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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ecf3704 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #54524 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54524) 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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- padding-left: 2.5em} - -.label { - width: 2em; - display: inline-block; - text-align: right; - text-decoration: none} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - color: #004200; - position: absolute; - right: 5px; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-size: small; - text-align: right; -} /* page numbers */ - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote { - background-color: #E6E6FA; - border: #004200 double 4px; - color: black; - margin: 2em auto; - padding: 1em} - -/* Poetry */ - -.poetry { - margin: auto; - text-align: center} - -.poem { - margin: auto; - display: inline-block; - text-align: left} - -.poem .stanza { - margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em} - .poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} - .poem span.i10 {display: block; margin-left: 5em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} - .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 1em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} - .poem span.i20 {display: block; margin-left: 10em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} - .poem span.i26 {display: block; margin-left: 13em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} - .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 2em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} - .poem span.i6 {display: block; margin-left: 3em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} - .poem span.i8 {display: block; margin-left: 4em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -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.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="transnote"> - -<h3>Transcriber's Note:</h3> - -<p>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.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">1</span></p> - -<h1> -<small>THE</small><br /> -WORKS<br /> -<small>OF</small><br /> -RICHARD HURD, D. D.<br /> -<span class="large">LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER.</span><br /> -<br /> -<small>VOL. IV.</small><br /> -</h1> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">2</span></p> - -<p class="copy"> -Printed by J. Nichols and Son,<br /> -Red Lion Passage, Fleet-Street, London.<br /> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">3</span></p> - -<h2 class="xx-large"> -<small>THE</small><br /> -WORKS<br /> -<small>OF</small><br /> -RICHARD HURD, D. D.<br /> -<span class="large">LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER.</span><br /> -<span class="medium">IN EIGHT VOLUMES.<br /> -VOL. IV.</span><br /> -<br /> -<img src="images/titlepage.png" alt="" /> -<br /> -<span class="large table">LONDON:<br /> -<small>PRINTED FOR T. CADELL AND W. DAVIES, STRAND.<br /> -1811.</small></span> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">4</span></h2> - -<h2 class="xx-large"> -MORAL AND POLITICAL<br /> -DIALOGUES.<br /> -<br /> -<small>VOL. II.</small><br /> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">5</span></h2> - -<h2> -MORAL AND POLITICAL<br /> -DIALOGUES,<br /> -<small>WITH</small><br /> -LETTERS<br /> -<small>ON</small><br /> -CHIVALRY AND ROMANCE.<br /> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">6</span></h2> - -<h2 id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS<br /> - -<small>OF</small><br /> - -THE FOURTH VOLUME.</h2> - -<table> - <tr> - <td /> - <td class="tdr small">Page</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc"><a href="#DIALOGUE_VI"><span class="smcap">Dialogue VI.</span></a><br /> - <i>On the Constitution of the<br /> - English Government.</i><br /> - SIR J. MAYNARD, MR. SOMERS, BP. BURNET.</td> - <td class="tdrb">9</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc"><span class="smcap"><a href="#DIALOGUE_VII">Dialogues VII,</a><a href="#DIALOGUE_VIII">VIII.</a></span><br /> - <i>On the Uses of Foreign Travel.</i><br /> - LORD SHAFTESBURY, MR. LOCKE.</td> - <td class="tdrb">85</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc"><a href="#DIALOGUE_XII"><span class="smcap">XII Letters</span></a><br /> - <i>On Chivalry and Romance.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb">231</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">7</span></p> - -<h2>DIALOGUE VI.<br /> - -<small>ON THE</small><br /> - -<span class="large">CONSTITUTION</span><br /> - -<small>OF THE</small><br /> - -<span class="large">ENGLISH GOVERNMENT.</span><br /> - -<small>BETWEEN</small><br /> - -<span class="medium">SIR JOHN MAYNARD, MR. SOMERS,</span><br /> - -<small>AND</small><br /> - -<span class="medium">BISHOP BURNET.</span></h2> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">8</span><br /> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">9</span></p> - -<h2 id="DIALOGUE_VI">DIALOGUE VI.<br /> - -<span class="large">ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE -ENGLISH GOVERNMENT.</span><br /> - -<span class="medium">SIR JOHN MAYNARD, MR. SOMERS,<br /> -BISHOP BURNET.</span></h2> - -<h3>TO DR. TILLOTSON.</h3> - -<p class="drop"><span class="uppercase">Our</span> next meeting at Sir <span class="smcap">John Maynard’s</span> -was on the evening of that day, when the war -was proclaimed against <i>France</i><a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">1</a>. 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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">10</span></p> - -<p>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 -<i>Europe</i>.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">11</span> -and carried on by an intolerant hierarchy, -acting in subserviency to an arbitrary court, -in mine own country of <i>Scotland</i>. 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<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">2</a>, 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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">12</span></p> - -<p>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 <i>Rome</i>, may be now employed -to shake it off from the necks of our Protestant -brethren on the continent<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">3</a>? 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 -<i>France</i>, which were most exposed to the rigours -of persecution<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">4</a>, how have these eyes -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">13</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">14</span> -of this great work, what comfortable -presages may we not, in all humility, form to -ourselves of still further successes?</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">5</a>, the soul and conductor of the Protestant -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">15</span> -cause through all <i>Europe</i>! and, that, -as <i>Rome</i> hath hitherto been the centre of -slavish impositions and anti-christian politics, -the court of <i>England</i> may henceforth be the -constant refuge and asylum of fainting liberty -and religion!</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>We had no sooner come together, than Sir -<span class="smcap">John Maynard</span> began with his usual vivacity.</p> - -<p>I have been thinking, my lord, how dexterous -a game I have played with you, in this -inquiry of ours into the <i>English</i> 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 <small>FACT</small> to the <small>RIGHT</small>: which is not only the -most material point of inquiry, but the most -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">16</span> -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 <span class="smcap">Henry VII</span>’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.</p> - -<h4>BP. BURNET.</h4> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">17</span> -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.</p> - -<h4>MR. SOMERS.</h4> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">18</span> -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.</p> - -<h4>BP. BURNET.</h4> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">19</span> -lay before you such unanswerable arguments -for the cause I have undertaken, as, in better -hands, might amount to a perfect vindication -of <span class="smcap">English Liberty</span>.</p> - -<p>I take my rise from the period which my Lord -Commissioner has prescribed to me; that is, -from the accession of the <span class="smcap">Tudor</span> family.</p> - -<p>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. <span class="smcap">Henry VII.</span> 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<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">6</a>, <i>feared -nothing but the falling of the heavens</i>, 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">20</span> -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 <span class="smcap">Stuart</span> family.</p> - -<p>It may be further observed, that the condition -of the times was such as wonderfully conspired -with the designs and dispositions of these -princes.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Bosworth-field</i>. 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 <span class="smcap">Richmond</span>, 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.</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">21</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Tudor</span> to a height of -power and prerogative, which had hitherto been -unknown in <i>England</i>, and became, in the end, -so dangerous to the constitution itself.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>SIR J. MAYNARD.</h4> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">22</span></p> - -<h4>MR. SOMERS.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>BP. BURNET.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>SIR J. MAYNARD.</h4> - -<p>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, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">23</span> -your lordship forgets that I am too old -to be a patient hearer. And Mr. <span class="smcap">Somers</span> too—</p> - -<h4>MR. SOMERS.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>BP. BURNET.</h4> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Tudor</span>; 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">24</span> -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?</p> - -<p>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 <small>DISABLED</small> the nation from -insisting, and many more that <small>INDISPOSED</small> them to insist, on their ancient and undoubted -rights.</p> - -<p>I took notice, that the ruinous contentions -of the two houses of <span class="smcap">York</span> and <span class="smcap">Lancaster</span>, -from which the nation was at last delivered by -the accession of <span class="smcap">Henry VII.</span> 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">25</span> -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.</p> - -<p>For the greater security, and majesty of his -person, he began with the institution of his -<small>LIFEGUARD</small>. 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 <span class="smcap">Bacon</span> observes, there -was scarcely a parliament through his whole -reign which passed without an act to that purpose) -against <span class="smcap">Retainers</span>. 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 <span class="smcap">Oxford</span><a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">7</a>.</p> - -<p>It was also with a view to this depression of -the nobility, that the court Of <span class="smcap">Star-chamber</span> -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, <span class="smcap">Force</span>, and the two chief -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">26</span> -supports of Force, <small>COMBINATION OF MULTITUDES</small>, -and maintenance of <small>HEADSHIP OF GREAT -PERSONS</small>.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">27</span> -another and more formidable power, at that -time little suspected or even thought of, the -<small>POWER OF THE PEOPLE</small><a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">8</a>.</p> - -<p>The truth is, <span class="smcap">Henry</span>’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 <i>liberty</i> was in the end to reap the -benefit of each, <i>prerogative</i> 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.</p> - -<p>Under these circumstances, <span class="smcap">Henry</span> 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">28</span> -of their old enemies, the barons<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">9</a>; 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.</p> - -<p>There was, besides, another circumstance of -great moment attending the government of the -younger <span class="smcap">Henry</span>. 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.</p> - -<p>With these advantages of situation, <span class="smcap">Henry -VIII.</span> 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">29</span> -nature so elate and imperious, so resolved and -fearless<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">10</a>, 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.</p> - -<p>And when the glaring abuse of his power, as -in the exaltation of that great instrument of his -tyranny, <span class="smcap">Wolsey</span>, 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 <i>Rome</i>: 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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">30</span></p> - -<p>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 <i>Roman</i> -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 <span class="smcap">Nat. Bacon</span> expresses it in his -way, as a strange kind of monster, “A king -with a pope in his belly<a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">11</a>.”</p> - -<p>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 <i>Rome</i>. 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.</p> - -<p>In the mean time, the nation rejoiced with -great reason at its deliverance from a foreign -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">31</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>And thus matters, in a good degree, continued -till the accession of Queen <span class="smcap">Elizabeth</span>. -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.</p> - -<p>For that astonishing work of reformation, -so happily entered upon by <span class="smcap">Henry</span>, and carried -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">32</span> -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 <span class="smcap">Wickliff</span>, had -now spread itself so generally through the nation, -that nothing but an entire renunciation -of the doctrine and discipline of the church of -<i>Rome</i> 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.</p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Elizabeth</span>’s days, -the submission of parliaments, and, I may -almost say, the prostration of the people. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">33</span></p> - -<p>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 <i>English</i> sceptre, it passed into the hands -of the elder <span class="smcap">James</span>; 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.</p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Stuart</span> 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.</p> - -<h4>SIR J. MAYNARD.</h4> - -<p>If you permit me, at last, to break in at the -opening which this conclusion of your discourse -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">34</span> -seems to give me; I would say, That, -on your principles, the house of <span class="smcap">Stuart</span> 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?</p> - -<h4>BP. BURNET.</h4> - -<p>It is certain, the <span class="smcap">Stuart</span> 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 <span class="smcap">Tudor</span> -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 -<span class="smcap">Star-chamber</span>, though the jurisdiction of this -court had the authority of the common law, -was confirmed by statute; that the proceedings -of <span class="smcap">Empson</span> and <span class="smcap">Dudley</span> had the sanction of -parliament; that <span class="smcap">Henry</span> the VIIIth’s supremacy, -and all acts of power dependent upon it, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">35</span> -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 <small>OWN PROPER -ACT</small>, left their kings no pretence to consider -themselves as absolute and independent.</p> - -<h4>MR. SOMERS.</h4> - -<p>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<a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">12</a>, might have ventured on this -step without the concurrence of parliament. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">36</span></p> - -<h4>BP. BURNET.</h4> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">37</span> -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 <span class="smcap">Henry VIII</span>’s passions -swayed him, in the rule of succession.</p> - -<p>Thus we see that, through the entire reigns -of the house of <span class="smcap">Tudor</span>, 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 <span class="smcap">James</span> 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 <i>England</i>, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">38</span> -by the memory of his former subjection, -of servitude rather, to the imperious church of -<i>Scotland</i>. 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<a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">13</a>.”</p> - -<p>Such, you know, was the language, the -public language to his parliaments, of <span class="smcap">James -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">39</span> -the First</span>. But these pretences, which might -have been suffered perhaps, or could not have -been opposed, under the <span class="smcap">Tudor</span> 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 -<i>Scotch</i> family, the point of time when the new -king dreamed of nothing but absolute sovereignty<a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">14</a>, -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.</p> - -<p>However, in that interval of the dormant -power of the commons it was, that the prerogative -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">40</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">41</span> -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 -<span class="smcap">James</span>, if an event of a very singular nature, -and big with important consequences, had not -given the proper occasion to both.</p> - -<h4>SIR J. MAYNARD.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>BP. BURNET.</h4> - -<p>Rather understand me to mean, what was -indeed the consequence of that event, <small>THE -TRANSLATION OF THE POPE’S SUPREMACY TO -THE KING</small>. This, as I take it, was the circumstance -of all others which most favoured -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">42</span> -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.</p> - -<p>The <small>PAPAL SUPREMACY</small>, 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 <i>Roman</i> 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?</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">43</span> -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 -<span class="smcap">Henry</span>, in a sudden heat, threw off the supremacy; -which the parliament, to prevent -its return to the pope, very readily invested in -the king.</p> - -<p>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<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">15</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">44</span></p> - -<h4>MR. SOMERS.</h4> - -<p>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 <i>Rome</i>.</p> - -<h4>BP. BURNET.</h4> - -<p>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, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">45</span> -from the current notions of the time, and from -the sequel of the king’s government.</p> - -<p>If we attend to the nature of the complaints -which the kingdom was perpetually making, -in the days of popery, of the <i>Roman</i> 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 -<i>Rome</i>; 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">46</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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. “<span class="smcap">Christ’s</span> vicar upon earth” -was an awful title, and had sunk deep into the -astonished minds of the people. And though -<span class="smcap">Henry</span>’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 <i>sacerdotal</i> capacity. Yet even -this defect was, in some measure<a id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">16</a>, made up -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">47</span> -to him by his <i>regal</i>. 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.</p> - -<p>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 <small>GODLY -KINGS</small> have always exercised: intimating that -this plenitude of power was inherent in the -king, on account of that <i>spiritual and religious</i> -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 <i>Roman</i> emperors in assuming -the office of <i>pontifex maximus</i>, that is, -incorporating the religious with their civil character, -not only their authority became the -more awful, but their <i>persons</i> sacred? -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">48</span></p> - -<p>We see then, as I said, how conveniently -the minds of men were prepared to acquiesce -in <span class="smcap">Henry</span>’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.</p> - -<h4>MR. SOMERS.</h4> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">49</span></p> - -<h4>BP. BURNET.</h4> - -<p>I brought these general considerations only -to shew the reverend opinion which of course -would be entertained of this mixt person, <small>THE -SUPREME HEAD OF THE CHURCH</small>, 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.</p> - -<p>And, first, let me observe, that it gave birth -to that great and formidable court of the <small>HIGH-COMMISSION</small>; -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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">50</span></p> - -<p>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 <small>STAR-CHAMBER</small>; 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.</p> - -<p>Thus the king’s authority in all cases, spiritual -and temporal, was fully established, and -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">51</span> -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 <small>ELIZABETH’S</small> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">52</span> -should prove troublesome to it. This was by -means of the <small>DISPENSING POWER</small>; 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.</p> - -<p>The exercise of this power, in the popes -themselves, was thought so monstrous, that -<span class="smcap">Matthew Paris</span> honestly complains of it in -his time, as <i>extinguishing all justice</i>—<small>EXTINGUIT -OMNEM JUSTICIAM</small><a id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">17</a>. 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<a id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">18</a>. His prediction was -verified very soon: for <span class="smcap">Henry III.</span> learned this -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">53</span> -lesson of tyranny, and put it in practice. On -which occasion one of his upright judges could -not help exclaiming, <span class="smcap">CIVILIS CURIA EXEMPLO -ECCLESIASTICÆ CONQUINATUR</span><a id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">19</a>. And afterwards, -we know, <span class="smcap">Henry VII.</span> claimed and -exercised this dispensing power in the case of -sheriffs, contrary to act of parliament<a id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">20</a>. It was -early indeed in his reign, and when the state -of his affairs was thought to give a colour to it.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">54</span> -to justify it. And we have a remarkable instance -in <span class="smcap">Elizabeth’s</span> 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. <span class="smcap">Stillingfleet</span>, 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<a id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">21</a>.”</p> - -<p>And it is in this dispensing spirit that <span class="smcap">James -I</span>, 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 <small>SUSPENDED</small> upon -causes only known to him<a id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">22</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">55</span></p> - -<p>We perceive the ground of that claim, which -was carried so high by the princes of the house -of <span class="smcap">Stuart</span>, 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 <span class="smcap">Hale’s</span> case, when eleven -out of the twelve judges declared for it.</p> - -<h4>SIR J. MAYNARD.</h4> - -<p>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 <i>Westminster-Hall</i>, -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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">56</span> -of dispensing with the gospel itself<a id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">23</a>, as well as -the statute-book.</p> - -<h4>MR. SOMERS.</h4> - -<p>I must needs think, Sir <span class="smcap">John</span>, 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 <i>Salisbury</i> -might be allowed to expose their determination, -at the same time that he so candidly -accounts for it.</p> - -<h4>BP. BURNET.</h4> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">57</span></p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Moses</span>, the <i>Rabbins</i> say, -journeyed with the <i>Jewish</i> 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 <small>PASSIVE -OBEDIENCE</small> that is due to it.</p> - -<h4>SIR. J. MAYNARD.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>BP. BURNET.</h4> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">58</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">59</span> -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.</p> - -<h4>SIR J. MAYNARD.</h4> - -<p>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 -<i>France</i>, on a certain occasion, <span class="smcap">Nebulones Ex -fæce plebis</span><a id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">24</a>. 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<a id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">25</a>, to talk in this -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">60</span> -strain; as appears from many of <span class="smcap">Elizabeth’s</span> -and <span class="smcap">James’s</span> speeches to the commons.</p> - -<h4>BP. BURNET.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Henry’s</span> usurpation of the supremacy, as it -was called at <i>Rome</i>, 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 <span class="smcap">Pole</span> 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">61</span> -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 <span class="smcap">Edward</span>. He -did put his threat in execution against <span class="smcap">Elizabeth</span>. -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 -<span class="smcap">Harding</span> and his brethren in <span class="smcap">Elizabeth’s</span> -reign, but afterwards with more learning and -address by <span class="smcap">Bellarmine</span>, <span class="smcap">Mariana</span>, and others<a id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">26</a>.</p> - -<p>To combat this dangerous position, so prejudicial -to the power of kings, and which was -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">62</span> -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 <small>DIVINE RIGHT</small>. <span class="smcap">Hooker</span>, -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 <small>HOMILIES</small>, the <small>INSTITUTION -OF A CHRISTIAN MAN</small>, and the general stream -of writings in those days, became the opinion -of the church, and was indeed the received -Protestant doctrine.</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">63</span></p> - -<p>Yet it could hardly have kept its ground -against so much light and evidence as has been -thrown at different times on this subject<a id="FNanchor_27" href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">27</a>, 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?</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">64</span> -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.</p> - -<h4>MR. SOMERS.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>SIR J. MAYNARD.</h4> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</span> -to indulge in them at this time, when a bishop -is pleading so warmly in the cause of liberty.</p> - -<h4>BP. BURNET.</h4> - -<p>This tenderness to your friends, Sir <span class="smcap">John</span>, -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. <span class="smcap">Somers’s</span> observation, “That the English -clergy have at length atoned, in some measure, -for former miscarriages.”</p> - -<h4>SIR J. MAYNARD.</h4> - -<p>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!</p> - -<h4>BP. BURNET.</h4> - -<p>And can you wonder that what concerned -them most, what they best understood, and -was their proper and peculiar charge, should -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">66</span> -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<a id="FNanchor_28" href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">28</a>. 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.</p> - -<h4>SIR J. MAYNARD.</h4> - -<p>Their old favourite doctrine of <i>non-resistance</i> -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.</p> - -<h4>BP. BURNET.</h4> - -<p>It certainly was.—But, not to pursue this -argument any further, let me return to the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">67</span> -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.</p> - -<p>It seems prodigious, at first sight, that when -the yoke of <i>Rome</i> 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 <small>CANON LAWS</small>.</p> - -<p>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, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">68</span> -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, <span class="smcap">Elizabeth</span>, <span class="smcap">James</span>, -and <span class="smcap">Charles,</span> 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<a id="FNanchor_29" href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">29</a>; and perhaps would be for -assuming a share in their darling supremacy -itself.</p> - -<p>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 <i>England</i>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">69</span></p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">James</span>, already taken notice of, “That it -is sedition for the subject to dispute what a -king may do in the height of his power.”</p> - -<p>And as the canon laws are the pope’s laws, -so we are told, on the same supreme authority, -that the <i>English</i> 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<a id="FNanchor_30" href="#Footnote_30" class="fnanchor">30</a>.” -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">70</span></p> - -<p>Thus decreed that <i>great school-master of the -whole land</i> (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 <i>free monarchies</i>, if -not from the pope’s own code of imperial -canons.</p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Reformation</span>, 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">71</span> -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.</p> - -<h4>MR. SOMERS.</h4> - -<p>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 <i>English</i> government -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">72</span> -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 <i>English</i> 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 <small>MONARCHICAL</small>.</p> - -<h4>BP. BURNET.</h4> - -<p>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, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">73</span> -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.</p> - -<h4>SIR J. MAYNARD.</h4> - -<p>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. <span class="smcap">Somers’s</span> 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.</p> - -<p>I reply then directly, and without softening -matters, that this irregular translation of the -supremacy is no proof that there was not then -a <small>FREE CONSTITUTION</small>, with a legitimate power -in it, to which the supremacy belonged. And -my reason, without offence to my lord of <i>Salisbury</i>, -is this. When the papal authority was -abolished, and the question came into parliament, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">74</span> -“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 -<i>ecclesiastical story</i>, 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 <i>Rome</i>, which, as your lordship knows, was -perpetually charging them with novelties and -innovations in both respects, recurred to early -antiquity for that rule.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">75</span> -with them. And thus by force of one -text, ill-understood, <i>render unto</i> <span class="smcap">Cæsar</span> <i>the -things which are</i> <span class="smcap">Cæsar’s</span>, they put the spiritual -sword into the king’s hands; just as by -another, <i>he beareth not the sword in vain</i> (for -I know of no better authority), the temporal -sword had also been committed to his care.</p> - -<h4>MR. SOMERS.</h4> - -<p>This last intimation, I am apprehensive, -would bear a further debate<a id="FNanchor_31" href="#Footnote_31" class="fnanchor">31</a>. But I acquiesce -in your answer to my particular question; I -mean, unless the bishop of <i>Salisbury</i> warns -me against submitting to so heretical a doctor.</p> - -<h4>BP. BURNET.</h4> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">76</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>English</i> government -has appeared, from the union of the two -roses down to the subversion of the constitution -in <span class="smcap">Charles</span> the First’s time.</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">77</span></p> - -<p>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 <i>England</i> 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">78</span> -empire was divine<a id="FNanchor_32" href="#Footnote_32" class="fnanchor">32</a>. Every artifice indeed of -chicane and sophistry was called in to the support -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">79</span> -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 <i>divine form</i> -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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">80</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>This then will be considered by grateful posterity -as the true æra of <i>English</i> 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<a id="FNanchor_33" href="#Footnote_33" class="fnanchor">33</a>. But its operation was weak -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">81</span> -and partial in that state of its infancy. It acquired -fresh force and vigour with age, and has -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">82</span> -now at length extended its influence to every -part of the political system.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">83</span> -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 <i>English</i> 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.</p> - -<h4>MR. SOMERS.</h4> - -<p>How generous in your lordship is this patriot -augury of immortality to the <i>English</i> constitution! -Yet I dare not be so sanguine in my -expectations<a id="FNanchor_35" href="#Footnote_35" class="fnanchor">35</a>. And Sir <span class="smcap">John Maynard</span>, I -suspect, who has seen the madness of kings -and people, in their turns, will hardly expect -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">84</span> -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!</p> - -<h4>SIR J. MAYNARD.</h4> - -<p>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 <i>English</i> liberty, I would not, for the -omen’s sake, undertake to say. You, my lord, -and Mr. <span class="smcap">Somers</span> (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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">85</span></p> - -<h2 class="xx-large">DIALOGUE VII. AND VIII.<br /> - -<small>ON THE</small><br /> - -<span class="large">USES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL.</span><br /> - -<small>BETWEEN</small><br /> - -<span class="medium">LORD SHAFTESBURY</span><br /> - -<small>AND</small><br /> - -<span class="medium">MR. LOCKE.</span></h2> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">86</span><br /> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">87</span></p> - -<h2 id="DIALOGUE_VII">DIALOGUE VII.<br /> - -<span class="large">ON THE USES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL.</span><br /> - -<span class="medium">LORD SHAFTESBURY—MR. LOCKE;</span></h2> - -<h3>TO ROBERT MOLESWORTH, ESQ.</h3> - -<p class="drop"><span class="uppercase">I could</span> 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 <i>The Uses of Foreign Travel</i>, -considered as a part of modern breeding -and education, as <span class="smcap">He</span>, who has himself profited -so much by this practice, and, in a late -excellent treatise<a id="FNanchor_36" href="#Footnote_36" class="fnanchor">36</a>, has given so convincing a -proof of its utility?</p> - -<p>Besides, your application to me is a little -suspicious; and looks as if you wanted to draw -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">88</span> -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?</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Government</i>, <i>Trade</i>, <i>Liberty</i>, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">89</span> -and <i>Education</i>. 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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Life and Manners</i>; which they treat -in a style quite out of the way of these subverters -of ideal worlds<a id="FNanchor_37" href="#Footnote_37" class="fnanchor">37</a>, and architects on material -principles<a id="FNanchor_38" href="#Footnote_38" class="fnanchor">38</a>.</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="smcap">Locke</span>, or more privileged by his long experience, -to give us Lectures on the good old -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">90</span> -chapter of <i>Education</i>; 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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Travelling</i>: 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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>time</i> or -<i>place</i>, which might be proper to let you into -the scene, and make you, as it were, one of us.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">91</span> -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 <i>conversation-piece</i>; 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.</p> - -<p>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 -<i>formalists</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">92</span> -argument, and will need no officious monitor -to instruct you on which side the truth lies.</p> - -<p>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. <span class="smcap">Locke</span> 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.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>And is not <small>TRAVELLING</small> 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?</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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 <i>travel</i> is considered -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">93</span> -as a part of early education, I see nothing but -mischiefs spring from it.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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?</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>It was not my meaning to put your politeness -to this proof. I would even take no advantage -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">94</span> -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, -<i>Travel</i> 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?</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>Your Lordship, I think, will do well to put -<i>philosophy</i> out of the question. There is so -much to be said against <i>Travel</i> in that view, -that the matter would clearly be determined -against you. It is by other rules, and what -are called the <i>maxims of the world</i> (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.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>Yet philosophy was not always of this mind. -You know, when the best proficients in that -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">95</span> -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.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Besides, the Sages of those times made a -wondrous mystery of their wisdom: a sure -sign, perhaps, that they were not over-stocked -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">96</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Socrates</span> -had never stirred out of <i>Athens</i>; and -that, when his admirers would sometimes ask -him why he affected this singularity, he was -used to say, <i>That Stones and Trees did not -edify him</i>: 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.</p> - -<p>However, allowing your lordship to make -the most of these respectable authorities for the -use of travelling, it must still be remembered, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">97</span> -that they are wide of our present purpose. -They were <i>Sages</i>, that travelled: and we are -now inquiring, whether this be the way for -young men to <i>become</i> Sages. <span class="smcap">Plato</span> 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 -<i>Egypt</i>.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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 <i>Egypt</i>.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">98</span> -neighbouring nations, surely it must be allowed -of our <i>own</i>, 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 <span class="smcap">Charles’</span> and <span class="smcap">Elizabeth’s</span> courts were -cast in the coarse mould of this <i>home-breeding</i>.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>I shall perhaps carry my pretensions still -further, and affirm it had been much better if -they had been so.</p> - -<p>I know what is to be said for the voyagers in -<span class="smcap">Elizabeth’s</span> 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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">99</span> -The state of <i>Europe</i> 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. <i>Italy</i>, -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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Italian</i> Travellers. -Yet, methinks, they had done better to -stay at home, and at least import the arts of -<i>Italy</i>, if they were necessary to them, in sager -heads than their own.</p> - -<p>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<a id="FNanchor_39" href="#Footnote_39" class="fnanchor">39</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">100</span></p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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 -<i>agnus Dei’s, holy beads, and consecrated medals</i>?</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>Take it which way you will, the conclusion, -I believe, will scarcely be much in favour of -our <i>Italian</i> Travellers.—As to the worthies of -<span class="smcap">Charles’s</span> court, your Lordship, without doubt, -is disposed to divert yourself with them. For, -if they brought any thing with them from -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">101</span> -<i>France</i>, 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.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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!</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>Without doubt, there is no extending our -acquaintance with the world, but we run the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">102</span> -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.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>Yet methinks, Sir, it will be hard to keep -clear of it in any part of the world, that I am -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">103</span> -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.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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 <i>Italian</i> and <i>French</i> travels.</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">104</span></p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>Yes, if they were turned loose into this -wicked world, and left to their own devices. -But, what if some sage Philosopher—</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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—</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">105</span> -of the grand Tour, the magic of travelling can -<i>call up</i> more than I have ever yet seen.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">106</span></p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>I am aware, as you said, that the practice -may be sometimes inconvenient, as it is commonly -managed, on the side of <i>morals</i>; 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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Cells</i>, for a Pedant without -manners; and still less, you will say, in -<i>Camps</i>, 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">107</span> -in this noblest office of conducting a young -gentleman’s education.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>We shall see that in due time. For the -present, the serious air, you assume, so different -from your wonted manner, secures my -attention.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">108</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>To say nothing of the solitary sequestered -life, which all men agree to term <i>Savage</i>, 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">109</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">110</span></p> - -<p>Hence the necessity of their still looking beyond -their <i>own</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>second -nature</i>.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Externi</span> <i>nequid valeat per læve morari</i>,<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>to use the poet’s words, though with some -small difference, I believe in their application. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">111</span></p> - -<p>What says my friend to these principles? -are they just and reasonable? or, am I going to -build on precarious and insecure foundations?</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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 <small>FOREIGN TRAVEL</small> is, -of all others, the most important and essential -part of Education.” -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">112</span></p> - -<p>The youth of the most accomplished people -in <i>Europe</i> 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 <i>English</i> youth, confined -in this remote corner among themselves, -and indulged in their own rustic and licentious -habits?</p> - -<p>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 <i>Europe</i>, 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?</p> - -<p>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 <i>foreign travel</i>. And the reason -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">113</span> -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.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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 <i>Travel</i> is the -only, at least the most proper, cure for -them.” -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">114</span></p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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 <i>English</i> youth.</p> - -<p>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 <small>PREJUDICES</small> -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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">115</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“To hear their discourse among themselves, -one would imagine that the finest lands near -the <i>Euphrates</i>, the Babylonian or Persian -<i>Paradises</i>, the rich plains of <i>Egypt</i>, the -Græcian <i>Tempe</i>, the Roman <i>Campania</i>, -<i>Lombardy</i>, <i>Provence</i>, the Spanish <i>Andalusia</i>, -or the most delicious tracts in the -Eastern or Western <i>Indies</i>, were contemptible -countries in respect of what they -dote upon under the name of <i>Old England</i><a id="FNanchor_40" href="#Footnote_40" class="fnanchor">40</a>.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>But this is the least inconvenience of their -home breeding. How many low <small>HABITS</small> and -sordid practices grow upon our youth of fortune, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">116</span> -and even of quality, from the influence -of their family, or at best provincial, education!</p> - -<p>They retain so much of their <i>Saxon</i> or <i>Norman</i> -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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>divine -particle</i> be still unsubdued, they quench it -forthwith in the strongest wines, or, which -suits their taste and design best, in their own -country liquor.</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">117</span></p> - -<p>The rest of his life runs on in this drowzy -tenour; unless perhaps you except those intervals, -which can hardly be called <i>lucid</i>, when -his half-closed understanding seems stunned, -rather than awakened, by party-rage, election -bustle, and the noise of faction.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Europe</i>.</p> - -<p>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, <i>a liberal education</i>.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Latin</i> and <i>Greek</i>, 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 <small>PRINCIPLES</small> and <small>MANNERS</small>? -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">118</span> -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!</p> - -<p>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! -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">119</span></p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Horace</span> or <span class="smcap">Homer</span> 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!</p> - -<p>I should think, if there were no other advantage -of early travel, beside this of <i>manners</i>, -it were well worth setting against all the other -inconveniences, whatever they be, of this sort -of Education.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>Good my Lord——</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>I know what you would say: that <i>manners</i>, -in the proper acceptation of the word, at least in -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">120</span> -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 <i>manners</i>: whereas, without it, -his improvements of other sorts would be almost -thrown away; nay, his virtues themselves -would be offensive and unlovely.</p> - -<p>But do not imagine I confine myself to <i>manners</i> -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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">121</span> -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!</p> - -<p>I have read of an ancient Rhetorician, that -took upon him to teach others the <i>art of speaking</i>; -but in such a way, says my author, that -if a man had a mind to learn the art of <i>not -speaking</i>, he could not have been directed to -an abler master.</p> - -<p>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. -<i>France</i>, and even <i>Italy</i>, abounds in men of -distinguished literature and politeness. Nay, -a <i>German</i> Professor may supply the place of -an University Doctor. Think, what illustrious -persons may be sometimes met with even in a -<i>Dutch</i> town: and how many instructive hours -you and I have passed in conversation with -such knowing, candid, and accomplished scholars, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">122</span> -as <span class="smcap">Le Clerc</span> and <span class="smcap">Limborch</span>. 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>You may think as slightly as you please, of -the exterior polish of <i>manners</i>, or may even -treat as superficial the <i>information</i> that can be -acquired in good company. But what say you -to that supreme accomplishment, a <small>KNOWLEDGE -OF THE WORLD</small>; 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? -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">123</span> -For, by <i>a knowledge of the world</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>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 -<i>Europe</i>. 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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">124</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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!</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>Your Lordship declaims so handsomely on -this theme, that I am something loth to spoil -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">125</span> -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?”</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">126</span> -his observation beyond the narrow circle of his -companions, or even his own family.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 <small>LIBERAL -ARTS</small>; 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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>picture</i>, <i>sculpture</i>, and -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">127</span> -the arts of <i>design</i> 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 <i>ear</i> 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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">128</span> -of thought, simplicity of style, or the -grace of numbers, in our literate productions.</p> - -<p>’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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>art</i> in their tender years; and -that, forming their relish among the ablest -proficients in <i>Europe</i>, they might afterwards -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">129</span> -communicate their improvements to their own -country.</p> - -<p>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 <i>France</i>; and that, in the mechanic -execution of the fine arts, we should come at -length to vye with the <i>Italian</i> masters.</p> - -<p>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 <i>true and becoming</i> 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.</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0"><i>Quid <small>VERUM</small> atque <small>DECENS</small> curo et rogo, et omnis in hoc sum.</i><br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">130</span> -the manners of a people? or, to take policy in -its vulgar sense, where would be the hurt, if -<i>Britain</i> were the seat of arts and letters, as -well as of trade and liberty? Then might <i>we</i> -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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>France</i> is an instance -in our days; as <i>Italy</i> is well known to have -been in the days of our forefathers.</p> - -<p>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? -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">131</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">132</span> -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 <i>Genius -of the Schools</i>, presides, in sullen majesty, -over her numerous, servile, awe-struck votaries.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">133</span> -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 <small>ONE</small> 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?</p> - -<p>If such then be the state of our own seats of -literature and education, what more needs be -alleged in the behalf of <span class="smcap">Foreign Travel</span>; -which is the only means left to remedy these -mischiefs, or at least to palliate and correct -them? -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">134</span> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">135</span></p> - -<h2 id="DIALOGUE_VIII">DIALOGUE VIII.<br /> - -<span class="large">ON THE USES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL.</span><br /> - -<span class="medium">LORD SHAFTESBURY—MR. LOCKE.</span></h2> - -<h3>TO ROBERT MOLESWORTH, ESQ.</h3> - -<p class="drop"><span class="uppercase">Here</span> I concluded my defence: when Mr. -<span class="smcap">Locke</span>, 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.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">136</span> -properly so called, it is, surely, this -of <span class="smcap">Education</span>; 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 -<span class="smcap">Foreign Travel</span>.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>What a reasonable man wants to know, is, -the proper method of building up <i>men</i>: whereas -your lordship seems solicitous for little more -than tricking out a set of fine <i>gentlemen</i>. 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">137</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>English</i> youth, and you would willingly -redress them: but in what way this is best -done, can never be known from vague and general -declamation.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">138</span> -expect from me in this freedom of conversation.</p> - -<p>I begin with this certain principle: That -the business of education is to form the <span class="smcap">Understanding</span>, -and regulate the <span class="smcap">Heart</span>. If -man be a compound of Reason and Passion, -the only proper discipline of his nature is that -which accomplishes these two purposes.</p> - -<p>So far we are, doubtless, agreed. But the -subject requires a more particular application -of this principle.</p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">World</span>. -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 <i>Citizen of the World</i>. A great -and awful character, my Lord! But let us -advance by just degrees.</p> - -<p>First, if you please, let us provide that he -be a worthy citizen of <i>England</i>; and, by your -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">139</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>Certainly, by acquiring that knowledge, -and those accomplishments, that are most -proper for the discharge of them.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>Undoubtedly, my Lord: there cannot be -two answers to so plain a question. As that -education is, in general, the best which forms -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">140</span> -the man, in the best manner; so, in this confined -view, that education must be thought -the best, which forms the <i>Englishman</i>, in the -best manner.</p> - -<p>To proceed then on this reasonable concession.</p> - -<p>An <i>English</i> 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 -<i>head</i> and <i>heart</i>, which his superior rank and -pretensions demand.</p> - -<p>This <i>last</i> 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.</p> - -<p>I require then in our young aspirant to the -name and honours of an <i>English</i> 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">141</span> -its right object, the <i>public good</i>; 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.</p> - -<p>Your Lordship has a due respect for these -virtuous qualities of the <span class="smcap">Heart</span>, 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 <span class="smcap">Head</span>, in every man’s account essentially -requisite to the discharge of those offices, -which our greater citizens are destined to sustain.</p> - -<p>I require, therefore, in the next place, that -our young Senator have a ready and familiar -use, at least, of the <i>Latin</i> tongue (your Lordship, -I know, will add, and of the <i>Greek</i>; 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">142</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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? -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">143</span></p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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 -<i>Education</i>, I do not easily apprehend.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>Of that, in due time. At present, you accept -this as a reasonable idea or sketch of an -<i>English</i> 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 <i>foreign Travel</i>.</p> - -<p>Consider, <i>first</i> of all, the unavoidable <small>WASTE -OF TIME</small>; 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.</p> - -<p>Early youth is flexible and docile: apt to -take the impressions of virtue, and ready to -admit the principles of knowledge. The faculties -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">144</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>There may have been some few examples of -those, whose superior industry in advanced age -has atoned for the defects of their education. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">145</span> -But in general the <i>man</i> depends intirely on the -<i>boy</i>; and he is all his life long, what the impressions, -he received in his early years, have -made him<a id="FNanchor_41" href="#Footnote_41" class="fnanchor">41</a>. If therefore any considerable part -of this precious season be <i>wasted</i> in foreign -travel, I mean if it be actually <i>not employed</i> -in the pursuits proper to it, this circumstance -must needs be considered as an objection of -great weight to that sort of education.</p> - -<p>Your Lordship may consider, <i>next</i>, the -<small>DISSIPATION OF MIND</small> 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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">146</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>But were no account to be had of <i>the loss of -time</i>, or of <i>this dissipated turn of mind</i>, which -is still more pernicious, I should nevertheless -object to this travelled education, on account -of the very objects to which our traveller’s -<small>APPLICATION</small> is directed. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">147</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>His <i>first</i> 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.</p> - -<p>His <i>next</i> concern is, to acquire a readiness -in the languages of <i>Europe</i>; or, to shorten his -labour as much as possible, at least in the -<i>French</i> 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.</p> - -<p>If any thing <i>further</i> employ his attention, -it is perhaps a little virtuosoship. He inquires -after fine pictures, fine statues, fine buildings. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">148</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">149</span></p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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?</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Besides, your Lordship forgets that what we -now inquire into, is, whether the generality of -our <i>English</i> 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">150</span> -Lordship is providing only for, what comes of -itself, a prodigy.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>These accomplishments are summed up in -the <small>BENEFITS</small> 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.</p> - -<p>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. <i>England</i>, it seems, is over-run -with barbarism and ignorance; its inhabitants -are rude and uncivilized; and nothing can be -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">151</span> -learnt among them, which is fit to appear in -good company.</p> - -<p>If this had been said of our forefathers in -<span class="smcap">Cæsar’s</span> time, or even in good King <span class="smcap">Edgar’s</span>, -when the land, they say, was over-run with -wolves (by which, I suppose, the monkish -mythology means <i>men</i>, 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 <i>England</i>, -as it now subsists, in the close of the seventeenth -century. It seemed to me as if the -<i>English</i> might now, at least, deserve to be -considered as <i>men</i>; 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 <i>gentlemen</i>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">152</span></p> - -<p>But the other representation was more favourable -to your Lordship’s cause: and out of -that representation arose the several <span class="smcap">Barbarities</span>, -with which you thought fit to mortify -and alarm us.</p> - -<p>The first fire of your zeal is spent on that -swarm of <span class="smcap">Prejudices</span>, with which our <i>English</i>, -or at least provincial, youth are commonly -over-run.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Prejudices</span>, 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.</p> - -<p>The <i>former</i> of these will do no hurt; on the -contrary, perhaps, the very best part of education -is employed in the culture of them.</p> - -<p>But admit, they are of the <i>latter</i> 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">153</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Old England</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>Surely, my Lord, there are certain <i>associations</i> -of ideas, which, however oddly formed, -your Lordship would be something loth to -undo.</p> - -<p>To take your own instance: What if the -ideas of liberty chanced to be closely connected -with those of <i>Old England</i>; 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">154</span> -light, disenchant the mind, at the same time, -from the idea, or warm love at least, of <i>English</i> -liberty?</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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. -<span class="smcap">Liberty</span> 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.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">155</span> -to enamoured eyes, the generality of her -votaries will, I doubt, be something slack in -her defence.</p> - -<p>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 <i>transplanting</i>: 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.</p> - -<p>If, indeed, by Prejudices you mean <i>vicious -principles</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>For the proper cure of such prejudices, as I -take it, is to be made by the application of -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">156</span> -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.</p> - -<p>But your Lordship, I observed, as though -you had taken up this charge of Prejudices -purely to introduce the satire on <i>Old England</i>, -was content to drop it, as soon as it had served -your turn. You exchanged it, however, for -<i>another</i> of more importance, <small>THE LOW, SORDID, -AND IMMORAL HABITS</small>; which strike into the -lives and manners of our youth, and are, as -you conceive, epidemical and incurable in this -Island.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">157</span> -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?</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">158</span></p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">159</span></p> - -<p>But, though foreign travel should be indeed -a remedy for the mischiefs, complained of, I -still question whether it would be a <i>proper</i> 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?</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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!</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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; -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">160</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>insufficient</i>, always an <i>improper</i>, -cure for them.</p> - -<p>Your Lordship indeed goes further. You -contend, that, if these sordid and dirty habits -could by any means be expelled, still our <i>English</i> -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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">161</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>To this triumphant part of your harangue, -I have only to oppose some plain and simple -truths.</p> - -<p>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 <i>first</i> -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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">162</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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!</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Consider, <i>further</i>, 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 class="pagenum" id="Page_163">163</span> -span-farthing, as expect from diffident youth -the manly confidence of riper age.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">164</span> -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.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>Fye, Mr. <span class="smcap">Locke</span>; what, my philosopher -give into this gaiety! he, who reproached me -just now for the way of raillery and declamation!</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">165</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Consider too this polite accomplishment, -this supreme finishing of a well-formed character, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">166</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">167</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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<a id="FNanchor_42" href="#Footnote_42" class="fnanchor">42</a>, should continue for -any time, the day may come but too soon, -when these fancies of mine will be realized: -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">168</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">169</span> -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 <small>HIS</small>, 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 <i>men</i>, he could -safely trust their judgment; but how should -he appear, at night, before the <i>maids of -honour</i><a id="FNanchor_43" href="#Footnote_43" class="fnanchor">43</a>?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>Nor with mine: for, with all the courtliness -and gallantry you make me master of, I never -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">170</span> -intended by the <i>good company</i>, 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.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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, -<small>THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD</small>; a science, -as you well termed it, the most profound and -useful. And if this <small>MASTER-SCIENCE</small> were to -be acquired by means of early travel, our -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">171</span> -young gentleman should have my consent to -shut up his books, and set forth on his adventures, -directly.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">172</span> -belongs to those conditions, and it will then be -time enough to provide for the manly character.</p> - -<p>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 <i>man</i>. How then -should he obtain any real and useful knowledge -of the human character?</p> - -<p>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 -<i>man</i>, considered in his essential parts, his -<i>reason</i> and his <i>passions</i>. 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">173</span> -dispositions and characters, is the business of -a well-informed and well-disciplined understanding.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">174</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Limborchs</span> -and <span class="smcap">Le Clercs</span> 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?</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">175</span> -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.</p> - -<p>In short, the utmost I can allow to this -discipline of foreign travel, under the idea of -its furnishing <i>a knowledge of the world</i>, 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">176</span> -country, is what I can never promise myself -from this fashionable mode of education.</p> - -<p>I am even disposed to promise myself the -less from it, for an <i>observation</i>, I have sometimes -had the opportunity of making.</p> - -<p>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 <i>one</i>, 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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">177</span></p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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 <i>English</i> 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">178</span> -to own, for the credit of my civility, from the -same reason, that both good and ill qualities -strike us most, when <i>set</i> in the precious metal -of that sex.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Seriously, my Lord, the <small>WORLD</small>, 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, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">179</span> -the characters of the great and good men of -his own country, the opprobrious name of -<i>home-bred</i> will not hinder him from acquiring -the best fruit, with which a knowledge of the -world, rightly understood, can furnish him.</p> - -<p>For, my Lord, I must not, on so inviting -an occasion as this, conceal an odd fancy of -mine from your Lordship.</p> - -<p>The affair of <i>knowing the world</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">180</span> -remote from that which has hitherto been -taken.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>You ask the reason of this mysterious procedure; -yet methinks it should be obvious -enough. From <i>sixteen to one and twenty</i> (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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">181</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">182</span></p> - -<p>He quits this clamorous set with disdain; -and is glad to unite himself with <i>another</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">183</span></p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 -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.</p> - -<p>I have seldom known a young man of sense -and parts, educated in this way, escape from -one or other of these mischiefs. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">184</span></p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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?</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Madonna</span> <i>of</i> -<span class="smcap">Raphael</span>, or a <span class="smcap">Venus</span> <i>of</i> <span class="smcap">Medicis</span>; yet is not -likely to meet with either, among his acquaintance. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">185</span></p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>And what is that <i>due time</i>, your Lordship -sets apart for this delicate operation?</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">186</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">187</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">188</span> -this task; and that they, who are latest in setting -out, will arrive the soonest, certainly the -safest, at their journey’s end.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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?</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>And are there no inconveniences, on the -other hand, which a provident parent may be -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">189</span> -supposed to foresee, and may be willing to -guard against?</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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:</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">190</span> -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 judgement -to take his station in the world.</p> - -<p>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 <i>London</i> -should not be esteemed as fit a scene for -the purpose, as any other great town in <i>Europe</i>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">191</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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, <small>LAST</small> 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 <small>FINE ARTS</small>; in short, from the -lustre and importance of the virtuoso character.”</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">192</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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,</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Sapere</span>, <i>est et principium et fons</i>.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">193</span></p> - -<p>These and still stronger objections might be -made to your partiality for the <i>fine arts</i>. 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.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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—</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>Your Lordship, I know, can say more, and -finer things, than you expect I should seriously -dispute with you, on this occasion. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">194</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Europe</i>, yet I know what ends of wisdom -and of virtue may be answered by a capable -man’s survey of it. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">195</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">196</span> -from your true sense and superior -knowledge of human nature.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>For now your Lordship has expressed your -regard for <i>a superior knowledge of human nature</i>, -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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">197</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>I would say then, “that, to study <small>HUMAN -NATURE</small> to purpose, a traveller must enlarge -his circuit beyond the bounds of <i>Europe</i>. -He must go, and catch her undressed, nay -quite naked, in <i>North-America</i>, and at the -Cape of <i>Good Hope</i>. He may then examine -how she appears crampt, contracted, and -buttoned up close in the strait tunic of law -and custom, as in <i>China</i> and <i>Japan</i>: 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 <i>Mediterranean</i> coast of <i>Africa</i>.” -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">198</span></p> - -<p>These, my Lord, are the proper scenes for -the philosopher, for the citizen of the world, -to expatiate in. The tour of <i>Europe</i> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>If you think I impose too great a task on -our inquisitive traveller, my next advice is, -That he stay at home: read <i>Europe</i> 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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">199</span></p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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!</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>I was afraid, I should not be able to secure -to myself the good opinion, which your Lordship -was pleased to express of my <i>knowledge -of human nature</i>. 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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">200</span></p> - -<p>Be it then, as you insist, that an <i>English</i> -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 <i>natural</i>. -Still I declare against his <i>European</i> -travels.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Europe</i>, all are courtiers. In our freer -monarchy, all should be citizens. Let then -the arts of address and insinuation flourish in -<i>France</i>. 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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">201</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 -<i>Sparta</i>?</p> - -<p>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 -<i>public</i>, if you will, or (as you know I had rather) -in the way of a more attentive and -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">202</span> -moral, because <i>private</i>, 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!</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>The search would cost me small pains. But -I press the matter no further. It is enough -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">203</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">204</span> -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.</p> - -<p>The <span class="smcap">Universities of England</span>, 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Besides, the learning of that time was rude -and barbarous; and, had their views been -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">205</span> -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.</p> - -<p>’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 <i>Reformation</i>. But -the great object that filled all men’s minds -being the dispute with the see of <i>Rome</i>, 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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">206</span></p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>This account of the institution and genius -of our <i>English</i> 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?</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">207</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">208</span> -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.</p> - -<p>I have ventured to say, that this reformation -will, in due time, come of itself. I think, it -certainly <i>will</i>; as well in regard to the general -plan of their studies, as their particular principles -and opinions. Yet, in respect of the -<i>former</i> 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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">209</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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 <i>later</i> æra may be pointed -out, when the same office might, and should, -have been undertaken by our political craftsmen.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>Your Lordship means at the <i>Revolution</i>; -and, as the generous principles of liberty, on -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">210</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Reformation</i>: but the necessity -was not so urgent, or so visible at least, -that the Universities should be new-modelled, -at the <i>Revolution</i>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">211</span></p> - -<p>However, my Lord, what the wisdom of -<i>either</i> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>Yes; their religion is intolerance; and their -morals, servility. For, as to any freedom of -manly thought, or the dignity of virtue— -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">212</span></p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>You are ready to look for them any where -else than in our <i>English</i> Universities.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Athens</i> amidst -the Protestant states of <i>Germany</i>, in the <i>Netherlands</i>, -or the <i>Swiss</i> Cantons?</p> - -<p>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 <i>English</i> -youth in the colleges of the Jesuits.</p> - -<p>One word then, if you please, on these -Protestant Universities on the Continent. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">213</span></p> - -<p>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 <i>England</i>. If we do not readily find -those who, at this day, may be opposed to a -<span class="smcap">Limborch</span> or a <span class="smcap">Le Clerc</span>; yet it is not long -since we had to boast of a <span class="smcap">Chillingworth</span>, a -<span class="smcap">Cudworth</span>, and a <span class="smcap">Whichcot</span>; all, men of -manly thought, generous minds, and incomparable -learning.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Shall we say then, that the scattered tribes -of students in a <i>Dutch</i> or <i>Swiss</i> 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?</p> - -<p>Your Lordship, I know, takes a pleasure to -conceive of certain foreign academies, as of -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">214</span> -that <small>ANCIENT</small> 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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>convivial</i> virtues; and the two extremes -of a festive jollity and unsocial gloom are happily -tempered by the decencies of a <i>common -table</i>; where, in a word, the discipline of -Spartan <span class="smcap">Halls</span> and the civility of Athenian -<span class="smcap">Banquets</span> are, or may be, united. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">215</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>Your Lordship, I dare say, will not suspect -me of a bigoted adherence to any mere <i>mode</i> 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 <i>England</i>, 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?</p> - -<p>Besides, are there fewer prejudices, think -ye, in the men of other churches and governments, -than our own? or, are their professors -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">216</span> -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?</p> - -<p>Nay, consider with yourself, my Lord; is -there not as much tyranny in the administration -of some they call <i>free states</i>; and as much -restraint and persecution in the principles of -some they call <i>free churches</i>, as can fairly be -charged on the monarchy or church of <i>England</i>?</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>But your Lordship, perhaps, would confine -your young traveller to no <i>one</i> 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">217</span> -to be gathered from so cursory an education, -your Lordship will do well to consider.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>Your Lordship now indeed speaks out very -plainly. Your objection, then, is to <span class="smcap">Clergy-tutors</span>; -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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">218</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>But, my Lord, having no particular bias on -my own mind in favour of that order, and having -something perhaps to <i>resent</i> from several -individuals of it, it will not misbecome me to -hazard a word or two, in its vindication.</p> - -<p>You will permit me then to say, that I see -no peculiar unfitness in the clergy for the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">219</span> -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 <i>own</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>Yes, your Lordship will say, their hopes -and views of preferment—</p> - -<p>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, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">220</span> -to any distinction in the world. And though -we commonly say, that the clergy should be -<i>only</i> animated by purer motives, yet you cannot -expect, nay would not seriously wish, that -they should be altogether insensible to such as -these.</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">221</span></p> - -<p>Your Lordship’s candour and equity will -then, upon the whole, permit an obvious distinction -to be made between the <small>MEN</small> and their -<small>PROFESSION</small>. 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 <i>profession</i> 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.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>Well, but <i>clergy-manners</i>; will they, too, -be worked off, with their other infirmities?</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>Perhaps, they may; if not, forgive them -this one defect; at least, if it be their only -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">222</span> -one. But you do not mean, that the manners -of the clergy, <i>as such</i>, 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.</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">223</span> -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.</p> - -<h4>MR. LOCKE.</h4> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">224</span> -prospect of those brighter days, which I see -rising upon us.</p> - -<p>“The <small>TIME</small> will come, my Lord, and I even -assure myself it is at no great distance, when -the Universities of <i>England</i> 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.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“Do I flatter myself with fond imaginations, -my Lord? Or is not the time at hand, when -St. <span class="smcap">Paul</span> shall lecture our divines, and not -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">225</span> -<span class="smcap">Calvin</span>; our <span class="smcap">Bacons</span> and <span class="smcap">Boyles</span> expel -<span class="smcap">Aristotle</span>; Mr. <span class="smcap">Newton</span> fill the chair of -<span class="smcap">Des Cartes</span>; and even your friend (if your -Lordship can forgive the arrogance of placing -himself by the side of such men) take the -lead of <span class="smcap">Burgersdicius</span>?</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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 <i>bearded boys</i>, 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, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">226</span> -set the noble and ingenuous youth intrusted -to their care, the brightest examples of diligence, -sobriety, and virtue.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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?</p> - -<p>“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 <i>English</i> 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, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">227</span> -which the Great shall vouchsafe to shew to -places, so qualified, and so deserving their -protection.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<h4>LORD SHAFTESBURY.</h4> - -<p>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 <i>prophetic strains</i>, as you -termed them, have no great weight with me -before their completion. Should that ever happen, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">228</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">229</span></p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">230</span> - -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">231</span></p> - -<h2 class="xx-large">LETTERS<br /> - -<small>ON</small><br /> - -CHIVALRY <small>AND</small> ROMANCE.</h2> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">232</span><br /> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">233</span></p> - -<h2 id="DIALOGUE_XII"> -LETTERS<br /> - -<small>ON</small><br /> - -CHIVALRY <small>AND</small> ROMANCE:<br /> - -<small>SERVING TO ILLUSTRATE SOME</small><br /> - -PASSAGES IN THE THIRD DIALOGUE.</h2> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i8"><i>Guarda, che mal fato</i><br /></span> -<span class="i0"><i>O giovenil vaghezza non ti meni</i><br /></span> -<span class="i0"><i>Al magazino de le ciancie, ab fuggi,</i><br /></span> -<span class="i0"><i>Fuggi quell incantato alloggiamento.</i><br /></span> -<span class="i0"><i>Quivi habitan le maghe, che incantande</i><br /></span> -<span class="i0"><i>Fan traveder, e traudir ciascuno.</i><br /></span> -<span class="author"><span class="smcap">Tasso.</span><br /></span> -</div></div></div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">234</span><br /> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">235</span></p> - -<h2 id="CONTENTS_of_the_LETTERS">CONTENTS <small>OF THE</small> LETTERS.</h2> - -<table class="toc"> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">Letter <small>I.</small></td> - <td><a href="#I"><i>The Subject proposed.</i></a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"><small>II.</small></td> - <td><a href="#II"><i>Origin of Chivalry.</i></a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"><small>III.</small></td> - <td><a href="#III"><i>Characteristics of, accounted for.</i></a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"><small>IV.</small></td> - <td><a href="#IV"><i>Heroic and</i> Gothic <i>manners</i>, <i>compared</i>.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"><small>V.</small></td> - <td><a href="#V"><i>Their differences, noted.</i></a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"><small>VI.</small></td> - <td><a href="#VI">Gothic <i>manners more poetical</i>, <i>than the Heroic</i>.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"><small>VII.</small></td> - <td><a href="#VII"><i>Their effect on</i> <span class="smcap">Spenser</span>, <span class="smcap">Milton</span>, -<span class="smcap">Shakespear</span>.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"><small>VIII.</small></td> - <td><a href="#VIII"><i>Fairy Queen criticized—the method -of that poem explained and justified.</i></a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"><small>IX.</small></td> - <td><a href="#IX"><span class="smcap">Tasso’s</span> Gier. Lib. <i>considered</i>—<i>history -of the</i> Italian <i>poetry</i>.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"><small>X.</small></td> - <td><a href="#X"><i>Fairy way of writing—vindicated.</i></a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"><small>XI.</small></td> - <td><a href="#XI">Gothic <i>poetry</i>, <i>whence fallen into disrepute</i>.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"><small>XII.</small></td> - <td><a href="#XII"><i>Steps of its decline, traced.</i></a></td> - </tr> -</table> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">236</span><br /> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">237</span></p> - -<h2 id="LETTERS">LETTERS<br /> - -<small>ON</small><br /> - -CHIVALRY <small>AND</small> ROMANCE.</h2> - -<h4 id="I">LETTER I.</h4> - -<p class="drop"><span class="uppercase">The</span> ages, we call barbarous, present us -with many a subject of curious speculation. -What, for instance, is more remarkable than -the <i>Gothic</i> <span class="smcap">Chivalry</span>? or than the spirit of -<span class="smcap">Romance</span>, which took its rise from that singular -institution?</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Nature once known, no prodigies remain,”<br /></span> -</div></div></div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">238</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>This, you see, is a short and commodious -philosophy. Yet barbarians have their <i>own</i>, -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?</p> - -<p>Would we know from what causes the institution -of <i>Chivalry</i> 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">239</span> -world became familiarized to this <i>prodigy</i>, -which we now start at.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Romance</i>, which was kindled at it, -burnt long, and continued its light and heat -even to the politer ages.</p> - -<p>The greatest geniuses of our own and foreign -countries, such as <span class="smcap">Ariosto</span> and <span class="smcap">Tasso</span> in -<i>Italy</i>, and <span class="smcap">Spenser</span> and <span class="smcap">Milton</span> in <i>England</i>, -were seduced by these barbarities of their forefathers; -were even charmed by the <i>Gothic</i> -Romances. Was this caprice and absurdity in -them? Or, may there not be something in -the <i>Gothic</i> 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?</p> - -<p>To form a judgment in the case, the rise, -progress, and genius of <i>Gothic</i> Chivalry must -be explained.</p> - -<p>The circumstances in the <i>Gothic</i> fictions -and manners, which are proper to the ends of -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">240</span> -poetry (if any such there be) must be pointed -out.</p> - -<p>Reasons, for the decline and rejection of the -<i>Gothic</i> taste in later times, must be given.</p> - -<p>You have in these particulars both the Subject -and the <span class="smcap">Plan</span> of the following Letters. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">241</span></p> - -<h4 id="II">LETTER II.</h4> - -<p class="drop"><span class="uppercase">I look</span> 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,</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i26">unde supernè<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Plurimus Eridani per sylvam volvitur amnis.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>I enter, without more words, on the subject -I began to open to you in my last letter.</p> - -<p>The old inhabitants of these North-West -parts of <i>Europe</i> were extremely given to the -love and exercise of arms. The feats of <span class="smcap">Charlemagne</span> -and our <span class="smcap">Arthur</span>, 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<a id="FNanchor_44" href="#Footnote_44" class="fnanchor">44</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">242</span></p> - -<p>But <span class="smcap">Chivalry</span>, 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 <span class="smcap">Feudal Constitution</span>.</p> - -<p>The first and most sensible effect of this -constitution, which brought about so mighty -a change in the policies of <i>Europe</i>, 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">243</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Chivalry</span>.</p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Justs</span> and <span class="smcap">Turnaments</span>; 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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">244</span></p> - -<p>I call this the <i>proper origin</i> of Justs and -Turnaments; for the date of them is carried -no higher, as far as I can find, even in <i>France</i> -(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 <i>England</i> and in <i>Germany</i>; -but not till the feudal policy had spread itself -in those parts, and had prepared the way for -them.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">245</span></p> - -<h4 id="III">LETTER III.</h4> - -<p class="drop"><span class="uppercase">If</span> 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 <small>CHARACTERISTICS</small> -of this singular profession.</p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Mars</span>, is naturally and -easily explained on this supposition.</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">246</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>feudal</i> service soon introduced, -what may be truly called <i>romantic</i>, the <i>going -in quest of adventures</i>; which at first, no -doubt, was confined to those of their own -party, but afterwards, by the habit of acting -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">247</span> -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;</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Ecco quei, che le charte empion di sogni,<br /></span> -<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Lancilotto</span>, <span class="smcap">Tristano</span>, e gli altri erranti.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>III. “The courtesy, affability, and gallantry, -for which these adventurers were so -famous, are but the natural effects and consequences -of their situation.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>This is the poet’s own account of</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i6">——court and royal citadel,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The great school-maistresse of all Courtesy.<br /></span> -<span class="author"><small>B. III. C.</small> vi. s. 1.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">248</span></p> - -<p>And again, more largely in <small>B. VI. C.</small> i. s. 1.</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Of Court it seems men Courtesie do call,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">For that it there most useth to abound;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And well beseemeth that in Princes hall<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That Virtue should be plentifully found,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Which of all goodly manners is the ground<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And root of civil conversation:<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Right so in <i>faery court</i> it did resound,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Where courteous knights and ladies most did won<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of all on earth, and made a matchless paragon.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>For <i>Faery Court</i> means the <i>reign of Chivalry</i>; -which, it seems, had undergone a fatal -revolution before the age of <span class="smcap">Milton</span>, who tells -us that <i>Courtesy</i></p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i4">——is sooner found in lonely sheds<br /></span> -<span class="i0">With smoaky rafters, than in tap’stry halls<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And courts of princes, where it first was nam’d,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And yet is most pretended.<br /></span> -<span class="author"><span class="smcap">Mask.</span><br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">249</span> -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.</p> - -<p>Thus, again, the great master of Chivalry -himself, on this subject,</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">It hath been thro’ all ages ever seen,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That, with the praise of arms and chivalry,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The prize of beauty still hath joined been;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And that for reason’s special privity:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For either doth on other much rely;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">For <span class="smcap">He</span> mee seems most fit the fair to serve,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That can her best defend from villainy;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And <span class="smcap">She</span> most fit his service doth deserve,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That fairest is, and from her faith will never swerve.<br /></span> -<span class="author"><span class="smcap">Spenser</span>, <small>B. IV. C.</small> v.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">250</span></p> - -<p>Not but the foundation of this refined gallantry -was laid in the ancient manners of the -<i>German</i> nations. <span class="smcap">Cæsar</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>the love of God and of the ladies</i> -went hand in hand, in the duties and ritual of -Chivalry.</p> - -<p>Two reasons may be assigned for this singularity:</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">251</span></p> - -<p>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 <i>Saracen</i> 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.</p> - -<p>And how warmly this principle, <i>a zeal for -the faith</i>, 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 <span class="smcap">Recreant</span> [<i>i. e.</i> 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 <i>Saracens</i>, 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, <small>COURAGE</small> and <small>FAITH</small>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">252</span></p> - -<p>Hence too, the reason appears why the -<i>Spaniards</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>And thus we seem to have a fair account of -that <small>PROWESS</small>, <small>GENEROSITY</small>, <small>GALLANTRY</small>, and -<small>RELIGION</small>, which were the peculiar and vaunted -characteristics of the purer ages of Chivalry.</p> - -<p>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: -<i>daring</i> to madness, in enterprises of hazard: -burning with zeal for the delivery of the <i>oppressed</i>; -and, which was deemed the height -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">253</span> -of <i>religious</i> merit, for the rescue of the holy -city out of the hands of infidels; and, lastly, -exalting their honour of <i>chastity</i> so high -as to profess celibacy; as they constantly did, -in the several orders of knighthood created on -that extravagant occasion. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">254</span></p> - -<h4 id="IV">LETTER IV.</h4> - -<p class="drop"><span class="uppercase">What</span> 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 <i>rise and genius</i> of Knight-errantry.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>For thus the argument is drawn out by a -learned person<a id="FNanchor_45" href="#Footnote_45" class="fnanchor">45</a>, to whom I communicated the -substance of my last Letter. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">255</span></p> - -<p>“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 <i>Saracens</i> 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.</p> - -<p>But when, now, the ardour of the Crusades -was abated in some sort, though not extinguished, -the <i>Gothic</i> 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 <small>KNIGHT-ERRANTRY</small>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">256</span></p> - -<p>Military fame, acquired in the Holy land, -had entitled the adventurers to the <i>insignia</i> 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.</p> - -<p>The scene of action being now more confined, -they turned themselves, from <i>the world’s -debate</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>justs -and tournaments</i>: 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">257</span> -engrafted on spiritual enthusiasm, came to -mix itself with the other characters of the -Knights-errant.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>For what if I allow (as indeed I needs must) -that <i>Chivalry</i>, 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 -<i>had</i>, if for no other, yet, for this reason: that, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">258</span> -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.</p> - -<p>In short, there are <small>TWO DISTINCT PERIODS</small> -to be carefully observed, in a deduction of the -rise and progress of Chivalry.</p> - -<p>The <small>FIRST</small> 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.</p> - -<p>The <small>OTHER</small> 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">259</span> -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 <span class="smcap">Virgil’s</span> -Tree—</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i4">—Quæ quantum vertice ad auras<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Æthereas, tantum radice in Tartara tendit.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ergo non hiemes illam, non flabra, neque imbres<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Convellunt: immota manet, multosque per annos<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Multa virûm volvens durando sæcula vincit.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>From this last period, the Romancers, whether -in prose or verse, derive all their ideas of -Chivalry. It was <i>natural</i> for them to do so; -for they were best acquainted with that period: -and, besides, it suited their <i>design</i> best; for -the manners, they were to paint, were then -full formed, and so distinctly marked as fitted -them for the use of description.</p> - -<p>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, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">260</span> -the <i>image</i> of serious Knight-errantry, were -certainly of earlier date than that event, as I -had before occasion to observe to you.</p> - -<p>Though I think, then, my notion <i>of the -rise of Chivalry</i> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Your request is reasonable; and I acknowledge -the omission, in not acquainting you that -my information was taken from its proper -source, the <i>old Romances</i>. Not that I shall -make a merit with you in having perused these -barbarous volumes myself; much less would I -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">261</span> -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 -<i>French</i> 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 <i>Memoirs of -the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles -Lettres</i>.</p> - -<p>And with this explanation I return, at length, -to my proper business.</p> - -<p>Supposing my idea of Chivalry to be fairly -given, the conjecture I advance on the <i>origin -and nature</i> 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">262</span> -between the manners of the old heroic times, -as painted by their great romancer, <span class="smcap">Homer</span>, -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 <i>Greece</i>, in -the earlier periods of its story, was similar in -many respects to that of <i>Europe</i>, as broken -by the feudal system into an infinite number -of petty independent governments.”</p> - -<p>It is not my design to encroach on the province -of the learned person<a id="FNanchor_46" href="#Footnote_46" class="fnanchor">46</a>, 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 <i>Heroic</i> -and <i>Gothic</i> 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.</p> - -<p>And, <small>FIRST</small>, “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, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">263</span> -wounds, deaths, in the <i>Greek</i> poet, as in -the <i>Gothic</i> romancers: hence that perpetual -succession of combats and deeds of arms, even -to satiety, in the <i>Iliad</i>: 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.</p> - -<p>But the correspondency holds in more particular -considerations. For,</p> - -<p>2. “We hear much of Knights-errant encountering -<i>Giants</i>, and quelling <i>Savages</i>, in -books of Chivalry.”</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">264</span> -called a Giant, for his power; the less a Savage, -for his brutality.</p> - -<p>All this is shadowed out in the <i>Gothic</i> 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:</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">What Mister wight, quoth he, and how far hence<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Is he, that doth to travellers such harms?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He is, said he, a man of great defence,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Expert in battle, and in deeds of arms;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And more embolden’d by the wicked charms<br /></span> -<span class="i0">With which his daughter doth him still support;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Having <i>great Lordships got and goodly farms</i><br /></span> -<span class="i0"><i>Thro’ strong oppression of his power extort</i>;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">By which he still them holds and keeps with strong effort.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And daily he his wrong encreaseth more:<br /></span> -<span class="i2">For never wight he lets to pass that way<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Over his bridge, albee he rich or poor,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">But he him makes his passage penny pay.<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Else he doth hold him back or beat away.<br /></span> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">265</span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Thereto he hath a <i>Groom of evil guise</i>,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Whose scalp is bare, that bondage doth bewray,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Which polls and pills the poor in piteous wise,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But he himself upon the rich doth tyrannize.<br /></span> -<span class="author"><span class="smcap">Spenser</span>, <small>B. V. C.</small> ii.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>Here we have the great oppressive Baron -very graphically set forth: and the <i>Groom of -evil guise</i> 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.</p> - -<p>“Another terror of the <i>Gothic</i> ages was, -<i>Monsters</i>, <i>Dragons</i>, and <i>Serpents</i>.” 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.</p> - -<p>This last consideration we find employed -by <span class="smcap">Spenser</span> to give an air of probability to -his <i>Fairy Tales</i>, in the preface to his second -book. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">266</span></p> - -<p>Now in all these respects <i>Greek</i> antiquity -very much resembles the <i>Gothic</i>. For what -are <span class="smcap">Homer’s</span> <i>Læstrigons</i> and <i>Cyclops</i>, but -bands of lawless savages, with, each of them, -a Giant of enormous size at their head? And -what are the <i>Grecian</i> <span class="smcap">Bacchus</span> and <span class="smcap">Hercules</span>, -but Knights-errant, the exact counter-parts of -Sir <span class="smcap">Launcelot</span> and <span class="smcap">Amadis de Gaule</span>?</p> - -<p>For this interpretation we have the authority -of our great poet:</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Such first was <span class="smcap">Bacchus</span>, that with furious might<br /></span> -<span class="i2">All th’ East, before untam’d, did overcome,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And wrong repressed and establish’d right,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Which lawless men had formerly fordonne.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Next <span class="smcap">Hercules</span> his like ensample shew’d,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Who all the West with equal conquest wonne,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And monstrous tyrants with his club subdu’d,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The club of justice drad, with kingly pow’r endu’d.<br /></span> -<span class="author"><small>B. V. C.</small> i.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>Even <span class="smcap">Plutarch’s</span> life of <span class="smcap">Theseus</span> reads, -throughout, like a modern Romance: and Sir -<span class="smcap">Arthegal</span> himself is hardly his fellow, for -righting wrongs and redressing grievances. So -that <span class="smcap">Euripides</span> might well make him say of -himself, <i>that he had chosen the profession and</i> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">267</span> -<i>calling of a Knight-errant</i>: for this is the -sense, and almost the literal construction, of -the following verses:</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Ἔθος τόδ’ εἰς Ἕλληνας ἐξελεξάμην<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ἀεὶ ΚΟΛΑΣΤΗΣ ΤΩΝ ΚΑΚΩΝ καθεστάναι.<br /></span> -<span class="author">Ἱκέτιδες, ver. 340.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>Accordingly, <span class="smcap">Theseus</span> is a favourite Hero (witness -the <i>Knight’s Tale</i> in <span class="smcap">Chaucer</span>) even with -the Romance-writers.</p> - -<p>Nay, could the very castle of a <i>Gothic</i> giant -be better described than in the words of <span class="smcap">Homer</span>,</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">High walls and battlements the courts inclose,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And the strong gates defy a host of foes.<br /></span> -<span class="author">Od. <small>B. XVII.</small> ver. 318.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>And do not you remember that the <i>Grecian</i> -Worthies were, in their day, as famous for -encountering Dragons and quelling Monsters -of all sorts, as for suppressing Giants?</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">——per hos cecidere justâ<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Morte Centauri, cecidit tremendæ<br /></span> -<span class="i10">Flamma Chimæræ.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>3. “The oppressions, which it was the glory -of the Knight to avenge, were frequently carried -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">268</span> -on, as we are told, <i>by the charms and enchantments -of women</i>.”</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">These</span> <i>charms</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>And are not these stories matched by those -of <i>Calypso</i> and <i>Circe</i>, the enchantresses of the -<i>Greek</i> poet?</p> - -<p>Still there are conformities more directly to -our purpose.</p> - -<p>4. “Robbery and piracy were honourable in -both; so far were they from reflecting any discredit -on the ancient or modern <i>redressers of -wrongs</i>.”</p> - -<p>What account can be given of this odd circumstance, -but that, in the feudal times and -in the early days of <i>Greece</i>, when government -was weak, and unable to redress the frequent -injuries of petty sovereigns, it would be glorious -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">269</span> -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?</p> - -<p>This, in effect, is the account given us, of -the same disposition of the old <i>Germans</i>, by -<span class="smcap">Cæsar</span>: “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.” <i>De Bello Gall.</i> l. vi. -§ 21.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Nay, so far did they carry their indulgence to -this commerce, that their greatest Heroes were -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">270</span> -the fruit of Goddesses approached by mortals; -just as we hear of the doughtiest Knights being -born of Fairies.</p> - -<p>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?” -<span class="smcap">Achilles</span> was at once the most relentless, vindictive, -implacable, and the friendliest of men.</p> - -<p>We have the very same representation in -the <i>Gothic</i> Romances, where it is almost true -what <span class="smcap">Butler</span> says humorously of these benign -heroes, that</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">They did in fight but cut work out<br /></span> -<span class="i0">T’ employ their courtesies about.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>7. Again: consider the martial <i>Games</i>, -which ancient <i>Greece</i> delighted to celebrate on -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">271</span> -great and solemn occasions: and see if they -had not the same origin, and the same purpose, -as the <i>Tournaments</i> of the <i>Gothic</i> warriors.</p> - -<p>8. Lastly, “the passion for adventures, so -natural in their situation, would be as naturally -attended with the love of praise and glory.”</p> - -<p>Hence the same encouragement, in the old -<i>Greek</i> and <i>Gothic</i> times, to panegyrists and -poets; the <span class="smcap">Bards</span> being as welcome to the -tables of the feudal Lords, as the ΑΟΙΔΟΙ of -old, to those of the <i>Grecian</i> Heroes.</p> - -<p>And, as the same causes ever produce the -same effects, we find that, even so late as <span class="smcap">Elizabeth’s</span> -reign, the savage <i>Irish</i> (who were -much in the state of the ancient <i>Greeks</i>, 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 <i>Greece</i>:</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">For chief to Poets such respect belongs,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">By rival nations courted for their Songs;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">These, states invite, and mighty kings admire,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Wide as the Sun displays his vital fire.<br /></span> -<span class="author">Od. <small>B. XVII.</small><br /></span> -</div></div></div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">272</span></p> - -<h4 id="V">LETTER V.</h4> - -<p class="drop"><span class="uppercase">The</span> purpose of the casual hints, suggested -in my last letter, was only to shew that the resemblance -between the Heroic and <i>Gothic</i> ages -is great: so great that the observation of it did -not escape the old Romancers themselves, <i>with -whom</i>, as an ingenious critic observes, <i>the siege -of <span class="smcap">Thebes</span> and <span class="smcap">Trojan war</span> were favourite -stories; the characters and incidents of which -they were mixing perpetually with their Romances</i><a id="FNanchor_47" href="#Footnote_47" class="fnanchor">47</a>. -And to this persuasion and practice -of the Romance-writers <span class="smcap">Cervantes</span> plainly alludes, -when he makes Don <span class="smcap">Quixote</span> say——<i>If -the stories of Chivalry be lies, so must it -also be, that there ever was a <span class="smcap">Hector</span>, or an -<span class="smcap">Achilles</span>, or a <span class="smcap">Trojan war</span></i><a id="FNanchor_48" href="#Footnote_48" class="fnanchor">48</a>—a sly stroke -of satire, by which this mortal foe of Chivalry -would, I suppose, insinuate that the <i>Grecian</i> -Romances were just as extravagant and as little -credible, as the <i>Gothic</i>. Or, whatever his -purpose might be, the resemblance between -them, you see, is confessed, and hath now -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">273</span> -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 -<i>civil</i> condition of both had not been much the -same.</p> - -<p>So that when we see a sort of Chivalry, -springing up among the <i>Greeks</i>, 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 <i>Gothic</i> times was owing to -that common corresponding <i>state</i>, and received -its character from it?</p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Spenser</span> and -<span class="smcap">Tasso</span> 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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">274</span></p> - -<p>I am aware, as you object to me, that, in -the affair of <i>religion</i> and <i>gallantry</i>, the resemblance -between the Hero and Knight is not -so striking.</p> - -<p>But the religious character of the Knight -was an accident of the times, and no proper -effect of his <i>civil</i> condition.</p> - -<p>And that his devotion for the sex should so -far surpass that of the Hero, is a fresh confirmation -of my system.</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">275</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Hence then, as I suppose, the custom was -introduced: and, when introduced, you will -hardly wonder it should operate much longer -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">276</span> -and further than the reason may seem to require, -on which it was founded.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>early</i> feudal times, and that in the <i>later</i>, -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.</p> - -<p>But then, <i>secondly</i>, 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, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">277</span> -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.</p> - -<p>In conclusion of this topic, I must just observe -to you, that the two poems of <span class="smcap">Homer</span> -express in the liveliest manner, and were intended -to expose, the capital mischiefs and inconveniencies -arising from the <i>political state</i> -of old <i>Greece</i>; the <i>Iliad</i>, the dissensions that -naturally spring up amongst a number of independent -chiefs; and the <i>Odyssey</i>, the insolence -of their greater subjects, more especially -when unrestrained by the presence of their sovereign.</p> - -<p>These were the subjects of his pen. And -can any thing more exactly resemble the condition -of the <i>feudal times</i>, 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">278</span> -their affairs at home as perpetually distressed -and disordered by domestic licence, and the -rebellious usurpations of their greater vassals?</p> - -<p>It is true, as to the charge of <i>domestic licence</i>, -so exactly does the parallel run between -old <i>Greece</i> and old <i>England</i>, I find one exception -to it, in each country: and that <i>one</i>, -a Romance-critic would shew himself very uncourteous, -if he did not take a pleasure to celebrate. -<span class="smcap">Guy</span>, the renowned earl of <i>Warwick</i>, -old stories say, returned from the holy wars to -his lady in the disguise of a pilgrim or beggar, -as <span class="smcap">Ulysses</span> did to <span class="smcap">Penelope</span>. 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 <span class="smcap">Ithaca</span>: 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 <i>distributing daily alms to -<small>XIII</small> poor men</i>.</p> - -<p>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, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">279</span> -<i>Jerusalem</i> was to the <i>European</i>, what <i>Troy</i> -had been to the <i>Grecian</i> heroes. And, though -the <i>Odyssey</i> found no rival among the <i>Gothic</i> -poems, you will think it natural enough from -these corresponding circumstances, that <span class="smcap">Tasso’s</span> -immortal work should be planned upon the -model of the <i>Iliad</i>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">280</span></p> - -<h4 id="VI">LETTER VI.</h4> - -<p class="drop"><span class="uppercase">Let</span> it be no surprise to you that, in the -close of my last Letter, I presumed to bring -the <i>Gierusalemme liberata</i> into competition -with the <i>Iliad</i>.</p> - -<p>So far as the heroic and <i>Gothic</i> 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 <i>Gothic</i> designers.</p> - -<p>You see, my purpose is to lead you from -this forgotten Chivalry to a more amusing subject; -I mean, the <i>Poetry</i> we still read, though -it was founded upon it.</p> - -<p>Much has been said, and with great truth, -of the felicity of <span class="smcap">Homer’s</span> age, for poetical -manners. But, as <span class="smcap">Homer</span> was a citizen of the -world, when he had seen in <i>Greece</i>, 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">281</span> -doubt but he would certainly have preferred -the latter. And the grounds of this preference -would, I suppose, have been, “<i>the improved -gallantry of the Gothic knights</i>; and the -<i>superior solemnity of their superstitions</i>.”</p> - -<p>If any great poet, like <span class="smcap">Homer</span>, had flourished -in these times, and given the feudal -manners from the <i>life</i> (for, after all, <span class="smcap">Spenser</span> -and <span class="smcap">Tasso</span> 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:</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i4">——omnes illacrymabiles<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Urgentur, ignotique longâ<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Nocte, carent quia vate sacro.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Gallantry</span>, -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 -<i>Grecian</i>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">282</span></p> - -<p>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 <i>Iliad</i> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>As to <small>RELIGIOUS MACHINERY</small>, 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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">283</span></p> - -<p>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 <i>specious miracles</i> 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 <i>Gothic</i> are above measure striking -and terrible.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Ovid</span>, <span class="smcap">Seneca</span>, -and <span class="smcap">Lucan</span>, 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. <span class="smcap">Lucan</span>, -especially, has drawn out all the pomp of his -eloquence in celebrating those <span class="smcap">Thessalian -Charms</span>, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">284</span></p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i8">ficti quas nulla licentia monstri<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Transierat, quarum, quicquid non creditur, ars est.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>Yet <small>STILL</small> I pretend to shew you that all his -prodigies, fall short of the <i>Gothic</i>: and you -will come the less reluctantly into my sentiments, -if you reflect, “<span class="smcap">That</span> 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.”</p> - -<p>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, <i>new hatched -to the woful time</i>, as <span class="smcap">Shakespear</span> speaks, enabled -<span class="smcap">Apuleius</span> to outdo <span class="smcap">Lucan</span> himself, in -some of his magic scenes and exhibitions.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">285</span> -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 -<i>direst superstitions</i>; 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Taking, now, the whole together, you will -clearly see what we are to conclude of the -<i>Gothic</i> system of prodigy and enchantment; -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">286</span> -which was not so properly a single system, as -the aggregate,</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i8">—of all that nature breeds<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Perverse; all monstrous, all prodigious things,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Which fables yet had feign’d or fear conceiv’d.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Shakespear’s</span> -<i>Macbeth</i>, where you will find (as his -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">287</span> -best critic observes) “the <i>Danish</i> or <i>Northern</i>, -intermixed with the <i>Greek</i> and <i>Roman</i> enchantments; -and all these worked up together -with a sufficient quantity of our own -country superstitions. So that <span class="smcap">Shakespear’s</span> -<i>Witch-Scenes</i> (as the same writer adds) are -like the <i>charms</i> they prepare in one of them: -where the ingredients are gathered from every -thing shocking in the <i>natural</i> world; as -here, from every thing absurd in the <i>moral</i>.”</p> - -<p>Or, if you suspect this instance, as deriving -somewhat of its force and plausibility from the -<i>magic</i> 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.</p> - -<p>In a work of <span class="smcap">B. Jonson</span>, which he calls -<span class="smcap">The Masque of Queens</span>, there are some -Witch-scenes; written with singular care, and -in emulation, as it may seem, of <span class="smcap">Shakespear’s</span>; -but certainly with the view (for so he tells us -himself) <i>of reconciling the practice of antiquity -to the neoteric, and making it familiar -with our popular witchcraft</i>.</p> - -<p>This Masque is accompanied with notes of -the learned author, who had rifled all the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">288</span> -stores of ancient and modern <i>Dæmonomagy</i>, -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.</p> - -<p>In this elaborate work of <span class="smcap">Jonson</span> 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 <i>Gothic</i> 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) -<i>though they be but minutes in ceremony, yet -they make the act more dark and full of -horror</i>.</p> - -<p>Thus <small>MUCH</small>, then, may serve for a cast of -<span class="smcap">Shakespear’s</span> and <span class="smcap">Jonson’s</span> magic: abundantly -sufficient, I must think, to convince -you of the superiority of the <i>Gothic</i> charms -and incantations, to the classic. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">289</span></p> - -<p>Though, after all, the conclusion is not to -be drawn so much from particular passages, as -from the <i>general impression</i> left on our minds, -in reading the ancient and modern poets. And -this is so much in favour of the <i>latter</i>, that -Mr. <span class="smcap">Addison</span> 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 <i>England</i>, 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.”</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">290</span> -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 <i>manners</i> they -paint, and the <i>superstitions</i> they adopt, are -the more poetical for being <i>Gothic</i>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">291</span></p> - -<h4 id="VII">LETTER VII.</h4> - -<p class="drop"><span class="uppercase">But</span> 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 <i>English</i> reader is most fond to compare -with <span class="smcap">Homer</span>; I mean, <span class="smcap">Spenser</span> and <span class="smcap">Milton</span>.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Gothic</i> fables -of Chivalry.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Spenser</span>, though he had been long nourished -with the spirit and substance of <span class="smcap">Homer</span> -and <span class="smcap">Virgil</span>, 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 <i>Gothic</i> and classic, as his contemporary -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">292</span> -<span class="smcap">Tasso</span> did. But the charms of <i>fairy</i> prevailed. -And if any think, he was seduced by <span class="smcap">Ariosto</span> -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.</p> - -<p>Under this idea then of a <i>Gothic</i>, not classical -poem, the <i>Fairy Queen</i> 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.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Milton</span>, it is true, preferred the classic model -to the <i>Gothic</i>. But it was after long hesitation; -and his favourite subject was <span class="smcap">Arthur</span> -<i>and his Knights of the round table</i>. 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 <span class="smcap">Spenser</span>; but chiefly perhaps, -the discredit into which the stories of -Chivalry had now fallen by the immortal satire -of <span class="smcap">Cervantes</span>. 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 <i>Greece</i>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">293</span></p> - -<p>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 <i>Gothic</i> romances. But do these censors -imagine that <span class="smcap">Milton</span> did not perceive the defects -of these works, as well as they? No: it -was not the <i>composition</i> of books of Chivalry, -but the <i>manners</i> described in them, that took -his fancy; as appears from his <i>Allegro</i>—</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Towred cities please us then<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And the busy hum of men,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Where throngs of knights and barons bold<br /></span> -<span class="i0">In weeds of peace high triumphs hold,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">With store of ladies, whose bright eyes<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Rain influence, and judge the prize<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of wit, or arms, while both contend<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To win her grace, whom all commend.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>And when in the <i>Penseroso</i> 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 <i>author</i>, -or two, of these romances, as he had before, -in general, extolled the <i>subject</i> of them: but -they are authors worthy of his praise; not the -writers of <i>Amadis</i>, and <i>Sir Launcelot of the</i> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">294</span> -<i>Lake</i>; but Fairy <span class="smcap">Spenser</span>, and <span class="smcap">Chaucer</span> -himself, who has left an unfinished story on -the <i>Gothic</i> or feudal model.</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Or, call up him that left half-told<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The story of <span class="smcap">Cambuscan</span> bold,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of <span class="smcap">Camball</span> and of <span class="smcap">Algarsiff</span>,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And who had <span class="smcap">Canace</span> to wife,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That own’d the virtuous ring and glass,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And of the wondrous horse of brass,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">On which the Tartar king did ride;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And if aught else great bards beside<br /></span> -<span class="i0">In sage and solemn tunes have sung<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of turneys and of trophies hung,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of forests and inchantments drear,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Where more is meant than meets the ear.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>The conduct then of these two poets may -incline us to think with more respect, than is -commonly done, of the <i>Gothic manners</i>; I -mean, as adapted to the uses of the greater -poetry.</p> - -<p>I shall add nothing to what I before observed -of <span class="smcap">Shakespear</span>, 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">295</span> -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 -<i>Gothic</i> 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 <i>sublime</i>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">296</span></p> - -<h4 id="VIII">LETTER VIII.</h4> - -<p class="drop"><span class="uppercase">I spoke</span> “of criticizing <span class="smcap">Spenser’s</span> poem -under the idea, not of a classical, but <i>Gothic</i> -composition.”</p> - -<p>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 <i>conduct</i> -of the <i>Fairy Queen</i>, which, to classical readers, -has appeared indefensible.</p> - -<p>I have taken the fancy, with your leave, to -try my hand on this curious subject.</p> - -<p>When an architect examines a <i>Gothic</i> structure -by <i>Grecian</i> rules, he finds nothing but -deformity. But the <i>Gothic</i> architecture has -its own rules, by which when it comes to be -examined, it is seen to have its merit, as well -as the <i>Grecian</i>. 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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">297</span></p> - -<p>The same observation holds of the two -sorts of poetry. Judge of the <i>Fairy Queen</i> -by the classic models, and you are shocked -with its disorder: consider it with an eye to its -<i>Gothic</i> 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.</p> - -<p>The <i>Fairy Queen</i> then, as a <i>Gothic</i> poem, -derives its <small>METHOD</small>, as well as the other characters -of its composition, from the established -modes and ideas of Chivalry.</p> - -<p>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 <i>throng of knights and barons -bold</i>, as <span class="smcap">Milton</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">298</span> -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 <i>Lisle</i> in 1453, in the court of <span class="smcap">Philip</span> -the good, duke of <i>Burgundy</i>, for a Crusade -against the <i>Turks</i>: as you may find it given -at large in the memoirs of <span class="smcap">Matthieu de Conci</span>, -<span class="smcap">Olivier de la Marche</span>, and <span class="smcap">Monstrelet</span>.</p> - -<p>That feast was held for <i>twelve</i> days: and -each day was distinguished by the claim and -allowance of some adventure.</p> - -<p>Now, laying down this practice as a foundation -for the poet’s design, you will see how -properly the <i>Fairy Queen</i> is conducted.</p> - -<p>----“<span class="smcap">I devise</span>,” says the poet himself in -his letter to Sir <span class="smcap">W. Raleigh</span>, “that the <i>Fairy -Queen</i> 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.”</p> - -<p>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? -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">299</span></p> - -<p>Yes; you will say, a poet’s method is not -that of his subject. I grant you, as to the order -of <i>time</i>, in which the recital is made; for -here, as <span class="smcap">Spenser</span> observes (and his own practice -agrees to the rule), lies the main difference -between <i>the poet historical, and the historiographer</i>: -the reason of which is drawn from -the nature of <i>Epic</i> 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.</p> - -<p>But the case is not the same with regard to -the general plan of a work, or what may be -called the order of <i>distribution</i>, which is and -must be governed by the subject-matter itself. -It was as requisite for the <i>Fairy Queen</i> to consist -of the adventures of twelve Knights, as for -the <i>Odyssey</i> to be confined to the adventures -of one Hero: justice had otherwise not been -done to his subject.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">300</span> -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 <i>one</i>, the -very idea of a work requiring it.</p> - -<p>If you ask then, what is this <i>Unity</i> of <span class="smcap">Spenser’s</span> -Poem? I say, It consists in the relation -of its several adventures to one common <i>original</i>, -the appointment of the <i>Fairy Queen</i>; -and to one common <i>end</i>, the completion of -the <i>Fairy Queen’s</i> 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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>design</i>, and not of action.</p> - -<p>This <i>Gothic</i> method of design in poetry -may be, in some sort, illustrated by what is -called the <i>Gothic</i> method of design in gardening. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">301</span> -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 <i>Kent -and Nature</i> have brought us acquainted with; -where the supreme art of the designer consists -in disposing his ground and objects into an -<i>entire landskip</i>; 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:</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">In lieto aspetto il bel giardin s’aperse,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Acque stagnanti, mobili cristalli,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Fior vari, e varie piante, herbe diverse,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Apriche collinette, ombrose valli,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Selve, e spelunche in <small>UNA VISTA</small> offerse:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">E quel, che’l bello, e’l caro accresce à l’opre,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">L’arte, che tutto sà, nulla si scopre.<br /></span> -<span class="author"><span class="smcap">Tasso</span>, <small>C. XVI.</small> s. ix.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">302</span></p> - -<p>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 <i>design</i> -and beauty.</p> - -<p>But to return to our poet. Thus far he -drew from <i>Gothic</i> ideas; and these ideas, I -think, would lead him no further. But, as -<span class="smcap">Spenser</span> knew what belonged to classic composition, -he was tempted to tie his subject still -closer together by <i>one</i> expedient of his own, -and by <i>another</i> taken from his classic models.</p> - -<p>His <i>own</i> 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 <i>Italian</i> poets, though, -I believe, they were led into it by different -motives.</p> - -<p>The <i>other</i> expedient, which he borrowed -from the classics, was, by adopting one superior -character, which should be seen throughout. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">303</span> -Prince <span class="smcap">Arthur</span>, 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 <span class="smcap">Spenser</span> gives this adventure of Prince -<span class="smcap">Arthur</span>, in quest of <span class="smcap">Gloriana</span>, as the proper -subject of his poem. And upon this idea the -late learned editor of the <i>Fairy Queen</i> 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 <i>Gothic</i> -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 <span class="smcap">Arthur</span>, -whatever the author pretended, and his critic -too easily believed, was but an after-thought; -and, at least, with regard to the <i>historical -fable</i>, which we are now considering, was only -one of the expedients by which he would conceal -the disorder of his <i>Gothic</i> plan.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Gothic</i>, and the classic -unity; the effect of which misalliance was to -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">304</span> -discover and expose the nakedness of the -<i>Gothic</i>.</p> - -<p>I am of opinion then, considering the <i>Fairy -Queen</i> as an epic or <i>narrative</i> poem constructed -on <i>Gothic</i> ideas, that the poet had -done well to affect no other unity than that of -<i>design</i>, by which his subject was connected. -But his poem is not simply narrative; it is -throughout <i>allegorical</i>: he calls it <i>a perpetual -allegory or dark conceit</i>: and this character, -for reasons I may have occasion to observe hereafter, -was even predominant in the <i>Fairy -Queen</i>. His narration is subservient to his -moral, and but serves to colour it. This he -tells us himself at setting out,</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Fierce wars and faithful loves shall <i>moralize</i> my song;<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>that is, shall serve for a vehicle, or instrument -to convey the moral.</p> - -<p>Now under this idea, the <i>Unity</i> of the -<i>Fairy Queen</i> 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 -<span class="smcap">Arthur</span> in each book becomes <i>essential</i>, and -yet not <i>principal</i>; exactly, as the poet has -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">305</span> -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 <span class="smcap">Arthur</span>, -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 <span class="smcap">Spenser’s</span> best critic<a id="FNanchor_49" href="#Footnote_49" class="fnanchor">49</a>; 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.</p> - -<p>But how faulty soever this conduct be in the -literal story, it is perfectly right in the <i>moral</i>: -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 <i>degree</i> 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">306</span> -in its own knight; they are all, in a -due degree, concentrated in Prince <span class="smcap">Arthur</span>.</p> - -<p>This was the poet’s <i>moral</i>: and what way -of expressing this moral in the <i>history</i>, but by -making Prince <span class="smcap">Arthur</span> 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 <i>Glory</i>, whose -ravishing beauty, as seen in a dream or vision, -had led him out into these miraculous adventures -in the land of Fairy.</p> - -<p>The conclusion is, that, as an <i>allegorical</i> -poem, the method of the <i>Fairy Queen</i> is governed -by the justness of the <i>moral</i>: as a <i>narrative</i> -poem, it is conducted on the ideas and -usages of <i>Chivalry</i>. 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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">307</span></p> - -<h4 id="IX">LETTER IX.</h4> - -<p class="drop"><span class="uppercase">No</span> doubt, <span class="smcap">Spenser</span> might have taken one -single adventure, of the <span class="smcap">Twelve</span>, for the subject -of his Poem; or he might have given the -principal part in every adventure to Prince -<span class="smcap">Arthur</span>. By this means his fable had been -of the classic kind, and its unity as strict as -that of <span class="smcap">Homer</span> and <span class="smcap">Virgil</span>.</p> - -<p>All this the poet knew very well; but his -purpose was not to write a classic poem. He -chose to adorn a <i>Gothic</i> story; and, to be consistent -throughout, he chose that the <i>form</i> of -his work should be of a piece with his subject.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The example of this poet deserves to be considered. -It will afford, at least, a fresh confirmation -of the point, I principally insist -upon, <i>the pre-eminence of the <span class="smcap">Gothic</span> manners</i> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">308</span> -<i>and fictions, as adapted to the ends of poetry, -above the classic</i>.</p> - -<p>I observed of the famous <span class="smcap">Torquato Tasso</span>, -that, coming into the world a little of the latest -for the success of the pure <i>Gothic</i> manner, he -thought fit to <i>trim</i> between that and the classic -model.</p> - -<p>It was lucky for his fame, that he did so. -For the <i>Gothic</i> fables falling every day more -and more into contempt, and the learning of -the times, throughout all <i>Europe</i>, taking a -classic turn, the reputation of his work has -been chiefly founded on the strong resemblance -it has to the ancient <i>Epic</i> poems. His fable -is conducted in the spirit of the <i>Iliad</i>; and with -a strict regard to that unity of <i>action</i> which we -admire in <span class="smcap">Homer</span> and <span class="smcap">Virgil</span>.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The classic reader was pleased with this deference -to the public taste: he saw with delight -the favourite beauties of <span class="smcap">Homer</span> and <span class="smcap">Virgil</span> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">309</span> -reflected in the <i>Italian</i> poet; and was almost -ready to excuse, for the sake of these, his -magic tales and fairy enchantments.</p> - -<p>I said, was <i>almost ready</i>; 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.</p> - -<p>However, by this means, the <i>Gierusalemme -Liberata</i> made its fortune amongst the <i>French</i> -wits, who have constantly cried it up above the -<i>Orlando Furioso</i>, and principally for this reason, -that <span class="smcap">Tasso</span> was more classical in his fable, -and more sparing in the wonders of <i>Gothic</i> -fiction, than his predecessor.</p> - -<p>The <i>Italians</i> 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.</p> - -<p>Be this as it will, the <i>French</i> criticism has -carried it before the <i>Italian</i>, with the rest of -<i>Europe</i>. This dextrous people have found -means to lead the taste, as well as set the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_310">310</span> -fashions, of their neighbours: and <span class="smcap">Ariosto</span> -ranks but little higher than the rudest Romancer -in the opinion of those who take their notions -of these things from their writers.</p> - -<p>But the same principle, which made them -give <span class="smcap">Tasso</span> the preference to <span class="smcap">Ariosto</span>, has -led them by degrees to think very unfavourably -of <span class="smcap">Tasso</span> himself. The mixture of the <i>Gothic</i> -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, <span class="smcap">Tasso</span> himself should now follow -the fate of <span class="smcap">Ariosto</span>.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Italian</i> language and its best writers standing -in their way, they have spared no pains to -lower the estimation of both.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_311">311</span> -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 <span class="smcap">Molesworth</span> tells us the -people of <i>Copenhagen</i> in his time did their -clocks, by the court-standard.</p> - -<p>Sir <span class="smcap">W. Davenant</span> opened the way to this -new sort of criticism in a very elaborate preface -to <span class="smcap">Gondibert</span>; and his philosophic friend, -Mr. <span class="smcap">Hobbes</span>, 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 <span class="smcap">Rymer</span>, and the rest of that -school, filled their flimsy essays and rambling -prefaces.</p> - -<p>Our noble critic himself<a id="FNanchor_50" href="#Footnote_50" class="fnanchor">50</a> 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 <i>Gothic manner</i>, as -he calls it, is the favourite object of his raillery; -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_312">312</span> -which is never more lively or pointed, -than when it exposes that “bad taste which -makes us prefer an <span class="smcap">Ariosto</span> to a <span class="smcap">Virgil</span>, -and a Romance (without doubt he meant, of -<span class="smcap">Tasso</span>) to an <i>Iliad</i>.” 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 <i>Italian</i> -are good for nothing but to corrupt the taste -of those who have had no familiarity with -the noble antients<a id="FNanchor_51" href="#Footnote_51" class="fnanchor">51</a>.”</p> - -<p>This ingenious nobleman is, himself, one of -the <i>gallant votaries</i> he sometimes makes himself -so merry with. He is perfectly enamoured -of his <i>noble ancients</i>; and will fight with any -man who contends, not that his Lordship’s -mistress is not fair, but that his own is fair -also.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Italians</i>, -more stubbornly pretending to a taste of their -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_313">313</span> -own, and chusing to <i>lye</i> for themselves, instead -of adopting the authorised <i>lyes</i> of <i>Greece</i>, -were justly exposed to his resentment.</p> - -<p>Such was the address of the <i>French</i> writers, -and such their triumphs over the poor <i>Italians</i>.</p> - -<p>It must be owned, indeed, they had every -advantage on their side, in this contest with -their masters. The taste and learning of <i>Italy</i> -had been long on the decline; and the fine -writers under <span class="smcap">Louis XIV.</span> were every day advancing -the <i>French</i> 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 <i>Italian</i>, it is certain, could not stand so -severe a scrutiny. But they had escaped better, -if the most fashionable of the <i>French</i> -poets had not, at the same time, been their -best critic. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_314">314</span></p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Boileau</span> happened to say something -of the <i>clinquant</i> of <span class="smcap">Tasso</span>; and the magic of -this word, like the report of <span class="smcap">Astolfo’s</span> horn -in <span class="smcap">Ariosto</span>, overturned at once the solid and -well-built reputation of the <i>Italian</i> poetry.</p> - -<p>It is not perhaps strange that this potent -word should do its business in <i>France</i>. What -was less to be expected, it put us into a fright -on this side the water. Mr. <span class="smcap">Addison</span>, who -gave the law in taste here, took it up, and sent -it about the kingdom in his polite and popular -essays<a id="FNanchor_52" href="#Footnote_52" class="fnanchor">52</a>. It became a sort of watchword among -the critics; and, on the sudden, nothing was -heard, on all sides, but the <i>clinquant</i> of <span class="smcap">Tasso</span>.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Italian</i> poetry was rejected in -the gross, by virtue of this censure; though -the authors of it had said no more than this, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_315">315</span> -“that their best poet had some false thoughts, -and dealt, as they supposed, too much in -incredible fiction.”</p> - -<p>I leave you to make your own reflexions on -this short history of the <i>Italian</i> poetry. It is -not my design to be its apologist in all respects. -However, with regard to the <i>first</i> 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 <span class="smcap">Guarini’s</span> -<i>Pastor Fido</i>, than in the best of the <i>French</i> -poets.</p> - -<p>And as to the <i>last</i> charge, I pretend to shew -you, in my next Letter, that it implies no -fault at all in the <i>Italian</i> poets. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_316">316</span></p> - -<h4 id="X">LETTER X.</h4> - -<p class="drop"><i><span class="uppercase">Chi</span> non sa che cosa sia Italia?</i>—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 <i>Italian</i> poets, as -should seem to command our highest admiration -of their great and capital works.</p> - -<p>Yet a different language has been held by -our finer critics. And, in particular, you hear -it commonly said of the tales of <i>Fairy</i>, 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.” -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_317">317</span></p> - -<p>All this, and more, has been said; and, if -truly said, who would not lament</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">L’arte del poëtar troppo infelice?<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>For they are not the cold fancies of plebeian -poets, but the golden dreams of <span class="smcap">Ariosto</span>, the -celestial visions of <span class="smcap">Tasso</span>, that are thus derided.</p> - -<p>But now, as to the <i>extravagance</i> of these -fictions, it is frequently, I believe, much less -than these laughers apprehend.</p> - -<p>To give an instance or two, of this sort.</p> - -<p>One of the strangest circumstances in those -books, is that of the <i>women-warriors</i>, with -which they all abound. <span class="smcap">Butler</span>, in his <i>Hudibras</i>, -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. <span class="smcap">Anna Comnena</span> tells us, in the -life of her father, that the wife of <span class="smcap">Robert</span> the -<i>Norman</i> 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 <span class="smcap">Nicetas</span> observes, that, in the time of -<span class="smcap">Manuel Comnena</span>, there were in one Crusade -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_318">318</span> -many women, armed like men, on horseback.</p> - -<p>What think you now of <span class="smcap">Tasso’s</span> <i>Clarinda</i>, -whose prodigies of valour I dare say you have -often laughed at? Or, rather, what think you -of that constant pair,</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“<span class="smcap">Gildippe</span> et <span class="smcap">Odoardo</span> amanti e sposi,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">In valor d’arme, e in lealtà famosi?”<br /></span> -<span class="author"><small>C. III.</small> s. 40.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Milton</span> scruples not to allude in those -lines of his <i>Paradise Regained</i>—</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">Such forces met not, nor so wide a camp,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">When <span class="smcap">Agrican</span> with all his northern powers<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Besieg’d <i>Albracca</i>, as Romances tell,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The city of <span class="smcap">Gallaphrone</span>, from thence to win<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The fairest of her sex, <span class="smcap">Angelica</span>.<br /></span> -<span class="author"><small>B. III.</small> ver. 337.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>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 <i>Europe</i> sent out in the Crusades, and -that the transactions of those days furnished -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_319">319</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Asia</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>A third instance may be thought still more -remarkable.</p> - -<p>“We read perpetually of walls of fire raised -by magical art to stop the progress of knights-errant. -In <span class="smcap">Tasso</span>, the wizard <span class="smcap">Ismeno</span> guards -the inchanted forest with walls of fire. In -the <i>Orlando Inamorato</i>, <small>L. III.</small> c. i. <span class="smcap">Mandricardo</span> -is endeavoured to be stopped by -enchanted flames; but he makes his way -through all.”</p> - -<p>Thus far the learned editor of the <i>Fairy -Queen</i> [Notes on <small>B. III. C.</small> xi. s. 25.] who contents -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_320">320</span> -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 <i>truth</i>. For I make no question but -these <i>fires</i>, raised by magical art, to stop the -progress of assailants, were only the flames of -<small>FEUGREGEOIS</small>, as it was called, that is of <small>WILDFIRE</small>, -which appeared so strange, on its first -invention and application, in the barbarous ages.</p> - -<p>We hear much of its wonders in the history -of the Crusades; and even so late as <span class="smcap">Spenser’s</span> -own time they were not forgotten. <span class="smcap">Davila</span>, -speaking of the siege of <i>Poitiers</i> in 1569, tells -us——<i>Abbondavano nella citta le provisioni -da guerra; tra le quali, quantita inestimabile -di <small>FUOCHI ARTIFICIATI</small>, lavorati in diverse -maniere, ne’quali avenano i defensori posta -grandissima speranza di respingere gli assalti -de’nemici.</i> Lib. v.</p> - -<p>Hence, without doubt, the <i>magical flames -and fiery walls</i>, of the <i>Gothic</i> Romancers<a id="FNanchor_53" href="#Footnote_53" class="fnanchor">53</a>; -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_321">321</span> -and who will say, that the <i>specious miracles</i> -of <span class="smcap">Homer</span> himself had a better foundation?</p> - -<p>But, after all, this is not the sort of defence -I mean chiefly to insist upon. Let others explain -away these <i>wonders</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>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 -<i>imagine</i> the possibility of them.</p> - -<p>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 <i>visions</i>. Does -any capable reader trouble himself about the -truth, or even the credibility of their fancies? -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_322">322</span> -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.</p> - -<p>But here, to prevent mistakes, an explanation -will be necessary. We must distinguish -between the <i>popular belief</i>, and <i>that of the -reader</i>. The fictions of poetry do, in some -degree at least, require the <i>first</i> (they would, -otherwise, deservedly pass for <i>dreams</i> 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 <i>last</i>, and gives his reader -leave to be as sceptical, and as incredulous, as -he pleases.</p> - -<p>A fashionable <i>French</i> critic diverts himself -with imagining “what a person, who comes -fresh from reading Mr. <span class="smcap">Addison</span> and Mr. -<span class="smcap">Locke</span>, would be apt to think of <span class="smcap">Tasso’s</span> -Enchantments<a id="FNanchor_54" href="#Footnote_54" class="fnanchor">54</a>.”</p> - -<p>The <i>English</i> reader will, perhaps, smile at -seeing these two writers so coupled together: -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_323">323</span> -and, with the critic’s leave, we will put Mr. -<span class="smcap">Locke</span> out of the question. But if he be desirous -to know what a reader of Mr. <span class="smcap">Addison</span> -would pronounce in the case, I can undertake -to give him satisfaction.</p> - -<p>Speaking of what Mr. <span class="smcap">Dryden</span> calls, <i>the -Fairy way of writing</i>, “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 <i>believe</i> these -particular delusions: at least, we have all -<i>heard</i> so many pleasing relations in favour of -them, that we do not care for seeing through -the <i>falsehood</i>, and willingly give ourselves -up to so agreeable an imposture.” [<i>Spect.</i> -N<sup>o</sup> 419.]</p> - -<p>Apply, now, this sage judgment of Mr. <span class="smcap">Addison</span> -to <span class="smcap">Tasso’s</span> <i>Enchantments</i>; and you see -that a <i>falsehood convict</i> is not to be pleaded -against a <i>supposed belief</i>, or even the <i>slightest -hear-say</i>.</p> - -<p>So little account does this wicked poetry -make of philosophical or historical truth: all -she allows us to look for, is <i>poetical truth</i>; a -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_324">324</span> -very slender thing indeed, and which the poet’s -eye, when rolling in a <i>fine frenzy</i>, can but -just lay hold of. To speak in the philosophic -language of Mr. <span class="smcap">Hobbes</span>, it is something much -<i>beyond the actual bounds, and only within the -conceived possibility of nature</i>.</p> - -<p>But the source of bad criticism, as universally -of bad philosophy, is the abuse of terms. -A poet, they say, must follow <i>nature</i>; 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.</p> - -<p>He has, besides, a supernatural world to -range in. He has Gods, and Fairies, and -Witches, at his command: and,</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i8">— — — —O! who can tell<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The hidden <i>pow’r</i> of herbes, and might of magic spell?<br /></span> -<span class="author"><span class="smcap">Spenser</span>, <small>B. V. C.</small> ii.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>Thus, in the poet’s world, all is marvellous -and extraordinary; yet not <i>unnatural</i> in one -sense, as it agrees to the conceptions that are -readily entertained of these magical and wonder-working -natures. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_325">325</span></p> - -<p>This trite maxim of <i>following Nature</i> is -further mistaken, in applying it indiscriminately -to all sorts of poetry.</p> - -<p>In those species which have men and manners -professedly for their theme, a strict conformity -with human nature is reasonably demanded.</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Non hic Centauros, non Gorgonas, Harpyiasque<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Invenies: hominem pagina nostra sapit;<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>is a proper motto to a book of epigrams; but -would make a poor figure at the head of an -epic poem.</p> - -<p>Still further in those species that address -themselves to the heart, and would obtain their -end, not through the <i>imagination</i>, but through -the <i>passions</i>, there the liberty of transgressing -nature, I mean the real powers and properties -of human nature, is infinitely restrained; and -<i>poetical</i> truth is, under these circumstances, -almost as severe a thing as <i>historical</i>.</p> - -<p>The reason is, we must first <i>believe</i> before -we can be <i>affected</i>.</p> - -<p>But the case is different with the more -sublime and creative poetry. This species, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_326">326</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The <i>incredulus odi</i> of <span class="smcap">Horace</span> ran in the -heads of these critics, though his own words -confine the observation singly to the stage:</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Quam quæ sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus, et quæ<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ipse sibi tradit Spectator——<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>That, which passes in <i>representation</i>, 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 <i>narration</i>, -even on the stage, is admitted without -much difficulty—</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i20">multaque tolles<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ex oculis, quæ mox narret facundia presens.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_327">327</span></p> - -<p>In the epic narration, which may be called -<i>absens facundia</i>, the reason of the thing shews -this indulgence to be still greater. It appeals -neither to the <i>eye</i> nor the <i>ear</i>, but simply to -the <i>imagination</i>, 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<a id="FNanchor_55" href="#Footnote_55" class="fnanchor">55</a>.</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_328">328</span></p> - -<p>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<a id="FNanchor_56" href="#Footnote_56" class="fnanchor">56</a>.”</p> - -<p>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 <i>divine dream</i><a id="FNanchor_57" href="#Footnote_57" class="fnanchor">57</a>, and delirious -fancy, are among the noblest of my prerogatives.”</p> - -<p>But the injustice done the <i>Italian</i> poets does -not stop here. The cry is, “Magic and enchantments -are senseless things. Therefore -the <i>Italian</i> poets are not worth the reading.” -As if, because the superstitions of <span class="smcap">Homer</span> and -<span class="smcap">Virgil</span> are no longer believed, their poems, -which abound in them, are good for nothing.</p> - -<p>Yes, you will say, their fine pictures of life -and manners—</p> - -<p>And may not I say the same, in behalf of -<span class="smcap">Ariosto</span> and <span class="smcap">Tasso</span>? For it is not true that -all is <i>unnatural</i> and monstrous in their poems, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_329">329</span> -because of this mixture of the wonderful. Admit, -for example, <span class="smcap">Armida’s</span> 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 <span class="smcap">Virgil</span> or (if you will) <span class="smcap">Voltaire</span>.</p> - -<p>Thus, you see, the apology of the <i>Italian</i> -poets is easily made on every supposition. But -I stick to my point, and maintain that the -Fairy tales of <span class="smcap">Tasso</span> 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 <i>Gothic</i> fictions. We make a -shift to run over the passages he has copied -from <span class="smcap">Virgil</span>. We are all on fire amidst the -magical feats of <span class="smcap">Ismen</span>, and the enchantments -of <span class="smcap">Armida</span>.</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Magnanima mensogna, hor quando è il vero<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Si bello, che si possa à te preporre?<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>I speak at least for myself; and must freely -own, if it were not for these <i>lyes</i> of <i>Gothic</i> invention, -I should scarcely be disposed to give -the <i>Gierusalem Liberata</i> a second reading. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_330">330</span></p> - -<p>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<a id="FNanchor_58" href="#Footnote_58" class="fnanchor">58</a>.” But, with the observer’s -leave, not so feigned as we find them in the -<i>Italian</i> poets, unless the writer have another -quality, besides that of courage.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_331">331</span> -are considering the merit of epic poems, written -under other circumstances.</p> - -<p>The Pagan Gods and <i>Gothic</i> Fairies were -equally out of credit when <span class="smcap">Milton</span> 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 <i>admiration</i> (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.</p> - -<p>I am not afraid to instance in the <i>Henriade</i> -itself; which, notwithstanding the elegance of -the composition, will in a short time be no -more read than the <i>Gondibert</i> of Sir <span class="smcap">W. Davenant</span>, -and for the same reason.</p> - -<p>Critics may talk what they will of <i>Truth -and Nature</i>, and abuse the <i>Italian</i> poets as -they will, for transgressing both in their incredible -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_332">332</span> -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, “<i>That they, who deceive, are -honester than they who do not deceive; and -they, who are deceived, wiser than they who -are not deceived.</i>” -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_333">333</span></p> - -<h4 id="XI">LETTER XI.</h4> - -<p class="drop"><span class="uppercase">But</span> 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 <i>Gothic</i> have long -since fallen into disuse?”</p> - -<p>The answer to this question will furnish all -that is now wanting to a proper discussion of -the present subject.</p> - -<p>One great reason of this difference certainly -was, that the ablest writers of <i>Greece</i> 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.</p> - -<p>Whereas the <i>Gothic</i> having been disgraced -in their infancy by bad writers, and a new set -of manners springing up before there were any -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_334">334</span> -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.</p> - -<p>But, <small>FURTHER</small>, the <i>Gothic</i> system was not -only forced to wait long for real genius to do -it honour; real genius was even very early -employed against it.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>So that men of sense were doubly disgusted -to find a representation of things <i>unlike</i> to -what they observed in real life, and <i>beyond</i> -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.</p> - -<p>It was one of this character, I suppose, that -put the famous question to <span class="smcap">Ariosto</span>, which -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_335">335</span> -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 -<span class="smcap">Ariosto’s</span> examiner.</p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Dan Chaucer</span>; 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.</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">His Rime of Sir Topaz</span> in the <i>Canterbury</i> -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 -<span class="smcap">Quixote</span>. I call it <i>a manifest banter</i>: for we -are to observe that this was <span class="smcap">Chaucer’s</span> 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, <span class="smcap">Chaucer</span> approves -his disgust, and, changing his note, -tells the simple instructive tale of <span class="smcap">Meliboeus</span>; -<i>a moral tale virtuous</i>, as he terms it; to shew, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_336">336</span> -what sort of fictions were most expressive of -real life, and most proper to be put into the -hands of the people.</p> - -<p>It is, further, to be noted, that the tale of -<i>the Giant</i> <span class="smcap">Olyphant</span> <i>and Chylde</i> <span class="smcap">Topaz</span> 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.</p> - -<p>But what puts the satyric purpose of <i>the Rime -of Sir</i> <span class="smcap">Topaz</span> 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 <i>same</i>, which <span class="smcap">Cervantes</span> -afterwards drew out, and exposed at -large, in his famous history.</p> - -<p>Indeed Sir <span class="smcap">Topaz</span> is all Don <span class="smcap">Quixote</span> 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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_337">337</span></p> - -<p>1. <span class="smcap">Cervantes</span> is very particular in describing -the <i>person</i> and <i>habit</i> of his Hero, agreeably to -the known practice of the old Romancers. -<span class="smcap">Chaucer</span> does the same by his knight, and in -a manner that almost equals the arch-gravity -of the <i>Spanish</i> author:</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Sir <span class="smcap">Topaz</span> was a doughty swaine,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">White was his face as paine maine,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">His lippes red as rose,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">His rudde is like scarlet in graine,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And I you tell in good certaine,<br /></span> -<span class="i2"><i>He had a seemely nose</i>.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">His haire, his berde, was like safroune,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That to his girdle raught adowne,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">His shoone of cordewaine,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of Bruges were his hosen broun.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">His robe was of chekelatoun,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That cost many a jane.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>2. <span class="smcap">Cervantes</span> tells us how Don <span class="smcap">Quixote</span> -passed his time in the country, before he turned -Knight-errant. <span class="smcap">Chaucer</span>, in the same spirit, -celebrates his knight’s country diversions of -<i>hunting</i>, <i>hawking</i>, <i>shooting</i>, and <i>wrestling</i>, -those known <i>prolusions</i> to feats of arms:</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">He couth hunt at the wilde dere,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And ride an hauking for by the rivere<br /></span> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_338">338</span> -<span class="i2">With grey <span class="smcap">Goshauke</span> on honde,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thereto he was a good archere,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of wrastling was there none his pere<br /></span> -<span class="i2">There any Ram should stonde.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Quixote’s</span> -character is the sublime passion he had conceived -for an imaginary or fairy mistress. Sir -<span class="smcap">Topaz</span> is not behind him in this extravagance:</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">An Elfe-queene woll I love, I wis,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For in this world no woman is<br /></span> -<span class="i2">To be my make in towne,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">All other women I forsake<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And to an Elfe-queene I me take<br /></span> -<span class="i2">By dale and eke by downe.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>4. Don <span class="smcap">Quixote’s</span> 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 <span class="smcap">Topaz</span> is in the -same woful plight: -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_339">339</span></p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Sir <span class="smcap">Topaz</span> eke so weary was—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That down he laid him in that place—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Oh, Saint <span class="smcap">Mary</span>, benedicite<br /></span> -<span class="i0">What aileth this love at me<br /></span> -<span class="i2">To blind me so sore?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Me dreamed all this night parde<br /></span> -<span class="i0">An Elfe-queen shall my leman be<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And sleepe under my gore.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>5. As the chastity of the hero of <span class="smcap">La Mancha</span> -is well known, from a variety of trying -temptations, so Sir <span class="smcap">Topaz</span> distinguishes himself -by this knightly virtue:</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Full many a maide bright in boure<br /></span> -<span class="i0">They mourne for him their paramoure.<br /></span> -<span class="i2"><i>Whan hem were bet to sleepe</i>,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But he was chaste and no lechoure,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And sweet as is the bramble floure<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That bereth the red hipe.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>6. The fight of Sir <span class="smcap">Topaz</span> with the Giant of -three heads, in honour of his mistress,</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">For needes must he fight<br /></span> -<span class="i2">With a giant with heads thre,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">For paramours and jolitie<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of one that shone full bright—<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>together with his arming, and the whole ridiculous -preparation for the combat, described at -large in several stanzas, is exactly in the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_340">340</span> -style and taste of <span class="smcap">Cervantes</span>, on similar occasions.</p> - -<p>7. <span class="smcap">Cervantes</span> 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. <span class="smcap">Chaucer</span>, -in like manner, of his knight, with much humour:</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And for he was a knight auntrous,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He nolde slepen in none house<br /></span> -<span class="i2">But liggen in his hood,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">His bright helme was his wanger<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And by him fed his destrer<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Of herbes fine and good.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>8. And, lastly, as <span class="smcap">Cervantes</span>, after the example -of the Romance-writers, will have it, -that his knight surpasses all others of ancient -fame, so <span class="smcap">Dan Chaucer</span> is careful to vindicate -this high prerogative, to his hero:</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Men speaken of Romances of pris<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of <span class="smcap">Hornechild</span> and of <span class="smcap">Ipotis</span>,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Of <span class="smcap">Bevis</span> and Sir <span class="smcap">Gie</span>,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of Sir <span class="smcap">Libeaux</span> and <span class="smcap">Blandamoure</span>;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But Sir <span class="smcap">Topaz</span>, he beareth the floure<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Of rial chivalrie.”<br /></span> -</div></div></div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_341">341</span></p> - -<p>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 <i>Rime of Sir</i> -<span class="smcap">Topaz</span>. 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.</p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Squire’s tale</span>; which -<span class="smcap">Spenser</span> and <span class="smcap">Milton</span> were so particularly -pleased with.</p> - -<p>We learn too, from the same tale, that, -though <span class="smcap">Chaucer</span> could be as pleasant on the -other fooleries of Romance, as any modern -critic, he let the <i>marvellous</i> of it escape his -ridicule, or rather esteemed this character of -the <i>Gothic</i> Romance, no foolery. For the tale -of <span class="smcap">Cambuscan</span> is all over <span class="smcap">Marvellous</span>; and -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_342">342</span> -<span class="smcap">Milton</span>, by specifying the <i>virtuous ring and -glass</i>, and the <i>wondrous horse of brass</i>, 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 -<i>Fairy way of writing</i>.</p> - -<p>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 <i>half-told</i> -story of <span class="smcap">Cambuscan</span> could never atone for the -mischiefs done to the cause of Romance, by -the pointed ridicule of <i>the Rime of Sir</i> <span class="smcap">Topaz</span>. -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.”</p> - -<p>Still, the principal cause of all, which -brought disgrace on the <i>Gothic</i> manners of -Chivalry, no doubt, was, That these manners, -which sprang out of the feudal system, were -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_343">343</span> -as singular, as that system itself: so that when -that political constitution vanished out of <i>Europe</i>, -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.</p> - -<p>Thus, though the manners of <span class="smcap">Homer</span> 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 -<span class="smcap">Homer</span> paints; and actually subsist at this day -in countries that are under the like circumstances -of barbarity; we readily agree to call -them <i>natural</i>, and even take a fond pleasure -in the survey of them.</p> - -<p>Your question then is easily answered, without -any obligation upon me to give up the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_344">344</span> -<i>Gothic</i> manners as visionary and fantastic. And -the reason appears, why the <i>Fairy Queen</i>, -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.</p> - -<p>In effect, what way of persuading the generality -of readers that the romantic manners -are to be accounted <i>natural</i>, when not one in -ten-thousand knows enough of the barbarous -ages, in which they arose, to believe they ever -really existed?</p> - -<p>Poor <span class="smcap">Spenser</span> then,</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">—— ——“in whose gentle spright<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The pure well-head of Poesie did dwell,”<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p>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 <i>marvellous</i>, or, which may seem -still harder, to the <i>moral</i> of his song.</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_345">345</span></p> - -<h4 id="XII">LETTER XII.</h4> - -<p class="drop"><span class="uppercase">The</span> wonders of Chivalry were still in the -memory of men, were still existing, in some -measure, in real life, when <span class="smcap">Chaucer</span> undertook -to expose the barbarous relaters of them.</p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Spenser</span> arose, and with a genius -singularly fitted to immortalize the land -of Fairy, he met with every difficulty and disadvantage -to obstruct his design.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_346">346</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 -<i>Italian</i> masters: for <span class="smcap">Tasso</span> had condescended -to allegorise his own work; and the commentators -of <span class="smcap">Ariosto</span> had even converted the extravagances -of the <i>Orlando Furioso</i>, into moral -lessons.</p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Homer</span> had done by him. As the times -improved and would less bear his strange tales, -they <i>moralized</i> what they could, and turned the -rest into mysteries of <i>natural science</i>. And as -this last contrivance was principally designed -to cover the monstrous stories of the <i>Pagan</i> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_347">347</span> -<i>Gods</i>, so it served the lovers of Romance to -palliate the no less monstrous stories of <i>magic -enchantments</i>.</p> - -<p>The editor or translator of the 24th book of -<span class="smcap">Amadis de Gaule</span>, printed at <i>Lyons</i> in 1577, -has a preface explaining the whole secret, -which concludes with these words, “Voyla, -lecteur, le <small>FRUIT</small>, qui se peut recueiller du -sens mystique des Romans antiques par les -<small>ESPRITS ESLEUS</small>, le commun peuple soy contentant -de la <small>SIMPLE FLEUR DE LA LECTURE -LITERALE</small>.”</p> - -<p>But to return to <span class="smcap">Spenser</span>; 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 <span class="smcap">Elizabeth</span>. 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 -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_348">348</span> -were in vogue: the <i>Arcadia</i> and the -<i>Fairy Queen</i> were written.</p> - -<p>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 <span class="smcap">Milton</span>, as fond as we have -seen he was of the <i>Gothic</i> fictions, durst only -admit them on the bye, and in the way of -simile and illustration only.</p> - -<p>And this, no doubt, was the main reason of -his relinquishing his long-projected design of -Prince <span class="smcap">Arthur</span>, at last, for that of the <i>Paradise -Lost</i>; where, instead of Giants and Magicians, -he had Angels and Devils to supply -him with the <i>marvellous</i>, with greater probability. -Yet, though he dropped the tales, he -still kept to the allegories of <span class="smcap">Spenser</span>. And -even this liberty was thought too much, as appears -from the censure passed on his <i>Sin and -Death</i> by the severer critics.</p> - -<p>Thus at length the magic of the old Romances -was perfectly dissolved. They began -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_349">349</span> -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 -<i>allegories</i>. Under this disguise they <i>walked -the world</i> 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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>lying -wonders</i>, neither in their own proper shape, -nor as masked in figures.</p> - -<p>Henceforth, the taste of wit and poetry took -a new turn: and the <i>Muse</i>, who had wantoned -it so long in the world of fiction, was now constrained, -against her will,</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“To stoop with disenchanted wings to truth,”<br /></span> -</div></div></div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_350">350</span></p> - -<p>as Sir <span class="smcap">John Denham</span> somewhere expresses her -present enforced state, not unhappily.</p> - -<p>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 -<i>charmed Spirit</i>, that, in spite of philosophy -and fashion, <i>Fairy</i> <span class="smcap">Spenser</span> still ranks highest -among the poets; I mean, with all those who -are either come of that house, or have any -kindness for it.</p> - -<p>Earth-born critics, my friend, may blaspheme:</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">“But all the <span class="smcap">Gods</span> are ravish’d with delight<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of his celestial song, and music’s wondrous might.”<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<h3>THE END OF THE FOURTH VOLUME.</h3> - -<p class="copy"> -<span class="smcap">Nichols</span> and <span class="smcap">Son</span>, Printers,<br /> -Red Lion Passage, Fleet Street, London.<br /> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_351">351</span></p> - -<h2 id="INDEX">INDEX<br /> - -<small>TO</small><br /> - -<span class="large">VOLUMES III. <small>AND</small> IV.</span></h2> - -<ul class="index"><li class="ifrst">A.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Academy</span>, the ancient, compared with a modern university, iv. <a href="#Page_214">214</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Accommodation</span>, of one’s-self, a great art, in public life, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_82">82</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Addison</span>, Mr., his contemplation in the ruins of Kenelworth Castle, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_172">172</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his political character exhibited in his Whig Examiner, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_177">177</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">calls in question the praises bestowed on Queen Elizabeth, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_178">178</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his strictures on the manners of that age, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_186">186</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">character of his treatise on medals, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_24">24</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his remark on the use of popular superstitions in poetry, iv. <a href="#Page_289">289</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his observation on the fairy way of writing, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Admiralty Court</span>, the imperial law still obtains there, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_375">375</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Allodial</span> estates, in France, what, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_318">318</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_352">352</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Amadis de Gaule</span>, remarkable passage in a preface to, iv. <a href="#Page_347">347</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Arbuthnot</span>, Dr. discourses with Mr. Addison and Mr. Digby on the age of Queen Elizabeth, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_168">168</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his veneration for the manners of those times, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_180">180</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his opinion on the influence of the nobility, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_184">184</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">on the pageants at Kenelworth, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_203">203</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">See Elizabeth.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Ariosto</span>, why considered inferior to Tasso by the French critics, iv. <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his work admirable for its pictures of life and manners, <a href="#Page_328">328</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Arthur</span>, a subject to the writers of romance, iv. <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">the superior character in the Fairy Queen, <a href="#Page_303">303</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Ascham</span>, his remark on the pernicious tendency of books of chivalry, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_192">192</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Atheism</span>, imported by our travelling gentry, iv. <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Athens</span>, its manly character corrupted by Asiatic manners, iv. <a href="#Page_201">201</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">B.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Bacchus</span>, a knight errant, iv. <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Bacon</span>, Lord, his remark on retirement, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_137">137</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">why he was neglected by Queen Elizabeth, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_243">243</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">his excuse for bribery, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_269">269</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his remark on depression of nobility, iv. <a href="#Page_27">27</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Bacon, Nat.</span> character of his discourses on government, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_307">307</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his observation on the state of the law in Henry V’s reign, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_378">378</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his character of Henry VIII. iv. <a href="#Page_29">29</a>. n. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_353">353</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Barons</span>, their contests with the king, whence arising, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_332">332</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">how reduced by Henry VII. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_334">334</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">they originally formed the great council of the kingdom, <i>ib.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">their opposition to a law for legitimating bastards, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_363">363</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">their castles courts, as well as fortresses, iv. <a href="#Page_247">247</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">described in romances as giants, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Bashfulness</span> in young persons, whence arising, iv. <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">a wise provision of nature, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Bastards</span>, how legitimated by the imperial and canon laws, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_362">362</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Bear-baiting</span> practised in the reign of Elizabeth, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_186">186</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Beneficiary Estates</span>, in France, what, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_318">318</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Berkeley</span>, Bishop, his “Minute Philosopher” excellent as a specimen of modern dialogue, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_24">24</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Boileau</span>, a word of his overturned the reputation of the Italian poetry, iv. <a href="#Page_314">314</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Bracton</span>, his notion of a free government, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_370">370</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Breeding</span>, forms of, a primary concern in foreign travel, iv. <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Bribery</span>, common in Elizabeth’s reign, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_267">267</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Burghley</span>, Lord, practised on the fears of Queen Elizabeth, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_257">257</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Burnet</span>, Bishop, his notion of the danger to be apprehended from the Pretender, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_293">293</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Augurs favourably of the Revolution, iv. <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his inquiry into the increase of Prerogative under the Tudors, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">and after the ecclesiastical supremacy was transferred, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_354">354</span></li> -<li class="isub1">his apology for the clergy, <a href="#Page_58">58</a> <i>to</i> <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his opinion on resistance, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Butler</span>, ridicules the circumstance of women warriors in romance, iv. <a href="#Page_317">317</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">C.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Cæsar</span>, tribute to, misapplication of that precept by our reformers, iv. <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Camden</span>, Mr. his opinion of the Irish rebellion in the reign of Elizabeth, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_232">232</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Canon law</span>, introduction of, discountenanced by our Kings, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_355">355</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_358">358</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">retained in the church after the Reformation, iv. <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its doctrine convenient for the maintenance of absolute supremacy, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Capet, Hugh</span>, the nobles had become independent on his accession, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_321">321</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Cervantes</span>, his ridicule destroyed the remains of Spanish prowess, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_199">199</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">keenly satirizes the Grecian epics, iv. <a href="#Page_272">272</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Chace</span>, the favourite passion of our home-bred gentry, iv. <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Challenge</span>, accepted, through deference to the opinion of the ladies, iv. <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Charlemagne</span>, a subject to the writers of romance, iv. <a href="#Page_241">241</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_355">355</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Charles I.</span> arguments of the lawyers in his time, for divine right, iv. <a href="#Page_78">78</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Charles II.</span> how far his court benefited by foreign travel, iv. <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his restoration introduced the French manners and prejudices among us, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Charms</span>, in romance, often metaphorical, iv. <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Charters, Great</span>, by some considered as usurpations on the Prince, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_298">298</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Chaucer</span>, has left an unfinished story on the Gothic model, iv. <a href="#Page_294">294</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his Rime of Sir Topaz a banter on books of romances, <a href="#Page_335">335</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">compared with the work of Cervantes, <a href="#Page_336">336</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his tale of Cambuscan a proof that he did not intend to ridicule the marvellous, <a href="#Page_342">342</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Chivalry</span>, its tendency to refine the manners, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_189">189</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its ill effects, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_192">192</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">contributed to the revival of letters, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_195">195</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">had its origin in a barbarous age, iv. <a href="#Page_238">238</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">sprung out of the feudal constitution, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its characteristics accounted for, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">passion for arms, <i>ib.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">romantic ideas of justice, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">courtesy and gallantry, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">love of God and of the Ladies, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its genuine character displayed in the Crusades, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">two distinct periods in deducing its rise and progress, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">agreement between heroic and Gothic manners, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">their differences noted, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">custom which prevailed at festivals, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">women-warriors, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Greek fire, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Church</span>, its revenues dilapidated by queen Elizabeth, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_273">273</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_356">356</span></li> -<li class="isub1">more immediately subjected to the feudal system than the civil power, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_326">326</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">struggles between the ecclesiastics and the monarchs, thence arising, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_331">331</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">distinction between ecclesiastical and temporal courts by William I. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_352">352</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">canon law discountenanced by our Kings, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_359">359</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Cicero</span>, introduced the writing of Dialogue among the Romans, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_20">20</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his remark on the advantage of applying it to real personages, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_26">26</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his rule respecting the appropriate style and expression, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_36">36</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">character of his dialogue defined, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_40">40</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Citizens</span> <i>and</i> <span class="smcap">Burgesses</span>, whence originating, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_338">338</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Clarendon</span>, Lord, his character of Lord Falkland, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_67">67</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">of Waller, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_69">69</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">his eulogium on Ben Jonson and Cowley, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_140">140</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Clergy</span>, justified in attending the courts of princes, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_145">145</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">in the reign of the Conqueror, turned common lawyers, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_352">352</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">the Imperial law their favourite study, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_361">361</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">opposed by the barons, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_363">363</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">supported by the judges and great officers of the realm, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_366">366</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">at the Reformation propagated the doctrine of passive obedience, iv. <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">and of divine right, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">apology for them, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Combat</span>, a mode of deciding questions of right and property, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_200">200</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Comnena, Manuel</span>, a crusade in his time attended by women-warriors, iv. <a href="#Page_317">317</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Constitution</span>, English, enquiry into, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_284">284</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_357">357</span></li> -<li class="isub1">hath at all times been free, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_286">286</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">many have but crude notions of it, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_297">297</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">summary of erroneous doctrines respecting it, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_298">298</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">question proposed, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_305">305</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its origin in the Saxon institutions, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_309">309</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">æra of the Conquest, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_310">310</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">contest for liberty throughout the Norman and Plantagenet lines, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_313">313</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">council of the Kingdom originally consisting of such as held <i>in capite</i> of the crown, by barony, or knight’s service, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_334">334</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">origin of knights of shires, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_337">337</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">of citizens and burgesses, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_338">338</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">formation of a House of Commons, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_340">340</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_346">346</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its freedom shewn in the perpetual opposition of the people to the civil and canon laws, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_349">349</a> <i>to</i> <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_358">358</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">proofs of it, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_363">363</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_367">367</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Imperial law still prevails in certain of our Courts, and in the Universities, <a href="#Page_375">375</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">fate and fortunes of the Civil law down to the present time, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_378">378</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">contrasted with the free principles of the English law, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_384">384</a> <i>to</i> <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_386">386</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">increase of prerogative under the Tudor line, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_392">392</a>. iv. <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">state of the nation at the accession of Henry VII. <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Henry VIII. <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Rupture with the Court of Rome, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">high prerogative, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Commons house rising in importance, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">causes of the increase of Royal authority, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">translation of the Pope’s supremacy to the king, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">use made of the title, Supreme head of the Church, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">high commission court and star-chamber, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">dispensing power, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">instances of its exercise, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">passive obedience, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">why inculcated by the clergy, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_358">358</span></li> -<li class="isub1">doctrine of divine right whence originating, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">growth of Puritanism, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Canon laws retained after the yoke of Rome was thrown off, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">influence of the crown, after the Reformation, required to be limited by another change in the government, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">translation of the supremacy no argument against the freedom of the constitution, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">causes concurring with the Reformation to favour liberty, in the time of Charles I. <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">issue of the conflict between prerogative and liberty, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">what is meant by the free constitution of the English monarchy, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Court</span>, but two sorts of men that should live in one, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_124">124</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">the clergy justified in attending, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_145">145</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Cowley</span>, Mr. his motives for retiring from the world, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_101">101</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">expatiates on the benefit of solitude, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_104">104</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">grounds of his apology for seclusion, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_110">110</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his early habits, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_112">112</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his residence at Oxford, and friendship with Lord Falkland, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_116">116</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his peculiar disposition, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_120">120</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his invective against courts, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_124">124</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his pursuits in retirement, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_127">127</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">uses of applying experiment and observation to natural science, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_129">129</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his cynical severity against courts, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_135">135</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">eulogium on him by Lord Clarendon, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_140">140</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">remonstrance of his friend on his seclusion, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_147">147</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his reply in the words of Spenser, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_148">148</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his resolution unshaken, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_150">150</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his purposed apology to Lord St. Alban’s begun in his Essays, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_152">152</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his poem, called “The Complaint,” <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_157">157</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_359">359</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Craig</span>, his opinion of the feudal law, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_328">328</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Criticism</span>, bad, arises from abuse of terms, iv. <a href="#Page_324">324</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Cromwell</span>, his design for setting up a Protestant Council, iv. <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Crusades</span>, state of things when they were set on foot, iv. <a href="#Page_252">252</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">considered as the origin of knight errantry, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">domestic disorders resulting from them, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">vast armies which were sent out, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Cutter of Coleman Street</span>, origin and purpose of that comedy, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_122">122</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">D.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Davenant</span>, Sir W. a new sort of criticism in his preface to Gondibert, iv. <a href="#Page_311">311</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Declaration of rights</span>, a barrier against future encroachments of the crown, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_293">293</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Decretals</span>, of the popes, against the civil law, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_355">355</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Dialogue</span>, a favourite form of instruction with the ancients, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_19">19</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its advantages, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_21">21</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">only three in the English language worthy of mention, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_24">24</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">real persons only to be introduced in it, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_27">27</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">a new species, created by Lucian, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_28">28</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">the serious and philosophic, the best, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_32">32</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its requisites, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_34">34</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">rule for restraining the characteristic peculiarities of style, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_39">39</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">modern writers cannot aspire to the elegance of the ancient, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_43">43</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">remedies for their difficulties, ib. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_46">46</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">the ancient notion of, very little comprehended in our days, iv. <a href="#Page_90">90</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_360">360</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Disparity</span>, a passage from a tract so called, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_235">235</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">another, illustrative of Queen Elizabeth’s policy, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_258">258</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Dispensing power</span> of the Crown, iv. <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">exercised by various sovereigns, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">eleven out of twelve judges declared for it, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Dissipation of mind</span>, caused by travel, iv. <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Divine right</span>, doctrine of, why preached up, iv. <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">arguments for it used by the lawyers in the time of Charles I. <a href="#Page_78">78</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Drama</span>, a particular precept for, mistaken for a general maxim, iv. <a href="#Page_326">326</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Dutch towns</span>, accomplished scholars sometimes met within them, iv. <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">E.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Education</span>, that commonly called liberal, wherein defective, iv. <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its proper objects pointed out, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">one of its great secrets, to fix the attention of youth, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">private, why preferable to public, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Edward the Confessor</span>, formed a digest of the Saxon laws, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_349">349</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Edward I.</span> dispute concerning the succession to the crown of Scotland in his reign, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_367">367</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Edward III.</span> a house of commons originating in his reign, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_340">340</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_344">344</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_361">361</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><small>Ειρηναρχια</small>, a Latin panegyric on Queen Elizabeth taught in schools, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_239">239</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Elizabeth</span>, Queen, dialogue on the age of, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_167">167</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">humour of magnifying her character, whence arising, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_177">177</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">her romantic spirit, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_196">196</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">examples of it, <i>ib.</i> n.</li> -<li class="isub1">honours paid her at Kenelworth, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_203">203</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">superiority of poets in her reign, to what owing, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_209">209</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">language of that age, favourable to poetry, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_210">210</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">inquiry into the merits of her government, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_219">219</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">sketch of its history, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_222">222</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">splendour of her reign how far owing to fortunate circumstances, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_223">223</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">her enthusiasm for her Protestant subjects, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_225">225</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">contending factions of Papists and Puritans, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_226">226</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">condition of the Continental powers, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_230">230</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">of Ireland, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_231">231</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">of Scotland, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_233">233</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">her prerogative uncontrouled, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_234">234</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">passion for letters in her reign, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_236">236</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">a Latin panegyric on her, taught in grammar-schools, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_239">239</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">spirit and genius of the nation roused by the dangers of the time, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_241">241</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">manners of her subjects debased by servility and insolence, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_242">242</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">her choice of ministers, <i>ib.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">her personal qualities, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_245">245</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">her love for her people called in question, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_250">250</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">her foreign and domestic policy glanced at, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_252">252</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">her popularity in part ascribed to her vices, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_255">255</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">her cowardice, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_256">256</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">her avarice, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_261">261</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">her fondness for shew, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_265">265</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">sale of offices, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_266">266</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">reason why she did not marry, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_271">271</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">her government oppressive, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_272">272</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">two great events which cast an uncommon lustre over her reign, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_274">274</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_362">362</span></li> -<li class="isub1">causes of her domestic successes, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_275">275</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">her character, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_276">276</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">vindicated, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_279">279</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">established the Reformation, iv. <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">exercised the dispensing power, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">her inclination for the fancies of chivalry, iv. <a href="#Page_347">347</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Empson</span> <i>and</i> <span class="smcap">Dudley</span>, how enabled to violate the constitution, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_379">379</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">their proceedings sanctioned by Parliament, iv. <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">England</span>, a constitutional history of, highly desirable, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_286">286</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_288">288</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its monarchy by some declared to be absolute, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_299">299</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its lands were allodial in the Saxon times, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_324">324</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">how possessed, <i>ib.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">introduction of feudal tenures at the conquest, why popular, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_325">325</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">origin of the struggles between the Church and the King, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_331">331</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">between the King and his Barons, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_332">332</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">never famous for the civility of its inhabitants, iv. <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">early travel recommended as a cure for this defect, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">prejudices and low habits of our youth, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">liberal arts not much advanced, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">foreign nations to be emulated, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">qualifications for a Senator, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">another view of the state of the country, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">ideas of liberty connected with it, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Epic narration</span>, less restricted to truth than the drama, iv. <a href="#Page_327">327</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Erasmus</span>, improved on the dialogue of Lucian, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_28">28</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_363">363</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Erudition</span>, present state of, iv. <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Esprit, De l’</span>, remark on a work so called, iv. <a href="#Page_89">89</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Europe</span>, why not fit for an Englishman to travel in, iv. <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">view of the Protestant Universities of, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">F.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Faery Court</span>, means the reign of chivalry, iv. <a href="#Page_248">248</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Fairies</span>, more engaging than the rabble of Pagan divinities, iv. <a href="#Page_283">283</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Fairy Queen</span> of Spenser, to be criticized as a Gothic, and not a classical poem, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">derives its method from the established modes of chivalry, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">in what its unity consists, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">expedients of the poet in connecting the subject, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">allegorical character of the poem, <a href="#Page_304">304</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">conduct of the story justified by its moral, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">principal defect arising from the union of two designs, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Fairy way of writing</span>, vindicated, iv. <a href="#Page_316">316</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">allegory its last resource, <a href="#Page_349">349</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Falkland</span>, Lord, his scruples on accepting the office of Secretary of State, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_67">67</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Feugregeois</span>, wonders told of it in the history of the crusades, iv. <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Feudal law</span>, instituted by William the Conqueror, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_313">313</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">or rather new-modelled by him, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_317">317</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_364">364</span></li> -<li class="isub1">previously adopted in France, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_319">319</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_320">320</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its <i>fruits</i>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_321">321</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">favourable to the cause of liberty, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_323">323</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">definition of the feudal system, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_329">329</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its defects, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_333">333</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_334">334</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">fitted itself to the varying situations of society, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_345">345</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Feudal constitution</span>, the origin of chivalry, iv. <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">consideration had of females under it, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">distinction between the early and later feudal times, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">dissensions of leaders, domestic disorders, and usurpations, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Foreigners</span>, their disputes with British subjects, by what laws decided, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_376">376</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Fortescue</span>, his distinction between regal and political forms of government, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_388">388</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Fortune</span>, the making of one, an indefinite expression, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_131">131</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Franc-almoign</span>, a particular tenure in the Saxon times, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_327">327</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">France</span>, its lands, under the Carlovingian line, of two kinds, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_318">318</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">changes introduced, <i>ib.</i> <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_319">319</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_320">320</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">most of its lands were beneficiary, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_324">324</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">her pre-eminence in taste and politeness, iv. <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Freedom</span>, English, best supported by the ancient nobility, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_184">184</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Free men</span>, persons holding <i>allodial</i> estates in France, so called, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_318">318</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">French critics</span>, preferred the Gierusalemme Liberata to the Orlando Furioso, iv. <a href="#Page_309">309</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_365">365</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Fynes Moryson</span>, his remark on the condition of the English people, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_183">183</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">G.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Gardening</span>, Gothic method of design in, iv. <a href="#Page_301">301</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Genius</span>, men of, infelicities attending the sensibility of their gratitude, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_140">140</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Gentleman</span>, what his chief object, iv. <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">German nations</span>, foundation of gallantry in their ancient manners, iv. <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">their predatory disposition, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Giants</span> of Romance, were oppressive feudal lords, iv. <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Gothic romance</span>, incorporated with pagan fable, in a pageant given to Queen Elizabeth at Kenelworth, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_203">203</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">whence fallen into disrepute, iv. <a href="#Page_333">333</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">steps of its decline traced, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">---- <small>MANNERS</small>,</li> -<li class="isub1">in some circumstances agree with the heroic, iv. <a href="#Page_262">262</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">military enthusiasm, <i>ib.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">giants and savages, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">monsters, dragons, and serpents, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">robbery and piracy, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">bastardy, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">hospitality and courtesy, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">martial exercises, <i>ib.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">passion for adventures, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">wherein they differed from the heroic, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">in the affair of religion and gallantry, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">more poetical than the heroic, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">in the displays of love and friendship, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">in religious machinery, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">their effect on Spenser, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">on Milton, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">on Shakespear, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">method of design in poetry, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_366">366</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Greeks</span>, a sort of chivalry prevailed among them, iv. <a href="#Page_273">273</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Grotius</span>, his character of the English in Elizabeth’s reign, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_242">242</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">his remark on the foreign policy of that Queen, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_259">259</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Guarini</span>, his Pastor Fido, for what admirable, iv. <a href="#Page_315">315</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Guy, earl of warwick</span>, his return from the wars, compared with that of Ulysses, iv. <a href="#Page_278">278</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">H.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Habits</span>, low and immoral, how far likely to be corrected by foreign travel, iv. <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Hale’s case</span>, afforded an alarming proof of the influence of the dispensing power, iv. <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Hampden</span>, Mr. his allegation in the great cause of ship-money, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Harrington</span>, Sir James, his opinion on the statutes against retainers, in Henry VII.’s reign, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Harrison</span>, his account of the progress of learning in Queen Elizabeth’s reign, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_237">237</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Helmet</span>, used as a signal of hospitality in the ages of chivalry, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_182">182</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Henriade</span>, why not long-lived, iv. <a href="#Page_331">331</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Henry III.</span> issued a prohibition against the teachers of the Roman law in London, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_357">357</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_358">358</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Henry VII.</span> his character, iv. <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">increased his own authority and diminished that of his nobles, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">filled the great offices with churchmen only, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_367">367</span></li> -<li class="isub1">exercised the dispensing power, contrary to act of parliament, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Henry VIII.</span> favoured the study of the civil law, though constrained to abolish it, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_380">380</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his character, iv. <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">advantageous circumstances on his accession, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his rupture with the court of Rome, <i>ib.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">obtained of his parliament to have his proclamations pass for laws, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Helvidius, Priscus</span>, a fine trait in his character, as given by Tacitus, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_142">142</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Hentznerus, Paulus</span>, praises Queen Elizabeth’s skill in languages, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_257">257</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Herbert</span>, Mr. <span class="smcap">George</span>, commended king James as a greater orator than any of the ancients, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_240">240</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Hercules</span>, a knight errant, iv. <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Heroic poetry</span>, why it has survived the Gothic, iv. <a href="#Page_333">333</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">High Commission Court</span>, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_381">381</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">in what originating, iv. <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">History, English</span>, study of it essential to a young senator, iv. <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Hobbes</span>, Mr. assisted in establishing a new sort of criticism, iv. <a href="#Page_311">311</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his notion of poetical truth, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Homer</span>, correspondence of his descriptions with those of Gothic romance, iv. <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his two poems intended to expose the evils arising from the political state of old Greece, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">felicity of his age, for poetical manners, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_368">368</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Hospitality</span>, much practised by the great, in former times, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_181">181</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">species of it peculiar to the purer ages of chivalry, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_182">182</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">House of Commons</span>, its origin, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_340">340</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">generated by the constitution, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_346">346</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Human nature</span>, how to be studied, iv. <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Hume</span>, ground of his apology for the House of Stuart, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_391">391</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">his account of the feudal times the best part of his history of England, iv. <a href="#Page_80">80</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">his zeal for the house of Stuart a disgrace to his work, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">I & J.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">James I.</span> favoured the study of the civil law, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_381">381</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">advantages under which he succeeded to the crown, iv. <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">believed himself absolute, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his bold language to his parliaments, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">asserts the right of the King to suspend the laws, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">considered a most able judge of <i>church work</i>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">styles himself the great schoolmaster of the land, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Jesuits</span>, their expedient to justify the pope in deposing kings, iv. <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Ignorance</span>, the parent of many vices, iv. <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Interest</span>, of men in office, how connected with duty, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_139">139</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Jonson, Ben</span>, praised by Lord Clarendon, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_140">140</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">his encomium on legends of ancient chivalry, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_194">194</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">contrasts them with real life and manners, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_198">198</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_369">369</span></li> -<li class="isub1">design of the witch-scenes in his Masque of Queens, iv. <a href="#Page_287">287</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Ireland</span>, distractions in, during the reign of Elizabeth, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_231">231</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Irish</span>, savage, in the reign of Elizabeth, held their rhymers in principal estimation, iv. <a href="#Page_271">271</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Italian Poetry</span>, a short history of, <a href="#Page_309">309</a> to <a href="#Page_315">315</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">vindicated, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>, <a href="#Page_328">328</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its fictions ingenious as well as bold, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Italy</span>, the theatre of politeness in the age of Elizabeth, iv. <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">abounding with literary men, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Jury</span>, trial by, when disgraced and rejected, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_379">379</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_382">382</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Justices of Peace</span>, in Queen Elizabeth’s reign, notoriously corrupt, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_270">270</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Justinian Law</span>, when introduced into England, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_354">354</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Why the chief study of the clergy, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_361">361</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">opposed by the barons, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_363">363</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">allows legitimation by subsequent marriage, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_365">365</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">in what courts it obtains to this day, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_375">375</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its fate and fortunes down to the present time, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_378">378</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Justs and Turnaments</span>, their origin, iv. <a href="#Page_243">243</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">K.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Kenelworth Castle</span>, contemplations in the ruins of, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_170">170</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">behaviour of Lord Leicester’s porter on Queen Elizabeth’s visit, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_174">174</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">pageants in honour of her, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_203">203</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_370">370</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Knights of Shire</span>, whence originating, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_337">337</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_338">338</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Knights Errant</span>, iv. <a href="#Page_247">247</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">their devotion to the fair sex, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">their most essential qualities, courage and faith, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">origin ascribed to the crusades, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">objection to that hypothesis, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">what the principal mover of their adventures, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Knowledge</span> of the world, necessary for enlarging the mind, iv. <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">what is meant by it, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">not attainable by early travel, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">to be acquired by degrees, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">L.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Ladies</span>, attach a high degree of merit to good breeding, iv. <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">though bred at home, have a manifest advantage over their travelled brothers in liberal acquirements, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">virtues and faults more conspicuous in them than in the other sex, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">“<span class="smcap">Lady of the Lake</span>,” a pageant at Kenelworth Castle, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_203">203</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Laga</span>, or <span class="smcap">Leaga</span>, the Saxon word for law, its extensive import, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_308">308</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Language, English</span>, at what period most favourable to poetry, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_210">210</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Languages</span>, time sometimes wasted in studying, iv. <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Laws</span>, how rendered necessary, iv. <a href="#Page_108">108</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_371">371</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Learning</span>, revival of, began first by poetry, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_206">206</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Legislators</span>, ancient, why required to travel for instruction, iv. <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Legislature</span>, their right to settle the government, unquestionable, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_302">302</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Leicester</span>, Earl of, his splendid monument in the great church of Warwick, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_168">168</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Strictures on his conduct, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_176">176</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Letters</span>, the cultivation of, its own reward, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_130">130</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Liberal Arts</span>, of late growth in England, iv. <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">study of them less important than other branches of education, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Liberty</span>, a right understanding of its principles necessary to the security of the British government, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_295">295</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">religious, made way for the entertainment of civil, in all its branches, iv. <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Life-guard</span>, instituted by Henry VII. iv. <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Livy</span>, his dialogues, if preserved, would have suffered by comparison with those of Cicero, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_41">41</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Locke</span>, Mr. Lord Shaftesbury’s opinion of him as a philosopher, iv. <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his notion of education, opposed to that of his lordship, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">denies that its objects can be attained by foreign travel, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his remarks on England, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">on national prejudices, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">on evil habits, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">on bashfulness in youth, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">on knowledge of the world, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">on the means of instilling it into the minds of youth, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his objections to the study of the fine arts, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_372">372</span></li> -<li class="isub1">of the fine arts, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Declares against European travels, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his remarks on the universities, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">on clergy tutors, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Presage of brighter days for the universities, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Lollardism</span>, spreading in the reign of Henry VII. iv. <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">London</span>, a fit scene for seeing the world, iv. <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Lucan</span>, his magic scenes excelled by those of Apuleius, iv. <a href="#Page_283">283</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Lucian</span>, created a new species of dialogue, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_28">28</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its nature defined, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_32">32</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his remark on the social use of the table, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_182">182</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">M.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Manners</span>, best acquired by early travel, iv. <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">meaning of the term, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">a chief object of study, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Masks</span> and <span class="smcap">Shows</span>, their origin and design, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_207">207</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Matthew Paris</span>, his remark on the subjection of the ecclesiastical to the secular power at the Conquest, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_327">327</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Maynard</span>, Sir <span class="smcap">John</span>, one of the most accomplished lawyers of his time, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_289">289</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">traces the origin of the English Constitution, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_306">306</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">was one of the <i>eleven members</i> proceeded against, on the charge of the army, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_383">383</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">his opinion that the power of the militia was not in the king, iv. <a href="#Page_75">75</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Melvil</span>, Sir <span class="smcap">James</span>, his frank reply to Queen Elizabeth touching her celibacy, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_271">271</a>. n. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_373">373</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Milton</span>, recommends gymnastics in his Tractate of Education, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_188">188</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">why he preferred the classic to the Gothic model in poetry, iv. <a href="#Page_292">292</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">pleased with the manners described in books of chivalry, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his allusion to the vast armies described in romance, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Pagan gods and Gothic fairies out of credit when he wrote, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">admired Chaucer’s tale of Cambuscan, <a href="#Page_342">342</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">His reason for relinquishing his design of Prince Arthur, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Modesty</span>, in young persons, a grace and ornament, iv. <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">the blush of budding reason and virtue, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Montesquieu</span>, his observation on the Gothic government, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_341">341</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">More</span>, Dr. <span class="smcap">Henry</span>, his dialogue with Mr. Waller on sincerity, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_53">53</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his character, according to Bishop Burnet, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_93">93</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Mountjoy</span>, Lord, how reprimanded by Queen Elizabeth, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_249">249</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">N.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Nations</span>, improved by intercourse with each other, iv. <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Nature</span>, how to be followed in poetry, iv. <a href="#Page_324">324</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Neutrality</span>, why another name for insincerity, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_66">66</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Norham</span>, great Council of, rejected the Cæsarean law, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_367">367</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_374">374</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">O.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Obedience, Passive</span>, doctrine of, by whom propagated, iv. <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">P.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Pagan</span> superstitions, fall short of the Gothic, iv. <a href="#Page_284">284</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Pandects</span>, when and by whom introduced into England, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_354">354</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">their doctrine concerning the origin of government, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_371">371</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Papal Supremacy</span>, its extent in this kingdom, iv. <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">how transferred to Henry VIII. <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">qualifying clauses, <i>ib.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">high notions entertained of the pope’s power, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">dispensing power, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">exercised by the popes against the Gospel itself, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">indignation of the popes against our reforming sovereigns, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Parliaments</span>, their authority acknowledged even under our most despotic Princes, iv. <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">transferred the papal supremacy to Henry VIII. <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">how curbed by the <i>dispensing power</i>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Personification</span>, why frequent in old poetry, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_212">212</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Philip the Good</span>, duke of Burgundy, a festival given by him, for a crusade, iv. <a href="#Page_298">298</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Philosophers</span>, ancient, considered travel as a necessary part of their studies, iv. <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Philosophy</span>, how at present degraded, iv. <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Plato</span>, the model, if not the inventor, of the Greek dialogue, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_20">20</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_375">375</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Plot</span>, of Mr. Waller, its failure, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_72">72</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">confounded with another of more dangerous tendency, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_75">75</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Plutarch</span>, his life of Theseus reads like a modern romance, iv. <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Poetry</span>, what point in the revolutions of taste and language most favourable to it, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_210">210</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">the sublime species not subject to strict rules of credibility, iv. <a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a href="#Page_326">326</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Poets</span>, generally enamoured of solitude, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_114">114</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Pole</span>, Cardinal, violent in his invectives against Henry VIII. iv. <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Politeness</span>, not attainable by great men, iv. <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">what its most reasonable sense, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Prejudices</span>, of home-bred gentlemen, iv. <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">the term equivocal, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">some ought not to be removed, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">proper cure for vicious prejudices, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Prerogative</span>, of English monarchs, controuled by law, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_287">287</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Protestant Council</span>, projected by Cromwell, iv. <a href="#Page_14">14</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Protestantism</span>, had made considerable progress on the accession of Elizabeth, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_224">224</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its effects on the public morals, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_238">238</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Protestants</span>, French, persecution of, iv. <a href="#Page_12">12</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Puritanism</span>, growth of, iv. <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Puritans</span>, how managed by Queen Elizabeth, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_227">227</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_376">376</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">R.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Raleigh</span>, Sir Walter, his opinion on the conduct of the Spanish war, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_252">252</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">received money to use his interest with the Queen, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_268">268</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Reason</span>, best exercised in society, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_106">106</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Recreant</span>, why a term of disgrace for a vanquished knight, iv. <a href="#Page_251">251</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Reformation</span>, established in the reign of Elizabeth, iv. <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">though founded on principles of liberty, for a time favoured the power of the crown, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">carried on and established by the whole legislature, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Religious Houses</span>, suppression of, favoured the extension of prerogative, iv. <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Representation</span>, Dramatic, requires stricter adherence to truth than narration, iv. <a href="#Page_326">326</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Retainers</span>, laws of Henry VII. against, iv. <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Retirement</span>, foundation of the dialogue concerning, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_97">97</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">its good effects on the mind, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_104">104</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its disadvantages, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_106">106</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">retirement of good men from public employments prejudicial to the state, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_141">141</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Revolution</span> of 1688, why justifiable, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_283">283</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">settlement introduced by it, how to be rendered secure, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_295">295</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Rhetorician</span>, one who taught the art of <i>not speaking</i>, iv. <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Richard II.</span> the wonder-working parliament in his reign rejected the Roman civil law, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_367">367</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his declaration that his will was law, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_374">374</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_377">377</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Robert the Norman</span>, his wife fought by his side in battle, iv. <a href="#Page_317">317</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Roman Emperors</span>, their policy in assuming the title of Pontifex Maximus, iv. <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Rome</span>, Court of, its authority rejected by Henry VIII. iv. <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Romance</span>, Spirit of, whence originating, iv. <a href="#Page_239">239</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">principal subjects, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">from what period its writers derive their ideas of chivalry, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">practice of mixing Pagan fable with it, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Gothic superstitions introduced, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">decline of this species of writing, <a href="#Page_333">333</a>, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Rousseau</span>, his observation on the use of the marvellous in epic and dramatic compositions, iv. <a href="#Page_327">327</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Royal Society</span>, much talked of, before it was instituted, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_143">143</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Ryswick</span>, treaty of, wherein defective, iv. <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">S.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">St. Alban’s</span>, Lord, the patron of Cowley, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_102">102</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Saxons</span>, the principles of their policy still maintained in our government, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_307">307</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">spirit of liberty prevailed among them, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_309">309</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">their institutions, after the decline of the Romans, the standing laws of this kingdom, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_349">349</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Savages</span> of Romance, dependants of feudal lords, iv. <a href="#Page_263">263</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_378">378</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Selden</span>, his character of Ben Jonson, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_209">209</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">a curious extract from his dissertation on Fleta, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_370">370</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Self-love</span>, when uncontrouled, engenders vices, iv. <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Senator</span>, English, requisite qualifications of one, iv. <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">are not attainable by foreign travel, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Sidney</span>, Sir <span class="smcap">Philip</span>, the flower of knighthood, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_197">197</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Sincerity</span> in the commerce of the world, a dialogue on, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_53">53</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Shaftesbury</span>, Lord, eminent as a writer of dialogue, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_24">24</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his remarks on the difficulties attending that class of composition, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_42">42</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">represented in a dialogue with Mr. Locke, on the uses of foreign travel, iv. <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">states its advantages, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">asserts it to be the most important part of education, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">descants on the prejudices of home-bred gentlemen, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">on the state of the arts in Britain, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">on the decay of philosophy, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his raillery against the Gothic manner in poetry, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Shakespear</span>, remark of his best critic on the witch-scenes in Macbeth, iv. <a href="#Page_286">286</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">greater in the Gothic than in the classic manner, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Socrates</span>, whence he took his name of Ironist, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_28">28</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">never stirred out of Athens, iv. <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Somers</span>, Mr. his fears that the principles of liberty are not thoroughly established in the minds of the people, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_297">297</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_379">379</span></li> -<li class="isub1">his notion of the varying ascendancy of liberty and prerogative, iv. <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Spain</span>, Queen Elizabeth’s triumph over, to what owing, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_274">274</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Spenser</span>, had talent for business as well as for poetry, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_243">243</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his funeral, <i>ib.</i> n.</li> -<li class="isub1">charmed by Gothic Romance, iv. <a href="#Page_239">239</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his account of the courtesy of chivalry, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">of the connection of gallantry with the profession of Knighthood, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his description of characters in romance, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his design in the Fairy Queen, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">why he chose chivalry for his theme, and Fairy land for his scene, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">why he had recourse to allegory, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">with whom he ranks highest among the poets, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Sprat</span>, the Rev. Mr. his account of a conversation with Mr. Cowley on retirement, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_99">99</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Star-Chamber</span>, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_381">381</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">when confirmed by act of parliament, iv. <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its jurisdiction why extended, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Stephen</span>, the Justinian laws introduced into England during his reign, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_354">354</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">interdicted the study of them, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_356">356</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Stillingfleet</span>, Dr. his remark on the dispensing power, iv. <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Stuart</span>, House of, part of their difficulties ascribed to the bad policy of their predecessor, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_228">228</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">English Government despotic under the first princes of that line, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_390">390</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">prerogative increased in the preceding reigns, iv. <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_380">380</span></li> -<li class="isub1">confirmed the jurisdiction of the Star-Chamber by statute, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">exercised the dispensing power to a dangerous degree, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">T.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Tacitus</span>, bears testimony to the free spirit of the German constitutions, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_309">309</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Tasso</span>, his Gierusalemme Liberata planned on the model of the Iliad, iv. <a href="#Page_279">279</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his description of a garden, iv. <a href="#Page_301">301</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his Gierusalemme Liberata considered, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">how estimated by the French critics, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his Clarinda not so extravagant a character as is generally supposed, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">remark of a French critic on his enchantments, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his fairy tales do him more honour than the classical parts of his poem, <a href="#Page_329">329</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Terence</span>, his characters all express themselves with equal elegance, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_39">39</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Theobald</span>, Archbishop, favoured the reading of the Justinian laws in England, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_354">354</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Third Estate</span> in France, their deputies how stigmatized by one of the popes, iv. <a href="#Page_59">59</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Thuanus</span>, his remark on the romantic spirit of Queen Elizabeth, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_196">196</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Thurkeby</span>, Judge, exclaims against the dispensing power, iv. <a href="#Page_53">53</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Tilt Yard</span>, a school of fortitude and honour to our forefathers, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_185">185</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Its exercises excelled those of the Grecian gymnastics, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_188">188</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_381">381</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Toleration-act</span>, when passed, iv. <a href="#Page_11">11</a>. n.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Topaz, Sir</span>, of Chaucer, a prelude to Don Quixote, iv. <a href="#Page_336">336</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Tour of Europe</span>, too limited for a philosophic traveller, iv. <a href="#Page_198">198</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Travel</span>, foreign, dialogue on the uses of, iv. <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">considered as a part of early education, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">question stated, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">example of the ancient philosophers, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">allusion to the court of Elizabeth, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">of Charles II. <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">youth more exposed to vice abroad than at home, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">arguments in favour of it, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">its tendency to remove prejudices and correct low habits, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">and to qualify a person for bearing his part in public affairs, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">the argument refuted, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">proper objects of education, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">does not contribute to attain them, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">waste of time, <i>ib.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">dissipation of mind, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">objects to which the traveller’s application is directed, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">hinder him from more important studies, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">vicious prejudices may be removed without it, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">low habits not likely to be corrected by it, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">precipitates youth into manhood, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">is become fashionable through the influence of the ladies, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">knowledge of the world not to be acquired by it, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">unseasonable and useless in youth, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">considered as a means of dissolving hasty and ill-timed connexions, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">of studying the fine arts, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">when to be practised with most advantage, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">to be extended beyond the tour of Europe, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_382">382</span></li> -<li class="isub1">foreign and English universities compared, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">what tutorage most proper, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Tudor Line</span>, government of England more despotic under them than in the preceding reigns, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_390">390</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Tutor</span>, Travelling, how to be chosen, iv. <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">the best cannot teach every thing requisite, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">what tutorage most proper, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">V. and U.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Vacarius</span> taught the civil law in England, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_355">355</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Virtue</span>, exists most in the offices of social life, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_106">106</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">not incompatible with ambition, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_139">139</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Virtuosoship</span>, one of the objects of foreign travel, iv. <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Ulysses</span>, his return afforded an exception to the domestic licence of the time, iv. <a href="#Page_278">278</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Unity</span> of design in Gothic poems, iv. <a href="#Page_300">300</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Universities</span>, the Imperial law still obtains in them, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_375">375</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">strictures on, iv. <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">a sketch of their institution and genius, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">why the barbarous plans of education still prevail, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">a reformation contemplated, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">their studies and discipline not without their use, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">compared with those of the continent, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">their forms and regulations commended, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">much room for improvement in them, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">happy presage of their future condition, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_383">383</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">W.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Waller</span>, Mr. <span class="smcap">Edmund</span>, represented in dialogue with Dr. More, on sincerity in the commerce of the world, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_53">53</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">recites his history, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_57">57</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his introduction at court, where he recommended himself by his poetry, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_60">60</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">engaged actively in the parliament of 1640, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_63">63</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his relationship and attachment to Mr. Hampden could never bias him from moderation, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_65">65</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his resolution to pursue the King’s interests, and yet keep clear with the Parliament, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_69">69</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his popularity drew him into difficulties, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_71">71</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">failure of his <i>plot</i>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_72">72</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his address in extricating himself from the danger thence arising, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_77">77</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his hypocrisy, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_79">79</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">retired into France during the troubles of the country, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_83">83</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">ascribes his misfortunes to <i>sincerity</i>, and his escape from them, to <i>dissimulation</i>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_84">84</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">is admitted, on his return, to the confidence of the Protector, whom he panegyrized, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_86">86</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">congratulated Charles II. on his restoration, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_88">88</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his arguments in justification of his conduct, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_91">91</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Walls of Fire</span>, mentioned in romance, what in reality, iv. <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Walsingham</span>, Secretary, recounts the ill effects of Queen Elizabeth’s frugality, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_263">263</a>. n.</li> -<li class="isub1">his illustrious poverty, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_264">264</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Warwick</span>, Great Church of, famous for its monuments, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_168">168</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_384">384</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">William I.</span> his Conquest by some considered as the foundation of absolute monarchy in England, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_309">309</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">his claim to the crown not conquest but testamentary succession, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_311">311</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">instituted the feudal law, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_313">313</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">consequences of his distribution of forfeited estates and seignories, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_333">333</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">obliged to ratify the old standing laws of the kingdom, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_349">349</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">illustration of his policy in his distinction of the ecclesiastical and temporal courts, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_351">351</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_352">352</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">styles himself <i>Bastard</i>, in one of his charters, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_363">363</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">William III.</span> King, his character, iv. <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Wolsey</span>, Cardinal, charged with subjecting the laws of the land to the imperial laws, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_380">380</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Women-Warriors</span>, in times of chivalry, iv. <a href="#Page_317">317</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">World</span>, the Commerce of, how to be prepared for, iv. <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">a knowledge of, the most momentous part of education, and least understood, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">X.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Xenophon</span>, why lavish in praise of hunting, iii. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54514/54514-h/54514-h.htm#Page_189">189</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Y.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Yorke</span>, the late Right Hon. <span class="smcap">Charles</span>, extract from a letter of his, on the origin of chivalry, iv. <a href="#Page_254">254</a>. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_385">385</span></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Youth</span>, the season for acquiring right propensities and virtuous habits, iv. <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">education of, in England, wherein defective, iv. <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">value of time at that age, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">bashfulness a favourable symptom, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">what period of it requires most care and vigilance, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">entrance into the world, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">necessity of moral discipline, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Z.</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="smcap">Zeal</span> for the faith, actuated the professors of chivalry, iv. <a href="#Page_251">251</a>.</li></ul> - -<h3>THE END OF VOLUME IV.</h3> - -<p class="copy"> -J. Nichols and Son, Printers,<br /> -Red Lion Passage, Fleet Street, London.<br /> -</p> - -<div class="footnotes"> - -<h2 id="FOOTNOTES">FOOTNOTES:</h2> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">1</a> - <i>7 May, 1689.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">2</a> - The act of toleration did not pass till <i>24 May, 1689</i>, -which lets us see at what time this preface is <i>supposed</i> to -have been drawn up.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">3</a> - 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 <i>Ryswick</i> was, that no advantages were got by -it, in favour of the Protestants in <i>France</i>.” Vol. iv. p. -295. <i>Edinb.</i> 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.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">4</a> - These rigours the bishop gives a particular account -of in <small>THE HISTORY OF HIS OWN TIMES</small>, vol. iii. <i>Edinb.</i> -1753.—Speaking of the persecution of the <i>French</i> Protestants, -he says, “I went over a great part of <i>France</i>, -while it was in its hottest rage, from <i>Marseilles</i> to -<i>Montpelier</i>, and from thence to <i>Lyons</i>, and so on to -<i>Geneva</i>. 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.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">5</a> - Meaning <span class="smcap">Cromwell</span>, who, it seems, had a design of -setting up “a council for the Protestant religion, in opposition -to the congregation <i>de propagandâ fide</i> at <i>Rome</i>.” -See the Bishop’s own account in his Hist. vol. i. p. 109.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">6</a> - <span class="smcap">Nat. Bacon</span>, in his Disc. part II. p. 125. <i>Lond.</i> 1739.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">7</a> - The story is told by Lord <span class="smcap">Bacon</span> in his history of this -prince.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">8</a> - He did not consider that maxim of the Lord <span class="smcap">Bacon</span>, -“Depression of the nobility may make a king more absolute, -but less safe.” Works, vol. iii. p. 296.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="label">9</a> - And yet Lord <span class="smcap">Bacon</span> tells us, that when <span class="smcap">Henry VIII.</span> -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.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="label">10</a> - “A man, as Mr. <span class="smcap">Bacon</span> characterises him, underneath -many passions, but above fear.” <span class="smcap">Disc.</span> Part II. -p. 120.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="label">11</a> - <span class="smcap">Disc.</span> Part II. p. 125.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="label">12</a> - This terrible act is 31 <span class="smcap">Hen. VIII.</span> c. 8. It was repealed -in <span class="smcap">1 Edw. VI.</span> c. 12.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="label">13</a> - Speech to the lords and commons at <i>Whitehall</i>. An. -1609.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="label">14</a> - 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.” <span class="smcap">Nat. Bacon.</span></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="label">15</a> - Meaning such clauses as these—<i>as by any spiritual or -ecclesiastical power or authority may <small>LAWFULLY</small> be exercised</i>, -and, <i>provided that nothing be done contrary to the <small>LAWS</small> of -this realm.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="label">16</a> - The bishop does well to say—<i>in some measure</i>. For, -according to popish prejudices, the sacerdotal character is -vastly above the regal. See <span class="smcap">Pole’s</span> address to <span class="smcap">Hen. VIII.</span> -I. 1, where this high point is discussed at large.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="label">17</a> - <span class="smcap">Hist. Ang.</span> p. 694.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="label">18</a> - Something to this purpose occurs in p. 706.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="label">19</a> - The name of this reverend judge was <span class="smcap">Roger de -Thurkeby</span>. A cause was trying before him in <i>Westminster-hall</i>, -when one of the parties produced the king’s letters -patent with a <i>non-obstante</i> 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. <span class="smcap">Hen. III.</span></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="label">20</a> - Many statutes, and especially 23 <span class="smcap">Hen. VI.</span> had forbidden -the continuance of any person in the office of sheriff -for more than one year. <span class="smcap">Henry VII.</span> dispensed with -these statutes. And the twelve judges resolved in <span class="smcap">2 Hen. -VII.</span> that, by a <i>non-obstante</i>, a patent for a longer time -should be good.—It seems, the good old race of the -<span class="smcap">Thurkebys</span> was now worn out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="label">21</a> - See his Works, vol. iii. p. 806.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="label">22</a> - <i>The true law of free monarchies</i>, in the King’s Works, -p. 203.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23" class="label">23</a> - Alluding to the doctrine of the canonists, who say, -<i>Papa dispensare potest de omnibus præceptis</i> <small>VETERIS ET -NOVI TESTAMENTI</small>. See <i>bishop</i> <span class="smcap">Jewell’s</span> <i>defence of his -apology of the church of England, against</i> <span class="smcap">Harding</span>, p. -313.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24" class="label">24</a> - See this particular taken notice of in <span class="smcap">K. James’s</span> -Works, p. 384.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25" class="label">25</a> - One of them, King <span class="smcap">James</span>, 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 <small>JUDGE OF CHURCH-WORK</small>.” <i>Ded. of Bp. -<span class="smcap">Andrews’s</span> sermons to <span class="smcap">Charles I.</span> by the bishops <span class="smcap">Laud</span> -and <span class="smcap">Buckeridge</span>.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26" class="label">26</a> - This notion was started even so early as <span class="smcap">Henry</span>’s rejection -of the supremacy. Cardinal <span class="smcap">Pole</span> insists strongly -on this origin of kingship in his book, <i>Pro ecclesiasticæ -unitatis defensione</i>, lib. i. p. 74.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_27" href="#FNanchor_27" class="label">27</a> - 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.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_28" href="#FNanchor_28" class="label">28</a> - The bishop declares his opinion to this purpose very -fully in several places of the History of his Own Times. -His and his friend <span class="smcap">Tillotson’s</span> representations to the unhappy -Lord <span class="smcap">Russell</span>, no doubt, turned upon this principle.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_29" href="#FNanchor_29" class="label">29</a> - The bishop gives the same account of this matter in -his History of the Reformation, Part I. p. 330.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_30" href="#FNanchor_30" class="label">30</a> - <span class="smcap">True law of free monarchies</span>, p. 203.—What is -said of the king’s being the <i>great schoolmaster of the land</i> -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 <small>GREAT SCHOOL-MASTER OF THE WHOLE LAND</small>.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_31" href="#FNanchor_31" class="label">31</a> - Mr. <span class="smcap">Somers</span> had reason for saying this; for the intimation -was no less than that the power of the <i>militia</i> was -not in the king. Sir <span class="smcap">J. Maynard</span> was of this opinion, -when the matter was debated in parliament in 1642. See -<span class="smcap">Whitlock</span>, p. 56.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_32" href="#FNanchor_32" class="label">32</a> - 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. <span class="smcap">Hampden</span>, 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 <i>England</i> 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 <span class="smcap">Robert Berkeley</span>, one of -the judges of the king’s-bench, affirmed—“That the law -knows no such king-yoking policy:”—Sir <span class="smcap">Thomas Trevor</span>, -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 -<span class="smcap">John Banks</span>, “That the king of <i>England</i> hath an entire -empire; he is an absolute monarch: nothing can be given -to an absolute prince! but is inherent in his person.” -<i>State Trials</i>, vol. i. Such was the language of the guardians -of the <small>LAW</small>, that temple or sanctuary, as it has been -called, whither the subject is to run for shelter and protection. -Had not Mr. <span class="smcap">St. John</span> then much reason for -saying, as he did on that occasion, “We have the fabric -of the temple still; but the Gods, the <span class="smcap">Dii Tutelares</span>, 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. <span class="smcap">Hide</span>, 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 <span class="smcap">Marcius</span> had to the <i>Greek</i> 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.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_33" href="#FNanchor_33" class="label">33</a> - This appears even from Mr. <span class="smcap">Hume’s</span> own account of -the feudal times; incomparably the best part of his <i>History -of England</i>. 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 <i>English</i> constitution. But having, by -some odd chance, written the history of the <span class="smcap">Stuarts</span> first, -and afterwards of the <span class="smcap">Tudors</span>, (in both which he found -it for his purpose to adopt the notion of a despotic independent -spirit in the <i>English</i> monarchy), he chuses in the -last part of his work, which contains the history of <i>England -from</i> <span class="smcap">Julius Cæsar</span> <i>to</i> <span class="smcap">Henry VII.</span> 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 <small>FREE CONSTITUTION</small>. -</p> -<p> -By the <small>FREE CONSTITUTION</small> of the <i>English</i> 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 -<i>popular</i> part of the constitution be denominated <i>the king’s</i> -or <i>kingdom’s great council</i>, as it was in the proper feudal -times; or <i>the parliament</i>, as it came to be called afterwards; -or, lastly, <i>the two houses of parliament</i>, as the -style has now been for several ages. -</p> -<p> -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 <i>constitution</i> with -<i>administration</i>. According to this way of speaking, we -have not only had <i>three or four</i><a id="FNanchor_34" href="#Footnote_34" class="fnanchor">34</a>, 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 <i>Norman</i> establishment -down to our times) the nation was always enabled, at -least <i>authorized</i>, to regulate all subordinate, or, if you -will, supereminent claims and pretensions. This it effectually -did at the <i>Revolution</i>, and, by so doing, has not -created a <i>new plan of policy</i>, but perfected the old one. -The great <small>MASTER-WHEEL</small> of the <i>English</i> constitution is -still the same; only freed from those checks and restraints, -by which, under the specious name of <i>prerogatives</i>, time -and opportunity had taught our kings to obstruct and embarrass -its free and regular movements. -</p> -<p> -On the whole, it is to be lamented that Mr. <span class="smcap">Hume</span>’s too -zealous concern for the honour of the house of <span class="smcap">Stuart</span>, -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 <i>general</i> -account of the <span class="smcap">English</span> affairs, that has yet been given to -the public.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_34" href="#FNanchor_34" class="label">34</a> - Mr. <span class="smcap">Hume’s</span> Hist. vol. v. p. 472, <i>n.</i> ed. 8vo, 1763.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_35" href="#FNanchor_35" class="label">35</a> - A great lawyer, however, and one of the ornaments -of Mr. <span class="smcap">Somers’s</span> 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 <i>English</i> 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.” <i>Considerations on the -Law of Forfeiture</i>, 3d ed. Lond. 1748.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_36" href="#FNanchor_36" class="label">36</a> - Account of <i>Denmark</i>, as it was in the year 1692.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_37" href="#FNanchor_37" class="label">37</a> - Such as certain philosophers amused themselves with -building, on <i>Innate Ideas</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_38" href="#FNanchor_38" class="label">38</a> - <i>Ideas of Sensation</i>—on which principles, indeed, a -late writer has constructed, but by no fault of Mr. <span class="smcap">Locke</span>, -a material system of the grossest Epicurism. See a work -entitled, <i>De l’Esprit</i>, in 2 tom. <i>Amst.</i> 1759.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_39" href="#FNanchor_39" class="label">39</a> - “Infidelity is the natural product of restraint and -spiritual tyranny—Hence it is we see <i>France</i> and <i>Italy</i> -over-run with the worst kind of <i>Deism</i>. 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 <span class="smcap">Gloucester’s</span> <i>Sermon on the Suppression of the -late Rebellion</i>, p. 78.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_40" href="#FNanchor_40" class="label">40</a> - <span class="smcap">Charact.</span> Vol. iii. Dis. iii.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_41" href="#FNanchor_41" class="label">41</a></p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Ἃ δ’ ἂν μάθοι τις, ταῦτα σώζεσθαι φιλεῖ<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Πρὸς γῆρας. οὕτω παῖδας εὗ παιδεύετε.<br /></span> -<span class="author">Eurip. ΙΚΕΤΙΔΕΣ.<br /></span> -</div></div></div> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_42" href="#FNanchor_42" class="label">42</a> - Of <i>Ryswick</i>, in 1697.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_43" href="#FNanchor_43" class="label">43</a> - <i>Advice to an Author</i>, P. <small>II.</small> S. <small>III.</small></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_44" href="#FNanchor_44" class="label">44</a> - See a discourse at the end of <i>Love’s Labour Lost</i> in -<span class="smcap">Warb.</span> Ed. of <span class="smcap">Shakespear</span>; in which the <i>origin</i>, <i>subject</i>, -and <i>character</i> of these books of Chivalry (or <i>Romances</i>, -properly so called) are explained with an exactness of -learning, and penetration, peculiar to that writer—</p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">In tenui labor, at tenuis non gloria—<br /></span> -</div></div></div> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_45" href="#FNanchor_45" class="label">45</a> - The late right honourable <span class="smcap">Charles Yorke</span>; 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.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_46" href="#FNanchor_46" class="label">46</a> - See the <i>Memoir</i>, just quoted.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_47" href="#FNanchor_47" class="label">47</a> - Mr. <span class="smcap">Warton’s</span> Observations on <span class="smcap">Spenser</span>, vol. i. -p. 175.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_48" href="#FNanchor_48" class="label">48</a> - Don <span class="smcap">Quixote</span>, b. iv. c. 22.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_49" href="#FNanchor_49" class="label">49</a> - Mr. <span class="smcap">Warton</span>, <i>Obs. on the F. Q.</i> p. 7. vol. i. <i>Lond.</i> -1762.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_50" href="#FNanchor_50" class="label">50</a> - Lord <span class="smcap">Shaftesbury</span>, <i>Adv. to an Author</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_51" href="#FNanchor_51" class="label">51</a> - <i>Adv. to an Author</i>, Part <small>III.</small> S. <small>II.</small></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_52" href="#FNanchor_52" class="label">52</a> - <i>Spectator</i>, vol. i. N<sup>o</sup> 5. vol. v. N<sup>o</sup> 369.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_53" href="#FNanchor_53" class="label">53</a> - For an account of some other wonders in Romance, -such as <i>enchanted arms</i>, <i>invulnerable bodies</i>, <i>flying horses</i>, -&c. see <i>L’Esprit des Loix</i>, l. xxviii. c. 22.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_54" href="#FNanchor_54" class="label">54</a> - <span class="smcap">Voltaire</span>, <i>Essai sur la Poësie Epique</i>, ch. vii.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_55" href="#FNanchor_55" class="label">55</a> - 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 <i>representation</i> (says he, speaking of -the absurd magnificence of the <i>French</i> Opera) le <small>MERVEILLEUX</small>, -qui, n’etant fait que pour être imaginé, <small>EST -AUSSI BIEN PLACE DANS UN POEME EPIQUE</small> que ridiculement -sur un theatre.” [<i>Nouv. Heloise</i>, p. <small>II.</small> l. -xxiii.]</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_56" href="#FNanchor_56" class="label">56</a> - Sir <span class="smcap">W. Davenant’s</span> Preface.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_57" href="#FNanchor_57" class="label">57</a> - Θεῖος ὄνειρος. <span class="smcap">Homer.</span></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_58" href="#FNanchor_58" class="label">58</a> - Mr. <span class="smcap">Hobbes’s</span> Letter.</p></div> -</div> - -<div class="transnote"> - -<h3>Transcriber’s Note:</h3> - -<p>Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original.</p> - -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -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-h.htm or 54524-h.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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