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diff --git a/old/54524-0.txt b/old/54524-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d7a110c..0000000 --- a/old/54524-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8819 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Works of Richard Hurd, Volume 4 (of 8), by -Richard Hurd - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Works of Richard Hurd, Volume 4 (of 8) - -Author: Richard Hurd - -Release Date: April 9, 2017 [EBook #54524] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORKS OF RICHARD HURD, VOL 4 *** - - - - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Bryan Ness, Wayne Hammond and -the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned -images of public domain material from the Google Books -project.) - - - - - - - - - -[Transcriber’s Note: - -Characters preceded by a caret(^) are in superscript, and are enclosed -in curly brackets, i. e. {th}. - -Italicized text delimited by underscores. - -This project uses utf-8 encoded characters. If some characters are not -readable, check your settings of your browser to ensure you have a -default font installed that can display utf-8 characters.] - - - - - THE - - WORKS - - OF - - RICHARD HURD, D. D. - - LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER. - - VOL. IV. - - Printed by J. Nichols and Son, - Red Lion Passage, Fleet-Street, London. - - - - - THE - - WORKS - - OF - - RICHARD HURD, D. D. - - LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER. - - IN EIGHT VOLUMES. - - VOL. IV. - - [Illustration] - - LONDON: - PRINTED FOR T. CADELL AND W. DAVIES, STRAND. - 1811. - - - - - MORAL AND POLITICAL - DIALOGUES. - - VOL. II. - - - - - MORAL AND POLITICAL - - DIALOGUES, - - WITH - - LETTERS - - ON - - CHIVALRY AND ROMANCE. - - - - - CONTENTS - - OF - - THE FOURTH VOLUME. - - - Page - - DIALOGUE VI. - _On the Constitution of the - English Government._ - SIR J. MAYNARD, MR. SOMERS, BP. BURNET. 9 - - DIALOGUES VII, VIII. - _On the Uses of Foreign Travel._ - LORD SHAFTESBURY, MR. LOCKE. 85 - - XII LETTERS - _On Chivalry and Romance._ 231 - - - - -DIALOGUE VI. - -ON THE - -CONSTITUTION - -OF THE - -ENGLISH GOVERNMENT. - -BETWEEN - -SIR JOHN MAYNARD, MR. SOMERS, - -AND - -BISHOP BURNET. - - - - -DIALOGUE VI. - -ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT. - - -SIR JOHN MAYNARD, MR. SOMERS, BISHOP BURNET. - - -TO DR. TILLOTSON. - -Our next meeting at Sir JOHN MAYNARD’S was on the evening of that -day, when the war was proclaimed against _France_[1]. What the event -of it will be, is a secret in the counsels of Providence. But if the -goodness of our cause, his Majesty’s known wisdom and ability, and, -above all, the apparent zeal and firmness of all orders amongst us in -support of this great undertaking, may give a prospect of success, we -cannot, I persuade myself, but indulge in the most reasonable hopes and -expectations. - -Perhaps, the time is approaching, my dear friend, which the divine -goodness hath decreed for putting a stop to that outrageous power, -which hath been permitted for so long a course of years to afflict -the neighbouring nations. It may be, the season is now at hand, when -God will vouchsafe to plead the cause of his servants, and let this -mighty persecutor of the faithful know that he may not be suffered any -longer to trample on the sacred rights of conscience. He may be taught -to feel, that the ravages he hath committed in the fairest provinces, -and the cruelties he hath exercised on the best subjects, of his own -kingdom, have at length awakened the divine displeasure against him. -And he may live to find in our great prince (raised up, as I verily -believe, to this eminence of place and power to be the scourge of -tyrants, and the vindicator of oppressed nations) an insurmountable -bulwark against that encroaching dominion, which threatens to deform -and lay waste the rest of _Europe_. - -I have already lived to see those providences, which may encourage a -serious and good mind to believe that some great work is preparing in -our days. I was very early in my life a witness to the high measures -which were taken and carried on by an intolerant hierarchy, acting in -subserviency to an arbitrary court, in mine own country of _Scotland_. -And I have lamented the oppression in which good men were held for -conscience sake in all the three kingdoms. How far this tyranny was -carried, and how near we were brought to the destruction of all our -civil and religious rights, need not be told, and the occurrences of -the two last reigns will not suffer to be forgotten. It is sufficient -to observe, that when the danger was now brought to a crisis, and the -minds of all men were filled with the most alarming apprehensions, -it pleased God to rescue us, in a moment and by the most astonishing -display of his goodness, from the impending ruin. Our chains fell off -at once, as by a miracle of mercy. Our civil rights have been restored. -And the legal toleration[2], we have just now obtained in consequence -of the new settlement, hath put us into possession of that religious -liberty, which, as men, as Christians, and as Protestants, we cannot -but esteem the first of all public blessings. - -And who knows but that, in the gracious designs of Heaven, the same -hand which hath redeemed these nations from the yoke of slavery and -of _Rome_, may be now employed to shake it off from the necks of our -Protestant brethren on the continent[3]? The world hath seen how long -and how severely they have groaned under that intolerant power, with -which we are now at war. When the violences of the late reign had -driven me into a sort of voluntary exile, and in the course of it I -traversed some of those unhappy provinces of _France_, which were most -exposed to the rigours of persecution[4], how have these eyes wept -over the distresses of the poor sufferers, and how hath my heart bled -for the merciless cruelties which I every where saw exercised upon -them! The fury which appeared on that occasion, was so general and so -contagious, that not only priests and court sycophants, but men of -virtuous minds and generous tempers, were transported, as it were, out -of their proper nature, and seemed to divest themselves of the common -notices and principles of humanity. - -In this fiery trial it hath pleased God to exercise the faith and -virtues, and, as we may charitably hope, to correct the failings and -vices, of his poor servants. His mercy may now, in due time, be opening -a way for them to escape. And from the prosperous beginning of this -great work, what comfortable presages may we not, in all humility, form -to ourselves of still further successes? - -We have a prince on the throne exactly qualified for the execution -of this noble enterprise; of the clearest courage and magnanimity, -and a wisdom tried and perfected in that best school, of Adversity; -of dispositions the most enlarged to the service of mankind; and -even quickened by his own personal resentment of former injuries to -retaliate against their common oppressor. - -Nor can we doubt of the concurrence of his faithful subjects, who, with -one voice, have demanded the commencement of this war; and whose late -deliverance, from like circumstances of distress, may be expected to -animate their zeal in the support of it. - -And oh! that I might see the day, when our deliverer shall become, -what a bold usurper nobly figured to himself in the middle of this -century[5], the soul and conductor of the Protestant cause through all -_Europe_! and, that, as _Rome_ hath hitherto been the centre of slavish -impositions and anti-christian politics, the court of _England_ may -henceforth be the constant refuge and asylum of fainting liberty and -religion! - -But to turn from these flattering views, my good friend, to the recital -of our late conversation; which I proceed to lay before you with the -same exactness and punctuality that I did the former. You will see the -reason why I cannot promise you the same entertainment from it. - -We had no sooner come together, than Sir JOHN MAYNARD began with his -usual vivacity. - -I have been thinking, my lord, how dexterous a game I have played -with you, in this inquiry of ours into the _English_ government. What -was obvious enough in itself, and had indeed been undertaken by many -persons, I mean the vindication of our common liberties as founded in -the ancient feudal constitution, is the part I assumed to myself in -this debate; and have left it to your lordship to reconcile the FACT -to the RIGHT: which is not only the most material point of inquiry, -but the most difficult, and that which the patrons of liberty have -either less meddled with, or have less succeeded in explaining. For, -to own an unwelcome truth, however specious our claim may be to civil -liberty, the administration of government from the time of HENRY VII’s -accession to the crown, that is, for two entire centuries, has very -little agreed to this system. The regal power, throughout this period, -has been uniformly exercised in so high and arbitrary a manner, that -we can hardly believe there could be any certain foundation for the -people’s claim to a limited monarchy. Add to this, that the language of -parliaments, the decrees of lawyers, and the doctrines of divines, have -generally run in favour of the highest exertions of prerogative. So -that I cannot but be in some pain for the success of your undertaking, -and am at a loss to conjecture in what way your lordship will go about -to extricate yourself from these difficulties. - - -BP. BURNET. - -I understand, Sir John, that your intention in setting forth the -difficulties of this attempt is only, in your polite way, to enhance -the merit of it. I must not however assume too much to myself. The way -is clear and easy before me. You have conducted us very agreeably -through the rough and thorny part of our journey. You have opened the -genius of our ancient constitution. You have explained the principles -on which it was raised. All that remains for me is, only to solve -doubts, and rectify appearances; a matter of no great difficulty, when, -instead of groping in the dark, we are now got into open daylight, and -are treading in the paths of known and authentic history. - - -MR. SOMERS. - -And yet, my lord, I shall very readily acknowledge, with my Lord -Commissioner, the importance of the service. For, unless appearances be -strangely deceitful indeed, there is but too great reason to conclude, -from the recent parts of our history, either that there never was a -rightful claim in the people to civil liberty, or that they, as well -as their princes, had lost all sense of it. I doubt, the most your -lordship can make appear, is, that as our kings, from the coming of -the Tudor line, had usurped on the ancient privileges of the subject; -so the subject, at length, in our days, has, in its turn, usurped on -the undisputed and long-acknowledged prerogative of the sovereign. -In short, I doubt there is no forming a connected system on these -subjects; but that in our country, as well as in others, liberty and -prerogative have prevailed and taken the ascendant at different times, -according as either was checked or favoured by contingent circumstances. - - -BP. BURNET. - -Still Mr. Somers, I see, is on the desponding side: and with better -reason than before; since, if the difficulty be half so great as is -pretended, this change of the speaker is little favourable to the -removal of it. However, I do not despair, whether these surmises of -difficulty be real or dissembled, to clear up the whole matter to -both your satisfactions. The stress of it lies here: That, whereas -a mixed and limited government is supposed to have been the ancient -constitution in this country, the appearances, in fact, for a couple -of centuries, have been so repugnant to this notion, that either the -supposition must be given up as too hastily formed, or sufficient -reasons must be assigned for these contradictory appearances. I embrace -the latter part of this alternative without hesitation or reserve; and -pretend to lay before you such unanswerable arguments for the cause -I have undertaken, as, in better hands, might amount to a perfect -vindication of ENGLISH LIBERTY. - -I take my rise from the period which my Lord Commissioner has -prescribed to me; that is, from the accession of the TUDOR family. - -We have henceforth, indeed, a succession of high despotic princes, who -were politic and daring enough to improve every advantage against the -people’s liberties. And their peculiar characters were well suited to -the places in which we find them. HENRY VII. was wise and provident; -jealous of his authority as well as title; and fruitful in expedients -to secure both. His son and successor, who had a spirit of the largest -size, and, as one says[6], _feared nothing but the falling of the -heavens_, was admirably formed to sustain and establish that power, -which the other had assumed. And after two short reigns, which afforded -the people no opportunity of recovering their lost ground, the crown -settled on the head of a princess, who, with the united qualifications -of her father and grandfather, surpassed them both in the arts of -a winning and gracious popularity. And thus, in the compass of a -century, the prerogative was now wound up to a height, that was very -flattering to the views and inclinations of the STUART family. - -It may be further observed, that the condition of the times was such -as wonderfully conspired with the designs and dispositions of these -princes. - -A long and bloody war, that had well nigh exhausted the strength and -vitals of this country, was, at length, composed by the fortunate -successes of _Bosworth-field_. All men were desirous to breathe a -little from the rage of civil wars. And the enormous tyranny of the -prince, whose death had made way for the exaltation of the earl of -RICHMOND, was a sort of foil to the new government, and made the -rigours of it appear but moderate when set against the cruelties of the -preceding reign. - -The great change that followed, in the deliverance of the nation from -papal tyranny, and the suppression of religious houses, was a new -pretence for the extension of the royal prerogative; and the people -submitted to it with pleasure, as they saw no other way to support and -accomplish that important enterprise. - -And, lastly, the regal power, which had gained so immensely by the -rejection of the papal dominion, was carried still higher by the great -work of reformation; which being conducted by a wise and able princess, -was easily improved, on every occasion, to the advantage of the crown. - -And thus, whether we consider the characters of the persons, or the -circumstances of the times, every thing concurred to exalt the princes -of the house of TUDOR to a height of power and prerogative, which -had hitherto been unknown in _England_, and became, in the end, so -dangerous to the constitution itself. - -But you expect me, I suppose, to point to the very examples of -usurpation, I have in view, and the means by which it took effect in -the hands of these and the succeeding princes. - - -SIR J. MAYNARD. - -We do indeed expect that from your lordship. For otherwise it -will be thought that what you treat as an usurpation, was but the -genuine exercise of the regal authority; only favoured by fortunate -conjunctures, and, as you say, by great ability in the princes -themselves. - - -MR. SOMERS. - -Perhaps, still more will be expected. For it may not be enough to tell -us, what usurpations there were, or even by what means they became -successful. It should further appear, methinks, that these usurpations, -though they suspended the exercise of the people’s liberties, did not -destroy them; did not, at least, annihilate the Constitution from which -those liberties were derived. - - -BP. BURNET. - -All this will naturally come in our way, as we go along. And, since you -will have me usurp the chair on this occasion, and, like the princes I -am speaking of, take to myself an authority to which I have no right, -let me presume a little on my new dignity; and, in what follows, -discourse to you, as our manner is, without interruption or reply. - - -SIR J. MAYNARD. - -This, it must be owned, is carrying the prerogative of the chair to -its utmost height. But, if we submit to it in other places, is it -reasonable you should require us to do so here? Besides, your lordship -forgets that I am too old to be a patient hearer. And Mr. SOMERS too— - - -MR. SOMERS. - -I can engage, in this instance, for passive obedience. And my lord, -perhaps, does not insist on the full extent of his prerogative. It -is fit, however, we attend with reverence, while such an advocate is -pleading in such a cause. - - -BP. BURNET. - -I was saying, that all your demands would be satisfied, as I went along -in this discourse. It is true, an attentive reader of our history, who -considers what is said of the mixed frame of our government, and the -struggles that were occasioned by it, is surprised to find that these -contentions at once subsided on the accession of the house of TUDOR; -and that the tenour of the government thenceforth for many successions -is as calm, and the popular influence as small, as in the most absolute -and despotic forms. This appearance tempts him to conclude, that the -crown had at length redeemed itself from a forced, unconstitutional -servitude; and that, far from usurping on the people, it only returned -to the exercise of its old and acknowledged rights. For otherwise it -will be said, how could the people at once become so insensible, and -their representatives in parliament so tame, as to bear with the most -imperious of their princes without reluctance; they, who had resented -much smaller matters from the gentlest and the best? - -But those, who talk in this strain, have not considered, that there -were some circumstances in the state of things, from the time we are -speaking of, that DISABLED the nation from insisting, and many more -that INDISPOSED them to insist, on their ancient and undoubted rights. - -I took notice, that the ruinous contentions of the two houses of YORK -and LANCASTER, from which the nation was at last delivered by the -accession of HENRY VII. disposed all men to submit with satisfaction -to the new government. Such a conjuncture was favourable, of itself, -to the increase of the regal power. But the truth is, there was little -danger of any successful opposition to the crown, if the nation had -been ever so ill inclined towards it. The great lords or barons were, -in former days, both by the feudal constitution, and by the vast -property they had in their hands, the proper and only check on the -sovereign. These had been either cut off, or so far weakened at least -by the preceding civil wars, that the danger seemed entirely over from -that quarter. The politic king was aware of his advantage, and improved -it to admiration. One may even affirm, that this was the sole object of -his government. - -For the greater security, and majesty of his person, he began with the -institution of his LIFEGUARD. And having thus set out with enlarging -his own train, his next care was to diminish that of his nobles. -Hence the law, or rather laws (for, as Lord BACON observes, there was -scarcely a parliament through his whole reign which passed without -an act to that purpose) against RETAINERS. And with how jealous a -severity he put those laws into execution, is sufficiently known from -his treatment of one of his principal friends and servants, the earl of -OXFORD[7]. - -It was also with a view to this depression of the nobility, that the -court Of STAR-CHAMBER was considered so much, and confirmed by act -of parliament in his reign: “That which was principally aimed at by -it being, as his historian frankly owns, FORCE, and the two chief -supports of Force, COMBINATION OF MULTITUDES, and maintenance of -HEADSHIP OF GREAT PERSONS.” - -To put them still lower in the public estimation, he affected to fill -the great offices with churchmen only. And it was perhaps, as much to -awe the nation by the terror of his prerogative as to fill his coffers, -that he executed the penal laws with so merciless a rigour on the very -greatest of his subjects. - -Still further to prevent the possibility of a return, in any future -period, of the patrician power, this politic prince provided with great -care for the encouragement of trade, and the distribution of property. -Both which ends were effected at once by that famous act, which was -made to secure and facilitate the alienation of estates by fine and -proclamation. - -All these measures, we see, were evidently taken by the king to -diminish the credit and suppress the influence of his nobles; and of -consequence, as he thought, to exalt the power of the crown above -control, if not in his own, yet in succeeding ages. And his policy had -this effect for some time; though in the end it served, beside his -expectation, to advance another and more formidable power, at that -time little suspected or even thought of, the POWER OF THE PEOPLE[8]. - -The truth is, HENRY’s policy was every way much assisted by the genius -of the time. Trade was getting up: and Lollardism had secretly made its -way into the hearts of the people. And, though _liberty_ was in the end -to reap the benefit of each, _prerogative_ was the immediate gainer. -Commerce, in proportion to its growth, brought on the decline of the -feudal, that is, aristocratic power of the barons: and the authority of -the church, that other check on the sovereign, was gradually weakened -by the prevailing spirit of reformation. - -Under these circumstances, HENRY found it no difficulty to depress his -great lords; and he did it so effectually, that his son had little -else left him to do, but to keep them down in that weak and disabled -state, to which his father had reduced them. ‘Tis true, both he and -his successors went further. They never thought themselves secure -enough from the resistance of their old enemies, the barons[9]; and -so continued, by every method of artifice and rapine, to sink them -much lower than even the safety of their own state required. But the -effects of this management did not appear till long afterwards. For the -present, the crown received a manifest advantage by this conduct. - -There was, besides, another circumstance of great moment attending the -government of the younger HENRY. He was the first heir of the white and -red roses: so that there was now an end of all dispute and disaffection -in the people. And they had so long and so violently contended about -the title to the crown, that, when that mighty point was once settled, -they did not readily apprehend that any other consideration deserved, -or could justify, resistance to their sovereign. - -With these advantages of situation, HENRY VIII. brought with him to the -throne a spirit of that firm and steady temper as was exactly fitted -to break the edge of any rising opposition. Besides the confidence of -youth, he was of a nature so elate and imperious, so resolved and -fearless[10], that no resistance could succeed, hardly any thought of -it could be entertained against him. The commons, who had hitherto been -unused to treat with their kings but by the mediation of the great -lords, being now pushed into the presence, were half discountenanced in -the eye of majesty; and durst scarcely look up to the throne, much less -dispute the prerogatives with which so awful a prince was thought to be -invested. - -And when the glaring abuse of his power, as in the exaltation of -that great instrument of his tyranny, WOLSEY, seemed afterwards to -provoke the people to some more vigorous resolutions, a singular event -happened, which not only preserved his greatness, but brought a further -increase to it. This was the famous rupture with the court of _Rome_: -in consequence of which, the yoke of papal usurpations, that yoke under -which our kings had groaned for so many ages, was in a moment broken -off, and the crown restored to its full and perfect independency. - -Nor was this all. The throne did not only stand by itself, as having no -longer a dependence on the papal chair. It rose still higher, and was, -in effect, erected upon it. For the ecclesiastical jurisdiction was not -annihilated, but transferred; and all the powers of the _Roman_ pontiff -now centered in the king’s person. Henceforth then we are to regard him -in a more awful point of view; as armed with both swords at once; and, -as NAT. BACON expresses it in his way, as a strange kind of monster, “A -king with a pope in his belly[11].” - -The remainder of his reign shews that he was politic enough to make -the best use of what his passions had brought on, and thus far -accomplished. For though the nation wished, and, without doubt, hoped -to go much further, the king’s quarrel was rather with the court, than -the church of _Rome_. And the high authority in spirituals, which he -had gained, enabled him to hold all men, who either feared or desired a -further reformation, in the most entire dependence. - -In the mean time, the nation rejoiced with great reason at its -deliverance from a foreign tyranny: and the lavish distribution of -that wealth, which flowed into the king’s coffers from the suppressed -monasteries, procured a ready submission, from the great and powerful, -to the king’s domestic tyranny. - -In a word, every thing contributed to the advancement of the regal -power; and, in that, to the completion of the great designs of -Providence. The amazing revolution, which had just happened, was, at -all events, to be supported: and thus, partly by fear, and partly by -interest, the parliament went along with the king, in all his projects; -and, beyond the example of former times, was constantly obsequious -to him, even in the most capricious and inconsistent measures of his -government. - -And thus matters, in a good degree, continued till the accession of -Queen ELIZABETH. It is true, the weak administration of a minor king, -and a disputed title at his death, occasioned some disorders. But the -majesty of the crown itself was little impaired by these bustles; and -it even acquired fresh glory on the head of our renowned Protestant -princess. - -For that astonishing work of reformation, so happily entered upon by -HENRY, and carried on by his son, was after a short interruption -(which only served to prove and animate the zeal of good men) brought -at length by her to its final establishment. The intolerable abuses -and shameless corruptions of popery were now so notorious to all the -world, and the spirit of reformation, which had been secretly working -since the days of WICKLIFF, had now spread itself so generally through -the nation, that nothing but an entire renunciation of the doctrine -and discipline of the church of _Rome_ could be expected. And, by the -happiest providence, the queen was as much obliged by the interest of -her government and the security of her title, as by her own unshaken -principles, to concur with the dispositions of her subjects. - -Thus, in the end, Protestantism prevailed, and obtained a legal and -fixed settlement. But to maintain it, when made, against the combined -powers that threatened its destruction, the crown on which so much -depended, was to be held up in all its splendor to the eyes of our own -and foreign nations. Hence the height of prerogative in ELIZABETH’s -days, the submission of parliaments, and, I may almost say, the -prostration of the people. - -And when this magnanimous princess, as well by her vast spirit and -personal virtues, as the constant successes of her long reign, had -derived the highest dignity and authority on the _English_ sceptre, it -passed into the hands of the elder JAMES; who brought something more -with him than a good will, the accession of a great kingdom, and the -opinion of deep wisdom, to enable him to wield it. - -What followed in his and the succeeding reigns, I need not be at -the pains to recount to you. These things are too recent for me to -dwell upon: and you, my Lord Commissioner, do not only remember them -perfectly, but have yourself acted a great part in most of them. Allow -me only to say, that from this brief history of the regal authority, -and the means by which it arrived at so unusual a greatness, it is no -wonder that the STUART family were somewhat dazzled by the height to -which they were raised, and that more than half a century was required -to correct, if it ever did correct, the high but false notions they had -entertained of the imperial dignity. - - -SIR J. MAYNARD. - -If you permit me, at last, to break in at the opening which this -conclusion of your discourse seems to give me; I would say, That, on -your principles, the house of STUART had great reason for the high -notions you ascribe to them. For what other conclusion could they make, -but that a power, which had domineered for so long a time, and that -by the full allowance of parliament and people, was, both in fact and -right, absolute and uncontrolable? - - -BP. BURNET. - -It is certain, the STUART family did draw that conclusion. But a great -deal too hastily; as may appear from your own observation, that the -exercise of this extraordinary power was committed, or more properly -indulged to them, by the people. This is so strictly true, that from -the first to the last of the TUDOR line, imperious and despotic as -they were of their own nature, no extraordinary stretch of power was -ventured upon by any of them, but under the countenance and protection -of an act of parliament. Hence it was, that the STAR-CHAMBER, though -the jurisdiction of this court had the authority of the common law, was -confirmed by statute; that the proceedings of EMPSON and DUDLEY had the -sanction of parliament; that HENRY the VIIIth’s supremacy, and all acts -of power dependent upon it, had the same foundation: in a word, that -every thing, which wore the face of an absolute authority in the king, -was not in virtue of any supposed inherent prerogative in the crown, -but the special grant of the subject. No doubt, this compliance, and -particularly if we consider the lengths to which it was carried, may -be brought to prove the obsequious and even abject dispositions of the -times; though we allow a great deal, as I think we should, to prudence -and good policy. But then the parliaments, by taking care to make -every addition to the crown their OWN PROPER ACT, left their kings no -pretence to consider themselves as absolute and independent. - - -MR. SOMERS. - -I doubt, considering the slavish disposition of the times, that, if -the people still possessed a shew of liberty, this advantage was owing -to the pure condescension of the crown, and not to their own policy. A -king that could obtain of his parliament to have his proclamations pass -for laws[12], might have ventured on this step without the concurrence -of parliament. - - -BP. BURNET. - -I acknowledge the act you glance at was of an extraordinary kind; -and might seem, by implication at least, to deliver up the entire -legislative authority into the hands of the sovereign. But there is a -wide difference between the crown’s usurping this strange power, and -the parliament’s bestowing it. The case was (and nothing could be more -fortunate for the nation) that at the time when the people were least -able to controul their prince, their prince’s affairs constrained him -to court his people. For the rejection of the papal power and the -reformation of religion were things of that high nature, and so full -of hazard, that no expedient was to be overlooked, which tended to -make the execution of these projects safe or easy. Hence it was, that -no steps were taken by the crown but with the consent and approbation -of the two houses. And if these were compelled by the circumstances -of their situation to favour their prince’s interest or caprice by -absurd and inconsistent compliances, this benefit at least they -drew to themselves, that their power by that means would appear the -greater and more unquestionable. For what indeed could display the -omnipotency of parliaments more than their being called in to make and -unmake the measures of government, and give a sanction, as it were, to -contradictions? Of which there cannot be a stronger instance than the -changes they made from time to time, as HENRY VIII’s passions swayed -him, in the rule of succession. - -Thus we see that, through the entire reigns of the house of TUDOR, -that is, the most despotic and arbitrary of our princes, the forms -of liberty were still kept up, and the constitution maintained, even -amidst the advantages of all sorts which offered for the destruction of -both. The parliament indeed was obsequious, was servile, was directed, -if you will; but every proceeding was authorised and confirmed by -parliament. The king in the mean time found himself at his ease; -perhaps believed himself absolute, and considered his application to -parliaments as an act of mere grace and popular condescension. At -least, after so long experience of their submission, the elder JAMES -certainly thought himself at liberty to entertain this belief of them. -But he was the first of our princes that durst avow this belief plainly -and openly. He was stimulated, no doubt, to this usurpation of power -in _England_, by the memory of his former subjection, of servitude -rather, to the imperious church of _Scotland_. But this was not all. -Succeeding to so fair a patrimony as that of a mighty kingdom, where -little or no opposition had been made for some reigns to the will of -the sovereign; to a kingdom too, securely settled in the possession -of its favoured religion, which had occasioned all the dangers, and -produced all the condescension, of the preceding princes; bringing, -besides, with him to the succession, an undisputed title and the -additional splendor of another crown; all these advantages meeting -in his person at that point of time, he ventured to give way to his -natural love of dominion, and told the people to their face, that the -pretended rights of their parliaments were but the free gifts and -graces of their kings: that every high point of government, that is, -every point which he chose to call by that name, was wrapt up in the -awful mystery of his prerogative: and, in a word, that “it was sedition -for them to dispute what a king may do in the height of his power[13].” - -Such, you know, was the language, the public language to his -parliaments, of JAMES THE FIRST. But these pretences, which might have -been suffered perhaps, or could not have been opposed, under the TUDOR -line, were unluckily out of season, and would not pass on a people who -knew their own rights, had saved to themselves the exercise of them, -and came now at length to feel and understand their importance. For, -as I before observed, the principal cause that had lifted the crown so -high, was the depression of the barons. The great property which had -made them so formidable, was dispersed into other hands. The nobility -were therefore too low to give any umbrage to the crown. But the -commons were rising apace; and in a century had grown to that height, -that on the accession of the _Scotch_ family, the point of time when -the new king dreamed of nothing but absolute sovereignty[14], they were -now in a condition to assert the public liberty, and, as the event -shewed but too soon, to snatch the sceptre itself out of their king’s -hands. - -However, in that interval of the dormant power of the commons it -was, that the prerogative made the largest shoots, till in the end -it threatened to overshadow law and liberty. And, though the general -reason is to be sought in the humiliation of the church, the low estate -of the barons, and the unexerted, because as yet unfelt, greatness of -the commons, the solution will be defective if we stop here. For the -regal authority, so limited by the ancient constitution, and by the -continued use of parliaments, could never in this short space have -advanced itself beyond all bounds, if other reasons had not co-operated -with the state of the people; if some more powerful and special causes -had not conspired to throw round the person of the sovereign those rays -of sacred opinion, which are the real strength as well as gilding of a -crown. - -Of these I have occasionally mentioned several; such as “the personal -character and virtues of the princes themselves; the high adventurous -designs in which they were engaged; the interest, the people found -or promised to themselves in supporting their power; the constant -successes of their administration; and the unremitting spirit and -vigour with which it was carried on and maintained.” All these -considerations could not but dispose the people to look up with -reverence to a crown, which presented nothing to their view but what -was fitted to take their admiration, or imprint esteem. Yet all these -had failed of procuring to majesty that profound submission which -was paid to it, or of elevating the prince to that high conceit of -independency which so thoroughly possessed the imagination of King -JAMES, if an event of a very singular nature, and big with important -consequences, had not given the proper occasion to both. - - -SIR J. MAYNARD. - -I understand you to mean the overthrow of the papal dominion, which -had so long eclipsed the majesty of our kings; and held them in a -state of vassalage, not only to the triple crown, but, which was more -disgraceful, to the mitre of their own subjects. - - -BP. BURNET. - -Rather understand me to mean, what was indeed the consequence of that -event, THE TRANSLATION OF THE POPE’S SUPREMACY TO THE KING. This, as -I take it, was the circumstance of all others which most favoured -the sudden growth of the imperial power in this nation. And because -I do not remember to have seen it enlarged upon as it deserves, -give me leave to open to you, somewhat copiously, the nature of -this newly-acquired headship, and the numerous advantages which the -prerogative received from it. - -The PAPAL SUPREMACY, as it had been claimed and exercised in this -kingdom, was a power of the highest nature. It controlled every rank -and order in the state, and, in effect, laid the prince and people -together at the mercy of the _Roman_ pontiff. There is no need to -recount the several branches of this usurped authority. It is enough to -say, that it was transcendant in all respects that could in any sense -be taken to concern religion. And who, that has looked into the papal -story, needs be told that, by a latitude of interpretation, every thing -was construed to be a religious concern, by which the pope’s power or -interest could be affected? - -Under the acknowledgment then of this super-eminent dominion, no steps -could possibly be taken towards the reformation of religion, or even -the assertion of the just rights and privileges of the crown. But the -people were grown to have as great a zeal for the former of these -considerations, as the king for the latter. And in this juncture it -was, that HENRY, in a sudden heat, threw off the supremacy; which the -parliament, to prevent its return to the pope, very readily invested in -the king. - -There was something so daring, and, according to the prejudices of that -time, so presumptuous and even prophane, in this attempt to transfer -the spiritual headship to a secular power, that the pope himself -little apprehended, and nothing but the king’s dauntless temper could -have assured, the success of it. The repugnancy which the parliament -themselves found in their own notions betwixt the exercise of the -spiritual and temporal power, was the reason perhaps for inserting in -the act of supremacy those qualifying clauses, we find in it[15]. - - -MR. SOMERS. - -It is possible, as you say, that the parliament might be at a loss -to adjust in their own minds the precise bounds of the spiritual -jurisdiction, as united to the civil, in the king’s person. Yet, in -virtue of these clauses, the regal supremacy was, in fact, restrained -and limited by act of parliament: and the import of them was clearly to -assert the independency of the crown on any foreign judicature, and not -to confer it in the extent in which it was claimed and exercised by the -see of _Rome_. - - -BP. BURNET. - -It is true, that no more was expressed, or perhaps intended, in this -act. But the question is, how the matter was understood by the people -at large, and in particular by the king himself and his flatterers. -Now it seems to me that this transfer of the supremacy would be taken -for a solemn acknowledgment, not only of the ancient encroachments and -usurpations of the papacy, but of the king’s right to succeed to all -the powers of it. And I conclude this from the nature of the thing -itself, from the current notions of the time, and from the sequel of -the king’s government. - -If we attend to the nature of the complaints which the kingdom was -perpetually making, in the days of popery, of the _Roman_ usurpations, -we shall find that they did not so much respect these usurpations -themselves, as the person claiming and enjoying them. The grievance -was, that appeals should be made to _Rome_; that provisions should come -from thence; in a word, that all causes should be carried to a foreign -tribunal, and that such powers should be exercised over the subjects -of this realm by a foreign jurisdiction. The complaint was, that the -pope exercised these powers; and not that the powers themselves were -exercised. So, on the abolition of this supremacy, the act that placed -it in the person of the king, would naturally be taken to transfer -upon him all the privileges and pre-eminencies, which had formerly -belonged to it. And thus, though the act was so properly drawn as to -make a difference in the two cases, yet the people at large, and much -more the king himself, would infer from the concession, “that the pope -had usurped his powers on the crown;” that therefore the crown had now -a right to those powers. And the circumstance of this translation’s -passing by act of parliament, does not alter the matter much, with -regard to the king’s notion of it. For in that time of danger, and for -the greater security of his new power, he would chuse to have that -ratified and confirmed by statute, which he firmly believed inherent in -his person and dignity. - -Then, to see how far the current opinions of that time were favourable -to the extension of the regal authority, on this alliance with the -papal, we are to reflect, that, however odious the administration of -the pope’s supremacy was become, most men had very high notions of the -plenitude of his power, and the sacredness of his person. “CHRIST’S -vicar upon earth” was an awful title, and had sunk deep into the -astonished minds of the people. And though HENRY’s pretensions went no -further than to assume that vicarial authority within his own kingdom, -yet this limitation would not hinder them from conceiving of him, -much in the same way as of the pope himself. They, perhaps, had seen -no difference, but for his want of the pope’s _sacerdotal_ capacity. -Yet even this defect was, in some measure[16], made up to him by his -_regal_. So that between the majesty of the kingly character, and -the consecration of his person by this mysterious endowment of the -spiritual, it is easy to see how well prepared the minds of men were, -to allow him the exercise of any authority to which he pretended. - -And to what degree this spiritual character of head of the church -operated in the minds of the people, we may understand from the -language of men in still later times, and even from the articles of our -church, where the prerogative of the crown is said to be that which -GODLY KINGS have always exercised: intimating that this plenitude -of power was inherent in the king, on account of that _spiritual -and religious_ character, with which, as head of the church, he was -necessarily invested. The illusion, as gross as we may now think it, -was but the same as that which blinded the eyes of the greatest and -wisest people in the old world. For was it not just in the same manner, -that by the policy of the _Roman_ emperors in assuming the office of -_pontifex maximus_, that is, incorporating the religious with their -civil character, not only their authority became the more awful, but -their _persons_ sacred? - -We see then, as I said, how conveniently the minds of men were prepared -to acquiesce in HENRY’s usurped prerogative. And it is well known that -this prince was not of a temper to balk their expectations. The sequel -of his reign shews that he took himself to be invested with the whole -ecclesiastical power, legislative as well as executive; nay, that he -was willing to extend his acknowledged right of supremacy even to the -ancient papal infallibility, as appears from his sovereign decisions in -all matters of faith and doctrine. It is true the parliament was ready -enough to go before, or at least to follow, the head of the church in -all these decisions. But the reason is obvious. And I need not repeat -to you in what light the king regarded their compliance with him. - - -MR. SOMERS. - -It is very likely, for these reasons, that the king would draw to -himself much authority and reverence, at least, from his new title of -supremacy. But it does not, I think, appear that the supremacy had all -that effect on the people’s rights and the ancient constitution, which -your lordship’s argument requires you to ascribe to it. - - -BP. BURNET. - -I brought these general considerations only to shew the reverend -opinion which of course would be entertained of this mixt person, THE -SUPREME HEAD OF THE CHURCH, compounded of a king and a pope; and how -natural a foundation it was for the superstructure of despotic power in -all its branches. But I now hasten to the particulars which demonstrate -that this use was actually made of that title. - -And, first, let me observe, that it gave birth to that great and -formidable court of the HIGH-COMMISSION; which brought so mighty an -accession of power to the crown, that, as experience afterwards shewed, -no security could be had for the people’s liberties, till it was -totally abolished. The necessity of the times was a good plea for the -first institution of so dangerous a tribunal. The restless endeavours -of papists and puritans against the ecclesiastical establishment gave -a colour for the continuance of it. But, as all matters that regarded -religion or conscience were subjected to its sole cognizance and -inspection, it was presently seen how wide an entrance it gave to the -most tyrannical usurpations. - -It was, further, natural that the king’s power in civil causes should -keep pace with his authority in spiritual. And, fortunately for the -advancement of his prerogative, there was already erected within the -kingdom another court of the like dangerous nature, of ancient date, -and venerable estimation, under the name of the court of STAR-CHAMBER; -which brought every thing under the direction of the crown that could -not so properly be determined in the high-commission. These were the -two arms of absolute dominion; which, at different times, and under -different pretences, were stretched forth to the oppression of every -man that presumed to oppose himself to the royal will or pleasure. The -star-chamber had been kept, in former times, within some tolerable -bounds; but the high and arbitrary proceedings of the other court, -which were found convenient for the further purpose of reformation, and -were therefore constantly exercised, and as constantly connived at by -the parliament, gave an easy pretence for advancing the star-chamber’s -jurisdiction so far, that in the end its tyranny was equally -intolerable as that of the high-commission. - -Thus the king’s authority in all cases, spiritual and temporal, was -fully established, and in the highest sense of which the words are -capable. Our kings themselves so understood it; and when afterwards -their parliaments shewed a disposition to interfere in any thing -relating either to church or state, they were presently reprimanded; -and sternly required not to meddle with what concerned their -prerogative royal and their high points of government. Instances of -this sort were very frequent in ELIZABETH’S reign, when the commons -were getting up, and the spirit of liberty began to exert itself in -that assembly. The meaning of all this mysterious language was, that -the royal pleasure was subject to no control, but was to be left to -take its free course under the sanction of these two supreme courts, to -which the cognizance of all great matters was committed. - -This, one would think, were sufficient to satisfy the ambition of our -kings. But they went further, and still under the wing of their beloved -supremacy. - -The parliament were not so tame, or the king’s grace did not require -it of them, to divest themselves entirely, though it was much checked -and restrained by these courts, of their legislative capacity. But -the crown found a way to ease itself of this curb, if at any time it -should prove troublesome to it. This was by means of the DISPENSING -POWER; which, in effect, vacated all laws at once, further than it -pleased the king to countenance and allow them. And for so enormous a -stretch of power (which, being rarely exercised, was the less minded) -there was a ready pretence from the papal privileges and pre-eminencies -to which the crown had succeeded. For this most invidious of all the -claims of prerogative had been indisputable in the church; and it -had been nibbled at by some of our kings, in former times, from the -contagious authority of the pope’s example, even without the pretence -which the supremacy in spirituals now gave for it. - -The exercise of this power, in the popes themselves, was thought so -monstrous, that MATTHEW PARIS honestly complains of it in his time, -as _extinguishing all justice_—EXTINGUIT OMNEM JUSTICIAM[17]. And on -another occasion, I remember, he goes so far, in a spirit of prophecy, -almost, as to tell us the ill use that hereafter kings themselves might -be tempted to make of it[18]. His prediction was verified very soon: -for HENRY III. learned this lesson of tyranny, and put it in practice. -On which occasion one of his upright judges could not help exclaiming, -CIVILIS CURIA EXEMPLO ECCLESIASTICÆ CONQUINATUR[19]. And afterwards, -we know, HENRY VII. claimed and exercised this dispensing power in -the case of sheriffs, contrary to act of parliament[20]. It was early -indeed in his reign, and when the state of his affairs was thought to -give a colour to it. - -I mention these things to shew, that since the pope’s example had -been so infectious in former times, it would now be followed very -resolutely, when the translation of the very supremacy, from which it -had sprung, seemed to justify it. And we have a remarkable instance -in ELIZABETH’S reign, by which it may appear that this prerogative -was publickly and solemnly avowed. For upon some scandal taken by the -popish party upon pretence that the book of consecration of bishops was -not established by law, the queen made no scruple to declare by her -letters-patent, that she had, by her supreme authority, dispensed with -all causes or doubts of any imperfection or disability in the persons -of the bishops. My learned friend, Dr. STILLINGFLEET, in commenting -this case, acknowledges the very truth. “It was customary,” says he, -“in the pope’s bulls, to put in such kind of clauses; and therefore she -would omit no power in that case to which the pope had pretended[21].” - -And it is in this dispensing spirit that JAMES I, having delivered it -for a maxim of state, “that the king is above law,” goes on to affirm, -in one of his favourite works, that general laws, made publickly in -parliament, may, upon known respects to the king, by his authority be -mitigated and SUSPENDED upon causes only known to him[22]. - -We perceive the ground of that claim, which was carried so high by the -princes of the house of STUART, and, as we have just seen, brought -on the ruin of the last of them. And to how great a degree this -prerogative of the dispensing power had at length possessed the minds -even of the common lawyers, (partly from some scattered examples of -it in former times, and partly from reasons of expediency in certain -junctures, but principally from the inveteracy of this notion of the -papal supremacy) we had an alarming proof in HALE’S case, when eleven -out of the twelve judges declared for it. - - -SIR J. MAYNARD. - -Your lordship has indeed shewn that the poison of the papal supremacy -began to work very fatally. If this blessed revolution had not -happened, what could have been expected but that the next step would -be, to set the crown above all divine as well as human law? And -methinks, after such a judgment in _Westminster-Hall_, it could not be -surprising if another set of men had served the king, in the office of -the pope’s janissaries, and maintained his right of dispensing with -the gospel itself[23], as well as the statute-book. - - -MR. SOMERS. - -I must needs think, Sir JOHN, you are a little severe, not to say -unjust, in this insinuation; for which the churchmen of our days have -surely given you no reason. And as for the reverend judges, methinks my -lord of _Salisbury_ might be allowed to expose their determination, at -the same time that he so candidly accounts for it. - - -BP. BURNET. - -I perceive, my Lord Commissioner, with all his goodness and moderation, -is a little apt to surmise the worst of our order. But I will try to -reconcile him to it; and it shall be in the way he most likes, by -making a frank confession of our infirmities. - -For another source of the regal dominion in latter times, and still -springing from out of the rock of supremacy (which followed and -succoured the court-prerogative, wherever it went, just as the rock -of MOSES, the _Rabbins_ say, journeyed with the _Jewish_ camp, and -refreshed it in all its stations) was the opinion taken up and -propagated by churchmen, from the earliest æra of the Reformation, -concerning the irresistible power of kings, and the PASSIVE OBEDIENCE -that is due to it. - - -SIR. J. MAYNARD. - -Aye, there it is, I am afraid, that we are principally to look for the -origin of the high pretences of our kings to absolute government. - - -BP. BURNET. - -I shall dissemble no part of the clergy’s blame on this occasion; and -there is the less need, if I were ever so tender of their reputation, -as their inducements to preach up this doctrine were neither slight in -themselves, nor unfriendly to the public interest. - -It cannot be doubted that the churchmen especially, both by interest -and principle, would be closely connected with the new head of the -church. Their former subjection in spirituals to the papal authority -would of itself create a prejudice in favour of it, as now residing -in the king’s person. And the disposal of bishopricks and other great -preferments being now entirely in the crown, they would of course, you -will say, be much addicted to his service. - -But these were not the sole, or even the principal, reasons that -induced so wise and so disinterested persons, as our first reformers, -to exalt the royal prerogative. They were led into this pernicious -practice by the most excusable of all motives, in their situation, an -immoderate zeal against popery. - -It is true, a very natural prejudice mixed itself with their other -reasonings. “The crown had been declared supreme, and to have chief -government of all estates of this realm, and in all causes.” And, -though this declaration was levelled only against the pretensions of -every foreign, and particularly the papal power, yet, the clergy were -given to conceive of it as a general proposition. The reason was, that -the people, from whom the just right of supremacy is derived, having, -at this juncture, not yet attained the consideration, which the nobles -had lost, they forwardly concluded, that if the royal estate were -independent of the pope, it was unquestionably so of every other power. -They could not, on the sudden, be brought to think so reverendly of the -poor people, even in their representatives, as to allow that they had -any pretension to restrain their sovereign. - - -SIR J. MAYNARD. - -I could swear to the truth of this account. One of the popes, I forget -which, is said to have called the deputies of the third estate in -_France_, on a certain occasion, NEBULONES EX FÆCE PLEBIS[24]. And -though that might not be the language of churchmen in England, at this -time, it was not far, perhaps, from expressing their sentiments. It is -certain, they soon taught their princes, who put themselves to school -to the hierarchy[25], to talk in this strain; as appears from many of -ELIZABETH’S and JAMES’S speeches to the commons. - - -BP. BURNET. - -Something of this sort, I grant you, but not in the degree you put it, -might have an influence on the political reasonings of the clergy. -But their zeal for reformation was what prevailed with them most, and -carried them furthest into these notions. It is something curious to -see how this happened. - -HENRY’S usurpation of the supremacy, as it was called at _Rome_, -appeared so prodigious a crime to all good Catholics, that no -severities were great enough to inflict upon him for it. Their writers -proceeded to strange lengths. Even our cardinal POLE so far forgot the -greatness of his quality, and the natural mildness of his temper, as to -exceed the bounds of decency, in his invectives against him. And when -afterwards, in right of this assumed headship, the crown went so far as -to reject the authority of the church as well as court of Rome, all -the thunders of the Vatican were employed against this invader of the -church’s prerogative. The pope, in his extreme indignation, threatened -to depose EDWARD. He did put his threat in execution against ELIZABETH. -Yet, in spite of religious prejudices, this was esteemed so monstrous -a stretch of power, and so odious to all Christian princes, that the -jesuits thought it expedient, by all means, to soften the appearance -of it. One of their contrivances was, by searching into the origin -of civil power; which they brought rightly, though for this wicked -purpose, from the people. For they concluded, that, if the regal power -could be shewn to have no divine right, but to be of human and even -popular institution, the liberty, which the pope took in deposing -kings, would be less invidious. Thus the jesuits reasoned on the -matter. The argument was pushed with great vigour by HARDING and his -brethren in ELIZABETH’S reign, but afterwards with more learning and -address by BELLARMINE, MARIANA, and others[26]. - -To combat this dangerous position, so prejudicial to the power of -kings, and which was meant to justify all attempts of violence on the -lives of heretical princes, the Protestant divines went into the other -extreme; and, to save the person of their sovereign, preached up the -doctrine of DIVINE RIGHT. HOOKER, superior to every prejudice, followed -the truth. But the rest of our reforming and reformed divines stuck to -the other opinion; which, as appears from the HOMILIES, the INSTITUTION -OF A CHRISTIAN MAN, and the general stream of writings in those -days, became the opinion of the church, and was indeed the received -Protestant doctrine. - -And thus unhappily arose in the church of England that pernicious -system of divine indefeasible right of kings: broached indeed by the -clergy, but not from those corrupt and temporizing views to which it -has been imputed. The authority of those venerable men, from whom -it was derived, gave it a firm and lasting hold on the minds of the -clergy: And being thought to receive a countenance from the general -terms, in which obedience to the civil magistrate is ordained in -scripture, it has continued to our days, and may, it is feared, still -continue, to perplex and mislead the judgments of too many amongst us. - -Yet it could hardly have kept its ground against so much light and -evidence as has been thrown at different times on this subject[27], -but for an unlucky circumstance attending the days of reformation. -This was, the growth of puritanism and the republican spirit; which, -in order to justify its attack on the legal constitutional rights of -the crown, adopted the very same principles with the jesuited party. -And under these circumstances it is not to be thought strange that -a principle, however true, which was disgraced by coming through -such hands, should be generally condemned and execrated. The crown -and mitre had reason to look upon both these sorts of men as their -mortal enemies. What wonder then they should unite in reprobating -the political tenets, on which their common enmity was justified and -supported? - -This I take to be the true account of what the friends of liberty so -often object to us, “That the despotism of our later princes has been -owing to the slavish doctrines of the clergy.” The charge, so far as -there is any colour for it, is not denied: and yet I should hope to -see it urged against us with less acrimony, if it were once understood -on what grounds these doctrines were taken up, and for what purposes -they were maintained by the clergy. - - -MR. SOMERS. - -Besides the candour of this acknowledgment, the part, which our clergy -have lately acted, is, methinks, enough to abate and correct those hard -sentiments, which, as you say, have been entertained against them. - - -SIR J. MAYNARD. - -This apology seems indeed the best that can be made for them. But -when one considers the baleful tendency of those doctrines, which -were calculated to enslave the very souls and consciences of men, -and by advancing princes into the rank of gods, to abet and justify -their tyranny, one cannot help feeling a strong resentment against the -teachers of them, however they might themselves be imposed upon by -several colourable pretences. Your lordship knows, I might proceed to -further and still harder reflexions. But I have no pretence to indulge -in them at this time, when a bishop is pleading so warmly in the cause -of liberty. - - -BP. BURNET. - -This tenderness to your friends, Sir JOHN, is very obliging. But I -would willingly engage your candour, in behalf of our order. Let me -presume, for such a purpose, to second Mr. SOMERS’S observation, “That -the English clergy have at length atoned, in some measure, for former -miscarriages.” - - -SIR J. MAYNARD. - -By their behaviour in a late critical conjuncture: and yet, to speak my -mind frankly, the merit of their services, even on that occasion, is a -little equivocal, when one reflects how unwilling they seemed to take -the alarm, till they were roused, at length, by their own immediate -object, the church’s danger! - - -BP. BURNET. - -And can you wonder that what concerned them most, what they best -understood, and was their proper and peculiar charge, should engage -their principal attention? Besides, they went on principle, and with -reason too, in supposing that no slight or partial breaches of law -were sufficient to authorise resistance to the magistrate[28]. But -when a general attack was made upon it, and the dispensing power was -set up in defiance of all law, and to manifest the subversion of -the constitution, the clergy were then as forward as any others to -signalize themselves in the common cause of liberty. - - -SIR J. MAYNARD. - -Their old favourite doctrine of _non-resistance_ was, I doubt, at -the bottom of this cautious proceeding. But it was high time for -them to lay it aside, when they saw it employed as the ready way for -the introduction of that popery, which, as you say, it was its first -intention to keep out. - - -BP. BURNET. - -It certainly was.—But, not to pursue this argument any further, let -me return to the main point I had in view, which was, “to account for -the growth of the regal power from the influence of the transferred -supremacy.” There is still another instance behind, which shews how -well our princes understood the advantage they had gained, and how -dextrously they improved it. - -It seems prodigious, at first sight, that when the yoke of _Rome_ was -thrown off, the new church, erected in opposition to it, should still -continue to be governed by the laws of the old. The pretence was, that -this was only by way of interim, till a body of ecclesiastical laws -could be formed; and, to cover this pretence the better, some steps -were, in fact, taken towards the execution of such a design. But the -meaning of the crown certainly was, to uphold its darling supremacy, -even on the old footing of the CANON LAWS. - -This conclusion seems probable, if one considers that those canons -proceeded from an absolute spiritual monarch, and had a perpetual -reference to his dominion; that they were formed upon the very genius, -and did acknowledge the authority of the civil laws, the proper issue, -as my Lord Commissioner has shewn us, of civil despotism. Whoever, I -say, considers all this, will be inclined to think that the crown -contrived this interim from the use the canon law was of to the -extension of the prerogative. Accordingly it is certain, that the -succeeding monarchs, ELIZABETH, JAMES, and CHARLES, would never suffer -us to have a body of ecclesiastical laws, from a sense of this utility -in the old ones; and a consciousness, if ever they should submit a body -of new laws to the legislature, that the parliament would form them -altogether in the genius of a free church and state[29]; and perhaps -would be for assuming a share in their darling supremacy itself. - -With those canon laws, and for the same purpose, as was observed to us, -these princes retained a great affection for the interpreters of them, -the canon and civil lawyers; till the genius of liberty rising and -prevailing in the end, over all the attempts of civil despotism, both -the one and the other fell into gradual desuetude and contempt: and -as the canonists were little regarded, so their law is now considered -no further than as it is countenanced and supported by the law of -_England_. - -But to see how convenient the doctrine of the canon law was for the -maintenance of an absolute supremacy, it needs only be observed to -you, that one of these canons is, “That it is not lawful for any man -to dispute of the pope’s power.” And to see how exactly our kings -were disposed to act upon it, one needs only recollect that immortal -apophthegm of the elder JAMES, already taken notice of, “That it is -sedition for the subject to dispute what a king may do in the height of -his power.” - -And as the canon laws are the pope’s laws, so we are told, on the same -supreme authority, that the _English_ laws are the king’s. For thus -on another occasion his majesty expresses himself.—“Although a just -prince” (I believe I repeat his very words) “will not take the life of -any of his subjects without a clear law: yet the same laws, whereby -he taketh them, are made by himself, or his predecessors; and so the -power flows always from himself.”—And again, “Although a good king -will frame all his actions to be according to the law, yet is he not -bound thereto but of his good will, and for good example giving to his -subjects[30].” - -Thus decreed that _great school-master of the whole land_ (to give his -majesty no harder a title than he was pleased to give himself); and it -is difficult to say whence his supremacy extracted this golden rule of -_free monarchies_, if not from the pope’s own code of imperial canons. - -Thus it appears what misconceptions arose, and what strange conclusions -were drawn, from the king’s supremacy in spirituals. One might proceed -further in contemplation of this subject; but I have wearied you too -much already. You will see from these several particulars how it came -to pass that the REFORMATION, which was founded on the principles -of liberty and supported by them, was yet for some time the cause -of strengthening the power of the crown. For though the exercise of -private judgment, which was essential to Protestantism, could not but -tend to produce right notions of civil liberty, as well as of religious -faith and discipline, and so in the end was fated to bring about a -just form of free government (as after some struggles and commotions, -we see, it has happened), yet the translation of supremacy from the -pope to the civil magistrate brought with it a mighty accession -of authority, which had very sensible effects for several reigns -afterwards. The mysterious sacredness and almost divinity which had -lodged in the pope’s person, was now inshrined in the king’s; and it is -not wonderful that the people should find their imaginations strongly -affected by this notion. And with this general preparation, it followed -very naturally, that, in the several ways here recounted, the crown -should be disposed and enabled to extend its prerogative, till another -change in the government was required to limit and circumscribe it, -almost as great as that of the Reformation. - - -MR. SOMERS. - -I have listened with much pleasure to this deduction which your -lordship has made from that important circumstance of the crown’s -supremacy in spirituals. I think it throws great light on the subject -under consideration, and accounts in a clear manner for that appearance -of despotism which the _English_ government has worn from the times of -reformation. I have only one difficulty remaining with me: but it is -such an one as seems to bear hard on the great hypothesis itself, so -learnedly maintained by my Lord Commissioner in our late conversation, -of the original free constitution of the _English_ government. For, -allowing all you say to be true, does not the very translation of the -pope’s supremacy to the king, considered in itself, demonstrate that we -had then, at least, no free constitution at all, to be invaded by the -high claims of that prerogative? If we admit the existence of any such, -the supremacy of the church should, naturally, I think, have devolved -upon the supreme civil power; which with us, according to the present -supposition, is in the three estates of the legislature. But this -devolution, it seems, was on the king alone; a public acknowledgment, -as I take it, that the constitution of the government was at that -time conceived to be, in the highest sense of the word, absolutely -MONARCHICAL. - - -BP. BURNET. - -I was not, I confess, aware of this objection to our theory, which is -very specious. Yet it may be sufficient, as I suppose, to reply to it, -that the work of reformation was carried on and established by the -whole legislature; and that the supremacy, in particular, though it of -right belonged to the three estates, was by free consent surrendered -and given up into the hands of the king. It is certain this power, -though talked of as the ancient right of the crown, was solemnly -invested in it by act of parliament. - - -SIR J. MAYNARD. - -There may be something in this. Yet your lordship, I think, does -not carry the matter quite far enough; and, with your leave, I will -presume to give another, and perhaps the truer, answer to Mr. SOMERS’S -difficulty. The subject is a little nice, but I have not those scruples -which may reasonably be conceived to restrain your lordship from -enlarging upon it. - -I reply then directly, and without softening matters, that this -irregular translation of the supremacy is no proof that there was not -then a FREE CONSTITUTION, with a legitimate power in it, to which -the supremacy belonged. And my reason, without offence to my lord of -_Salisbury_, is this. When the papal authority was abolished, and -the question came into parliament, “who now became the head of the -church;” the search after him was not carried, where it should have -been, into the constitution of the kingdom; but, as it was a matter -of religion, they mistook that, which was only an affair of church -discipline, to be a doctrine of theology; and so searched, for a -solution of the question, in the New Testament, and Ecclesiastical -History. In the New Testament, obedience is pressed to the person of -Cæsar, because an absolute monarchy was the only government in being: -and, for the same reason, when afterwards the empire became Christian, -the supremacy, as we know from _ecclesiastical story_, was assumed -by the emperor: just as it would have been by the consul and senate, -had the republic existed. Hence our Reformers, going altogether by -spiritual and ecclesiastical example, and hoping thereby to preserve -their credit against the reproaches of _Rome_, which, as your lordship -knows, was perpetually charging them with novelties and innovations in -both respects, recurred to early antiquity for that rule. - -This attention to ecclesiastical example was, I suppose, a -consideration of convenience with the wise fathers of our church: the -other appeal to the Gospel, might be a matter of conscience with them. -And thus by force of one text, ill-understood, _render unto_ CÆSAR -_the things which are_ CÆSAR’S, they put the spiritual sword into the -king’s hands; just as by another, _he beareth not the sword in vain_ -(for I know of no better authority), the temporal sword had also been -committed to his care. - - -MR. SOMERS. - -This last intimation, I am apprehensive, would bear a further -debate[31]. But I acquiesce in your answer to my particular question; I -mean, unless the bishop of _Salisbury_ warns me against submitting to -so heretical a doctor. - - -BP. BURNET. - -My Lord Commissioner chuses to let slip no opportunity of exposing -what he takes to be an error in ecclesiastical management. Either way, -however, I am not displeased to find that his main thesis keeps its -ground; and that, even according to his own account of the matter, the -nation, when it gave up the supremacy to the king, was in possession of -a free and legal constitution. - -On the whole, you give me leave then to presume that the -considerations, now offered to you, afford a reasonable account of that -despotic form under which the _English_ government has appeared, from -the union of the two roses down to the subversion of the constitution -in CHARLES the First’s time. - -Other causes concurred; but the Reformation was the chief prop and -pillar of the imperial dignity, while the constitution itself remained -the same, or rather was continually gaining strength even by the -necessary operation of those principles on which the Reformation was -founded. Religious liberty made way for the entertainment of civil, in -all its branches. It could not be otherwise. It disposed the minds of -men to throw off that sluggishness, in which they had slumbered for -many ages. A spirit of inquiry prevailed. Inveterate errors were seen -through; and prejudices of all sorts fell off, in proportion to the -growth of letters, and the progress of reason. - -The increasing trade and wealth of the nation concurred with the -temper of the times. The circulation of property brought on a natural -relaxation of the feudal system. The plan of liberty was extended and -enlarged; and the balance of power soon fell into the hands of the -people. This appeared very plainly from the influence of parliaments, -and the daring attacks of many particular members on the highest and -most favoured claims of prerogative. Our kings were sensible of the -alteration: but, instead of prudently giving way to it, they flew into -the opposite extreme, and provoked the spirit of the times by the -very reluctance they shewed on all occasions to comply with it. Every -dormant privilege of the crown, every phantom of prerogative, which had -kept the simpler ages in awe, was now very unseasonably conjured up, -to terrify all that durst oppose themselves to encroaching royalty. -Lawyers and church-men were employed in this service. And in their -fierce endeavour to uphold a tottering throne by false supports, they -entirely overthrew it. The nation was out of all patience to hear the -one decree the empire of the kings of _England_ to be absolute and -uncontrolable by human law: and the other gave more offence, than they -found credit, by pretending that the right of kings to such empire -was divine[32]. Every artifice indeed of chicane and sophistry was -called in to the support of these maxims of law and theology. But the -season for religious and civil liberty to prevail over the impotent -attempts of each, was at hand. The near approach of the _divine form_ -created an enthusiasm, which nothing could resist. It frustrated the -generous views even of her first and sincerest worshipers. In the -career of those ecstatic orgies, the unhappy king could not prevent his -ministers, first, and afterwards the constitution itself, from falling -a victim to that fury, which, in the end, forced off his own head. - -Such was the issue of this desperate conflict between prerogative -and liberty. The wonder was, that this fatal experience should not -have rectified all mistakes, and have settled the government on a -sure and lasting basis at the Restoration. The people were convinced, -that nothing more was requisite to their happiness, than the secure -possession of their ancient legal constitution. The re-called family -were not so wise. And in their attempts to revive those old exploded -claims, which had succeeded so ill with their predecessors, they once -more fell from the throne, and left it to the possession of that -glorious prince whom the greatly-injured nation has now called to it. - -This then will be considered by grateful posterity as the true æra of -_English_ liberty. It was interwoven indeed with the very principles of -the constitution. It was inclosed in the ancient trunk of the feudal -law, and was propagated from it[33]. But its operation was weak and -partial in that state of its infancy. It acquired fresh force and -vigour with age, and has now at length extended its influence to every -part of the political system. - -Henceforward, may we not indulge in the expectation that both prince -and people will be too wise to violate this glorious constitution: -the only one in the records of time, which hath ever attained to the -perfection of civil government? All the blessings of freedom which -can consist with kingly rule, the people have: all the prerogatives -of royalty, which can consist with civil freedom, are indulged -to the king. From this just intermixture of the popular and regal -forms, planted together in the earliest days, but grown up at length -to full maturity, there arises a reasonable hope that the _English_ -constitution will flourish to the latest ages; and continue, through -them all, the boast and glory of our country, and the envy and -admiration of the rest of the world. - - -MR. SOMERS. - -How generous in your lordship is this patriot augury of immortality -to the _English_ constitution! Yet I dare not be so sanguine in my -expectations[35]. And Sir JOHN MAYNARD, I suspect, who has seen the -madness of kings and people, in their turns, will hardly expect it -from me. It may be sufficient that we put up our ardent vows to Heaven, -for the long continuance of it. Less than this cannot be dispensed with -in an honest man. Every blessing of civil policy is secured to us by -this new but constitutional settlement. And may our happy country enjoy -it, at least as long as they have the sense to value, and the virtue to -deserve it! - - -SIR J. MAYNARD. - -When these fail, our wishes, and even prayers themselves, will hardly -preserve us. Vice and folly, as you say, may do much towards defeating -the purposes of the best government. What effect these may have, in -time, on the _English_ liberty, I would not, for the omen’s sake, -undertake to say. You, my lord, and Mr. SOMERS (who are so much younger -men) may be able, hereafter, to conjecture with more certainty of its -duration. It is enough for me that I have lived to see my country in -possession of it. - - - - -DIALOGUES VII. AND VIII. - -ON THE - -USES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. - -BETWEEN - -LORD SHAFTESBURY - -AND - -MR. LOCKE. - - - - -DIALOGUE VII. - -ON THE USES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. - -LORD SHAFTESBURY—MR. LOCKE; - - -TO ROBERT MOLESWORTH, ESQ. - -I could not but be much surprised, my dear friend, to receive your -commands on a subject, of which You, of all men, are the greatest -master. For who could so well advise the party, you speak of, or -resolve the general question concerning _The Uses of Foreign Travel_, -considered as a part of modern breeding and education, as HE, who has -himself profited so much by this practice, and, in a late excellent -treatise[36], has given so convincing a proof of its utility? - -Besides, your application to me is a little suspicious; and looks as -if you wanted to draw from me a confirmation of your own sentiments, -rather than a candid examination of them. For how was it possible -for you not to foresee the difficulty I must be under, in debating -this point with you? When have I been able to dissent from you in any -question of morals or policy? and especially what chance for my doing -it in this instance, when you know the bias which my own education, -conducted in this way, must have left upon me? - -I am therefore at a loss, as I said, to account for your fancy in -making me of your council on this occasion. But, whatever your purpose -might be, since you have thought fit to honour me so far, I must own -your Letter of Inquiry could not possibly have found me in a fitter -season. - -I happened just then to amuse myself with recollecting a conversation, -which, not many days before, had passed between me and a certain -Philosopher of great note, on that very subject. - -You know the esteem I have of this Philosopher; I mean, for such of -his writings, as are most popular, and deserve to be so; such as his -pieces on _Government_, _Trade_, _Liberty_, and _Education_. No -man understands the world better; or reasons more clearly on those -subjects, in which that world takes itself to be most of all, and is, -in truth, very nearly concerned. - -His Philosophy, properly so called, is not, I doubt, of so good a -taste; at least, his notion of morals is too modern for my relish: I -had put myself to school to other masters, and had learnt, you know, -from his betters what to think of _Life and Manners_; which they -treat in a style quite out of the way of these subverters of ideal -worlds[37], and architects on material principles[38]. - -But on this head, my dear Sir, you have heard me speak often, and may -hear from me more at large on some other occasion. With exception to -this one article (an important one, however), no man is more able, -than Mr. LOCKE, or more privileged by his long experience, to give us -Lectures on the good old chapter of _Education_; which many others -indeed have discussed; but none with so much good sense and with so -constant an eye to the use and business of the world as this writer. - -The purpose of your inquiry, then, cannot, as I suppose, be any other -way so well answered, as by putting into your hands a faithful account -of his sentiments on the conduct and use of _Travelling_: especially, -as you will perceive at the same time what my notions are (if that be -of any importance to you) on the same subject. - -If I were composing a Dialogue in the old mimetical, or poetic form, -I should tell you, perhaps, the occasion that led us into this track -of conversation. Nay, I should tell you what accident had brought us -together; and should even omit no circumstance of _time_ or _place_, -which might be proper to let you into the scene, and make you, as it -were, one of us. - -But these punctilios of decorum are thought too constraining, and, as -such, are wisely laid aside, by the easy moderns. Nay the very notion -of Dialogue, such as it was in the politest ages of antiquity, is -so little comprehended in our days, that I question much, if these -papers were to fall into other hands than your own, whether they would -not appear in a high degree fantastic and visionary. It would never -be imagined that a point of morals or philosophy could be regularly -treated in what is called a _conversation-piece_; or that any thing so -unlike the commerce of our world could have taken place between men, -that had any use or knowledge of it. - -This, I say, might be the opinion of men of better breeding; of those, -who are acquainted with the fashion, and are themselves practised in -the conversations, of the polite world. The _formalists_, on the other -hand, would be out of patience, I can suppose, at this sceptical manner -of debate, which ends in nothing; and after the waste of much breath, -leaves the matter at last undecided, and just as it was taken up. - -All this, it must be owned, is very true. But as it is not my intention -to submit the following draught to such critics, you, who know me, -will accept this recital, made in my own way, and pretty much as it -passed. You may well be trusted to make your own conclusions from what -is offered on either side of the argument, and will need no officious -monitor to instruct you on which side the truth lies. - -Not to detain you, by further preliminaries, from the entertainment -(such as it is) which I have promised you; you may suppose, if you -please, Mr. LOCKE and me, in company with some other of our common -friends, sitting together in my library, and entering on the subject in -the following manner. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -And is not TRAVELLING then, in your opinion, one of the best of those -methods, which can be taken to polish and form the manners of our -liberal youth, and to fit them for the business and conversation of the -world? - - -MR. LOCKE. - -I think not. I see but little good, in proportion to the time it takes -up, that can be drawn from it, under any management; but, in the way -in which it commonly is and must be conducted, so long as _travel_ is -considered as a part of early education, I see nothing but mischiefs -spring from it. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -What! necessarily spring from it? And is there no way to stop their -growth; or at least prevent their choking the good plants, which that -soil is capable of producing? - - -MR. LOCKE. - -This indeed I must not absolutely affirm: your Lordship’s example, -I confess, stands in my way. But if your own education, which was -conducted in this form, and creates a prejudice for it, be pleaded -against me, I may still say, that the argument extends no further than -to qualify the assertion; and that, as in other cases, the rule is -general, though with some exceptions. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -It was not my meaning to put your politeness to this proof. I would -even take no advantage of the exception which you might consent to -make in the case of many other travellers, who have, doubtless, a -better claim, than myself, to this indulgence. What I would gladly know -of you, is, Whether, in general, _Travel_ be not an excellent school -for our ingenuous and noble youth; and whether it may not, on the -whole, deserve the countenance of a philosopher, who understands the -world, and has himself been formed by it? - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Your Lordship, I think, will do well to put _philosophy_ out of the -question. There is so much to be said against _Travel_ in that view, -that the matter would clearly be determined against you. It is by -other rules, and what are called the _maxims of the world_ (which your -Lordship understands too well, to join them with philosophy), that the -advocate for travelling must demand to have his cause tried, if he -would hope to come off, in the dispute, with any advantage. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -Yet philosophy was not always of this mind. You know, when the best -proficients in that science gave a countenance to this practice, by -their own example: a good part of their life was spent in foreign -countries; and they did not presume to set up for masters of wisdom, -till experience and much insight into the manners of men had qualified -them for that great office. Hence they became the ablest and wisest men -of the whole world; and their wisdom was not in those days of the less -account for the politeness, that was mixed with it. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Those wise men might have their reasons for this different practice. -They most of them, I think, set up for Politicians and Legislators, as -well as Philosophers; and in that infancy of arts and commerce, when -distant nations had small intercourse with each other, it might be of -real advantage to them, at least it might serve their reputation with -the people, to spend some years in voyages to such countries as were in -the highest fame for their wisdom or good government. - -Besides, the Sages of those times made a wondrous mystery of their -wisdom: a sure sign, perhaps, that they were not over-stocked with -it. It was confined to certain schools and fraternities; or was locked -up still more closely in the breasts of particular persons. Knowledge -was not then diffused in books and general conversation, as amongst -us; but was to be obtained by frequenting the academies or houses of -those privileged men, who, by a thousand ambitious arts, had drawn to -themselves the applause and veneration of the rest of the world. - -All this might be said in favour of your Lordship’s old Sages. Yet one -of them, who deserved that name the best, was no great Traveller. I -remember to have read, that SOCRATES had never stirred out of _Athens_; -and that, when his admirers would sometimes ask him why he affected -this singularity, he was used to say, _That Stones and Trees did not -edify him_: intimating, I suppose, that the sight of fine towns and -fine countries, which the voyagers of those days, as of ours, made -a matter of much vanity, was the principal fruit they had reaped to -themselves from their fashionable labours. - -However, allowing your lordship to make the most of these respectable -authorities for the use of travelling, it must still be remembered, -that they are wide of our present purpose. They were _Sages_, that -travelled: and we are now inquiring, whether this be the way for -young men to _become_ Sages. PLATO might pick up more learning in his -Voyages, than any body since has been able to understand; and yet a -youth of eighteen be little the wiser for staring away two or three -years in mysterious _Egypt_. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -Why, truly, if he carried nothing abroad with him but the use of -his eye-sight, I should be much of your mind with regard to the -improvements he might be expected to bring back with him. But let him -hear and observe a little, as well as see; and methinks a youth of -eighteen might pick up something of value, though he should not return -laden with the mysteries of _Egypt_. - -As to the gaiety on the ancient Sages, I could be much entertained -with it, if I did not recollect that the more enlightened moderns -have, also, been of their mind in this instance. To say nothing of -other countries, which yet have risen in reputation for knowledge and -civility in proportion to their acquaintance with the neighbouring -nations, surely it must be allowed of our _own_, that all its valuable -acquisitions in both have been forwarded at least, if not occasioned, -by this reasonable practice. We are now, without doubt, arrived at the -summit of politeness, and may subsist at length upon our own proper -stock. But was this always the case? And must it not be acknowledged, -that the brightest periods of our story are those, in which our noble -youth were fashioned in the school of foreign Travel? You will hardly -pretend that the ornaments of the second CHARLES’ and ELIZABETH’S -courts were cast in the coarse mould of this _home-breeding_. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -I shall perhaps carry my pretensions still further, and affirm it had -been much better if they had been so. - -I know what is to be said for the voyagers in ELIZABETH’S time. We -were just then emerging from ignorance and barbarity. Learning and the -Arts were but then getting up; and were best acquired, we will say, in -foreign schools, and the commerce of other nations, which might have -the start of us in such improvements. The state of _Europe_ at that -time was not unlike what I observed of the old world, when knowledge -was in few hands, and the exclusive property, as it were, of particular -persons. So that it was to be travelled for, and fetched home, by such -as would have it. _Italy_, in particular, was in those days, as it had -long been, the theatre of politeness, and without doubt could furnish -us with very much of the learning we most wanted. - -This then was the fashionable route of our curious and courtly youth: -and many accomplished persons, I can readily admit, were to be found in -the number of our _Italian_ Travellers. Yet, methinks, they had done -better to stay at home, and at least import the arts of _Italy_, if -they were necessary to them, in sager heads than their own. - -I say this, because it is no secret that the civility, we thus -acquired, was dearly paid for; and that irreligion, and even Atheism, -were packed up among their choicest gleanings, and shewn about, at -their return, as curiosities, which could not but very much enhance -the consideration of those who had been to gather them beyond the -mountains[39]. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -Or, shall we say, that this impiety of the time was only employed to -correct its superstition? And that the philosophic spirits of that age -trafficked in these wares, as thinking them a proper antidote to such -as another set of missionaries largely dealt in: I mean, the _agnus -Dei’s, holy beads, and consecrated medals_? - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Take it which way you will, the conclusion, I believe, will scarcely -be much in favour of our _Italian_ Travellers.—As to the worthies of -CHARLES’S court, your Lordship, without doubt, is disposed to divert -yourself with them. For, if they brought any thing with them from -_France_, besides the dress of its follies and vices (excepting always -the sacred babble of their language), it is a secret which it has not -been my fortune to be apprized of. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -And so, because Travelling may, by accident, be attended with some ill -effects, you roundly determine against the thing itself; as if the -national improvement in arts and civility, which unquestionably arose -from it, were to go for nothing! - - -MR. LOCKE. - -I would have it go for no more than it is honestly worth; which surely -is something less than the price paid for it, our principles and our -morals. And I doubt the truth is, that this degeneracy in both was the -usual acquisition of our travelled youth, and the improvement, your -Lordship speaks of, only the accidental benefit. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -Without doubt, there is no extending our acquaintance with the world, -but we run the risk of catching its vices, as well as virtues. Yet, -push this conclusion as far as it will go, and you shut up mankind in -absolute and incurable barbarism. Such is the unhappy condition of -human nature, that in striving to cultivate its powers, you furnish the -opportunities, at least, of its corruption. Yet to leave it in that -sordid state, for fear of those abuses, is methinks but acting with the -weak apprehension of fond mothers; who deny their children the liberty -of stirring from the fire-side, for fear of the dirt or damp air, -which, in their field-exercises, may chance to incommode them. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -The allusion would be apt, if the health of the mind, as of the body, -depended on the use of such liberty; or if it were true, that one could -as little help breathing the air of vice, as that of the heavens. But, -though I have heard much of the dangers to which Virtue is exposed in -this bad world, I have never understood that Vice is its proper element. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -Yet methinks, Sir, it will be hard to keep clear of it in any part of -the world, that I am acquainted with: unless perhaps you take this -happy Island of ours to be as free from Vice, as a Neighbouring one, -they say, is from Venom. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -There are, however, degrees in Vice, as well as varieties of it; and I -cannot think it necessary for us to be greater proficients than we are, -or to import new species of it; by rambling into countries where it may -chance to rage with greater virulence, or where such modes of it, at -least, prevail, as are luckily unknown to us. And such, I doubt, were -the fruits of our _Italian_ and _French_ travels. - -But allowing that Vice were of every clime, the same every where, and -equally malignant, I should still imagine our youth to be safer from -the infection at home, under the eye and wing of their own parents or -families, than wandering at large in foreign countries, with as little -care of others, as prudence of their own, to guard them from this -danger. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -Yes, if they were turned loose into this wicked world, and left to -their own devices. But, what if some sage Philosopher— - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Some God, you would say, in the shape of a Tutor; for a mere mortal -Guide of that stamp is not easily met with. Or, if He were, his wisdom, -I doubt, would hardly give him the authority, he stands in need of, for -the discharge of his function. But I take your Lordship’s raillery, and -could say in my turn, But what if some inquisitive and well-disposed -young Nobleman— - -After all, we may let these two voyagers, so well matched and fitted -to each other, proceed on their journey. The question at present is of -no such rarities; but of raw, ignorant, ungovernable boys, on the one -hand, and of shallow, servile, and interested governors, on the other. -And if any good can arise from such worthies as these, sauntering -within the circle of the grand Tour, the magic of travelling can _call -up_ more than I have ever yet seen. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -It may be true, perhaps, that the advantages of travelling are not so -great, or so general, as is sometimes pretended. Yet, on the other -hand, that there are advantages, and considerable ones too, can hardly -be denied. And to come at length more closely to the point (for what -has hitherto passed is but a sort of prelude to the main argument) -let me have leave to state those advantages clearly and distinctly to -you, and then to request your own proper sense (I mean as a man of -the world, according to the advice you just now gave me, and not as a -Philosopher) of this practice. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Is this fair dealing in your Lordship? I supposed that by starting this -question you had meant only, as on other occasions, to engage an old -man in a little conversation; whereas your purpose, I now find, is to -make a formal debate of it. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -Not a formal debate, but a free conference; for which we seem to have -leisure enough; and the subject is, besides, of real importance. I -may presume to answer for our friends here, that they will not be -displeased to assist at it. - -I am aware, as you said, that the practice may be sometimes -inconvenient, as it is commonly managed, on the side of _morals_; and -I would not be thought to have benefited so little by yours, and the -instructions of my other masters, as not to lay the greatest stress on -that consideration. - -But, after all, these inconveniences may be pretty well avoided, by -the choice of an honest and able governor. Such an one it will not be -impossible to find, if the persons concerned be in earnest to look -out for him: I do not say in _Cells_, for a Pedant without manners; -and still less, you will say, in _Camps_, for a mannered man, without -principles or letters; but, in the world at large, for some learned and -well-accomplished person, who, yet, may not disdain to be engaged in -this noblest office of conducting a young gentleman’s education. - -Under such a Governor, as this, the danger, to which a young man’s -morals may be exposed by early travel, will be tolerably guarded -against; and to make amends for the hazard he runs in this respect, I -see, on the other hand, so many reasons for breeding young men in this -way, so many benefits arising from it at all times, and such peculiar -inducements with regard to the present state of our own country, that, -I think, we shall hardly be of two minds, when you have attended to -them. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -We shall see that in due time. For the present, the serious air, you -assume, so different from your wonted manner, secures my attention. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -I cannot tell what may be the opinion of others; but ignorance and -barbarity seem to me to be the parents of the most and the worst vices. -Conceit, pride, bigotry, insolence, ferocity, cruelty, are the native -product of the human mind, kept uncultivated. Self-love, which makes so -predominant a part in the constitution of man, that some sufferers by -its excesses have mistaken it for the sole spring of all his actions, -naturally engenders these vices, when no care is taken to controul its -operations by another principle. - -On this account, wise men have had recourse to various expedients; -such as the provision of Laws; the culture of Arts and Letters; and, -in general, all that discipline which comes under the notion of early -tutorage and education. But none of these has been found so effectual -to the end in view, or is so immediately directed to the purpose of -enlarging the mind, and curing it, at once, of all its obstinate and -malignant prejudices, as a knowledge of the world acquired in the way -of society, and general conversation. - -To say nothing of the solitary sequestered life, which all men agree -to term _Savage_, look only on those smaller knots and fraternities -of men, which meet together in our provincial towns and cities, and, -without any larger commerce, are confined within the narrow enclosure -of their own walls or districts. In as much as this condition is more -social than the other, it is, without doubt, more eligible. Yet see how -many weak views are entertained by these separate clans, how many fond -conceits, and over-weening fancies! The world seems to them shrunk up -into their own private circle; just as the heavens appear to children -to be contained within the limits of their own horizon. - -Extend this prospect of mankind to still greater combinations, to -states, kingdoms, nations, and what we call a whole people. By this -freer intercourse, indeed, their thoughts take a larger range, and -their minds open to more generous and manly conceptions. Yet their -native barbarism sticks close to them, and requires to be loosened and -worn off by a more social habit, by the experience of a still wider and -more thorough communication. Tribes of men, although very numerous, -yet, if shut up within one territory, and held closely together under -the influence of the same political constitution, easily assimilate, -as it were; run into the same common sentiments and opinions; and -presently take, in the whole extent of their community, one uniform -prevailing character. - -Hence the necessity of their still looking beyond their _own_, into -other combinations and societies; that so, as the mind strengthens by -this exercise, they may be enabled to shake off their local, as we may -say, and territorial prejudices. - -Those other societies may not be without their defects, which it will -be equally proper to keep clear of. But, by this free prospect of the -differences subsisting between different nations, each naturally gets -quit of his own peculiar and characteristic vices; and those of others, -presenting themselves to our unbiassed observation, are not so readily -entertained, or do not cling so fast to us, as what have grown up with -us, and, by long unquestioned use, are become, as we well express it, a -_second nature_. - -Thus, by this near approach and attrition, as it were, of each other, -our rude parts give way; our rough corners are insensibly worn off; and -we are polished by degrees into a general and universal humanity. - - EXTERNI _nequid valeat per læve morari_, - -to use the poet’s words, though with some small difference, I believe -in their application. - -What says my friend to these principles? are they just and reasonable? -or, am I going to build on precarious and insecure foundations? - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Whatever defect there may be in this foundation, your Lordship, as a -wise architect, is for sparing no cost or pains in providing for its -stability. Yet, methinks, you go deeper for it, than you need. At -least, I did not expect your defence of Travelling would require you to -make these profound researches into human nature. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -I take your meaning. These researches, you would say, are so little -profound, that I might have spared myself the trouble of making them -at all, at least in conversation with a philosopher. Be that as it -will; provided the principles themselves, I am contending for, be -well founded. For the conclusion necessarily follows, “That therefore -FOREIGN TRAVEL is, of all others, the most important and essential part -of Education.” - -The youth of the most accomplished people in _Europe_ would have much -to correct in themselves, and something, perhaps, to learn, in their -voyages into the neighbouring nations; however inferior to their own, -in the general state of knowledge and politeness. What then must be -the case of our _English_ youth, confined in this remote corner among -themselves, and indulged in their own rustic and licentious habits? - -Our country has never been famous for the civility of its inhabitants. -We have, rather, been stigmatized in all ages, and are still considered -by the rest of _Europe_, as proud, churlish, and unsocial. The very -circumstance of our Island-situation seems to expose us to the just -reproach of inhospitality. And if, with this disadvantage, we should -cherish, and not correct, those vices which so naturally spring from -it, what less could we expect than to be distinguished by such names, -as our ill-manners would well deserve, though our pride might suffer -from the application of them? - -It seems then to be an inevitable consequence of what has been said, -that we of this country have a more than ordinary occasion for the -benefits of _foreign travel_. And the reason of the thing shews, -they cannot be obtained too soon. Young minds are the fittest to take -the ply of civility and good manners. The task is less easy, and the -success more uncertain, when we enter upon this business late in life; -when intractable humours have gathered strength, and the unsocial -manner is become habitual to us. Whatever may be objected to the -incapacity of this age in other respects, youth is out of question the -time for acquiring right propensities and virtuous habits. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Your Lordship has so many good words at command upon all occasions, -that one cannot but be entertained, at least, with your rhetoric, -if not convinced by it. But my present concern is, to have a clear -conception of your argument, which in plain terms, as I apprehend it, -stands thus; “That every nation has many vices and follies to correct -in itself; that this is perhaps more especially the case of our own; -and that early _Travel_ is the only, at least the most proper, cure for -them.” - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -That, Sir, is my meaning; and, though expressed in more words than -may be necessary, it is surely not coloured by any rhetorical -exaggerations. But you must allow me to proceed in my own way, and -enforce the general argument, I have delivered, by applying it to the -particular exigencies and necessities of our _English_ youth. - -You, who have been abroad in the world, and have so just a knowledge -of other states and countries, tell me, if there can be any thing more -ridiculous than the idiot PREJUDICES of our home-bred gentlemen; which -shew themselves, whenever their own dear Island comes, in any respect, -to be the topic of conversation. What wondrous conceits of their own -prowess, wisdom, nay of their manners and politeness! With what disdain -is a foreigner mentioned by them, and with what apparent signs of -aversion is his very person treated! They scarcely give you leave to -suppose that any virtuous quality can thrive out of their own air, or -that good sense can be expressed in any foreign language. Nay, their -foolish prepossession extends to their very soil and climate. Such -warm patriots are they, such furious lovers of their country, that they -will have it to be the theatre of all convenience, delight, and beauty. - -“To hear their discourse among themselves, one would imagine that -the finest lands near the _Euphrates_, the Babylonian or Persian -_Paradises_, the rich plains of _Egypt_, the Græcian _Tempe_, the -Roman _Campania_, _Lombardy_, _Provence_, the Spanish _Andalusia_, or -the most delicious tracts in the Eastern or Western _Indies_, were -contemptible countries in respect of what they dote upon under the name -of _Old England_[40].” - -Now, if it were only for the sake of truth and decency, if it were but -to avoid the ridicule to which these palpable absurdities and childish -fancies expose them, one cannot but wish that our countrymen would open -their eyes, and extend their prospect beyond their own foggy air, and -dirty acres. - -But this is the least inconvenience of their home breeding. How many -low HABITS and sordid practices grow upon our youth of fortune, -and even of quality, from the influence of their family, or at best -provincial, education! - -They retain so much of their _Saxon_ or _Norman_ character, that their -noblest passion is that of the Chace; unless a horse-race may, haply, -contend with it. Their ideas are all taken from the stable or kennel; -and they have hardly words for any other sort of conversation. - -In conjunction with this habit, or in direct consequence of it, they -plunge themselves into the brutalities of the bottle and table. Having -little use of the faculty of thinking or discoursing on any reasonable -subject, they care not how soon they disable themselves for either. To -this end, their surloins are of sovereign effect; and if any spark of -the _divine particle_ be still unsubdued, they quench it forthwith in -the strongest wines, or, which suits their taste and design best, in -their own country liquor. - -This sottish debauch leads to others. My young master will be denied no -animal gratification. And thus low intrigues and vulgar amours follow -of course, in which the sum of his refined pleasures is, at length, -completed. - -The rest of his life runs on in this drowzy tenour; unless perhaps -you except those intervals, which can hardly be called _lucid_, when -his half-closed understanding seems stunned, rather than awakened, by -party-rage, election bustle, and the noise of faction. - -Admirable patriots these! and usefuller citizens by far, than if they -had acquired some relish of temperance, decency, and reason, in foreign -courts, and the more improved societies of _Europe_. - -But suppose our young gentleman to have escaped this sordid taste, -and by better luck than ordinary to have finished his home education -without much injury to his morals. Nay, suppose him to be inured, in -good time, to better discipline, and to have had the advantage of -what is called amongst us, by a violent figure of speech, _a liberal -education_. - -To put the case at the best, suppose him to have been well whipped -through one of our public schools, and to come full fraught, at length, -with _Latin_ and _Greek_, from his college. You see him, now, on the -verge of the world, and just ready to step into it. But, good heavens, -with what PRINCIPLES and MANNERS? His spirit broken by the servile -awe of pedants, and his body unfashioned by the genteeler exercises! -Timid at the same time, and rude; illiberal and ungraceful! An absurd -compound of abject sentiments, and bigoted notions, on the one hand; -and of clownish, coarse, ungainly demeanor, on the other! In a word, -both in mind and person, the furthest in the world from any thing that -is handsome, gentlemanlike, or of use and acceptation in good company! - -Bring but one of these grown boys into a circle of well-bred people, -such as his rank and fortune entitle him, and in a manner oblige him, -to live with: and see how forbidding his air, how embarrassed all his -looks and motions! His awkward attempts at civility would provoke -laughter, if, again, his rustic painful bashfulness did not excite -one’s pity. What wonder if the young man, under these circumstances, -is glad to shrink away, as soon as possible, from so constraining a -situation; and to seek the low society of his inferiors, at least of -such as himself among his equals, where he can be at ease, and give a -loose to his unformed and disorderly behaviour! - -But now, on the other hand, let a young gentleman, who has been trained -abroad; who has been accustomed to the sight and conversation of men; -who has learnt his exercises, has some use of the languages, and has -read his HORACE or HOMER in good company; let such an one, at his -return, make his appearance in the best societies; and see with what -ease and address he sustains his part in them! how liberal his air and -manner! how managed and decorous his delivery of himself! In short, -how welcome to every body, and how prepared to acquit himself in the -ordinary commerce of the world, and in conversation! - -I should think, if there were no other advantage of early travel, -beside this of _manners_, it were well worth setting against all the -other inconveniences, whatever they be, of this sort of Education. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Good my Lord—— - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -I know what you would say: that _manners_, in the proper acceptation -of the word, at least in the sense of wise men, implies much more -than the ease, assurance, civility, (call it what you will) which a -young Traveller is supposed to acquire in his intercourse with the -politer nations. Without doubt, it does. But give me this foundation -of good breeding to work upon; and if I had the tutorage of a noble -youth, I durst be answerable for all the rest, which even a philosopher -includes in his sublime notion of _manners_: whereas, without it, his -improvements of other sorts would be almost thrown away; nay, his -virtues themselves would be offensive and unlovely. - -But do not imagine I confine myself to _manners_ in the obvious meaning -of that term. I further understand by it an ability for ingenuous, -useful, and manly conversation. For a traveller, that makes the proper -use of his opportunities, will be all of a piece, and return as -polished in his mind and understanding, as in his person. - -And here, again, how deficient is the turn and course of our ordinary -education! Whither would you send our young pupil, to accomplish -himself in the necessary art of speaking handsomely and thinking -justly? What companions have you provided for him, or what instructors -in this man-science will you direct him to? shall he court the -acquaintance of some lettered pedagogue in the schools, or solicit the -precious communication of some famed professor in the occult sciences? -Wonderful models of correct wit, sublime sense, and elegant expression! - -I have read of an ancient Rhetorician, that took upon him to teach -others the _art of speaking_; but in such a way, says my author, that -if a man had a mind to learn the art of _not speaking_, he could not -have been directed to an abler master. - -I forbear the application of my little tale, out of pure respect to the -modern disciples and ornaments of this ancient school; and, without -pushing matters so far, it will be owned, that whatever advantage of -this sort may be left at home, the loss will be amply made up to an -inquisitive traveller, on the Continent. _France_, and even _Italy_, -abounds in men of distinguished literature and politeness. Nay, a -_German_ Professor may supply the place of an University Doctor. -Think, what illustrious persons may be sometimes met with even in a -_Dutch_ town: and how many instructive hours you and I have passed in -conversation with such knowing, candid, and accomplished scholars, -as LE CLERC and LIMBORCH. Philosophy, and even Divinity, could take -a liberal air, under their management; and eloquence itself might be -learned, on almost every subject, in their company. - -I consider then the acquaintance and familiarity of men of eminent -parts and genius, as another considerable benefit resulting from this -way of foreign education. - -Still there are higher things in view (for, now I have ventured -thus far in the dogmatic tone, I find myself, like our authorized -teachers, a little impatient of control, and in a humour to run myself -out without lett or interruption); still, I say, there are higher -advantages in view from travelled culture and education. - -You may think as slightly as you please, of the exterior polish of -_manners_, or may even treat as superficial the _information_ that -can be acquired in good company. But what say you to that supreme -accomplishment, a KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD; a science so useful, as to -supersede or disgrace all the rest; and so profound, as to merit all -the honours, and to fill up all the measures of the best philosophy? -For, by _a knowledge of the world_, I mean that which results from the -observation of men and things; from an acquaintance with the customs -and usages of other nations; from some insight into their policies, -government, religion; in a word, from the study and contemplation -of men; as they present themselves on the great stage of the world, -in various forms, and under different appearances. This is that -master-science, which a gentleman should comprehend, and which our -schools and colleges never heard of. - -I know this science is too difficult to be perfectly acquired, but by -long habit and mature reflection. I know it is not to be expected from -a slight survey of mankind; from a hasty passage through the different -countries, or a short residence in the great towns, of _Europe_. All -this I am not to be told; but it must be allowed me at the same time, -that so important a study cannot be entered upon too soon, and that the -rudiments at least of this science cannot be laid in too early. - -The proper business of men, especially those of rank and quality, -lies among men. The first and last object of a Gentleman should be an -intimate study and knowledge of his species. Say, that some chapters -of this great book, the world, are above his reach, and too hard for -his decyphering. Yet others are easier and more manageable. Initiate -a young man betimes in these pursuits; and his progress, as in other -things, must be the more sure and successful. - -Above all, let him be taught to give an early attention to the manners -of men, to observe their dispositions, to inspect and analyze their -characters. What a field is here for an intelligent young man, assisted -by the superior lights and experience of an able governor! And what a -harvest of true knowledge and learning must he gather and bring home -with him, from the numberless varied scenes he has passed through in -his voyages! With what lustre must such a person appear in the court or -senate of his own country! How secure against the attempts of artifice -and design! the plots of insidious enemies, or the pretences of false -friends! how apt for the business of life, and for bearing his part in -public debates and cabinet-consultations! - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Your Lordship declaims so handsomely on this theme, that I am something -loth to spoil your panegyric by asking a plain question, “How this -knowledge of the public affairs of his own country is to be come at, by -foreign politics?” - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -As if the objects of that knowledge were not every where much -the same! Bigotry or Fanaticism in religion, selfish or factious -intrigues in government, neglected or ill-improved agriculture or -commerce, insolence and want of discipline in fleets and armies, -a bad-constituted police under venal magistrates, and a corrupt -administration; are not these the principal mischiefs to be guarded -against by our young citizen, or perhaps senator? And where is the -country, which does not afford opportunities of laying in useful -lessons on all these subjects? - -To say the least, a little home-practice will go a great way, when -entered upon with so true a preparation of general knowledge. On the -other hand, it hardly needs to be observed, the disadvantage, with -which our young Islander must come into this scene; a novice to the -affairs of the world; a stranger to men and characters; and who has -never perhaps stretched his observation beyond the narrow circle of -his companions, or even his own family. - -My panegyric, as you call this plain representation of facts and -things, would never have an end, if I were to take to myself all the -advantages, which this topic of an early knowledge of the world in a -young traveller affords me. But I leave the rest to be supplied out of -these hints; and pass on to other considerations, which seem of moment -to the credit and reputation of our country, and to the accomplishment, -at least, of our ingenuous youth; however they may rank in the -estimation of some, who in modern times have assumed to themselves the -name and office of Philosophers. - -You, who have so much a nobler way of thinking than these nominal -sages, will allow me, I hope, to lay some stress on the LIBERAL ARTS; -which adorn and embellish human life; and, where they prevail to some -degree of perfection, are among the surest marks of the civility and -politeness of any people. - -It is notorious enough how backward we have been, and still are, in -all these elegant and muse-like applications. There is little or -nothing in the way of _picture_, _sculpture_, and the arts of _design_ -among us, that can stand the test of a knowing and judicious eye. -It is but of late we have begun to form to ourselves any thing like -an _ear_ in harmony and the proportions of just music. And whatever -magisterial airs our fashionable workmen in the dramatic and poetical -kinds may give themselves in their prologues and prefaces, it is no -secret to such as have looked into the ancient masters, or have made -an acquaintance with the style and manner of the politer moderns, that -we are far from possessing a right taste in these things, and that the -Muses have hitherto shewn themselves but little indulgent to us. - -The courtship, we have paid to them, has been pressing and ardent, if -you will; but this circumstance, though it may do much, nay is thought -to do every thing with the sex, seems not to have succeeded with these -coy Ladies. Passion and assiduity are not the only things: somewhat -of an address and management is looked for in our advances. Wherever -the defect lies, and whatever be the cure for it, certain it is, there -is much of the Gothic manner in the performances of our best artists: -there is neither chasteness of design, nor elegance of hand, in our -manual operations: nothing like correctness of thought, simplicity of -style, or the grace of numbers, in our literate productions. - -’Tis true, the strength and vigour of our genius has been exerted -in other things. We have been solicitous to procure a just taste in -policy and government, and have at length succeeded in this first and -highest emulation. It may now be proper to apply the liberty, we have -so happily gained, to other improvements. There is something, I have -ever observed, congenial to the liberal arts in the reigning spirit of -a free people. It must then be our own fault, if our progress in every -elegant pursuit do not keep pace with our excellent constitution. - -But the likeliest way to quicken the growth of these studies, is to -turn our attention from the bad models of our own country, and enter -into a free commerce and generous struggle, as it were, with our more -advanced neighbours. And it is here again, as in the manners and arts -of life, the seeds of good taste cannot be committed to the mind -too soon. It were then to be wished, that our young men had right -impressions of _art_ in their tender years; and that, forming their -relish among the ablest proficients in _Europe_, they might afterwards -communicate their improvements to their own country. - -Thus, it might be hoped, in some convenient time, we should have -something of our own to oppose to the wit, learning, and elegance of -_France_; and that, in the mechanic execution of the fine arts, we -should come at length to vye with the _Italian_ masters. - -Nor think, that such an emulation as this would be without its use, -even in a moral and political view. Beauty and virtue are nearer of -kin, than every one is perhaps aware of: and the mind that is taken -with the charm of what is _true and becoming_ in the representation of -sensible things, cannot be inattentive to those qualities in the higher -species and moral forms. It is thither indeed the virtuoso passion -naturally tends; and there, it finally acquiesces. - - _Quid VERUM atque DECENS curo et rogo, et omnis in hoc sum._ - -But I see what you think of this language. Let me add then, that -policy, as well as philosophy, is on the side of these studies. Who -can doubt their virtue in softening and refining the manners of a -people? or, to take policy in its vulgar sense, where would be the -hurt, if _Britain_ were the seat of arts and letters, as well as of -trade and liberty? Then might _we_ be travelled to, in our turn, as -our neighbours are at present: and our country, amidst its other -acquisitions, be also enriched (I use the word in its proper, not -metaphorical sense) with a new species of commerce. - -Not to insist, that the ascendant which one nation takes over another -in all public concerns, is very much owing to this pre-eminence of -taste and politeness, to its acknowledged superiority, I may say, in -the literate and virtuoso character; of which _France_ is an instance -in our days; as _Italy_ is well known to have been in the days of our -forefathers. - -And, if there be use and value in such things, how shall our ingenuous -youth be tinctured with a right sense of them, but by early and -well-conducted travel? For what discipline, what examples, what -encouragements, have we at home? what academies for the genteel -exercises? what conferences for the improvement of art or language? -what societies for the cultivation of the liberal character? - -The contemplation of these defects carries me still further; to the -source and fountain of them all, which I make no scruple to lay open to -you. - -“Time was, Sir, when philosophy herself could appear with grace even -in courts, when the great and noble, nay and princes themselves, were -not ashamed to be of her train, but frequented her studious schools and -walks, and were even ambitious of her company in their hours of leisure -and recreation. - -See now to what unpractised cells and ignoble societies she is -degraded! her graceful form faded and shrunk; her ingenuous sprightly -air deadened into I know not what gloom and austerity of the cloyster. - -You, who have done more than any other, to retrieve her credit and -bring her back to the world, can best tell her present degenerate -condition. You know where she lies, unapproached by her former suitors; -her liberal manner soured into disdain and hate; her persuasive voice, -which spoke the language of the Gods, broken into untuned numbers -and discordant harshness; and her very sense corrupted into empty -sophisms and unintelligible jargon. The Graces, those companions of -her better days, are all fled: and in their room, a riotous band of -fauns and satyrs dance around her. Yet still she assumes a sort of -mock-sovereignty; and, under the new name of _Genius of the Schools_, -presides, in sullen majesty, over her numerous, servile, awe-struck -votaries.” - -In some such way as this, were I at liberty to pursue the figured -speech, and to adopt the higher tone of the ancient masters, would -I presume to represent the present state of Erudition, as we see it -managed in certain sublime seats and authorized nurseries amongst us. - -And would you invite our liberal and noble youth to resort thither? -could you expect that their free spirits would stoop to be lectured -by bearded boys; or that their minds could ever be formed and tutored -by such pedants, in a way that fits them for the real practice of the -world and of mankind? - -Have we not long enough submitted to the inconveniencies of this -monkish education? Look on the generality of those persons who have -had their breeding in those seminaries. What principles in morals, in -government, in religion, have sprouted thence! what dispositions have -we known corrupted by their discipline! what understandings perverted -by their servile and false systems! Has truth, or liberty, or reason, -fair play from that quarter? Nay, has not truth, and liberty, and -reason, though speaking by ONE of their own sons, been calumniated and -rejected! In a word, have they not always set themselves to obstruct -the progress of true knowledge, and the cause of freedom? - -If such then be the state of our own seats of literature and education, -what more needs be alleged in the behalf of FOREIGN TRAVEL; which is -the only means left to remedy these mischiefs, or at least to palliate -and correct them? - - - - -DIALOGUE VIII. - -ON THE USES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. - -LORD SHAFTESBURY—MR. LOCKE. - - -TO ROBERT MOLESWORTH, ESQ. - -Here I concluded my defence: when Mr. LOCKE, perceiving, by the -attention we all paid to him, that we were now prepared to receive his -answer, raised himself in his chair, and, with a firmer tone and look -than I expected, addressed himself to me in the following manner. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Were the subject before us a matter of indifference or curiosity, such -as idle men are used to discourse of, I could allow your lordship -to pursue it in this way of Socratic raillery and declamation. But, -if ever there was a question, that deserved the examination of a -philosopher, properly so called, it is, surely, this of EDUCATION; -and, among the various parts of it, none is more strictly to be -inquired into, as none is, perhaps, so big with important consequences, -as that which comes recommended to us under the specious name of -FOREIGN TRAVEL. - -I could not, therefore, but wonder to hear your lordship enlarge so -much, and so long, on I know not what varnish of manners and good -breeding; of the knowledge of men and the world; of arts, languages, -and other trappings and shewy appendages of education: just as if -an architect should entertain you with a discourse on Festoons and -Foliage, or the finishing of his Frize and Capitals, when you expected -him to instruct you in what way to erect a solid edifice on firm walls -and durable foundations. - -What a reasonable man wants to know, is, the proper method of building -up _men_: whereas your lordship seems solicitous for little more than -tricking out a set of fine _gentlemen_. It seemed, indeed, as if -your lordship had calculated your defence of travelling for a knot -of Virtuosi, or a still more fashionable circle (where, doubtless, -it would pass with much ease and without contradiction); and had, -somehow, forgotten that your hearers are all plain men; one of them, -an old one; and he too, as your Lordship loves to qualify him, a -philosopher. - -To speak my mind frankly, my Lord, your defence of foreign travel, as -lively and plausible as it seemed, has no solid basis to rest upon. You -tell us of many defects in the breeding of our _English_ youth, and you -would willingly redress them: but in what way this is best done, can -never be known from vague and general declamation. - -To make this inquiry to purpose, some certain principles must be laid -down; some scheme of life and manners must be formed; some idea or -model of the character, you would imprint on young minds, must be -described; to which we may constantly refer, as we go along; and by -which, as a rule, we may estimate the fitness and propriety of that -sort of breeding, you would recommend to us. - -Since your Lordship then will needs have me dictate to you on the -subject of Education, I must have leave to do it in another way, and -after a more solemn manner, than you perhaps expect from me in this -freedom of conversation. - -I begin with this certain principle: That the business of education is -to form the UNDERSTANDING, and regulate the HEART. If man be a compound -of Reason and Passion, the only proper discipline of his nature is that -which accomplishes these two purposes. - -So far we are, doubtless, agreed. But the subject requires a more -particular application of this principle. - -You have laboured with much plausibility to persuade us, That the -only reasonable education is that which prepares and fits a man for -the commerce of the world: and I readily admit the notion, provided -we first agree about the meaning of this big word, the WORLD. Your -Lordship, it may be, in your sublime view of things, is projecting to -make of your Pupil, what is called, in the widest sense of the term, a -_Citizen of the World_. A great and awful character, my Lord! But let -us advance by just degrees. - -First, if you please, let us provide that he be a worthy citizen of -_England_; and, by your favour, let me ennoble this small island of -ours with the pompous appellation of the world. It is that world, -at least, in which our adventurer is to play his part; and for the -commerce of which it concerns him most immediately to be prepared. - -Now, as your Lordship’s chief care is directed, very properly, towards -its chief subjects; I mean, the men of rank and fortune, whose ample -property and noble birth give their country the greatest concern in -their education; let me ask in what manner they are likely to qualify -themselves best for the important parts, they are to act in it? - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -Certainly, by acquiring that knowledge, and those accomplishments, that -are most proper for the discharge of them. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Undoubtedly, my Lord: there cannot be two answers to so plain a -question. As that education is, in general, the best which forms the -man, in the best manner; so, in this confined view, that education must -be thought the best, which forms the _Englishman_, in the best manner. - -To proceed then on this reasonable concession. - -An _English_ citizen, or, if you will, Senator, (for this is the -station to which our greater citizens do, and our best should aspire) -can never acquit himself of the duties he owes his country, under this -character, but by furnishing himself with all those qualities of the -_head_ and _heart_, which his superior rank and pretensions demand. - -This _last_ chapter is an important one; and would be very long, if -justice were done to it. But a summary of the main articles, of which -it consists, may be given in few words. - -I require then in our young aspirant to the name and honours of an -_English_ Senator, that his mind be early and thoroughly seasoned -with the principles of virtue and religion: that he be trained, by a -strict discipline, to the command of his temper and passions: that his -ambition be awakened, or rather directed, to its right object, the -_public good_; and to that end, that his soul be fired with the love -of excellence and true honour: above all, that he have a reverence for -the legal constitution of his country, and a fervent affection for the -great community to which he belongs. - -Your Lordship has a due respect for these virtuous qualities of the -HEART, which will give this consideration its full weight with you. -But were they of no more account, than many institutors of youth seem -disposed to reckon them, still there are other qualities, those of the -HEAD, in every man’s account essentially requisite to the discharge of -those offices, which our greater citizens are destined to sustain. - -I require, therefore, in the next place, that our young Senator have -a ready and familiar use, at least, of the _Latin_ tongue (your -Lordship, I know, will add, and of the _Greek_; but in this I am not -so peremptory): that he be competently instructed in the elements of -science, as well as what are called polite letters: that, especially, -he be well grounded in the principles of morals, public and private; -that he have made a thorough acquaintance with the history of his own -country, and with its constitution, Civil and Ecclesiastical: that -he have a general insight into the history of the world, ancient and -modern: above all, that he have a well-exercised understanding; I -mean, that he be taught to reason clearly and consequentially upon -any subject: and, further, to put all these abilities to use, that he -have a ready command of his own language, and the power of expressing -himself, whether in writing or speaking, with ease and perspicuity, at -least, if not with elegance. - -Other ornamental qualities I omit for the present, which will almost -come of themselves, if his education be rightly conducted; or may be -acquired with little pains, and in the way of diversion only. But these -solid accomplishments I hold it necessary for our youth of quality to -possess, by the time in which they usually pass out of the hands of -their Tutors and Governors, I mean the age of twenty-one. - -Am I unreasonable in these demands? or can any thing less be dispensed -with in a gentleman, who, by established custom, is to enter into the -world at those years, and to bear a part in the public business and -legislature of his country? - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -Without doubt, these accomplishments are no more than may be reasonably -required in our young gentleman, or Senator. But how they are to be -come at in our vulgar way of _Education_, I do not easily apprehend. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Of that, in due time. At present, you accept this as a reasonable idea -or sketch of an _English_ gentleman’s character; such as the course of -his education ought to imprint upon him: and I shall now shew you very -clearly that it is not possible to be attained in the way of _foreign -Travel_. - -Consider, _first_ of all, the unavoidable WASTE OF TIME; of that time -which is so precious in every view; not only as being the most proper -for making the acquisitions, I speak of; but as being the only period -of his life, which he will be at liberty to employ in that manner. - -Early youth is flexible and docile: apt to take the impressions of -virtue, and ready to admit the principles of knowledge. The faculties -of the mind are then vigorous and alert: the conception quick, and -the memory retentive. The humble drudgery of acquiring the elements -of literature and science is to young minds an easy and a flattering -employment. A submissive reverence for their teachers disposes them -to proceed without reluctance in any path that is prescribed to them; -and a springing emulation, joined to a conscious sense of gradual -improvement, gives force and constancy to their pursuits. The objects -of their application seem important; not only from the novelty of them, -and the authority of those who have the direction of their studies, -but chiefly perhaps from a confused sense of their value, much above -what they would entertain, were they able to form a true and distinct -judgment of them. - -This, then, is the season for laying the foundations of knowledge and -ability of every kind; and if you let it slip, without applying it -carefully to those purposes, you will in vain lament the omission in -riper years, when the cares or amusements of life afford little leisure -for such pursuits, and less inclination. - -There may have been some few examples of those, whose superior industry -in advanced age has atoned for the defects of their education. But in -general the _man_ depends intirely on the _boy_; and he is all his life -long, what the impressions, he received in his early years, have made -him[41]. If therefore any considerable part of this precious season be -_wasted_ in foreign travel, I mean if it be actually _not employed_ in -the pursuits proper to it, this circumstance must needs be considered -as an objection of great weight to that sort of education. - -Your Lordship may consider, _next_, the DISSIPATION OF MIND attending -on this itinerant education; while the scene is constantly changing; -and new objects perpetually springing up before him, to solicit the -admiration of our young traveller. - -One of the greatest secrets in education is, to fix the attention -of youth: a painful operation! which requires long use and a steady -unremitting discipline; the very reverse of that roving, desultory -habit, which is inseparable from the sort of life you would recommend. -The young mind is naturally impatient of constraint: it hates to -be confined for any time in the same track; and is flying out, at -every turn, from the proper subject of its meditation. Instead of -counteracting this native infirmity, you indulge and flatter it; -till, by degrees, the mind loses its tone and vigour, and is utterly -incapable of paying a due attention to any thing. - -I insist the more on this consideration, because in acquiring the -elements of learning it is of great importance that the learner proceed -uniformly in the course on which he has entered. It may now and then -be the privilege of a genius, to seize the principles of knowledge at -once, and to grow wise, as we may say, by intuition. But the common -sort of minds are of another make. It is by slow steps only that they -arrive at knowledge; and, if you stop or divert their progress, their -labour is all thrown away, or yields at best a shallow, superficial, -and ill-digested learning. - -But were no account to be had of _the loss of time_, or of _this -dissipated turn of mind_, which is still more pernicious, I should -nevertheless object to this travelled education, on account of the very -objects to which our traveller’s APPLICATION is directed. - -Instead of those necessary and fundamental parts of knowledge, which -I require him to have laid in, his attention, so much of it as can be -spared for any thing that looks like information, is wasted on things -either frivolous or unimportant. - -His _first_ business is, to make himself perfect in the forms of -breeding, which he finds in use among those he lives with, or perhaps -in their forms of dress only. - -His _next_ concern is, to acquire a readiness in the languages of -_Europe_; or, to shorten his labour as much as possible, at least in -the _French_ language. The pretence is, that he may fit himself for -conversation with his foreign acquaintance; which takes up much time to -little purpose, as the use ceases, in a good degree, with his return -home: and, that he may qualify himself for perusing their best books; -which takes him off from the study of those which are still better; in -the learned languages, and I will venture to say, in his own. - -If any thing _further_ employ his attention, it is perhaps a little -virtuosoship. He inquires after fine pictures, fine statues, fine -buildings. He visits the shops of artificers; gets admission to -libraries, cabinets of medals, and repositories of curiosities; and, -for some relaxation from these arduous toils, is frequent at Churches, -Theatres, and Courts of Judicature, and stares at processions, -ceremonies, and other solemn shews. - -And, now, when these three points have been duly attended to, I -leave your Lordship to guess what leisure he is likely to have for -accomplishing himself in those other studies, which you allow me to -suppose are of much greater importance. - -In one word, my Lord, if he acquires any knowledge, it is only, or -chiefly, of such things as he may very well do without, or, at best, -are of an inferior and subordinate consideration: while the branches of -learning, he must neglect for these, are of the most constant use and -necessity to him in the commerce of his whole life. - -Till then your Lordship can find a way to reconcile these different -pursuits, I must be of opinion that the boasted way of travel is the -worst that can be contrived for the proper instruction of our young -countrymen. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -Without doubt, if these less important points engross all their -attention. But can there be a difficulty in carrying on the two designs -together; especially, if a good and attentive tutor be at hand to -direct his pupil’s pursuit and quicken his application? - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Your Lordship, like the friends and parents of a young traveller, is -for exacting wonders at the hands of this important personage, a tutor. -But the truth is, so many, and so different things cannot be well -learned, even with the advantage of the best parts under the very best -direction. - -Besides, your Lordship forgets that what we now inquire into, is, -whether the generality of our _English_ youth of quality should be -educated in this form; not, whether two or three young men, of the most -uncommon genius and application, may not possibly succeed in it. I -demand an education, which may ordinarily produce useful and able men: -your Lordship is providing only for, what comes of itself, a prodigy. - -And now, my Lord, with this preparation, I think myself enabled -to reply distinctly to the several arguments you alleged for the -expediency of foreign travel. It is very clear, that the most solid -advantages are lost by it. But perhaps we shall find a recompense for -this loss, in the shewy and ornamental accomplishments, which travel -promises; and which your Lordship supposes the world will readily, and -with reason, accept instead of them. - -These accomplishments are summed up in the BENEFITS of an enlarged -society and conversation; which, again, branch out into many heads; and -under different names, furnished, I think, the substance, as well as -governed the method, of your vindication. - -This was the polite and popular theme, which you chose to dress out in -all the colours of your eloquence. To make way for these, and to lay -them on with more effect, your Lordship was pleased to tell us a very -melancholy story. _England_, it seems, is over-run with barbarism and -ignorance; its inhabitants are rude and uncivilized; and nothing can -be learnt among them, which is fit to appear in good company. - -If this had been said of our forefathers in CÆSAR’S time, or even in -good King EDGAR’S, when the land, they say, was over-run with wolves -(by which, I suppose, the monkish mythology means _men_, as savage); I -could have found but little, it may be, to oppose to the accusation. -But at this time of the day, when arts and letters have at least made -some progress among us; when commerce has extended our acquaintance -with the rudest parts of the globe, and policy strengthened our -connexions with the most civilized; when our country is filled with -large flourishing towns, and even prides itself in a vast, opulent, -and splendid metropolis; I could not but think the charge was a little -aggravated, or that your Lordship had forgotten to speak of _England_, -as it now subsists, in the close of the seventeenth century. It seemed -to me as if the _English_ might now, at least, deserve to be considered -as _men_; and that in our courts and camps, if not in our colleges, we -might stand a chance of finding what your Lordship would not disdain to -qualify with the name of _gentlemen_. - -But the other representation was more favourable to your Lordship’s -cause: and out of that representation arose the several BARBARITIES, -with which you thought fit to mortify and alarm us. - -The first fire of your zeal is spent on that swarm of PREJUDICES, -with which our _English_, or at least provincial, youth are commonly -over-run. - -PREJUDICES, my Lord, is an equivocal term; and may as well mean right -opinions taken upon trust, and deeply rooted in the mind, as false and -absurd opinions, so derived and grown into it. - -The _former_ of these will do no hurt; on the contrary, perhaps, the -very best part of education is employed in the culture of them. - -But admit, they are of the _latter_ sort: still they may be only the -excesses of right principles and notions. And in that case, I should -doubt whether the evil be of consequence enough to deserve your -indignation. Perhaps no man has enough of certain virtues, that does -not carry them something too far. The just degree, the precise mean, is -a nice point to hit. The condition of our common nature is such, that -we either overshoot the mark, or fall short of it; and your Lordship -easily apprehends which is the more convenient as well as more generous -part, in this moral archery. - -Besides, reflexion and experience will come in, soon enough to moderate -these excesses. So that, for my part, though our young patriot should -happen to entertain the extravagant conceit, you diverted yourself -with, of the soil and climate of _Old England_, I should take that for -no great objection to his home-breeding, and should, possibly, not be -over-forward to disabuse him of such honest errors. - -Surely, my Lord, there are certain _associations_ of ideas, which, -however oddly formed, your Lordship would be something loth to undo. - -To take your own instance: What if the ideas of liberty chanced to be -closely connected with those of _Old England_; so as, by the magic -of this union, to convert her rude heaths and barren mountains into -pleasurable landskips; would you be forward, if you had it in your -power, to dissolve this charm, and, by setting those objects in their -true and proper light, disenchant the mind, at the same time, from the -idea, or warm love at least, of _English_ liberty? - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -You know well, I perceive, how to chuse your instances. The force of -this, you suppose, will hardly be lost on him, who professes himself an -adorer of that liberty. But, under favour, I see no such inconvenience, -as you suggest, in putting asunder two things which truth and nature -had no hand in bringing together. LIBERTY has charms enough to attach -the mind, wherever the place of her abode be; and I have never heard -that the loveliness of her form is impaired, or even disgraced, by the -homeliness of her habitation. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -It may be so; and the reason, as in the case of the more selfish -affections, is, That the habitation of our idol, whatever be our -worship, is rarely thought homely. But convince us that our country -is scarce worth contending for, and, as lovely as its Goddess Liberty -may appear to enamoured eyes, the generality of her votaries will, I -doubt, be something slack in her defence. - -But, after all, an illustration must not be questioned at this rate. It -is enough, that your Lordship sees I am not for discarding Principles, -under the opprobrious name of Prejudices. The tender minds of youth -are to be treated with indulgence. If they put forth too fast, and too -luxuriantly, let the ordinary methods of culture be applied to them. -A little dressing and pruning, at fit seasons, may do more good, than -_transplanting_: a fatal experiment, in many cases; which, in checking -the immoderate vigour of its growth, kills the tree, or, at best, -brings on a languishing and dwarfish imbecillity. - -If, indeed, by Prejudices you mean _vicious principles_, properly so -called; that is, vicious in themselves, as well as in the degree: -these, it is certain, must be rooted up; and the sooner, the better: -but then there is no need of crossing the seas for the benefit of such -an operation. - -For the proper cure of such prejudices, as I take it, is to be made by -the application of those truths that are common to all climes; not by -the partial manners or opinions which arise out of them in this or that -more polished society. - -But your Lordship, I observed, as though you had taken up this charge -of Prejudices purely to introduce the satire on _Old England_, was -content to drop it, as soon as it had served your turn. You exchanged -it, however, for _another_ of more importance, THE LOW, SORDID, AND -IMMORAL HABITS; which strike into the lives and manners of our youth, -and are, as you conceive, epidemical and incurable in this Island. - -It may be true, that too much of the complaint is well-founded. The -taste of our provincial gentry may be something coarse; and their -houses, none of the best schools of civility and politeness: so that -low and even immoral habits may be, and, I doubt, too often are, the -fruit of an ordinary domestic education. But then what remedy does your -Lordship prescribe for the removal of them? Why, you send them abroad -with all their imperfections upon their heads; to get rid of their bad -habits, as they can, and to pick up better, as they will: or, do you -perhaps imagine that the ill qualities, they take out with them, will -drop off, of themselves? and that the good ones they stand in need of, -like new leaves in the spring, will immediately put forth and take -their places? - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -I do but imagine, that bad habits are only to be expelled by better; -and that therefore the readiest way for our countrymen to get quit of -their ill manners, is, to force them into good company. And, with your -leave, I see nothing very absurd or unreasonable in this imagination. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Certainly not, in prescribing good habits as a cure for bad ones. But -your Lordship had done well to shew what there is in a foreign air, -that is so propitious to good habits, as that none but such can thrive -in it; or, if there be a mixture of good and bad, as with us, how your -traveller shall be secured against an ill choice. Otherwise our young -spark may pick up new habits indeed; but they may only be different -from what he took from home, not better or more reasonable. - -I doubt, my Lord, that, when such rude and untutored boys find -themselves removed from that restraint which the eye of a parent, -though but little accustomed to civility himself, imposed upon them, -they will rather give way to a freer indulgence of their own froward -humours, than be in any disposition to check and reform them. What -inclination will such persons have to benefit by good company? or how -indeed will they gain admittance into it? - -I appeal to your own observation, whether, when this sort of -ill-educated people get abroad, and settle for a time in some -frequented city, their usual way be not to keep at distance from -the better company of the place, and to flock together into little -knots and clubs of their own countrymen, or of such others as are -most resembling in taste and manners to themselves; where all their -low humours are freely indulged, and even inflamed, by the mutual -society and countenance of one another. This, your Lordship knows, -is most frequently the case; while the obsequious tutor is at length -more likely to be swayed by the importunity, and perverted by the ill -example, of his disciples, than they are to be restrained by his advice -and authority. - -But, though foreign travel should be indeed a remedy for the mischiefs, -complained of, I still question whether it would be a _proper_ one. -Suppose our young gentleman to be of so pliant a make, as to lay aside -his rustic and illiberal habits in complaisance to the better company, -he is obliged to live with: does it immediately follow, that he will -adopt none but what are fit for him to assume; and, with so raw and -undiscerning a judgment as he carried out with him, that he will have -the skill to select only and assume such manners as are most becoming -and ornamental? - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -As if one needs be in any pain, on that head; when the habits, I spoke -of, are not only different from those he must assume abroad, but the -very reverse of them! - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Alas, your Lordship is not to be told, that the reverse of wrong is not -always right. Even in the instance your Lordship puts, a young man may -be polished indeed out of his rusticity; yet, if he have no better -rule to go by, than the fashion of the place where he lives, he may -easily wear himself into the contrary defect, an effeminate and unmanly -foppery. And, for the probability of such miscarriage, your Lordship is -again referred to your own experience and observation. - -As to what I take to be the proper remedy for these barbarities, that -is another question, which I may afterwards find occasion to explain -to you more at large. For the present, I must take leave to conclude, -that, under the circumstances here supposed, foreign travel is -generally an _insufficient_, always an _improper_, cure for them. - -Your Lordship indeed goes further. You contend, that, if these sordid -and dirty habits could by any means be expelled, still our _English_ -education is so essentially bad, that no liberal or graceful manners -could be derived from it. And here your Lordship’s rhetoric expatiates -in full security. You seem confident that, though a method might -be found out for making reasonable men, yet our home-breeding is -absolutely incapable of furnishing fine gentlemen. - -On this occasion it was, that the servile discipline of our schools, -and the pedant tutorage of our colleges, afforded ample scope to your -resentment. From an over-charged picture of both these, your Lordship -finds means to dress up such a prodigy of ill manners, as must be the -scorn, or pity, of all good company: which, to move our pity, or our -scorn the more, your Lordship, I remember, took care to contrast to the -easy, the assured, the all-sufficient air of a finished traveller. - -To this triumphant part of your harangue, I have only to oppose some -plain and simple truths. - -The awkward bashfulness of a young man is a sin which, I know, admits -of no expiation, in good company. However, what good company will not -pardon, it will soon remove. And, till that blessed time comes, let -it _first_ be considered that the modesty of ingenuous youth, though -a terrible vice in itself, is yet favourable to some virtues. It is -full of deference and respect; it preserves innocence; nourishes -emulation; and, till reason be of age to take the rein into her hands, -suspends and controuls all the passions. Nay, if it did nothing more -than dispose a young man to observe much and talk little; even this -advantage might be some recompence for the ill figure it gives him in -the eyes of your Lordship’s good company. - -Have a care, my Lord, lest by taking off this restraint too soon, you -emancipate your favoured youth from every principle of honour, and let -him run headlong into worthlessness, dissolution, and ruin! - -I know what the world is ready to think of this talk. But a truce with -the world. I am a Philosopher, your Lordship knows: nay, your Lordship, -too, is a Philosopher. Let us for once then hazard an unfashionable -truth, that modesty in a young man is his grace and ornament; and that -a confident young booby, not a bashful one, is the prodigy that needs -the expiation. - -Consider, _further_, my Lord, that bashfulness is not so much the -effect of an ill education, as the proper gift and provision of wise -nature. Every stage of life has its own set of manners, that is suited -to it, and best becomes it. Each is beautiful in its season; and you -might as well quarrel with the child’s rattle, and advance him directly -to the boy’s top and span-farthing, as expect from diffident youth the -manly confidence of riper age. - -Lamentable in the mean time, I am sensible, is the condition of my good -Lady; who, especially if she be a mighty well-bred one, is perfectly -shocked at the boy’s awkwardness, and calls out on the taylor, the -dancing-master, the player, the travelled tutor, any body and every -body, to relieve her from the pain of so disgraceful an object. - -She should however be told, if a proper season and words soft enough -could be found to convey the information, that the odious thing, -which disturbs her so much, is one of nature’s signatures impressed -on that age; that bashfulness is but the passage from one season of -life to another; and that as the body is then the least graceful, when -the limbs are making their last efforts and hastening to their just -proportion, so the manners are the least easy and disengaged, when the -mind, conscious and impatient of its imperfections, is stretching all -its faculties to their full growth. - -If I had the honour of her Ladyship’s ear, I might further add, for her -comfort, that as to this over-whelming modesty, which muffles merit, -the boy, if she have but patience, will presently outgrow it, as he -does his cloaths; that when this cloak of shame has done its work of -warming and invigorating his young virtue, it may safely be laid aside, -or rather will drop off of itself; and that, as poor and sheepish a -thing as master now is, he may turn out, in the end, as forward a spark -as the best of them. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -Fye, Mr. LOCKE; what, my philosopher give into this gaiety! he, who -reproached me just now for the way of raillery and declamation! - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Your Lordship does well to upbraid me for treating in so light a manner -what deserves, indeed, the most indignant reproof. For, what is this -endeavour to quench ingenuous shame, but a blasphemous attempt to -counteract the designs of Providence, and obliterate, by main force, -one of the most natural, as well as most precious, distinctions of -early youth? Modesty is the blush of budding reason and virtue: and if -art could succeed in the preposterous project of forcing the fruit -without the bud, not only this prime grace of the year would be lost, -but the production itself, though it might be wondered at as a rarity, -could never pretend to the flavour and ripeness of that which is of -nature’s own growth. - -In plain words, my Lord, modesty is the ornament of youth: and the -earnest or rather the proper cause, of all that is excellent in riper -age. It graces the boy, and, in due time, forms the man: whereas in -suppressing this young virtue, you precipitate, indeed, a sort of -manhood; which, yet, in effect, is only a perpetual boyism, or rather a -portentous mixture of both states, without the virtues of either. - -I am far from meaning by all this, and your Lordship will be as far -from suspecting me to mean, that an easy unconstrained manner is not an -amiable and agreeable thing. I am only for waiting the proper time of -its appearance; which nature makes a little later than our impatient -fancies are ready to prescribe to her. - -Consider too this polite accomplishment, this supreme finishing -of a well-formed character, can only be acquired, except in -some extraordinary instances, by long incessant use and habit in -conversation; which, besides the unfitness of the thing in other -respects, would dissipate the young mind too much, and take it off from -those other more important pursuits, which are proper to that age. - -Nay, I might further say, and with much truth, that politeness, in your -Lordship’s, at least the court-sense of the word, is not to be attained -by the ablest men; and when it is attainable, would generally do hurt, -I mean beyond a certain degree, to its possessors. - -No very great man was ever what the world calls, perfectly polite. Men -of that stamp cannot afford such attention to little things, as is -necessary to form and complete that character. - -And even to men of a common make, that excessive sedulity about grace -and manner, which constitutes the essence of good-breeding, would be -injurious; as it tends to cramp their faculties, effeminate the temper, -and break that force and vigour of mind which is requisite in a man of -business for the discharge of his duty, in this free country. - -So that, for any thing I see, this exquisite ease of good breeding -should be left to the ambition of still inferior spirits, of such -indeed as are conscious to themselves of an incapacity for any other. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -The concession is gracious; and the danger, no doubt, alarming, lest -our senators and men of business should be disabled for their high -functions by an excess of good manners. Yet ’tis some consolation, that -at present I see no symptoms of that enfeebling politeness among such -of the ornaments of either house, as I have the honour to be acquainted -with. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Your Lordship may divert yourself as you think fit, with an old man’s -fears. But if this mode of travelling, which has taken so much with us -since the peace[42], should continue for any time, the day may come but -too soon, when these fancies of mine will be realized: when politeness -shall be fatal to ability of every kind; and, at least in the higher -ranks of life, when our countrymen shall be too well bred to be good -for any thing. - -And now, having ventured so far, shall I proceed one step further, and -take to myself the privilege of an old man, to express my sense of this -whole matter, a little unfashionably? The mighty value, that is set -upon manners, comes, as I have already hinted, from a quarter, which, -though it may imprint respect on a person of your Lordship’s age and -gallantry, must not pretend to be so much considered by grey hairs. If -you can forgive the liberty, I will then, at length, speak out, and -say, They are the ladies, only, or chiefly, that have affixed such an -idea of merit to this envied quality of good-breeding; and that, as -appearances are thought to sway full enough with that delicate sex, -they may perhaps have advanced the credit of it something higher than -such an accomplishment deserves. - -And when I further consider the mighty influence which these fair -dispensers of reputation must needs have on our gallant and courtly -youth, I cannot wonder that the mode of foreign travel is become so -fashionable. Nay, I am half inclined to suppose, that, in this debate -between us, I have rather your politeness to contend with, than your -judgment: and that, if your Lordship would deal roundly with me, your -answer on this occasion would be the same with HIS, who, (as I have -heard you tell the story) being questioned by his friends why a person -of his acknowledged sense and bravery would accept the challenge of -a coxcomb, thought it vindication enough of himself to reply, “that, -for the _men_, he could safely trust their judgment; but how should he -appear, at night, before the _maids of honour_[43]?” - -Whether I presume too much in this fancy, is not material. It is enough -to say, that what there is of use or beauty in polite carriage will -come of itself, with a little experience of the world and good company; -and shall not, with my consent, be purchased at the expence of far -better things. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -Nor with mine: for, with all the courtliness and gallantry you make me -master of, I never intended by the _good company_, I mentioned with -so much respect, either those foolish men, or women, who prefer the -forward assurance of their boys to every other consideration. I only -think that a reasonable attention to the manners of our noble youth is -a matter of much consequence; as early impressions of this sort are -necessary to fit them for the commerce of the world, from which alone -they can hope to derive their best and most solid instruction: and your -gaiety on the fair sex must not restrain me from agreeing with them, in -this instance, that I see not how that world can be read and studied, -as it ought to be, without travelling. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Yes; now your Lordship comes to an important point indeed. From the -polish of manners, the least considerable, and the easiest to be -attained of all the parts of good breeding, your Lordship, as I now -remember, rose at once to a subject of real consequence, I mean, THE -KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD; a science, as you well termed it, the most -profound and useful. And if this MASTER-SCIENCE were to be acquired by -means of early travel, our young gentleman should have my consent to -shut up his books, and set forth on his adventures, directly. - -But, good my Lord, consider with yourself the difficulty of this study; -the ripeness of age and judgment necessary for entering upon it; much -more, for making a real progress in it. - -And why, as I before hinted, will your Lordship be so impatient to come -at the end, without the means? Why, in such haste to build up men, when -nature has allotted a season for their being boys? - -Without doubt, if our youth could start up men, at once, armed at all -points, as the fable has it, and thoroughly furnished for the business -of life, we should gladly accept this benefit, and might then be -content to overlook or suppress all the cares of education. But this -is not the condition of humanity. Its improvements of every kind are -slow and gradual. Time and attention form each; and it is only through -the right application of preceding states, that we arrive, at length, -at the maturity of human wisdom. Let the child and boy be allowed to -perfect themselves in what belongs to those conditions, and it will -then be time enough to provide for the manly character. - -Reflect with yourself, my Lord. When the young unfurnished traveller is -carried out into the world, with no principles to poize his conduct, no -maxims to direct his judgment, what can be expected from this untimely -enterprize? what, but fluctuating morals, and fortuitous deliberations? -He has not so much as the idea of what constitutes _man_. How then -should he obtain any real and useful knowledge of the human character? - -If by a knowledge of the world, be only meant a knowledge of the -external modes and customs of it, this, no doubt, were best acquired -by surveying them as they present themselves in the various tribes -and societies of mankind. But your Lordship means more than this: -you understand a knowledge of a higher kind; such as respects the -creature _man_, considered in his essential parts, his _reason_ and -his _passions_. This is a different kind of study, my Lord, from that -other. Any one that has eyes, is qualified to observe the shapes and -masks of men; but to penetrate their interior frame, to inspect their -proper dispositions and characters, is the business of a well-informed -and well-disciplined understanding. - -Can your Lordship seriously expect that a young boy should comprehend -the effect, which government, policy, institution, and other -circumstances of life, have on the pliant reason of mankind? or that he -should have the skill to disentangle the various folds and intricacies, -in which their real characters lie involved, through the insidious and -discordant working of the passions? He should surely know what truth -and reason is, before he can derive any benefit to himself from the -discourse of men: and he should have carefully watched the movements of -his own heart, before he presume to analyze, as your Lordship expressed -it, the characters of others. - -You see, then, the unseasonableness and inutility of foreign travel, -as to the case in hand, even on the supposition that our traveller -were admitted into what is called, the best company. But how shall -this privilege be obtained? In what country can it be thought that -the politeness of eminent men will condescend to a free and intimate -communication with boys, of whatever promising hopes, or illustrious -quality? Certain slight and formal civilities, your Lordship knows, are -the utmost that can be looked for; and are indeed the whole of what our -ill-prepared traveller is capable. - -Your Lordship did well to remind me of such societies as those in which -you and I have, at times, been engaged. The recollection is, of course, -flattering and agreeable. But let us presume upon ourselves, my Lord; -the LIMBORCHS and LE CLERCS are not so obvious to every body, as they -were to us; or, if they were, every body would not profit so well by -them. And if private scholars be thus inaccessible, how shall we think -to intrude on the business and occupations of experienced magistrates -and ministers? And, putting both these out of the question, who remain -for the tutorage and instruction of these travelled boys, but such raw, -unaccomplished companions, as they left at home, and may find every -where in abundance? - -Still my objections go further. What if, by uncommon sagacity and -good luck, some acquaintance be made with superior persons, and some -little insight at length be gained into their real characters? Of -what mighty advantage will this be in life, when their business lies -amongst other men; and when the same industry and attention had brought -them acquainted with the characters of those, they must act and live -with? Foreigners are neither an easier study than our own countrymen, -nor a more useful one. The very modes and forms of external breeding -catch the attention of unexperienced youth; and are so many obstacles -to their real progress in this science. And, when all is done, the -modifications of the human character, as existing at home, and -exhibited in the lives and actions of their fellow-citizens, are, as I -said, the proper objects of their curiosity. - -In short, the utmost I can allow to this discipline of foreign travel, -under the idea of its furnishing _a knowledge of the world_, is, -That it may possibly wear a young man into some studied and apish -resemblance of the models, he copies from, in his deportment and -manners; or that the various scenes, he has passed through, may furnish -matter, at his return, for much unprofitable babble in conversation: -but, that he should come back fraught with any solid information -concerning men and things, such as, in your Lordship’s sublime phrase, -may fit him to appear with lustre in the court or senate of his own -country, is what I can never promise myself from this fashionable mode -of education. - -I am even disposed to promise myself the less from it, for an -_observation_, I have sometimes had the opportunity of making. - -An old man has so little about him to provoke envy, that he may be -allowed to make the best of his former successes. And though I pride -myself in _one_, of a very delicate nature, the boast of it will not be -ill taken even there, where your Lordship, with all your pretensions, -would be heard with no patience. In short, I indulge myself in the -vanity of saying that I have, in my time, been well with the fair sex, -and have even been countenanced so far as to be admitted into a degree -of acquaintance and familiarity with some ladies of the highest quality -and distinction. And of these, I have constantly observed, that, though -bred up at home, they had a manifest advantage over their travelled -brothers, I was going to say, in learning and science, but certainly in -true politeness, good sense, and even a knowledge of the world. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -I understand this civility to the ladies, as a decent atonement for -your late freedoms with them. In this light I should be unwilling to -cavil at it: and yet I see not, how your high encomiums on the superior -good sense and politeness of these home-bred ladies can consist with -the passion, you before censured in them, for foreign travel, as -favourable, in their opinion, to the production of such virtues. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -My consistency in this representation, I doubt, is less questionable, -than my civility. For the ladies, on whom I bestowed those high, but -just encomiums, were chiefly such as I had known in my younger days, -before the passion for travel had got among them. Now indeed the case -is altering apace, and the effects are answerable. The virtues of the -_English_ ladies, when they staid at home, were more conspicuous than -those of our travelled gentlemen. Now that they, too, begin to travel, -their follies are, also, more glaring: in either case, I am willing -to own, for the credit of my civility, from the same reason, that both -good and ill qualities strike us most, when _set_ in the precious metal -of that sex. - -However, from the whole of my experience, I must needs conclude, that -this finishing of a travelled education only serves to corrupt good -qualities, or inflame bad ones. - -But the ladies are not in my province. If they were, a knowledge of -the world is not the leading virtue I might wish to see them possessed -of. In the men, I confess, this accomplishment is of more importance; -and I am therefore solicitous, that no well-meaning youth, whom it so -much concerns to gain a knowledge of the world, should be misled in his -search of it. - -Seriously, my Lord, the WORLD, which I am forced to repeat so often, is -a solemn word, and the study of it has an air of something plausible -and imposing. But those, who know what the world is, will think it best -that a young man begin with what is the first and last concern of every -man, the study of himself; and if, in due time, he come to understand, -and, still more, to value as they deserve, the characters of the great -and good men of his own country, the opprobrious name of _home-bred_ -will not hinder him from acquiring the best fruit, with which a -knowledge of the world, rightly understood, can furnish him. - -For, my Lord, I must not, on so inviting an occasion as this, conceal -an odd fancy of mine from your Lordship. - -The affair of _knowing the world_, about which weak and fantastic -people make so much noise, and which one hears them perpetually -insisting upon with so much sufficiency, is of all others the nicest -and most momentous step that is made in education. And, though volumes -have been written to teach us how we may best become scholars, orators, -courtiers, what not; yet not one leaf do I ever remember to have seen, -composed by any capable man, that instructs us in the proper way of -getting into this great secret. - -It is not a matter to be entered upon, if I were vain enough to think -myself capable of it, in this casual conversation; but thus much I may -presume to say, that whoever designs to let a young man into a safe and -useful knowledge of the world, must do it in a way very remote from -that which has hitherto been taken. - -A young man, they tell us, must know the world; therefore, say they, -push him into it at once, that he may acquire that knowledge, which his -own experience, and not another’s, must procure for him. - -I, on the other hand, take upon me to say, Therefore keep him out of -that world, as long as you can; and when you commit him to it, let the -ablest friend or tutor lend him his best experience, to conduct him -gradually, cautiously, imperceptibly, into an acquaintance with it. - -You ask the reason of this mysterious procedure; yet methinks it should -be obvious enough. From _sixteen to one and twenty_ (a period, in which -the cares of an ordinary education cease, or are much relaxed) is that -precise season of life, which requires all the attention of the most -vigilant, and all the address of the wisest, governor. The passions are -then opening; curiosity awake; and the young mind ready to take its ply -from the seducements of fashion, and creditable example. - -Nor is this the worst. An education, that deserves the name, has -inculcated maxims of honour and probity; has inspired the noblest -sentiments of moral duty; has impressed on the mind a veneration for -all the virtues, and an equal horror for all the vices, of humanity. - -Full of these sublime ideas, which his parents, his tutors, his books, -and even his own ingenuous heart has rendered familiar to him, the -fatal time is at hand, when our well-instructed youth is now to make -his entrance into the world: but, good God, what a world! not that -which he has so long read, or dreamt of; but a world, new, strange, and -inconsistent with all his former notions and expectations. - -He enters this scene with awe; and contemplates it with astonishment. -Vice, he sees assured, prosperous, and triumphant; virtue -discountenanced, unsuccessful, and degraded. He joins the first croud, -that presents itself to him: a loud laugh arises; and the edge of their -ridicule is turned on sobriety, industry, honesty, generosity, or some -other of those qualities, he has hitherto been most fond of. - -He quits this clamorous set with disdain; and is glad to unite himself -with _another_, better dressed, better mannered, in all respects more -specious and attractive. His simplicity makes him for some time the -dupe of this plausible society: but their occasional hints, their -negligent sarcasms, their sallies of wit, and polite raillery on all -that he has been accustomed to hold sacred, shew him at last that he -has only changed his company, not mended it. - -This discovery leads him to another. He attends to the lives of these -well-bred people, and finds them of a piece with their manners and -conversation; shewy indeed, and, on first view, decorous; but, in -effect, deformed by every impotent and selfish passion; wasted in -sloth and luxury; in ruinous play; criminal intrigues; or, at best, -unprofitable amusements. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -This painting, methinks, is a little strong. Besides, you might surely -have provided better company for your young inspector of the world, -than that shameless crew, or this corrupt one. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -I take up, as he must do, with such company as the world is most apt -to throw in our way; and the colouring, your Lordship knows, is modest -enough for the occasion. - -But I attend our boy-adventurer no further in his progress into the -world, and return now to ask you, what effect your Lordship thinks -these strange unexpected scenes must naturally have upon him? Certainly -one or the other of these two; either that the scorn of virtue, he -every where observes, will by degrees abate his reverence of it, -and at length obliterate all the better impressions of his education; -or, if these should still keep their hold of his young ingenuous -breast, that he will entertain the most indignant sentiments of -mankind, and suffer himself to be carried by them into a sour and -sullen misanthropy, at least; perhaps into a sceptical and prophane -impiety. - -I have seldom known a young man of sense and parts, educated in this -way, escape from one or other of these mischiefs. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -But why then bring him up with those high notions of mankind, of which -the world must presently disabuse him, at the expence either of his -innocence, or good nature? - - -MR. LOCKE. - -That question had been natural enough from most men. But your Lordship -knows very well, that, in this moral discipline, as in every other, -ideas of excellence are to be imprinted on the young mind, and the most -consummate models proposed for imitation: on this certain principle, -That, whoever would be moderately accomplished in any art, and most of -all in this supreme art of life, must take his aim high, and aspire to -absolute perfection. A painter or statuary of the lowest form, your -Lordship knows, is taught to work after a MADONNA _of_ RAPHAEL, or a -VENUS _of_ MEDICIS; yet is not likely to meet with either, among his -acquaintance. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -The observation is surely just; and I could only mean that those -high fancies should be checked and moderated in due time, before -our entrance into that world, which, it is foreseen, will so little -correspond to them. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -And what is that _due time_, your Lordship sets apart for this delicate -operation? - -Is it, before the young boy commences his travels? But that, according -to your Lordship’s scheme, is so early, that the regimen, you would now -abate, has not taken its full effect, and his weak unconfirmed virtue -would die under the experiment. - -Is it then, when his travels are already begun? And is the sage tutor, -your Lordship anxiously flies to, as to some god, on every occasion -of distress, to charge himself with the solution of this difficulty? -Alas! now it is too late. You have brought the boy into the scene. He -will see and judge for himself. The torrent bears him away: the instant -impression is too strong to be counteracted by the feeble and, now, -disgusting admonitions of a tutor. - -See then, if the proper way, to secure him from these inconveniences, -be not, To keep him yet at a distance from the world; and, when you -let him into some knowledge of it, to do it seasonably, gradually, and -circumspectly: to take the veil off from some parts, and leave it still -upon others; to paint what he does not see, and to hint at more than -you paint: to confine him, at first, to the best company, and prepare -him to make allowances even for the best: to preserve in his breast the -love of excellence, and encourage in him the generous sentiments, he -has so largely imbibed, and so perfectly relishes: yet temper, if you -can, his zeal with candour; insinuate to him the prerogative of such a -virtue, as his, so early formed, and so happily cultivated; and bend -his reluctant spirit to some aptness of pity towards the ill-instructed -and the vicious: by degrees to open to him the real condition of that -world, to which he is approaching; yet so as to present to him, at the -same time, the certain inevitable misery of conforming to it: last of -all, to shew him some examples of that vice, which he must learn to -bear in others, though detest in himself; to watch the effect these -examples have upon him; and, as you find his dispositions incline, to -fortify his abhorrence of vice, or excite his commiseration of the -vicious: in a word (for I am not now directing a tutor, but suggesting, -in very general terms, my ideas of his office) to inform the minds of -youth with such gradual intelligence, as may prepare them to see the -world without surprize, and live in it without danger. - -This is that important chapter, which I presumed to say no institutor -of youth had yet composed, or so much as touched upon, in a treatise -of education. You will learn from this brief summary of its contents, -what, in my opinion, should be the employment of those precious years, -which are usually thrown away upon foreign travel. - -In earnest, my Lord, there is a fatal mistake in this matter. People -speak of a knowledge of the world, as what may be acquired at any -time, and, for its importance, cannot be acquired too soon. Alas! they -forget, that a long and careful preparation is necessary, before we are -qualified so much as to enter on this task; and that they, who are -latest in setting out, will arrive the soonest, certainly the safest, -at their journey’s end. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -But where shall this mighty work of preparation be carried on? And in -what privileged sanctuary shall our good young man be kept from the -sight and contagion of this wicked world, and yet be gradually forming -for the use and practice of it? - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Where, does your Lordship ask? Why, in his college; in a friend’s, -or his father’s house; any where, in short, rather than in a foreign -country, where every wholesome restraint is taken off, and the young -mind left a prey to every ill impression. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -And are there no inconveniences, on the other hand, which a provident -parent may be supposed to foresee, and may be willing to guard against? - - -MR. LOCKE. - -I understand your Lordship. I know, that, for want of better arguments -in support of this foreign breeding, weak or unworthy parents are ready -to take up with such as these: - -They tell us, especially if of rank and quality, that their children -have suffered more than enough already, in their passage through our -public and vulgar schools; that, together with many illiberal habits, -they have contracted many low and illiberal friendships, which are, in -all reason, to be shaken off; that these unworthy companions follow -them to the University, and are, if not the bane, yet the dishonour -and incumbrance of their future lives; that an absence of some years -abroad loosens these hasty and ill-timed connexions; and leaves them, -on their return, at full liberty to contract others, more suitable to -their birth and quality, and more conducive to their views of fortune, -as well as of reputation, in the world; that indeed they might remove -the young man immediately from his school into their own house; but -that much of their time is necessarily spent in the metropolis, the -licence of which is not to be guarded against by any care of their -own, or of the best governor; that his low illiberal acquaintance would -haunt him even there; at least, that the youth of his own age and rank -would naturally flock about him, and, under a thousand pretences of -civility or amusement, engage him in all the follies, and perhaps the -vices, of this great town; that, on the whole, his only refuge from -these mischiefs is in the way of foreign travel; whence, at length, he -may return in riper age and with better judgment to take his station -in the world. - -To this popular talk (which your Lordship, I suppose, glanced at, but -would not condescend to enforce directly) it is enough to reply, that -part of the inconveniences, here enumerated, are feigned at pleasure, -and the rest exaggerated; that the authority of a father, if he -deserve that name, in concurrence with honest friends and an ordinary -governor, will prevent them all, or at least palliate them; and that, -to take matters at the worst, his son will be exposed to still greater -inconveniences any where else. But in truth I cannot see, if a college -be excepted against, and the business be to see the world, as it is -called, why _London_ should not be esteemed as fit a scene for the -purpose, as any other great town in _Europe_. I think it contains -as much good company as any other; and I doubt whether it be more -licentious; or, if it be, there are three restraints upon it, which, I -am sure, will not be found abroad: I mean, “the parental authority;” -“domestic government;” and “a regard to reputation, under the eye and -notice of his friends.” - -So that, in every view, whether on your Lordship’s plan, of entering -directly on the great study of the world, or on mine, of only preparing -for it, our young man cannot possibly do better, at his years, than -stay at home; where, if your Lordship please, we will then leave -him; at least, till we have tried the force of your next, and, as I -remember, LAST argument in behalf of foreign travel, “which arose out -of the mighty benefits, supposed to attend the study and cultivation of -what are called the FINE ARTS; in short, from the lustre and importance -of the virtuoso character.” - -Your Lordship, who has so acknowledged a taste in these things, and -of course has so exquisite a sense of their value, may be excused for -enlarging so particularly on this head. But to me, who am of a plainer -make and cooler disposition, they appear, if not frivolous, yet of -little importance, when compared with those other things, which are the -proper and more immediate objects of education. - -It would, I doubt, disgust your Lordship, should I speak my mind freely -of them; or even insinuate, that I take these studies, when entered -upon in early youth, and proposed as matters of serious pursuit and -application, to have indeed the most pernicious tendency; as breaking -the nerves and force of the mind, and inspiring I know not what of a -trifling and superfluous vanity. - -To render these pursuits serviceable in any degree, or even harmless, -they should in all reason be postponed to riper years, when the -confirmed judgment will of course take them but for what they are, for -nothing more than elegant and polite amusements. - -Not to insist, that to excel in this species of taste, as in all -others, a previous foundation is required, of reflexion and good -sense: for I agree with your favourite poet; of every polite study and -indulgence even of the imagination, - - SAPERE, _est et principium et fons_. - -These and still stronger objections might be made to your partiality -for the _fine arts_. But I am contented to wave them all; as indeed -they would come with an ill grace from one, who must acknowledge -himself to have no particular skill or discernment in them, and who -should not therefore presume to enter the lists with so consummate a -master of them as your Lordship. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -And so, under the cover of a civil speech, you escape from the most -specious, at least, of those arguments, which are alleged in favour -of an early travelled education. For, whether it be true, or no, that -other accomplishments may be as well acquired at home, it is past a -doubt that the polite and liberal arts can only be learnt abroad. And -of their use and ornament to our noble youth— - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Your Lordship, I know, can say more, and finer things, than you expect -I should seriously dispute with you, on this occasion. - -I have now, my Lord, (at least if my old memory has not betrayed me) -gone over the several heads and topics of your defence; and said -enough, I believe, on each, to shew that foreign travel is not, on -whatever side we view it, the most proper method of a young gentleman’s -education. - -The benefits, you propose by it, are either of small account in -themselves, at least of much less account than those you must sacrifice -to them; or, when their importance is real and confessed, may be -attained more conveniently in some other way, and at some other season. - -For, after all I have said, your Lordship is not to conclude that I am -wholly bent against the practice of foreign travel. I am as sensible, -as any man, of its important use, when undertaken at a proper time -and by fit persons. For, though I esteem it idleness, and something -worse, for a young boy to waste his prime and most precious years in -sauntering round _Europe_, yet I know what ends of wisdom and of virtue -may be answered by a capable man’s survey of it. - -But then, my Lord, I reckon that capacity at no vulgar rate. He must -be of worth and consideration enough to be received into the wisest, -nay the greatest company. His natural insight into men and things must -be quick and penetrating. His faculties must all be at their height; -his studies matured; and his reading and observation extensive. With -these accomplishments, if a man of rank and fortune can find leisure to -employ a few years among the neighbouring nations, I readily agree, his -voyage may turn out to his own benefit, and to that of his country. - -In this way it may be true, as your Lordship insisted, that our island -prejudices will be usefully worn off, and much real civility and -politeness be imported among us. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -I thank you for this concession. Although I cannot yet be convinced -of the total impropriety of an earlier voyage, I am pleased to find -you do not interdict the thing itself. Many wise persons among us have -even talked at that rate. But you are more reasonable; and indeed -that extravagance was not to be apprehended from your true sense and -superior knowledge of human nature. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -I have that esteem of your Lordship’s kind opinion, as to be very -unwilling to forfeit any share of it. Yet what I have now to advance -will, I readily foresee, expose me to some risk, in that particular. - -For now your Lordship has expressed your regard for _a superior -knowledge of human nature_, it emboldens me to add that such knowledge -(which I have small right to claim to myself) is not to be acquired but -by the largest and most extensive observation of the human species: -so that I may be found at last even a warmer advocate for the uses of -foreign travel, than your Lordship. - -I hold then that the knowledge of human nature (the only knowledge, in -the largest sense of the expression, deserving a wise man’s regard) -can never be well attained but by seeing it under all its appearances; -I mean, not merely, or chiefly, in that fair and well-dressed form -it wears amid the arts and embellishments of our western world; -but in its naked simplicity, and even deformities; nay, under all -its disguises and distortions, arising from absurd governments and -monstrous religions, in every distant region and quarter of the globe. - -The subject appears to me of that importance, that it almost warms me, -an old philosopher as I am, into some emulation of your Lordship’s -enthusiasm. - -I would say then, “that, to study HUMAN NATURE to purpose, a traveller -must enlarge his circuit beyond the bounds of _Europe_. He must go, -and catch her undressed, nay quite naked, in _North-America_, and at -the Cape of _Good Hope_. He may then examine how she appears crampt, -contracted, and buttoned up close in the strait tunic of law and -custom, as in _China_ and _Japan_: or, spread out and enlarged above -her common size, in the loose and flowing robe of enthusiasm, among -the Arabs and Saracens: or, lastly, as she flutters in the old rags -of worn-out policy and civil government, and almost ready to run back -naked to the deserts, as on the _Mediterranean_ coast of _Africa_.” - -These, my Lord, are the proper scenes for the philosopher, for the -citizen of the world, to expatiate in. The tour of _Europe_ is a paltry -thing: a tame, uniform, unvaried prospect: which affords nothing but -the same polished manners and artificial policies, scarcely diversified -enough to take, or merit, our attention. - -It is from a wider and more extensive view of mankind that a just -estimate is to be made of the powers of human nature. Hence we collect -what its genuine faculties are: what ideas and principles, or if any, -are truly innate and essential to it; and what changes and modification -it is susceptible of from law and custom. - -If you think I impose too great a task on our inquisitive traveller, -my next advice is, That he stay at home: read _Europe_ in the mirror -of his own country, which but too eagerly reflects and flatters every -state that dances before its surface; and, for the rest, take up with -the best information he can get from the books and narratives of the -best voyagers. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -That is, you discourage him from looking abroad into the world of -reason and civility, the most natural state of mankind; and require -him to waste his time and observation on slaves, madmen, or savages; -states, in which reason and civility have no place, and where humanity -itself, almost, disappears. - -Admirable advice this, to come from a philosopher! and still better, to -send your disciple to take his information of this unnatural disordered -scene from the lying accounts of ignorant, ill-instructed, and gaping -tale-tellers! - - -MR. LOCKE. - -I was afraid, I should not be able to secure to myself the good -opinion, which your Lordship was pleased to express of my _knowledge of -human nature_. This mortifying experience puts an end to my adventurous -flights, at once; and forces me back again into the narrower walk, -which your Lordship seems willing to prescribe to me. - -Be it then, as you insist, that an _English_ gentleman’s care should -be, to accomplish himself in the school of reason and civility; to fit -himself, in short, for that state which your Lordship dignifies with -the name of _natural_. Still I declare against his _European_ travels. - -The manners of each state are peculiar to itself, and best adapted to -it. The civility, that prevails in some places on the continent, may be -more studied and exquisite than ours; but not therefore to be preferred -before it. Those refinements have had their birth from correspondent -policies; to which they are well suited, and from which they receive -their whole value. In the more absolute monarchies of _Europe_, all are -courtiers. In our freer monarchy, all should be citizens. Let then the -arts of address and insinuation flourish in _France_. Without them, -what merit can pretend to success, what talents open the way to favour -and distinction? But let a manlier character prevail here. We have a -prince to serve, not to flatter: we have a country to embrace, not a -court to adore: we have, in a word, objects to pursue, and interests -to promote, from the care of which our finer neighbours are happily -disburthened. - -Let our countrymen then be indulged in the plainness, nay, the -roughness of their manners: but let them atone for this defect, by -their useful sense, their superior knowledge, their public spirit, and, -above all, by their unpolished integrity. - -Would your Lordship’s favourite Athens have done wisely (or rather did -it do so?) to exchange the simplicity and manly freedom of its ancient -character, for the fopperies and prostrations of the Asiatic courts? -Nay, would the softer accomplishments of Athens, in its best state, -have done well in a citizen of _Sparta_? - -Your Lordship sees what to conclude from these hints. For my own part, -my Lord, I esteem politeness, in the reasonable sense of the word, as -the ornament, nay more, as the duty of humanity. But, under colour of -making this valuable acquisition, let no culture of the human mind, no -instruction in letters and business, no discipline of the passions, no -improvements of the head and heart, be neglected. Let the foundation -of these essential virtues be laid deep in the usual forms of our -_public_, if you will, or (as you know I had rather) in the way of -a more attentive and moral, because _private_, education. Let the -commerce of the world, in due time and under due regulation, succeed to -this care; and your Lordship will find your young gentleman as fully -accomplished in all respects as, in reason, you should wish to see him. -And for proof of it, if I were not restrained, by a common and perhaps -false delicacy, from bringing the names of our friends and acquaintance -into example in conversation, how many instances of this sort could I -point to, in such men as your Lordship has known in your own country, -and is most disposed to reverence; and some of them, possibly, in your -own family! - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -Rather tell me, how we may reasonably expect to see such models -produced, according to the vulgar way of our home-breeding: that one or -two such may, perhaps, after strict search, be found among ourselves, I -shall not dispute with you. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -The search would cost me small pains. But I press the matter no -further. It is enough that your Lordship sees I have my eye on some, -the most estimable, nay the most accomplished characters, that have -been formed among ourselves: and that even so envied a thing, as a fine -gentleman, has been fashioned on this side the water. But the rarity -of the production, you think, makes against me, and shews there is no -trusting to the stubborn soil and unfriendly climate of our country. -You conclude, upon the whole, for the expediency of foreign travel, -from the acknowledged defects of our authorized seats of learning; -which, according to your Lordship’s idea and representation of them, -are so degenerate and depraved, that nothing of worth and value can be -reasonably expected from that quarter. - -This, after all, is your main reason for advising a foreign education. -Your spite is to our Universities; and, to bribe, or rather provoke me -into the same quarrel, your Lordship did not forget to remind me of the -little obligation, which I myself, who was trained in their discipline, -have had to them. - -I could assent, perhaps, to some part of this charge. It is certain, at -least, that the prejudices, the bigotry, the false learning, and narrow -principles, which have prevailed too much, and still prevail, in -those famous seminaries, create an unfavourable opinion of them in the -minds of many liberal and discerning persons. Nay, I will not disown -to you, that I have at times been tempted myself to entertain, perhaps -to express, some resentment against them. But we are always severe, -generally unfair, judges in our own case. And, to say the truth, when -the matter comes to be considered impartially and coolly, their faults, -of whatever kind, will admit of much alleviation. - -The UNIVERSITIES OF ENGLAND, your Lordship knows, had their rise in -the barbarous ages. The views of their institutors were, accordingly, -such as might be expected from men of their stamp, and in their -circumstances. - -These seminaries were more immediately consecrated to the service of -the church; which is the less to be wondered at, as our statesmen, -you know, were, at that time, churchmen. Hence the plan of studies, -prescribed to the youth, would be such as was best adapted to the -occasions of that class of men, in whose instruction the public was -more directly interested. - -Besides, the learning of that time was rude and barbarous; and, had -their views been more enlarged, the founders of our colleges had it -not in their power to provide for the encouragement of any other. The -supreme accomplishment even of our men of business was little more than -a readiness in the forms, and a dexterity in the quirks, of the canon -law: and the pride of the most profound scholars lay in applying the -subtleties of the Aristotelian philosophy to theologic and metaphysical -questions; whence too much stress was evidently laid on logical -exercises and scholastic disputations. - -’Tis true, some few of our colleges were erected at a time, when -something more light and knowledge had broke in upon us; I mean, during -the progress of the _Reformation_. But the great object that filled all -men’s minds being the dispute with the see of _Rome_, the principal -circumstance that distinguishes these later foundations from the other -is, that their statutes provide more especially for the management of -that controversy. So that, even in these societies, the scholastic -disputative genius still prevailed, to the exclusion of that more -liberal plan of studies, which is fitted to all times, and would have -suited better to the general purpose of these established seats of -education. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -This account of the institution and genius of our _English_ -Universities may be easily credited, even from what we now see of them. -But, though some causes may be assigned for the introduction of these -barbarous plans of education, what reason can be given why they should -be cherished in our days, or that men of sense should submit to them? - - -MR. LOCKE. - -The reason is not far to seek. These barbarous plans of education had, -we have seen, in former times, both their reason and their use. Bodies -of men retain the character of their first institution very long; and, -all things considered, I am inclined to think it not amiss that they -do so. Universities and schools of learning, in particular, should not -be in haste to exchange established principles and practices, which -the best sense of former ages had introduced, for novel and untried -pretensions. The reason is plain: their instructions would have small -weight, and their discipline no stability, amid such easy and perpetual -changes. They are, indeed, the depositaries of the public wisdom -and virtue; and their business is, to inculcate both on the rising -generation, upon the footing on which they are received and understood -in the several countries where they are erected. Even if their local -statutes laid them under no restraint, an easiness in departing from -established rules were a levity not to be commended; and would, in the -end, be unfavourable to truth itself, when at any time it should come, -in its turn, to be entertained among them. - -The truth is, my Lord, we are ready to consider these seminaries -as schools of philosophy, strictly so called: whereas their proper -character is that of schools of learning and education. Under this -last idea, much of that bigotry and prejudice is to be looked for, and -should be excused, which would rightly be objected to them under that -other denomination. - -Hence then, I conceive, a just apology may be made for the present -condition of our Universities. If they have not, in all respects, -corrected the vices of their original institution, let the influence -and authority of such institution be pleaded in their excuse; and -if certain inveterate errors in speculation (for I know your -Lordship’s chief quarrel to them) not immediately connected with their -institution, happen still to maintain their credit in those places, -let it be considered that the general sense of the public should in -all reason be expected to go before their profession and propagation -even of right principles. Believe it, my Lord, as reason and sound -philosophy make a progress among us, these bodies will gradually, -though reluctantly indeed, reform themselves: and the service they will -then render to truth will be the greater for the opposition they now -make to it. - -I have ventured to say, that this reformation will, in due time, come -of itself. I think, it certainly _will_; as well in regard to the -general plan of their studies, as their particular principles and -opinions. Yet, in respect of the _former_ at least, it might perhaps -be something quickened by external application. I know the attempt is -delicate and difficult; but it might possibly succeed, if carried on -under cover of some still greater reformation; which seizes the mind -with much force, turns it to a new bias, and makes it propitious to -every thing that tends to the attainment of its principal object. - -Such occasions do not present themselves every day. One such we have -seen; but we missed the season. Whatever was fundamentally wrong in the -constitution of the Universities, should have been set right in that -great æra, when the church was reformed. The undertaking had been of a -piece with the rest of that extraordinary work; and the opportunity was -inviting. But whether the minds of men were then ripe for this other -reformation, or whether there was indeed light enough in the nation -at that time fully and properly to effect it, may not unreasonably, I -know, be made a question with your Lordship. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -It is no question at all with me, whether any service of that kind was -to be expected from those great dealers in church-work. Perhaps another -and _later_ æra may be pointed out, when the same office might, and -should, have been undertaken by our political craftsmen. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Your Lordship means at the _Revolution_; and, as the generous -principles of liberty, on which the Revolution was founded, -had received but little countenance from the Universities, this -consideration, you will say, afforded the best pretence for attempting -their reformation. But wise men saw, that the credit which those -learned bodies had drawn to themselves, and indeed deservedly, by -their late conduct, notwithstanding their speculative systems and -conclusions, was at that time too high, to suffer a rigorous inspection -to be made into their statutes and constitutions: they saw, in that -convulsion of the state, it would be impossible to carry on a design -of this nature, without endangering the new settlement, or exposing it -at least to many odious and inconvenient imputations: and they saw, -besides, that the spirit of liberty, which had prevailed so far as to -reform the state itself, would insensibly extend its influence to all -subordinate societies. - -In a word, the close and immediate connexion, which the Universities -have with the church, made it natural and highly reasonable to expect -that both should have shared the same fate at the _Reformation_: but -the necessity was not so urgent, or so visible at least, that the -Universities should be new-modelled, at the _Revolution_. - -However, my Lord, what the wisdom of _either_ age omitted, or was -unable to do, time, and that desuetude which attends upon it, will -gradually bring about; not to say, has in some measure accomplished. -And, to take matters as they now are, the studies and discipline of the -Universities are not without their use, and should not be too violently -declaimed against and degraded. - -The elements of literature are reasonably well taught in those places. -At least, the familiarity, which men have with the learned languages -(the proper foundation, as I dare say your Lordship holds, of all real -learning and politeness) is very much owing to the lectures of our -colleges. And, though I am sensible what exceptions are to be made in -other respects, yet, on the whole, religion, and good morals, receive -an advantage from their institutions, and the regularity of their -discipline. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -Yes; their religion is intolerance; and their morals, servility. For, -as to any freedom of manly thought, or the dignity of virtue— - - -MR. LOCKE. - -You are ready to look for them any where else than in our _English_ -Universities. - -Come on then, my Lord: have the goodness to point out to us those -happier seminaries, where these and all other virtues are more -successfully propagated. - -But which way will your Lordship direct us to take, in this search? -Shall we turn to the North of this country for those advantages, -which we despair of finding in the South? Or, because the grossness -of our island air may infect all parts alike, shall we shape our -course to the Continent? And does your Lordship encourage us to look -for some _Athens_ amidst the Protestant states of _Germany_, in the -_Netherlands_, or the _Swiss_ Cantons? - -These, I take it, are the only scenes which your Lordship can have in -view; for, as high as their reputation may be in this respect, you -would hardly advise the breeding of our _English_ youth in the colleges -of the Jesuits. - -One word then, if you please, on these Protestant Universities on the -Continent. - -Your Lordship and I have had some experience of the state of literature -and education in those places. Eminent and excellent men they surely -have amongst them. But so, your Lordship will confess, have the -Universities of _England_. If we do not readily find those who, at this -day, may be opposed to a LIMBORCH or a LE CLERC; yet it is not long -since we had to boast of a CHILLINGWORTH, a CUDWORTH, and a WHICHCOT; -all, men of manly thought, generous minds, and incomparable learning. - -But the question is not, you know, of particular men, which such great -bodies rarely want; but, of the general frame and constitution of -learned societies, fit for the purposes of polite and liberal education. - -Shall we say then, that the scattered tribes of students in a _Dutch_ -or _Swiss_ town are likely to be better instructed, or better governed, -than the young scholars in our colleges; or, that the good order, -discipline, and sobriety of these places, is to be compared with the -anarchy and licence of those other? - -Your Lordship, I know, takes a pleasure to conceive of certain foreign -academies, as of that ANCIENT one, where the students visited, without -constraint, the schools of philosophers, and even bore a part in their -free conferences and disputations: you even love to paint the noble -youth to yourself, as of old, spatiating, at their leisure, in shady -walks and porticos, and imbibing the principles of science as they drop -upon them in the dews of Attic eloquence and politeness. - -All this, my Lord, is very well: yet, setting aside a certain colouring -of expression which takes and amuses the imagination, I see but -little to admire in this picture; certainly not enough to make one -regret the want of the original, and seriously to prefer this easy -manner of breeding, to that stricter form which prevails in our own -Universities: where the day begins and ends with religious offices: -where the diligence of the youth is quickened and relieved, in turn, -by stated hours of study and recreation: where temperance and sobriety -are even _convivial_ virtues; and the two extremes of a festive jollity -and unsocial gloom are happily tempered by the decencies of a _common -table_; where, in a word, the discipline of Spartan HALLS and the -civility of Athenian BANQUETS are, or may be, united. - -Surely, my Lord, these wholesome regulations, with many others that -might be mentioned, could we but strip them of the opprobrious name of -collegiate and monastic, are of another use and value in education, -than the lax unrestrained indulgence of foreign seminaries. - -But, were there even no difference in this respect, as there is surely -a great deal, are we to reckon for nothing the disparity of civil and -religious constitutions? - -Your Lordship, I dare say, will not suspect me of a bigoted adherence -to any mere _mode_ of civil or ecclesiastical regimen. But is it all -one, whether a young boy, who is destined to be a subject to the crown, -and a member of the church of _England_, be inured to the equality of -republican governments, and of calvinistical churches? It may be well -for men of confirmed age and ability to look into both; but would you -train up your son in a way that is likely to indispose him, right or -wrong, to the institutions of his own country? - -Besides, are there fewer prejudices, think ye, in the men of other -churches and governments, than our own? or, are their professors -and institutors of youth more free from popular errors and blind -attachments, though of a different sort, than the tutors and masters of -education in our country? - -Nay, consider with yourself, my Lord; is there not as much tyranny -in the administration of some they call _free states_; and as much -restraint and persecution in the principles of some they call _free -churches_, as can fairly be charged on the monarchy or church of -_England_? - -So that what you could expect to gain by preferring these foreign -schools of learning to your own, I cannot easily imagine. All that is -worth acquiring in either, you have, at least, an equal chance to meet -with at home: and what should be avoided, may, nay must, with more -probability, be encountered abroad. - -But your Lordship, perhaps, would confine your young traveller to no -_one_ seat of learning; and have it only in view to convey him hastily, -under the wing of a tutor, through many a famous academy, without -settling him in any. This, I must confess, is the way to keep clear of -prejudices; but, whether any solid instruction, or just science either -of men or things, is to be gathered from so cursory an education, your -Lordship will do well to consider. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -You have done me the favour to imagine many projects and designs for -me, which I was too dull to entertain in my own thoughts. But, if the -education of a young man of rank and quality cannot be carried on -without the assistance of academical instructors, I would much sooner -trust him to the care of such as the more free and liberal genius -of certain foreign Universities has formed, than submit him to the -tutorage of those priestly guides, to whom our narrow and slavish -institutions have consigned the province of education, in our own -country. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Your Lordship now indeed speaks out very plainly. Your objection, then, -is to CLERGY-TUTORS; and you think it absurd and even pernicious to -commit our noble and liberal youth to the care of churchmen. You would -rather see them in lay-hands; in the hands of philosophers, properly -so called; who, indifferent to every thing but pure truth and reason, -are in no danger of imbibing wrong principles themselves, and are -therefore under no temptation of instilling any such into the minds of -their followers. - -The thought is happy, my Lord; and, if a number of these philosophers -could any where be found, I might be induced to fall into the project -of employing such only in the province of education. But, the -condition, in which truth and reason are now left, and seem likely -to continue, in this world of ours, affords little room for such -flattering expectations. An unprejudiced instructor, I doubt, is a -rarity not to be met with, I do not say in our Universities, but even -out of them: and, prejudices for prejudices, some persons may be apt to -think those of a churchman as tolerable as of any other. - -But, my Lord, having no particular bias on my own mind in favour of -that order, and having something perhaps to _resent_ from several -individuals of it, it will not misbecome me to hazard a word or two, in -its vindication. - -You will permit me then to say, that I see no peculiar unfitness in -the clergy for the office, they are called to, in this country, of -superintending the business of education. The leisure they enjoy; -the various learning and general studies, which that leisure enables -them, and their profession obliges them, to pursue; and, lastly, the -strictness of life and manners, or, if you will, the very decorum, -which their character imposes upon them; these circumstances seem -generally to have marked them out, as the properest persons to form -the manners and cultivate the minds of youth, in all countries. In our -_own_, that propriety strikes one the more, since their prejudices, of -whatever kind, are but in common to them with other speculative and -studious men; and since even their interest, rightly understood, and -as seen by the best and wisest of themselves, (whatever may have been -warmly and passionately said by some persons) is in no degree separate -from that of the great community, to which they belong. - -Yes, your Lordship will say, their hopes and views of preferment— - -Yet, in this respect, they are but on a level with other men of most -other professions; nay, with all men out of them, that aspire to rise, -by their merits or the favour of their superiors, to any distinction -in the world. And though we commonly say, that the clergy should be -_only_ animated by purer motives, yet you cannot expect, nay would not -seriously wish, that they should be altogether insensible to such as -these. - -It is true, in countries where the clergy have a dependance on some -foreign power, or where they have usurped an independent power to -themselves, or where, lastly, the civil constitution is so ill defined -that the privileges of the subject lie at the mercy of the prince; in -each of these cases, the ambition of the clergy may be, and in fact -has been, productive of many public mischiefs. But our Protestant -clergy, who are in no foreign subjection, claim no independency, and -fill their place in a system all whose parts are, now at least, exactly -regulated by known laws, cannot, by their private ambition, disturb the -general interest, and have no peculiar inducements to attempt it. And -though particulars may sometimes, by their follies and indiscretions, -dishonour themselves, yet the effect cannot be considerable, and -certainly affords no good reason for taking the province of education, -for which on so many accounts they are well qualified, out of their -hands. - -Your Lordship’s candour and equity will then, upon the whole, permit an -obvious distinction to be made between the MEN and their PROFESSION. -Too many of the sacred order, I confess, and am sorry for it, seem now -to have their minds perverted by those principles, and heated by those -passions, which do little credit to their function, or themselves; and -are equally inconsistent with the genius of that religion they profess -to teach, as they are unfriendly to that legal constitution both of -church and state, which they have bound themselves to support. But -their _profession_ is little concerned in all this; and in a succession -or two of these men (if the present set be, many of them, incorrigible) -you may surely reckon upon all those prejudices and passions being -worked off, which now administer the occasion of so much dislike to it. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -Well, but _clergy-manners_; will they, too, be worked off, with their -other infirmities? - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Perhaps, they may; if not, forgive them this one defect; at least, -if it be their only one. But you do not mean, that the manners of -the clergy, _as such_, are more offensive than those of other people. -They are suited to their profession and way of life, from which they -naturally result; and if the clergy have not that gloss upon them, -which sets off the manners of finer men, they rarely disgust you with -the affectation of it. But, after all, if persons of your Lordship’s -quality and breeding would condescend to countenance them a little, -they would, doubtless, brighten under your eye; and might come in time -to reflect somewhat of that high polish, which glistens so much in the -address and conversation of their betters. - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -What transmutations they may undergo hereafter, and by what means, I -am not curious to enquire. On this head, their candid apologist is at -liberty to be as much in jest, or in earnest, as he thinks fit. But -from what appears at present, I must take leave, in my turn, to think -less reverendly, than He would have me, of our sacred instructors; -and though I value some particular persons of the order, as much as -any man, yet, till I see a greater change in the principles, temper, -and manners of that body, than, I fear, is likely to come to pass -in our days, I can have no very favourable sentiments of those rude, -illiberal, and monkish seminaries, where such worthies preside. - - -MR. LOCKE. - -Let us have patience, my Lord. I have not scrupled to confess to you, -that much is, at present, amiss in those seminaries, and wants to -be set right. But so, God knows, there is every where else. As our -factions and parties both in religion and government die away, the -Universities will become more reasonable; and as the general manners -refine, they too will, of course, take a better air and polish. In a -word, they may not lead the public taste or judgment; but, as I said, -they will be sure to follow it. - -And the happy period is not, perhaps, far off. For, now I have taken -upon me to divine so much of the future condition of our Universities, -let me paint to you more particularly what I conceive of their growing -improvements; and, in a kind of prophetic strain, such as old age, they -say, pretends to, and may be indulged in, delineate to you a faint -prospect of those brighter days, which I see rising upon us. - -“The TIME will come, my Lord, and I even assure myself it is at -no great distance, when the Universities of _England_ shall be as -respectable, for the learning they teach, the principles they instil, -and the morals they inculcate, as they are now contemptible, in your -Lordship’s eye at least, on these several accounts. - -“I see the day, when a scholastic theology shall give place to a -rational divinity, conducted on the principles of sound criticism and -well interpreted scripture: when their sums and systems shall fly -before enlightened reason and sober speculation: when a fanciful, -precarious, and hypothetic philosophy, shall desert their schools; and -be replaced by real science, supporting itself on the sure grounds of -experiment and cautious observation: when their physics shall be fact; -their metaphysics, common sense; and their ethics, human nature. - -“Do I flatter myself with fond imaginations, my Lord? Or is not the -time at hand, when St. PAUL shall lecture our divines, and not CALVIN; -our BACONS and BOYLES expel ARISTOTLE; Mr. NEWTON fill the chair of -DES CARTES; and even your friend (if your Lordship can forgive the -arrogance of placing himself by the side of such men) take the lead of -BURGERSDICIUS? - -“Still, my Lord, my prophetic eye penetrates further. Amidst these -improvements in real science, the languages shall be learnt for use, -and not pedantry: Your Lordship’s admired ancients shall be respected, -and not idolized: the forms of classic composition be emulated: and a -set of men arise, even beneath the shade of our academic cloysters, -that shall polish the taste, as well as advance the knowledge, of their -country. - -“Yet, I am but half way in the portraiture of my vision. The appointed -lecturers of our youth, whom your Lordship loves to qualify with the -name of _bearded boys_, shall adopt the manners of men; shall instruct -with knowledge, and persuade with reason; shall be the first to -explode slavish doctrines and narrow principles; shall draw respect -to themselves, rather from the authority of their characters, than -of their places; and, which is the first and last part of a good -education, set the noble and ingenuous youth intrusted to their care, -the brightest examples of diligence, sobriety, and virtue. - -“Perhaps in those days, a freer commerce shall be opened with the -world: the students of our colleges be ambitious of appearing in good -company: and a general civility prevail, where your Lordship sees -nothing, at present, but barbarism and rudeness. - -“Nay, who knows but, in this different state of things, the arts -themselves may gain admission into these seminaries; and even the -exercises be taught there, which our noble youth are now sent to -acquire on the Continent? - -“Such, I persuade myself, if the presage of old experience may pass -for any thing, is the happier scene which a little time shall disclose -to your view, in our _English_ Universities. What its duration may be, -I cannot discover. Much will depend on the general manners, and the -public encouragement. In the mean time, if any cloud rest upon it, it -will not, I assure myself, arise immediately from within, but from the -little, or, which is worse, the ill-directed favour, which the Great -shall vouchsafe to shew to places, so qualified, and so deserving their -protection. - -“Yet, after all I have seen, or perhaps dreamt, as your Lordship -may rather object to me, of the future flourishing estate of our -Universities, and of their extreme fitness in all respects to answer -the ends of their institution, I cannot be mistaken in one prediction, -“that the mode of early Travel will still continue; perhaps its fury -will increase; and our youth of quality be still sent abroad for their -education, when every reason shall cease which your Lordship has now -alleged in favour of that practice.” - - -LORD SHAFTESBURY. - -This last prediction may, perhaps, be true; I mean, if those others -should ever be accomplished. But as I have no great faith in modern -prophecy, and see at present no symptoms of this coming age of gold, -which your fancy has now presented to us, you must excuse me if these -_prophetic strains_, as you termed them, have no great weight with me -before their completion. Should that ever happen, I shall respect your -foresight, at least; and rejoice extremely at an event, which, I shall -then freely own, will leave my countrymen no excuse for their folly. - -This, Sir, was the substance of what passed between us on the subject -in question. Our other friends interposed, indeed, at times; but -rarely, and in few words; and I have rather chosen to mix their -occasional observations with our own, than perplex and lengthen this -recital by a more punctilious exactness. Besides, I could not think -it civil to introduce my friends upon the scene, only to shew them, -as it were, for mutes; their politeness to us, who were principals -in the debate, being such, as to restrain them from bearing any -considerable part in it. Yet this way of relation would, no doubt, have -given something more of life to the sketch I here send you; as their -presence, you may believe, certainly did to the original conversation. - -It is enough to say, that nothing more material, than what I have now -related to you, passed on the occasion. For by this time the day was -pretty well spent, and it was necessary for us to withdraw to our -several engagements. - -For myself, I leave you to guess the effect which our philosopher’s -grave remonstrance left upon me. One thing you will think remarkable; -that the part of arraigning the present state of things should fall -to my share; while he, at an age that is naturally querulous and -dissatisfied, was employed in defending it. Whether this be a proof -of his wisdom, or good spirits, I pretend not to say. But it gave me -a pleasure to hear the old man indulging himself in the prospect of -better days, of which, as young as we are, and as warmly as we wish for -them, you and I had always despaired. - - - - - LETTERS - - ON - - CHIVALRY AND ROMANCE. - - - - - LETTERS - - ON - - CHIVALRY AND ROMANCE: - - SERVING TO ILLUSTRATE SOME - - PASSAGES IN THE THIRD DIALOGUE. - - _Guarda, che mal fato - O giovenil vaghezza non ti meni - Al magazino de le ciancie, ab fuggi, - Fuggi quell incantato alloggiamento. - Quivi habitan le maghe, che incantande - Fan traveder, e traudir ciascuno._ - TASSO. - - - - - CONTENTS OF THE LETTERS. - - - Letter I. _The Subject proposed._ - - II. _Origin of Chivalry._ - - III. _Characteristics of, accounted for._ - - IV. _Heroic and_ Gothic _manners_, _compared_. - - V. _Their differences, noted._ - - VI. Gothic _manners more poetical_, _than - the Heroic_. - - VII. _Their effect on_ SPENSER, MILTON, - SHAKESPEAR. - - VIII. _Fairy Queen criticized—the method - of that poem explained and justified._ - - IX. TASSO’S Gier. Lib. _considered_—_history - of the_ Italian _poetry_. - - X. _Fairy way of writing—vindicated._ - - XI. Gothic _poetry_, _whence fallen into - disrepute_. - - XII. _Steps of its decline, traced._ - - - - -LETTERS - -ON - -CHIVALRY AND ROMANCE. - - -LETTER I. - -The ages, we call barbarous, present us with many a subject of curious -speculation. What, for instance, is more remarkable than the _Gothic_ -CHIVALRY? or than the spirit of ROMANCE, which took its rise from that -singular institution? - -Nothing in human nature, my dear friend, is without its reasons. The -modes and fashions of different times may appear, at first sight, -fantastic and unaccountable. But they, who look nearly into them, -discover some latent cause of their production. - - “Nature once known, no prodigies remain,” - -as sings our philosophical bard; but to come at this knowledge, is the -difficulty. Sometimes a close attention to the workings of the human -mind is sufficient to lead us to it: sometimes more than that, the -diligent observation of what passes without us, is necessary. - -This last I take to be the case here. The prodigies we are now -contemplating, had their origin in the barbarous ages. Why then, says -the fastidious modern, look any further for the reason? Why not resolve -them at once into the usual caprice and absurdity of barbarians? - -This, you see, is a short and commodious philosophy. Yet barbarians -have their _own_, such as it is, if they are not enlightened by our -reason. Shall we then condemn them unheard, or will it not be fair to -let them have the telling of their own story? - -Would we know from what causes the institution of _Chivalry_ was -derived? The time of its birth, the situation of the barbarians amongst -whom it arose, must be considered: their wants, designs, and policies, -must be explored: we must inquire when, and where, and how, it came to -pass that the Western world became familiarized to this _prodigy_, -which we now start at. - -Another thing is full as remarkable, and concerns us more nearly. The -spirit of Chivalry was a fire which soon spent itself: but that of -_Romance_, which was kindled at it, burnt long, and continued its light -and heat even to the politer ages. - -The greatest geniuses of our own and foreign countries, such as ARIOSTO -and TASSO in _Italy_, and SPENSER and MILTON in _England_, were seduced -by these barbarities of their forefathers; were even charmed by the -_Gothic_ Romances. Was this caprice and absurdity in them? Or, may -there not be something in the _Gothic_ Romance peculiarly suited to -the views of a genius, and to the ends of poetry? And may not the -philosophic moderns have gone too far in their perpetual ridicule and -contempt of it? - -To form a judgment in the case, the rise, progress, and genius of -_Gothic_ Chivalry must be explained. - -The circumstances in the _Gothic_ fictions and manners, which are -proper to the ends of poetry (if any such there be) must be pointed -out. - -Reasons, for the decline and rejection of the _Gothic_ taste in later -times, must be given. - -You have in these particulars both the Subject and the PLAN of the -following Letters. - - -LETTER II. - -I look upon Chivalry, as on some mighty river, which the fablings of -the poets have made immortal. It may have sprung up amidst rude rocks, -and blind deserts. But the noise and rapidity of its course, the extent -of country it adorns, and the towns and palaces it ennobles, may lead a -traveller out of his way, and invite him to take a view of those dark -caverns, - - unde supernè - Plurimus Eridani per sylvam volvitur amnis. - -I enter, without more words, on the subject I began to open to you in -my last letter. - -The old inhabitants of these North-West parts of _Europe_ were -extremely given to the love and exercise of arms. The feats of -CHARLEMAGNE and our ARTHUR, in particular, were so famous as in later -times, when books of Chivalry were composed, to afford a principal -subject to the writers of them[44]. - -But CHIVALRY, properly so called, and under the idea of “a distinct -military order, conferred in the way of investiture, and accompanied -with the solemnity of an oath and other ceremonies, as described in the -old historians and romancers,” was of later date, and seems to have -sprung immediately out of the FEUDAL CONSTITUTION. - -The first and most sensible effect of this constitution, which brought -about so mighty a change in the policies of _Europe_, was the erection -of a prodigious number of petty tyrannies. For, though the great barons -were closely tied to the service of their Prince by the conditions of -their tenure, yet the power which was given them by it over their own -numerous vassals was so great, that, in effect, they all set up for -themselves; affected an independency; and were, in truth, a sort of -absolute Sovereigns, at least with regard to one another. Hence, their -mutual aims and interests often interfering, the feudal state was, in a -good degree, a state of war: the feudal chiefs were in frequent enmity -with each other: the several combinations of feudal tenants were so -many separate armies under their head or chief: and their castles were -so many fortresses, as well as palaces, of these puny princes. - -In this state of things one sees, that all imaginable encouragement was -to be given to the use of arms, under every different form of attack -and defence, according as the safety of these different communities, or -the ambition of their leaders, might require. And this condition of the -times, I suppose, gave rise to that military institution, which we know -by the name of CHIVALRY. - -Further, there being little or no security to be had amidst so many -restless spirits and the clashing views of a neighbouring numerous and -independent nobility, the military discipline of their followers, even -in the intervals of peace, was not to be relaxed, and their ardour -suffered to grow cool, by a total disuse of martial exercises. And -hence the proper origin of JUSTS and TURNAMENTS; those images of war, -which were kept up in the castles of the barons, and, by an useful -policy, converted into the amusement of the knights, when their arms -were employed on no serious occasion. - -I call this the _proper origin_ of Justs and Turnaments; for the date -of them is carried no higher, as far as I can find, even in _France_ -(where unquestionably they made their first appearance) than the -year 1066; which was not till after the introduction of the feudal -government into that country. Soon after, indeed, we find them in -_England_ and in _Germany_; but not till the feudal policy had spread -itself in those parts, and had prepared the way for them. - -You see, then, my notion is, that Chivalry was no absurd and freakish -institution, but the natural and even sober effect of the feudal -policy; whose turbulent genius breathed nothing but war, and was fierce -and military even in its amusements. - -I leave you to revolve this idea in your own mind. You will find, I -believe, a reasonable foundation for it in the history of the feudal -times, and in the spirit of the feudal government. - - -LETTER III. - -If the conjecture, I advanced, of the rise of Chivalry, from the -circumstances of the feudal government, be thought reasonable, it will -not be difficult to account for the several CHARACTERISTICS of this -singular profession. - -I. “The passion for arms; the spirit of enterprize; the honour of -knighthood; the rewards of valour; the splendour of equipages;” in -short, every thing that raises our ideas of the prowess, gallantry, and -magnificence of these sons of MARS, is naturally and easily explained -on this supposition. - -Ambition, interest, glory, all concurred, under such circumstances, to -produce these effects. The feudal principles could terminate in nothing -else. And when, by the necessary operation of that policy, this turn -was given to the thoughts and passions of men, use and fashion would do -the rest; and carry them to all the excesses of military fanaticism, -which are painted so strongly, but scarcely exaggerated, in the old -Romances. - -II. “Their romantic ideas of justice; their passion for adventures; -their eagerness to run to the succour of the distressed; and the pride -they took in redressing wrongs, and removing grievances;” all these -distinguishing characters of genuine Chivalry are explained on the -same principle. For, the feudal state being a state of war, or rather -of almost perpetual violence, rapine, and plunder, it was unavoidable -that, in their constant skirmishes, stratagems, and surprizes, numbers -of the tenants or followers of one Baron should be seized upon and -carried away by the followers of another: and the interest, each had -to protect his own, would of course introduce the point of honour, in -attempting by all means to retaliate on the enemy, and especially to -rescue the captive sufferers out of the hands of their oppressors. - -It would be meritorious, in the highest degree, to fly to their -assistance, when they knew where they were to be come at; or to seek -them out with diligence, when they did not. This last _feudal_ service -soon introduced, what may be truly called _romantic_, the _going in -quest of adventures_; which at first, no doubt, was confined to those -of their own party, but afterwards, by the habit of acting on this -principle, would be extended much further. So that in process of time, -we find the Knights errant, as they were now properly styled, wandering -the world over in search of occasions on which to exercise their -generous and disinterested valour, indifferently to friends and enemies -in distress; - - Ecco quei, che le charte empion di sogni, - LANCILOTTO, TRISTANO, e gli altri erranti. - -III. “The courtesy, affability, and gallantry, for which these -adventurers were so famous, are but the natural effects and -consequences of their situation.” - -For the castles of the Barons were, as I said, the courts of these -little sovereigns, as well as their fortresses; and the resort of -their vassals thither in honour of their chiefs, and for their own -proper security, would make that civility and politeness, which is seen -in courts and insensibly prevails there, a predominant part in the -character of these assemblies. - -This is the poet’s own account of - - ——court and royal citadel, - The great school-maistresse of all Courtesy. - B. III. C. vi. s. 1. - -And again, more largely in B. VI. C. i. s. 1. - - Of Court it seems men Courtesie do call, - For that it there most useth to abound; - And well beseemeth that in Princes hall - That Virtue should be plentifully found, - Which of all goodly manners is the ground - And root of civil conversation: - Right so in _faery court_ it did resound, - Where courteous knights and ladies most did won - Of all on earth, and made a matchless paragon. - -For _Faery Court_ means the _reign of Chivalry_; which, it seems, had -undergone a fatal revolution before the age of MILTON, who tells us -that _Courtesy_ - - ——is sooner found in lonely sheds - With smoaky rafters, than in tap’stry halls - And courts of princes, where it first was nam’d, - And yet is most pretended. - MASK. - -Further, the free commerce of the ladies, in those knots and circles of -the great, would operate so far on the sturdiest knights, as to give -birth to the attentions of gallantry. But this gallantry would take a -refined turn, not only from the necessity there was of maintaining the -strict form of decorum, amidst a promiscuous conversation under the -eye of the Prince and in his own family; but also from the inflamed -sense they must needs have of the frequent outrages committed, by their -neighbouring clans of adversaries, on the honour of the sex, when by -chance of war they had fallen into their hands. Violations of chastity -being the most atrocious crimes they had to charge on their enemies, -they would pride themselves in the merit of being its protectors: and -as this virtue was, of all others, the fairest and strongest claim of -the sex itself to such protection, it is no wonder that the notions of -it were, in time, carried to so platonic an elevation. - -Thus, again, the great master of Chivalry himself, on this subject, - - It hath been thro’ all ages ever seen, - That, with the praise of arms and chivalry, - The prize of beauty still hath joined been; - And that for reason’s special privity: - For either doth on other much rely; - For HE mee seems most fit the fair to serve, - That can her best defend from villainy; - And SHE most fit his service doth deserve, - That fairest is, and from her faith will never swerve. - SPENSER, B. IV. C. v. - -Not but the foundation of this refined gallantry was laid in the -ancient manners of the _German_ nations. CÆSAR tells us how far they -carried their practice of chastity, which he seems willing to account -for on political principles. However that be, their consideration of -the sex was prodigious, as we see in the history of their irruptions -into the Empire; where among all their ravages and devastations of -other sorts, we find they generally abstained from offering any -violence to the honour of the women. - -IV. It only remains to account for that “character of Religion,” which -was so deeply imprinted on the minds of all knights, and was essential -to their institution. We are even told, that _the love of God and of -the ladies_ went hand in hand, in the duties and ritual of Chivalry. - -Two reasons may be assigned for this singularity: - -First, the superstition of the times, in which Chivalry arose; which -was so great, that no institution of a public nature could have found -credit in the world, that was not consecrated by the churchmen, and -closely interwoven with religion. - -Secondly, the condition of the Christian states; which had been -harassed by long wars, and had but just recovered a breathing-time from -the brutal ravages of the _Saracen_ armies. The remembrance of what -they had lately suffered from these grand enemies of the faith, made it -natural, and even necessary, to engage a new military order on the side -of religion. - -And how warmly this principle, _a zeal for the faith_, was acted upon -by the professors of Chivalry, and how deeply it entered into their -ideas of the military character, we see from the term so constantly -used by the old Romancers, of RECREANT [_i. e._ Apostate] Knight; by -which they meant to express, with the utmost force, their disdain of -a dastard or vanquished knight. For, many of this order falling into -the hands of the _Saracens_, such of them as had not imbibed the full -spirit of their profession, were induced to renounce their faith, in -order to regain their liberty. These men, as sinning against the great -fundamental laws of Chivalry, they branded with this name; a name of -complicated reproach, which implied a want of the two most essential -qualities of a Knight, COURAGE and FAITH. - -Hence too, the reason appears why the _Spaniards_, of all the -Europeans, were furthest gone in every characteristic madness of true -chivalry. To all the other considerations, here mentioned, their -fanaticism in every way was especially instigated and kept alive by the -memory and neighbourhood of their old infidel invaders. - -And thus we seem to have a fair account of that PROWESS, GENEROSITY, -GALLANTRY, and RELIGION, which were the peculiar and vaunted -characteristics of the purer ages of Chivalry. - -Such was the state of things in the Western world, when the Crusades -to the Holy Land were set on foot. Whence we see how well prepared the -minds of men were for engaging in that enterprize. Every object, that -had entered into the views of the institutors of Chivalry, and had been -followed by its professors, was now at hand, to inflame the military -and religious ardor of the knights, to the utmost. And here, in fact, -we find the strongest and boldest features of their genuine character: -_daring_ to madness, in enterprises of hazard: burning with zeal for -the delivery of the _oppressed_; and, which was deemed the height of -_religious_ merit, for the rescue of the holy city out of the hands of -infidels; and, lastly, exalting their honour of _chastity_ so high as -to profess celibacy; as they constantly did, in the several orders of -knighthood created on that extravagant occasion. - - -LETTER IV. - -What think you, my good friend, of this learned deduction? Do not you -begin to favour my conjecture, as whimsical as it might seem, of the -_rise and genius_ of Knight-errantry. - -And yet (so slippery is the ground, on which we system-makers stand) -from what I observed of the spirit, with which the Crusades were -carried on, a hint may be taken, which threatens to overturn my whole -system. - -It is, “That, whereas I derive the Crusades from the spirit of -Chivalry, the circumstances attending the progress of the Crusades, and -even as pointed out by myself, seem to favour the opposite opinion of -Chivalry’s taking its rise from that enterprize.” - -For thus the argument is drawn out by a learned person[45], to whom I -communicated the substance of my last Letter. - -“On the crumbling of the Western empire into small states, with regular -subordinations of vassals and their chiefs, who looked up to a common -sovereign, it was soon found that those chiefs had it in their power -to make themselves very formidable to their masters; and, just in that -crisis of European manners and empire, the _Saracens_ having expelled -Christianity from the East, the Western Princes seized the opportunity, -and with great craft turned the warlike genius of their feudataries, -which would otherwise have preyed upon themselves, into the spirit of -Crusades against the common enemy. - -But when, now, the ardour of the Crusades was abated in some sort, -though not extinguished, the _Gothic_ princes and their families -had settled into established monarchies. Then it was, that the -restless spirit of their vassals, having little employment abroad, -and being restrained in a good degree from exerting itself with -success in domestic quarrels, broke out in all the extravagances of -KNIGHT-ERRANTRY. - -Military fame, acquired in the Holy land, had entitled the adventurers -to the _insignia_ of arms, the source of Heraldry; and inspired -them with the love of war and the passion of enterprize. Their late -expeditions had given them a turn for roving in quest of adventures; -and their religious zeal had infused high notions of piety, justice, -and chastity. - -The scene of action being now more confined, they turned themselves, -from _the world’s debate_, to private and personal animosities. -Chivalry was employed in rescuing humble and faithful vassals, from the -oppression of petty lords; their women, from savage lust; and the hoary -heads of hermits (a species of Eastern monks, much reverenced in the -Holy land), from rapine and outrage. - -In the mean time the courts of the feudal sovereigns grew magnificent -and polite; and, as the military constitution still subsisted, military -merit was to be upheld; but, wanting its old objects, it naturally -softened into the fictitious images and courtly exercises of war, -in _justs and tournaments_: where the honour of the ladies supplied -the place of zeal for the holy Sepulchre; and thus the courtesy of -elegant love, but of a wild and fanatic species, as being engrafted on -spiritual enthusiasm, came to mix itself with the other characters of -the Knights-errant.” - -In this way, you see, all the characteristics of Chivalry, which I had -derived from the essential properties of the feudal government, are -made to result from the spirit of Crusades, which with me was only an -accidental effect of it: and this deduction may be thought to agree -best with the representation of the old Romancers. - -This hypothesis, so plausible in itself, is very ingeniously supported. -Yet I have something to object to it; or rather, which flatters me -more, I think I can turn it to the advantage of my own system. - -For what if I allow (as indeed I needs must) that _Chivalry_, such as -we have it represented in books of Romance, so much posterior to the -date of that military institution, took its colour and character from -the impressions made on the minds of men by the spirit of crusading -into the Holy land? Still it may be true, that Chivalry itself had, -properly, another and an earlier origin. And I must think it certainly -_had_, if for no other, yet, for this reason: that, unless the seeds -of that spirit, which appeared in the Crusades, had been plentifully -sown and indeed grown up into some maturity in the feudal times -preceding that event, I see not how it could have been possible for -the Western princes to give that politic diversion to their turbulent -vassals, which the new hypothesis supposes. - -In short, there are TWO DISTINCT PERIODS to be carefully observed, in a -deduction of the rise and progress of Chivalry. - -The FIRST is that in which the empire was overturned, and the feudal -governments were every where introduced on its ruins, by the Northern -nations. In this æra, that new policy settled itself in the West, and -operated so powerfully as to lay the first foundations, and to furnish -the remote causes, of what we know by the name of Chivalry. - -The OTHER period is, when these causes had taken a fuller effect, and -shewed themselves in that signal enterprize of the Crusades; which not -only concurred with the spirit of Chivalry, already pullulating in the -minds of men, but brought a prodigious encrease, and gave a singular -force and vigour, to all its operations. In this æra, Chivalry took -deep root, and at the same time shot up to its full height and size. So -that now it was in the state of VIRGIL’S Tree— - - —Quæ quantum vertice ad auras - Æthereas, tantum radice in Tartara tendit. - Ergo non hiemes illam, non flabra, neque imbres - Convellunt: immota manet, multosque per annos - Multa virûm volvens durando sæcula vincit. - -From this last period, the Romancers, whether in prose or verse, derive -all their ideas of Chivalry. It was _natural_ for them to do so; for -they were best acquainted with that period: and, besides, it suited -their _design_ best; for the manners, they were to paint, were then -full formed, and so distinctly marked as fitted them for the use of -description. - -But that the former period, notwithstanding, really gave birth to this -institution may be gathered, not only from the reason of the thing, but -from the surer information of authentic history. For there are traces -of Chivalry, in its most peculiar and characteristic forms, to be found -in the age preceding the Crusades; and even justs and tournaments, the -_image_ of serious Knight-errantry, were certainly of earlier date than -that event, as I had before occasion to observe to you. - -Though I think, then, my notion _of the rise of Chivalry_ stands -unimpaired, or rather is somewhat illustrated and confirmed, by what -the excellent person has opposed to it, yet I could not hold it fair to -conceal so specious and well supported an objection from you. You are -too generous to take advantage of the arms I put into your hands; and -are, besides, so far from any thoughts of combating my system itself, -that your concern, it seems, is only to know, where I learned the -several particulars, on which I have formed it. - -You are willing, you say, to advance on sure grounds; and therefore -call upon me to point out to you the authorities, from which I pretend -to have collected the several marks and characteristics of true -Chivalry. - -Your request is reasonable; and I acknowledge the omission, in not -acquainting you that my information was taken from its proper source, -the _old Romances_. Not that I shall make a merit with you in having -perused these barbarous volumes myself; much less would I impose the -ungrateful task upon you. Thanks to the curiosity of certain painful -collectors, this knowledge may be obtained at a cheaper rate. And I -think it sufficient to refer you to a learned and very elaborate memoir -of a _French_ writer, who has put together all that is requisite to -be known on this subject. Materials are first laid in, before the -architect goes to work; and if the structure, I am here raising out -of them, be to your mind, you will not think the worse of it because -I pretend not, myself, to have worked in the quarry. In a word, and -to drop this magnificent allusion, if I account to you for the rise -and genius of Chivalry, it is all you are to expect; for an idea of -what Chivalry was in itself, you may have recourse to tom. xx. of the -_Memoirs of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres_. - -And with this explanation I return, at length, to my proper business. - -Supposing my idea of Chivalry to be fairly given, the conjecture I -advance on the _origin and nature_ of it, you incline to think, may -deserve to be admitted. But you will, perhaps, admit it the more -readily, if you reflect, “That there is a remarkable correspondency -between the manners of the old heroic times, as painted by their great -romancer, HOMER, and those which are represented to us in books of -modern knight-errantry.” A fact, of which no good account, I believe, -can be given but by the assistance of another, not less certain, “That -the political state of _Greece_, in the earlier periods of its story, -was similar in many respects to that of _Europe_, as broken by the -feudal system into an infinite number of petty independent governments.” - -It is not my design to encroach on the province of the learned -person[46], to whom I owe this hint, and who hath undertaken, at his -leisure, to enlarge upon it. But some few circumstances of agreement -between the _Heroic_ and _Gothic_ manners, such as are most obvious and -occur to my memory, while I am writing, may be worth putting down, by -way of specimen only of what may be expected from a professed inquiry -into this curious subject. - -And, FIRST, “the military enthusiasm of the Barons is but of a piece -with the fanaticism of the Heroes.” Hence the same particularity of -description, in the account of battles, wounds, deaths, in the _Greek_ -poet, as in the _Gothic_ romancers: hence that perpetual succession -of combats and deeds of arms, even to satiety, in the _Iliad_: and -hence that minute curiosity, in the display of the dresses, arms, -accoutrements of the combatants, which we find so strange, in that -poem. The minds of all men being occupied and in a manner possessed -with warlike images and ideas, were much gratified by the poet’s -dwelling on the very slightest circumstances of these things, which -now, for want of their prejudices, appear cold and unaffecting to -modern readers. - -But the correspondency holds in more particular considerations. For, - -2. “We hear much of Knights-errant encountering _Giants_, and quelling -_Savages_, in books of Chivalry.” - -These Giants were oppressive feudal Lords; and every Lord was to be met -with, like the Giant, in his strong hold, or castle. Their dependants -of a lower form, who imitated the violence of their superiors, and -had not their castles, but their lurking-places, were the Savages of -Romance. The greater Lord was called a Giant, for his power; the less -a Savage, for his brutality. - -All this is shadowed out in the _Gothic_ tales, and sometimes expressed -in plain words. The objects of the Knight’s vengeance go indeed by the -various names of Giants, Paynims, Saracens, and Savages. But of what -family they all are, is clearly seen from the poet’s description: - - What Mister wight, quoth he, and how far hence - Is he, that doth to travellers such harms? - He is, said he, a man of great defence, - Expert in battle, and in deeds of arms; - And more embolden’d by the wicked charms - With which his daughter doth him still support; - Having _great Lordships got and goodly farms - Thro’ strong oppression of his power extort_; - By which he still them holds and keeps with strong effort. - - And daily he his wrong encreaseth more: - For never wight he lets to pass that way - Over his bridge, albee he rich or poor, - But he him makes his passage penny pay. - Else he doth hold him back or beat away. - - Thereto he hath a _Groom of evil guise_, - Whose scalp is bare, that bondage doth bewray, - Which polls and pills the poor in piteous wise, - But he himself upon the rich doth tyrannize. - SPENSER, B. V. C. ii. - -Here we have the great oppressive Baron very graphically set forth: -and the _Groom of evil guise_ is as plainly the Baron’s vassal. The -Romancers, we see, took no great liberty with these respectable -personages, when they called the one a Giant, and the other a Savage. - -“Another terror of the _Gothic_ ages was, _Monsters_, _Dragons_, and -_Serpents_.” These stories were received in those days for several -reasons: 1. From the vulgar belief of enchantments: 2. From their being -reported, on the faith of Eastern tradition, by the adventurers into -the Holy Land: 3. In still later times, from the strange things told -and believed, on the discovery of the new world. - -This last consideration we find employed by SPENSER to give an air of -probability to his _Fairy Tales_, in the preface to his second book. - -Now in all these respects _Greek_ antiquity very much resembles the -_Gothic_. For what are HOMER’S _Læstrigons_ and _Cyclops_, but bands -of lawless savages, with, each of them, a Giant of enormous size at -their head? And what are the _Grecian_ BACCHUS and HERCULES, but -Knights-errant, the exact counter-parts of Sir LAUNCELOT and AMADIS DE -GAULE? - -For this interpretation we have the authority of our great poet: - - Such first was BACCHUS, that with furious might - All th’ East, before untam’d, did overcome, - And wrong repressed and establish’d right, - Which lawless men had formerly fordonne. - Next HERCULES his like ensample shew’d, - Who all the West with equal conquest wonne, - And monstrous tyrants with his club subdu’d, - The club of justice drad, with kingly pow’r endu’d. - B. V. C. i. - -Even PLUTARCH’S life of THESEUS reads, throughout, like a modern -Romance: and Sir ARTHEGAL himself is hardly his fellow, for righting -wrongs and redressing grievances. So that EURIPIDES might well make -him say of himself, _that he had chosen the profession and calling -of a Knight-errant_: for this is the sense, and almost the literal -construction, of the following verses: - - Ἔθος τόδ’ εἰς Ἕλληνας ἐξελεξάμην - Ἀεὶ ΚΟΛΑΣΤΗΣ ΤΩΝ ΚΑΚΩΝ καθεστάναι. - Ἱκέτιδες, ver. 340. - -Accordingly, THESEUS is a favourite Hero (witness the _Knight’s Tale_ -in CHAUCER) even with the Romance-writers. - -Nay, could the very castle of a _Gothic_ giant be better described than -in the words of HOMER, - - High walls and battlements the courts inclose, - And the strong gates defy a host of foes. - Od. B. XVII. ver. 318. - -And do not you remember that the _Grecian_ Worthies were, in their day, -as famous for encountering Dragons and quelling Monsters of all sorts, -as for suppressing Giants? - - ——per hos cecidere justâ - Morte Centauri, cecidit tremendæ - Flamma Chimæræ. - -3. “The oppressions, which it was the glory of the Knight to avenge, -were frequently carried on, as we are told, _by the charms and -enchantments of women_.” - -THESE _charms_, we may suppose, are often metaphorical; as expressing -only the blandishments of the sex, by which they either seconded -the designs of their Lords, or were enabled to carry on designs for -themselves. Sometimes they are taken to be real; the ignorance of those -ages acquiescing in such conceits. - -And are not these stories matched by those of _Calypso_ and _Circe_, -the enchantresses of the _Greek_ poet? - -Still there are conformities more directly to our purpose. - -4. “Robbery and piracy were honourable in both; so far were they from -reflecting any discredit on the ancient or modern _redressers of -wrongs_.” - -What account can be given of this odd circumstance, but that, in the -feudal times and in the early days of _Greece_, when government was -weak, and unable to redress the frequent injuries of petty sovereigns, -it would be glorious for private adventurers to undertake this work; -and, if they could accomplish it in no other way, to pay them in kind -by downright plunder and rapine? - -This, in effect, is the account given us, of the same disposition of -the old _Germans_, by CÆSAR: “Latrocinia,” says he, “nullam habent -infamiam, quæ extra fines cujusque civitatis fiunt.” And the reason -appears from what he had just told us—“in pace, nullus est communis -magistratus; sed principes regionum atque pagorum inter suos jus -dicunt, controversiasque minuunt.” _De Bello Gall._ l. vi. § 21. - -5. Their manners, in another respect, were the same. “Bastardy was -in credit with both.” They were extremely watchful over the chastity -of their own women; but such as they could seize upon in the enemy’s -quarter were lawful prize. Or, if at any time they transgressed in this -sort at home, the heroic ages were complaisant enough to cover the -fault by an ingenious fiction. The offspring was reputed divine. - -Nay, so far did they carry their indulgence to this commerce, that -their greatest Heroes were the fruit of Goddesses approached by -mortals; just as we hear of the doughtiest Knights being born of -Fairies. - -6. Is it not strange, that, together with the greatest fierceness and -savageness of character, “the utmost generosity, hospitality, and -courtesy, should be imputed to the heroic ages?” ACHILLES was at once -the most relentless, vindictive, implacable, and the friendliest of men. - -We have the very same representation in the _Gothic_ Romances, where it -is almost true what BUTLER says humorously of these benign heroes, that - - They did in fight but cut work out - T’ employ their courtesies about. - -How are these contradictions, in the characters of the ancient and -modern men of arms, to be reconciled, but by observing that, as in -those lawless times dangers and distresses of all sorts abounded, there -would be the same demand for compassion, gentleness, and generous -attachments to the unfortunate, those especially of their own clan, as -of resentment, rage, and animosity against their enemies? - -7. Again: consider the martial _Games_, which ancient _Greece_ -delighted to celebrate on great and solemn occasions: and see if they -had not the same origin, and the same purpose, as the _Tournaments_ of -the _Gothic_ warriors. - -8. Lastly, “the passion for adventures, so natural in their situation, -would be as naturally attended with the love of praise and glory.” - -Hence the same encouragement, in the old _Greek_ and _Gothic_ times, to -panegyrists and poets; the BARDS being as welcome to the tables of the -feudal Lords, as the ΑΟΙΔΟΙ of old, to those of the _Grecian_ Heroes. - -And, as the same causes ever produce the same effects, we find that, -even so late as ELIZABETH’S reign, the savage _Irish_ (who were much -in the state of the ancient _Greeks_, living under the anarchy, rather -than government, of their numberless puny chiefs) had their Rhymers in -principal estimation. It was for the reason just given, for the honour -of their panegyrics on their fierce adventures and successes. And thus -it was in _Greece_: - - For chief to Poets such respect belongs, - By rival nations courted for their Songs; - These, states invite, and mighty kings admire, - Wide as the Sun displays his vital fire. - Od. B. XVII. - - -LETTER V. - -The purpose of the casual hints, suggested in my last letter, was -only to shew that the resemblance between the Heroic and _Gothic_ -ages is great: so great that the observation of it did not escape -the old Romancers themselves, _with whom_, as an ingenious critic -observes, _the siege of THEBES and TROJAN WAR were favourite stories; -the characters and incidents of which they were mixing perpetually -with their Romances_[47]. And to this persuasion and practice of the -Romance-writers CERVANTES plainly alludes, when he makes Don QUIXOTE -say——_If the stories of Chivalry be lies, so must it also be, that -there ever was a HECTOR, or an ACHILLES, or a TROJAN WAR_[48]—a -sly stroke of satire, by which this mortal foe of Chivalry would, I -suppose, insinuate that the _Grecian_ Romances were just as extravagant -and as little credible, as the _Gothic_. Or, whatever his purpose might -be, the resemblance between them, you see, is confessed, and hath now -been shewn in so many instances that there will hardly be any doubt of -it. And though you say true, that ignorance and barbarity itself might -account for some circumstances of this resemblance; yet the parallel -would hardly have held so long, and run so closely, if the _civil_ -condition of both had not been much the same. - -So that when we see a sort of Chivalry, springing up among the -_Greeks_, who were confessedly in a state resembling that of the feudal -barons, and attended by the like symptoms and effects, is it not fair -to conclude that the Chivalry of the _Gothic_ times was owing to that -common corresponding _state_, and received its character from it? - -And this circumstance, by the way, accounts for the constant mixture, -which the modern critic esteems so monstrous, of Pagan fable with the -fairy tales of Romance. The passion for ancient learning, just then -revived, might seduce the classic poets, such as SPENSER and TASSO -for instance, into this practice; but the similar turn and genius of -ancient manners, and of the fictions founded upon them, would make it -appear easy and natural in all. - -I am aware, as you object to me, that, in the affair of _religion_ and -_gallantry_, the resemblance between the Hero and Knight is not so -striking. - -But the religious character of the Knight was an accident of the times, -and no proper effect of his _civil_ condition. - -And that his devotion for the sex should so far surpass that of the -Hero, is a fresh confirmation of my system. - -For, though much, no doubt, might be owing to the different humour and -genius of the East and West, antecedent to any customs and forms of -government, and independent of them; yet the consideration had of the -females in the feudal constitution will, of itself, account for this -difference. It made them capable of succeeding to fiefs as well as the -men. And does not one see, on the instant, what respect and dependence -this privilege would draw upon them? - -It was of mighty consequence who should obtain the grace of a rich -heiress. And though, in the strict feudal times, she was supposed to be -in the power and disposal of her superior Lord, yet this rigid state -of things did not last long; and, while it did last, could not abate -much of the homage that would be paid to the fair feudatary. - -Thus, when interest had begun the habit, the language of love and -flattery would soon do the rest. And to what that language tended, -you may see by the constant strain of the Romances themselves. Some -distressed damsel was the spring and mover of every Knight’s adventure. -She was to be rescued by his arms, or won by the fame and admiration of -his prowess. - -The plain meaning of all which was this: that, as in those turbulent -feudal times a protector was necessary to the weakness of the sex, -so the courteous and valorous knight was to approve himself fully -qualified for that office. And we find, he had other motives to set him -on work than the mere charms and graces, though ever so bewitching, of -the person addressed. - -Hence then, as I suppose, the custom was introduced: and, when -introduced, you will hardly wonder it should operate much longer and -further than the reason may seem to require, on which it was founded. - -If you still insist that I carry this matter too far, and that, in -fact, the introduction of the female succession into fiefs was too -late to justify me in accounting for the rise of feudal gallantry from -that circumstance; you will only teach me to frame my answer in a more -accurate manner. - -First then, I shall confess that the way to avoid all confusion on this -subject would be, to distinguish carefully between the state of things -in the _early_ feudal times, and that in the _later_, when the genius -of the feudal law was much changed and corrupted; and that, whoever -would go to the bottom of this affair, should keep a constant eye on -this reasonable distinction. - -But then, _secondly_, I may observe that this distinction is the less -necessary to be attended to in the present case, because the law of -female succession, whenever it was introduced, had certainly taken -place long before the Romancers wrote, from whom we derive all our -ideas of the feudal gallantry. So that, if you take their word for the -gallantry of those times, you may very consistently, if you please, -accept my account of it. For it is but supposing that the feudal -gallantry, such as they paint it, was the offspring of that privilege, -such as they saw the ladies then possess, of feudal succession. And the -connexion between these two things is so close and so natural, that we -cannot be much mistaken in deducing the one from the other. - -In conclusion of this topic, I must just observe to you, that the two -poems of HOMER express in the liveliest manner, and were intended to -expose, the capital mischiefs and inconveniencies arising from the -_political state_ of old _Greece_; the _Iliad_, the dissensions that -naturally spring up amongst a number of independent chiefs; and the -_Odyssey_, the insolence of their greater subjects, more especially -when unrestrained by the presence of their sovereign. - -These were the subjects of his pen. And can any thing more exactly -resemble the condition of the _feudal times_, when, on occasion -of any great enterprise, as that of the Crusades, the designs of -the confederate Christian states were perpetually frustrated, or -interrupted at least, by the dissensions of their leaders; and their -affairs at home as perpetually distressed and disordered by domestic -licence, and the rebellious usurpations of their greater vassals? - -It is true, as to the charge of _domestic licence_, so exactly does -the parallel run between old _Greece_ and old _England_, I find one -exception to it, in each country: and that _one_, a Romance-critic -would shew himself very uncourteous, if he did not take a pleasure -to celebrate. GUY, the renowned earl of _Warwick_, old stories say, -returned from the holy wars to his lady in the disguise of a pilgrim -or beggar, as ULYSSES did to PENELOPE. What the suspicions were of the -Knight and the Hero, the contrivance itself but too plainly declares. -But their fears were groundless in both cases. Only the Knight seems to -have had the advantage of the Prince of ITHACA: for, instead of rioting -suitors to drive out of his castle, he had only to contemplate his good -lady in the peaceful and pious office of _distributing daily alms to -XIII poor men_. - -No conclusion, however, is to be drawn from a single instance; and, in -general, it is said, the adventurers into the Holy Land could no more -depend on the fidelity of their spouses, than of their vassals. So -that, in all respects, _Jerusalem_ was to the _European_, what _Troy_ -had been to the _Grecian_ heroes. And, though the _Odyssey_ found no -rival among the _Gothic_ poems, you will think it natural enough from -these corresponding circumstances, that TASSO’S immortal work should be -planned upon the model of the _Iliad_. - - -LETTER VI. - -Let it be no surprise to you that, in the close of my last Letter, I -presumed to bring the _Gierusalemme liberata_ into competition with the -_Iliad_. - -So far as the heroic and _Gothic_ manners are the same, the pictures of -each, if well taken, must be equally entertaining. But I go further, -and maintain that the circumstances, in which they differ, are clearly -to the advantage of the _Gothic_ designers. - -You see, my purpose is to lead you from this forgotten Chivalry to a -more amusing subject; I mean, the _Poetry_ we still read, though it was -founded upon it. - -Much has been said, and with great truth, of the felicity of HOMER’S -age, for poetical manners. But, as HOMER was a citizen of the world, -when he had seen in _Greece_, on the one hand, the manners he has -described, could he, on the other hand, have seen in the West the -manners of the feudal ages, I make no doubt but he would certainly -have preferred the latter. And the grounds of this preference would, I -suppose, have been, “_the improved gallantry of the Gothic knights_; -and the _superior solemnity of their superstitions_.” - -If any great poet, like HOMER, had flourished in these times, and -given the feudal manners from the _life_ (for, after all, SPENSER and -TASSO came too late, and it was impossible for them to paint truly and -perfectly what was no longer seen or believed); this preference, I -persuade myself, had been very sensible. But their fortune was not so -happy: - - ——omnes illacrymabiles - Urgentur, ignotique longâ - Nocte, carent quia vate sacro. - -As it is, we may take a guess of what the subject was capable of -affording to real genius, from the rude sketches we have of it in the -old Romancers. And it is but looking into any of them to be convinced, -that the GALLANTRY, which inspired the feudal times, was of a nature to -furnish the poet with finer scenes and subjects of description in every -view, than the simple and uncontrolled barbarity of the _Grecian_. - -The principal entertainment arising from the delineation of these -consists in the exercise of the boisterous passions, which are -provoked and kept alive, from one end of the _Iliad_ to the other, -by every imaginable scene of rage, revenge, and slaughter. In the -other, together with these, the gentler and more humane affections are -awakened in us by the most interesting displays of love and friendship; -of love, elevated to its noblest heights; and of friendship, operating -on the purest motives. The mere variety of these paintings is a relief -to the reader, as well as writer. But their beauty, novelty, and -pathos, give them a vast advantage, on the comparison. - -So that, on the whole, though the spirit, passions, rapine, and -violence, of the two sets of manners were equal, yet there was an -elegance, a variety, a dignity in the feudal, which the other wanted. - -As to RELIGIOUS MACHINERY, perhaps the popular system of each was -equally remote from reason; yet the latter had something in it more -amusing, as well as more awakening to the imagination. - -The current popular tales of Elves and Fairies were even fitter to -take the credulous mind, and charm it into a willing admiration of the -_specious miracles_ which wayward fancy delights in, than those of the -old traditionary rabble of Pagan divinities. And then, for the more -solemn fancies of witchcraft and incantation, the _Gothic_ are above -measure striking and terrible. - -You will tell me, perhaps, that these fancies, as terrible as they -were, are but of a piece with those of Pagan superstition; and that -nothing can exceed what the classic writers have related or feigned of -its magic and necromantic horrors. - -To spare you the trouble of mustering up against me all that your -extensive knowledge of antiquity would furnish, let me confess to you -that many of the ancient poets have occasionally adorned this theme. -If, among twenty others, I select only the names of OVID, SENECA, and -LUCAN, it is, because these writers, by the character of their genius, -were best qualified for the task, and have, besides, exerted their -whole strength upon it. LUCAN, especially, has drawn out all the pomp -of his eloquence in celebrating those THESSALIAN CHARMS, - - ficti quas nulla licentia monstri - Transierat, quarum, quicquid non creditur, ars est. - -Yet STILL I pretend to shew you that all his prodigies, fall short -of the _Gothic_: and you will come the less reluctantly into my -sentiments, if you reflect, “THAT the thick and troubled stream of -superstition, which flowed so plentifully in the classic ages, has been -constantly deepening and darkening by the confluence of those supplies, -which ignorance and corrupted religion have poured in upon it.” - -First, you will call to mind that all the gloomy visions of dæmons and -spirits, which sprung out of the Alexandrian or Platonic philosophy, -were in the later ages of Paganism engrafted on the old stock of -classic superstition. These portentous dreams, _new hatched to the -woful time_, as SHAKESPEAR speaks, enabled APULEIUS to outdo LUCAN -himself, in some of his magic scenes and exhibitions. - -Next, you will observe that a fresh and exhaustless swarm of the -direst superstitions took their birth in the frozen regions of the -North, and were naturally enough conceived in the imaginations of a -people involved in tenfold darkness; I mean, in the thickest shades -of ignorance, as well as in the gloom of their comfortless woods and -forests. I call these the _direst superstitions_; for though the South -and East may have produced some that shew more wild and fantastic, yet -those of the North have ever been of a more sombrous and horrid aspect, -agreeably to the singular circumstances and situation of that savage -and benighted people. - -These dismal fancies, which the barbarians carried out with them in -their migrations into the North-west, took the readier and the faster -hold of men’s minds, from the kindred darkness into which the Western -world was then fallen, and from the desolation (so apt to engender all -fearful conceits and apprehensions) which every where attended the -incursions of those ravagers. - -Lastly, before the Romancers applied themselves to dress up these -dreadful stories, Christian superstition had grown to its height, -and had transferred on the magic system all its additional and -supernumerary horrors. - -Taking, now, the whole together, you will clearly see what we are to -conclude of the _Gothic_ system of prodigy and enchantment; which was -not so properly a single system, as the aggregate, - - —of all that nature breeds - Perverse; all monstrous, all prodigious things, - Which fables yet had feign’d or fear conceiv’d. - -For, to the frightful forms of ancient necromancy (which easily -travelled down to us, when the fairer offspring of pagan invention lost -its way, or was swallowed up in the general darkness of the barbarous -ages) were now joined the hideous phantasms which had terrified the -Northern nations; and, to complete the horrid groupe, with these -were incorporated the still more tremendous spectres of Christian -superstition. - -In this state of things, as I said, the Romancers went to work; and -with these multiplied images of terror on their minds, you will -conclude, without being at the pains to form particular comparisons, -that they must manage ill indeed, not to surpass, in this walk of -magical incantation, the original classic fablers. - -But, if you require a comparison, I can tell you where it is to be -made, with much ease, and to great advantage: I mean, in SHAKESPEAR’S -_Macbeth_, where you will find (as his best critic observes) “the -_Danish_ or _Northern_, intermixed with the _Greek_ and _Roman_ -enchantments; and all these worked up together with a sufficient -quantity of our own country superstitions. So that SHAKESPEAR’S -_Witch-Scenes_ (as the same writer adds) are like the _charms_ they -prepare in one of them: where the ingredients are gathered from every -thing shocking in the _natural_ world; as here, from every thing absurd -in the _moral_.” - -Or, if you suspect this instance, as deriving somewhat of its force -and plausibility from the _magic_ hand of this critic, you may turn to -another in a great poet of that time; who has been at the pains to make -the comparison himself, and whose word, as he gives it in honest prose, -may surely be taken. - -In a work of B. JONSON, which he calls THE MASQUE OF QUEENS, there are -some Witch-scenes; written with singular care, and in emulation, as it -may seem, of SHAKESPEAR’S; but certainly with the view (for so he tells -us himself) _of reconciling the practice of antiquity to the neoteric, -and making it familiar with our popular witchcraft_. - -This Masque is accompanied with notes of the learned author, who -had rifled all the stores of ancient and modern _Dæmonomagy_, to -furnish out his entertainment; and who takes care to inform us, under -each head, whence he had fetched the ingredients, out of which it is -compounded. - -In this elaborate work of JONSON you have, then, an easy opportunity of -comparing the ancient with the modern magic. And though, as he was an -idolater of the ancients, you will expect him to draw freely from that -source, yet from the large use he makes, too, of his other more recent -authorities, you will perceive that some of the darkest shades of his -picture are owing to hints and circumstances which he had catched, and -could only catch, from the _Gothic_ enchantments. Even such of these -circumstances, as, taken by themselves, seem of less moment, should not -be overlooked, since (as the poet well observes of them) _though they -be but minutes in ceremony, yet they make the act more dark and full of -horror_. - -Thus MUCH, then, may serve for a cast of SHAKESPEAR’S and JONSON’S -magic: abundantly sufficient, I must think, to convince you of the -superiority of the _Gothic_ charms and incantations, to the classic. - -Though, after all, the conclusion is not to be drawn so much from -particular passages, as from the _general impression_ left on our -minds, in reading the ancient and modern poets. And this is so much -in favour of the _latter_, that Mr. ADDISON scruples not to say, “The -ancients have not much of this poetry among them; for indeed (continues -he) almost the whole substance of it owes its original to the darkness -and superstition of later ages—Our forefathers looked upon nature with -more reverence and horror, before the world was enlightened by learning -and philosophy; and loved to astonish themselves with the apprehensions -of witchcraft, prodigies, charms, and inchantments. There was not a -village in _England_, that had not a ghost in it; the church-yards were -all haunted; every large common had a circle of fairies belonging to -it; and there was scarce a shepherd to be met with, who had not seen a -spirit.” - -We are upon enchanted ground, my friend; and you are to think yourself -well used, that I detain you no longer in this fearful circle. The -glympse, you have had of it, will help your imagination to conceive -the rest. And without more words you will readily apprehend that -the fancies of our modern bards are not only more gallant, but, on -a change of the scene, more sublime, more terrible, more alarming, -than those of the classic fablers. In a word, you will find that the -_manners_ they paint, and the _superstitions_ they adopt, are the more -poetical for being _Gothic_. - - -LETTER VII. - -But nothing shews the difference of the two systems under consideration -more plainly, than the effect they really had on the Two greatest of -our Poets; at least the two which an _English_ reader is most fond to -compare with HOMER; I mean, SPENSER and MILTON. - -It is not to be doubted but that each of these bards had kindled his -poetic fire from classic fables. So that, of course, their prejudices -would lie that way. Yet they both appear, when most inflamed, to have -been more particularly rapt with the _Gothic_ fables of Chivalry. - -SPENSER, though he had been long nourished with the spirit and -substance of HOMER and VIRGIL, chose the times of Chivalry for his -theme, and Fairy Land for the scene of his fictions. He could have -planned, no doubt, an heroic design on the exact classic model: -or, he might have trimmed between the _Gothic_ and classic, as his -contemporary TASSO did. But the charms of _fairy_ prevailed. And if -any think, he was seduced by ARIOSTO into this choice, they should -consider that it could be only for the sake of his subject; for the -genius and character of these poets was widely different. - -Under this idea then of a _Gothic_, not classical poem, the _Fairy -Queen_ is to be read and criticized. And on these principles it would -not be difficult to unfold its merit in another way than has been -hitherto attempted. - -MILTON, it is true, preferred the classic model to the _Gothic_. But -it was after long hesitation; and his favourite subject was ARTHUR -_and his Knights of the round table_. On this he had fixed for the -greater part of his life. What led him to change his mind was, partly, -as I suppose, his growing fondness for religious subjects; partly, his -ambition to take a different rout from SPENSER; but chiefly perhaps, -the discredit into which the stories of Chivalry had now fallen by the -immortal satire of CERVANTES. Yet we see through all his poetry, where -his enthusiasm flames out most, a certain predilection for the legends -of Chivalry before the fables of _Greece_. - -This circumstance, you know, has given offence to the austerer and more -mechanical critics. They are ready to censure his judgment, as juvenile -and unformed, when they see him so delighted, on all occasions, with -the _Gothic_ romances. But do these censors imagine that MILTON did not -perceive the defects of these works, as well as they? No: it was not -the _composition_ of books of Chivalry, but the _manners_ described in -them, that took his fancy; as appears from his _Allegro_— - - Towred cities please us then - And the busy hum of men, - Where throngs of knights and barons bold - In weeds of peace high triumphs hold, - With store of ladies, whose bright eyes - Rain influence, and judge the prize - Of wit, or arms, while both contend - To win her grace, whom all commend. - -And when in the _Penseroso_ he draws, by a fine contrivance, the same -kind of image to sooth melancholy which he had before given to excite -mirth, he indeed extols an _author_, or two, of these romances, as he -had before, in general, extolled the _subject_ of them: but they are -authors worthy of his praise; not the writers of _Amadis_, and _Sir -Launcelot of the Lake_; but Fairy SPENSER, and CHAUCER himself, who -has left an unfinished story on the _Gothic_ or feudal model. - - Or, call up him that left half-told - The story of CAMBUSCAN bold, - Of CAMBALL and of ALGARSIFF, - And who had CANACE to wife, - That own’d the virtuous ring and glass, - And of the wondrous horse of brass, - On which the Tartar king did ride; - And if aught else great bards beside - In sage and solemn tunes have sung - Of turneys and of trophies hung, - Of forests and inchantments drear, - Where more is meant than meets the ear. - -The conduct then of these two poets may incline us to think with more -respect, than is commonly done, of the _Gothic manners_; I mean, as -adapted to the uses of the greater poetry. - -I shall add nothing to what I before observed of SHAKESPEAR, because -the sublimity (the divinity, let it be, if nothing else will serve) of -his genius kept no certain rout, but rambled at hazard into all the -regions of human life and manners. So that we can hardly say what he -preferred, or what he rejected, on full deliberation. Yet one thing -is clear, that even he is greater when he uses _Gothic_ manners and -machinery, than when he employs classical: which brings us again to -the same point, that the former have, by their nature and genius, the -advantage of the latter in producing the _sublime_. - - -LETTER VIII. - -I spoke “of criticizing SPENSER’S poem under the idea, not of a -classical, but _Gothic_ composition.” - -It is certain, much light might be thrown on that singular work, were -an able critic to consider it in this view. For instance, he might -go some way towards explaining, perhaps justifying, the general plan -and _conduct_ of the _Fairy Queen_, which, to classical readers, has -appeared indefensible. - -I have taken the fancy, with your leave, to try my hand on this curious -subject. - -When an architect examines a _Gothic_ structure by _Grecian_ rules, he -finds nothing but deformity. But the _Gothic_ architecture has its own -rules, by which when it comes to be examined, it is seen to have its -merit, as well as the _Grecian_. The question is not, which of the two -is conducted in the simplest or truest taste: but whether there be not -sense and design in both, when scrutinized by the laws on which each is -projected. - -The same observation holds of the two sorts of poetry. Judge of the -_Fairy Queen_ by the classic models, and you are shocked with its -disorder: consider it with an eye to its _Gothic_ original, and you -find it regular. The unity and simplicity of the former are more -complete: but the latter has that sort of unity and simplicity, which -results from its nature. - -The _Fairy Queen_ then, as a _Gothic_ poem, derives its METHOD, as well -as the other characters of its composition, from the established modes -and ideas of Chivalry. - -It was usual, in the days of knight-errantry, at the holding of any -great feast, for knights to appear before the prince, who presided at -it, and claim the privilege of being sent on any adventure to which -the solemnity might give occasion. For it was supposed that, when such -a _throng of knights and barons bold_, as MILTON speaks of, were got -together, the distressed would flock in from all quarters, as to a -place where they knew they might find and claim redress for all their -grievances. - -This was the real practice, in the days of pure and ancient Chivalry. -And an image of this practice was afterwards kept up in the castles -of the great, on any extraordinary festival or solemnity: of which, if -you want an instance, I refer you to the description of a feast made at -_Lisle_ in 1453, in the court of PHILIP the good, duke of _Burgundy_, -for a Crusade against the _Turks_: as you may find it given at large in -the memoirs of MATTHIEU DE CONCI, OLIVIER DE LA MARCHE, and MONSTRELET. - -That feast was held for _twelve_ days: and each day was distinguished -by the claim and allowance of some adventure. - -Now, laying down this practice as a foundation for the poet’s design, -you will see how properly the _Fairy Queen_ is conducted. - -——“I DEVISE,” says the poet himself in his letter to Sir W. RALEIGH, -“that the _Fairy Queen_ kept her annual feaste xii days: upon which xii -several days, the occasions of the xii several adventures happened; -which being undertaken by xii several knights, are in these xii books -severally handled.” - -Here you have the poet delivering his own method, and the reason of it. -It arose out of the order of his subject. And would you desire a better -reason for his choice? - -Yes; you will say, a poet’s method is not that of his subject. I grant -you, as to the order of _time_, in which the recital is made; for here, -as SPENSER observes (and his own practice agrees to the rule), lies the -main difference between _the poet historical, and the historiographer_: -the reason of which is drawn from the nature of _Epic_ composition -itself, and holds equally let the subject be what it will, and whatever -the system of manners be, on which it is conducted. Gothic or Classic -makes no difference in this respect. - -But the case is not the same with regard to the general plan of a work, -or what may be called the order of _distribution_, which is and must -be governed by the subject-matter itself. It was as requisite for the -_Fairy Queen_ to consist of the adventures of twelve Knights, as for -the _Odyssey_ to be confined to the adventures of one Hero: justice had -otherwise not been done to his subject. - -So that if you will say any thing against the poet’s method, you must -say that he should not have chosen this subject. But this objection -arises from your classic ideas of Unity, which have no place here; and -are in every view foreign to the purpose, if the poet has found means -to give his work, though consisting of many parts, the advantage of -Unity. For in some reasonable sense or other, it is agreed, every work -of art must be _one_, the very idea of a work requiring it. - -If you ask then, what is this _Unity_ of SPENSER’S Poem? I say, It -consists in the relation of its several adventures to one common -_original_, the appointment of the _Fairy Queen_; and to one common -_end_, the completion of the _Fairy Queen’s_ injunctions. The knights -issued forth on their adventures on the breaking up of this annual -feast: and the next annual feast, we are to suppose, is to bring them -together again from the atchievement of their several charges. - -This, it is true, is not the classic Unity, which consists in the -representation of one entire action: but it is an Unity of another -sort, an unity resulting from the respect which a number of related -actions have to one common purpose. In other words, it is an unity of -_design_, and not of action. - -This _Gothic_ method of design in poetry may be, in some sort, -illustrated by what is called the _Gothic_ method of design in -gardening. A wood or grove cut out into many separate avenues or -glades was among the most favourite of the works of art, which our -fathers attempted in this species of cultivation. These walks were -distinct from each other, had each their several destination, and -terminated on their own proper objects. Yet the whole was brought -together and considered under one view, by the relation which these -various openings had, not to each other, but to their common and -concurrent center. You and I are, perhaps, agreed that this sort of -gardening is not of so true a taste as that which _Kent and Nature_ -have brought us acquainted with; where the supreme art of the designer -consists in disposing his ground and objects into an _entire landskip_; -and grouping them, if I may use the term, in so easy a manner, that the -careless observer, though he be taken with the symmetry of the whole, -discovers no art in the combination: - - In lieto aspetto il bel giardin s’aperse, - Acque stagnanti, mobili cristalli, - Fior vari, e varie piante, herbe diverse, - Apriche collinette, ombrose valli, - Selve, e spelunche in UNA VISTA offerse: - E quel, che’l bello, e’l caro accresce à l’opre, - L’arte, che tutto sà, nulla si scopre. - TASSO, C. XVI. s. ix. - -This, I say, may be the truest taste in gardening, because the -simplest: yet there is a manifest regard to unity in the other method; -which has had its admirers, as it may have again, and is certainly not -without its _design_ and beauty. - -But to return to our poet. Thus far he drew from _Gothic_ ideas; and -these ideas, I think, would lead him no further. But, as SPENSER knew -what belonged to classic composition, he was tempted to tie his subject -still closer together by _one_ expedient of his own, and by _another_ -taken from his classic models. - -His _own_ was, to interrupt the proper story of each book, by -dispersing it into several; involving by this means, and as it were -intertwisting the several actions together, in order to give something -like the appearance of one action to his twelve adventures. And for -this conduct, as absurd as it seems, he had some great examples in the -_Italian_ poets, though, I believe, they were led into it by different -motives. - -The _other_ expedient, which he borrowed from the classics, was, by -adopting one superior character, which should be seen throughout. -Prince ARTHUR, who had a separate adventure of his own, was to have -his part in each of the other; and thus several actions were to be -embodied by the interest which one principal Hero had in them all. It -is even observable, that SPENSER gives this adventure of Prince ARTHUR, -in quest of GLORIANA, as the proper subject of his poem. And upon this -idea the late learned editor of the _Fairy Queen_ has attempted, but, -I think, without success, to defend the unity and simplicity of its -fable. The truth was, the violence of classic prejudices forced the -poet to affect this appearance of unity, though in contradiction to his -_Gothic_ system. And, as far as we can judge of the tenour of the whole -work from the finished half of it, the adventure of Prince ARTHUR, -whatever the author pretended, and his critic too easily believed, was -but an after-thought; and, at least, with regard to the _historical -fable_, which we are now considering, was only one of the expedients by -which he would conceal the disorder of his _Gothic_ plan. - -And if this was his design, I will venture to say that both his -expedients were injudicious. Their purpose was, to ally two things, in -nature incompatible, the _Gothic_, and the classic unity; the effect -of which misalliance was to discover and expose the nakedness of the -_Gothic_. - -I am of opinion then, considering the _Fairy Queen_ as an epic or -_narrative_ poem constructed on _Gothic_ ideas, that the poet had -done well to affect no other unity than that of _design_, by which -his subject was connected. But his poem is not simply narrative; it -is throughout _allegorical_: he calls it _a perpetual allegory or -dark conceit_: and this character, for reasons I may have occasion -to observe hereafter, was even predominant in the _Fairy Queen_. His -narration is subservient to his moral, and but serves to colour it. -This he tells us himself at setting out, - - Fierce wars and faithful loves shall _moralize_ my song; - -that is, shall serve for a vehicle, or instrument to convey the moral. - -Now under this idea, the _Unity_ of the _Fairy Queen_ is more apparent. -His twelve knights are to exemplify as many virtues, out of which -one illustrious character is to be composed. And in this view the -part of Prince ARTHUR in each book becomes _essential_, and yet not -_principal_; exactly, as the poet has contrived it. They who rest -in the literal story, that is, who criticize it on the footing of a -narrative poem, have constantly objected to this management. They say, -it necessarily breaks the unity of design. Prince ARTHUR, they affirm, -should either have had no part in the other adventures, or he should -have had the chief part. He should either have done nothing, or more. -This objection I find insisted upon by SPENSER’S best critic[49]; -and, I think, the objection is unanswerable; at least, I know of -nothing that can be said to remove it, but what I have supposed above -might be the purpose of the poet, and which I myself have rejected as -insufficient. - -But how faulty soever this conduct be in the literal story, it is -perfectly right in the _moral_: and that for an obvious reason, though -his critics seem not to have been aware of it. His chief hero was not -to have the twelve virtues in the _degree_ in which the knights had, -each of them, their own (such a character would be a monster;) but -he was to have so much of each as was requisite to form his superior -character. Each virtue, in its perfection, is exemplified in its own -knight; they are all, in a due degree, concentrated in Prince ARTHUR. - -This was the poet’s _moral_: and what way of expressing this moral in -the _history_, but by making Prince ARTHUR appear in each adventure, -and in a manner subordinate to its proper hero? Thus, though inferior -to each in his own specific virtue, he is superior to all by uniting -the whole circle of their virtues in himself: and thus he arrives, -at length, at the possession of that bright form of _Glory_, whose -ravishing beauty, as seen in a dream or vision, had led him out into -these miraculous adventures in the land of Fairy. - -The conclusion is, that, as an _allegorical_ poem, the method of -the _Fairy Queen_ is governed by the justness of the _moral_: as -a _narrative_ poem, it is conducted on the ideas and usages of -_Chivalry_. In either view, if taken by itself, the plan is defensible. -But from the union of the two designs there arises a perplexity and -confusion, which is the proper, and only considerable, defect of this -extraordinary poem. - - -LETTER IX. - -No doubt, SPENSER might have taken one single adventure, of the TWELVE, -for the subject of his Poem; or he might have given the principal part -in every adventure to Prince ARTHUR. By this means his fable had been -of the classic kind, and its unity as strict as that of HOMER and -VIRGIL. - -All this the poet knew very well; but his purpose was not to write a -classic poem. He chose to adorn a _Gothic_ story; and, to be consistent -throughout, he chose that the _form_ of his work should be of a piece -with his subject. - -Did the poet do right in this? I cannot tell: but, comparing his work -with that of another great poet, who followed the system you seem to -recommend, I see no reason to be peremptory in condemning his judgment. - -The example of this poet deserves to be considered. It will afford, at -least, a fresh confirmation of the point, I principally insist upon, -_the pre-eminence of the GOTHIC manners and fictions, as adapted to -the ends of poetry, above the classic_. - -I observed of the famous TORQUATO TASSO, that, coming into the world a -little of the latest for the success of the pure _Gothic_ manner, he -thought fit to _trim_ between that and the classic model. - -It was lucky for his fame, that he did so. For the _Gothic_ fables -falling every day more and more into contempt, and the learning of the -times, throughout all _Europe_, taking a classic turn, the reputation -of his work has been chiefly founded on the strong resemblance it has -to the ancient _Epic_ poems. His fable is conducted in the spirit of -the _Iliad_; and with a strict regard to that unity of _action_ which -we admire in HOMER and VIRGIL. - -But this is not all; we find a studied and close imitation of those -poets, in many of the smaller parts, in the minuter incidents, and even -in the descriptions and similes of his poem. - -The classic reader was pleased with this deference to the public -taste: he saw with delight the favourite beauties of HOMER and VIRGIL -reflected in the _Italian_ poet; and was almost ready to excuse, for -the sake of these, his magic tales and fairy enchantments. - -I said, was _almost ready_; for the offence given by these tales to the -more fashionable sort of critics was so great, that nothing, I believe, -could make full amends, in their judgment, for such extravagancies. - -However, by this means, the _Gierusalemme Liberata_ made its fortune -amongst the _French_ wits, who have constantly cried it up above the -_Orlando Furioso_, and principally for this reason, that TASSO was more -classical in his fable, and more sparing in the wonders of _Gothic_ -fiction, than his predecessor. - -The _Italians_ have indeed a predilection for their elder bard; whether -from their prejudice for his subject; their admiration of his language; -the richness of his invention; the comic air of his style and manner; -or from whatever other reason. - -Be this as it will, the _French_ criticism has carried it before -the _Italian_, with the rest of _Europe_. This dextrous people have -found means to lead the taste, as well as set the fashions, of their -neighbours: and ARIOSTO ranks but little higher than the rudest -Romancer in the opinion of those who take their notions of these things -from their writers. - -But the same principle, which made them give TASSO the preference to -ARIOSTO, has led them by degrees to think very unfavourably of TASSO -himself. The mixture of the _Gothic_ manner in his work has not been -forgiven. It has sunk the credit of all the rest; and some instances -of false taste in the expression of his sentiments, detected by their -nicer critics, have brought matters to that pass, that, with their good -will, TASSO himself should now follow the fate of ARIOSTO. - -I will not say, that a little national envy did not perhaps mix itself -with their other reasons for undervaluing this great poet. They aspired -to a sort of supremacy in letters; and finding the _Italian_ language -and its best writers standing in their way, they have spared no pains -to lower the estimation of both. - -Whatever their inducements were, they succeeded but too well in their -attempt. Our obsequious and over-modest critics were run down by their -authority. Their taste of letters, with some worse things, was brought -among us at the Restoration. Their language, their manners, nay their -very prejudices, were adopted by our polite king and his royalists. And -the more fashionable wits, of course, set their fancies, as my Lord -MOLESWORTH tells us the people of _Copenhagen_ in his time did their -clocks, by the court-standard. - -Sir W. DAVENANT opened the way to this new sort of criticism in a very -elaborate preface to GONDIBERT; and his philosophic friend, Mr. HOBBES, -lent his best assistance towards establishing the credit of it. These -two fine letters contain, indeed, the substance of whatever has been -since written on the subject. Succeeding wits and critics did no more -than echo their language. It grew into a sort of cant, with which -RYMER, and the rest of that school, filled their flimsy essays and -rambling prefaces. - -Our noble critic himself[50] condescended to take up this trite theme: -and it is not to be told with what alacrity and self-complacency -he flourishes upon it. The _Gothic manner_, as he calls it, is the -favourite object of his raillery; which is never more lively or -pointed, than when it exposes that “bad taste which makes us prefer an -ARIOSTO to a VIRGIL, and a Romance (without doubt he meant, of TASSO) -to an _Iliad_.” Truly, this critical sin requires an expiation; which -yet is easily made by subscribing to his sentence, “That the French -indeed may boast of legitimate authors of a just relish; but that the -_Italian_ are good for nothing but to corrupt the taste of those who -have had no familiarity with the noble antients[51].” - -This ingenious nobleman is, himself, one of the _gallant votaries_ he -sometimes makes himself so merry with. He is perfectly enamoured of his -_noble ancients_; and will fight with any man who contends, not that -his Lordship’s mistress is not fair, but that his own is fair also. - -It is certain the French wits benefited by this foible. For pretending, -in great modesty, to have formed themselves on the pure taste of his -noble ancients, they easily drew his Lordship over to their party: -while the _Italians_, more stubbornly pretending to a taste of their -own, and chusing to _lye_ for themselves, instead of adopting the -authorised _lyes_ of _Greece_, were justly exposed to his resentment. - -Such was the address of the _French_ writers, and such their triumphs -over the poor _Italians_. - -It must be owned, indeed, they had every advantage on their side, in -this contest with their masters. The taste and learning of _Italy_ -had been long on the decline; and the fine writers under LOUIS XIV. -were every day advancing the _French_ language, such as it is (simple, -clear, exact, that is, fit for business and conversation; but for that -reason, besides its total want of numbers, absolutely unsuited to the -genius of the greater poetry), towards its last perfection. The purity -of the ancient manner became well understood, and it was the pride -of their best critics to expose every instance of false taste in the -modern writers. The _Italian_, it is certain, could not stand so severe -a scrutiny. But they had escaped better, if the most fashionable of the -_French_ poets had not, at the same time, been their best critic. - -A lucky word in a verse, which sounds well and every body gets by -heart, goes further than a volume of just criticism. In short, the -exact, but cold BOILEAU happened to say something of the _clinquant_ of -TASSO; and the magic of this word, like the report of ASTOLFO’S horn in -ARIOSTO, overturned at once the solid and well-built reputation of the -_Italian_ poetry. - -It is not perhaps strange that this potent word should do its business -in _France_. What was less to be expected, it put us into a fright -on this side the water. Mr. ADDISON, who gave the law in taste here, -took it up, and sent it about the kingdom in his polite and popular -essays[52]. It became a sort of watchword among the critics; and, on -the sudden, nothing was heard, on all sides, but the _clinquant_ of -TASSO. - -After all, these two respectable writers might not intend the mischief -they were doing. The observation was just; but was extended much -further than they meant, by their witless followers and admirers. The -effect was, as I said, that the _Italian_ poetry was rejected in the -gross, by virtue of this censure; though the authors of it had said no -more than this, “that their best poet had some false thoughts, and -dealt, as they supposed, too much in incredible fiction.” - -I leave you to make your own reflexions on this short history of the -_Italian_ poetry. It is not my design to be its apologist in all -respects. However, with regard to the _first_ of these charges, I -presume to say, that, as just as it is in the sense in which I persuade -myself it was intended, there are more instances of natural sentiment, -and of that divine simplicity we admire in the ancients, even in -GUARINI’S _Pastor Fido_, than in the best of the _French_ poets. - -And as to the _last_ charge, I pretend to shew you, in my next Letter, -that it implies no fault at all in the _Italian_ poets. - - -LETTER X. - -_Chi non sa che cosa sia Italia?_—If this question could ever be -reasonably asked on any occasion, it must surely be when the wit -and poetry of that people were under consideration. The enchanting -sweetness of their tongue, the richness of their invention, the fire -and elevation of their genius, the splendour of their expression on -great subjects, and the native simplicity of their sentiments on -affecting ones; all these are such manifest advantages on the side of -the _Italian_ poets, as should seem to command our highest admiration -of their great and capital works. - -Yet a different language has been held by our finer critics. And, -in particular, you hear it commonly said of the tales of _Fairy_, -which they first and principally adorned, “that they are extravagant -and absurd; that they surpass all bounds, not of truth only, but of -probability; and look more like the dreams of children, than the manly -inventions of poets.” - -All this, and more, has been said; and, if truly said, who would not -lament - - L’arte del poëtar troppo infelice? - -For they are not the cold fancies of plebeian poets, but the golden -dreams of ARIOSTO, the celestial visions of TASSO, that are thus -derided. - -But now, as to the _extravagance_ of these fictions, it is frequently, -I believe, much less than these laughers apprehend. - -To give an instance or two, of this sort. - -One of the strangest circumstances in those books, is that of -the _women-warriors_, with which they all abound. BUTLER, in his -_Hudibras_, who saw it only in the light of a poetical invention, -ridicules it, as a most unnatural idea, with great spirit. Yet in this -representation, they did but copy from the manners of the times. ANNA -COMNENA tells us, in the life of her father, that the wife of ROBERT -the _Norman_ fought side by side with her husband, in his battles; that -she would rally the flying soldiers, and lead them back to the charge: -and NICETAS observes, that, in the time of MANUEL COMNENA, there were -in one Crusade many women, armed like men, on horseback. - -What think you now of TASSO’S _Clarinda_, whose prodigies of valour I -dare say you have often laughed at? Or, rather, what think you of that -constant pair, - - “GILDIPPE et ODOARDO amanti e sposi, - In valor d’arme, e in lealtà famosi?” - C. III. s. 40. - -Again: what can be more absurd and incredible, it is often said, than -the vast armies we read of in Romance? a circumstance, to which MILTON -scruples not to allude in those lines of his _Paradise Regained_— - - Such forces met not, nor so wide a camp, - When AGRICAN with all his northern powers - Besieg’d _Albracca_, as Romances tell, - The city of GALLAPHRONE, from thence to win - The fairest of her sex, ANGELICA. - B. III. ver. 337. - -The classical reader is much scandalized on these occasions, and never -fails to cry out on the impudence of these lying fablers. Yet if he -did but reflect on the prodigious swarms which _Europe_ sent out in -the Crusades, and that the transactions of those days furnished the -Romance-writers with their ideas and images, he would see that the -marvellous in such stories was modest enough, and did not very much -exceed the strict bounds of historical representation. - -The first army, for instance, that marched for the Holy Land, even -after all the losses it had sustained by the way, amounted, we are -told, when it came to be mustered in the plains of _Asia_, to no -less than seven hundred thousand fighting men: a number, which would -almost have satisfied the Romancer’s keenest appetite for wonder and -amplification. - -A third instance may be thought still more remarkable. - -“We read perpetually of walls of fire raised by magical art to stop -the progress of knights-errant. In TASSO, the wizard ISMENO guards -the inchanted forest with walls of fire. In the _Orlando Inamorato_, -L. III. c. i. MANDRICARDO is endeavoured to be stopped by enchanted -flames; but he makes his way through all.” - -Thus far the learned editor of the _Fairy Queen_ [Notes on B. III. -c. xi. s. 25.] who contents himself, like a good Romance-critic, -with observing the fact, without the irreverence of presuming to -account for it. But if the profane will not be kept within this decent -reserve, we may give them to understand, that this fancy, as wild as -it appears, had some foundation in _truth_. For I make no question -but these _fires_, raised by magical art, to stop the progress of -assailants, were only the flames of FEUGREGEOIS, as it was called, that -is of WILDFIRE, which appeared so strange, on its first invention and -application, in the barbarous ages. - -We hear much of its wonders in the history of the Crusades; and even so -late as SPENSER’S own time they were not forgotten. DAVILA, speaking of -the siege of _Poitiers_ in 1569, tells us——_Abbondavano nella citta -le provisioni da guerra; tra le quali, quantita inestimabile di FUOCHI -ARTIFICIATI, lavorati in diverse maniere, ne’quali avenano i defensori -posta grandissima speranza di respingere gli assalti de’nemici._ Lib. v. - -Hence, without doubt, the _magical flames and fiery walls_, of the -_Gothic_ Romancers[53]; and who will say, that the _specious miracles_ -of HOMER himself had a better foundation? - -But, after all, this is not the sort of defence I mean chiefly to -insist upon. Let others explain away these _wonders_, so offensive to -certain philosophical critics. They are welcome to me in their own -proper form, and with all the extravagance commonly imputed to them. - -It is true, the only criticism, worth regarding, is that which these -critics lay claim to, the philosophical. But there is a sort which -looks like philosophy, and is not. May not that be the case here? - -This criticism, whatever name it deserves, supposes that the poets, who -are lyars by profession, expect to have their lyes believed. Surely -they are not so unreasonable. They think it enough, if they can but -bring you to _imagine_ the possibility of them. - -And how small a matter will serve for this? A legend, a tale, a -tradition, a rumour, a superstition; in short, any thing is enough to -be the basis of their air-formed _visions_. Does any capable reader -trouble himself about the truth, or even the credibility of their -fancies? Alas, no; he is best pleased when he is made to conceive (he -minds not by what magic) the existence of such things as his reason -tells him did not, and were never likely to, exist. - -But here, to prevent mistakes, an explanation will be necessary. -We must distinguish between the _popular belief_, and _that of the -reader_. The fictions of poetry do, in some degree at least, require -the _first_ (they would, otherwise, deservedly pass for _dreams_ -indeed): but when the poet has this advantage on his side, and his -fancies have, or may be supposed to have, a countenance from the -current superstitions of the age in which he writes, he dispenses with -the _last_, and gives his reader leave to be as sceptical, and as -incredulous, as he pleases. - -A fashionable _French_ critic diverts himself with imagining “what a -person, who comes fresh from reading Mr. ADDISON and Mr. LOCKE, would -be apt to think of TASSO’S Enchantments[54].” - -The _English_ reader will, perhaps, smile at seeing these two writers -so coupled together: and, with the critic’s leave, we will put Mr. -LOCKE out of the question. But if he be desirous to know what a reader -of Mr. ADDISON would pronounce in the case, I can undertake to give him -satisfaction. - -Speaking of what Mr. DRYDEN calls, _the Fairy way of writing_, “Men -of cold fancies and philosophical dispositions, says he, object to -this kind of poetry, that it has not probability enough to affect the -imagination. But—many are prepossest with such false opinions, as -dispose them to _believe_ these particular delusions: at least, we -have all _heard_ so many pleasing relations in favour of them, that -we do not care for seeing through the _falsehood_, and willingly give -ourselves up to so agreeable an imposture.” [_Spect._ N^{o} 419.] - -Apply, now, this sage judgment of Mr. ADDISON to TASSO’S -_Enchantments_; and you see that a _falsehood convict_ is not to be -pleaded against a _supposed belief_, or even the _slightest hear-say_. - -So little account does this wicked poetry make of philosophical or -historical truth: all she allows us to look for, is _poetical truth_; -a very slender thing indeed, and which the poet’s eye, when rolling in -a _fine frenzy_, can but just lay hold of. To speak in the philosophic -language of Mr. HOBBES, it is something much _beyond the actual bounds, -and only within the conceived possibility of nature_. - -But the source of bad criticism, as universally of bad philosophy, is -the abuse of terms. A poet, they say, must follow _nature_; and by -nature we are to suppose can only be meant the known and experienced -course of affairs in this world. Whereas the poet has a world of his -own, where experience has less to do, than consistent imagination. - -He has, besides, a supernatural world to range in. He has Gods, and -Fairies, and Witches, at his command: and, - - — — — —O! who can tell - The hidden _pow’r_ of herbes, and might of magic spell? - SPENSER, B. V. C. ii. - -Thus, in the poet’s world, all is marvellous and extraordinary; yet -not _unnatural_ in one sense, as it agrees to the conceptions that are -readily entertained of these magical and wonder-working natures. - -This trite maxim of _following Nature_ is further mistaken, in applying -it indiscriminately to all sorts of poetry. - -In those species which have men and manners professedly for their -theme, a strict conformity with human nature is reasonably demanded. - - Non hic Centauros, non Gorgonas, Harpyiasque - Invenies: hominem pagina nostra sapit; - -is a proper motto to a book of epigrams; but would make a poor figure -at the head of an epic poem. - -Still further in those species that address themselves to the heart, -and would obtain their end, not through the _imagination_, but through -the _passions_, there the liberty of transgressing nature, I mean the -real powers and properties of human nature, is infinitely restrained; -and _poetical_ truth is, under these circumstances, almost as severe a -thing as _historical_. - -The reason is, we must first _believe_ before we can be _affected_. - -But the case is different with the more sublime and creative poetry. -This species, addressing itself solely or principally to the -Imagination; a young and credulous faculty, which loves to admire -and to be deceived; has no need to observe those cautious rules of -credibility, so necessary to be followed by him who would touch the -affections and interest the heart. - -This difference, you will say, is obvious enough: How came it then to -be overlooked? From another mistake, in extending a particular precept -of the drama into a general maxim. - -The _incredulus odi_ of HORACE ran in the heads of these critics, -though his own words confine the observation singly to the stage: - - Segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem - Quam quæ sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus, et quæ - Ipse sibi tradit Spectator—— - -That, which passes in _representation_, and challenges, as it were, the -scrutiny of the eye, must be truth itself, or something very nearly -approaching to it. But what passes in _narration_, even on the stage, -is admitted without much difficulty— - - multaque tolles - Ex oculis, quæ mox narret facundia presens. - -In the epic narration, which may be called _absens facundia_, the -reason of the thing shews this indulgence to be still greater. -It appeals neither to the _eye_ nor the _ear_, but simply to the -_imagination_, and so allows the poet a liberty of multiplying and -enlarging his impostures at pleasure, in proportion to the easiness and -comprehension of that faculty[55]. - -These general reflexions hardly require an application to the present -subject. The tales of Fairy are exploded, as fantastic and incredible. -They would merit this contempt, if presented on the stage; I mean, if -they were given as the proper subject of dramatic imitation, and the -interest of the poet’s plot were to be wrought out of the adventures of -these marvellous persons. But the epic muse runs no risque in giving -way to such fanciful exhibitions. - -You may call them, as one does, “extraordinary dreams, such as -excellent poets and painters, by being over-studious, may have in the -beginning of fevers[56].” - -The epic poet would acknowledge the charge, and even value himself upon -it. He would say, “I leave to the sage dramatist the merit of being -always broad awake, and always in his senses. The _divine dream_[57], -and delirious fancy, are among the noblest of my prerogatives.” - -But the injustice done the _Italian_ poets does not stop here. The -cry is, “Magic and enchantments are senseless things. Therefore -the _Italian_ poets are not worth the reading.” As if, because the -superstitions of HOMER and VIRGIL are no longer believed, their poems, -which abound in them, are good for nothing. - -Yes, you will say, their fine pictures of life and manners— - -And may not I say the same, in behalf of ARIOSTO and TASSO? For it -is not true that all is _unnatural_ and monstrous in their poems, -because of this mixture of the wonderful. Admit, for example, ARMIDA’S -marvellous conveyance to the happy Island; and all the rest of the -love-story is as natural, that is, as suitable to our common notions of -that passion, as any thing in VIRGIL or (if you will) VOLTAIRE. - -Thus, you see, the apology of the _Italian_ poets is easily made on -every supposition. But I stick to my point, and maintain that the -Fairy tales of TASSO do him more honour than what are called the more -natural, that is, the classical parts of his poem. His imitations of -the ancients have indeed their merit; for he was a genius in every -thing. But they are faint and cold, and almost insipid, when compared -with his _Gothic_ fictions. We make a shift to run over the passages he -has copied from VIRGIL. We are all on fire amidst the magical feats of -ISMEN, and the enchantments of ARMIDA. - - Magnanima mensogna, hor quando è il vero - Si bello, che si possa à te preporre? - -I speak at least for myself; and must freely own, if it were not for -these _lyes_ of _Gothic_ invention, I should scarcely be disposed to -give the _Gierusalem Liberata_ a second reading. - -I readily agree to the lively observation, “That impenetrable armour, -inchanted castles, invulnerable bodies, iron men, flying horses, and -other such things, are easily feigned by them that dare[58].” But, with -the observer’s leave, not so feigned as we find them in the _Italian_ -poets, unless the writer have another quality, besides that of courage. - -One thing is true, that the success of these fictions will not be -great, when they have no longer any footing in the popular belief: -and the reason is, that readers do not usually do as they ought, put -themselves in the circumstances of the poet, or rather of those of whom -the poet writes. But this only shews, that some ages are not so fit -to write epic poems in, as others; not, that they should be otherwise -written. - -It is also true, that writers do not succeed so well in painting what -they have heard, as what they believe, themselves, or at least observe -in others a facility of believing. And on this account I would advise -no modern poet to revive these Fairy tales in an epic poem. But still -this is nothing to the case in hand, where we are considering the -merit of epic poems, written under other circumstances. - -The Pagan Gods and _Gothic_ Fairies were equally out of credit when -MILTON wrote. He did well therefore to supply their room with Angels -and Devils. If these too should wear out of the popular creed (and -they seem in a hopeful way, from the liberty some late critics have -taken with them) I know not what other expedients the epic poet might -have recourse to; but this I know, the pomp of verse, the energy of -description, and even the finest moral paintings, would stand him in -no stead. Without _admiration_ (which cannot be affected but by the -marvellous of celestial intervention, I mean, the agency of superior -natures really existing, or by the illusion of the fancy taken to be -so) no epic poem can be long-lived. - -I am not afraid to instance in the _Henriade_ itself; which, -notwithstanding the elegance of the composition, will in a short time -be no more read than the _Gondibert_ of Sir W. DAVENANT, and for the -same reason. - -Critics may talk what they will of _Truth and Nature_, and abuse -the _Italian_ poets as they will, for transgressing both in their -incredible fictions. But, believe it, my friend, these fictions with -which they have studied to delude the world, are of that kind of -creditable deceits, of which a wise ancient pronounces with assurance, -“_That they, who deceive, are honester than they who do not deceive; -and they, who are deceived, wiser than they who are not deceived._” - - -LETTER XI. - -But you are weary of hearing so much of these exploded fancies; and are -ready to ask, if there be any truth in this representation, “Whence -it has come to pass, that the classical manners are still admired and -imitated by the poets, when the _Gothic_ have long since fallen into -disuse?” - -The answer to this question will furnish all that is now wanting to a -proper discussion of the present subject. - -One great reason of this difference certainly was, that the ablest -writers of _Greece_ ennobled the system of heroic manners, while it -was fresh and flourishing; and their works, being master-pieces of -composition, so fixed the credit of it in the opinion of the world, -that no revolutions of time and taste could afterwards shake it. - -Whereas the _Gothic_ having been disgraced in their infancy by bad -writers, and a new set of manners springing up before there were any -better to do them justice, they could never be brought into vogue by -the attempts of later poets; who yet, in spite of prejudice, and for -the genuine charm of these highly poetical manners, did their utmost to -recommend them. - -But, FURTHER, the _Gothic_ system was not only forced to wait long for -real genius to do it honour; real genius was even very early employed -against it. - -There were two causes of this mishap. The old Romancers had even -outraged the truth in their extravagant pictures of Chivalry; and -Chivalry itself, such as it once had been, was greatly abated. - -So that men of sense were doubly disgusted to find a representation -of things _unlike_ to what they observed in real life, and _beyond_ -what it was ever possible should have existed. However, with these -disadvantages, there was still so much of the old spirit left, and the -fascination of these wondrous tales was so prevalent, that a more than -common degree of sagacity and good sense was required to penetrate the -illusion. - -It was one of this character, I suppose, that put the famous question -to ARIOSTO, which has been so often repeated that I shall spare you -the disgust of hearing it. Yet long before his time an immortal genius -of our own (so superior is the sense of some men to the age they live -in) saw as far into this matter, as ARIOSTO’S examiner. - -You will, perhaps, be as much surprised, as I was (when, many years -ago, the observation was, first, made to me) to understand, that this -sagacious person was DAN CHAUCER; who in a reign that almost realized -the wonders of Romantic Chivalry, not only discerned the absurdity of -the old Romances, but has even ridiculed them with incomparable spirit. - -“HIS RIME OF SIR TOPAZ in the _Canterbury_ Tales (said the curious -observer, on whose authority I am now building) is a manifest banter -on these books, and may be considered as a sort of prelude to the -adventures of Don QUIXOTE. I call it _a manifest banter_: for we are -to observe that this was CHAUCER’S own tale; and that, when in the -progress of it the good sense of the Host is made to break in upon him, -and interrupt him, CHAUCER approves his disgust, and, changing his -note, tells the simple instructive tale of MELIBOEUS; _a moral tale -virtuous_, as he terms it; to shew, what sort of fictions were most -expressive of real life, and most proper to be put into the hands of -the people. - -It is, further, to be noted, that the tale of _the Giant_ OLYPHANT _and -Chylde_ TOPAZ was not a fiction of his own, but a story of antique -fame, and very celebrated in the days of Chivalry: so that nothing -could better suit the poet’s design of discrediting the old Romances, -than the choice of this venerable legend for the vehicle of his -ridicule upon them. - -But what puts the satyric purpose of _the Rime of Sir_ TOPAZ out of -all question, is, that this short poem is so managed as, with infinite -humour, to expose the leading impertinencies of books of Chivalry; the -very _same_, which CERVANTES afterwards drew out, and exposed at large, -in his famous history. - -Indeed Sir TOPAZ is all Don QUIXOTE in little; as you will easily see -from comparing the two knights together; who are drawn with the same -features, are characterized by the same strokes, and differ from each -other but as a sketch in miniature from a finished and full-sized -picture. - -1. CERVANTES is very particular in describing the _person_ and _habit_ -of his Hero, agreeably to the known practice of the old Romancers. -CHAUCER does the same by his knight, and in a manner that almost equals -the arch-gravity of the _Spanish_ author: - - Sir TOPAZ was a doughty swaine, - White was his face as paine maine, - His lippes red as rose, - His rudde is like scarlet in graine, - And I you tell in good certaine, - _He had a seemely nose_. - - His haire, his berde, was like safroune, - That to his girdle raught adowne, - His shoone of cordewaine, - Of Bruges were his hosen broun. - His robe was of chekelatoun, - That cost many a jane. - -2. CERVANTES tells us how Don QUIXOTE passed his time in the country, -before he turned Knight-errant. CHAUCER, in the same spirit, celebrates -his knight’s country diversions of _hunting_, _hawking_, _shooting_, -and _wrestling_, those known _prolusions_ to feats of arms: - - He couth hunt at the wilde dere, - And ride an hauking for by the rivere - With grey GOSHAUKE on honde, - Thereto he was a good archere, - Of wrastling was there none his pere - There any Ram should stonde. - -3. The Knights of Romance were used to dedicate their services to some -paragon of beauty, such as was only conceived to exist in the land of -Fairy, and could no where be found in this vulgar disenchanted world. -Hence one of the strongest features in Don QUIXOTE’S character is the -sublime passion he had conceived for an imaginary or fairy mistress. -Sir TOPAZ is not behind him in this extravagance: - - An Elfe-queene woll I love, I wis, - For in this world no woman is - To be my make in towne, - All other women I forsake - And to an Elfe-queene I me take - By dale and eke by downe. - -4. Don QUIXOTE’S passion for this idol of his fancy was so violent, -that, after all the bangs and bruises of the day, instead of suffering -his weary limbs to take any rest, it occupied him all night with -incessant dreams and reveries of his mistress. Sir TOPAZ is in the same -woful plight: - - Sir TOPAZ eke so weary was— - That down he laid him in that place— - Oh, Saint MARY, benedicite - What aileth this love at me - To blind me so sore? - Me dreamed all this night parde - An Elfe-queen shall my leman be - And sleepe under my gore. - -5. As the chastity of the hero of LA MANCHA is well known, from a -variety of trying temptations, so Sir TOPAZ distinguishes himself by -this knightly virtue: - - Full many a maide bright in boure - They mourne for him their paramoure. - _Whan hem were bet to sleepe_, - But he was chaste and no lechoure, - And sweet as is the bramble floure - That bereth the red hipe. - -6. The fight of Sir TOPAZ with the Giant of three heads, in honour of -his mistress, - - For needes must he fight - With a giant with heads thre, - For paramours and jolitie - Of one that shone full bright— - -together with his arming, and the whole ridiculous preparation for the -combat, described at large in several stanzas, is exactly in the style -and taste of CERVANTES, on similar occasions. - -7. CERVANTES gives us to understand that it was familiar with his -knight to sleep in the open air, to endure all hardships that befell, -and to let his horse graze by him. CHAUCER, in like manner, of his -knight, with much humour: - - And for he was a knight auntrous, - He nolde slepen in none house - But liggen in his hood, - His bright helme was his wanger - And by him fed his destrer - Of herbes fine and good. - -8. And, lastly, as CERVANTES, after the example of the Romance-writers, -will have it, that his knight surpasses all others of ancient fame, so -DAN CHAUCER is careful to vindicate this high prerogative, to his hero: - - Men speaken of Romances of pris - Of HORNECHILD and of IPOTIS, - Of BEVIS and Sir GIE, - Of Sir LIBEAUX and BLANDAMOURE; - But Sir TOPAZ, he beareth the floure - Of rial chivalrie.” - -Thus far, at least to this effect, the concealed author (for the -dispensers of these fairy favours would not be inquired after) of this -new interpretation of the _Rime of Sir_ TOPAZ. Other circumstances of -resemblance might be added (for when a well-grounded hint of this sort -is once given, and opened in some instances, it is not difficult to -pursue it), but one needs go no further to be certain that the general -scope of this poem is, Burlesque. - -Only, I would observe, that though, in this ridiculous ballad, the -poet clearly intended to expose the Romances of the time, as they were -commonly written, he did not mean, absolutely and under every form, -to condemn the kind of writing itself: as, I think, we must conclude -from the serious air, and very different conduct, of the SQUIRE’S TALE; -which SPENSER and MILTON were so particularly pleased with. - -We learn too, from the same tale, that, though CHAUCER could be as -pleasant on the other fooleries of Romance, as any modern critic, he -let the _marvellous_ of it escape his ridicule, or rather esteemed -this character of the _Gothic_ Romance, no foolery. For the tale of -CAMBUSCAN is all over MARVELLOUS; and MILTON, by specifying the -_virtuous ring and glass_, and the _wondrous horse of brass_, as the -circumstances that charmed him most, shews very plainly, that, in his -opinion, these amusing fictions were well placed, and of principal -consideration, as they surely are, in this _Fairy way of writing_. - -But, whatever our old Bard would insinuate by his management of this -enchanting tale, and whatever conclusions have, in fact, been drawn -from it by such superior and congenial spirits as our two epic poets, -the _half-told_ story of CAMBUSCAN could never atone for the mischiefs -done to the cause of Romance, by the pointed ridicule of _the Rime of -Sir_ TOPAZ. Common readers would be naturally induced by it to reject -the old Romances, in the gross: and thus it happened, according to the -observation I set out with, “that these phantoms of Chivalry had the -misfortune to be laughed out of countenance by men of sense, before the -substance of it had been fairly and truly represented by any capable -writer.” - -Still, the principal cause of all, which brought disgrace on the -_Gothic_ manners of Chivalry, no doubt, was, That these manners, -which sprang out of the feudal system, were as singular, as that -system itself: so that when that political constitution vanished out -of _Europe_, the manners, that belonged to it, were no longer seen or -understood. There was no example of any such manners remaining on the -face of the earth: and as they never did subsist but once, and are -never likely to subsist again, people would be led of course to think -and speak of them, as romantic, and unnatural. The consequence of which -was a total contempt and rejection of them; while the classic manners, -as arising out of the customary and usual situations of humanity, would -have many archetypes, and appear natural even to those who saw nothing -similar to them actually subsisting before their eyes. - -Thus, though the manners of HOMER are perhaps as different from ours, -as those of Chivalry itself, yet as we know that such manners always -belong to rude and simple ages, such as HOMER paints; and actually -subsist at this day in countries that are under the like circumstances -of barbarity; we readily agree to call them _natural_, and even take a -fond pleasure in the survey of them. - -Your question then is easily answered, without any obligation upon me -to give up the _Gothic_ manners as visionary and fantastic. And the -reason appears, why the _Fairy Queen_, one of the noblest productions -of modern poetry, is fallen into so general a neglect, that all the -zeal of its commentators is esteemed officious and impertinent, and -will never restore it to those honours which it has, once for all, -irrecoverably lost. - -In effect, what way of persuading the generality of readers that -the romantic manners are to be accounted _natural_, when not one in -ten-thousand knows enough of the barbarous ages, in which they arose, -to believe they ever really existed? - -Poor SPENSER then, - - —— ——“in whose gentle spright - The pure well-head of Poesie did dwell,” - -must, for aught I can see, be left to the admiration of a few lettered -and curious men: while the many are sworn together to give no quarter -to the _marvellous_, or, which may seem still harder, to the _moral_ of -his song. - -However, this great revolution in modern taste was brought about by -degrees; and the steps, that led to it, may be worth the tracing in a -distinct Letter. - - -LETTER XII. - -The wonders of Chivalry were still in the memory of men, were still -existing, in some measure, in real life, when CHAUCER undertook to -expose the barbarous relaters of them. - -This ridicule, we may suppose, hastened the fall both of Chivalry and -Romance. At least from that time the spirit of both declined very fast, -and at length fell into such discredit, that when now SPENSER arose, -and with a genius singularly fitted to immortalize the land of Fairy, -he met with every difficulty and disadvantage to obstruct his design. - -The age would no longer bear the naked letter of these amusing stories; -and the poet was so sensible of the misfortune, that we find him -apologizing for it on a hundred occasions. - -But apologies, in such circumstances, rarely do any good. Perhaps, they -only served to betray the weakness of the poet’s cause, and to confirm -the prejudices of his reader. - -However, he did more than this. He gave an air of mystery to his -subject, and pretended that his stories of knights and giants were but -the cover to abundance of profound wisdom. - -In short, to keep off the eyes of the prophane from prying too -nearly into his subject, he threw about it the mist of allegory: -he moralized his song: and the virtues and vices lay hid under his -warriors and enchanters. A contrivance which he had learned indeed -from his _Italian_ masters: for TASSO had condescended to allegorise -his own work; and the commentators of ARIOSTO had even converted the -extravagances of the _Orlando Furioso_, into moral lessons. - -And this, it must be owned, was a sober attempt in comparison of some -projects that were made about the same time to serve the cause of -the old, and now-expiring Romances. For it is to be observed, that -the idolizers of those Romances did by them, what the votaries of -HOMER had done by him. As the times improved and would less bear his -strange tales, they _moralized_ what they could, and turned the rest -into mysteries of _natural science_. And as this last contrivance was -principally designed to cover the monstrous stories of the _Pagan -Gods_, so it served the lovers of Romance to palliate the no less -monstrous stories of _magic enchantments_. - -The editor or translator of the 24th book of AMADIS DE GAULE, printed -at _Lyons_ in 1577, has a preface explaining the whole secret, which -concludes with these words, “Voyla, lecteur, le FRUIT, qui se peut -recueiller du sens mystique des Romans antiques par les ESPRITS ESLEUS, -le commun peuple soy contentant de la SIMPLE FLEUR DE LA LECTURE -LITERALE.” - -But to return to SPENSER; who, as we have seen, had no better way to -take in his distress, than to hide his fairy fancies under the mystic -cover of moral allegory. The only favourable circumstance that attended -him (and this no doubt encouraged, if it did not produce, his untimely -project) was, that he was somewhat befriended in these fictions, even -when interpreted according to the Letter, by the Romantic Spirit of his -age; much countenanced, and for a time brought into fresh credit, by -the Romantic ELIZABETH. Her inclination for the fancies of Chivalry is -well known; and obsequious wits and courtiers would not be wanting, to -feed and flatter it. In short, tilts and tournaments were in vogue: -the _Arcadia_ and the _Fairy Queen_ were written. - -With these helps the new spirit of Chivalry made a shift to support -itself for a time, when reason was but dawning, as we may say, and -just about to gain the ascendant over the portentous spectres of the -imagination. Its growing splendour, in the end, put them all to flight, -and allowed them no quarter even among the poets. So that MILTON, as -fond as we have seen he was of the _Gothic_ fictions, durst only admit -them on the bye, and in the way of simile and illustration only. - -And this, no doubt, was the main reason of his relinquishing his -long-projected design of Prince ARTHUR, at last, for that of the -_Paradise Lost_; where, instead of Giants and Magicians, he had -Angels and Devils to supply him with the _marvellous_, with greater -probability. Yet, though he dropped the tales, he still kept to the -allegories of SPENSER. And even this liberty was thought too much, as -appears from the censure passed on his _Sin and Death_ by the severer -critics. - -Thus at length the magic of the old Romances was perfectly dissolved. -They began with reflecting an image indeed of the feudal manners, -but an image magnified and distorted by unskilful designers. Common -sense being offended with these perversions of truth and nature (still -accounted the more monstrous, as the antient manners, they pretended to -copy after, were now disused, and of most men forgotten), the next step -was to have recourse to _allegories_. Under this disguise they _walked -the world_ a while; the excellence of the moral and the ingenuity of -the contrivance making some amends, and being accepted as a sort of -apology, for the absurdity of the literal story. - -Under this form the tales of Fairy kept their ground, and even made -their fortune at court; where they became, for two or three reigns, the -ordinary entertainment of our princes. But reason, in the end (assisted -however by party, and religious prejudices), drove them off the scene, -and would endure these _lying wonders_, neither in their own proper -shape, nor as masked in figures. - -Henceforth, the taste of wit and poetry took a new turn: and the -_Muse_, who had wantoned it so long in the world of fiction, was now -constrained, against her will, - - “To stoop with disenchanted wings to truth,” - -as Sir JOHN DENHAM somewhere expresses her present enforced state, not -unhappily. - -What we have gotten by this revolution, you will say, is a great deal -of good sense. What we have lost, is a world of fine fabling; the -illusion of which is so grateful to the _charmed Spirit_, that, in -spite of philosophy and fashion, _Fairy_ SPENSER still ranks highest -among the poets; I mean, with all those who are either come of that -house, or have any kindness for it. - -Earth-born critics, my friend, may blaspheme: - - “But all the GODS are ravish’d with delight - Of his celestial song, and music’s wondrous might.” - - -THE END OF THE FOURTH VOLUME. - - - NICHOLS and SON, Printers, - Red Lion Passage, Fleet Street, London. - - - - -INDEX - -TO - -VOLUMES III. AND IV. - - - A. - - ACADEMY, the ancient, compared with a modern university, iv. 214. - - ACCOMMODATION, of one’s-self, a great art, in public life, iii. 82. - - ADDISON, Mr. his contemplation in the ruins of Kenelworth Castle, - iii. 172. - his political character exhibited in his Whig Examiner, 177. n. - calls in question the praises bestowed on Queen Elizabeth, 178. - his strictures on the manners of that age, 186. - character of his treatise on medals, 24. - his remark on the use of popular superstitions in poetry, iv. 289. - his observation on the fairy way of writing, 323. - - ADMIRALTY COURT, the imperial law still obtains there, iii. 375. - - ALLODIAL estates, in France, what, iii. 318. - - AMADIS DE GAULE, remarkable passage in a preface to, iv. 347. - - ARBUTHNOT, Dr. discourses with Mr. Addison and Mr. Digby on the age - of Queen Elizabeth, iii. 168. - his veneration for the manners of those times, 180. - his opinion on the influence of the nobility, 184. - on the pageants at Kenelworth, 203. - See Elizabeth. - - ARIOSTO, why considered inferior to Tasso by the French critics, - iv. 310. - his work admirable for its pictures of life and manners, 328. - - ARTHUR, a subject to the writers of romance, iv. 241. - the superior character in the Fairy Queen, 303. - - ASCHAM, his remark on the pernicious tendency of books of chivalry, - iii. 192. n. - - ATHEISM, imported by our travelling gentry, iv. 99. - - ATHENS, its manly character corrupted by Asiatic manners, iv. 201. - - - B. - - BACCHUS, a knight errant, iv. 266. - - BACON, Lord, his remark on retirement, iii. 137. - why he was neglected by Queen Elizabeth, iii. 243. n. - his excuse for bribery, 269. - his remark on depression of nobility, iv. 27. n. - - BACON, NAT. character of his discourses on government, iii. 307. - his observation on the state of the law in Henry V’s reign, 378. - his character of Henry VIII. iv. 29. n. - - BARONS, their contests with the king, whence arising, iii. 332. - how reduced by Henry VII. 334. - they originally formed the great council of the kingdom, _ib._ - their opposition to a law for legitimating bastards, 363. - their castles courts, as well as fortresses, iv. 247. - described in romances as giants, 264. - - BASHFULNESS in young persons, whence arising, iv. 161. - a wise provision of nature, 162. - - BASTARDS, how legitimated by the imperial and canon laws, iii. 362. - - BEAR-BAITING practised in the reign of Elizabeth, iii. 186. n. - - BENEFICIARY ESTATES, in France, what, iii. 318. - - BERKELEY, Bishop, his “Minute Philosopher” excellent as a specimen - of modern dialogue, iii. 24. - - BOILEAU, a word of his overturned the reputation of the Italian - poetry, iv. 314. - - BRACTON, his notion of a free government, iii. 370. - - BREEDING, forms of, a primary concern in foreign travel, iv. 147. - - BRIBERY, common in Elizabeth’s reign, iii. 267. - - BURGHLEY, Lord, practised on the fears of Queen Elizabeth, iii. 257. - - BURNET, Bishop, his notion of the danger to be apprehended from the - Pretender, iii. 293. - Augurs favourably of the Revolution, iv. 9, 10. - his inquiry into the increase of Prerogative under the Tudors, 19. - and after the ecclesiastical supremacy was transferred, 46. - his apology for the clergy, 58 _to_ 64. - his opinion on resistance, 66. n. - - BUTLER, ridicules the circumstance of women warriors in romance, - iv. 317. - - - C. - - CÆSAR, tribute to, misapplication of that precept by our reformers, - iv. 74. - - CAMDEN, Mr. his opinion of the Irish rebellion in the reign of - Elizabeth, iii. 232. n. - - CANON LAW, introduction of, discountenanced by our Kings, iii. 355, - 358. - retained in the church after the Reformation, iv. 67. - its doctrine convenient for the maintenance of absolute supremacy, - 69. - - CAPET, HUGH, the nobles had become independent on his accession, iii. - 321. - - CERVANTES, his ridicule destroyed the remains of Spanish prowess, iii. - 199. - keenly satirizes the Grecian epics, iv. 272. - - CHACE, the favourite passion of our home-bred gentry, iv. 116. - - CHALLENGE, accepted, through deference to the opinion of the ladies, - iv. 168. - - CHARLEMAGNE, a subject to the writers of romance, iv. 241. - - CHARLES I. arguments of the lawyers in his time, for divine right, iv. - 78. n. - - CHARLES II. how far his court benefited by foreign travel, iv. 100. - his restoration introduced the French manners and prejudices among - us, 311. - - CHARMS, in romance, often metaphorical, iv. 268. - - CHARTERS, GREAT, by some considered as usurpations on the Prince, iii. - 298. - - CHAUCER, has left an unfinished story on the Gothic model, iv. 294. - his Rime of Sir Topaz a banter on books of romances, 335. - compared with the work of Cervantes, 336. - his tale of Cambuscan a proof that he did not intend to ridicule the - marvellous, 342. - - CHIVALRY, its tendency to refine the manners, iii. 189. - its ill effects, 192. n. - contributed to the revival of letters, 195. - had its origin in a barbarous age, iv. 238. - sprung out of the feudal constitution, 242. - its characteristics accounted for, 245. - passion for arms, _ib._ - romantic ideas of justice, 246. - courtesy and gallantry, 247. - love of God and of the Ladies, 250. - its genuine character displayed in the Crusades, 252, 254. - two distinct periods in deducing its rise and progress, 258. - agreement between heroic and Gothic manners, 262. - their differences noted, 272. - custom which prevailed at festivals, 297. - women-warriors, 317. - Greek fire, 320. - - CHURCH, its revenues dilapidated by queen Elizabeth, iii. 273. - more immediately subjected to the feudal system than the civil - power, iii. 326. - struggles between the ecclesiastics and the monarchs, thence - arising, 331. - distinction between ecclesiastical and temporal courts by William - I. 352. - canon law discountenanced by our Kings, 359. - - CICERO, introduced the writing of Dialogue among the Romans, iii. 20. - his remark on the advantage of applying it to real personages, 26. - his rule respecting the appropriate style and expression, 36. - character of his dialogue defined, 40. - - CITIZENS _and_ BURGESSES, whence originating, iii. 338. - - CLARENDON, Lord, his character of Lord Falkland, iii. 67. n. - of Waller, 69. n. - his eulogium on Ben Jonson and Cowley, 140. n. - - CLERGY, justified in attending the courts of princes, iii. 145. - in the reign of the Conqueror, turned common lawyers, 352. - the Imperial law their favourite study, 361. - opposed by the barons, 363. - supported by the judges and great officers of the realm, 366. - at the Reformation propagated the doctrine of passive obedience, - iv. 57. - and of divine right, 62. - apology for them, 63, 64. - - COMBAT, a mode of deciding questions of right and property, iii. 200. - - COMNENA, MANUEL, a crusade in his time attended by women-warriors, iv. - 317. - - CONSTITUTION, English, enquiry into, iii. 284. - hath at all times been free, 286. - many have but crude notions of it, 297. - summary of erroneous doctrines respecting it, 298. - question proposed, 305. - its origin in the Saxon institutions, 309. - æra of the Conquest, 310. - contest for liberty throughout the Norman and Plantagenet lines, - 313. - council of the Kingdom originally consisting of such as held _in - capite_ of the crown, by barony, or knight’s service, 334. - origin of knights of shires, 337. - of citizens and burgesses, 338. - formation of a House of Commons, 340, 346. - its freedom shewn in the perpetual opposition of the people to the - civil and canon laws, 349 _to_ 358. - proofs of it, 363, 367. - Imperial law still prevails in certain of our Courts, and in the - Universities, 375. - fate and fortunes of the Civil law down to the present time, 378. - contrasted with the free principles of the English law, 384 _to_ - 386. - increase of prerogative under the Tudor line, 392. iv. 16. - state of the nation at the accession of Henry VII. 24, 27. - Henry VIII. 28. - Rupture with the Court of Rome, 29. - high prerogative, 37. - Commons house rising in importance, 39. - causes of the increase of Royal authority, 40. - translation of the Pope’s supremacy to the king, 41. - use made of the title, Supreme head of the Church, 49. - high commission court and star-chamber, 50. - dispensing power, 52. - instances of its exercise, 53, 54. - passive obedience, 57. - why inculcated by the clergy, 58. - doctrine of divine right whence originating, 62. - growth of Puritanism, 63. - Canon laws retained after the yoke of Rome was thrown off, 67. - influence of the crown, after the Reformation, required to be - limited by another change in the government, 71. - translation of the supremacy no argument against the freedom of - the constitution, 73. - causes concurring with the Reformation to favour liberty, in the - time of Charles I. 76, 77. - issue of the conflict between prerogative and liberty, 79, 80. - what is meant by the free constitution of the English monarchy, - 81. n. - - COURT, but two sorts of men that should live in one, iii. 124. - the clergy justified in attending, 145. - - COWLEY, Mr. his motives for retiring from the world, iii. 101. - expatiates on the benefit of solitude, 104. - grounds of his apology for seclusion, 110. - his early habits, 112. - his residence at Oxford, and friendship with Lord Falkland, 116. - his peculiar disposition, 120. - his invective against courts, 124. - his pursuits in retirement, 127. - uses of applying experiment and observation to natural science, 129. - his cynical severity against courts, 135. - eulogium on him by Lord Clarendon, 140. n. - remonstrance of his friend on his seclusion, 147. - his reply in the words of Spenser, 148. - his resolution unshaken, 150. - his purposed apology to Lord St. Alban’s begun in his Essays, 152. - his poem, called “The Complaint,” 157. - - CRAIG, his opinion of the feudal law, iii. 328. - - CRITICISM, bad, arises from abuse of terms, iv. 324. - - CROMWELL, his design for setting up a Protestant Council, iv. 14. - - CRUSADES, state of things when they were set on foot, iv. 252. - considered as the origin of knight errantry, 255. - domestic disorders resulting from them, 277. - vast armies which were sent out, 318. - - CUTTER OF COLEMAN STREET, origin and purpose of that comedy, iii. 122. - n. - - - D. - - DAVENANT, Sir W. a new sort of criticism in his preface to Gondibert, - iv. 311. - - DECLARATION OF RIGHTS, a barrier against future encroachments of the - crown, iii. 293. - - DECRETALS, of the popes, against the civil law, iii. 355. - - DIALOGUE, a favourite form of instruction with the ancients, iii. 19. - its advantages, 21. - only three in the English language worthy of mention, 24. - real persons only to be introduced in it, 27. - a new species, created by Lucian, 28. - the serious and philosophic, the best, 32. - its requisites, 34. - rule for restraining the characteristic peculiarities of style, 39. - modern writers cannot aspire to the elegance of the ancient, 43. - remedies for their difficulties, ib. 46. - the ancient notion of, very little comprehended in our days, iv. 90. - - DISPARITY, a passage from a tract so called, iii. 235. n. - another, illustrative of Queen Elizabeth’s policy, 258. n. - - DISPENSING POWER of the Crown, iv. 52. - exercised by various sovereigns, 53, 54. - eleven out of twelve judges declared for it, 55. - - DISSIPATION OF MIND, caused by travel, iv. 145. - - DIVINE RIGHT, doctrine of, why preached up, iv. 62. - arguments for it used by the lawyers in the time of Charles I. 78. n. - - DRAMA, a particular precept for, mistaken for a general maxim, iv. 326. - - DUTCH TOWNS, accomplished scholars sometimes met within them, iv. 121. - - - E. - - EDUCATION, that commonly called liberal, wherein defective, iv. 117, - 118. - its proper objects pointed out, 138. - one of its great secrets, to fix the attention of youth, 145. - private, why preferable to public, 210. - - EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, formed a digest of the Saxon laws, iii. 349. - - EDWARD I. dispute concerning the succession to the crown of Scotland - in his reign, iii. 367. - - EDWARD III. a house of commons originating in his reign, iii. 340, - 344. - - ΕΙΡΗΝΑΡΧΙΑ, a Latin panegyric on Queen Elizabeth taught in schools, - iii. 239. n. - - ELIZABETH, Queen, dialogue on the age of, iii. 167. - humour of magnifying her character, whence arising, 177. - her romantic spirit, 196. - examples of it, _ib._ n. - honours paid her at Kenelworth, 203. - superiority of poets in her reign, to what owing, 209. - language of that age, favourable to poetry, 210. - inquiry into the merits of her government, 219. - sketch of its history, 221, 222. - splendour of her reign how far owing to fortunate circumstances, - 223. - her enthusiasm for her Protestant subjects, 225. - contending factions of Papists and Puritans, 226. - condition of the Continental powers, 230. - of Ireland, 231. - of Scotland, 233. - her prerogative uncontrouled, 234. - passion for letters in her reign, 236. - a Latin panegyric on her, taught in grammar-schools, 239. n. - spirit and genius of the nation roused by the dangers of the time, - 241. - manners of her subjects debased by servility and insolence, 242. - her choice of ministers, _ib._ - her personal qualities, 245. - her love for her people called in question, 250. - her foreign and domestic policy glanced at, 252. - her popularity in part ascribed to her vices, 255. - her cowardice, 256. - her avarice, 261. - her fondness for shew, 265. - sale of offices, 266. - reason why she did not marry, 271. n. - her government oppressive, 272. - two great events which cast an uncommon lustre over her reign, 274. - causes of her domestic successes, 275. - her character, 276. - vindicated, 279. - established the Reformation, iv. 31, 32. - exercised the dispensing power, 54. - her inclination for the fancies of chivalry, iv. 347. - - EMPSON _and_ DUDLEY, how enabled to violate the constitution, iii. - 379. - their proceedings sanctioned by Parliament, iv. 34. - - ENGLAND, a constitutional history of, highly desirable, iii. 286, - 288. - its monarchy by some declared to be absolute, 298, 299. - its lands were allodial in the Saxon times, 324. - how possessed, _ib._ - introduction of feudal tenures at the conquest, why popular, 325. - origin of the struggles between the Church and the King, 331. - between the King and his Barons, 332. - never famous for the civility of its inhabitants, iv. 112. - early travel recommended as a cure for this defect, 113. - prejudices and low habits of our youth, 115. - liberal arts not much advanced, 127. - foreign nations to be emulated, 129. - qualifications for a Senator, 140. - another view of the state of the country, 151. - ideas of liberty connected with it, 153. - - EPIC NARRATION, less restricted to truth than the drama, iv. 327. - - ERASMUS, improved on the dialogue of Lucian, iii. 28. - - ERUDITION, present state of, iv. 132. - - ESPRIT, DE L’, remark on a work so called, iv. 89. n. - - EUROPE, why not fit for an Englishman to travel in, iv. 200. - view of the Protestant Universities of, 212, 213. - - - F. - - FAERY COURT, means the reign of chivalry, iv. 248. - - FAIRIES, more engaging than the rabble of Pagan divinities, iv. 283. - - FAIRY QUEEN of Spenser, to be criticized as a Gothic, and not a - classical poem, 292, 296. - derives its method from the established modes of chivalry, 297. - in what its unity consists, 300. - expedients of the poet in connecting the subject, 302. - allegorical character of the poem, 304. - conduct of the story justified by its moral, 305. - principal defect arising from the union of two designs, 306. - - FAIRY WAY OF WRITING, vindicated, iv. 316. - allegory its last resource, 349. - - FALKLAND, Lord, his scruples on accepting the office of Secretary of - State, iii. 67. - - FEUGREGEOIS, wonders told of it in the history of the crusades, iv. - 320. - - FEUDAL LAW, instituted by William the Conqueror, iii. 313. - or rather new-modelled by him, 317. - previously adopted in France, 319, 320. - its _fruits_, 321. - favourable to the cause of liberty, 323. - definition of the feudal system, 329. - its defects, 333, 334. - fitted itself to the varying situations of society, 345. - - FEUDAL CONSTITUTION, the origin of chivalry, iv. 242. - consideration had of females under it, 274. - distinction between the early and later feudal times, 276. - dissensions of leaders, domestic disorders, and usurpations, 277, - 278. - - FOREIGNERS, their disputes with British subjects, by what laws - decided, iii. 376. - - FORTESCUE, his distinction between regal and political forms of - government, iii. 388. n. - - FORTUNE, the making of one, an indefinite expression, iii. 131. - - FRANC-ALMOIGN, a particular tenure in the Saxon times, iii. 327. - - FRANCE, its lands, under the Carlovingian line, of two kinds, iii. - 318. - changes introduced, _ib._ 319, 320. - most of its lands were beneficiary, 324. - her pre-eminence in taste and politeness, iv. 130. - - FREEDOM, English, best supported by the ancient nobility, iii. 184. - - FREE MEN, persons holding _allodial_ estates in France, so called, - iii. 318. - - FRENCH CRITICS, preferred the Gierusalemme Liberata to the Orlando - Furioso, iv. 309. - - FYNES MORYSON, his remark on the condition of the English people, - iii. 183. n. - - - G. - - GARDENING, Gothic method of design in, iv. 301. - - GENIUS, men of, infelicities attending the sensibility of their - gratitude, iii. 140. - - GENTLEMAN, what his chief object, iv. 123. - - GERMAN NATIONS, foundation of gallantry in their ancient manners, - iv. 250. - their predatory disposition, 269. - - GIANTS of Romance, were oppressive feudal lords, iv. 263. - - GOTHIC ROMANCE, incorporated with pagan fable, in a pageant given to - Queen Elizabeth at Kenelworth, iii. 203. - whence fallen into disrepute, iv. 333. - steps of its decline traced, 345. - - —— MANNERS, - in some circumstances agree with the heroic, iv. 262. - military enthusiasm, _ib._ - giants and savages, 263. - monsters, dragons, and serpents, 265. - robbery and piracy, 268. - bastardy, 269. - hospitality and courtesy, 270. - martial exercises, _ib._ - passion for adventures, 271. - wherein they differed from the heroic, 272. - in the affair of religion and gallantry, 274. - more poetical than the heroic, 280. - in the displays of love and friendship, 282. - in religious machinery, 283. - their effect on Spenser, 291. - on Milton, 292. - on Shakespear, 294. - method of design in poetry, 300. - - GREEKS, a sort of chivalry prevailed among them, iv. 273. - - GROTIUS, his character of the English in Elizabeth’s reign, iii. - 242. n. - his remark on the foreign policy of that Queen, 259. n. - - GUARINI, his Pastor Fido, for what admirable, iv. 315. - - GUY, EARL OF WARWICK, his return from the wars, compared with that - of Ulysses, iv. 278. - - - H. - - HABITS, low and immoral, how far likely to be corrected by foreign - travel, iv. 157. - - HALE’S CASE, afforded an alarming proof of the influence of the - dispensing power, iv. 55. - - HAMPDEN, Mr. his allegation in the great cause of ship-money, 78. n. - - HARRINGTON, Sir James, his opinion on the statutes against retainers, - in Henry VII.’s reign, 184. n. - - HARRISON, his account of the progress of learning in Queen Elizabeth’s - reign, iii. 237. n. - - HELMET, used as a signal of hospitality in the ages of chivalry, iii. - 182. - - HENRIADE, why not long-lived, iv. 331. - - HENRY III. issued a prohibition against the teachers of the Roman law - in London, iii. 357, 358. - - HENRY VII. his character, iv. 19. - increased his own authority and diminished that of his nobles, 25. - filled the great offices with churchmen only, 26. - exercised the dispensing power, contrary to act of parliament, 53. - - HENRY VIII. favoured the study of the civil law, though constrained to - abolish it, iii. 380. - his character, iv. 19. - advantageous circumstances on his accession, 29. - his rupture with the court of Rome, _ib._ - obtained of his parliament to have his proclamations pass for laws, - 34. - - HELVIDIUS, PRISCUS, a fine trait in his character, as given by - Tacitus, iii. 142. - - HENTZNERUS, PAULUS, praises Queen Elizabeth’s skill in languages, - iii. 257. n. - - HERBERT, Mr. GEORGE, commended king James as a greater orator than - any of the ancients, iii. 240. n. - - HERCULES, a knight errant, iv. 266. - - HEROIC POETRY, why it has survived the Gothic, iv. 333. - - HIGH COMMISSION COURT, iii. 381. - in what originating, iv. 49. - - HISTORY, ENGLISH, study of it essential to a young senator, iv. 142. - - HOBBES, Mr. assisted in establishing a new sort of criticism, iv. 311. - his notion of poetical truth, 324. - - HOMER, correspondence of his descriptions with those of Gothic - romance, iv. 266. - his two poems intended to expose the evils arising from the - political state of old Greece, 277. - felicity of his age, for poetical manners, 280. - - HOSPITALITY, much practised by the great, in former times, iii. 181. - species of it peculiar to the purer ages of chivalry, 182. n. - - HOUSE OF COMMONS, its origin, iii. 340. - generated by the constitution, 346. - - HUMAN NATURE, how to be studied, iv. 197. - - HUME, ground of his apology for the House of Stuart, iii. 391. n. - his account of the feudal times the best part of his history of - England, iv. 80. n. - his zeal for the house of Stuart a disgrace to his work, 82. - - - I & J. - - JAMES I. favoured the study of the civil law, iii. 381. - advantages under which he succeeded to the crown, iv. 33. - believed himself absolute, 37. - his bold language to his parliaments, 38. - asserts the right of the King to suspend the laws, 54. - considered a most able judge of _church work_, 59, 60. n. - styles himself the great schoolmaster of the land, 69. n. - - JESUITS, their expedient to justify the pope in deposing kings, iv. - 61. - - IGNORANCE, the parent of many vices, iv. 108. - - INTEREST, of men in office, how connected with duty, iii. 139. - - JONSON, BEN, praised by Lord Clarendon, iii. 140. n. - his encomium on legends of ancient chivalry, 194. - contrasts them with real life and manners, 198. - design of the witch-scenes in his Masque of Queens, iv. 287. - - IRELAND, distractions in, during the reign of Elizabeth, iii. 231. - - IRISH, savage, in the reign of Elizabeth, held their rhymers in - principal estimation, iv. 271. - - ITALIAN POETRY, a short history of, 309 to 315. - vindicated, 316, 328. - its fictions ingenious as well as bold, 330. - - ITALY, the theatre of politeness in the age of Elizabeth, iv. 99. - abounding with literary men, 121. - - JURY, trial by, when disgraced and rejected, iii. 379, 382. - - JUSTICES OF PEACE, in Queen Elizabeth’s reign, notoriously corrupt, - iii. 270. - - JUSTINIAN LAW, when introduced into England, iii. 354. - Why the chief study of the clergy, 361. - opposed by the barons, 363. - allows legitimation by subsequent marriage, 365. - in what courts it obtains to this day, 375. - its fate and fortunes down to the present time, 378. - - JUSTS AND TURNAMENTS, their origin, iv. 243. - - - K. - - KENELWORTH CASTLE, contemplations in the ruins of, iii. 170. - behaviour of Lord Leicester’s porter on Queen Elizabeth’s visit, - 174. - pageants in honour of her, 203. - - KNIGHTS OF SHIRE, whence originating, iii. 337, 338. - - KNIGHTS ERRANT, iv. 247. - their devotion to the fair sex, 248. - their most essential qualities, courage and faith, 251. - origin ascribed to the crusades, 255. - objection to that hypothesis, 257. - what the principal mover of their adventures, 275. - - KNOWLEDGE of the world, necessary for enlarging the mind, iv. 108. - what is meant by it, 122, 123. - not attainable by early travel, 170. - to be acquired by degrees, 180. - - - L. - - LADIES, attach a high degree of merit to good breeding, iv. 168. - though bred at home, have a manifest advantage over their travelled - brothers in liberal acquirements, 176. - virtues and faults more conspicuous in them than in the other sex, - 177, 178. - - “LADY OF THE LAKE,” a pageant at Kenelworth Castle, iii. 203. - - LAGA, or LEAGA, the Saxon word for law, its extensive import, iii. - 308. - - LANGUAGE, ENGLISH, at what period most favourable to poetry, iii. 210. - - LANGUAGES, time sometimes wasted in studying, iv. 147. - - LAWS, how rendered necessary, iv. 108. - - LEARNING, revival of, began first by poetry, iii. 206. - - LEGISLATORS, ancient, why required to travel for instruction, iv. 95. - - LEGISLATURE, their right to settle the government, unquestionable, - iii. 302. - - LEICESTER, Earl of, his splendid monument in the great church of - Warwick, iii. 168. - Strictures on his conduct, 176. - - LETTERS, the cultivation of, its own reward, iii. 130. - - LIBERAL ARTS, of late growth in England, iv. 127. - study of them less important than other branches of education, 192. - - LIBERTY, a right understanding of its principles necessary to the - security of the British government, iii. 295. - religious, made way for the entertainment of civil, in all its - branches, iv. 76. - - LIFE-GUARD, instituted by Henry VII. iv. 25. - - LIVY, his dialogues, if preserved, would have suffered by comparison - with those of Cicero, iii. 41. - - LOCKE, Mr. Lord Shaftesbury’s opinion of him as a philosopher, iv. 88. - his notion of education, opposed to that of his lordship, 136, 138. - denies that its objects can be attained by foreign travel, 143. - his remarks on England, 151. - on national prejudices, 152, 154. - on evil habits, 156. - on bashfulness in youth, 161. - on knowledge of the world, 170. - on the means of instilling it into the minds of youth, 180. - his objections to the study of the fine arts, 191, 193. - of the fine arts, 191, 193. - Declares against European travels, 200. - his remarks on the universities, 204. - on clergy tutors, 217. - Presage of brighter days for the universities, 224. - - LOLLARDISM, spreading in the reign of Henry VII. iv. 27. - - LONDON, a fit scene for seeing the world, iv. 190. - - LUCAN, his magic scenes excelled by those of Apuleius, iv. 283, 284. - - LUCIAN, created a new species of dialogue, iii. 28. - its nature defined, 30, 32. - his remark on the social use of the table, 182. - - - M. - - MANNERS, best acquired by early travel, iv. 119. - meaning of the term, 120. - a chief object of study, 124. - - MASKS and SHOWS, their origin and design, iii. 207. - - MATTHEW PARIS, his remark on the subjection of the ecclesiastical to - the secular power at the Conquest, iii. 327. n. - - MAYNARD, Sir JOHN, one of the most accomplished lawyers of his time, - iii. 289. n. - traces the origin of the English Constitution, 306. - was one of the _eleven members_ proceeded against, on the charge of - the army, 383. n. - his opinion that the power of the militia was not in the king, iv. - 75. n. - - MELVIL, Sir JAMES, his frank reply to Queen Elizabeth touching her - celibacy, iii. 271. n. - - MILTON, recommends gymnastics in his Tractate of Education, iii. 188. - why he preferred the classic to the Gothic model in poetry, iv. 292. - pleased with the manners described in books of chivalry, 293. - his allusion to the vast armies described in romance, 318. - Pagan gods and Gothic fairies out of credit when he wrote, 331. - admired Chaucer’s tale of Cambuscan, 342. - His reason for relinquishing his design of Prince Arthur, 348. - - MODESTY, in young persons, a grace and ornament, iv. 162. - the blush of budding reason and virtue, 164. - - MONTESQUIEU, his observation on the Gothic government, iii. 341. n. - - MORE, Dr. HENRY, his dialogue with Mr. Waller on sincerity, iii. 53. - his character, according to Bishop Burnet, 93. n. - - MOUNTJOY, Lord, how reprimanded by Queen Elizabeth, iii. 249. - - - N. - - NATIONS, improved by intercourse with each other, iv. 109. - - NATURE, how to be followed in poetry, iv. 324. - - NEUTRALITY, why another name for insincerity, iii. 66. - - NORHAM, great Council of, rejected the Cæsarean law, iii. 367. - - - O. - - OBEDIENCE, PASSIVE, doctrine of, by whom propagated, iv. 57. - - - P. - - PAGAN superstitions, fall short of the Gothic, iv. 284. - - PANDECTS, when and by whom introduced into England, iii. 354. - their doctrine concerning the origin of government, 371. - - PAPAL SUPREMACY, its extent in this kingdom, iv. 42. - how transferred to Henry VIII. 43. - qualifying clauses, _ib._ - high notions entertained of the pope’s power, 46. - dispensing power, 52. - exercised by the popes against the Gospel itself, 56. n. - indignation of the popes against our reforming sovereigns, 61. - - PARLIAMENTS, their authority acknowledged even under our most despotic - Princes, iv. 37. - transferred the papal supremacy to Henry VIII. 43. - how curbed by the _dispensing power_, 51, 52. - - PERSONIFICATION, why frequent in old poetry, iii. 211, 212. - - PHILIP THE GOOD, duke of Burgundy, a festival given by him, for a - crusade, iv. 298. - - PHILOSOPHERS, ancient, considered travel as a necessary part of their - studies, iv. 95. - - PHILOSOPHY, how at present degraded, iv. 131. - - PLATO, the model, if not the inventor, of the Greek dialogue, iii. 20. - - PLOT, of Mr. Waller, its failure, iii. 71, 72. - confounded with another of more dangerous tendency, 75. - - PLUTARCH, his life of Theseus reads like a modern romance, iv. 266. - - POETRY, what point in the revolutions of taste and language most - favourable to it, iii. 210. - the sublime species not subject to strict rules of credibility, - iv. 325, 326. - - POETS, generally enamoured of solitude, iii. 113, 114. - - POLE, Cardinal, violent in his invectives against Henry VIII. iv. 60. - - POLITENESS, not attainable by great men, iv. 166. - what its most reasonable sense, 201. - - PREJUDICES, of home-bred gentlemen, iv. 114. - the term equivocal, 152. - some ought not to be removed, 153. - proper cure for vicious prejudices, 155. - - PREROGATIVE, of English monarchs, controuled by law, iii. 287. - - PROTESTANT COUNCIL, projected by Cromwell, iv. 14. n. - - PROTESTANTISM, had made considerable progress on the accession of - Elizabeth, iii. 224. - its effects on the public morals, 238. - - PROTESTANTS, French, persecution of, iv. 12. n. - - PURITANISM, growth of, iv. 63. - - PURITANS, how managed by Queen Elizabeth, iii. 227. - - - R. - - RALEIGH, Sir Walter, his opinion on the conduct of the Spanish war, - iii. 252. - received money to use his interest with the Queen, 268. - - REASON, best exercised in society, iii. 106. - - RECREANT, why a term of disgrace for a vanquished knight, iv. 251. - - REFORMATION, established in the reign of Elizabeth, iv. 31, 32. - though founded on principles of liberty, for a time favoured the - power of the crown, 70. - carried on and established by the whole legislature, 73. - - RELIGIOUS HOUSES, suppression of, favoured the extension of - prerogative, iv. 20. - - REPRESENTATION, Dramatic, requires stricter adherence to truth than - narration, iv. 326. - - RETAINERS, laws of Henry VII. against, iv. 25. - - RETIREMENT, foundation of the dialogue concerning, iii. 97. n. - its good effects on the mind, 104. - its disadvantages, 106. - retirement of good men from public employments prejudicial to the - state, 141. - - REVOLUTION of 1688, why justifiable, iii. 283. - settlement introduced by it, how to be rendered secure, 295. - - RHETORICIAN, one who taught the art of _not speaking_, iv. 121. - - RICHARD II. the wonder-working parliament in his reign rejected the - Roman civil law, iii. 367. - his declaration that his will was law, 374. - - ROBERT THE NORMAN, his wife fought by his side in battle, iv. 317. - - ROMAN EMPERORS, their policy in assuming the title of Pontifex - Maximus, iv. 47. - - ROME, Court of, its authority rejected by Henry VIII. iv. 29. - - ROMANCE, Spirit of, whence originating, iv. 239. - principal subjects, 241. - from what period its writers derive their ideas of chivalry, 259. - practice of mixing Pagan fable with it, 272. - Gothic superstitions introduced, 284. - decline of this species of writing, 333, 345, 348. - - ROUSSEAU, his observation on the use of the marvellous in epic and - dramatic compositions, iv. 327. n. - - ROYAL SOCIETY, much talked of, before it was instituted, iii. 143. n. - - RYSWICK, treaty of, wherein defective, iv. 12. - - - S. - - ST. ALBAN’S, Lord, the patron of Cowley, iii. 97, 99, 102. - - SAXONS, the principles of their policy still maintained in our - government, iii. 307. - spirit of liberty prevailed among them, 309. - their institutions, after the decline of the Romans, the standing - laws of this kingdom, 349. - - SAVAGES of Romance, dependants of feudal lords, iv. 263. - - SELDEN, his character of Ben Jonson, iii. 209. - a curious extract from his dissertation on Fleta, 370. - - SELF-LOVE, when uncontrouled, engenders vices, iv. 108. - - SENATOR, English, requisite qualifications of one, iv. 140. - are not attainable by foreign travel, 143. - - SIDNEY, Sir PHILIP, the flower of knighthood, iii. 197. - - SINCERITY in the commerce of the world, a dialogue on, iii. 53. - - SHAFTESBURY, Lord, eminent as a writer of dialogue, iii. 24. - his remarks on the difficulties attending that class of composition, - 42. - represented in a dialogue with Mr. Locke, on the uses of foreign - travel, iv. 87. - states its advantages, 107. - asserts it to be the most important part of education, 111. - descants on the prejudices of home-bred gentlemen, 115. - on the state of the arts in Britain, 126. - on the decay of philosophy, 131. - his raillery against the Gothic manner in poetry, 311. - - SHAKESPEAR, remark of his best critic on the witch-scenes in Macbeth, - iv. 286. - greater in the Gothic than in the classic manner, 295. - - SOCRATES, whence he took his name of Ironist, iii. 28. - never stirred out of Athens, iv. 96. - - SOMERS, Mr. his fears that the principles of liberty are not - thoroughly established in the minds of the people, iii. 295, 297. - his notion of the varying ascendancy of liberty and prerogative, - iv. 18. - - SPAIN, Queen Elizabeth’s triumph over, to what owing, iii. 274. - - SPENSER, had talent for business as well as for poetry, iii. 243. - his funeral, _ib._ n. - charmed by Gothic Romance, iv. 239. - his account of the courtesy of chivalry, 247. - of the connection of gallantry with the profession of Knighthood, - 249. - his description of characters in romance, 264. - his design in the Fairy Queen, 280. - why he chose chivalry for his theme, and Fairy land for his scene, - 291. - why he had recourse to allegory, 346. - with whom he ranks highest among the poets, 350. - - SPRAT, the Rev. Mr. his account of a conversation with Mr. Cowley on - retirement, iii. 99. - - STAR-CHAMBER, iii. 381. - when confirmed by act of parliament, iv. 25, 34. - its jurisdiction why extended, 50. - - STEPHEN, the Justinian laws introduced into England during his reign, - iii. 354. - interdicted the study of them, 356. - - STILLINGFLEET, Dr. his remark on the dispensing power, iv. 54. - - STUART, House of, part of their difficulties ascribed to the bad - policy of their predecessor, iii. 228. - English Government despotic under the first princes of that line, - iii. 390. - prerogative increased in the preceding reigns, iv. 20, 33. - confirmed the jurisdiction of the Star-Chamber by statute, 34. - exercised the dispensing power to a dangerous degree, 55. - - - T. - - TACITUS, bears testimony to the free spirit of the German - constitutions, iii. 309. - - TASSO, his Gierusalemme Liberata planned on the model of the Iliad, - iv. 279. - his description of a garden, iv. 301. - his Gierusalemme Liberata considered, 308. - how estimated by the French critics, 309, 310. - his Clarinda not so extravagant a character as is generally - supposed, 318. - remark of a French critic on his enchantments, 322. - his fairy tales do him more honour than the classical parts of his - poem, 329. - - TERENCE, his characters all express themselves with equal elegance, - iii. 39. - - THEOBALD, Archbishop, favoured the reading of the Justinian laws in - England, iii. 354. - - THIRD ESTATE in France, their deputies how stigmatized by one of - the popes, iv. 59. n. - - THUANUS, his remark on the romantic spirit of Queen Elizabeth, - iii. 196. - - THURKEBY, Judge, exclaims against the dispensing power, iv. 53. n. - - TILT YARD, a school of fortitude and honour to our forefathers, iii. - 185. - Its exercises excelled those of the Grecian gymnastics, 188. - - TOLERATION-ACT, when passed, iv. 11. n. - - TOPAZ, SIR, of Chaucer, a prelude to Don Quixote, iv. 336. - - TOUR OF EUROPE, too limited for a philosophic traveller, iv. 198. - - TRAVEL, foreign, dialogue on the uses of, iv. 87. - considered as a part of early education, 93. - question stated, 94. - example of the ancient philosophers, 96. - allusion to the court of Elizabeth, 98. - of Charles II. 100. - youth more exposed to vice abroad than at home, 103. - arguments in favour of it, 107. - its tendency to remove prejudices and correct low habits, 115. - and to qualify a person for bearing his part in public affairs, 124. - the argument refuted, 135. - proper objects of education, 138. - does not contribute to attain them, 143. - waste of time, _ib._ - dissipation of mind, 145. - objects to which the traveller’s application is directed, 146. - hinder him from more important studies, 149. - vicious prejudices may be removed without it, 155. - low habits not likely to be corrected by it, 157, 158. - precipitates youth into manhood, 165. - is become fashionable through the influence of the ladies, 168. - knowledge of the world not to be acquired by it, 172. - unseasonable and useless in youth, 173. - considered as a means of dissolving hasty and ill-timed connexions, - 188. - of studying the fine arts, 191. - when to be practised with most advantage, 195. - to be extended beyond the tour of Europe, 198. - foreign and English universities compared, 212. - what tutorage most proper, 217. - - TUDOR LINE, government of England more despotic under them than in - the preceding reigns, iii. 390. - - TUTOR, Travelling, how to be chosen, iv. 106. - the best cannot teach every thing requisite, 149. - what tutorage most proper, 217. - - - V. and U. - - VACARIUS taught the civil law in England, iii. 355. - - VIRTUE, exists most in the offices of social life, iii. 106. - not incompatible with ambition, 139. - - VIRTUOSOSHIP, one of the objects of foreign travel, iv. 146. - - ULYSSES, his return afforded an exception to the domestic licence of - the time, iv. 278. - - UNITY of design in Gothic poems, iv. 300. - - UNIVERSITIES, the Imperial law still obtains in them, iii. 375. - strictures on, iv. 132. - a sketch of their institution and genius, 204. - why the barbarous plans of education still prevail, 206. - a reformation contemplated, 208. - their studies and discipline not without their use, 211. - compared with those of the continent, 212. - their forms and regulations commended, 214. - much room for improvement in them, 223. - happy presage of their future condition, 224. - - - W. - - WALLER, Mr. EDMUND, represented in dialogue with Dr. More, on - sincerity in the commerce of the world, iii. 53. - recites his history, 57. - his introduction at court, where he recommended himself by his - poetry, 60. - engaged actively in the parliament of 1640, 63. - his relationship and attachment to Mr. Hampden could never bias - him from moderation, 65. - his resolution to pursue the King’s interests, and yet keep clear - with the Parliament, 69. - his popularity drew him into difficulties, 71. - failure of his _plot_, 72. - his address in extricating himself from the danger thence arising, - 77. - his hypocrisy, 79. - retired into France during the troubles of the country, 83. - ascribes his misfortunes to _sincerity_, and his escape from them, - to _dissimulation_, 84. - is admitted, on his return, to the confidence of the Protector, - whom he panegyrized, 86. - congratulated Charles II. on his restoration, 88. - his arguments in justification of his conduct, 91. - - WALLS OF FIRE, mentioned in romance, what in reality, iv. 320. - - WALSINGHAM, Secretary, recounts the ill effects of Queen Elizabeth’s - frugality, iii. 263. n. - his illustrious poverty, 264. - - WARWICK, Great Church of, famous for its monuments, iii. 168. - - WILLIAM I. his Conquest by some considered as the foundation of - absolute monarchy in England, iii. 298, 309. - his claim to the crown not conquest but testamentary succession, - 311. - instituted the feudal law, 313. - consequences of his distribution of forfeited estates and - seignories, 333. - obliged to ratify the old standing laws of the kingdom, 349. - illustration of his policy in his distinction of the ecclesiastical - and temporal courts, 351, 352. - styles himself _Bastard_, in one of his charters, 363. - - WILLIAM III. King, his character, iv. 14. - - WOLSEY, Cardinal, charged with subjecting the laws of the land to - the imperial laws, iii. 380. - - WOMEN-WARRIORS, in times of chivalry, iv. 317. - - WORLD, the Commerce of, how to be prepared for, iv. 138. - a knowledge of, the most momentous part of education, and least - understood, 179. - - - X. - - XENOPHON, why lavish in praise of hunting, iii. 189. - - - Y. - - YORKE, the late Right Hon. CHARLES, extract from a letter of his, - on the origin of chivalry, iv. 254. - - YOUTH, the season for acquiring right propensities and virtuous - habits, iv. 113. - education of, in England, wherein defective, iv. 117. - value of time at that age, 144. - bashfulness a favourable symptom, 161. - what period of it requires most care and vigilance, 180. - entrance into the world, 181. - necessity of moral discipline, 184. - - - Z. - - ZEAL for the faith, actuated the professors of chivalry, iv. 251. - - -THE END OF VOLUME IV. - - - J. Nichols and Son, Printers, - Red Lion Passage, Fleet Street, London. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - - -[1] _7 May, 1689._ - -[2] The act of toleration did not pass till _24 May, 1689_, which lets -us see at what time this preface is _supposed_ to have been drawn up. - -[3] This was the talk of men at that time. It was perhaps in the king’s -intention. But the design, if it had ever been formed, miscarried; as -the Bishop himself observes in his History—“The most melancholy part -of the treaty of _Ryswick_ was, that no advantages were got by it, -in favour of the Protestants in _France_.” Vol. iv. p. 295. _Edinb._ -1753.—Whether the blame of this lies in the king, or his parliaments, -or neither, the reader is left to judge for himself, from considering -the state and transactions of those times. - -[4] These rigours the bishop gives a particular account of in THE -HISTORY OF HIS OWN TIMES, vol. iii. _Edinb._ 1753.—Speaking of the -persecution of the _French_ Protestants, he says, “I went over a great -part of _France_, while it was in its hottest rage, from _Marseilles_ -to _Montpelier_, and from thence to _Lyons_, and so on to _Geneva_. I -saw and knew so many instances of their injustice and violence, that it -exceeded even what could have been well imagined; for all men set their -thoughts on work to invent new methods of cruelty. In all the towns -through which I passed, I heard the most dismal accounts of things -possible.” p. 60.—Again—“The fury that appeared on this occasion did -spread itself with a sort of contagion: for the intendants and other -officers, that had been mild and gentle in the former parts of their -life, seemed now to have laid aside the compassion of Christians, the -breeding of gentlemen, and the impressions of humanity.” p. 61. - -[5] Meaning CROMWELL, who, it seems, had a design of setting up “a -council for the Protestant religion, in opposition to the congregation -_de propagandâ fide_ at _Rome_.” See the Bishop’s own account in his -Hist. vol. i. p. 109. - -[6] NAT. BACON, in his Disc. part II. p. 125. _Lond._ 1739. - -[7] The story is told by Lord BACON in his history of this prince. - -[8] He did not consider that maxim of the Lord BACON, “Depression of -the nobility may make a king more absolute, but less safe.” Works, vol. -iii. p. 296. - -[9] And yet Lord BACON tells us, that when HENRY VIII. came to the -crown, “There was no such thing as any great and mighty subject, who -might any way eclipse or overshade the imperial power.” Works, vol. -iii. p. 508. - -[10] “A man, as Mr. BACON characterises him, underneath many passions, -but above fear.” DISC. Part II. p. 120. - -[11] DISC. Part II. p. 125. - -[12] This terrible act is 31 HEN. VIII. c. 8. It was repealed in 1 EDW. -VI. c. 12. - -[13] Speech to the lords and commons at _Whitehall_. An. 1609. - -[14] It was said well of this king—“That he spake peace abroad, and -sung lullaby at home: yet, like a dead calm in a hot spring, treasured -up in store sad distempers against a back-winter.” NAT. BACON. - -[15] Meaning such clauses as these—_as by any spiritual or -ecclesiastical power or authority may LAWFULLY be exercised_, and, -_provided that nothing be done contrary to the LAWS of this realm._ - -[16] The bishop does well to say—_in some measure_. For, according -to popish prejudices, the sacerdotal character is vastly above the -regal. See POLE’S address to HEN. VIII. I. 1, where this high point is -discussed at large. - -[17] HIST. ANG. p. 694. - -[18] Something to this purpose occurs in p. 706. - -[19] The name of this reverend judge was ROGER DE THURKEBY. A cause -was trying before him in _Westminster-hall_, when one of the parties -produced the king’s letters patent with a _non-obstante_ in it. “Quod -cum comperisset,” says the historian, “ab alto ducens suspiria, de -prædictæ adjectionis appositione, dixit; Heu, heu, hos ut quid dies -expectavimus? ecce jam civilis curia exemplo ecclesiasticæ conquinatur, -et a sulphureo fonte rivulus intoxicatur.” p. 784. HEN. III. - -[20] Many statutes, and especially 23 HEN. VI. had forbidden the -continuance of any person in the office of sheriff for more than -one year. HENRY VII. dispensed with these statutes. And the twelve -judges resolved in 2 HEN. VII. that, by a _non-obstante_, a patent -for a longer time should be good.—It seems, the good old race of the -THURKEBYS was now worn out. - -[21] See his Works, vol. iii. p. 806. - -[22] _The true law of free monarchies_, in the King’s Works, p. 203. - -[23] Alluding to the doctrine of the canonists, who say, _Papa -dispensare potest de omnibus præceptis_ VETERIS ET NOVI TESTAMENTI. See -_bishop_ JEWELL’S _defence of his apology of the church of England, -against_ HARDING, p. 313. - -[24] See this particular taken notice of in K. JAMES’S Works, p. 384. - -[25] One of them, King JAMES, profited so well by this discipline, -that, as we are told on very competent authority, “He was the most able -prince that ever this kingdom had, to JUDGE OF CHURCH-WORK.” _Ded. of -Bp. ANDREWS’S sermons to CHARLES I. by the bishops LAUD and BUCKERIDGE._ - -[26] This notion was started even so early as HENRY’s rejection of the -supremacy. Cardinal POLE insists strongly on this origin of kingship in -his book, _Pro ecclesiasticæ unitatis defensione_, lib. i. p. 74. - -[27] In the writings, published by political men for twenty years -together before the Restoration; in which the great question of the -origin of civil government was thoroughly canvassed. - -[28] The bishop declares his opinion to this purpose very fully in -several places of the History of his Own Times. His and his friend -TILLOTSON’S representations to the unhappy Lord RUSSELL, no doubt, -turned upon this principle. - -[29] The bishop gives the same account of this matter in his History of -the Reformation, Part I. p. 330. - -[30] TRUE LAW OF FREE MONARCHIES, p. 203.—What is said of the king’s -being the _great schoolmaster of the land_ is taken from the same -discourse, p. 204. His words are these—“The people of a borough cannot -displace their provost—yea, even the poor school-master cannot be -displaced by his scholars—How much less it is lawful upon any pretext -to control or displace the great provost and GREAT SCHOOL-MASTER OF THE -WHOLE LAND.” - -[31] Mr. SOMERS had reason for saying this; for the intimation was no -less than that the power of the _militia_ was not in the king. Sir J. -MAYNARD was of this opinion, when the matter was debated in parliament -in 1642. See WHITLOCK, p. 56. - -[32] The doctrines of divine right, as propagated by the churchmen -of that time in their books and sermons, are well known.—Those of -the lawyers were such as these—It had been alleged on the part of -Mr. HAMPDEN, in the great cause of ship-money, “that by a fundamental -policy in the creation of the frame of this kingdom, in case the -monarch of _England_ should be inclined to exact from his subjects at -his pleasure, he should be restrained, for that he could have nothing -from them, but upon a common consent of parliament.” Sir ROBERT -BERKELEY, one of the judges of the king’s-bench, affirmed—“That the -law knows no such king-yoking policy:”—Sir THOMAS TREVOR, one of -the barons of the exchequer, “That our king hath as much power and -prerogative belonging to him as any prince in Christendom:”—The -attorney-general, Sir JOHN BANKS, “That the king of _England_ hath an -entire empire; he is an absolute monarch: nothing can be given to an -absolute prince! but is inherent in his person.” _State Trials_, vol. -i. Such was the language of the guardians of the LAW, that temple or -sanctuary, as it has been called, whither the subject is to run for -shelter and protection. Had not Mr. ST. JOHN then much reason for -saying, as he did on that occasion, “We have the fabric of the temple -still; but the Gods, the DII TUTELARES, are gone?” There is the more -force and propriety in this censure, as it comes from a man who was -himself of the profession. And another of the same order, the best -and wisest perhaps that frequented the temple of law in those days, -proceeds with a just indignation still further—“These men (said Mr. -HIDE, in a speech to the lords) have, upon vulgar fears, delivered up -the precious forts they were trusted with, almost without assault; and, -in a tame easy trance of flattery and servitude, lost and forfeited -(shamefully forfeited) that reputation, awe, and reverence, which -the wisdom, courage, and gravity of their venerable predecessors had -contracted and fastened to their places; and have even rendered that -study and profession, which in all ages hath been, and I hope now shall -be, of honourable estimation, so contemptible and vile, that, had not -this blessed day come [the day of impeachment of the six judges], -all men would have had that quarrel to the Law itself, which MARCIUS -had to the _Greek_ tongue, who thought it a mockery to learn that -language, the masters whereof lived in bondage under others.”—Thus -these eloquent apologists for law and liberty. The conclusion is, that -though in the great bodies of churchmen and lawyers, some will always -be found to dishonour themselves, there have never been wanting others -to do justice to the public, and to assert, maintain, and preserve, the -dignity of their respective professions. - -[33] This appears even from Mr. HUME’S own account of the feudal times; -incomparably the best part of his _History of England_. And it is to be -presumed that, if so ingenuous a writer had begun his work at the right -end, he would have been led, by the evidence of so palpable a truth, -to express himself more favourably, indeed more consistently, of the -_English_ constitution. But having, by some odd chance, written the -history of the STUARTS first, and afterwards of the TUDORS, (in both -which he found it for his purpose to adopt the notion of a despotic -independent spirit in the _English_ monarchy), he chuses in the last -part of his work, which contains the history of _England from_ JULIUS -CÆSAR _to_ HENRY VII. to abide by his former fancy; on this pretence, -that, in the administration of the feudal government, the liberty of -the subject was incomplete and partial; often precarious and uncertain: -a way, in which the learned historian might prove, that no nation under -heaven ever was, or ever will be, possessed of a FREE CONSTITUTION. - -By the FREE CONSTITUTION of the _English_ monarchy, every advocate -of liberty, that understands himself, I suppose, means, that limited -plan of policy, by which the supreme legislative power (including -in this general term the power of levying money) is lodged, not in -the prince singly, but jointly in the prince and people; whether the -_popular_ part of the constitution be denominated _the king’s_ or -_kingdom’s great council_, as it was in the proper feudal times; or -_the parliament_, as it came to be called afterwards; or, lastly, _the -two houses of parliament_, as the style has now been for several ages. - -To tell us, that this constitution has been different at different -times, because the regal or popular influence has at different times -been more or less predominant, is only playing with a word, and -confounding _constitution_ with _administration_. According to this way -of speaking, we have not only had _three or four_[34], but possibly -three or four score, different constitutions. So long as that great -distribution of the supreme authority took place (and it has constantly -and invariably taken place, whatever other changes there might be, from -the _Norman_ establishment down to our times) the nation was always -enabled, at least _authorized_, to regulate all subordinate, or, if -you will, supereminent claims and pretensions. This it effectually did -at the _Revolution_, and, by so doing, has not created a _new plan -of policy_, but perfected the old one. The great MASTER-WHEEL of the -_English_ constitution is still the same; only freed from those checks -and restraints, by which, under the specious name of _prerogatives_, -time and opportunity had taught our kings to obstruct and embarrass its -free and regular movements. - -On the whole, it is to be lamented that Mr. HUME’s too zealous concern -for the honour of the house of STUART, operating uniformly through all -the volumes of his history, has brought disgrace on a work, which, -in the main, is agreeably written, and is indeed the most readable -_general_ account of the ENGLISH affairs, that has yet been given to -the public. - -[34] Mr. HUME’S Hist. vol. v. p. 472, _n._ ed. 8vo, 1763. - -[35] A great lawyer, however, and one of the ornaments of Mr. SOMERS’S -own house, is not afraid to indulge in these generous expectations. -In a late treatise, in which he explains, with exquisite learning, -the genius of the feudal policy, “These principles, says he, are -the principles of freedom, of justice, and safety. The _English_ -constitution is formed upon them. Their reason will subsist, as long -as the frame of it shall stand; and being maintained in purity and -vigour, will preserve it from the usual mortality of government.” -_Considerations on the Law of Forfeiture_, 3d ed. Lond. 1748. - -[36] Account of _Denmark_, as it was in the year 1692. - -[37] Such as certain philosophers amused themselves with building, on -_Innate Ideas_. - -[38] _Ideas of Sensation_—on which principles, indeed, a late writer -has constructed, but by no fault of Mr. LOCKE, a material system of -the grossest Epicurism. See a work entitled, _De l’Esprit_, in 2 tom. -_Amst._ 1759. - -[39] “Infidelity is the natural product of restraint and spiritual -tyranny—Hence it is we see _France_ and _Italy_ over-run with the -worst kind of _Deism_. There our travelling gentry first picked it -up for a rarity. And, indeed, at first, without much malice. It was -brought home in a cargo of new fashions: and worn, for some time, with -that levity, by the importers, and treated with that contempt by the -rest, as suited, and was due, to the apishness of foreign manners: till -a set, &c.” Bishop of GLOUCESTER’S _Sermon on the Suppression of the -late Rebellion_, p. 78. - -[40] CHARACT. Vol. iii. Dis. iii. - -[41] - - Ἃ δ’ ἂν μάθοι τις, ταῦτα σώζεσθαι φιλεῖ - Πρὸς γῆρας. οὕτω παῖδας εὖ παιδεύετε. - Eurip. ΙΚΕΤΙΔΕΣ. - -[42] Of _Ryswick_, in 1697. - -[43] _Advice to an Author_, P. II. S. III. - -[44] See a discourse at the end of _Love’s Labour Lost_ in WARB. Ed. of -SHAKESPEAR; in which the _origin_, _subject_, and _character_ of these -books of Chivalry (or _Romances_, properly so called) are explained -with an exactness of learning, and penetration, peculiar to that -writer— - - In tenui labor, at tenuis non gloria— - -[45] The late right honourable CHARLES YORKE; who to all the learning -of his own profession had joined an exact taste, and very extensive -knowledge, of polite literature. What follows is an extract from a -long letter which this excellent person did me the honour to write to -me on the subject of these letters, when he had read them in the first -edition. - -[46] See the _Memoir_, just quoted. - -[47] Mr. WARTON’S Observations on SPENSER, vol. i. p. 175. - -[48] Don QUIXOTE, b. iv. c. 22. - -[49] Mr. WARTON, _Obs. on the F. Q._ p. 7. vol. i. _Lond._ 1762. - -[50] Lord SHAFTESBURY, _Adv. to an Author_. - -[51] _Adv. to an Author_, Part III. S. II. - -[52] _Spectator_, vol. i. N^{o} 5. vol. v. N^{o} 369. - -[53] For an account of some other wonders in Romance, such as -_enchanted arms_, _invulnerable bodies_, _flying horses_, &c. see -_L’Esprit des Loix_, l. xxviii. c. 22. - -[54] VOLTAIRE, _Essai sur la Poësie Epique_, ch. vii. - -[55] A celebrated writer, whose good sense, or whose perverseness, -would not suffer him to be the dupe of French prejudices, declares -himself roundly of this opinion: “On a voulu mettre en _representation_ -(says he, speaking of the absurd magnificence of the _French_ Opera) le -MERVEILLEUX, qui, n’etant fait que pour être imaginé, EST AUSSI BIEN -PLACE DANS UN POEME EPIQUE que ridiculement sur un theatre.” [_Nouv. -Heloise_, p. II. l. xxiii.] - -[56] Sir W. DAVENANT’S Preface. - -[57] Θεῖος ὄνειρος. HOMER. - -[58] Mr. HOBBES’S Letter. - - - - -[Transcriber’s Note: - -Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original.] - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Works of Richard Hurd, Volume 4 -(of 8), by Richard Hurd - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORKS OF RICHARD HURD, VOL 4 *** - -***** This file should be named 54524-0.txt or 54524-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/5/2/54524/ - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Bryan Ness, Wayne Hammond and -the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned -images of public domain material from the Google Books -project.) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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