing that it would be then death; and they maintain that none of their warriors ever returned, who went upon an expe- dition in one of thefe years. They pafs that time in fafting and prayer, and during it they never marry. A The ( 35 ) The inhabitants of Madagafcar have days for- tunate and unfortunate, with refpe& to the birth of children. They deflroy without mercy every child, that is born on an unfortunate day. There are unlucky names, as well as unlucky days. Julien Cardinalde Medicis, was inclined to keep his own name. But it being obferved to him by the cardinals, fays Guichardin, that the popes, who retained their own name, had all died within the year, he took the name of Clement, and was Clement VII. As John was held an unlucky name for a king, John, heir to the crown of Scotland, was gerfuaded to change his name into Robert ; and he was Robert III. CHAP. CI. ON THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION., /CHRISTIANITY derived its origin from ^-^ heaven. It made its way among mankind, by the miracles wrought in confirmation of it, which proved the divine miflion of its author, and by the fublimity of its do&rine and precepts. It required not the aid of human power. It fuftained itfelf by the truth and wifdom, by which it was cha- raclcrifed. But in time it became corrupted by the introduction of worldly maxims, and by the am- bition C 35i ) bition of the clergy ; which at length occafioned the elevation, and exorbitant claims of the bifhop of Rome. The management of whatever related to the church, being naturally conferred on thefe who had eltablifhed it, firft occafioned the elevation, and then the domination of the clergy, and afterwards of the bifhop of Rome, over all the members of the Chriftian world. It is importable here to defcribe all the con- comitant caufes, fome of which were very delicate, by which this fpecies of univerfal monarchy was eftabliflied. The bifhops of Rome, by being removed from the controul of the Roman emperors, then re- fiding in Constantinople, by borrowing, with little variation, the religious ceremonies and rites eftablimed among the heathen world, by work- ing, in various ways, on the credulous minds of barbarians, by whom that empire began to be difmembered, and by availing themfelves of every circumftance which fortune offered, flowly erected the fabric of their antichriftian power, at firft an object of veneration, and afterwards of terror to all temporal princes. The caufes of its happy diflblution are more palpable, and operated with greater activity. The moft efficacious was the rapid improvement of arts, government, government, and commerce, which, affer many ages of barbarity, made its way into Europe. The fcandalous lives of thofe, who called them- felves the minifters of Jefus Chrift, their igno- rance and tyranny, thedefire natural to Sovereigns of delivering themfelves from a foreign yoke, the opportunity of applying to national objects the immenfe wealth, which had been diverted to ihe Tervice of the church, in every kingdom of Europe, confpired with the ardour of the firft reform- ers, and flattened the progrefs of the Reformation.- The unreafonablenefs of the claims of the church of Rome was demonftrated. Many of their doc- trines were proved to be equally unfcriptural and irrational. Some of their abfurd mummeries and fuperftitions were expofed, both by argument and ridicule. The fervices of the reformers, in this refpecl, give them a juft claim to our veneration. But, involved as they had themfelves been in darknefs and fuperftition, it was not to be expected, that they mould be able wholly to free themfelves from errors. They ftill retained an attachment to fome abfurd do&rines, and preferved too much of the intolerant fpirit of the church, from which they had feparated themfelves. With all their defects, they are entitled to our admiration and efteem. The ^reformation, begun by ( 353 ) by Luther in Germany, in the year 1517, and which took place in England, in the year 1534* was an event highly favourable to the civil/ as well as to the religious rights of mankind. CHAP. CII. ON RELIGIOUS WORSHIP, FORMS, AND CE- *-';_' REMONIES. THE Deity is the author of our exigence, and therefore we owe him gratitude. He is the governor of the world, and therefore we owe him obedience. Upon thefe duties is found- ed the obligation we are under to worfhip him. But heart-worfhip alone is not fufficient. In order to convince our fellow-creatures, that we have a grateful fenfe of the divine beneficence, it is incumbent upon us to worfhip him in public, as well as in private. The principle of devotion, like moft of our other principles, is capable of be- ing much ftrengthened by cultivation and cxercife. Devotion is communicative, like joy or grief; and by mutual communication, in a numerous aflembly, it is greatly invigorated. Forms and ceremonies give a luftre and dignity to a prince in his court. They are necefFary in a court of law, for the fake of order, regularity, and difpatch of bufmefs. In religions worfhip they promote ( 354 ) promote ferioufncfs and folemnity. At the fame time, in every one of thefe a juft medium ought to be prefervcd between too m.i'i and too few. With refpeft to religious worfhip in particular, fuperfluity of ceremonies quenches devotion, by occupying the mind too much upon externals. The Roman- Catholic worfhip is crowded with ceremonies. It refembles the Italian opera, which is all found, and no fentiment. The church of England could eafily fpare fe- veral of the Romifh ceremonies, which were re- tained by the reformers in compliance with vul- gar prejudice, that as many as poffible might be thereby induced to renounce the great errors of popery. The prefbyterian form of worfhip is rational and fitnple, perhaps too fimple for the populace. It is however, very proper for philofohpers, and men of fenfe. It may not be improper here to obferve, that external mow figures greatly in dark times, when nothing makes an impreffion but what is vifible. A German traveller*, fpeaking of Queen Eli- fabeth, thus defcribes the folemnity of her dinner. ' While me was at prayers, we faw her table fet out in the following folemn manner. A gentle- man * Hentiner. ( 355 ) man entered the room bearing a rod, and along with him another who had a table-cloth, which, after they had both kneeled three times with the utmoft veneration, he fpread upon the table, and after kneeling again, they both retired. " Then came two others, one with " the rod again, the other with a falt-cellar, a plate and bread. When they had kneeled, as the others had done, and placed what was brought upon the table, they too retired, after performing the fame ceremonies that the firft had done. " At lad came an unmarried lady, (we were told me was a Countefs) and along with her a married one, bearing a tafting-knife. The form- er, who was drefled in white filk, after having proftrated herfelf three times, in the moft graceful manner, approached the table, and rubbed the plates with bread arid fait, with as much awe as if the Queen had been prefent. " When they had waited there a little while, the yeomen of the guard entered, bareheaded, cloathed in fcarlet, with a golden rofe upon their backs, bringing in, at each turn, a courfe of .twenty-four difhes ferved in plate chiefly gilt. Thefe difhes were received by a gentleman in the fame order they were brought, and placed upon She table, while the lady-tafter gave to each of the guard guard a mouthful to eat of the particular difli he had brought, for fear of any poifon. " During the time that this guard, which con- fifts of the talleft and ftouteft men, that can be found in all England, were bringing dinner, twelve trumpets, and two kettle-drums made the hall ring for half an hour together. "At the end of this ceremonial, a number of unmarried ladies appeared, who, with particular folemnity, lifted the meat off the table, and con- veyed it into the Queen's inner and more private chamber, where, after flic has chofen for her- felf, the reft goes to the ladies of the court.'* Forms were greatly regarded among the old Romans. Drelfes were appropriated to different ranks* They had lidtors, axes, bundles of rods, and other enfigns of power. Military merit was rewarded with triumphs, ovations, crowns of gold, leaves, and other decorrations. Such appearances (hike the multitude with re- fpecl and awe. They are indeed defpifed by men of plain fenfe ; but they regain their credit with philofophers. Exceflive courage, the exertion of which is vifi- t>le, was the heroifm of the laft age :" I (haft never efteem a king," faid the great Guftavus Adolphus, " who in battle does not expofe hirn- felf like a private man.'* CHAP. (' 357 ) CHAP. CIII. ON HUMAN NATURE. \inrRITERSofftfweet difpofition, and warm ^ * imagination, hold, that man is entirely a benevolent being, and that every man ought to direl his conduct for the good of all, without regarding himfelf but as one of the number.* Thofe of a cold temperament, and contracted mind, hold him to be an animal entirely felfifh ; to evince which, examples are accurnlated with- out endt. Neither' of thefe fyftems is that of nature. The felfifh fyftem is contradicted by the experience of all ages, affording the cleared evidence, that men frequently al for the fake of others, without regarding themfdves, and fometimes in direct oppofition to their own intereft. Whatever wire-drawn arguments may be urged for the felfifh fyftem, as if benevolence were but refined Jelfijhnejs, the emptinefs of fuch arguments will clearly appear when applied to children, who know no refinements. In them, the rudiments of the focial principle are no lefs vifible, than of the felfifh principle. Nothing is more common, than mutual good-will and fondnefs between chil- dren, * Lord Shaftefbury. -f Hdvemis, felren. This muft certainly be the work of na- ture ; for to reflect upon what is one's intereft, is far above the capacity of children. However much felfifhnefs may prevail in ac- tion, man cannot be entirely felfifh, when all men confpire to put a high eftimation upon generofity, benevolence, and other focial virtues. Even the moil felfifh are difgufted with felfifhnefs in others, and endeavour to hide it in themfelves. The mofl zealous patron of the felfifh principle will not venture to maintain that it renders us altogether indifferent about our fellow-creatures. Laying afide felf-intereft, with every connection of love and hatred, good fortune happening to any one gives pleafure to all, and bad fortune happening to any one is painful to all. Man is, in fact, a complex being, compofed of principles, fome benevolent, fome felfjh ; and thefe principles are fo juflly blended in his nature, as to fit him for acting a proper part in fociety. " Many moralifts," fays a judicious writer, " enter fo deeply into one paffion or bias of hu- man nature, that, to ufe the painter's phrafe, they quite overcharge it. Thus I have feen a whole fyftem of morals founded upon a fingle pillar of the inward frame ; and the entire conduct of life and all the characters in it accounted for, fome- times from fuperftition, fometimes from pride, 2 and ( 359 ) and mofl commonly from intereft. They for- get how various a creature it is they are painting ; how many fprings and weights, nicely adjufted and balanced, enter into the movement, and re- quire allowance to be made for their feveral clogs and impulfes, ere you can define its operation and effefts." THE END. ADVERTISEMENT. 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