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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 + + +Title: The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, Vol. 1 (of 4) + Contibutions to Knight's Quarterly Magazine] + +Author: Thomas Babington Macaulay + +Release Date: June 14, 2008 [EBook #2167] +Last Updated: January 8, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WRITINGS OF LORD MACAULAY *** + + + + +Produced by Mike Alder, Sue Asscher, and David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS AND SPEECHES OF LORD MACAULAY. + </h1> + <h2> + CONTRIBUTIONS TO KNIGHT'S QUARTERLY MAGAZINE + </h2> + <h2> + By By Thomas Babington Macaulay + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h3> + VOLUME I. + </h3> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PREF" id="link2H_PREF"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PREFACE. + </h2> + <p> + Lord Macaulay always looked forward to a publication of his miscellaneous + works, either by himself or by those who should represent him after his + death. And latterly he expressly reserved, whenever the arrangements as to + copyright made it necessary, the right of such publication. + </p> + <p> + The collection which is now published comprehends some of the earliest and + some of the latest works which he composed. He was born on 25th October, + 1800; commenced residence at Trinity College, Cambridge, in October, 1818; + was elected Craven University Scholar in 1821; graduated as B.A. in 1822; + was elected fellow of the college in October, 1824; was called to the bar + in February, 1826, when he joined the Northern Circuit; and was elected + member for Calne in 1830. After this last event, he did not long continue + to practise at the bar. He went to India in 1834, whence he returned in + June, 1838. He was elected member for Edinburgh, in 1839, and lost this + seat in July, 1847; and this (though he was afterwards again elected for + that city in July, 1852, without being a candidate) may be considered as + the last instance of his taking an active part in the contests of public + life. These few dates are mentioned for the purpose of enabling the reader + to assign the articles, now and previously published, to the principal + periods into which the author's life may be divided. + </p> + <p> + The admirers of his later works will probably be interested by watching + the gradual formation of his style, and will notice in his earlier + productions, vigorous and clear as their language always was, the + occurrence of faults against which he afterwards most anxiously guarded + himself. A much greater interest will undoubtedly be felt in tracing the + date and development of his opinions. + </p> + <p> + The articles published in Knight's Quarterly Magazine were composed during + the author's residence at college, as B.A. It may be remarked that the + first two of these exhibit the earnestness with which he already + endeavoured to represent to himself and to others the scenes and persons + of past times as in actual existence. Of the Dialogue between Milton and + Cowley he spoke, many years after its publication, as that one of his + works which he remembered with most satisfaction. The article on Mitford's + Greece he did not himself value so highly as others thought it deserved. + This article, at any rate, contains the first distinct enunciation of his + views, as to the office of an historian, views afterwards more fully set + forth in his Essay, upon History, in the Edinburgh Review. From the + protest, in the last mentioned essay, against the conventional notions + respecting the majesty of history might perhaps have been anticipated + something like the third chapter of the History of England. It may be + amusing to notice that in the article on Mitford, appears the first sketch + of the New Zealander, afterwards filled up in a passage in the review of + Mrs Austin's translation of Ranke, a passage which at one time was the + subject of allusion, two or three times a week, in speeches and leading + articles. In this, too, appear, perhaps for the first time, the author's + views on the representative system. These he retained to the very last; + they are brought forward repeatedly in the articles published in this + collection and elsewhere, and in his speeches in parliament; and they + coincide with the opinions expressed in the letter to an American + correspondent, which was so often cited in the late debate on the Reform + Bill. + </p> + <p> + Some explanation appears to be necessary as to the publication of the + three articles "Mill on Government," "Westminster Reviewer's Defence of + Mill" and "Utilitarian Theory of Government." + </p> + <p> + In 1828 Mr James Mill, the author of the History of British India, + reprinted some essays which he had contributed to the Supplement to the + Encyclopaedia Britannica; and among these was an Essay on Government. The + method of inquiry and reasoning adopted in this essay appeared to Macaulay + to be essentially wrong. He entertained a very strong conviction that the + only sound foundation for a theory of Government must be laid in careful + and copious historical induction; and he believed that Mr Mill's work + rested upon a vicious reasoning a priori. Upon this point he felt the more + earnestly, owing to his own passion for historical research, and to his + devout admiration of Bacon, whose works he was at that time studying with + intense attention. There can, however, be little doubt that he was also + provoked by the pretensions of some members of a sect which then commonly + went by the name of Benthamites, or Utilitarians. This sect included many + of his contemporaries, who had quitted Cambridge at about the same time + with him. It had succeeded, in some measure, to the sect of the Byronians, + whom he has described in the review of Moore's Life of Lord Byron, who + discarded their neckcloths, and fixed little models of skulls on the + sand-glasses by which they regulated the boiling of their eggs for + breakfast. The members of these sects, and of many others that have + succeeded, have probably long ago learned to smile at the temporary + humours. But Macaulay, himself a sincere admirer of Bentham, was irritated + by what he considered the unwarranted tone assumed by several of the class + of Utilitarians. "We apprehend," he said, "that many of them are persons + who, having read little or nothing, are delighted to be rescued from the + sense of their own inferiority by some teacher who assures them that the + studies which they have neglected are of no value, puts five or six + phrases into their mouths, lends them an odd number of the Westminster + Review, and in a month transforms them into philosophers;" and he spoke of + them as "smatterers, whose attainments just suffice to elevate them from + the insignificance of dunces to the dignity of bores, and to spread dismay + among their pious aunts and grand mothers." The sect, of course, like + other sects, comprehended some pretenders, and these the most arrogant and + intolerant among its members. He, however, went so far as to apply the + following language to the majority:—"As to the greater part of the + sect, it is, we apprehend, of little consequence what they study or under + whom. It would be more amusing, to be sure, and more reputable, if they + would take up the old republican cant and declaim about Brutus and + Timoleon, the duty of killing tyrants and the blessedness of dying for + liberty. But, on the whole, they might have chosen worse. They may as well + be Utilitarians as jockeys or dandies. And, though quibbling about + self-interest and motives, and objects of desire, and the greatest + happiness of the greatest number, is but a poor employment for a grown + man, it certainly hurts the health less than hard drinking and the fortune + less than high play; it is not much more laughable than phrenology, and is + immeasurably more humane than cock-fighting." + </p> + <p> + Macaulay inserted in the Edinburgh Review of March, 1829, an article upon + Mr Mill's Essay. He attacked the method with much vehemence; and, to the + end of his life, he never saw any ground for believing that in this he had + gone too far. But before long he felt that he had not spoken of the author + of the Essay with the respect due to so eminent a man. In 1833, he + described Mr mill, during the debate on the India Bill of that year, as a + "gentleman extremely well acquainted with the affairs of our Eastern + Empire, a most valuable servant of the Company, and the author of a + history of India, which, though certainly not free from faults, is, I + think, on the whole, the greatest historical work which has appeared in + our language since that of Gibbon." + </p> + <p> + Almost immediately upon the appearance of the article in the Edinburgh + Review, an answer was published in the Westminster Review. It was untruly + attributed, in the newspapers of the day, to Mr Bentham himself. + Macaulay's answer to this appeared in the Edinburgh Review, June, 1829. He + wrote the answer under the belief that he was answering Mr Bentham, and + was undeceived in time only to add the postscript. The author of the + article in the Westminster Review had not perceived that the question + raised was not as to the truth or falsehood of the result at which Mr Mill + had arrived, but as to the soundness or unsoundness of the method which he + pursued; a misunderstanding at which Macaulay, while he supposed the + article to be the work of Mr Bentham, expressed much surprise. The + controversy soon became principally a dispute as to the theory which was + commonly known by the name of The Greatest Happiness Principle. Another + article in the Westminster Review followed; and a surrejoinder by Macaulay + in the Edinburgh Review of October, 1829. Macaulay was irritated at what + he conceived to be either extreme dullness or gross unfairness on the part + of his unknown antagonist, and struck as hard as he could; and he struck + very hard indeed. + </p> + <p> + The ethical question thus raised was afterwards discussed by Sir James + Mackintosh, in the Dissertation contributed by him to the seventh edition + of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, page 284-313 (Whewell's Edition). Sir + James Mackintosh notices the part taken in the controversy by Macaulay, in + the following words: "A writer of consummate ability, who has failed in + little but the respect due to the abilities and character of his + opponents, has given too much countenance to the abuse and confusion of + language exemplified in the well-known verse of Pope, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Modes of self-love the Passions we may call.' +</pre> + <p> + 'We know,' says he, 'no universal proposition respecting human nature + which is true but one—that men always act from self-interest.'" "It + is manifest from the sequel, that the writer is not the dupe of the + confusion; but many of his readers may be so. If, indeed, the word + "self-interest" could with propriety be used for the gratification of + every prevalent desire, he has clearly shown that this change in the + signification of terms would be of no advantage to the doctrine which he + controverts. It would make as many sorts of self-interest as there are + appetites, and it is irreconcilably at variance with the system of + association proposed by Mr Mill." "The admirable writer whose language has + occasioned this illustration, who at an early age has mastered every + species of composition, will doubtless hold fast to simplicity, which + survives all the fashions of deviation from it, and which a man of genius + so fertile has few temptations to for sake." + </p> + <p> + When Macaulay selected for publication certain articles of the Edinburgh + Review, he resolved not to publish any of the three essays in question; + for which he assigned the following reason:— + </p> + <p> + "The author has been strongly urged to insert three papers on the + Utilitarian Philosophy, which, when they first appeared, attracted some + notice, but which are not in the American editions. He has however + determined to omit these papers, not because he is disposed to retract a + single doctrine which they contain, but because he is unwilling to offer + what might be regarded as an affront to the memory of one from whose + opinions he still widely dissents, but to whose talents and virtues he + admits that he formerly did not do justice. Serious as are the faults of + the Essay on Government, a critic, while noticing those faults, should + have abstained from using contemptuous language respecting the historian + of British India. It ought to be known that Mr Mill had the generosity, + not only to forgive, but to forget the unbecoming acrimony with which he + had been assailed, and was, when his valuable life closed, on terms of + cordial friendship with his assailant." + </p> + <p> + Under these circumstances, considerable doubt has been felt as to the + propriety of republishing the three Essays in the present collection. But + it has been determined, not without much hesitation, that they should + appear. It is felt that no disrespect is shown to the memory of Mr Mill, + when the publication is accompanied by so full an apology for the tone + adopted towards him; and Mr Mill himself would have been the last to wish + for the suppression of opinions on the ground that they were in express + antagonism to his own. The grave has now closed upon the assailant as well + as the assailed. On the other hand, it cannot but be desirable that + opinions which the author retained to the last, on important questions in + politics and morals, should be before the public. + </p> + <p> + Some of the poems now collected have already appeared in print; others are + supplied by the recollection of friends. The first two are published on + account of their having been composed in the author's childhood. In the + poems, as well as in the prose works, will be occasionally found thoughts + and expressions which have afterwards been adopted in later productions. + </p> + <p> + No alteration whatever has been made from the form in which the author + left the several articles, with the exception of some changes in + punctuation, and the correction of one or two obvious misprints. + </p> + <p> + T.F.E. London, June 1860. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PREF"> PREFACE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS OF LORD MACAULAY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> CONTRIBUTIONS TO KNIGHT'S QUARTERLY MAGAZINE. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> FRAGMENTS OF A ROMAN TALE. (June 1823.) </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> ON THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE. (June + 1823.) </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> SCENES FROM "ATHENIAN REVELS." (January 1824.) + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> CRITICISMS ON THE PRINCIPAL ITALIAN WRITERS. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> No. I. DANTE. (January 1824.) </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> No. II. PETRARCH. (April 1824.) </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> SOME ACCOUNT OF THE GREAT LAWSUIT BETWEEN THE + PARISHES OF ST DENNIS AND ST GEORGE IN THE WATER. (April 1824.) </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> A CONVERSATION BETWEEN MR ABRAHAM COWLEY AND + MR JOHN MILTON, TOUCHING </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> ON THE ATHENIAN ORATORS. (August 1824.) </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> A PROPHETIC ACCOUNT OF A GRAND NATIONAL EPIC + POEM, TO BE ENTITLED "THE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> ON MITFORD'S HISTORY OF GREECE. (November + 1824.) </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS OF LORD MACAULAY. + </h1> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CONTRIBUTIONS TO KNIGHT'S QUARTERLY MAGAZINE. + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + FRAGMENTS OF A ROMAN TALE. (June 1823.) + </h2> + <p> + It was an hour after noon. Ligarius was returning from the Campus Martius. + He strolled through one of the streets which led to the Forum, settling + his gown, and calculating the odds on the gladiators who were to fence at + the approaching Saturnalia. While thus occupied, he overtook Flaminius, + who, with a heavy step and a melancholy face, was sauntering in the same + direction. The light-hearted young man plucked him by the sleeve. + </p> + <p> + "Good-day, Flaminius. Are you to be of Catiline's party this evening?" + </p> + <p> + "Not I." + </p> + <p> + "Why so? Your little Tarentine girl will break her heart." + </p> + <p> + "No matter. Catiline has the best cooks and the finest wine in Rome. There + are charming women at his parties. But the twelve-line board and the + dice-box pay for all. The Gods confound me if I did not lose two millions + of sesterces last night. My villa at Tibur, and all the statues that my + father the praetor brought from Ephesus, must go to the auctioneer. That + is a high price, you will acknowledge, even for Phoenicopters, Chian, and + Callinice." + </p> + <p> + "High indeed, by Pollux." + </p> + <p> + "And that is not the worst. I saw several of the leading senators this + morning. Strange things are whispered in the higher political circles." + </p> + <p> + "The Gods confound the political circles. I have hated the name of + politician ever since Sylla's proscription, when I was within a moment of + having my throat cut by a politician, who took me for another politician. + While there is a cask of Falernian in Campania, or a girl in the Suburra, + I shall be too well employed to think on the subject." + </p> + <p> + "You will do well," said Flaminius gravely, "to bestow some little + consideration upon it at present. Otherwise, I fear, you will soon renew + your acquaintance with politicians, in a manner quite as unpleasant as + that to which you allude." + </p> + <p> + "Averting Gods! what do you mean?" + </p> + <p> + "I will tell you. There are rumours of conspiracy. The order of things + established by Lucius Sylla has excited the disgust of the people, and of + a large party of the nobles. Some violent convulsion is expected." + </p> + <p> + "What is that to me? I suppose that they will hardly proscribe the + vintners and gladiators, or pass a law compelling every citizen to take a + wife." + </p> + <p> + "You do not understand. Catiline is supposed to be the author of the + revolutionary schemes. You must have heard bold opinions at his table + repeatedly." + </p> + <p> + "I never listen to any opinions upon such subjects, bold or timid." + </p> + <p> + "Look to it. Your name has been mentioned." + </p> + <p> + "Mine! good Gods! I call Heaven to witness that I never so much as + mentioned Senate, Consul, or Comitia, in Catiline's house." + </p> + <p> + "Nobody suspects you of any participation in the inmost counsels of the + party. But our great men surmise that you are among those whom he has + bribed so high with beauty, or entangled so deeply in distress, that they + are no longer their own masters. I shall never set foot within his + threshold again. I have been solemnly warned by men who understand public + affairs; and I advise you to be cautious." + </p> + <p> + The friends had now turned into the Forum, which was thronged with the gay + and elegant youth of Rome. "I can tell you more," continued Flaminius; + "somebody was remarking to the Consul yesterday how loosely a certain + acquaintance of ours tied his girdle. 'Let him look to himself;' said + Cicero, 'or the state may find a tighter girdle for his neck.'" + </p> + <p> + "Good Gods! who is it? You cannot surely mean"— + </p> + <p> + "There he is." + </p> + <p> + Flaminius pointed to a man who was pacing up and down the Forum at a + little distance from them. He was in the prime of manhood. His personal + advantages were extremely striking, and were displayed with an extravagant + but not ungraceful foppery. His gown waved in loose folds; his long dark + curls were dressed with exquisite art, and shone and steamed with odours; + his step and gesture exhibited an elegant and commanding figure in every + posture of polite languor. But his countenance formed a singular contrast + to the general appearance of his person. The high and imperial brow, the + keen aquiline features, the compressed mouth; the penetrating eye, + indicated the highest degree of ability and decision. He seemed absorbed + in intense meditation. With eyes fixed on the ground, and lips working in + thought, he sauntered round the area, apparently unconscious how many of + the young gallants of Rome were envying the taste of his dress, and the + ease of his fashionable stagger. + </p> + <p> + "Good Heaven!" said Ligarius, "Caius Caesar is as unlikely to be in a plot + as I am." + </p> + <p> + "Not at all." + </p> + <p> + "He does nothing but game; feast, intrigue, read Greek, and write verses." + </p> + <p> + "You know nothing of Caesar. Though he rarely addresses the Senate, he is + considered as the finest speaker there, after the Consul. His influence + with the multitude is immense. He will serve his rivals in public life as + he served me last night at Catiline's. We were playing at the twelve + lines. (Duodecim scripta, a game of mixed chance and skill, which seems to + have been very fashionable in the higher circles of Rome. The famous + lawyer Mucius was renowned for his skill in it.—"Cic. Orat." i. 50.)—Immense + stakes. He laughed all the time, chatted with Valeria over his shoulder, + kissed her hand between every two moves, and scarcely looked at the board. + I thought that I had him. All at once I found my counters driven into the + corner. Not a piece to move, by Hercules. It cost me two millions of + sesterces. All the Gods and Goddesses confound him for it!" + </p> + <p> + "As to Valeria," said Ligarius, "I forgot to ask whether you have heard + the news." + </p> + <p> + "Not a word. What?" + </p> + <p> + "I was told at the baths to-day that Caesar escorted the lady home. + Unfortunately old Quintus Lutatius had come back from his villa in + Campania, in a whim of jealousy. He was not expected for three days. There + was a fine tumult. The old fool called for his sword and his slaves, + cursed his wife, and swore that he would cut Caesar's throat." + </p> + <p> + "And Caesar?" + </p> + <p> + "He laughed, quoted Anacreon, trussed his gown round his left arm, closed + with Quintus, flung him down, twisted his sword out of his hand, burst + through the attendants, ran a freed-man through the shoulder, and was in + the street in an instant." + </p> + <p> + "Well done! Here he comes. Good-day, Caius." + </p> + <p> + Caesar lifted his head at the salutation. His air of deep abstraction + vanished; and he extended a hand to each of the friends. + </p> + <p> + "How are you after your last night's exploit?" + </p> + <p> + "As well as possible," said Caesar, laughing. + </p> + <p> + "In truth we should rather ask how Quintus Lutatius is." + </p> + <p> + "He, I understand, is as well as can be expected of a man with a faithless + spouse and a broken head. His freed-man is most seriously hurt. Poor + fellow! he shall have half of whatever I win to-night. Flaminius, you + shall have your revenge at Catiline's." + </p> + <p> + "You are very kind. I do not intend to be at Catiline's till I wish to + part with my town-house. My villa is gone already." + </p> + <p> + "Not at Catiline's, base spirit! You are not of his mind, my gallant + Ligarius. Dice, Chian, and the loveliest Greek singing girl that was ever + seen. Think of that, Ligarius. By Venus, she almost made me adore her, by + telling me that I talked Greek with the most Attic accent that she had + heard in Italy." + </p> + <p> + "I doubt she will not say the same of me," replied Ligarius. "I am just as + able to decipher an obelisk as to read a line of Homer." + </p> + <p> + "You barbarous Scythian, who had the care of your education?" + </p> + <p> + "An old fool,—a Greek pedant,—a Stoic. He told me that pain + was no evil, and flogged me as if he thought so. At last one day, in the + middle of a lecture, I set fire to his enormous filthy beard, singed his + face, and sent him roaring out of the house. There ended my studies. From + that time to this I have had as little to do with Greece as the wine that + your poor old friend Lutatius calls his delicious Samian." + </p> + <p> + "Well done, Ligarius. I hate a Stoic. I wish Marcus Cato had a beard that + you might singe it for him. The fool talked his two hours in the Senate + yesterday, without changing a muscle of his face. He looked as savage and + as motionless as the mask in which Roscius acted Alecto. I detest + everything connected with him." + </p> + <p> + "Except his sister, Servilia." + </p> + <p> + "True. She is a lovely woman." + </p> + <p> + "They say that you have told her so, Caius" + </p> + <p> + "So I have." + </p> + <p> + "And that she was not angry." + </p> + <p> + "What woman is?" + </p> + <p> + "Aye—but they say"— + </p> + <p> + "No matter what they say. Common fame lies like a Greek rhetorician. You + might know so much, Ligarius, without reading the philosophers. But come, + I will introduce you to little dark-eyed Zoe." + </p> + <p> + "I tell you I can speak no Greek." + </p> + <p> + "More shame for you. It is high time that you should begin. You will never + have such a charming instructress. Of what was your father thinking when + he sent for an old Stoic with a long beard to teach you? There is no + language-mistress like a handsome woman. When I was at Athens, I learnt + more Greek from a pretty flower-girl in the Peiraeus than from all the + Portico and the Academy. She was no Stoic, Heaven knows. But come along to + Zoe. I will be your interpreter. Woo her in honest Latin, and I will turn + it into elegant Greek between the throws of dice. I can make love and mind + my game at once, as Flaminius can tell you. + </p> + <p> + "Well, then, to be plain, Caesar, Flaminius has been talking to me about + plots, and suspicions, and politicians. I never plagued myself with such + things since Sylla's and Marius's days; and then I never could see much + difference between the parties. All that I am sure of is, that those who + meddle with such affairs are generally stabbed or strangled. And, though I + like Greek wine and handsome women, I do not wish to risk my neck for + them. Now, tell me as a friend, Caius—is there no danger?" + </p> + <p> + "Danger!" repeated Caesar, with a short, fierce, disdainful laugh: "what + danger do you apprehend?" + </p> + <p> + "That you should best know," said Flaminius; "you are far more intimate + with Catiline than I. But I advise you to be cautious. The leading men + entertain strong suspicions." + </p> + <p> + Caesar drew up his figure from its ordinary state of graceful relaxation + into an attitude of commanding dignity, and replied in a voice of which + the deep and impassioned melody formed a strange contrast to the humorous + and affected tone of his ordinary conversation. "Let them suspect. They + suspect because they know what they have deserved. What have they done for + Rome?—What for mankind? Ask the citizens—ask the provinces. + Have they had any other object than to perpetuate their own exclusive + power, and to keep us under the yoke of an oligarchical tyranny, which + unites in itself the worst evils of every other system, and combines more + than Athenian turbulence with more than Persian despotism?" + </p> + <p> + "Good Gods! Caesar. It is not safe for you to speak, or for us to listen + to, such things, at such a crisis." + </p> + <p> + "Judge for yourselves what you will hear. I will judge for myself what I + will speak. I was not twenty years old when I defied Lucius Sylla, + surrounded by the spears of legionaries and the daggers of assassins. Do + you suppose that I stand in awe of his paltry successors, who have + inherited a power which they never could have acquired; who would imitate + his proscriptions, though they have never equalled his conquests?" + </p> + <p> + "Pompey is almost as little to be trifled with as Sylla. I heard a + consular senator say that, in consequence of the present alarming state of + affairs, he would probably be recalled from the command assigned to him by + the Manilian law." + </p> + <p> + "Let him come,—the pupil of Sylla's butcheries,—the gleaner of + Lucullus's trophies,—the thief-taker of the Senate." + </p> + <p> + "For Heaven's sake, Caius!—if you knew what the Consul said"— + </p> + <p> + "Something about himself, no doubt. Pity that such talents should be + coupled with such cowardice and coxcombry. He is the finest speaker + living,—infinitely superior to what Hortensius was, in his best + days;—a charming companion, except when he tells over for the + twentieth time all the jokes that he made at Verres's trial. But he is the + despicable tool of a despicable party." + </p> + <p> + "Your language, Caius, convinces me that the reports which have been + circulated are not without foundation. I will venture to prophesy that + within a few months the republic will pass through a whole Odyssey of + strange adventures." + </p> + <p> + "I believe so; an Odyssey, of which Pompey will be the Polyphemus, and + Cicero the Siren. I would have the state imitate Ulysses: show no mercy to + the former; but contrive, if it can be done, to listen to the enchanting + voice of the other, without being seduced by it to destruction." + </p> + <p> + "But whom can your party produce as rivals to these two famous leaders?" + </p> + <p> + "Time will show. I would hope that there may arise a man, whose genius to + conquer, to conciliate, and to govern, may unite in one cause an oppressed + and divided people;—may do all that Sylla should have done, and + exhibit the magnificent spectacle of a great nation directed by a great + mind." + </p> + <p> + "And where is such a man to be found?" + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps where you would least expect to find him. Perhaps he may be one + whose powers have hitherto been concealed in domestic or literary + retirement. Perhaps he may be one, who, while waiting for some adequate + excitement, for some worthy opportunity, squanders on trifles a genius + before which may yet be humbled the sword of Pompey and the gown of + Cicero. Perhaps he may now be disputing with a sophist; perhaps prattling + with a mistress; perhaps" and, as he spoke, he turned away, and resumed + his lounge, "strolling in the Forum." + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + It was almost midnight. The party had separated. Catiline and Cethegus + were still conferring in the supper-room, which was, as usual, the highest + apartment of the house. It formed a cupola, from which windows opened on + the flat roof that surrounded it. To this terrace Zoe had retired. With + eyes dimmed with fond and melancholy tears, she leaned over the + balustrade, to catch the last glimpse of the departing form of Caesar, as + it grew more and more indistinct in the moonlight. Had he any thought of + her? Any love for her? He, the favourite of the high-born beauties of + Rome, the most splendid, the most graceful, the most eloquent of its + nobles? It could not be. His voice had, indeed, been touchingly soft + whenever he addressed her. There had been a fascinating tenderness even in + the vivacity of his look and conversation. But such were always the + manners of Caesar towards women. He had wreathed a sprig of myrtle in her + hair as she was singing. She took it from her dark ringlets, and kissed + it, and wept over it, and thought of the sweet legends of her own dear + Greece,—of youths and girls, who, pining away in hopeless love, had + been transformed into flowers by the compassion of the Gods; and she + wished to become a flower, which Caesar might sometimes touch, though he + should touch it only to weave a crown for some prouder and happier + mistress. + </p> + <p> + She was roused from her musings by the loud step and voice of Cethegus, + who was pacing furiously up and down the supper-room. + </p> + <p> + "May all the Gods confound me, if Caesar be not the deepest traitor, or + the most miserable idiot, that ever intermeddled with a plot!" + </p> + <p> + Zoe shuddered. She drew nearer to the window. She stood concealed from + observation by the curtain of fine network which hung over the aperture, + to exclude the annoying insects of the climate. + </p> + <p> + "And you too!" continued Cethegus, turning fiercely on his accomplice; + "you to take his part against me!—you, who proposed the scheme + yourself!" + </p> + <p> + "My dear Caius Cethegus, you will not understand me. I proposed the + scheme; and I will join in executing it. But policy is as necessary to our + plans as boldness. I did not wish to startle Caesar—to lose his + co-operation—perhaps to send him off with an information against us + to Cicero and Catulus. He was so indignant at your suggestion that all my + dissimulation was scarcely sufficient to prevent a total rupture." + </p> + <p> + "Indignant! The Gods confound him!—He prated about humanity, and + generosity, and moderation. By Hercules, I have not heard such a lecture + since I was with Xenochares at Rhodes." + </p> + <p> + "Caesar is made up of inconsistencies. He has boundless ambition, + unquestioned courage, admirable sagacity. Yet I have frequently observed + in him a womanish weakness at the sight of pain. I remember that once one + of his slaves was taken ill while carrying his litter. He alighted, put + the fellow in his place and walked home in a fall of snow. I wonder that + you could be so ill-advised as to talk to him of massacre, and pillage, + and conflagration. You might have foreseen that such propositions would + disgust a man of his temper." + </p> + <p> + "I do not know. I have not your self-command, Lucius. I hate such + conspirators. What is the use of them? We must have blood—blood,—hacking + and tearing work—bloody work!" + </p> + <p> + "Do not grind your teeth, my dear Caius; and lay down the carving-knife. + By Hercules, you have cut up all the stuffing of the couch." + </p> + <p> + "No matter; we shall have couches enough soon,—and down to stuff + them with,—and purple to cover them,—and pretty women to loll + on them,—unless this fool, and such as he, spoil our plans. I had + something else to say. The essenced fop wishes to seduce Zoe from me." + </p> + <p> + "Impossible! You misconstrue the ordinary gallantries which he is in the + habit of paying to every handsome face." + </p> + <p> + "Curse on his ordinary gallantries, and his verses, and his compliments, + and his sprigs of myrtle! If Caesar should dare—by Hercules, I will + tear him to pieces in the middle of the Forum." + </p> + <p> + "Trust his destruction to me. We must use his talents and influence—thrust + him upon every danger—make him our instrument while we are + contending—our peace-offering to the Senate if we fail—our + first victim if we succeed." + </p> + <p> + "Hark! what noise was that?" + </p> + <p> + "Somebody in the terrace—lend me your dagger." + </p> + <p> + Catiline rushed to the window. Zoe was standing in the shade. He stepped + out. She darted into the room—passed like a flash of lightning by + the startled Cethegus—flew down the stairs—through the court—through + the vestibule—through the street. Steps, voices, lights, came fast + and confusedly behind her; but with the speed of love and terror she + gained upon her pursuers. She fled through the wilderness of unknown and + dusky streets, till she found herself, breathless and exhausted, in the + midst of a crowd of gallants, who, with chaplets on their heads and + torches in their hands, were reeling from the portico of a stately + mansion. + </p> + <p> + The foremost of the throng was a youth whose slender figure and beautiful + countenance seemed hardly consistent with his sex. But the feminine + delicacy of his features rendered more frightful the mingled sensuality + and ferocity of their expression. The libertine audacity of his stare, and + the grotesque foppery of his apparel, seemed to indicate at least a + partial insanity. Flinging one arm round Zoe, and tearing away her veil + with the other, he disclosed to the gaze of his thronging companions the + regular features and large dark eyes which characterise Athenian beauty. + </p> + <p> + "Clodius has all the luck to-night," cried Ligarius. + </p> + <p> + "Not so, by Hercules," said Marcus Coelius; "the girl is fairly our common + prize: we will fling dice for her. The Venus (Venus was the Roman term for + the highest throw of the dice.) throw, as it ought to do, shall decide." + </p> + <p> + "Let me go—let me go, for Heaven's sake," cried Zoe, struggling with + Clodius. + </p> + <p> + "What a charming Greek accent she has! Come into the house, my little + Athenian nightingale." + </p> + <p> + "Oh! what will become of me? If you have mothers—if you have + sisters"— + </p> + <p> + "Clodius has a sister," muttered Ligarius, "or he is much belied." + </p> + <p> + "By Heaven, she is weeping," said Clodius. + </p> + <p> + "If she were not evidently a Greek," said Coelius, "I should take her for + a vestal virgin." + </p> + <p> + "And if she were a vestal virgin," cried Clodius fiercely, "it should not + deter me. This way;—no struggling—no screaming." + </p> + <p> + "Struggling! screaming!" exclaimed a gay and commanding voice; "You are + making very ungentle love, Clodius." + </p> + <p> + The whole party started. Caesar had mingled with them unperceived. + </p> + <p> + The sound of his voice thrilled through the very heart of Zoe. With a + convulsive effort she burst from the grasp of her insolent admirer, flung + herself at the feet of Caesar, and clasped his knees. The moon shone full + on her agitated and imploring face: her lips moved; but she uttered no + sound. He gazed at her for an instant—raised her—clasped her + to his bosom. "Fear nothing, my sweet Zoe." Then, with folded arms, and a + smile of placid defiance, he placed himself between her and Clodius. + </p> + <p> + Clodius staggered forward, flushed with wine and rage, and uttering + alternately a curse and a hiccup. + </p> + <p> + "By Pollux, this passes a jest. Caesar, how dare you insult me thus?" + </p> + <p> + "A jest! I am as serious as a Jew on the Sabbath. Insult you; for such a + pair of eyes I would insult the whole consular bench, or I should be as + insensible as King Psammis's mummy." + </p> + <p> + "Good Gods, Caesar!" said Marcus Coelius, interposing; "you cannot think + it worth while to get into a brawl for a little Greek girl!" + </p> + <p> + "Why not? The Greek girls have used me as well as those of Rome. Besides, + the whole reputation of my gallantry is at stake. Give up such a lovely + woman to that drunken boy! My character would be gone for ever. No more + perfumed tablets, full of vows and raptures. No more toying with fingers + at the circus. No more evening walks along the Tiber. No more hiding in + chests or jumping from windows. I, the favoured suitor of half the white + stoles in Rome, could never again aspire above a freed-woman. You a man of + gallantry, and think of such a thing! For shame, my dear Coelius! Do not + let Clodia hear of it." + </p> + <p> + While Caesar spoke he had been engaged in keeping Clodius at arm's-length. + The rage of the frantic libertine increased as the struggle continued. + "Stand back, as you value your life," he cried; "I will pass." + </p> + <p> + "Not this way, sweet Clodius. I have too much regard for you to suffer you + to make love at such disadvantage. You smell too much of Falernian at + present. Would you stifle your mistress? By Hercules, you are fit to kiss + nobody now, except old Piso, when he is tumbling home in the morning from + the vintners." + </p> + <p> + Clodius plunged his hand into his bosom and drew a little dagger, the + faithful companion of many desperate adventures. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Gods! he will be murdered!" cried Zoe. + </p> + <p> + The whole throng of revellers was in agitation. The street fluctuated with + torches and lifted hands. It was but for a moment. Caesar watched with a + steady eye the descending hand of Clodius, arrested the blow, seized his + antagonist by the throat, and flung him against one of the pillars of the + portico with such violence, that he rolled, stunned and senseless, on the + ground. + </p> + <p> + "He is killed," cried several voices. + </p> + <p> + "Fair self-defence, by Hercules!" said Marcus Coelius. "Bear witness, you + all saw him draw his dagger." + </p> + <p> + "He is not dead—he breathes," said Ligarius. "Carry him into the + house; he is dreadfully bruised." + </p> + <p> + The rest of the party retired with Clodius. Coelius turned to Caesar. + </p> + <p> + "By all the Gods, Caius! you have won your lady fairly. A splendid + victory! You deserve a triumph." + </p> + <p> + "What a madman Clodius has become!" + </p> + <p> + "Intolerable. But come and sup with me on the Nones. You have no objection + to meet the Consul?" + </p> + <p> + "Cicero? None at all. We need not talk politics. Our old dispute about + Plato and Epicurus will furnish us with plenty of conversation. So reckon + upon me, my dear Marcus, and farewell." + </p> + <p> + Caesar and Zoe turned away. As soon as they were beyond hearing, she began + in great agitation:— + </p> + <p> + "Caesar, you are in danger. I know all. I overheard Catiline and Cethegus. + You are engaged in a project which must lead to certain destruction." + </p> + <p> + "My beautiful Zoe, I live only for glory and pleasure. For these I have + never hesitated to hazard an existence which they alone render valuable to + me. In the present case, I can assure you that our scheme presents the + fairest hopes of success." + </p> + <p> + "So much the worse. You do not know—you do not understand me. I + speak not of open peril, but of secret treachery. Catiline hates you;—Cethegus + hates you;—your destruction is resolved. If you survive the contest, + you perish in the first hour of victory. They detest you for your + moderation; they are eager for blood and plunder. I have risked my life to + bring you this warning; but that is of little moment. Farewell!—Be + happy." + </p> + <p> + Caesar stopped her. "Do you fly from my thanks, dear Zoe?" + </p> + <p> + "I wish not for your thanks, but for your safety;—I desire not to + defraud Valeria or Servilia of one caress, extorted from gratitude or + pity. Be my feelings what they may, I have learnt in a fearful school to + endure and to suppress them. I have been taught to abase a proud spirit to + the claps and hisses of the vulgar;—to smile on suitors who united + the insults of a despicable pride to the endearments of a loathsome + fondness;—to affect sprightliness with an aching head, and eyes from + which tears were ready to gush;—to feign love with curses on my + lips, and madness in my brain. Who feels for me any esteem,—any + tenderness? Who will shed a tear over the nameless grave which will soon + shelter from cruelty and scorn the broken heart of the poor Athenian girl? + But you, who alone have addressed her in her degradation with a voice of + kindness and respect, farewell. Sometimes think of me,—not with + sorrow;—no; I could bear your ingratitude, but not your distress. + Yet, if it will not pain you too much, in distant days, when your lofty + hopes and destinies are accomplished,—on the evening of some mighty + victory,—in the chariot of some magnificent triumph,—think on + one who loved you with that exceeding love which only the miserable can + feel. Think that, wherever her exhausted frame may have sunk beneath the + sensibilities of a tortured spirit,—in whatever hovel or whatever + vault she may have closed her eyes,—whatever strange scenes of + horror and pollution may have surrounded her dying bed, your shape was the + last that swam before her sight—your voice the last sound that was + ringing in her ears. Yet turn your face to me, Caesar. Let me carry away + one last look of those features, and then "—He turned round. He + looked at her. He hid his face on her bosom, and burst into tears. With + sobs long and loud, and convulsive as those of a terrified child, he + poured forth on her bosom the tribute of impetuous and uncontrollable + emotion. He raised his head; but he in vain struggled to restore composure + to the brow which had confronted the frown of Sylla, and the lips which + had rivalled the eloquence of Cicero. He several times attempted to speak, + but in vain; and his voice still faltered with tenderness, when, after a + pause of several minutes, he thus addressed her: + </p> + <p> + "My own dear Zoe, your love has been bestowed on one who, if he cannot + merit, can at least appreciate and adore you. Beings of similar + loveliness, and similar devotedness of affection, mingled, in all my + boyish dreams of greatness, with visions of curule chairs and ivory cars, + marshalled legions and laurelled fasces. Such I have endeavoured to find + in the world; and, in their stead, I have met with selfishness, with + vanity, with frivolity, with falsehood. The life which you have preserved + is a boon less valuable than the affection "— + </p> + <p> + "Oh! Caesar," interrupted the blushing Zoe, "think only on your own + security at present. If you feel as you speak,—but you are only + mocking me,—or perhaps your compassion "— + </p> + <p> + "By Heaven!—by every oath that is binding "— + </p> + <p> + "Alas! alas! Caesar, were not all the same oaths sworn yesterday to + Valeria? But I will trust you, at least so far as to partake your present + dangers. Flight may be necessary:—form your plans. Be they what they + may, there is one who, in exile, in poverty, in peril, asks only to + wander, to beg, to die with you." + </p> + <p> + "My Zoe, I do not anticipate any such necessity. To renounce the + conspiracy without renouncing the principles on which it was originally + undertaken,—to elude the vengeance of the Senate without losing the + confidence of the people,—is, indeed, an arduous, but not an + impossible, task. I owe it to myself and to my country to make the + attempt. There is still ample time for consideration. At present I am too + happy in love to think of ambition or danger." + </p> + <p> + They had reached the door of a stately palace. Caesar struck it. It was + instantly opened by a slave. Zoe found herself in a magnificent hall, + surrounded by pillars of green marble, between which were ranged the + statues of the long line of Julian nobles. + </p> + <p> + "Call Endymion," said Caesar. + </p> + <p> + The confidential freed-man made his appearance, not without a slight + smile, which his patron's good nature emboldened him to hazard, at + perceiving the beautiful Athenian. + </p> + <p> + "Arm my slaves, Endymion; there are reasons for precaution. Let them + relieve each other on guard during the night. Zoe, my love, my preserver, + why are your cheeks so pale? Let me kiss some bloom into them. How you + tremble! Endymion, a flask of Samian and some fruit. Bring them to my + apartments. This way, my sweet Zoe." + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + ON THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE. (June 1823.) + </h2> + <p> + This is the age of societies. There is scarcely one Englishman in ten who + has not belonged to some association for distributing books, or for + prosecuting them; for sending invalids to the hospital, or beggars to the + treadmill; for giving plate to the rich, or blankets to the poor. To be + the most absurd institution among so many institutions is no small distinction; + it seems, however, to belong indisputably to the Royal Society of + Literature. At the first establishment of that ridiculous academy, every + sensible man predicted that, in spite of regal patronage and episcopal + management, it would do nothing, or do harm. And it will scarcely be + denied that those expectations have hitherto been fulfilled. + </p> + <p> + I do not attack the founders of the association. Their characters are + respectable; their motives, I am willing to believe, were laudable. But I + feel, and it is the duty of every literary man to feel, a strong jealousy + of their proceedings. Their society can be innocent only while it + continues to be despicable. Should they ever possess the power to + encourage merit, they must also possess the power to depress it. Which + power will be more frequently exercised, let every one who has studied + literary history, let every one who has studied human nature, declare. + </p> + <p> + Envy and faction insinuate themselves into all communities. They often + disturb the peace, and pervert the decisions, of benevolent and scientific + associations. But it is in literary academies that they exert the most + extensive and pernicious influence. In the first place, the principles of + literary criticism, though equally fixed with those on which the chemist + and the surgeon proceed, are by no means equally recognised. Men are + rarely able to assign a reason for their approbation or dislike on + questions of taste; and therefore they willingly submit to any guide who + boldly asserts his claim to superior discernment. It is more difficult to + ascertain and establish the merits of a poem than the powers of a machine + or the benefits of a new remedy. Hence it is in literature, that quackery + is most easily puffed, and excellence most easily decried. + </p> + <p> + In some degree this argument applies to academies of the fine arts; and it + is fully confirmed by all that I have ever heard of that institution which + annually disfigures the walls of Somerset House with an acre of spoiled + canvas. But a literary tribunal is incomparably more dangerous. Other + societies, at least, have no tendency to call forth any opinions on those + subjects which most agitate and inflame the minds of men. The sceptic and + the zealot, the revolutionist and the placeman, meet on common ground in a + gallery of paintings or a laboratory of science. They can praise or + censure without reference to the differences which exist between them. In + a literary body this can never be the case. Literature is, and always must + be, inseparably blended with politics and theology; it is the great engine + which moves the feelings of a people on the most momentous questions. It + is, therefore, impossible that any society can be formed so impartial as + to consider the literary character of an individual abstracted from the + opinions which his writings inculcate. It is not to be hoped, perhaps it + is not to be wished, that the feelings of the man should be so completely + forgotten in the duties of the academician. The consequences are evident. + The honours and censures of this Star Chamber of the Muses will be awarded + according to the prejudices of the particular sect or faction which may at + the time predominate. Whigs would canvass against a Southey, Tories + against a Byron. Those who might at first protest against such conduct as + unjust would soon adopt it on the plea of retaliation; and the general + good of literature, for which the society was professedly instituted, + would be forgotten in the stronger claims of political and religious + partiality. + </p> + <p> + Yet even this is not the worst. Should the institution ever acquire any + influence, it will afford most pernicious facilities to every malignant + coward who may desire to blast a reputation which he envies. It will + furnish a secure ambuscade, behind which the Maroons of literature may + take a certain and deadly aim. The editorial WE has often been fatal to + rising genius; though all the world knows that it is only a form of + speech, very often employed by a single needy blockhead. The academic WE + would have a far greater and more ruinous influence. Numbers, while they + increase the effect, would diminish the shame, of injustice. The + advantages of an open and those of an anonymous attack would be combined; + and the authority of avowal would be united to the security of + concealment. The serpents in Virgil, after they had destroyed Laocoon, + found an asylum from the vengeance of the enraged people behind the shield + of the statue of Minerva. And, in the same manner, everything that is + grovelling and venomous, everything that can hiss, and everything that can + sting, would take sanctuary in the recesses of this new temple of wisdom. + </p> + <p> + The French academy was, of all such associations, the most widely and the + most justly celebrated. It was founded by the greatest of ministers: it + was patronised by successive kings; it numbered in its lists most of the + eminent French writers. Yet what benefit has literature derived from its + labours? What is its history but an uninterrupted record of servile + compliances—of paltry artifices—of deadly quarrels—of + perfidious friendships? Whether governed by the Court, by the Sorbonne, or + by the Philosophers, it was always equally powerful for evil, and equally + impotent for good. I might speak of the attacks by which it attempted to + depress the rising fame of Corneille; I might speak of the reluctance with + which it gave its tardy confirmation to the applauses which the whole + civilised world had bestowed on the genius of Voltaire. I might prove by + overwhelming evidence that, to the latest period of its existence, even + under the superintendence of the all-accomplished D'Alembert, it continued + to be a scene of the fiercest animosities and the basest intrigues. I + might cite Piron's epigrams, and Marmontel's memoirs, and Montesquieu's + letters. But I hasten on to another topic. + </p> + <p> + One of the modes by which our Society proposes to encourage merit is the + distribution of prizes. The munificence of the king has enabled it to + offer an annual premium of a hundred guineas for the best essay in prose, + and another of fifty guineas for the best poem, which may be transmitted + to it. This is very laughable. In the first place the judges may err. + Those imperfections of human intellect to which, as the articles of the + Church tell us, even general councils are subject, may possibly be found + even in the Royal Society of Literature. The French academy, as I have + already said, was the most illustrious assembly of the kind, and numbered + among its associates men much more distinguished than ever will assemble + at Mr Hatchard's to rummage the box of the English Society. Yet this + famous body gave a poetical prize, for which Voltaire was a candidate, to + a fellow who wrote some verses about THE FROZEN AND THE BURNING POLE. + </p> + <p> + Yet, granting that the prizes were always awarded to the best composition, + that composition, I say without hesitation, will always be bad. A prize + poem is like a prize sheep. The object of the competitor for the + agricultural premium is to produce an animal fit, not to be eaten, but to + be weighed. Accordingly he pampers his victim into morbid and unnatural + fatness; and, when it is in such a state that it would be sent away in + disgust from any table, he offers it to the judges. The object of the + poetical candidate, in like manner, is to produce, not a good poem, but a + poem of that exact degree of frigidity or bombast which may appear to his + censors to be correct or sublime. Compositions thus constructed will + always be worthless. The few excellences which they may contain will have + an exotic aspect and flavour. In general, prize sheep are good for nothing + but to make tallow candles, and prize poems are good for nothing but to + light them. + </p> + <p> + The first subject proposed by the Society to the poets of England was + Dartmoor. I thought that they intended a covert sarcasm at their own + projects. Their institution was a literary Dartmoor scheme;—a plan + for forcing into cultivation the waste lands of intellect,—for + raising poetical produce, by means of bounties, from soil too meagre to + have yielded any returns in the natural course of things. The plan for the + cultivation of Dartmoor has, I hear, been abandoned. I hope that this may + be an omen of the fate of the Society. + </p> + <p> + In truth, this seems by no means improbable. They have been offering for + several years the rewards which the king placed at their disposal, and + have not, as far as I can learn, been able to find in their box one + composition which they have deemed worthy of publication. At least no + publication has taken place. The associates may perhaps be astonished at + this. But I will attempt to explain it, after the manner of ancient times, + by means of an apologue. + </p> + <p> + About four hundred years after the Deluge, King Gomer Chephoraod reigned + in Babylon. He united all the characteristics of an excellent sovereign. + He made good laws, won great battles, and white-washed long streets. He + was, in consequence, idolised by his people, and panegyrised by many poets + and orators. A book was then a sermons undertaking. Neither paper nor any + similar material had been invented. Authors were therefore under the + necessity of inscribing their compositions on massive bricks. Some of + these Babylonian records are still preserved in European museums; but the + language in which they are written has never been deciphered. Gomer + Chephoraod was so popular that the clay of all the plains round the + Euphrates could scarcely furnish brick-kilns enough for his eulogists. It + is recorded in particular that Pharonezzar, the Assyrian Pindar, published + a bridge and four walls in his praise. + </p> + <p> + One day the king was going in state from his palace to the temple of + Belus. During this procession it was lawful for any Babylonian to offer + any petition or suggestion to his sovereign. As the chariot passed before + a vintner's shop, a large company, apparently half-drunk, sallied forth + into the street, and one of them thus addressed the king: + </p> + <p> + "Gomer Chephoraod, live for ever! It appears to thy servants that of all + the productions of the earth good wine is the best, and bad wine is the + worst. Good wine makes the heart cheerful, the eyes bright, the speech + ready. Bad wine confuses the head, disorders the stomach, makes us + quarrelsome at night, and sick the next morning. Now therefore let my lord + the king take order that thy servants may drink good wine. + </p> + <p> + "And how is this to be done?" said the good-natured prince. + </p> + <p> + "O King," said his monitor, "this is most easy. Let the king make a + decree, and seal it with his royal signet: and let it be proclaimed that + the king will give ten she-asses, and ten slaves, and ten changes of + raiment, every year, unto the man who shall make ten measures of the best + wine. And whosoever wishes for the she-asses, and the slaves, and the + raiment, let him send the ten measures of wine to thy servants, and we + will drink thereof and judge. So shall there be much good wine in + Assyria." + </p> + <p> + The project pleased Gomer Chephoraod. "Be it so," said he. The people + shouted. The petitioners prostrated themselves in gratitude. The same + night heralds were despatched to bear the intelligence to the remotest + districts of Assyria. + </p> + <p> + After a due interval the wines began to come in; and the examiners + assembled to adjudge the prize. The first vessel was unsealed. Its odour + was such that the judges, without tasting it, pronounced unanimous + condemnation. The next was opened: it had a villainous taste of clay. The + third was sour and vapid. They proceeded from one cask of execrable liquor + to another, till at length, in absolute nausea, they gave up the + investigation. + </p> + <p> + The next morning they all assembled at the gate of the king, with pale + faces and aching heads. They owned that they could not recommend any + competitor as worthy of the rewards. They swore that the wine was little + better than poison, and entreated permission to resign the office of + deciding between such detestable potions. + </p> + <p> + "In the name of Belus, how can this have happened?" said the king. + </p> + <p> + Merolchazzar, the high-priest, muttered something about the anger of the + Gods at the toleration shown to a sect of impious heretics who ate pigeons + broiled, "whereas," said he, "our religion commands us to eat them + roasted. Now therefore, O King," continued this respectable divine, "give + command to thy men of war, and let them smite the disobedient people with + the sword, them, and their wives, and their children, and let their + houses, and their flocks, and their herds, be given to thy servants the + priests. Then shall the land yield its increase, and the fruits of the + earth shall be no more blasted by the vengeance of Heaven." + </p> + <p> + "Nay," said the king, "the ground lies under no general curse from Heaven. + The season has been singularly good. The wine which thou didst thyself + drink at the banquet a few nights ago, O venerable Merolchazzar, was of + this year's vintage. Dost thou not remember how thou didst praise it? It + was the same night that thou wast inspired by Belus and didst reel to and + fro, and discourse sacred mysteries. These things are too hard for me. I + comprehend them not. The only wine which is bad is that which is sent to + my judges. Who can expound this to us?" + </p> + <p> + The king scratched his head. Upon which all the courtiers scratched their + heads. + </p> + <p> + He then ordered proclamation to be made that a purple robe and a golden + chain should be given to the man who could solve this difficulty. + </p> + <p> + An old philosopher, who had been observed to smile rather disdainfully + when the prize had first been instituted, came forward and spoke thus:— + </p> + <p> + "Gomer Chephoraod, live for ever! Marvel not at that which has happened. + It was no miracle, but a natural event. How could it be otherwise? It is + true that much good wine has been made this year. But who would send it in + for thy rewards? Thou knowest Ascobaruch who hath the great vineyards in + the north, and Cohahiroth who sendeth wine every year from the south over + the Persian Golf. Their wines are so delicious that ten measures thereof + are sold for an hundred talents of silver. Thinkest thou that they will + exchange them for thy slaves and thine asses? What would thy prize profit + any who have vineyards in rich soils?" + </p> + <p> + "Who then," said one of the judges, "are the wretches who sent us this + poison?" + </p> + <p> + "Blame them not," said the sage, "seeing that you have been the authors of + the evil. They are men whose lands are poor, and have never yielded them + any returns equal to the prizes which the king proposed. Wherefore, + knowing that the lords of the fruitful vineyards would not enter into + competition with them they planted vines, some on rocks, and some in light + sandy soil, and some in deep clay. Hence their wines are bad. For no + culture or reward will make barren land bear good vines. Know therefore, + assuredly, that your prizes have increased the quantity of bad but not of + good wine." + </p> + <p> + There was a long silence. At length the king spoke. "Give him the purple + robe and the chain of gold. Throw the wines into the Euphrates; and + proclaim that the Royal Society of Wines is dissolved." + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SCENES FROM "ATHENIAN REVELS." (January 1824.) + </h2> + <h3> + A DRAMA. + </h3> + <p> + I. + </p> + <p> + SCENE—A Street in Athens. + </p> + <p> + Enter CALLIDEMUS and SPEUSIPPUS; + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. So, you young reprobate! You must be a man of wit, forsooth, + and a man of quality! You must spend as if you were as rich as Nicias, and + prate as if you were as wise as Pericles! You must dangle after sophists + and pretty women! And I must pay for all! I must sup on thyme and onions, + while you are swallowing thrushes and hares! I must drink water, that you + may play the cottabus (This game consisted in projecting wine out of cups; + it was a diversion extremely fashionable at Athenian entertainments.) with + Chian wine! I must wander about as ragged as Pauson (Pauson was an + Athenian painter, whose name was synonymous with beggary. See + Aristophanes; Plutus, 602. From his poverty, I am inclined to suppose that + he painted historical pictures.), that you may be as fine as Alcibiades! I + must lie on bare boards, with a stone (See Aristophanes; Plutus, 542.) for + my pillow, and a rotten mat for my coverlid, by the light of a wretched + winking lamp, while you are marching in state, with as many torches as one + sees at the feast of Ceres, to thunder with your hatchet (See Theocritus; + Idyll ii. 128.) at the doors of half the Ionian ladies in Peiraeus. (This + was the most disreputable part of Athens. See Aristophanes: Pax, 165.) + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Why, thou unreasonable old man! Thou most shameless of + fathers!— + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. Ungrateful wretch; dare you talk so? Are you not afraid of the + thunders of Jupiter? + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Jupiter thunder! nonsense! Anaxagoras says, that thunder is + only an explosion produced by— + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. He does! Would that it had fallen on his head for his pains! + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Nay: talk rationally. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. Rationally! You audacious young sophist! I will talk + rationally. Do you know that I am your father? What quibble can you make + upon that? + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Do I know that you are my father? Let us take the question to + pieces, as Melesigenes would say. First, then, we must inquire what is + knowledge? Secondly, what is a father? Now, knowledge, as Socrates said + the other day to Theaetetus (See Plato's Theaetetus.)— + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. Socrates! what! the ragged flat-nosed old dotard, who walks + about all day barefoot, and filches cloaks, and dissects gnats, and shoes + (See Aristophanes; Nubes, 150.) fleas with wax? + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. All fiction! All trumped up by Aristophanes! + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. By Pallas, if he is in the habit of putting shoes on his + fleas, he is kinder to them than to himself. But listen to me, boy; if you + go on in this way, you will be ruined. There is an argument for you. Go to + your Socrates and your Melesigenes, and tell them to refute that. Ruined! + Do you hear? + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Ruined! + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. Ay, by Jupiter! Is such a show as you make to be supported on + nothing? During all the last war, I made not an obol from my farm; the + Peloponnesian locusts came almost as regularly as the Pleiades;—corn + burnt;—olives stripped;—fruit trees cut down;—wells + stopped up;—and, just when peace came, and I hoped that all would + turn out well, you must begin to spend as if you had all the mines of + Thasus at command. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Now, by Neptune, who delights in horses— + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. If Neptune delights in horses, he does not resemble me. You + must ride at the Panathenaea on a horse fit for the great king: four acres + of my best vines went for that folly. You must retrench, or you will have + nothing to eat. Does not Anaxagoras mention, among his other discoveries, + that when a man has nothing to eat he dies? + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. You are deceived. My friends— + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. Oh, yes! your friends will notice you, doubtless, when you are + squeezing through the crowd, on a winter's day, to warm yourself at the + fire of the baths;—or when you are fighting with beggars and + beggars' dogs for the scraps of a sacrifice;—or when you are glad to + earn three wretched obols (The stipend of an Athenian juryman.) by + listening all day to lying speeches and crying children. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. There are other means of support. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. What! I suppose you will wander from house to house, like that + wretched buffoon Philippus (Xenophon; Convivium.), and beg everybody who + has asked a supper-party to be so kind as to feed you and laugh at you; or + you will turn sycophant; you will get a bunch of grapes, or a pair of + shoes, now and then, by frightening some rich coward with a mock + prosecution. Well! that is a task for which your studies under the + sophists may have fitted you. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. You are wide of the mark. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. Then what, in the name of Juno, is your scheme? Do you intend + to join Orestes (A celebrated highwayman of Attica. See Aristophanes; + Aves, 711; and in several other passages.), and rob on the highway? Take + care; beware of the eleven (The police officers of Athens.); beware of the + hemlock. It may be very pleasant to live at other people's expense; but + not very pleasant, I should think, to hear the pestle give its last bang + against the mortar, when the cold dose is ready. Pah!— + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Hemlock? Orestes! folly!—I aim at nobler objects. What + say you to politics,—the general assembly? + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. You an orator!—oh no! no! Cleon was worth twenty such + fools as you. You have succeeded, I grant, to his impudence, for which, if + there be justice in Tartarus, he is now soaking up to the eyes in his own + tanpickle. But the Paphlagonian had parts. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. And you mean to imply— + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. Not I. You are a Pericles in embryo, doubtless. Well: and when + are you to make your first speech? O Pallas! + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. I thought of speaking, the other day, on the Sicilian + expedition; but Nicias (See Thucydides, vi. 8.) got up before me. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. Nicias, poor honest man, might just as well have sate still; + his speaking did but little good. The loss of your oration is, doubtless, + an irreparable public calamity. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Why, not so; I intend to introduce it at the next assembly; it + will suit any subject. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. That is to say, it will suit none. But pray, if it be not too + presumptuous a request, indulge me with a specimen. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Well; suppose the agora crowded;—an important subject + under discussion;—an ambassador from Argos, or from the great king;—the + tributes from the islands;—an impeachment;—in short, anything + you please. The crier makes proclamation.—"Any citizen above fifty + years old may speak—any citizen not disqualified may speak." Then I + rise:—a great murmur of curiosity while I am mounting the stand. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. Of curiosity! yes, and of something else too. You will + infallibly be dragged down by main force, like poor Glaucon (See Xenophon + Memorabilia, iii.) last year. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Never fear. I shall begin in this style: "When I consider, + Athenians, the importance of our city;—when I consider the extent of + its power, the wisdom of its laws, the elegance of its decorations;—when + I consider by what names and by what exploits its annals are adorned; when + I think on Harmodius and Aristogiton, on Themistocles and Miltiades, on + Cimon and Pericles;—when I contemplate our pre-eminence in arts and + letters;—when I observe so many flourishing states and islands + compelled to own the dominion, and purchase the protection of the City of + the Violet Crown" (A favourite epithet of Athens. See Aristophanes; + Acharn. 637.)— + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. I shall choke with rage. Oh, all ye gods and goddesses, what + sacrilege, what perjury have I ever committed, that I should be singled + out from among all the citizens of Athens to be the father of this fool? + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. What now? By Bacchus, old man, I would not advise you to give + way to such fits of passion in the streets. If Aristophanes were to see + you, you would infallibly be in a comedy next spring. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. You have more reason to fear Aristophanes than any fool + living. Oh, that he could but hear you trying to imitate the slang of + Straton (See Aristophanes; Equites, 1375.) and the lisp of Alcibiades! + (See Aristophanes; Vespae, 44.) You would be an inexhaustible subject. You + would console him for the loss of Cleon. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. No, no. I may perhaps figure at the dramatic representations + before long; but in a very different way. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. What do you mean? + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. What say you to a tragedy? + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. A tragedy of yours? + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Even so. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. Oh Hercules! Oh Bacchus! This is too much. Here is an + universal genius; sophist,—orator,—poet. To what a + three-headed monster have I given birth! a perfect Cerberus of intellect! + And pray what may your piece be about? Or will your tragedy, like your + speech, serve equally for any subject? + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. I thought of several plots;—Oedipus,—Eteocles and + Polynices,—the war of Troy,—the murder of Agamemnon. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. And what have you chosen? + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. You know there is a law which permits any modern poet to + retouch a play of Aeschylus, and bring it forward as his own composition. + And, as there is an absurd prejudice, among the vulgar, in favour of his + extravagant pieces, I have selected one of them, and altered it. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. Which of them? + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Oh! that mass of barbarous absurdities, the Prometheus. But I + have framed it anew upon the model of Euripides. By Bacchus, I shall make + Sophocles and Agathon look about them. You would not know the play again. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. By Jupiter, I believe not. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. I have omitted the whole of the absurd dialogue between Vulcan + and Strength, at the beginning. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. That may be, on the whole, an improvement. The play will then + open with that grand soliloquy of Prometheus, when he is chained to the + rock. + </p> + <p> + "Oh! ye eternal heavens! ye rushing winds! Ye fountains of great streams! + Ye ocean waves, That in ten thousand sparkling dimples wreathe Your azure + smiles! All-generating earth! All-seeing sun! On you, on you, I call." + (See Aeschylus; Prometheus, 88.) + </p> + <p> + Well, I allow that will be striking; I did not think you capable of that + idea. Why do you laugh? + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Do you seriously suppose that one who has studied the plays of + that great man, Euripides, would ever begin a tragedy in such a ranting + style? + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. What, does not your play open with the speech of Prometheus? + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. No doubt. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. Then what, in the name of Bacchus, do you make him say? + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. You shall hear; and, if it be not in the very style of + Euripides, call me a fool. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. That is a liberty which I shall venture to take, whether it be + or no. But go on. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Prometheus begins thus:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Coelus begat Saturn and Briareus + Cottus and Creius and Iapetus, + Gyges and Hyperion, Phoebe, Tethys, + Thea and Rhea and Mnemosyne. + Then Saturn wedded Rhea, and begat + Pluto and Neptune, Jupiter and Juno." +</pre> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. Very beautiful, and very natural; and, as you say, very like + Euripides. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. You are sneering. Really, father, you do not understand these + things. You had not those advantages in your youth— + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. Which I have been fool enough to let you have. No; in my early + days, lying had not been dignified into a science, nor politics degraded + into a trade. I wrestled, and read Homer's battles, instead of dressing my + hair, and reciting lectures in verse out of Euripides. But I have some + notion of what a play should be; I have seen Phrynichus, and lived with + Aeschylus. I saw the representation of the Persians. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. A wretched play; it may amuse the fools who row the triremes; + but it is utterly unworthy to be read by any man of taste. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. If you had seen it acted;—the whole theatre frantic with + joy, stamping, shouting, laughing, crying. There was Cynaegeirus, the + brother of Aeschylus, who lost both his arms at Marathon, beating the + stumps against his sides with rapture. When the crowd remarked him—But + where are you going? + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. To sup with Alcibiades; he sails with the expedition for + Sicily in a few days; this is his farewell entertainment. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. So much the better; I should say, so much the worse. That + cursed Sicilian expedition! And you were one of the young fools (See + Thucydides, vi. 13.) who stood clapping and shouting while he was gulling + the rabble, and who drowned poor Nicias's voice with your uproar. Look to + it; a day of reckoning will come. As to Alcibiades himself— + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. What can you say against him? His enemies themselves + acknowledge his merit. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. They acknowledge that he is clever, and handsome, and that he + was crowned at the Olympic games. And what other merits do his friends + claim for him? A precious assembly you will meet at his house, no doubt. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. The first men in Athens, probably. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. Whom do you mean by the first men in Athens? + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Callicles. (Callicles plays a conspicuous part in the Gorgias + of Plato.) + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. A sacrilegious, impious, unfeeling ruffian! + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Hippomachus. + </p> + <p> + CALLIDEMUS. A fool, who can talk of nothing but his travels through Persia + and Egypt. Go, go. The gods forbid that I should detain you from such + choice society! + </p> + <p> + [Exeunt severally.] + </p> + <p> + II. + </p> + <p> + SCENE—A Hall in the house of ALCIBIADES. + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES, SPEUSIPPUS, CALLICLES, HIPPOMACHUS, CHARICLEA, and others, + seated round a table feasting. + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Bring larger cups. This shall be our gayest revel. It is + probably the last—for some of us at least. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. At all events, it will be long before you taste such wine + again, Alcibiades. + </p> + <p> + CALLICLES. Nay, there is excellent wine in Sicily. When I was there with + Eurymedon's squadron, I had many a long carouse. You never saw finer + grapes than those of Aetna. + </p> + <p> + HIPPOMACHUS. The Greeks do not understand the art of making wine. Your + Persian is the man. So rich, so fragrant, so sparkling! I will tell you + what the Satrap of Caria said to me about that when I supped with him. + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Nay, sweet Hippomachus; not a word to-night about satraps, or + the great king, or the walls of Babylon, or the Pyramids, or the mummies. + Chariclea, why do you look so sad? + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. Can I be cheerful when you are going to leave me, Alcibiades? + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. My life, my sweet soul, it is but for a short time. In a year + we conquer Sicily. In another, we humble Carthage. (See Thucydides, vi. + 90.) I will bring back such robes, such necklaces, elephants' teeth by + thousands, ay, and the elephants themselves, if you wish to see them. Nay, + smile, my Chariclea, or I shall talk nonsense to no purpose. + </p> + <p> + HIPPOMACHUS. The largest elephant that I ever saw was in the grounds of + Teribazus, near Susa. I wish that I had measured him. + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. I wish that he had trod upon you. Come, come, Chariclea, we + shall soon return, and then— + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. Yes; then indeed. + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Yes, then— + Then for revels; then for dances, + Tender whispers, melting glances. + Peasants, pluck your richest fruits: + Minstrels, sound your sweetest flutes: + Come in laughing crowds to greet us, + Dark-eyed daughters of Miletus; + Bring the myrtles, bring the dice, + Floods of Chian, hills of spice. +</pre> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Whose lines are those, Alcibiades? + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. My own. Think you, because I do not shut myself up to + meditate, and drink water, and eat herbs, that I cannot write verses? By + Apollo, if I did not spend my days in politics, and my nights in revelry, + I should have made Sophocles tremble. But now I never go beyond a little + song like this, and never invoke any Muse but Chariclea. But come, + Speusippus, sing. You are a professed poet. Let us have some of your + verses. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. My verses! How can you talk so? I a professed poet! + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Oh, content you, sweet Speusippus. We all know your designs + upon the tragic honours. Come, sing. A chorus of your new play. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Nay, nay— + </p> + <p> + HIPPOMACHUS. When a guest who is asked to sing at a Persian banquet + refuses— + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. In the name of Bacchus— + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. I am absolute. Sing. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Well, then, I will sing you a chorus, which, I think, is a + tolerable imitation of Euripides. + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. Of Euripides?—Not a word. + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Why so, sweet Chariclea? + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. Would you have me betray my sex? Would you have me forget his + Phaedras and Sthenoboeas? No if I ever suffer any lines of that + woman-hater, or his imitators, to be sung in my presence, may I sell herbs + (The mother of Euripides was a herb-woman. This was a favourite topic of + Aristophanes.) like his mother, and wear rags like his Telephus. (The hero + of one of the lost plays of Euripides, who appears to have been brought + upon the stage in the garb of a beggar. See Aristophanes; Acharn. 430; and + in other places.) + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Then, sweet Chariclea, since you have silenced Speusippus, you + shall sing yourself. + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. What shall I sing? + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Nay, choose for yourself. + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. Then I will sing an old Ionian hymn, which is chanted every + spring at the feast of Venus, near Miletus. I used to sing it in my own + country when I was a child; and—ah, Alcibiades! + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Dear Chariclea, you shall sing something else. This distresses + you. + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. No hand me the lyre:—no matter. You will hear the song to + disadvantage. But if it were sung as I have heard it sung:—if this + were a beautiful morning in spring, and if we were standing on a woody + promontory, with the sea, and the white sails, and the blue Cyclades + beneath us,—and the portico of a temple peeping through the trees on + a huge peak above our heads,—and thousands of people, with myrtles + in their hands, thronging up the winding path, their gay dresses and + garlands disappearing and emerging by turns as they passed round the + angles of the rock,—then perhaps— + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Now, by Venus herself, sweet lady, where you are we shall lack + neither sun, nor flowers, nor spring, nor temple, nor goddess. + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. (Sings.) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Let this sunny hour be given, + Venus, unto love and mirth: + Smiles like thine are in the heaven; + Bloom like thine is on the earth; + And the tinkling of the fountains, + And the murmurs of the sea, + And the echoes from the mountains, + Speak of youth, and hope, and thee. + + By whate'er of soft expression + Thou hast taught to lovers' eyes, + Faint denial, slow confession, + Glowing cheeks and stifled sighs; + By the pleasure and the pain, + By the follies and the wiles, + Pouting fondness, sweet disdain, + Happy tears and mournful smiles; + + Come with music floating o'er thee; + Come with violets springing round: + Let the Graces dance before thee, + All their golden zones unbound; + Now in sport their faces hiding, + Now, with slender fingers fair, + From their laughing eyes dividing + The long curls of rose-crowned hair. +</pre> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Sweetly sung; but mournfully, Chariclea; for which I would + chide you, but that I am sad myself. More wine there. I wish to all the + gods that I had fairly sailed from Athens. + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. And from me, Alcibiades? + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Yes, from you, dear lady. The days which immediately precede + separation are the most melancholy of our lives. + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. Except those which immediately follow it. + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. No; when I cease to see you, other objects may compel my + attention; but can I be near you without thinking how lovely you are, and + how soon I must leave you? + </p> + <p> + HIPPOMACHUS. Ay; travelling soon puts such thoughts out of men's heads. + </p> + <p> + CALLICLES. A battle is the best remedy for them. + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. A battle, I should think, might supply their place with others + as unpleasant. + </p> + <p> + CALLICLES. No. The preparations are rather disagreeable to a novice. But + as soon as the fighting begins, by Jupiter, it is a noble time;—men + trampling,—shields clashing,—spears breaking,—and the + poean roaring louder than all. + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. But what if you are killed? + </p> + <p> + CALLICLES. What indeed? You must ask Speusippus that question. He is a + philosopher. + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Yes, and the greatest of philosophers, if he can answer it. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Pythagoras is of opinion— + </p> + <p> + HIPPOMACHUS. Pythagoras stole that and all his other opinions from Asia + and Egypt. The transmigration of the soul and the vegetable diet are + derived from India. I met a Brachman in Sogdiana— + </p> + <p> + CALLICLES. All nonsense! + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. What think you, Alcibiades? + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. I think that, if the doctrine be true, your spirit will be + transfused into one of the doves who carry (Homer's Odyssey, xii. 63.) + ambrosia to the gods or verses to the mistresses of poets. Do you remember + Anacreon's lines? How should you like such an office? + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. If I were to be your dove, Alcibiades, and you would treat me + as Anacreon treated his, and let me nestle in your breast and drink from + your cup, I would submit even to carry your love-letters to other ladies. + </p> + <p> + CALLICLES. What, in the name of Jupiter, is the use of all these + speculations about death? Socrates once (See the close of Plato's + Gorgias.) lectured me upon it the best part of a day. I have hated the + sight of him ever since. Such things may suit an old sophist when he is + fasting; but in the midst of wine and music— + </p> + <p> + HIPPOMACHUS. I differ from you. The enlightened Egyptians bring skeletons + into their banquets, in order to remind their guests to make the most of + their life while they have it. + </p> + <p> + CALLICLES. I want neither skeleton nor sophist to teach me that lesson. + More wine, I pray you, and less wisdom. If you must believe something + which you never can know, why not be contented with the long stories about + the other world which are told us when we are initiated at the Eleusinian + mysteries? (The scene which follows is founded upon history. Thucydides + tells us, in his sixth book, that about this time Alcibiades was suspected + of having assisted at a mock celebration of these famous mysteries. It was + the opinion of the vulgar among the Athenians that extraordinary + privileges were granted in the other world to alt who had been initiated.) + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. And what are those stories? + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Are not you initiated, Chariclea? + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. No; my mother was a Lydian, a barbarian; and therefore— + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. I understand. Now the curse of Venus on the fools who made so + hateful a law! Speusippus, does not your friend Euripides (The right of + Euripides to this line is somewhat disputable. See Aristophanes; Plutus, + 1152.) say + </p> + <p> + "The land where thou art prosperous is thy country?" + </p> + <p> + Surely we ought to say to every lady + </p> + <p> + "The land where thou art pretty is thy country." + </p> + <p> + Besides, to exclude foreign beauties from the chorus of the initiated in + the Elysian fields is less cruel to them than to ourselves. Chariclea, you + shall be initiated. + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. When? + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Now. + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. Where? + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Here. + </p> + <p> + CHARICLEA. Delightful! + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. But there must be an interval of a year between the + purification and the initiation. + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. We will suppose all that. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. And nine days of rigid mortification of the senses. + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. We will suppose that too. I am sure it was supposed, with as + little reason, when I was initiated. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. But you are sworn to secrecy. + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. You a sophist, and talk of oaths! You a pupil of Euripides, + and forget his maxims! + </p> + <p> + "My lips have sworn it; but my mind is free." (See Euripides: Hippolytus, + 608. For the jesuitical morality of this line Euripides is bitterly + attacked by the comic poet.) + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. But Alcibiades— + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. What! Are you afraid of Ceres and Proserpine? + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. No—but—but—I—that is I—but it is + best to be safe—I mean—Suppose there should be something in + it. + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Now, by Mercury, I shall die with laughing. O Speusippus. + Speusippus! Go back to your old father. Dig vineyards, and judge causes, + and be a respectable citizen. But never, while you live; again dream of + being a philosopher. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Nay, I was only— + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. A pupil of Gorgias and Melesigenes afraid of Tartarus! In what + region of the infernal world do you expect your domicile to be fixed? + Shall you roll a stone like Sisyphus? Hard exercise, Speusippus! + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. In the name of all the gods— + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Or shall you sit starved and thirsty in the midst of fruit and + wine like Tantalus? Poor fellow? I think I see your face as you are + springing up to the branches and missing your aim. Oh Bacchus! Oh Mercury! + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Alcibiades! + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Or perhaps you will be food for a vulture, like the huge + fellow who was rude to Latona. + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. Alcibiades! + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Never fear. Minos will not be so cruel. Your eloquence will + triumph over all accusations. The Furies will skulk away like disappointed + sycophants. Only address the judges of hell in the speech which you were + prevented from speaking last assembly. "When I consider"—is not that + the beginning of it? Come, man, do not be angry. Why do you pace up and + down with such long steps? You are not in Tartarus yet. You seem to think + that you are already stalking like poor Achilles, + </p> + <p> + "With stride Majestic through the plain of Asphodel." (See Homer's + Odyssey, xi. 538.) + </p> + <p> + SPEUSIPPUS. How can you talk so, when you know that I believe all that + foolery as little as you do? + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Then march. You shall be the crier. Callicles, you shall carry + the torch. Why do you stare? (The crier and torchbearer were important + functionaries at the celebration of the Eleusinian mysteries.) + </p> + <p> + CALLICLES. I do not much like the frolic. + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Nay, surely you are not taken with a fit of piety. If all be + true that is told of you, you have as little reason to think the gods + vindictive as any man breathing. If you be not belied, a certain golden + goblet which I have seen at your house was once in the temple of Juno at + Corcyra. And men say that there was a priestess at Tarentum— + </p> + <p> + CALLICLES. A fig for the gods! I was thinking about the Archons. You will + have an accusation laid against you to-morrow. It is not very pleasant to + be tried before the king. (The name of king was given in the Athenian + democracy to the magistrate who exercised those spiritual functions which + in the monarchical times had belonged to the sovereign. His court took + cognisance of offences against the religion of the state.) + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Never fear: there is not a sycophant in Attica who would dare + to breathe a word against me, for the golden plane-tree of the great king. + (See Herodotus, viii. 28.) + </p> + <p> + HIPPOMACHUS. That plane-tree— + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. Never mind the plane-tree. Come, Callicles, you were not so + timid when you plundered the merchantman off Cape Malea. Take up the torch + and move. Hippomachus, tell one of the slaves to bring a sow. (A sow was + sacrificed to Ceres at the admission to the greater mysteries.) + </p> + <p> + CALLICLES. And what part are you to play? + </p> + <p> + ALCIBIADES. I shall be hierophant. Herald, to your office. Torchbearer, + advance with the lights. Come forward, fair novice. We will celebrate the + rite within. + </p> + <p> + [Exeunt.] + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CRITICISMS ON THE PRINCIPAL ITALIAN WRITERS. + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + No. I. DANTE. (January 1824.) + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Fairest of stars, last in the train of night, + If better thou belong not to the dawn, + Sure pledge of day, that crown'st the smiling morn + With thy bright circlet." —Milton. +</pre> + <p> + In a review of Italian literature, Dante has a double claim to precedency. + He was the earliest and the greatest writer of his country. He was the + first man who fully descried and exhibited the powers of his native + dialect. The Latin tongue, which, under the most favourable circumstances, + and in the hands of the greatest masters, had still been poor, feeble, and + singularly unpoetical, and which had, in the age of Dante, been debased by + the admixture of innumerable barbarous words and idioms, was still + cultivated with superstitious veneration, and received, in the last stage + of corruption, more honours than it had deserved in the period of its life + and vigour. It was the language of the cabinet, of the university, of the + church. It was employed by all who aspired to distinction in the higher + walks of poetry. In compassion to the ignorance of his mistress, a + cavalier might now and then proclaim his passion in Tuscan or Provenc'al + rhymes. The vulgar might occasionally be edified by a pious allegory in + the popular jargon. But no writer had conceived it possible that the + dialect of peasants and market-women should possess sufficient energy and + precision for a majestic and durable work. Dante adventured first. He + detected the rich treasures of thought and diction which still lay latent + in their ore. He refined them into purity. He burnished them into + splendour. He fitted them for every purpose of use and magnificence. And + he has thus acquired the glory, not only of producing the finest narrative + poem of modern times but also of creating a language, distinguished by + unrivalled melody, and peculiarly capable of furnishing to lofty and + passionate thoughts their appropriate garb of severe and concise + expression. + </p> + <p> + To many this may appear a singular panegyric on the Italian tongue. Indeed + the great majority of the young gentlemen and young ladies, who, when they + are asked whether they read Italian, answer "yes," never go beyond the + stories at the end of their grammar,—The Pastor Fido,—or an + act of Artaserse. They could as soon read a Babylonian brick as a canto of + Dante. Hence it is a general opinion, among those who know little or + nothing of the subject, that this admirable language is adapted only to + the effeminate cant of sonnetteers, musicians, and connoisseurs. + </p> + <p> + The fact is that Dante and Petrarch have been the Oromasdes and Arimanes + of Italian literature. I wish not to detract from the merits of Petrarch. + No one can doubt that his poems exhibit, amidst some imbecility and more + affectation, much elegance, ingenuity, and tenderness. They present us + with a mixture which can only be compared to the whimsical concert + described by the humorous poet of Modena: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "S'udian gli usignuoli, al primo albore, + Egli asini cantar versi d'amore." + (Tassoni; Secchia Rapita, canto i. stanza 6.) +</pre> + <p> + I am not, however, at present speaking of the intrinsic excellencies of + his writings, which I shall take another opportunity to examine, but of + the effect which they produced on the literature of Italy. The florid and + luxurious charms of his style enticed the poets and the public from the + contemplation of nobler and sterner models. In truth, though a rude state + of society is that in which great original works are most frequently + produced, it is also that in which they are worst appreciated. This may + appear paradoxical; but it is proved by experience, and is consistent with + reason. To be without any received canons of taste is good for the few who + can create, but bad for the many who can only imitate and judge. Great and + active minds cannot remain at rest. In a cultivated age they are too often + contented to move on in the beaten path. But where no path exists they + will make one. Thus the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Divine Comedy, appeared in + dark and half barbarous times: and thus of the few original works which + have been produced in more polished ages we owe a large proportion to men + in low stations and of uninformed minds. I will instance, in our own + language, the Pilgrim's Progress and Robinson Crusoe. Of all the prose + works of fiction which we possess, these are, I will not say the best, but + the most peculiar, the most unprecedented, the most inimitable. Had Bunyan + and Defoe been educated gentlemen, they would probably have published + translations and imitations of French romances "by a person of quality." I + am not sure that we should have had Lear if Shakspeare had been able to + read Sophocles. + </p> + <p> + But these circumstances, while they foster genius, are unfavourable to the + science of criticism. Men judge by comparison. They are unable to estimate + the grandeur of an object when there is no standard by which they can + measure it. One of the French philosophers (I beg Gerard's pardon), who + accompanied Napoleon to Egypt, tells us that, when he first visited the + great Pyramid, he was surprised to see it so diminutive. It stood alone in + a boundless plain. There was nothing near it from which he could calculate + its magnitude. But when the camp was pitched beside it, and the tents + appeared like diminutive specks around its base, he then perceived the + immensity of this mightiest work of man. In the same manner, it is not + till a crowd of petty writers has sprung up that the merit of the great + masterspirits of literature is understood. + </p> + <p> + We have indeed ample proof that Dante was highly admired in his own and + the following age. I wish that we had equal proof that he was admired for + his excellencies. But it is a remarkable corroboration of what has been + said, that this great man seems to have been utterly unable to appreciate + himself. In his treatise "De Vulgari Eloquentia" he talks with + satisfaction of what he has done for Italian literature, of the purity and + correctness of his style. "Cependant," says a favourite writer of + mine,(Sismondi, Literature du Midi de l'Europe.) "il n'est ni pur, ni + correct, mais il est createur." Considering the difficulties with which + Dante had to struggle, we may perhaps be more inclined than the French + critic to allow him this praise. Still it is by no means his highest or + most peculiar title to applause. It is scarcely necessary to say that + those qualities which escaped the notice of the poet himself were not + likely to attract the attention of the commentators. The fact is, that, + while the public homage was paid to some absurdities with which his works + may be justly charged, and to many more which were falsely imputed to + them,—while lecturers were paid to expound and eulogise his physics, + his metaphysics, his theology, all bad of their kind—while + annotators laboured to detect allegorical meanings of which the author + never dreamed, the great powers of his imagination, and the incomparable + force of his style, were neither admired nor imitated. Arimanes had + prevailed. The Divine Comedy was to that age what St. Paul's Cathedral was + to Omai. The poor Otaheitean stared listlessly for a moment at the huge + cupola, and ran into a toyshop to play with beads. Italy, too, was charmed + with literary trinkets, and played with them for four centuries. + </p> + <p> + From the time of Petrarch to the appearance of Alfieri's tragedies, we may + trace in almost every page of Italian literature the influence of those + celebrated sonnets which, from the nature both of their beauties and their + faults, were peculiarly unfit to be models for general imitation. Almost + all the poets of that period, however different in the degree and quality + of their talents, are characterised by great exaggeration, and as a + necessary consequence, great coldness of sentiment; by a passion for + frivolous and tawdry ornament; and, above all, by an extreme feebleness + and diffuseness of style. Tasso, Marino, Guarini, Metastasio, and a crowd + of writers of inferior merit and celebrity, were spell-bound in the + enchanted gardens of a gaudy and meretricious Alcina, who concealed + debility and deformity beneath the deceitful semblance of loveliness and + health. Ariosto, the great Ariosto himself, like his own Ruggiero, stooped + for a time to linger amidst the magic flowers and fountains, and to caress + the gay and painted sorceress. But to him, as to his own Ruggiero, had + been given the omnipotent ring and the winged courser, which bore him from + the paradise of deception to the regions of light and nature. + </p> + <p> + The evil of which I speak was not confined to the graver poets. It + infected satire, comedy, burlesque. No person can admire more than I do + the great masterpieces of wit and humour which Italy has produced. Still I + cannot but discern and lament a great deficiency, which is common to them + all. I find in them abundance of ingenuity, of droll naivete, of profound + and just reflection, of happy expression. Manners, characters, opinions, + are treated with "a most learned spirit of human dealing." But something + is still wanting. We read, and we admire, and we yawn. We look in vain for + the bacchanalian fury which inspired the comedy of Athens, for the fierce + and withering scorn which animates the invectives of Juvenal and Dryden, + or even for the compact and pointed diction which adds zest to the verses + of Pope and Boileau. There is no enthusiasm, no energy, no condensation, + nothing which springs from strong feeling, nothing which tends to excite + it. Many fine thoughts and fine expressions reward the toil of reading. + Still it is a toil. The Secchia Rapita, in some points the best poem of + its kind, is painfully diffuse and languid. The Animali Parlanti of Casti + is perfectly intolerable. I admire the dexterity of the plot, and the + liberality of the opinions. I admit that it is impossible to turn to a + page which does not contain something that deserves to be remembered; but + it is at least six times as long as it ought to be. And the garrulous + feebleness of the style is a still greater fault than the length of the + work. + </p> + <p> + It may be thought that I have gone too far in attributing these evils to + the influence of the works and the fame of Petrarch. It cannot, however, + be doubted that they have arisen, in a great measure, from a neglect of + the style of Dante. This is not more proved by the decline of Italian + poetry than by its resuscitation. After the lapse of four hundred and + fifty years, there appeared a man capable of appreciating and imitating + the father of Tuscan literature—Vittorio Alfieri. Like the prince in + the nursery tale, he sought and found the sleeping beauty within the + recesses which had so long concealed her from mankind. The portal was + indeed rusted by time;—the dust of ages had accumulated on the + hangings;—the furniture was of antique fashion;—and the + gorgeous colour of the embroidery had faded. But the living charms which + were well worth all the rest remained in the bloom of eternal youth, and + well rewarded the bold adventurer who roused them from their long slumber. + In every line of the Philip and the Saul, the greatest poems, I think, of + the eighteenth century, we may trace the influence of that mighty genius + which has immortalised the ill-starred love of Francesca, and the paternal + agonies of Ugolino. Alfieri bequeathed the sovereignty of Italian + literature to the author of the Aristodemus—a man of genius scarcely + inferior to his own, and a still more devoted disciple of the great + Florentine. It must be acknowledged that this eminent writer has sometimes + pushed too far his idolatry of Dante. To borrow a sprightly illustration + from Sir John Denham, he has not only imitated his garb, but borrowed his + clothes. He often quotes his phrases; and he has, not very judiciously as + it appears to me, imitated his versification. Nevertheless, he has + displayed many of the higher excellencies of his master; and his works may + justly inspire us with a hope that the Italian language will long flourish + under a new literary dynasty, or rather under the legitimate line, which + has at length been restored to a throne long occupied by specious + usurpers. + </p> + <p> + The man to whom the literature of his country owes its origin and its + revival was born in times singularly adapted to call forth his + extraordinary powers. Religious zeal, chivalrous love and honour, + democratic liberty, are the three most powerful principles that have ever + influenced the character of large masses of men. Each of them singly has + often excited the greatest enthusiasm, and produced the most important + changes. In the time of Dante all the three, often in amalgamation, + generally in conflict, agitated the public mind. The preceding generation + had witnessed the wrongs and the revenge of the brave, the accomplished, + the unfortunate Emperor Frederic the Second,—a poet in an age of + schoolmen,—a philosopher in an age of monks,—a statesman in an + age of crusaders. During the whole life of the poet, Italy was + experiencing the consequences of the memorable struggle which he had + maintained against the Church. The finest works of imagination have always + been produced in times of political convulsion, as the richest vineyards + and the sweetest flowers always grow on the soil which has been fertilised + by the fiery deluge of a volcano. To look no further than the literary + history of our own country, can we doubt that Shakspeare was in a great + measure produced by the Reformation, and Wordsworth by the French + Revolution? Poets often avoid political transactions; they often affect to + despise them. But, whether they perceive it or not, they must be + influenced by them. As long as their minds have any point of contact with + those of their fellow-men, the electric impulse, at whatever distance it + may originate, will be circuitously communicated to them. + </p> + <p> + This will be the case even in large societies, where the division of + labour enables many speculative men to observe the face of nature, or to + analyse their own minds, at a distance from the seat of political + transactions. In the little republic of which Dante was a member the state + of things was very different. These small communities are most + unmercifully abused by most of our modern professors of the science of + government. In such states, they tell us, factions are always most + violent: where both parties are cooped up within a narrow space, political + difference necessarily produces personal malignity. Every man must be a + soldier; every moment may produce a war. No citizen can lie down secure + that he shall not be roused by the alarum-bell, to repel or avenge an + injury. In such petty quarrels Greece squandered the blood which might + have purchased for her the permanent empire of the world, and Italy wasted + the energy and the abilities which would have enabled her to defend her + independence against the Pontiffs and the Caesars. + </p> + <p> + All this is true: yet there is still a compensation. Mankind has not + derived so much benefit from the empire of Rome as from the city of + Athens, nor from the kingdom of France as from the city of Florence. The + violence of party feeling may be an evil; but it calls forth that activity + of mind which in some states of society it is desirable to produce at any + expense. Universal soldiership may be an evil; but where every man is a + soldier there will be no standing army. And is it no evil that one man in + every fifty should be bred to the trade of slaughter; should live only by + destroying and by exposing himself to be destroyed; should fight without + enthusiasm and conquer without glory; be sent to a hospital when wounded, + and rot on a dunghill when old? Such, over more than two-thirds of Europe, + is the fate of soldiers. It was something that the citizen of Milan or + Florence fought, not merely in the vague and rhetorical sense in which the + words are often used, but in sober truth, for his parents, his children, + his lands, his house, his altars. It was something that he marched forth + to battle beneath the Carroccio, which had been the object of his childish + veneration: that his aged father looked down from the battlements on his + exploits; that his friends and his rivals were the witnesses of his glory. + If he fell, he was consigned to no venal or heedless guardians. The same + day saw him conveyed within the walls which he had defended. His wounds + were dressed by his mother; his confession was whispered to the friendly + priest who had heard and absolved the follies of his youth; his last sigh + was breathed upon the lips of the lady of his love. Surely there is no + sword like that which is beaten out of a ploughshare. Surely this state of + things was not unmixedly bad; its evils were alleviated by enthusiasm and + by tenderness; and it will at least be acknowledged that it was well + fitted to nurse poetical genius in an imaginative and observant mind. + </p> + <p> + Nor did the religious spirit of the age tend less to this result than its + political circumstances. Fanaticism is an evil, but it is not the greatest + of evils. It is good that a people should be roused by any means from a + state of utter torpor;—that their minds should be diverted from + objects merely sensual, to meditations, however erroneous, on the + mysteries of the moral and intellectual world; and from interests which + are immediately selfish to those which relate to the past, the future, and + the remote. These effects have sometimes been produced by the worst + superstitions that ever existed; but the Catholic religion, even in the + time of its utmost extravagance and atrocity, never wholly lost the spirit + of the Great Teacher, whose precepts form the noblest code, as His conduct + furnished the purest example, of moral excellence. It is of all religions + the most poetical. The ancient superstitions furnished the fancy with + beautiful images, but took no hold on the heart. The doctrines of the + Reformed Churches have most powerfully influenced the feelings and the + conduct of men, but have not presented them with visions of sensible + beauty and grandeur. The Roman Catholic Church has united to the awful + doctrines of the one that Mr Coleridge calls the "fair humanities" of the + other. It has enriched sculpture and painting with the loveliest and most + majestic forms. To the Phidian Jupiter it can oppose the Moses of Michael + Angelo; and to the voluptuous beauty of the Queen of Cyprus, the serene + and pensive loveliness of the Virgin Mother. The legends of its martyrs + and its saints may vie in ingenuity and interest with the mythological + fables of Greece; its ceremonies and processions were the delight of the + vulgar; the huge fabric of secular power with which it was connected + attracted the admiration of the statesman. At the same time, it never lost + sight of the most solemn and tremendous doctrines of Christianity,—the + incarnate God,—the judgment,—the retribution,—the + eternity of happiness or torment. Thus, while, like the ancient religions, + it received incalculable support from policy and ceremony, it never wholly + became, like those religions, a merely political and ceremonial + institution. + </p> + <p> + The beginning of the thirteenth century was, as Machiavelli has remarked, + the era of a great revival of this extraordinary system. The policy of + Innocent,—the growth of the Inquisition and the mendicant orders,—the + wars against the Albigenses, the Pagans of the East, and the unfortunate + princes of the house of Swabia, agitated Italy during the two following + generations. In this point Dante was completely under the influence of his + age. He was a man of a turbid and melancholy spirit. In early youth he had + entertained a strong and unfortunate passion, which, long after the death + of her whom he loved, continued to haunt him. Dissipation, ambition, + misfortunes had not effaced it. He was not only a sincere, but a + passionate, believer. The crimes and abuses of the Church of Rome were + indeed loathsome to him; but to all its doctrines and all its rites he + adhered with enthusiastic fondness and veneration; and, at length, driven + from his native country, reduced to a situation the most painful to a man + of his disposition, condemned to learn by experience that no food is so + bitter as the bread of dependence + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + ("Tu proverai si come sa di sale + Lo pane altrui, e come e duro calle + Lo scendere e'l sa'ir per l'altrui scale." + Paradiso, canto xvii.), +</pre> + <p> + and no ascent so painful as the staircase of a patron,—his wounded + spirit took refuge in visionary devotion. Beatrice, the unforgotten object + of his early tenderness, was invested by his imagination with glorious and + mysterious attributes; she was enthroned among the highest of the + celestial hierarchy: Almighty Wisdom had assigned to her the care of the + sinful and unhappy wanderer who had loved her with such a perfect love. + ("L'amico mio, e non della ventura." Inferno, canto ii.) By a confusion, + like that which often takes place in dreams, he has sometimes lost sight + of her human nature, and even of her personal existence, and seems to + consider her as one of the attributes of the Deity. + </p> + <p> + But those religious hopes which had released the mind of the sublime + enthusiast from the terrors of death had not rendered his speculations on + human life more cheerful. This is an inconsistency which may often be + observed in men of a similar temperament. He hoped for happiness beyond + the grave: but he felt none on earth. It is from this cause, more than + from any other, that his description of Heaven is so far inferior to the + Hell or the Purgatory. With the passions and miseries of the suffering + spirits he feels a strong sympathy. But among the beatified he appears as + one who has nothing in common with them,—as one who is incapable of + comprehending, not only the degree, but the nature of their enjoyment. We + think that we see him standing amidst those smiling and radiant spirits + with that scowl of unutterable misery on his brow, and that curl of bitter + disdain on his lips, which all his portraits have preserved, and which + might furnish Chantrey with hints for the head of his projected Satan. + </p> + <p> + There is no poet whose intellectual and moral character are so closely + connected. The great source, as it appears to me, of the power of the + Divine Comedy is the strong belief with which the story seems to be told. + In this respect, the only books which approach to its excellence are + Gulliver's Travels and Robinson Crusoe. The solemnity of his + asseverations, the consistency and minuteness of his details, the + earnestness with which he labours to make the reader understand the exact + shape and size of everything that he describes, give an air of reality to + his wildest fictions. I should only weaken this statement by quoting + instances of a feeling which pervades the whole work, and to which it owes + much of its fascination. This is the real justification of the many + passages in his poem which bad critics have condemned as grotesque. I am + concerned to see that Mr Cary, to whom Dante owes more than ever poet owed + to translator, has sanctioned an accusation utterly unworthy of his + abilities. "His solicitude," says that gentleman, "to define all his + images in such a manner as to bring them within the circle of our vision, + and to subject them to the power of the pencil, renders him little better + than grotesque, where Milton has since taught us to expect sublimity." It + is true that Dante has never shrunk from embodying his conceptions in + determinate words, that he has even given measures and numbers, where + Milton would have left his images to float undefined in a gorgeous haze of + language. Both were right. Milton did not profess to have been in heaven + or hell. He might therefore reasonably confine himself to magnificent + generalities. Far different was the office of the lonely traveller, who + had wandered through the nations of the dead. Had he described the abode + of the rejected spirits in language resembling the splendid lines of the + English Poet,—had he told us of— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "An universe of death, which God by curse + Created evil, for evil only good, + Where all life dies, death lives, and Nature breeds + Perverse all monstrous, all prodigious things, + Abominable, unutterable, and worse + Than fables yet have feigned, or fear conceived, + Gorgons, and hydras, and chimaeras dire"— +</pre> + <p> + this would doubtless have been noble writing. But where would have been + that strong impression of reality, which, in accordance with his plan, it + should have been his great object to produce? It was absolutely necessary + for him to delineate accurately "all monstrous, all prodigious things,"—to + utter what might to others appear "unutterable,"—to relate with the + air of truth what fables had never feigned,—to embody what fear had + never conceived. And I will frankly confess that the vague sublimity of + Milton affects me less than these reviled details of Dante. We read + Milton; and we know that we are reading a great poet. When we read Dante, + the poet vanishes. We are listening to the man who has returned from "the + valley of the dolorous abyss;" ("Lavalle d'abisso doloroso."—Inferno, + cantoiv.)—we seem to see the dilated eye of horror, to hear the + shuddering accents with which he tells his fearful tale. Considered in + this light, the narratives are exactly what they should be,—definite + in themselves, but suggesting to the mind ideas of awful and indefinite + wonder. They are made up of the images of the earth:—they are told + in the language of the earth.—Yet the whole effect is, beyond + expression, wild and unearthly. The fact is, that supernatural beings, as + long as they are considered merely with reference to their own nature, + excite our feelings very feebly. It is when the great gulf which separates + them from us is passed, when we suspect some strange and undefinable + relation between the laws of the visible and the invisible world, that + they rouse, perhaps, the strongest emotions of which our nature is + capable. How many children, and how many men, are afraid of ghosts, who + are not afraid of God! And this, because, though they entertain a much + stronger conviction of the existence of a Deity than of the reality of + apparitions, they have no apprehension that he will manifest himself to + them in any sensible manner. While this is the case, to describe + superhuman beings in the language, and to attribute to them the actions, + of humanity may be grotesque, unphilosophical, inconsistent; but it will + be the only mode of working upon the feelings of men, and, therefore, the + only mode suited for poetry. Shakspeare understood this well, as he + understood everything that belonged to his art. Who does not sympathise + with the rapture of Ariel, flying after sunset on the wings of the bat, or + sucking in the cups of flowers with the bee? Who does not shudder at the + caldron of Macbeth? Where is the philosopher who is not moved when he + thinks of the strange connection between the infernal spirits and "the + sow's blood that hath eaten her nine farrow?" But this difficult task of + representing supernatural beings to our minds, in a manner which shall be + neither unintelligible to our intellects nor wholly inconsistent with our + ideas of their nature, has never been so well performed as by Dante. I + will refer to three instances, which are, perhaps, the most striking:—the + description of the transformations of the serpents and the robbers, in the + twenty-fifth canto of the Inferno,—the passage concerning Nimrod, in + the thirty-first canto of the same part,—and the magnificent + procession in the twenty-ninth canto of the Purgatorio. + </p> + <p> + The metaphors and comparisons of Dante harmonise admirably with that air + of strong reality of which I have spoken. They have a very peculiar + character. He is perhaps the only poet whose writings would become much + less intelligible if all illustrations of this sort were expunged. His + similes are frequently rather those of a traveller than of a poet. He + employs them not to display his ingenuity by fanciful analogies,—not + to delight the reader by affording him a distant and passing glimpse of + beautiful images remote from the path in which he is proceeding, but to + give an exact idea of the objects which he is describing, by comparing + them with others generally known. The boiling pitch in Malebolge was like + that in the Venetian arsenal:—the mound on which he travelled along + the banks of Phlegethon was like that between Ghent and Bruges, but not so + large:—the cavities where the Simoniacal prelates are confined + resemble the Fonts in the Church of John at Florence. Every reader of + Dante will recall many other illustrations of this description, which add + to the appearance of sincerity and earnestness from which the narrative + derives so much of its interest. + </p> + <p> + Many of his comparisons, again, are intended to give an exact idea of his + feelings under particular circumstances. The delicate shades of grief, of + fear, of anger, are rarely discriminated with sufficient accuracy in the + language of the most refined nations. A rude dialect never abounds in nice + distinctions of this kind. Dante therefore employs the most accurate and + infinitely the most poetical mode of marking the precise state of his + mind. Every person who has experienced the bewildering effect of sudden + bad tidings,—the stupefaction,—the vague doubt of the truth of + our own perceptions which they produce,—will understand the + following simile:—"I was as he is who dreameth his own harm,—who, + dreaming, wishes that it may be all a dream, so that he desires that which + is as though it were not." This is only one out of a hundred equally + striking and expressive similitudes. The comparisons of Homer and Milton + are magnificent digressions. It scarcely injures their effect to detach + them from the work. Those of Dante are very different. They derive their + beauty from the context, and reflect beauty upon it. His embroidery cannot + be taken out without spoiling the whole web. I cannot dismiss this part of + the subject without advising every person who can muster sufficient + Italian to read the simile of the sheep, in the third canto of the + Purgatorio. I think it the most perfect passage of the kind in the world, + the most imaginative, the most picturesque, and the most sweetly + expressed. + </p> + <p> + No person can have attended to the Divine Comedy without observing how + little impression the forms of the external world appear to have made on + the mind of Dante. His temper and his situation had led him to fix his + observation almost exclusively on human nature. The exquisite opening of + the eighth* canto of the Purgatorio affords a strong instance of this. (I + cannot help observing that Gray's imitation of that noble line + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Che paia 'lgiorna pianger che si muore,"— +</pre> + <p> + is one of the most striking instances of injudicious plagiarism with which + I am acquainted. Dante did not put this strong personification at the + beginning of his description. The imagination of the reader is so well + prepared for it by the previous lines, that it appears perfectly natural + and pathetic. Placed as Gray has placed it, neither preceded nor followed + by anything that harmonises with it, it becomes a frigid conceit. Woe to + the unskilful rider who ventures on the horses of Achilles!) + </p> + <p> + He leaves to others the earth, the ocean, and the sky. His business is + with man. To other writers, evening may be the season of dews and stars + and radiant clouds. To Dante it is the hour of fond recollection and + passionate devotion,—the hour which melts the heart of the mariner + and kindles the love of the pilgrim,—the hour when the toll of the + bell seems to mourn for another day which is gone and will return no more. + </p> + <p> + The feeling of the present age has taken a direction diametrically + opposite. The magnificence of the physical world, and its influence upon + the human mind, have been the favourite themes of our most eminent poets. + The herd of bluestocking ladies and sonneteering gentlemen seem to + consider a strong sensibility to the "splendour of the grass, the glory of + the flower," as an ingredient absolutely indispensable in the formation of + a poetical mind. They treat with contempt all writers who are + unfortunately + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + nec ponere lucum + Artifices, nec rus saturum laudare. +</pre> + <p> + The orthodox poetical creed is more Catholic. The noblest earthly object + of the contemplation of man is man himself. The universe, and all its fair + and glorious forms, are indeed included in the wide empire of the + imagination; but she has placed her home and her sanctuary amidst the + inexhaustible varieties and the impenetrable mysteries of the mind. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + In tutte parti impera, e quivi regge; + Quivi e la sua cittade, e l'alto seggio. + (Inferno, canto i.) +</pre> + <p> + Othello is perhaps the greatest work in the world. From what does it + derive its power? From the clouds? From the ocean? From the mountains? Or + from love strong as death, and jealousy cruel as the grave? What is it + that we go forth to see in Hamlet? Is it a reed shaken with the wind? A + small celandine? A bed of daffodils? Or is it to contemplate a mighty and + wayward mind laid bare before us to the inmost recesses? It may perhaps be + doubted whether the lakes and the hills are better fitted for the + education of a poet than the dusky streets of a huge capital. Indeed who + is not tired to death with pure description of scenery? Is it not the + fact, that external objects never strongly excite our feelings but when + they are contemplated in reference to man, as illustrating his destiny, or + as influencing his character? The most beautiful object in the world, it + will be allowed, is a beautiful woman. But who that can analyse his + feelings is not sensible that she owes her fascination less to grace of + outline and delicacy of colour, than to a thousand associations which, + often unperceived by ourselves, connect those qualities with the source of + our existence, with the nourishment of our infancy, with the passions of + our youth, with the hopes of our age—with elegance, with vivacity, + with tenderness, with the strongest of natural instincts, with the dearest + of social ties? + </p> + <p> + To those who think thus, the insensibility of the Florentine poet to the + beauties of nature will not appear an unpardonable deficiency. On mankind + no writer, with the exception of Shakspeare, has looked with a more + penetrating eye. I have said that his poetical character had derived a + tinge from his peculiar temper. It is on the sterner and darker passions + that he delights to dwell. All love excepting the half-mystic passion + which he still felt for his buried Beatrice, had palled on the fierce and + restless exile. The sad story of Rimini is almost a single exception. I + know not whether it has been remarked, that, in one point, misanthropy + seems to have affected his mind, as it did that of Swift. Nauseous and + revolting images seem to have had a fascination for his mind; and he + repeatedly places before his readers, with all the energy of his + incomparable style, the most loathsome objects of the sewer and the + dissecting-room. + </p> + <p> + There is another peculiarity in the poem of Dante, which, I think, + deserves notice. Ancient mythology has hardly ever been successfully + interwoven with modern poetry. One class of writers have introduced the + fabulous deities merely as allegorical representatives of love, wine, or + wisdom. This necessarily renders their works tame and cold. We may + sometimes admire their ingenuity; but with what interest can we read of + beings of whose personal existence the writer does not suffer us to + entertain, for a moment, even a conventional belief? Even Spenser's + allegory is scarcely tolerable, till we contrive to forget that Una + signifies innocence, and consider her merely as an oppressed lady under + the protection of a generous knight. + </p> + <p> + Those writers who have, more judiciously, attempted to preserve the + personality of the classical divinities have failed from a different + cause. They have been imitators, and imitators at a disadvantage. + Euripides and Catullus believed in Bacchus and Cybele as little as we do. + But they lived among men who did. Their imaginations, if not their + opinions, took the colour of the age. Hence the glorious inspiration of + the Bacchae and the Atys. Our minds are formed by circumstances: and I do + not believe that it would be in the power of the greatest modern poet to + lash himself up to a degree of enthusiasm adequate to the production of + such works. + </p> + <p> + Dante, alone among the poets of later times, has been, in this respect, + neither an allegorist nor an imitator; and, consequently, he alone has + introduced the ancient fictions with effect. His Minos, his Charon, his + Pluto, are absolutely terrific. Nothing can be more beautiful or original + than the use which he has made of the River of Lethe. He has never + assigned to his mythological characters any functions inconsistent with + the creed of the Catholic Church. He has related nothing concerning them + which a good Christian of that age might not believe possible. On this + account there is nothing in these passages that appears puerile or + pedantic. On the contrary, this singular use of classical names suggests + to the mind a vague and awful idea of some mysterious revelation, anterior + to all recorded history, of which the dispersed fragments might have been + retained amidst the impostures and superstitions of later religions. + Indeed the mythology of the Divine Comedy is of the elder and more + colossal mould. It breathes the spirit of Homer and Aeschylus, not of Ovid + and Claudian. + </p> + <p> + This is the more extraordinary, since Dante seems to have been utterly + ignorant of the Greek language; and his favourite Latin models could only + have served to mislead him. Indeed, it is impossible not to remark his + admiration of writers far inferior to himself; and, in particular, his + idolatry of Virgil, who, elegant and splendid as he is, has no pretensions + to the depth and originality of mind which characterise his Tuscan + worshipper, In truth it may be laid down as an almost universal rule that + good poets are bad critics. Their minds are under the tyranny of ten + thousand associations imperceptible to others. The worst writer may easily + happen to touch a spring which is connected in their minds with a long + succession of beautiful images. They are like the gigantic slaves of + Aladdin, gifted with matchless power, but bound by spells so mighty that + when a child whom they could have crushed touched a talisman, of whose + secret he was ignorant, they immediately became his vassals. It has more + than once happened to me to see minds, graceful and majestic as the + Titania of Shakspeare, bewitched by the charms of an ass's head, bestowing + on it the fondest caresses, and crowning it with the sweetest flowers. I + need only mention the poems attributed to Ossian. They are utterly + worthless, except as an edifying instance of the success of a story + without evidence, and of a book without merit. They are a chaos of words + which present no image, of images which have no archetype:—they are + without form and void; and darkness is upon the face of them. Yet how many + men of genius have panegyrised and imitated them! + </p> + <p> + The style of Dante is, if not his highest, perhaps his most peculiar + excellence. I know nothing with which it can be compared. The noblest + models of Greek composition must yield to it. His words are the fewest and + the best which it is possible to use. The first expression in which he + clothes his thoughts is always so energetic and comprehensive that + amplification would only injure the effect. There is probably no writer in + any language who has presented so many strong pictures to the mind. Yet + there is probably no writer equally concise. This perfection of style is + the principal merit of the Paradiso, which, as I have already remarked, is + by no means equal in other respects to the two preceding parts of the + poem. The force and felicity of the diction, however, irresistibly attract + the reader through the theological lectures and the sketches of + ecclesiastical biography, with which this division of the work too much + abounds. It may seem almost absurd to quote particular specimens of an + excellence which is diffused over all his hundred cantos. I will, however, + instance the third canto of the Inferno, and the sixth of the Purgatorio, + as passages incomparable in their kind. The merit of the latter is, + perhaps, rather oratorical than poetical; nor can I recollect anything in + the great Athenian speeches which equals it in force of invective and + bitterness of sarcasm. I have heard the most eloquent statesman of the age + remark that, next to Demosthenes, Dante is the writer who ought to be most + attentively studied by every man who desires to attain oratorical + eminence. + </p> + <p> + But it is time to close this feeble and rambling critique. I cannot + refrain, however, from saying a few words upon the translations of the + Divine Comedy. Boyd's is as tedious and languid as the original is rapid + and forcible. The strange measure which he has chosen, and, for aught I + know, invented, is most unfit for such a work. Translations ought never to + be written in a verse which requires much command of rhyme. The stanza + becomes a bed of Procrustes; and the thoughts of the unfortunate author + are alternately racked and curtailed to fit their new receptacle. The + abrupt and yet consecutive style of Dante suffers more than that of any + other poet by a version diffuse in style, and divided into paragraphs, for + they deserve no other name, of equal length. + </p> + <p> + Nothing can be said in favour of Hayley's attempt, but that it is better + than Boyd's. His mind was a tolerable specimen of filigree work,—rather + elegant, and very feeble. All that can be said for his best works is that + they are neat. All that can be said against his worst is that they are + stupid. He might have translated Metastasio tolerably. But he was utterly + unable to do justice to the + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "rime e aspre e chiocce, + "Come si converrebbe al tristo buco." + (Inferno, canto xxxii.) +</pre> + <p> + I turn with pleasure from these wretched performances to Mr Cary's + translation. It is a work which well deserves a separate discussion, and + on which, if this article were not already too long, I could dwell with + great pleasure. At present I will only say that there is no other version + in the world, as far as I know, so faithful, yet that there is no other + version which so fully proves that the translator is himself a man of + poetical genius. Those who are ignorant of the Italian language should + read it to become acquainted with the Divine Comedy. Those who are most + intimate with Italian literature should read it for its original merits: + and I believe that they will find it difficult to determine whether the + author deserves most praise for his intimacy with the language of Dante, + or for his extraordinary mastery over his own. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + CRITICISMS ON THE PRINCIPAL ITALIAN WRITERS. <a name="link2H_4_0009" + id="link2H_4_0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + No. II. PETRARCH. (April 1824.) + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Et vos, o lauri, carpam, et te, proxima myrte, + Sic positae quoniam suaves miscetis odores. Virgil. +</pre> + <p> + It would not be easy to name a writer whose celebrity, when both its + extent and its duration are taken into the account, can be considered as + equal to that of Petrarch. Four centuries and a half have elapsed since + his death. Yet still the inhabitants of every nation throughout the + western world are as familiar with his character and his adventures as + with the most illustrious names, and the most recent anecdotes, of their + own literary history. This is indeed a rare distinction. His detractors + must acknowledge that it could not have been acquired by a poet destitute + of merit. His admirers will scarcely maintain that the unassisted merit of + Petrarch could have raised him to that eminence which has not yet been + attained by Shakspeare, Milton, or Dante,—that eminence, of which + perhaps no modern writer, excepting himself and Cervantes, has long + retained possession,—an European reputation. + </p> + <p> + It is not difficult to discover some of the causes to which this great man + has owed a celebrity, which I cannot but think disproportioned to his real + claims on the admiration of mankind. In the first place, he is an egotist. + Egotism in conversation is universally abhorred. Lovers, and, I believe, + lovers alone, pardon it in each other. No services, no talents, no powers + of pleasing, render it endurable. Gratitude, admiration, interest, fear, + scarcely prevent those who are condemned to listen to it from indicating + their disgust and fatigue. The childless uncle, the powerful patron can + scarcely extort this compliance. We leave the inside of the mail in a + storm, and mount the box, rather than hear the history of our companion. + The chaplain bites his lips in the presence of the archbishop. The + midshipman yawns at the table of the First Lord. Yet, from whatever cause, + this practice, the pest of conversation, gives to writing a zest which + nothing else can impart. Rousseau made the boldest experiment of this + kind; and it fully succeeded. In our own time Lord Byron, by a series of + attempts of the same nature, made himself the object of general interest + and admiration. Wordsworth wrote with egotism more intense, but less + obvious; and he has been rewarded with a sect of worshippers, + comparatively small in number, but far more enthusiastic in their + devotion. It is needless to multiply instances. Even now all the walks of + literature are infested with mendicants for fame, who attempt to excite + our interest by exhibiting all the distortions of their intellects, and + stripping the covering from all the putrid sores of their feelings. Nor + are there wanting many who push their imitation of the beggars whom they + resemble a step further, and who find it easier to extort a pittance from + the spectator, by simulating deformity and debility from which they are + exempt, than by such honest labour as their health and strength enable + them to perform. In the meantime the credulous public pities and pampers a + nuisance which requires only the treadmill and the whip. This art, often + successful when employed by dunces, gives irresistible fascination to + works which possess intrinsic merit. We are always desirous to know + something of the character and situation of those whose writings we have + perused with pleasure. The passages in which Milton has alluded to his own + circumstances are perhaps read more frequently, and with more interest, + than any other lines in his poems. It is amusing to observe with what + labour critics have attempted to glean from the poems of Homer, some hints + as to his situation and feelings. According to one hypothesis, he intended + to describe himself under the name of Demodocus. Others maintain that he + was the identical Phemius whose life Ulysses spared. This propensity of + the human mind explains, I think, in a great degree, the extensive + popularity of a poet whose works are little else than the expression of + his personal feelings. + </p> + <p> + In the second place, Petrarch was not only an egotist, but an amatory + egotist. The hopes and fears, the joys and sorrows, which he described, + were derived from the passion which of all passions exerts the widest + influence, and which of all passions borrows most from the imagination. He + had also another immense advantage. He was the first eminent amatory poet + who appeared after the great convulsion which had changed, not only the + political, but the moral, state of the world. The Greeks, who, in their + public institutions and their literary tastes, were diametrically opposed + to the oriental nations, bore a considerable resemblance to those nations + in their domestic habits. Like them, they despised the intellects and + immured the persons of their women; and it was among the least of the + frightful evils to which this pernicious system gave birth, that all the + accomplishments of mind, and all the fascinations of manner, which, in a + highly cultivated age, will generally be necessary to attach men to their + female associates, were monopolised by the Phrynes and the Lamais. The + indispensable ingredients of honourable and chivalrous love were nowhere + to be found united. The matrons and their daughters confined in the harem,—insipid, + uneducated, ignorant of all but the mechanical arts, scarcely seen till + they were married,—could rarely excite interest; afterwards their + brilliant rivals, half Graces, half Harpies, elegant and informed, but + fickle and rapacious, could never inspire respect. + </p> + <p> + The state of society in Rome was, in this point, far happier; and the + Latin literature partook of the superiority. The Roman poets have + decidedly surpassed those of Greece in the delineation of the passion of + love. There is no subject which they have treated with so much success. + Ovid, Catullus, Tibullus, Horace, and Propertius, in spite of all their + faults, must be allowed to rank high in this department of the art. To + these I would add my favourite Plautus; who, though he took his plots from + Greece, found, I suspect, the originals of his enchanting female + characters at Rome. + </p> + <p> + Still many evils remained: and, in the decline of the great empire, all + that was pernicious in its domestic institutions appeared more strongly. + Under the influence of governments at once dependent and tyrannical, which + purchased, by cringing to their enemies, the power of trampling on their + subjects, the Romans sunk into the lowest state of effeminacy and + debasement. Falsehood, cowardice, sloth, conscious and unrepining + degradation, formed the national character. Such a character is totally + incompatible with the stronger passions. Love, in particular, which, in + the modern sense of the word, implies protection and devotion on the one + side, confidence on the other, respect and fidelity on both, could not + exist among the sluggish and heartless slaves who cringed around the + thrones of Honorius and Augustulus. At this period the great renovation + commenced. The warriors of the north, destitute as they were of knowledge + and humanity, brought with them, from their forests and marshes, those + qualities without which humanity is a weakness and knowledge a curse,—energy—independence—the + dread of shame—the contempt of danger. It would be most interesting + to examine the manner in which the admixture of the savage conquerors and + the effeminate slaves, after many generations of darkness and agitation, + produced the modern European character;—to trace back, from the + first conflict to the final amalgamation, the operation of that mysterious + alchemy which, from hostile and worthless elements, has extracted the pure + gold of human nature—to analyse the mass, and to determine the + proportion in which the ingredients are mingled. But I will confine myself + to the subject to which I have more particularly referred. The nature of + the passion of love had undergone a complete change. It still retained, + indeed, the fanciful and voluptuous character which it had possessed among + the southern nations of antiquity. But it was tinged with the + superstitious veneration with which the northern warriors had been + accustomed to regard women. Devotion and war had imparted to it their most + solemn and animating feelings. It was sanctified by the blessings of the + Church, and decorated with the wreaths of the tournament. Venus, as in the + ancient fable, was again rising above the dark and tempestuous waves which + had so long covered her beauty. But she rose not now, as of old, in + exposed and luxurious loveliness. She still wore the cestus of her ancient + witchcraft; but the diadem of Juno was on her brow, and the aegis of + Pallas in her hand. Love might, in fact, be called a new passion; and it + is not astonishing that the first poet of eminence who wholly devoted his + genius to this theme should have excited an extraordinary sensation. He + may be compared to an adventurer who accidentally lands in a rich and + unknown island; and who, though he may only set up an ill-shaped cross + upon the shore, acquires possession of its treasures, and gives it his + name. The claim of Petrarch was indeed somewhat like that of Amerigo + Vespucci to the continent which should have derived its appellation from + Columbus. The Provencal poets were unquestionably the masters of the + Florentine. But they wrote in an age which could not appreciate their + merits; and their imitator lived at the very period when composition in + the vernacular language began to attract general attention. Petrarch was + in literature what a Valentine is in love. The public preferred him, not + because his merits were of a transcendent order, but because he was the + first person whom they saw after they awoke from their long sleep. + </p> + <p> + Nor did Petrarch gain less by comparison with his immediate successors + than with those who had preceded him. Till more than a century after his + death Italy produced no poet who could be compared to him. This decay of + genius is doubtless to be ascribed, in a great measure, to the influence + which his own works had exercised upon the literature of his country. Yet + it has conduced much to his fame. Nothing is more favourable to the + reputation of a writer than to be succeeded by a race inferior to himself; + and it is an advantage, from obvious causes, much more frequently enjoyed + by those who corrupt the national taste than by those who improve it. + </p> + <p> + Another cause has co-operated with those which I have mentioned to spread + the renown of Petrarch. I mean the interest which is inspired by the + events of his life—an interest which must have been strongly felt by + his contemporaries, since, after an interval of five hundred years, no + critic can be wholly exempt from its influence. Among the great men to + whom we owe the resuscitation of science he deserves the foremost place; + and his enthusiastic attachment to this great cause constitutes his most + just and splendid title to the gratitude of posterity. He was the votary + of literature. He loved it with a perfect love. He worshipped it with an + almost fanatical devotion. He was the missionary, who proclaimed its + discoveries to distant countries—the pilgrim, who travelled far and + wide to collect its reliques—the hermit, who retired to seclusion to + meditate on its beauties—the champion, who fought its battles—the + conqueror, who, in more than a metaphorical sense, led barbarism and + ignorance in triumph, and received in the Capitol the laurel which his + magnificent victory had earned. + </p> + <p> + Nothing can be conceived more noble or affecting than that ceremony. The + superb palaces and porticoes, by which had rolled the ivory chariots of + Marius and Caesar, had long mouldered into dust. The laurelled fasces—the + golden eagles—the shouting legions—the captives and the + pictured cities—were indeed wanting to his victorious procession. + The sceptre had passed away from Rome. But she still retained the mightier + influence of an intellectual empire, and was now to confer the prouder + reward of an intellectual triumph. To the man who had extended the + dominion of her ancient language—who had erected the trophies of + philosophy and imagination in the haunts of ignorance and ferocity—whose + captives were the hearts of admiring nations enchained by the influence of + his song—whose spoils were the treasures of ancient genius rescued + from obscurity and decay—the Eternal City offered the just and + glorious tribute of her gratitude. Amidst the ruined monuments of ancient + and the infant erections of modern art, he who had restored the broken + link between the two ages of human civilisation was crowned with the + wreath which he had deserved from the moderns who owed to him their + refinement—from the ancients who owed to him their fame. Never was a + coronation so august witnessed by Westminster or by Rheims. + </p> + <p> + When we turn from this glorious spectacle to the private chamber of the + poet,—when we contemplate the struggle of passion and virtue,—the + eye dimmed, the cheek furrowed, by the tears of sinful and hopeless + desire,—when we reflect on the whole history of his attachment, from + the gay fantasy of his youth to the lingering despair of his age, pity and + affection mingle with our admiration. Even after death had placed the last + seal on his misery, we see him devoting to the cause of the human mind all + the strength and energy which love and sorrow had spared. He lived the + apostle of literature;—he fell its martyr:—he was found dead + with his head reclined on a book. + </p> + <p> + Those who have studied the life and writings of Petrarch with attention, + will perhaps be inclined to make some deductions from this panegyric. It + cannot be denied that his merits were disfigured by a most unpleasant + affectation. His zeal for literature communicated a tinge of pedantry to + all his feelings and opinions. His love was the love of a sonnetteer:—his + patriotism was the patriotism of an antiquarian. The interest with which + we contemplate the works, and study the history, of those who, in former + ages, have occupied our country, arises from the associations which + connect them with the community in which are comprised all the objects of + our affection and our hope. In the mind of Petrarch these feelings were + reversed. He loved Italy, because it abounded with the monuments of the + ancient masters of the world. His native city—the fair and glorious + Florence—the modern Athens, then in all the bloom and strength of + its youth, could not obtain, from the most distinguished of its citizens, + any portion of that passionate homage which he paid to the decrepitude of + Rome. These and many other blemishes, though they must in candour be + acknowledged, can but in a very slight degree diminish the glory of his + career. For my own part, I look upon it with so much fondness and pleasure + that I feel reluctant to turn from it to the consideration of his works, + which I by no means contemplate with equal admiration. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, I think highly of the poetical powers of Petrarch. He did + not possess, indeed, the art of strongly presenting sensible objects to + the imagination;—and this is the more remarkable, because the talent + of which I speak is that which peculiarly distinguishes the Italian poets. + In the Divine Comedy it is displayed in its highest perfection. It + characterises almost every celebrated poem in the language. Perhaps this + is to be attributed to the circumstance, that painting and sculpture had + attained a high degree of excellence in Italy before poetry had been + extensively cultivated. Men were debarred from books, but accustomed from + childhood to contemplate the admirable works of art, which, even in the + thirteenth century, Italy began to produce. Hence their imaginations + received so strong a bias that, even in their writings, a taste for + graphic delineation is discernible. The progress of things in England has + been in all respects different. The consequence is, that English + historical pictures are poems on canvas; while Italian poems are pictures + painted to the mind by means of words. Of this national characteristic the + writings of Petrarch are almost totally destitute. His sonnets indeed, + from their subject and nature, and his Latin Poems, from the restraints + which always shackle one who writes in a dead language, cannot fairly be + received in evidence. But his Triumphs absolutely required the exercise of + this talent, and exhibit no indications of it. + </p> + <p> + Genius, however, he certainly possessed, and genius of a high order. His + ardent, tender, and magnificent turn of thought, his brilliant fancy, his + command of expression, at once forcible and elegant, must be acknowledged. + Nature meant him for the prince of lyric writers. But by one fatal present + she deprived her other gifts of half their value. He would have been a + much greater poet had he been a less clever man. His ingenuity was the + bane of his mind. He abandoned the noble and natural style, in which he + might have excelled, for the conceits which he produced with a facility at + once admirable and disgusting. His muse, like the Roman lady in Livy, was + tempted by gaudy ornaments to betray the fastnesses of her strength, and, + like her, was crushed beneath the glittering bribes which had seduced her. + </p> + <p> + The paucity of his thoughts is very remarkable. It is impossible to look + without amazement on a mind so fertile in combinations, yet so barren of + images. His amatory poetry is wholly made up of a very few topics, + disposed in so many orders, and exhibited in so many lights, that it + reminds us of those arithmetical problems about permutations, which so + much astonish the unlearned. The French cook, who boasted that he could + make fifteen different dishes out of a nettle-top, was not a greater + master of his art. The mind of Petrarch was a kaleidoscope. At every turn + it presents us with new forms, always fantastic, occasionally beautiful; + and we can scarcely believe that all these varieties have been produced by + the same worthless fragments of glass. The sameness of his images is, + indeed, in some degree, to be attributed to the sameness of his subject. + It would be unreasonable to expect perpetual variety from so many hundred + compositions, all of the same length, all in the same measure, and all + addressed to the same insipid and heartless coquette. I cannot but suspect + also that the perverted taste, which is the blemish of his amatory verses, + was to be attributed to the influence of Laura, who, probably, like most + critics of her sex, preferred a gaudy to a majestic style. Be this as it + may, he no sooner changes his subject than he changes his manner. When he + speaks of the wrongs and degradation of Italy, devastated by foreign + invaders, and but feebly defended by her pusillanimous children, the + effeminate lisp of the sonnetteer is exchanged for a cry, wild, and + solemn, and piercing as that which proclaimed "Sleep no more" to the + bloody house of Cawdor. "Italy seems not to feel her sufferings," exclaims + her impassioned poet; "decrepit, sluggish, and languid, will she sleep + forever? Will there be none to awake her? Oh that I had my hands twisted + in her hair!" + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + ("Che suoi guai non par che senta; + Vecchia, oziosa, e lenta. + Dormira sempre, e non fia chi la svegli? + Le man l' avess' io avvolte entro e capegli." + Canzone xi.) +</pre> + <p> + Nor is it with less energy that he denounces against the Mahometan Babylon + the vengeance of Europe and of Christ. His magnificent enumeration of the + ancient exploits of the Greeks must always excite admiration, and cannot + be perused without the deepest interest, at a time when the wise and good, + bitterly disappointed in so many other countries, are looking with + breathless anxiety towards the natal land of liberty,—the field of + Marathon,—and the deadly pass where the Lion of Lacedaemon turned to + bay. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + ("Maratona, e le mortali strette + Che difese il LEON con poca gente." + Canzone v.) +</pre> + <p> + His poems on religious subjects also deserve the highest commendation. At + the head of these must be placed the Ode to the Virgin. It is, perhaps, + the finest hymn in the world. His devout veneration receives an + exquisitely poetical character from the delicate perception of the sex and + the loveliness of his idol, which we may easily trace throughout the whole + composition. + </p> + <p> + I could dwell with pleasure on these and similar parts of the writings of + Petrarch; but I must return to his amatory poetry: to that he entrusted + his fame; and to that he has principally owed it. + </p> + <p> + The prevailing defect of his best compositions on this subject is the + universal brilliancy with which they are lighted up. The natural language + of the passions is, indeed, often figurative and fantastic; and with none + is this more the case than with that of love. Still there is a limit. The + feelings should, indeed, have their ornamental garb; but, like an elegant + woman, they should be neither muffled nor exposed. The drapery should be + so arranged, as at once to answer the purposes of modest concealment and + judicious display. The decorations should sometimes be employed to hide a + defect, and sometimes to heighten a beauty; but never to conceal, much + less to distort, the charms to which they are subsidiary. The love of + Petrarch, on the contrary, arrays itself like a foppish savage, whose nose + is bored with a golden ring, whose skin is painted with grotesque forms + and dazzling colours, and whose ears are drawn down his shoulders by the + weight of jewels. It is a rule, without any exception, in all kinds of + composition, that the principal idea, the predominant feeling, should + never be confounded with the accompanying decorations. It should generally + be distinguished from them by greater simplicity of expression; as we + recognise Napoleon in the pictures of his battles, amidst a crowd of + embroidered coats and plumes, by his grey cloak and his hat without a + feather. In the verses of Petrarch it is generally impossible to say what + thought is meant to be prominent. All is equally elaborate. The chief + wears the same gorgeous and degrading livery with his retinue, and obtains + only his share of the indifferent stare which we bestow upon them in + common. The poems have no strong lights and shades, no background, no + foreground;—they are like the illuminated figures in an oriental + manuscript,—plenty of rich tints and no perspective. Such are the + faults of the most celebrated of these compositions. Of those which are + universally acknowledged to be bad it is scarcely possible to speak with + patience. Yet they have much in common with their splendid companions. + They differ from them, as a Mayday procession of chimneysweepers differs + from the Field of Cloth of Gold. They have the gaudiness but not the + wealth. His muse belongs to that numerous class of females who have no + objection to be dirty, while they can be tawdry. When his brilliant + conceits are exhausted, he supplies their place with metaphysical + quibbles, forced antitheses, bad puns, and execrable charades. In his + fifth sonnet he may, I think, be said to have sounded the lowest chasm of + the Bathos. Upon the whole, that piece may be safely pronounced to be the + worst attempt at poetry, and the worst attempt at wit, in the world. + </p> + <p> + A strong proof of the truth of these criticisms is, that almost all the + sonnets produce exactly the same effect on the mind of the reader. They + relate to all the various moods of a lover, from joy to despair:—yet + they are perused, as far as my experience and observation have gone, with + exactly the same feeling. The fact is, that in none of them are the + passion and the ingenuity mixed in just proportions. There is not enough + sentiment to dilute the condiments which are employed to season it. The + repast which he sets before us resembles the Spanish entertainment in + Dryden's "Mock Astrologer", at which the relish of all the dishes and + sauces was overpowered by the common flavour of spice. Fish,—flesh,—fowl,—everything + at table tasted of nothing but red pepper. + </p> + <p> + The writings of Petrarch may indeed suffer undeservedly from one cause to + which I must allude. His imitators have so much familiarised the ear of + Italy and of Europe to the favourite topics of amorous flattery and + lamentation, that we can scarcely think them original when we find them in + the first author; and, even when our understandings have convinced us that + they were new to him, they are still old to us. This has been the fate of + many of the finest passages of the most eminent writers. It is melancholy + to trace a noble thought from stage to stage of its profanation; to see it + transferred from the first illustrious wearer to his lacqueys, turned, and + turned again, and at last hung on a scarecrow. Petrarch has really + suffered much from this cause. Yet that he should have so suffered is a + sufficient proof that his excellences were not of the highest order. A + line may be stolen; but the pervading spirit of a great poet is not to be + surreptitiously obtained by a plagiarist. The continued imitation of + twenty-five centuries has left Homer as it found him. If every simile and + every turn of Dante had been copied ten thousand times, the Divine Comedy + would have retained all its freshness. It was easy for the porter in + Farquhar to pass for Beau Clincher, by borrowing his lace and his + pulvilio. It would have been more difficult to enact Sir Harry Wildair. + </p> + <p> + Before I quit this subject I must defend Petrarch from one accusation + which is in the present day frequently brought against him. His sonnets + are pronounced by a large sect of critics not to possess certain qualities + which they maintain to be indispensable to sonnets, with as much + confidence, and as much reason, as their prototypes of old insisted on the + unities of the drama. I am an exoteric—utterly unable to explain the + mysteries of this new poetical faith. I only know that it is a faith, + which except a man do keep pure and undefiled, without doubt he shall be + called a blockhead. I cannot, however, refrain from asking what is the + particular virtue which belongs to fourteen as distinguished from all + other numbers. Does it arise from its being a multiple of seven? Has this + principle any reference to the sabbatical ordinance? Or is it to the order + of rhymes that these singular properties are attached? Unhappily the + sonnets of Shakspeare differ as much in this respect from those of + Petrarch, as from a Spenserian or an octave stanza. Away with this + unmeaning jargon! We have pulled down the old regime of criticism. I trust + that we shall never tolerate the equally pedantic and irrational + despotism, which some of the revolutionary leaders would erect upon its + ruins. We have not dethroned Aristotle and Bossu for this. + </p> + <p> + These sonnet-fanciers would do well to reflect that, though the style of + Petrarch may not suit the standard of perfection which they have chosen, + they lie under great obligations to these very poems,—that, but for + Petrarch the measure, concerning which they legislate so judiciously, + would probably never have attracted notice; and that to him they owe the + pleasure of admiring, and the glory of composing, pieces, which seem to + have been produced by Master Slender, with the assistance of his man + Simple. + </p> + <p> + I cannot conclude these remarks without making a few observations on the + Latin writings of Petrarch. It appears that, both by himself and by his + contemporaries, these were far more highly valued than his compositions in + the vernacular language. Posterity, the supreme court of literary appeal, + has not only reversed the judgment, but, according to its general + practice, reversed it with costs, and condemned the unfortunate works to + pay, not only for their own inferiority, but also for the injustice of + those who had given them an unmerited preference. And it must be owned + that, without making large allowances for the circumstances under which + they were produced, we cannot pronounce a very favourable judgment. They + must be considered as exotics, transplanted to a foreign climate, and + reared in an unfavourable situation; and it would be unreasonable to + expect from them the health and the vigour which we find in the indigenous + plants around them, or which they might themselves have possessed in their + native soil. He has but very imperfectly imitated the style of the Latin + authors, and has not compensated for the deficiency by enriching the + ancient language with the graces of modern poetry. The splendour and + ingenuity, which we admire, even when we condemn it, in his Italian works, + is almost totally wanting, and only illuminates with rare and occasional + glimpses the dreary obscurity of the African. The eclogues have more + animation; but they can only be called poems by courtesy. They have + nothing in common with his writings in his native language, except the + eternal pun about Laura and Daphne. None of these works would have placed + him on a level with Vida or Buchanan. Yet, when we compare him with those + who preceded him, when we consider that he went on the forlorn hope of + literature, that he was the first who perceived, and the first who + attempted to revive, the finer elegancies of the ancient language of the + world, we shall perhaps think more highly of him than of those who could + never have surpassed his beauties if they had not inherited them. + </p> + <p> + He has aspired to emulate the philosophical eloquence of Cicero, as well + as the poetical majesty of Virgil. His essay on the Remedies of Good and + Evil Fortune is a singular work in a colloquial form, and a most + scholastic style. It seems to be framed upon the model of the Tusculan + Questions,—with what success those who have read it may easily + determine. It consists of a series of dialogues: in each of these a person + is introduced who has experienced some happy or some adverse event: he + gravely states his case; and a reasoner, or rather Reason personified, + confutes him; a task not very difficult, since the disciple defends his + position only by pertinaciously repeating it, in almost the same words at + the end of every argument of his antagonist. In this manner Petrarch + solves an immense variety of cases. Indeed, I doubt whether it would be + possible to name any pleasure or any calamity which does not find a place + in this dissertation. He gives excellent advice to a man who is in + expectation of discovering the philosopher's stone;—to another, who + has formed a fine aviary;—to a third, who is delighted with the + tricks of a favourite monkey. His lectures to the unfortunate are equally + singular. He seems to imagine that a precedent in point is a sufficient + consolation for every form of suffering. "Our town is taken," says one + complainant; "So was Troy," replies his comforter. "My wife has eloped," + says another; "If it has happened to you once, it happened to Menelaus + twice." One poor fellow is in great distress at having discovered that his + wife's son is none of his. "It is hard," says he, "that I should have had + the expense of bringing up one who is indifferent to me." "You are a man," + returns his monitor, quoting the famous line of Terence; "and nothing that + belongs to any other man ought to be indifferent to you." The physical + calamities of life are not omitted; and there is in particular a + disquisition on the advantages of having the itch, which, if not + convincing, is certainly very amusing. + </p> + <p> + The invectives on an unfortunate physician, or rather upon the medical + science, have more spirit. Petrarch was thoroughly in earnest on this + subject. And the bitterness of his feelings occasionally produces, in the + midst of his classical and scholastic pedantry, a sentence worthy of the + second Philippic. Swift himself might have envied the chapter on the + causes of the paleness of physicians. + </p> + <p> + Of his Latin works the Epistles are the most generally known and admired. + As compositions they are certainly superior to his essays. But their + excellence is only comparative. From so large a collection of letters, + written by so eminent a man, during so varied and eventful a life, we + should have expected a complete and spirited view of the literature, the + manners, and the politics of the age. A traveller—a poet—a + scholar—a lover—a courtier—a recluse—he might have + perpetuated, in an imperishable record, the form and pressure of the age + and body of the time. Those who read his correspondence, in the hope of + finding such information as this, will be utterly disappointed. It + contains nothing characteristic of the period or of the individual. It is + a series, not of letters, but of themes; and, as it is not generally + known, might be very safely employed at public schools as a magazine of + commonplaces. Whether he write on politics to the Emperor and the Doge, or + send advice and consolation to a private friend, every line is crowded + with examples and quotations, and sounds big with Anaxagoras and Scipio. + Such was the interest excited by the character of Petrarch, and such the + admiration which was felt for his epistolary style, that it was with + difficulty that his letters reached the place of their destination. The + poet describes, with pretended regret and real complacency, the + importunity of the curious, who often opened, and sometimes stole, these + favourite compositions. It is a remarkable fact that, of all his epistles, + the least affected are those which are addressed to the dead and the + unborn. Nothing can be more absurd than his whim of composing grave + letters of expostulation and commendation to Cicero and Seneca; yet these + strange performances are written in a far more natural manner than his + communications to his living correspondents. But of all his Latin works + the preference must be given to the Epistle to Posterity; a simple, noble, + and pathetic composition, most honourable both to his taste and his heart. + If we can make allowance for some of the affected humility of an author, + we shall perhaps think that no literary man has left a more pleasing + memorial of himself. + </p> + <p> + In conclusion, we may pronounce that the works of Petrarch were below both + his genius and his celebrity; and that the circumstances under which he + wrote were as adverse to the development of his powers as they were + favourable to the extension of his fame. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SOME ACCOUNT OF THE GREAT LAWSUIT BETWEEN THE PARISHES OF ST DENNIS AND ST + GEORGE IN THE WATER. (April 1824.) + </h2> + <p> + PART I. + </p> + <p> + The parish of St Dennis is one of the most pleasant parts of the county in + which it is situated. It is fertile, well wooded, well watered, and of an + excellent air. For many generations the manor had been holden in tail-male + by a worshipful family, who have always taken precedence of their + neighbours at the races and the sessions. + </p> + <p> + In ancient times the affairs of this parish were administered by a + Court-Baron, in which the freeholders were judges; and the rates were + levied by select vestries of the inhabitant householders. But at length + these good customs fell into disuse. The Lords of the Manor, indeed, still + held courts for form's sake; but they or their stewards had the whole + management of affairs. They demanded services, duties, and customs to + which they had no just title. Nay, they would often bring actions against + their neighbours for their own private advantage, and then send in the + bill to the parish. No objection was made, during many years, to these + proceedings, so that the rates became heavier and heavier: nor was any + person exempted from these demands, except the footmen and gamekeepers of + the squire and the rector of the parish. They indeed were never checked in + any excess. They would come to an honest labourer's cottage, eat his + pancakes, tuck his fowls into their pockets, and cane the poor man + himself. If he went up to the great house to complain, it was hard to get + the speech of Sir Lewis; and, indeed, his only chance of being righted was + to coax the squire's pretty housekeeper, who could do what she pleased + with her master. If he ventured to intrude upon the Lord of the Manor + without this precaution, he gained nothing by his pains. Sir Lewis, + indeed, would at first receive him with a civil face; for, to give him his + due, he could be a fine gentleman when he pleased. "Good day, my friend," + he would say, "what situation have you in my family?" "Bless your honour!" + says the poor fellow, "I am not one of your honour's servants; I rent a + small piece of ground, your honour." "Then, you dog," quoth the squire, + "what do you mean by coming here? Has a gentleman nothing to do but to + hear the complaints of clowns? Here! Philip, James, Dick, toss this fellow + in a blanket; or duck him, and set him in the stocks to dry." + </p> + <p> + One of these precious Lords of the Manor enclosed a deer-park; and, in + order to stock it, he seized all the pretty pet fawns that his tenants had + brought up, without paying them a farthing, or asking their leave. It was + a sad day for the parish of St Dennis. Indeed, I do not believe that all + his oppressive exactions and long bills enraged the poor tenants so much + as this cruel measure. + </p> + <p> + Yet for a long time, in spite of all these inconveniences, St Dennis's was + a very pleasant place. The people could not refrain from capering if they + heard the sound of a fiddle. And, if they were inclined to be riotous, Sir + Lewis had only to send for Punch, or the dancing dogs, and all was quiet + again. But this could not last forever; they began to think more and more + of their condition; and, at last, a club of foul-mouthed, good-for-nothing + rascals was held at the sign of the Devil, for the purpose of abusing the + squire and the parson. The doctor, to own the truth, was old and indolent, + extremely fat and greedy. He had not preached a tolerable sermon for a + long time. The squire was still worse; so that, partly by truth and partly + by falsehood, the club set the whole parish against their superiors. The + boys scrawled caricatures of the clergyman upon the church-door, and shot + at the landlord with pop-guns as he rode a-hunting. It was even whispered + about that the Lord of the Manor had no right to his estate, and that, if + he were compelled to produce the original title-deeds, it would be found + that he only held the estate in trust for the inhabitants of the parish. + </p> + <p> + In the meantime the squire was pressed more and more for money. The parish + could pay no more. The rector refused to lend a farthing. The Jews were + clamorous for their money; and the landlord had no other resource than to + call together the inhabitants of the parish, and to request their + assistance. They now attacked him furiously about their grievances, and + insisted that he should relinquish his oppressive powers. They insisted + that his footmen should be kept in order, that the parson should pay his + share of the rates, that the children of the parish should be allowed to + fish in the trout-stream, and to gather blackberries in the hedges. They + at last went so far as to demand that he should acknowledge that he held + his estate only in trust for them. His distress compelled him to submit. + They, in return, agreed to set him free from his pecuniary difficulties, + and to suffer him to inhabit the manor-house; and only annoyed him from + time to time by singing impudent ballads under his window. + </p> + <p> + The neighbouring gentlefolks did not look on these proceedings with much + complacency. It is true that Sir Lewis and his ancestors had plagued them + with law-suits, and affronted them at county meetings. Still they + preferred the insolence of a gentleman to that of the rabble, and felt + some uneasiness lest the example should infect their own tenants. + </p> + <p> + A large party of them met at the house of Lord Caesar Germain. Lord Caesar + was the proudest man in the county. His family was very ancient and + illustrious, though not particularly opulent. He had invited most of his + wealthy neighbours. There was Mrs Kitty North, the relict of poor Squire + Peter, respecting whom the coroner's jury had found a verdict of + accidental death, but whose fate had nevertheless excited strange whispers + in the neighbourhood. There was Squire Don, the owner of the great West + Indian property, who was not so rich as he had formerly been, but still + retained his pride, and kept up his customary pomp; so that he had plenty + of plate but no breeches. There was Squire Von Blunderbussen, who had + succeeded to the estates of his uncle, old Colonel Frederic Von + Blunderbussen, of the hussars. The colonel was a very singular old fellow; + he used to learn a page of Chambaud's grammar, and to translate Telemaque, + every morning, and he kept six French masters to teach him to parleyvoo. + Nevertheless he was a shrewd clever man, and improved his estate with so + much care, sometimes by honest and sometimes by dishonest means, that he + left a very pretty property to his nephew. + </p> + <p> + Lord Caesar poured out a glass of Tokay for Mrs Kitty. "Your health, my + dear madam, I never saw you look more charming. Pray, what think you of + these doings at St Dennis's?" + </p> + <p> + "Fine doings, indeed!" interrupted Von Blunderbussen; "I wish that we had + my old uncle alive, he would have had some of them up to the halberts. He + knew how to usa cat-o'-nine-tails. If things go on in this way, a + gentleman will not be able to horsewhip an impudent farmer, or to say a + civil word to a milk-maid." + </p> + <p> + "Indeed, it's very true, Sir," said Mrs Kitty; "their insolence is + intolerable. Look at me, for instance:—a poor lone woman!—My + dear Peter dead! I loved him:—so I did; and, when he died, I was so + hysterical you cannot think. And now I cannot lean on the arm of a decent + footman, or take a walk with a tall grenadier behind me, just to protect + me from audacious vagabonds, but they must have their nauseous suspicions;—odious + creatures!" + </p> + <p> + "This must be stopped," replied Lord Caesar. "We ought to contribute to + support my poor brother-in-law against these rascals. I will write to + Squire Guelf on this subject by this night's post. His name is always at + the head of our county subscriptions." + </p> + <p> + If the people of St Dennis's had been angry before, they were well-nigh + mad when they heard of this conversation. The whole parish ran to the + manor-house. Sir Lewis's Swiss porter shut the door against them; but they + broke in and knocked him on the head for his impudence. They then seized + the Squire, hooted at him, pelted him, ducked him, and carried him to the + watch-house. They turned the rector into the street, burnt his wig and + band, and sold the church-plate by auction. They put up a painted Jezebel + in the pulpit to preach. They scratched out the texts which were written + round the church, and scribbled profane scraps of songs and plays in their + place. They set the organ playing to pot-house tunes. Instead of being + decently asked in church, they were married over a broomstick. But, of all + their whims, the use of the new patent steel-traps was the most + remarkable. + </p> + <p> + This trap was constructed on a completely new principle. It consisted of a + cleaver hung in a frame like a window; when any poor wretch got in, down + it came with a tremendous din, and took off his head in a twinkling. They + got the squire into one of these machines. In order to prevent any of his + partisans from getting footing in the parish, they placed traps at every + corner. It was impossible to walk through the highway at broad noon + without tumbling into one or other of them. No man could go about his + business in security. Yet so great was the hatred which the inhabitants + entertained for the old family, that a few decent, honest people, who + begged them to take down the steel-traps, and to put up humane man-traps + in their room, were very roughly handled for their good nature. + </p> + <p> + In the meantime the neighbouring gentry undertook a suit against the + parish on the behalf of Sir Lewis's heir, and applied to Squire Guelf for + his assistance. + </p> + <p> + Everybody knows that Squire Guelf is more closely tied up than any + gentleman in the shire. He could, therefore, lend them no help; but he + referred them to the Vestry of the Parish of St George in the Water. These + good people had long borne a grudge against their neighbours on the other + side of the stream; and some mutual trespasses had lately occurred which + increased their hostility. + </p> + <p> + There was an honest Irishman, a great favourite among them, who used to + entertain them with raree-shows, and to exhibit a magic lantern to the + children on winter evenings. He had gone quite mad upon this subject. + Sometimes he would call out in the middle of the street—"Take care + of that corner, neighbours; for the love of Heaven, keep clear of that + post, there is a patent steel-trap concealed thereabouts." Sometimes he + would be disturbed by frightful dreams; then he would get up at dead of + night, open his window and cry "fire," till the parish was roused, and the + engines sent for. The pulpit of the Parish of St George seemed likely to + fall; I believe that the only reason was that the parson had grown too fat + and heavy; but nothing would persuade this honest man but that it was a + scheme of the people at St Dennis's, and that they had sawed through the + pillars in order to break the rector's neck. Once he went about with a + knife in his pocket, and told all the persons whom he met that it had been + sharpened by the knife-grinder of the next parish to cut their throats. + These extravagancies had a great effect on the people; and the more so + because they were espoused by Squire Guelf's steward, who was the most + influential person in the parish. He was a very fair-spoken man, very + attentive to the main chance, and the idol of the old women, because he + never played at skittles or danced with the girls; and, indeed, never took + any recreation but that of drinking on Saturday nights with his friend + Harry, the Scotch pedlar. His supporters called him Sweet William; his + enemies the Bottomless Pit. + </p> + <p> + The people of St Dennis's, however, had their advocates. There was Frank, + the richest farmer in the parish, whose great grandfather had been knocked + on the head many years before, in a squabble between the parish and a + former landlord. There was Dick, the merry-andrew, rather light-fingered + and riotous, but a clever droll fellow. Above all, there was Charley, the + publican, a jolly, fat, honest lad, a great favourite with the women, who, + if he had not been rather too fond of ale and chuck-farthing, would have + been the best fellow in the neighbourhood. + </p> + <p> + "My boys," said Charley, "this is exceedingly well for Madam North;—not + that I would speak uncivilly of her; she put up my picture in her best + room, bless her for it! But, I say, this is very well for her, and for + Lord Caesar, and Squire Don, and Colonel Von;—but what affair is it + of yours or mine? It is not to be wondered at, that gentlemen should wish + to keep poor people out of their own. But it is strange indeed that they + should expect the poor themselves to combine against their own interests. + If the folks at St Dennis's should attack us we have the law and our + cudgels to protect us. But why, in the name of wonder, are we to attack + them? When old Sir Charles, who was Lord of the Manor formerly, and the + parson, who was presented by him to the living, tried to bully the vestry, + did not we knock their heads together, and go to meeting to hear Jeremiah + Ringletub preach? And did the Squire Don, or the great Sir Lewis, that + lived at that time, or the Germains, say a word against us for it? Mind + your own business, my lads: law is not to be had for nothing; and we, you + may be sure, shall have to pay the whole bill." + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless the people of St George's were resolved on law. They cried + out most lustily, "Squire Guelf for ever! Sweet William for ever! No steel + traps!" Squire Guelf took all the rascally footmen who had worn old Sir + Lewis's livery into his service. They were fed in the kitchen on the very + best of everything, though they had no settlement. Many people, and the + paupers in particular, grumbled at these proceedings. The steward, + however, devised a way to keep them quiet. + </p> + <p> + There had lived in this parish for many years an old gentleman, named Sir + Habeas Corpus. He was said by some to be of Saxon, by some of Norman, + extraction. Some maintain that he was not born till after the time of Sir + Charles, to whom we have before alluded. Others are of opinion that he was + a legitimate son of old Lady Magna Charta, although he was long concealed + and kept out of his birthright. Certain it is that he was a very + benevolent person. Whenever any poor fellow was taken up on grounds which + he thought insufficient, he used to attend on his behalf and bail him; and + thus he had become so popular, that to take direct measures against him + was out of the question. + </p> + <p> + The steward, accordingly, brought a dozen physicians to examine Sir + Habeas. After consultation, they reported that he was in a very bad way, + and ought not, on any account, to be allowed to stir out for several + months. Fortified with this authority, the parish officers put him to bed, + closed his windows, and barred his doors. They paid him every attention, + and from time to time issued bulletins of his health. The steward never + spoke of him without declaring that he was the best gentleman in the + world; but excellent care was taken that he should never stir out of + doors. + </p> + <p> + When this obstacle was removed, the Squire and the steward kept the parish + in excellent order; flogged this man, sent that man to the stocks, and + pushed forward the law-suit with a noble disregard of expense. They were, + however, wanting either in skill or in fortune. And everything went + against them after their antagonists had begun to employ Solicitor Nap. + </p> + <p> + Who does not know the name of Solicitor Nap? At what alehouse is not his + behaviour discussed? In what print-shop is not his picture seen? Yet how + little truth has been said about him! Some people hold that he used to + give laudanum by pints to his six clerks for his amusement. Others, whose + number has very much increased since he was killed by the gaol distemper, + conceive that he was the very model of honour and good-nature. I shall try + to tell the truth about him. + </p> + <p> + He was assuredly an excellent solicitor. In his way he never was + surpassed. As soon as the parish began to employ him, their cause took a + turn. In a very little time they were successful; and Nap became rich. He + now set up for a gentleman; took possession of the old manor-house; got + into the commission of the peace, and affected to be on a par with the + best of the county. He governed the vestries as absolutely as the old + family had done. Yet, to give him his due, he managed things with far more + discretion than either Sir Lewis or the rioters who had pulled the Lords + of the Manor down. He kept his servants in tolerable order. He removed the + steel traps from the highways and the corners of the streets. He still + left a few indeed in the more exposed parts of his premises; and set up a + board announcing that traps and spring guns were set in his grounds. He + brought the poor parson back to the parish; and, though he did not enable + him to keep a fine house and a coach as formerly, he settled him in a snug + little cottage, and allowed him a pleasant pad-nag. He whitewashed the + church again; and put the stocks, which had been much wanted of late, into + good repair. + </p> + <p> + With the neighbouring gentry, however, he was no favourite. He was crafty + and litigious. He cared nothing for right, if he could raise a point of + law against them. He pounded their cattle, broke their hedges, and seduced + their tenants from them. He almost ruined Lord Caesar with actions, in + every one of which he was successful. Von Blunderbussen went to law with + him for an alleged trespass, but was cast, and almost ruined by the costs + of suit. He next took a fancy to the seat of Squire Don, who was, to say + the truth, little better than an idiot. He asked the poor dupe to dinner, + and then threatened to have him tossed in a blanket unless he would make + over his estates to him. The poor Squire signed and sealed a deed by which + the property was assigned to Joe, a brother of Nap's, in trust for and to + the use of Nap himself. The tenants, however, stood out. They maintained + that the estate was entailed, and refused to pay rents to the new + landlord; and in this refusal they were stoutly supported by the people in + St George's. + </p> + <p> + About the same time Nap took it into his head to match with quality, and + nothing would serve him but one of the Miss Germains. Lord Caesar swore + like a trooper; but there was no help for it. Nap had twice put executions + in his principal residence, and had refused to discharge the latter of the + two till he had extorted a bond from his Lordship which compelled him to + comply. + </p> + <p> + THE END OF THE FIRST PART. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + A CONVERSATION BETWEEN MR ABRAHAM COWLEY AND MR JOHN MILTON, TOUCHING + </h2> + <p> + THE GREAT CIVIL WAR. SET DOWN BY A GENTLEMAN OF THE MIDDLE TEMPLE. (August + 1824.) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Referre sermones Deorum et + Magna modis tenuare parvis."—Horace. +</pre> + <p> + I have thought it good to set down in writing a memorable debate, wherein + I was a listener, and two men of pregnant parts and great reputation + discoursers; hoping that my friends will not be displeased to have a + record both of the strange times through which I have lived, and of the + famous men with whom I have conversed. It chanced in the warm and + beautiful spring of the year 1665, a little before the saddest summer that + ever London saw, that I went to the Bowling Green at Piccadilly, whither, + at that time, the best gentry made continual resorts. There I met Mr + Cowley, who had lately left Barnelms. There was then a house preparing for + him at Chertsey; and till it should be finished, he had come up for a + short time to London, that he might urge a suit to his Grace of Buckingham + touching certain lands of her Majesty's, whereof he requested a lease. I + had the honour to be familiarly acquainted with that worthy gentleman and + most excellent poet, whose death hath been deplored with as general a + consent of all Powers that delight in the woods, or in verse, or in love, + as was of old that of Daphnis or of Callus. + </p> + <p> + After some talk, which it is not material to set down at large, concerning + his suit and his vexations at the court, where indeed his honesty did him + more harm than his parts could do him good, I entreated him to dine with + me at my lodging in the Temple, which he most courteously promised. And, + that so eminent a guest might not lack a better entertainment than cooks + or vintners can provide, I sent to the house of Mr John Milton, in the + Artillery Walk, to beg that he would also be my guest. For, though he had + been secretary, first to the Council of State, and, after that, to the + Protector, and Mr Cowley had held the same post under the Lord St Albans + in his banishment, I hoped, notwithstanding that they would think + themselves rather united by their common art than divided by their + different factions. And so indeed it proved. For, while we sat at table, + they talked freely of many men and things, as well ancient as modern, with + much civility. Nay, Mr Milton, who seldom tasted wine, both because of his + singular temperance and because of his gout, did more than once pledge Mr + Cowley, who was indeed no hermit in diet. At last, being heated, Mr Milton + begged that I would open the windows. "Nay," said I, "if you desire fresh + air and coolness, what should hinder us, as the evening is fair, from + sailing for an hour on the river?" To this they both cheerfully consented; + and forth we walked, Mr Cowley and I leading Mr Milton between us, to the + Temple Stairs. There we took a boat; and thence we were rowed up the + river. + </p> + <p> + The wind was pleasant; the evening fine; the sky, the earth, and the water + beautiful to look upon. But Mr Cowley and I held our peace, and said + nothing of the gay sights around us, lest we should too feelingly remind + Mr Milton of his calamity; whereof, however, he needed no monitor: for + soon he said, sadly, "Ah, Mr Cowley, you are a happy man. What would I now + give but for one more look at the sun, and the waters, and the gardens of + this fair city!" + </p> + <p> + "I know not," said Mr Cowley, "whether we ought not rather to envy you for + that which makes you to envy others: and that specially in this place, + where all eyes which are not closed in blindness ought to become fountains + of tears. What can we look upon which is not a memorial of change and + sorrow, of fair things vanished, and evil things done? When I see the gate + of Whitehall, and the stately pillars of the Banqueting House, I cannot + choose but think of what I have there seen in former days, masques, and + pageants, and dances, and smiles, and the waving of graceful heads, and + the bounding of delicate feet. And then I turn to thoughts of other + things, which even to remember makes me to blush and weep;—of the + great black scaffold, and the axe and block, which were placed before + those very windows; and the voice seems to sound in mine ears, the lawless + and terrible voice, which cried out that the head of a king was the head + of a traitor. There stands Westminster Hall, which who can look upon, and + not tremble to think how time, and change, and death confound the councils + of the wise, and beat down the weapons of the mighty? How have I seen it + surrounded with tens of thousands of petitioners crying for justice and + privilege! How have I heard it shake with fierce and proud words, which + made the hearts of the people burn within them! Then it is blockaded by + dragoons, and cleared by pikemen. And they who have conquered their master + go forth trembling at the word of their servant. And yet a little while, + and the usurper comes forth from it, in his robe of ermine, with the + golden staff in one hand and the Bible in the other, amidst the roaring of + the guns and the shouting of the people. And yet again a little while, and + the doors are thronged with multitudes in black, and the hearse and the + plumes come forth; and the tyrant is borne, in more than royal pomp, to a + royal sepulchre. A few days more, and his head is fixed to rot on the + pinnacles of that very hall where he sat on a throne in his life, and lay + in state after his death. When I think on all these things, to look round + me makes me sad at heart. True it is that God hath restored to us our old + laws, and the rightful line of our kings. Yet, how I know not, but it + seems to me that something is wanting—that our court hath not the + old gravity, nor our people the old loyalty. These evil times, like the + great deluge, have overwhelmed and confused all earthly things. And, even + as those waters, though at last they abated, yet, as the learned write, + destroyed all trace of the garden of Eden, so that its place hath never + since been found, so hath this opening of all the flood-gates of political + evil effaced all marks of the ancient political paradise." + </p> + <p> + "Sir, by your favour," said Mr Milton, "though, from many circumstances + both of body and of fortune, I might plead fairer excuses for despondency + than yourself, I yet look not so sadly either on the past or on the + future. That a deluge hath passed over this our nation, I deny not. But I + hold it not to be such a deluge as that of which you speak; but rather a + blessed flood, like those of the Nile, which in its overflow doth indeed + wash away ancient landmarks, and confound boundaries, and sweep away + dwellings, yea, doth give birth to many foul and dangerous reptiles. Yet + hence is the fulness of the granary, the beauty of the garden, the nurture + of all living things. + </p> + <p> + "I remember well, Mr Cowley, what you have said concerning these things in + your Discourse of the Government of Oliver Cromwell, which my friend + Elwood read to me last year. Truly, for elegance and rhetoric, that essay + is to be compared with the finest tractates of Isocrates and Cicero. But + neither that nor any other book, nor any events, which with most men have, + more than any book, weight and authority, have altered my opinion, that, + of all assemblies that ever were in this world, the best and the most + useful was our Long Parliament. I speak not this as wishing to provoke + debate; which neither yet do I decline." + </p> + <p> + Mr Cowley was, as I could see, a little nettled. Yet, as he was a man of a + kind disposition and a most refined courtesy, he put a force upon himself, + and answered with more vehemence and quickness indeed than was his wont, + yet not uncivilly. "Surely, Mr Milton, you speak not as you think. I am + indeed one of those who believe that God hath reserved to himself the + censure of kings, and that their crimes and oppressions are not to be + resisted by the hands of their subjects. Yet can I easily find excuse for + the violence of such as are stung to madness by grievous tyranny. But what + shall we say for these men? Which of their just demands was not granted? + Which even of their cruel and unreasonable requisitions, so as it were not + inconsistent with all law and order, was refused? Had they not sent + Strafford to the block and Laud to the Tower? Had they not destroyed the + Courts of the High Commission and the Star Chamber? Had they not reversed + the proceedings confirmed by the voices of the judges of England, in the + matter of ship-money? Had they not taken from the king his ancient and + most lawful power touching the order of knighthood? Had they not provided + that, after their dissolution, triennial parliaments should be holden, and + that their own power should continue till of their great condescension + they should be pleased to resign it themselves? What more could they ask? + Was it not enough that they had taken from their king all his oppressive + powers, and many that were most salutary? Was it not enough that they had + filled his council-board with his enemies, and his prisons with his + adherents? Was it not enough that they had raised a furious multitude, to + shout and swagger daily under the very windows of his royal palace? Was it + not enough that they had taken from him the most blessed prerogative of + princely mercy; that, complaining of intolerance themselves, they had + denied all toleration to others; that they had urged, against forms, + scruples childish as those of any formalist; that they had persecuted the + least remnant of the popish rites with the fiercest bitterness of the + popish spirit? Must they besides all this have full power to command his + armies, and to massacre his friends? + </p> + <p> + "For military command, it was never known in any monarchy, nay, in any + well ordered republic, that it was committed to the debates of a large and + unsettled assembly. For their other requisition, that he should give up to + their vengeance all who had defended the rights of his crown, his honour + must have been ruined if he had complied. Is it not therefore plain that + they desired these things only in order that, by refusing, his Majesty + might give them a pretence for war? + </p> + <p> + "Men have often risen up against fraud, against cruelty, against rapine. + But when before was it known that concessions were met with importunities, + graciousness with insults, the open palm of bounty with the clenched fist + of malice? Was it like trusty delegates of the Commons of England, and + faithful stewards of their liberty and their wealth, to engage them for + such causes in civil war, which both to liberty and to wealth is of all + things the most hostile. Evil indeed must be the disease which is not more + tolerable than such a medicine. Those who, even to save a nation from + tyrants, excite it to civil war do in general but minister to it the same + miserable kind of relief wherewith the wizards of Pharaoh mocked the + Egyptian. We read that, when Moses had turned their waters into blood, + those impious magicians, intending, not benefit to the thirsting people, + but vain and emulous ostentation of their own art, did themselves also + change into blood the water which the plague had spared. Such sad comfort + do those who stir up war minister to the oppressed. But here where was the + oppression? What was the favour which had not been granted? What was the + evil which had not been removed? What further could they desire?" + </p> + <p> + "These questions," said Mr Milton, austerely, "have indeed often deceived + the ignorant; but that Mr Cowley should have been so beguiled, I marvel. + You ask what more the Parliament could desire? I will answer you in one + word, security. What are votes, and statutes, and resolutions? They have + no eyes to see, no hands to strike and avenge. They must have some + safeguard from without. Many things, therefore, which in themselves were + peradventure hurtful, was this Parliament constrained to ask, lest + otherwise good laws and precious rights should be without defence. Nor did + they want a great and signal example of this danger. I need not remind you + that, many years before, the two Houses had presented to the king the + Petition of Right, wherein were set down all the most valuable privileges + of the people of this realm. Did not Charles accept it? Did he not declare + it to be law? Was it not as fully enacted as ever were any of those bills + of the Long Parliament concerning which you spoke? And were those + privileges therefore enjoyed more fully by the people? No: the king did + from that time redouble his oppressions as if to avenge himself for the + shame of having been compelled to renounce them. Then were our estates + laid under shameful impositions, our houses ransacked, our bodies + imprisoned. Then was the steel of the hangman blunted with mangling the + ears of harmless men. Then our very minds were fettered, and the iron + entered into our souls. Then we were compelled to hide our hatred, our + sorrow, and our scorn, to laugh with hidden faces at the mummery of Laud, + to curse under our breath the tyranny of Wentworth. Of old time it was + well and nobly said, by one of our kings, that an Englishman ought to be + as free as his thoughts. Our prince reversed the maxim; he strove to make + our thoughts as much slaves as ourselves. To sneer at a Romish pageant, to + miscall a lord's crest, were crimes for which there was no mercy. These + were all the fruits which we gathered from those excellent laws of the + former Parliament, from these solemn promises of the king. Were we to be + deceived again? Were we again to give subsidies, and receive nothing but + promises? Were we again to make wholesome statutes, and then leave them to + be broken daily and hourly, until the oppressor should have squandered + another supply, and should be ready for another perjury? You ask what they + could desire which he had not already granted. Let me ask of you another + question. What pledge could he give which he had not already violated? + From the first year of his reign, whenever he had need of the purses of + his Commons to support the revels of Buckingham or the processions of + Laud, he had assured them that, as he was a gentleman and a king, he would + sacredly preserve their rights. He had pawned those solemn pledges, and + pawned them again and again; but when had he redeemed them? 'Upon my + faith,'—'Upon my sacred word,'—'Upon the honour of a prince,'—came + so easily from his lips, and dwelt so short a time on his mind that they + were as little to be trusted as the 'By the hilts' of an Alsatian dicer. + </p> + <p> + "Therefore it is that I praise this Parliament for what else I might have + condemned. If what he had granted had been granted graciously and readily, + if what he had before promised had been faithfully observed, they could + not be defended. It was because he had never yielded the worst abuse + without a long struggle, and seldom without a large bribe; it was because + he had no sooner disentangled himself from his troubles than he forgot his + promises; and, more like a villainous huckster than a great king, kept + both the prerogative and the large price which had been paid to him to + forego it; it was because of these things that it was necessary and just + to bind with forcible restraints one who could be bound neither by law nor + honour. Nay, even while he was making those very concessions of which you + speak, he betrayed his deadly hatred against the people and their friends. + Not only did he, contrary to all that ever was deemed lawful in England, + order that members of the Commons House of Parliament should be impeached + of high treason at the bar of the Lords; thereby violating both the trial + by jury and the privileges of the House; but, not content with breaking + the law by his ministers, he went himself armed to assail it. In the + birth-place and sanctuary of freedom, in the House itself; nay in the very + chair of the speaker, placed for the protection of free speech and + privilege, he sat, rolling his eyes round the benches, searching for those + whose blood he desired, and singling out his opposers to the slaughter. + This most foul outrage fails. Then again for the old arts. Then come + gracious messages. Then come courteous speeches. Then is again mortgaged + his often forfeited honour. He will never again violate the laws. He will + respect their rights as if they were his own. He pledges the dignity of + his crown; that crown which had been committed to him for the weal of his + people, and which he never named, but that he might the more easily delude + and oppress them. + </p> + <p> + "The power of the sword, I grant you, was not one to be permanently + possessed by Parliament. Neither did that Parliament demand it as a + permanent possession. They asked it only for temporary security. Nor can I + see on what conditions they could safely make peace with that false and + wicked king, save such as would deprive him of all power to injure. + </p> + <p> + "For civil war, that it is an evil I dispute not. But that it is the + greatest of evils, that I stoutly deny. It doth indeed appear to the + misjudging to be a worse calamity than bad government, because its + miseries are collected together within a short space and time, and may + easily at one view be taken in and perceived. But the misfortunes of + nations ruled by tyrants, being distributed over many centuries and many + places, as they are of greater weight and number, so are they of less + display. When the Devil of tyranny hath gone into the body politic he + departs not but with struggles, and foaming, and great convulsions. Shall + he, therefore, vex it for ever, lest, in going out, he for a moment tear + and rend it? Truly this argument touching the evils of war would better + become my friend Elwood, or some other of the people called Quakers, than + a courtier and a cavalier. It applies no more to this war than to all + others, as well foreign as domestic, and, in this war, no more to the + Houses than to the king; nay, not so much, since he by a little sincerity + and moderation might have rendered that needless which their duty to God + and man then enforced them to do." + </p> + <p> + "Pardon me, Mr Milton," said Mr Cowley; "I grieve to hear you speak thus + of that good king. Most unhappy indeed he was, in that he reigned at a + time when the spirit of the then living generation was for freedom, and + the precedents of former ages for prerogative. His case was like to that + of Christopher Columbus, when he sailed forth on an unknown ocean, and + found that the compass, whereby he shaped his course, had shifted from the + north pole whereto before it had constantly pointed. So it was with + Charles. His compass varied; and therefore he could not tack aright. If he + had been an absolute king he would doubtless, like Titus Vespasian, have + been called the delight of the human race. If he had been a Doge of + Venice, or a Stadtholder of Holland, he would never have outstepped the + laws. But he lived when our government had neither clear definitions nor + strong sanctions. Let, therefore, his faults be ascribed to the time. Of + his virtues the praise is his own. + </p> + <p> + "Never was there a more gracious prince, or a more proper gentleman. In + every pleasure he was temperate, in conversation mild and grave, in + friendship constant, to his servants liberal, to his queen faithful and + loving, in battle grave, in sorrow and captivity resolved, in death most + Christian and forgiving. + </p> + <p> + "For his oppressions, let us look at the former history of this realm. + James was never accounted a tyrant. Elizabeth is esteemed to have been the + mother of her people. Were they less arbitrary? Did they never lay hands + on the purses of their subjects but by Act of Parliament? Did they never + confine insolent and disobedient men but in due course of law? Was the + court of Star Chamber less active? Were the ears of libellers more safe? I + pray you, let not king Charles be thus dealt with. It was enough that in + his life he was tried for an alleged breach of laws which none ever heard + named till they were discovered for his destruction. Let not his fame be + treated as was his sacred and anointed body. Let not his memory be tried + by principles found out ex post facto. Let us not judge by the spirit of + one generation a man whose disposition had been formed by the temper and + fashion of another." + </p> + <p> + "Nay, but conceive me, Mr Cowley," said Mr Milton; "inasmuch as, at the + beginning of his reign, he imitated those who had governed before him, I + blame him not. To expect that kings will, of their own free choice, + abridge their prerogative, were argument of but slender wisdom. Whatever, + therefore, lawless, unjust, or cruel, he either did or permitted during + the first years of his reign, I pass by. But for what was done after that + he had solemnly given his consent to the Petition of Right, where shall we + find defence? Let it be supposed, which yet I concede not, that the + tyranny of his father and of Queen Elizabeth had been no less rigorous + than was his. But had his father, had that queen, sworn like him, to + abstain from those rigours? Had they, like him, for good and valuable + consideration, aliened their hurtful prerogatives? Surely not: from + whatever excuse you can plead for him he had wholly excluded himself. The + borders of countries, we know, are mostly the seats of perpetual wars and + tumults. It was the same with the undefined frontiers, which of old + separated privilege and prerogative. They were the debatable land of our + polity. It was no marvel if, both on the one side and on the other, + inroads were often made. But, when treaties have been concluded, spaces + measured, lines drawn, landmarks set up, that which before might pass for + innocent error or just reprisal becomes robbery, perjury, deadly sin. He + knew not, you say, which of his powers were founded on ancient law, and + which only on vicious example. But had he not read the Petition of Right? + Had not proclamation been made from his throne, Soit fait comme il est + desire? + </p> + <p> + "For his private virtues they are beside the question. Remember you not," + and Mr Milton smiled, but somewhat sternly, "what Dr Cauis saith in the + Merry Wives of Shakspeare? 'What shall the honest man do in my closet? + There is no honest man that shall come in my closet.' Even so say I. There + is no good man who shall make us his slaves. If he break his word to his + people, is it a sufficient defence that he keeps it to his companions? If + he oppress and extort all day, shall he be held blameless because he + prayeth at night and morning? If he be insatiable in plunder and revenge, + shall we pass it by because in meat and drink he is temperate? If he have + lived like a tyrant, shall all be forgotten because he hath died like a + martyr? + </p> + <p> + "He was a man, as I think, who had so much semblance of virtues as might + make his vices most dangerous. He was not a tyrant after our wonted + English model. The second Richard, the second and fourth Edwards, and the + eighth Harry, were men profuse, gay, boisterous; lovers of women and of + wine, of no outward sanctity or gravity. Charles was a ruler after the + Italian fashion; grave, demure, of a solemn carriage, and a sober diet; as + constant at prayers as a priest, as heedless of oaths as an atheist." + </p> + <p> + Mr Cowley answered somewhat sharply: "I am sorry, Sir, to hear you speak + thus. I had hoped that the vehemence of spirit which was caused by these + violent times had now abated. Yet, sure, Mr Milton, whatever you may think + of the character of King Charles, you will not still justify his murder?" + </p> + <p> + "Sir," said Mr Milton, "I must have been of a hard and strange nature, if + the vehemence which was imputed to me in my younger days had not been + diminished by the afflictions wherewith it hath pleased Almighty God to + chasten my age. I will not now defend all that I may heretofore have + written. But this I say, that I perceive not wherefore a king should be + exempted from all punishment. Is it just that where most is given least + should be required? Or politic that where there is the greatest power to + injure there should be no danger to restrain? But, you will say, there is + no such law. Such a law there is. There is the law of selfpreservation + written by God himself on our hearts. There is the primal compact and bond + of society, not graven on stone, or sealed with wax, nor put down on + parchment, nor set forth in any express form of words by men when of old + they came together; but implied in the very act that they so came + together, pre-supposed in all subsequent law, not to be repealed by any + authority, nor invalidated by being omitted in any code; inasmuch as from + thence are all codes and all authority. + </p> + <p> + "Neither do I well see wherefore you cavaliers, and, indeed, many of us + whom you merrily call Roundheads, distinguish between those who fought + against King Charles, and specially after the second commission given to + Sir Thomas Fairfax, and those who condemned him to death. Sure, if his + person were inviolable, it was as wicked to lift the sword against it at + Naseby as the axe at Whitehall. If his life might justly be taken, why not + in course of trial as well as by right of war? + </p> + <p> + "Thus much in general as touching the right. But, for the execution of + King Charles in particular, I will not now undertake to defend it. Death + is inflicted, not that the culprit may die, but that the state may be + thereby advantaged. And, from all that I know, I think that the death of + King Charles hath more hindered than advanced the liberties of England. + </p> + <p> + "First, he left an heir. He was in captivity. The heir was in freedom. He + was odious to the Scots. The heir was favoured by them. To kill the + captive therefore, whereby the heir, in the apprehension of all royalists, + became forthwith king—what was it, in truth, but to set their + captive free, and to give him besides other great advantages? + </p> + <p> + "Next, it was a deed most odious to the people, and not only to your + party, but to many among ourselves; and, as it is perilous for any + government to outrage the public opinion, so most was it perilous for a + government which had from that opinion alone its birth, its nurture, and + its defence. + </p> + <p> + "Yet doth not this properly belong to our dispute; nor can these faults be + justly charged upon that most renowned Parliament. For, as you know, the + high court of justice was not established until the House had been purged + of such members as were adverse to the army, and brought wholly under the + control of the chief officers." + </p> + <p> + "And who," said Mr Cowley, "levied that army? Who commissioned those + officers? Was not the fate of the Commons as justly deserved as was that + of Diomedes, who was devoured by those horses whom he had himself taught + to feed on the flesh and blood of men? How could they hope that others + would respect laws which they had themselves insulted; that swords which + had been drawn against the prerogatives of the king would be put up at an + ordinance of the Commons? It was believed, of old, that there were some + devils easily raised but never to be laid; insomuch that, if a magician + called them up, he should be forced to find them always some employment; + for, though they would do all his bidding, yet, if he left them but for + one moment without some work of evil to perform, they would turn their + claws against himself. Such a fiend is an army. They who evoke it cannot + dismiss it. They are at once its masters and its slaves. Let them not fail + to find for it task after task of blood and rapine. Let them not leave it + for a moment in repose, lest it tear them in pieces. + </p> + <p> + "Thus was it with that famous assembly. They formed a force which they + could neither govern nor resist. They made it powerful. They made it + fanatical. As if military insolence were not of itself sufficiently + dangerous, they heightened it with spiritual pride,—they encouraged + their soldiers to rave from the tops of tubs against the men of Belial, + till every trooper thought himself a prophet. They taught them to abuse + popery, till every drummer fancied that he was as infallible as a pope. + </p> + <p> + "Then it was that religion changed her nature. She was no longer the + parent of arts and letters, of wholesome knowledge, of innocent pleasures, + of blessed household smiles. In their place came sour faces, whining + voices, the chattering of fools, the yells of madmen. Then men fasted from + meat and drink, who fasted not from bribes and blood. Then men frowned at + stage-plays, who smiled at massacres. Then men preached against painted + faces, who felt no remorse for their own most painted lives. Religion had + been a pole-star to light and to guide. It was now more like to that + ominous star in the book of the Apocalypse, which fell from heaven upon + the fountains and rivers and changed them into wormwood; for even so did + it descend from its high and celestial dwelling-place to plague this + earth, and to turn into bitterness all that was sweet, and into poison all + that was nourishing. + </p> + <p> + "Therefore it was not strange that such things should follow. They who had + closed the barriers of London against the king could not defend them + against their own creatures. They who had so stoutly cried for privilege, + when that prince, most unadvisedly no doubt, came among them to demand + their members, durst not wag their fingers when Oliver filled their hall + with soldiers, gave their mace to a corporal, put their keys in his + pocket, and drove them forth with base terms, borrowed half from the + conventicle and half from the ale-house. Then were we, like the trees of + the forest in holy writ, given over to the rule of the bramble; then from + the basest of the shrubs came forth the fire which devoured the cedars of + Lebanon. We bowed down before a man of mean birth, of ungraceful + demeanour, of stammering and most vulgar utterance, of scandalous and + notorious hypocrisy. Our laws were made and unmade at his pleasure; the + constitution of our Parliaments changed by his writ and proclamation; our + persons imprisoned; our property plundered; our lands and houses overrun + with soldiers; and the great charter itself was but argument for a + scurrilous jest; and for all this we may thank that Parliament; for never, + unless they had so violently shaken the vessel, could such foul dregs have + risen to the top." + </p> + <p> + Then answered Mr Milton: "What you have now said comprehends so great a + number of subjects, that it would require, not an evening's sail on the + Thames, but rather a voyage to the Indies, accurately to treat of all: + yet, in as few words as I may, I will explain my sense of these matters. + </p> + <p> + "First, as to the army. An army, as you have well set forth, is always a + weapon dangerous to those who use it; yet he who falls among thieves + spares not to fire his musquetoon, because he may be slain if it burst in + his hand. Nor must states refrain from defending themselves, lest their + defenders should at last turn against them. Nevertheless, against this + danger statesmen should carefully provide; and, that they may do so, they + should take especial care that neither the officers nor the soldiers do + forget that they are also citizens. I do believe that the English army + would have continued to obey the parliament with all duty, but for one + act, which, as it was in intention, in seeming, and in immediate effect, + worthy to be compared with the most famous in history, so was it, in its + final consequence, most injurious. I speak of that ordinance called the + "self-denying", and of the new model of the army. By those measures the + Commons gave up the command of their forces into the hands of men who were + not of themselves. Hence, doubtless, derived no small honour to that noble + assembly, which sacrificed to the hope of public good the assurance of + private advantage. And, as to the conduct of the war, the scheme + prospered. Witness the battle of Naseby, and the memorable exploits of + Fairfax in the west. But thereby the Parliament lost that hold on the + soldiers and that power to control them, which they retained while every + regiment was commanded by their own members. Politicians there be, who + would wholly divide the legislative from the executive power. In the + golden age this may have succeeded; in the millennium it may succeed + again. But, where great armies and great taxes are required, there the + executive government must always hold a great authority, which authority, + that it may not oppress and destroy the legislature, must be in some + manner blended with it. The leaders of foreign mercenaries have always + been most dangerous to a country. The officers of native armies, deprived + of the civil privileges of other men, are as much to be feared. This was + the great error of that Parliament: and, though an error it were, it was + an error generous, virtuous, and more to be deplored than censured. + </p> + <p> + "Hence came the power of the army and its leaders, and especially of that + most famous leader, whom both in our conversation to-day, and in that + discourse whereon I before touched, you have, in my poor opinion, far too + roughly handled. Wherefore you speak contemptibly of his parts I know not; + but I suspect that you are not free from the error common to studious and + speculative men. Because Oliver was an ungraceful orator, and never said, + either in public or private, anything memorable, you will have it that he + was of a mean capacity. Sure this is unjust. Many men have there been + ignorant of letters, without wit, without eloquence, who yet had the + wisdom to devise, and the courage to perform, that which they lacked + language to explain. Such men often, in troubled times, have worked out + the deliverance of nations and their own greatness, not by logic, not by + rhetoric, but by wariness in success, by calmness in danger, by fierce and + stubborn resolution in all adversity. The hearts of men are their books; + events are their tutors; great actions are their eloquence: and such an + one, in my judgment, was his late Highness, who, if none were to treat his + name scornfully now shook not at the sound of it while he lived, would, by + very few, be mentioned otherwise than with reverence. His own deeds shall + avouch him for a great statesman, a great soldier, a true lover of his + country, a merciful and generous conqueror. + </p> + <p> + "For his faults, let us reflect that they who seem to lead are oftentimes + most constrained to follow. They who will mix with men, and especially + they who will govern them, must in many things obey them. They who will + yield to no such conditions may be hermits, but cannot be generals and + statesmen. If a man will walk straight forward without turning to the + right or the left, he must walk in a desert, and not in Cheapside. Thus + was he enforced to do many things which jumped not with his inclination + nor made for his honour; because the army, on which alone he could depend + for power and life, might not otherwise be contented. And I, for mine own + part, marvel less that he sometimes was fain to indulge their violence + than that he could so often restrain it. + </p> + <p> + "In that he dissolved the Parliament, I praise him. It then was so + diminished in numbers, as well by the death as by the exclusion of + members, that it was no longer the same assembly; and, if at that time it + had made itself perpetual, we should have been governed, not by an English + House of Commons, but by a Venetian Council. + </p> + <p> + "If in his following rule he overstepped the laws, I pity rather than + condemn him. He may be compared to that Maeandrius of Samos, of whom + Herodotus saith, in his Thalia, that, wishing to be of all men the most + just, he was not able; for after the death of Polycrates he offered + freedom to the people; and not till certain of them threatened to call him + to a reckoning for what he had formerly done, did he change his purpose, + and make himself a tyrant, lest he should be treated as a criminal. + </p> + <p> + "Such was the case of Oliver. He gave to his country a form of government + so free and admirable that, in near six thousand years, human wisdom hath + never devised any more excellent contrivance for human happiness. To + himself he reserved so little power that it would scarcely have sufficed + for his safety, and it is a marvel that it could suffice for his ambition. + When, after that, he found that the members of his Parliament disputed his + right even to that small authority which he had kept, when he might have + kept all, then indeed I own that he began to govern by the sword those who + would not suffer him to govern by the law. + </p> + <p> + "But, for the rest, what sovereign was ever more princely in pardoning + injuries, in conquering enemies, in extending the dominions and the renown + of his people? What sea, what shore did he not mark with imperishable + memorials of his friendship or his vengeance? The gold of Spain, the steel + of Sweden, the ten thousand sails of Holland, availed nothing against him. + While every foreign state trembled at our arms, we sat secure from all + assault. War, which often so strangely troubles both husbandry and + commerce, never silenced the song of our reapers, or the sound of our + looms. Justice was equally administered; God was freely worshipped. + </p> + <p> + "Now look at that which we have taken in exchange. With the restored king + have come over to us vices of every sort, and most the basest and most + shameful,—lust without love—servitude without loyalty—foulness + of speech—dishonesty of dealing—grinning contempt of all + things good and generous. The throne is surrounded by men whom the former + Charles would have spurned from his footstool. The altar is served by + slaves whose knees are supple to every being but God. Rhymers, whose books + the hangman should burn, pandars, actors, and buffoons, these drink a + health and throw a main with the King; these have stars on their breasts + and gold sticks in their hands; these shut out from his presence the best + and bravest of those who bled for his house. Even so doth God visit those + who know not how to value freedom. He gives them over to the tyranny which + they have desired, Ina pantes epaurontai basileos." + </p> + <p> + "I will not," said Mr Cowley, "dispute with you on this argument. But, if + it be as you say, how can you maintain that England hath been so greatly + advantaged by the rebellion?" + </p> + <p> + "Understand me rightly, Sir," said Mr Milton. "This nation is not given + over to slavery and vice. We tasted indeed the fruits of liberty before + they had well ripened. Their flavour was harsh and bitter; and we turned + from them with loathing to the sweeter poisons of servitude. This is but + for a time. England is sleeping on the lap of Dalilah, traitorously + chained, but not yet shorn of strength. Let the cry be once heard—the + Philistines be upon thee; and at once that sleep will be broken, and those + chains will be as flax in the fire. The great Parliament hath left behind + it in our hearts and minds a hatred of tyrants, a just knowledge of our + rights, a scorn of vain and deluding names; and that the revellers of + Whitehall shall surely find. The sun is darkened; but it is only for a + moment: it is but an eclipse; though all birds of evil omen have begun to + scream, and all ravenous beasts have gone forth to prey, thinking it to be + midnight. Woe to them if they be abroad when the rays again shine forth! + </p> + <p> + "The king hath judged ill. Had he been wise he would have remembered that + he owed his restoration only to confusions which had wearied us out, and + made us eager for repose. He would have known that the folly and perfidy + of a prince would restore to the good old cause many hearts which had been + alienated thence by the turbulence of factions; for, if I know aught of + history, or of the heart of man, he will soon learn that the last champion + of the people was not destroyed when he murdered Vane, nor seduced when he + beguiled Fairfax." + </p> + <p> + Mr Cowley seemed to me not to take much amiss what Mr Milton had said + touching that thankless court, which had indeed but poorly requited his + own good service. He only said, therefore, "Another rebellion! Alas! alas! + Mr Milton! If there be no choice but between despotism and anarchy, I + prefer despotism." + </p> + <p> + "Many men," said Mr Milton, "have floridly and ingeniously compared + anarchy and despotism; but they who so amuse themselves do but look at + separate parts of that which is truly one great whole. Each is the cause + and the effect of the other; the evils of either are the evils of both. + Thus do states move on in the same eternal cycle, which, from the remotest + point, brings them back again to the same sad starting-post: and, till + both those who govern and those who obey shall learn and mark this great + truth, men can expect little through the future, as they have known little + through the past, save vicissitudes of extreme evils, alternately + producing and produced. + </p> + <p> + "When will rulers learn that, where liberty is not, security end order can + never be? We talk of absolute power; but all power hath limits, which, if + not fixed by the moderation of the governors, will be fixed by the force + of the governed. Sovereigns may send their opposers to dungeons; they may + clear out a senate-house with soldiers; they may enlist armies of spies; + they may hang scores of the disaffected in chains at every cross road; but + what power shall stand in that frightful time when rebellion hath become a + less evil than endurance? Who shall dissolve that terrible tribunal, + which, in the hearts of the oppressed, denounces against the oppressor the + doom of its wild justice? Who shall repeal the law of selfdefence? What + arms or discipline shall resist the strength of famine and despair? How + often were the ancient Caesars dragged from their golden palaces, stripped + of their purple robes, mangled, stoned, defiled with filth, pierced with + hooks, hurled into Tiber? How often have the Eastern Sultans perished by + the sabres of their own janissaries, or the bow-strings of their own + mutes! For no power which is not limited by laws can ever be protected by + them. Small, therefore, is the wisdom of those who would fly to servitude + as if it were a refuge from commotion; for anarchy is the sure consequence + of tyranny. That governments may be safe, nations must be free. Their + passions must have an outlet provided, lest they make one. + </p> + <p> + "When I was at Naples, I went with Signor Manso, a gentleman of excellent + parts and breeding, who had been the familiar friend of that famous poet + Torquato Tasso, to see the burning mountain Vesuvius. I wondered how the + peasants could venture to dwell so fearlessly and cheerfully on its sides, + when the lava was flowing from its summit; but Manso smiled, and told me + that when the fire descends freely they retreat before it without haste or + fear. They can tell how fast it will move, and how far; and they know, + moreover, that, though it may work some little damage, it will soon cover + the fields over which it hath passed with rich vineyards and sweet + flowers. But, when the flames are pent up in the mountain, then it is that + they have reason to fear; then it is that the earth sinks and the sea + swells; then cities are swallowed up; and their place knoweth them no + more. So it is in politics: where the people is most closely restrained, + there it gives the greatest shocks to peace and order; therefore would I + say to all kings, let your demagogues lead crowds, lest they lead armies; + let them bluster, lest they massacre; a little turbulence is, as it were, + the rainbow of the state; it shows indeed that there is a passing shower; + but it is a pledge that there shall be no deluge." + </p> + <p> + "This is true," said Mr Cowley; "yet these admonitions are not less + needful to subjects than to sovereigns." + </p> + <p> + "Surely," said Mr Milton; "and, that I may end this long debate with a few + words in which we shall both agree, I hold that, as freedom is the only + safeguard of governments, so are order and moderation generally necessary + to preserve freedom. Even the vainest opinions of men are not to be + outraged by those who propose to themselves the happiness of men for their + end, and who must work with the passions of men for their means. The blind + reverence for things ancient is indeed so foolish that it might make a + wise man laugh, if it were not also sometimes so mischievous that it would + rather make a good man weep. Yet, since it may not be wholly cured it must + be discreetly indulged; and therefore those who would amend evil laws + should consider rather how much it may be safe to spare, than how much it + may be possible to change. Have you not heard that men who have been shut + up for many years in dungeons shrink if they see the light, and fall down + if their irons be struck off? And so, when nations have long been in the + house of bondage, the chains which have crippled them are necessary to + support them, the darkness which hath weakened their sight is necessary to + preserve it. Therefore release them not too rashly, lest they curse their + freedom and pine for their prison. + </p> + <p> + "I think indeed that the renowned Parliament, of which we have talked so + much, did show, until it became subject to the soldiers, a singular and + admirable moderation, in such times scarcely to be hoped, and most worthy + to be an example to all that shall come after. But on this argument I have + said enough: and I will therefore only pray to Almighty God that those who + shall, in future times stand forth in defence of our liberties, as well + civil as religious, may adorn the good cause by mercy, prudence, and + soberness, to the glory of his name and the happiness and honour of the + English people." + </p> + <p> + And so ended that discourse; and not long after we were set on shore again + at the Temple Gardens, and there parted company: and the same evening I + took notes of what had been said, which I have here more fully set down, + from regard both to the fame of the men, and the importance of the + subject-matter. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + ON THE ATHENIAN ORATORS. (August 1824.) + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "To the famous orators repair, + Those ancient, whose resistless eloquence + Wielded at will that fierce democratie, + Shook the arsenal, and fulmined over Greece + To Macedon and Artaxerxes' throne." —Milton. +</pre> + <p> + The celebrity of the great classical writers is confined within no limits, + except those which separate civilised from savage man. Their works are the + common property of every polished nation. They have furnished subjects for + the painter, and models for the poet. In the minds of the educated classes + throughout Europe, their names are indissolubly associated with the + endearing recollections of childhood,—the old school-room,—the + dog-eared grammar,—the first prize,—the tears so often shed + and so quickly dried. So great is the veneration with which they are + regarded, that even the editors and commentators who perform the lowest + menial offices to their memory, are considered, like the equerries and + chamberlains of sovereign princes, as entitled to a high rank in the table + of literary precedence. It is, therefore, somewhat singular that their + productions should so rarely have been examined on just and philosophical + principles of criticism. + </p> + <p> + The ancient writers themselves afford us but little assistance. When they + particularise, they are commonly trivial: when they would generalise, they + become indistinct. An exception must, indeed, be made in favour of + Aristotle. Both in analysis and in combination, that great man was without + a rival. No philosopher has ever possessed, in an equal degree, the talent + either of separating established systems into their primary elements, or + of connecting detached phenomena in harmonious systems. He was the great + fashioner of the intellectual chaos; he changed its darkness into light, + and its discord into order. He brought to literary researches the same + vigour and amplitude of mind to which both physical and metaphysical + science are so greatly indebted. His fundamental principles of criticism + are excellent. To cite only a single instance:—the doctrine which he + established, that poetry is an imitative art, when justly understood, is + to the critic what the compass is to the navigator. With it he may venture + upon the most extensive excursions. Without it he must creep cautiously + along the coast, or lose himself in a trackless expanse, and trust, at + best, to the guidance of an occasional star. It is a discovery which + changes a caprice into a science. + </p> + <p> + The general propositions of Aristotle are valuable. But the merit of the + superstructure bears no proportion to that of the foundation. This is + partly to be ascribed to the character of the philosopher, who, though + qualified to do all that could be done by the resolving and combining + powers of the understanding, seems not to have possessed much of + sensibility or imagination. Partly, also, it may be attributed to the + deficiency of materials. The great works of genius which then existed were + not either sufficiently numerous or sufficiently varied to enable any man + to form a perfect code of literature. To require that a critic should + conceive classes of composition which had never existed, and then + investigate their principles, would be as unreasonable as the demand of + Nebuchadnezzar, who expected his magicians first to tell him his dream and + then to interpret it. + </p> + <p> + With all his deficiencies, Aristotle was the most enlightened and profound + critic of antiquity. Dionysius was far from possessing the same exquisite + subtilty, or the same vast comprehension. But he had access to a much + greater number of specimens; and he had devoted himself, as it appears, + more exclusively to the study of elegant literature. His peculiar + judgments are of more value than his general principles. He is only the + historian of literature. Aristotle is its philosopher. + </p> + <p> + Quintilian applied to general literature the same principles by which he + had been accustomed to judge of the declamations of his pupils. He looks + for nothing but rhetoric, and rhetoric not of the highest order. He speaks + coldly of the incomparable works of Aeschylus. He admires, beyond + expression, those inexhaustible mines of common-places, the plays of + Euripides. He bestows a few vague words on the poetical character of + Homer. He then proceeds to consider him merely as an orator. An orator + Homer doubtless was, and a great orator. But surely nothing is more + remarkable, in his admirable works, than the art with which his oratorical + powers are made subservient to the purposes of poetry. Nor can I think + Quintilian a great critic in his own province. Just as are many of his + remarks, beautiful as are many of his illustrations, we can perpetually + detect in his thoughts that flavour which the soil of despotism generally + communicates to all the fruits of genius. Eloquence was, in his time, + little more than a condiment which served to stimulate in a despot the + jaded appetite for panegyric, an amusement for the travelled nobles and + the blue-stocking matrons of Rome. It is, therefore, with him, rather a + sport than a war; it is a contest of foils, not of swords. He appears to + think more of the grace of the attitude than of the direction and vigour + of the thrust. It must be acknowledged, in justice to Quintilian, that + this is an error to which Cicero has too often given the sanction, both of + his precept and of his example. + </p> + <p> + Longinus seems to have had great sensibility, but little discrimination. + He gives us eloquent sentences, but no principles. It was happily said + that Montesquieu ought to have changed the name of his book from "L'Esprit + des Lois" to "L'Esprit sur les Lois". In the same manner the philosopher + of Palmyra ought to have entitled his famous work, not "Longinus on the + Sublime," but "The Sublimities of Longinus." The origin of the sublime is + one of the most curious and interesting subjects of inquiry that can + occupy the attention of a critic. In our own country it has been + discussed, with great ability, and, I think, with very little success, by + Burke and Dugald Stuart. Longinus dispenses himself from all + investigations of this nature, by telling his friend Terentianus that he + already knows everything that can be said upon the question. It is to be + regretted that Terentianus did not impart some of his knowledge to his + instructor: for from Longinus we learn only that sublimity means height—or + elevation. (Akrotes kai exoche tis logon esti ta uoe.) This name, so + commodiously vague, is applied indifferently to the noble prayer of Ajax + in the Iliad, and to a passage of Plato about the human body, as full of + conceits as an ode of Cowley. Having no fixed standard, Longinus is right + only by accident. He is rather a fancier than a critic. + </p> + <p> + Modern writers have been prevented by many causes from supplying the + deficiencies of their classical predecessors. At the time of the revival + of literature, no man could, without great and painful labour, acquire an + accurate and elegant knowledge of the ancient languages. And, + unfortunately, those grammatical and philological studies, without which + it was impossible to understand the great works of Athenian and Roman + genius, have a tendency to contract the views and deaden the sensibility + of those who follow them with extreme assiduity. A powerful mind, which + has been long employed in such studies, may be compared to the gigantic + spirit in the Arabian tale, who was persuaded to contract himself to small + dimensions in order to enter within the enchanted vessel, and, when his + prison had been closed upon him, found himself unable to escape from the + narrow boundaries to the measure of which he had reduced his stature. When + the means have long been the objects of application, they are naturally + substituted for the end. It was said, by Eugene of Savoy, that the + greatest generals have commonly been those who have been at once raised to + command, and introduced to the great operations of war, without being + employed in the petty calculations and manoeuvres which employ the time of + an inferior officer. In literature the principle is equally sound. The + great tactics of criticism will, in general, be best understood by those + who have not had much practice in drilling syllables and particles. + </p> + <p> + I remember to have observed among the French Anas a ludicrous instance of + this. A scholar, doubtless of great learning, recommends the study of some + long Latin treatise, of which I now forget the name, on the religion, + manners, government, and language of the early Greeks. "For there," says + he, "you will learn everything of importance that is contained in the + Iliad and Odyssey, without the trouble of reading two such tedious books." + Alas! it had not occurred to the poor gentleman that all the knowledge to + which he attached so much value was useful only as it illustrated the + great poems which he despised, and would be as worthless for any other + purpose as the mythology of Caffraria, or the vocabulary of Otaheite. + </p> + <p> + Of those scholars who have disdained to confine themselves to verbal + criticism few have been successful. The ancient languages have, generally, + a magical influence on their faculties. They were "fools called into a + circle by Greek invocations." The Iliad and Aeneid were to them not books + but curiosities, or rather reliques. They no more admired those works for + their merits than a good Catholic venerates the house of the Virgin at + Loretto for its architecture. Whatever was classical was good. Homer was a + great poet, and so was Callimachus. The epistles of Cicero were fine, and + so were those of Phalaris. Even with respect to questions of evidence they + fell into the same error. The authority of all narrations, written in + Greek or Latin, was the same with them. It never crossed their minds that + the lapse of five hundred years, or the distance of five hundred leagues, + could affect the accuracy of a narration;—that Livy could be a less + veracious historian than Polybius;—or that Plutarch could know less + about the friends of Xenophon than Xenophon himself. Deceived by the + distance of time, they seem to consider all the Classics as + contemporaries; just as I have known people in England, deceived by the + distance of place, take it for granted that all persons who live in India + are neighbours, and ask an inhabitant of Bombay about the health of an + acquaintance at Calcutta. It is to be hoped that no barbarian deluge will + ever again pass over Europe. But should such a calamity happen, it seems + not improbable that some future Rollin or Gillies will compile a history + of England from Miss Porter's Scottish Chiefs, Miss Lee's Recess, and Sir + Nathaniel Wraxall's Memoirs. + </p> + <p> + It is surely time that ancient literature should be examined in a + different manner, without pedantical prepossessions, but with a just + allowance, at the same time, for the difference of circumstances and + manners. I am far from pretending to the knowledge or ability which such a + task would require. All that I mean to offer is a collection of desultory + remarks upon a most interesting portion of Greek literature. + </p> + <p> + It may be doubted whether any compositions which have ever been produced + in the world are equally perfect in their kind with the great Athenian + orations. Genius is subject to the same laws which regulate the production + of cotton and molasses. The supply adjusts itself to the demand. The + quantity may be diminished by restrictions, and multiplied by bounties. + The singular excellence to which eloquence attained at Athens is to be + mainly attributed to the influence which it exerted there. In turbulent + times, under a constitution purely democratic, among a people educated + exactly to that point at which men are most susceptible of strong and + sudden impressions, acute, but not sound reasoners, warm in their + feelings, unfixed in their principles, and passionate admirers of fine + composition, oratory received such encouragement as it has never since + obtained. + </p> + <p> + The taste and knowledge of the Athenian people was a favourite object of + the contemptuous derision of Samuel Johnson; a man who knew nothing of + Greek literature beyond the common school-books, and who seems to have + brought to what he had read scarcely more than the discernment of a common + school-boy. He used to assert, with that arrogant absurdity which, in + spite of his great abilities and virtues, renders him, perhaps the most + ridiculous character in literary history, that Demosthenes spoke to a + people of brutes;—to a barbarous people;—that there could have + been no civilisation before the invention of printing. Johnson was a keen + but a very narrow-minded observer of mankind. He perpetually confounded + their general nature with their particular circumstances. He knew London + intimately. The sagacity of his remarks on its society is perfectly + astonishing. But Fleet Street was the world to him. He saw that Londoners + who did not read were profoundly ignorant; and he inferred that a Greek, + who had few or no books, must have been as uninformed as one of Mr + Thrale's draymen. + </p> + <p> + There seems to be, on the contrary, every reason to believe, that, in + general intelligence, the Athenian populace far surpassed the lower orders + of any community that has ever existed. It must be considered, that to be + a citizen was to be a legislator,—a soldier,—a judge,—one + upon whose voice might depend the fate of the wealthiest tributary state, + of the most eminent public man. The lowest offices, both of agriculture + and of trade, were, in common, performed by slaves. The commonwealth + supplied its meanest members with the support of life, the opportunity of + leisure, and the means of amusement. Books were indeed few: but they were + excellent; and they were accurately known. It is not by turning over + libraries, but by repeatedly perusing and intently contemplating a few + great models, that the mind is best disciplined. A man of letters must now + read much that he soon forgets, and much from which he learns nothing + worthy to be remembered. The best works employ, in general, but a small + portion of his time. Demosthenes is said to have transcribed six times the + history of Thucydides. If he had been a young politician of the present + age, he might in the same space of time have skimmed innumerable + newspapers and pamphlets. I do not condemn that desultory mode of study + which the state of things, in our day, renders a matter of necessity. But + I may be allowed to doubt whether the changes on which the admirers of + modern institutions delight to dwell have improved our condition so much + in reality as in appearance. Rumford, it is said, proposed to the Elector + of Bavaria a scheme for feeding his soldiers at a much cheaper rate than + formerly. His plan was simply to compel them to masticate their food + thoroughly. A small quantity, thus eaten, would, according to that famous + projector, afford more sustenance than a large meal hastily devoured. I do + not know how Rumford's proposition was received; but to the mind, I + believe, it will be found more nutritious to digest a page than to devour + a volume. + </p> + <p> + Books, however, were the least part of the education of an Athenian + citizen. Let us, for a moment, transport ourselves in thought, to that + glorious city. Let us imagine that we are entering its gates, in the time + of its power and glory. A crowd is assembled round a portico. All are + gazing with delight at the entablature; for Phidias is putting up the + frieze. We turn into another street; a rhapsodist is reciting there: men, + women, children are thronging round him: the tears are running down their + cheeks: their eyes are fixed: their very breath is still; for he is + telling how Priam fell at the feet of Achilles, and kissed those hands,—the + terrible—the murderous,—which had slain so many of his sons. (—kai + kuse cheiras, deinas, anorophonous, ai oi poleas ktanon uias.) + </p> + <p> + We enter the public place; there is a ring of youths, all leaning forward, + with sparkling eyes, and gestures of expectation. Socrates is pitted + against the famous atheist, from Ionia, and has just brought him to a + contradiction in terms. But we are interrupted. The herald is crying—"Room + for the Prytanes." The general assembly is to meet. The people are + swarming in on every side. Proclamation is made—"Who wishes to + speak?" There is a shout, and a clapping of hands: Pericles is mounting + the stand. Then for a play of Sophocles; and away to sup with Aspasia. I + know of no modern university which has so excellent a system of education. + </p> + <p> + Knowledge thus acquired and opinions thus formed were, indeed, likely to + be, in some respects, defective. Propositions which are advanced in + discourse generally result from a partial view of the question, and cannot + be kept under examination long enough to be corrected. Men of great + conversational powers almost universally practise a sort of lively + sophistry and exaggeration, which deceives, for the moment, both + themselves and their auditors. Thus we see doctrines, which cannot bear a + close inspection, triumph perpetually in drawing-rooms, in debating + societies, and even in legislative or judicial assemblies. To the + conversational education of the Athenians I am inclined to attribute the + great looseness of reasoning which is remarkable in most of their + scientific writings. Even the most illogical of modern writers would stand + perfectly aghast at the puerile fallacies which seem to have deluded some + of the greatest men of antiquity. Sir Thomas Lethbridge would stare at the + political economy of Xenophon; and the author of "Soirees de Petersbourg" + would be ashamed of some of the metaphysical arguments of Plato. But the + very circumstances which retarded the growth of science were peculiarly + favourable to the cultivation of eloquence. From the early habit of taking + a share in animated discussion the intelligent student would derive that + readiness of resource, that copiousness of language, and that knowledge of + the temper and understanding of an audience, which are far more valuable + to an orator than the greatest logical powers. + </p> + <p> + Horace has prettily compared poems to those paintings of which the effect + varies as the spectator changes his stand. The same remark applies with at + least equal justice to speeches. They must be read with the temper of + those to whom they were addressed, or they must necessarily appear to + offend against the laws of taste and reason; as the finest picture, seen + in a light different from that for which it was designed, will appear fit + only for a sign. This is perpetually forgotten by those who criticise + oratory. Because they are reading at leisure, pausing at every line, + reconsidering every argument, they forget that the hearers were hurried + from point to point too rapidly to detect the fallacies through which they + were conducted; that they had no time to disentangle sophisms, or to + notice slight inaccuracies of expression; that elaborate excellence, + either of reasoning or of language, would have been absolutely thrown + away. To recur to the analogy of the sister art, these connoisseurs + examine a panorama through a microscope, and quarrel with a scene-painter + because he does not give to his work the exquisite finish of Gerard Dow. + </p> + <p> + Oratory is to be estimated on principles different from those which are + applied to other productions. Truth is the object of philosophy and + history. Truth is the object even of those works which are peculiarly + called works of fiction, but which, in fact, bear the same relation to + history which algebra bears to arithmetic. The merit of poetry, in its + wildest forms, still consists in its truth,—truth conveyed to the + understanding, not directly by the words, but circuitously by means of + imaginative associations, which serve as its conductors. The object of + oratory alone is not truth, but persuasion. The admiration of the + multitude does not make Moore a greater poet than Coleridge, or Beattie a + greater philosopher than Berkeley. But the criterion of eloquence is + different. A speaker who exhausts the whole philosophy of a question, who + displays every grace of style, yet produces no effect on his audience, may + be a great essayist, a great statesman, a great master of composition; but + he is not an orator. If he miss the mark, it makes no difference whether + he have taken aim too high or too low. + </p> + <p> + The effect of the great freedom of the press in England has been, in a + great measure, to destroy this distinction, and to leave among us little + of what I call Oratory Proper. Our legislators, our candidates, on great + occasions even our advocates, address themselves less to the audience than + to the reporters. They think less of the few hearers than of the + innumerable readers. At Athens the case was different; there the only + object of the speaker was immediate conviction and persuasion. He, + therefore, who would justly appreciate the merit of the Grecian orators + should place himself, as nearly as possible, in the situation of their + auditors: he should divest himself of his modern feelings and + acquirements, and make the prejudices and interests of the Athenian + citizen his own. He who studies their works in this spirit will find that + many of those things which, to an English reader, appear to be blemishes,—the + frequent violation of those excellent rules of evidence by which our + courts of law are regulated,—the introduction of extraneous matter,—the + reference to considerations of political expediency in judicial + investigations,—the assertions, without proof,—the passionate + entreaties,—the furious invectives,—are really proofs of the + prudence and address of the speakers. He must not dwell maliciously on + arguments or phrases, but acquiesce in his first impressions. It requires + repeated perusal and reflection to decide rightly on any other portion of + literature. But with respect to works of which the merit depends on their + instantaneous effect the most hasty judgment is likely to be best. + </p> + <p> + The history of eloquence at Athens is remarkable. From a very early period + great speakers had flourished there. Pisistratus and Themistocles are said + to have owed much of their influence to their talents for debate. We + learn, with more certainty, that Pericles was distinguished by + extraordinary oratorical powers. The substance of some of his speeches is + transmitted to us by Thucydides; and that excellent writer has doubtless + faithfully reported the general line of his arguments. But the manner, + which in oratory is of at least as much consequence as the matter, was of + no importance to his narration. It is evident that he has not attempted to + preserve it. Throughout his work, every speech on every subject, whatever + may have been the character of the dialect of the speaker, is in exactly + the same form. The grave king of Sparta, the furious demagogue of Athens, + the general encouraging his army, the captive supplicating for his life, + all are represented as speakers in one unvaried style,—a style + moreover wholly unfit for oratorical purposes. His mode of reasoning is + singularly elliptical,—in reality most consecutive,—yet in + appearance often incoherent. His meaning, in itself sufficiently + perplexing, is compressed into the fewest possible words. His great + fondness for antithetical expression has not a little conduced to this + effect. Every one must have observed how much more the sense is condensed + in the verses of Pope and his imitators, who never ventured to continue + the same clause from couplet to couplet, than in those of poets who allow + themselves that license. Every artificial division, which is strongly + marked, and which frequently recurs, has the same tendency. The natural + and perspicuous expression which spontaneously rises to the mind will + often refuse to accommodate itself to such a form. It is necessary either + to expand it into weakness, or to compress it into almost impenetrable + density. The latter is generally the choice of an able man, and was + assuredly the choice of Thucydides. + </p> + <p> + It is scarcely necessary to say that such speeches could never have been + delivered. They are perhaps among the most difficult passages in the Greek + language, and would probably have been scarcely more intelligible to an + Athenian auditor than to a modern reader. Their obscurity was acknowledged + by Cicero, who was as intimate with the literature and language of Greece + as the most accomplished of its natives, and who seems to have held a + respectable rank among the Greek authors. Their difficulty to a modern + reader lies, not in the words, but in the reasoning. A dictionary is of + far less use in studying them than a clear head and a close attention to + the context. They are valuable to the scholar as displaying, beyond almost + any other compositions, the powers of the finest of languages: they are + valuable to the philosopher as illustrating the morals and manners of a + most interesting age: they abound in just thought and energetic + expression. But they do not enable us to form any accurate opinion on the + merits of the early Greek orators. + </p> + <p> + Though it cannot be doubted that, before the Persian wars, Athens had + produced eminent speakers, yet the period during which eloquence most + flourished among her citizens was by no means that of her greatest power + and glory. It commenced at the close of the Peloponnesian war. In fact, + the steps by which Athenian oratory approached to its finished excellence + seem to have been almost contemporaneous with those by which the Athenian + character and the Athenian empire sunk to degradation. At the time when + the little commonwealth achieved those victories which twenty-five + eventful centuries have left unequalled, eloquence was in its infancy. The + deliverers of Greece became its plunderers and oppressors. Unmeasured + exaction, atrocious vengeance, the madness of the multitude, the tyranny + of the great, filled the Cyclades with tears, and blood, and mourning. The + sword unpeopled whole islands in a day. The plough passed over the ruins + of famous cities. The imperial republic sent forth her children by + thousands to pine in the quarries of Syracuse, or to feed the vultures of + Aegospotami. She was at length reduced by famine and slaughter to humble + herself before her enemies, and to purchase existence by the sacrifice of + her empire and her laws. During these disastrous and gloomy years, oratory + was advancing towards its highest excellence. And it was when the moral, + the political, and the military character of the people was most utterly + degraded, it was when the viceroy of a Macedonian sovereign gave law to + Greece, that the courts of Athens witnessed the most splendid contest of + eloquence that the world has ever known. + </p> + <p> + The causes of this phenomenon it is not, I think, difficult to assign. The + division of labour operates on the productions of the orator as it does on + those of the mechanic. It was remarked by the ancients that the + Pentathlete, who divided his attention between several exercises, though + he could not vie with a boxer in the use of the cestus, or with one who + had confined his attention to running in the contest of the stadium, yet + enjoyed far greater general vigour and health than either. It is the same + with the mind. The superiority in technical skill is often more than + compensated by the inferiority in general intelligence. And this is + peculiarly the case in politics. States have always been best governed by + men who have taken a wide view of public affairs, and who have rather a + general acquaintance with many sciences than a perfect mastery of one. The + union of the political and military departments in Greece contributed not + a little to the splendour of its early history. After their separation + more skilful generals and greater speakers appeared; but the breed of + statesmen dwindled and became almost extinct. Themistocles or Pericles + would have been no match for Demosthenes in the assembly, or for + Iphicrates in the field. But surely they were incomparably better fitted + than either for the supreme direction of affairs. + </p> + <p> + There is indeed a remarkable coincidence between the progress of the art + of war, and that of the art of oratory, among the Greeks. They both + advanced to perfection by contemporaneous steps, and from similar causes. + The early speakers, like the early warriors of Greece, were merely a + militia. It was found that in both employments practice and discipline + gave superiority. (It has often occurred to me, that to the circumstances + mentioned in the text is to be referred one of the most remarkable events + in Grecian history; I mean the silent but rapid downfall of the + Lacedaemonian power. Soon after the termination of the Peloponnesian war, + the strength of Lacedaemon began to decline. Its military discipline, its + social institutions, were the same. Agesilaus, during whose reign the + change took place, was the ablest of its kings. Yet the Spartan armies + were frequently defeated in pitched battles,—an occurrence + considered impossible in the earlier ages of Greece. They are allowed to + have fought most bravely; yet they were no longer attended by the success + to which they had formerly been accustomed. No solution of these + circumstances is offered, as far as I know, by any ancient author. The + real cause, I conceive, was this. The Lacedaemonians, alone among the + Greeks, formed a permanent standing army. While the citizens of other + commonwealths were engaged in agriculture and trade, they had no + employment whatever but the study of military discipline. Hence, during + the Persian and Peloponnesian wars, they had that advantage over their + neighbours which regular troops always possess over militia. This + advantage they lost, when other states began, at a later period, to employ + mercenary forces, who were probably as superior to them in the art of war + as they had hitherto been to their antagonists.) Each pursuit therefore + became first an art, and then a trade. In proportion as the professors of + each became more expert in their particular craft, they became less + respectable in their general character. Their skill had been obtained at + too great expense to be employed only from disinterested views. Thus, the + soldiers forgot that they were citizens, and the orators that they were + statesmen. I know not to what Demosthenes and his famous contemporaries + can be so justly compared as to those mercenary troops who, in their time, + overran Greece; or those who, from similar causes, were some centuries ago + the scourge of the Italian republics,—perfectly acquainted with + every part of their profession, irresistible in the field, powerful to + defend or to destroy, but defending without love, and destroying without + hatred. We may despise the characters of these political Condottieri; but + is impossible to examine the system of their tactics without being amazed + at its perfection. + </p> + <p> + I had intended to proceed to this examination, and to consider separately + the remains of Lysias, of Aeschines, of Demosthenes, and of Isocrates, + who, though strictly speaking he was rather a pamphleteer than an orator, + deserves, on many accounts, a place in such a disquisition. The length of + my prolegomena and digressions compels me to postpone this part of the + subject to another occasion. A Magazine is certainly a delightful + invention for a very idle or a very busy man. He is not compelled to + complete his plan or to adhere to his subject. He may ramble as far as he + is inclined, and stop as soon as he is tired. No one takes the trouble to + recollect his contradictory opinions or his unredeemed pledges. He may be + as superficial, as inconsistent, and as careless as he chooses. Magazines + resemble those little angels, who, according to the pretty Rabbinical + tradition, are generated every morning by the brook which rolls over the + flowers of Paradise,—whose life is a song,—who warble till + sunset, and then sink back without regret into nothingness. Such spirits + have nothing to do with the detecting spear of Ithuriel or the victorious + sword of Michael. It is enough for them to please and be forgotten. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + A PROPHETIC ACCOUNT OF A GRAND NATIONAL EPIC POEM, TO BE ENTITLED "THE + </h2> + <p> + WELLINGTONIAD," AND TO BE PUBLISHED A.D. 2824. (November 1824.) + </p> + <p> + How I became a prophet it is not very important to the reader to know. + Nevertheless I feel all the anxiety which, under similar circumstances, + troubled the sensitive mind of Sidrophel; and, like him, am eager to + vindicate myself from the suspicion of having practised forbidden arts, or + held intercourse with beings of another world. I solemnly declare, + therefore, that I never saw a ghost, like Lord Lyttleton; consulted a + gipsy, like Josephine; or heard my name pronounced by an absent person, + like Dr Johnson. Though it is now almost as usual for gentlemen to appear + at the moment of their death to their friends as to call on them during + their life, none of my acquaintance have been so polite as to pay me that + customary attention. I have derived my knowledge neither from the dead nor + from the living; neither from the lines of a hand, nor from the grounds of + a tea-cup; neither from the stars of the firmament, nor from the fiends of + the abyss. I have never, like the Wesley family, heard "that mighty + leading angel," who "drew after him the third part of heaven's sons," + scratching in my cupboard. I have never been enticed to sign any of those + delusive bonds which have been the ruin of so many poor creatures; and, + having always been an indifferent horse man, I have been careful not to + venture myself on a broomstick. + </p> + <p> + My insight into futurity, like that of George Fox the quaker, and that of + our great and philosophic poet, Lord Byron, is derived from simple + presentiment. This is a far less artificial process than those which are + employed by some others. Yet my predictions will, I believe, be found more + correct than theirs, or, at all events, as Sir Benjamin Back bite says in + the play, "more circumstantial." + </p> + <p> + I prophesy then, that, in the year 2824, according to our present + reckoning, a grand national Epic Poem, worthy to be compared with the + Iliad, the Aeneid, or the Jerusalem, will be published in London. + </p> + <p> + Men naturally take an interest in the adventures of every eminent writer. + I will, therefore, gratify the laudable curiosity, which, on this + occasion, will doubtless be universal, by pre fixing to my account of the + poem a concise memoir of the poet. + </p> + <p> + Richard Quongti will be born at Westminster on the 1st of July, 2786. He + will be the younger son of the younger branch of one of the most + respectable families in England. He will be linearly descended from + Quongti, the famous Chinese liberal, who, after the failure of the heroic + attempt of his party to obtain a constitution from the Emperor Fim Fam, + will take refuge in England, in the twenty-third century. Here his + descendants will obtain considerable note; and one branch of the family + will be raised to the peerage. + </p> + <p> + Richard, however, though destined to exalt his family to distinction far + nobler than any which wealth or titles can bestow, will be born to a very + scanty fortune. He will display in his early youth such striking talents + as will attract the notice of Viscount Quongti, his third cousin, then + secretary of state for the Steam Department. At the expense of this + eminent nobleman, he will be sent to prosecute his studies at the + university of Tombuctoo. To that illustrious seat of the muses all the + ingenuous youth of every country will then be attracted by the high + scientific character of Professor Quashaboo, and the eminent literary + attainments of Professor Kissey Kickey. In spite of this formidable + competition, however, Quongti will acquire the highest honours in every + department of knowledge, and will obtain the esteem of his associates by + his amiable and unaffected manners. The guardians of the young Duke of + Carrington, premier peer of England, and the last remaining scion of the + ancient and illustrious house of Smith, will be desirous to secure so able + an instructor for their ward. With the Duke, Quongti will perform the + grand tour, and visit the polished courts of Sydney and Capetown. After + prevailing on his pupil, with great difficulty, to subdue a violent and + imprudent passion which he had conceived for a Hottentot lady, of great + beauty and accomplishments indeed, but of dubious character, he will + travel with him to the United States of America. But that tremendous war + which will be fatal to American liberty will, at that time, be raging + through the whole federation. At New York the travellers will hear of the + final defeat and death of the illustrious champion of freedom, Jonathon + Higginbottom, and of the elevation of Ebenezer Hogsflesh to the perpetual + Presidency. They will not choose to proceed in a journey which would + expose them to the insults of that brutal soldiery, whose cruelty and + rapacity will have devastated Mexico and Colombia, and now, at length, + enslaved their own country. + </p> + <p> + On their return to England, A.D. 2810, the death of the Duke will compel + his preceptor to seek for a subsistence by literary labours. His fame will + be raised by many small productions of considerable merit; and he will at + last obtain a permanent place in the highest class of writers by his great + epic poem. + </p> + <p> + The celebrated work will become, with unexampled rapidity, a popular + favourite. The sale will be so beneficial to the author that, instead of + going about the dirty streets on his velocipede, he will be enabled to set + up his balloon. + </p> + <p> + The character of this noble poem will be so finely and justly given in the + Tombuctoo Review for April 2825, that I cannot refrain from translating + the passage. The author will be our poet's old preceptor, Professor Kissey + Kickey. + </p> + <p> + "In pathos, in splendour of language, in sweetness of versification, Mr + Quongti has long been considered as unrivalled. In his exquisite poem on + the Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus all these qualities are displayed in their + greatest perfection. How exquisitely does that work arrest and embody the + undefined and vague shadows which flit over an imaginative mind. The cold + worldling may not comprehend it; but it will find a response in the bosom + of every youthful poet, of every enthusiastic lover, who has seen an + Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus by moonlight. But we were yet to learn that he + possessed the comprehension, the judgment, and the fertility of mind + indispensable to the epic poet. + </p> + <p> + "It is difficult to conceive a plot more perfect than that of the + 'Wellingtoniad.' It is most faithful to the manners of the age to which it + relates. It preserves exactly all the historical circumstances, and + interweaves them most artfully with all the speciosa miracula of + supernatural agency." + </p> + <p> + Thus far the learned Professor of Humanity in the university of Tombuctoo. + I fear that the critics of our time will form an opinion diametrically + opposite as to these every points. Some will, I fear, be disgusted by the + machinery, which is derived from the mythology of ancient Greece. I can + only say that, in the twenty-ninth century, that machinery will be + universally in use among poets; and that Quongti will use it, partly in + conformity with the general practice, and partly from a veneration, + perhaps excessive, for the great remains of classical antiquity, which + will then, as now, be assiduously read by every man of education; though + Tom Moore's songs will be forgotten, and only three copies of Lord Byron's + works will exist: one in the possession of King George the Nineteenth, one + in the Duke of Carrington's collection, and one in the library of the + British Museum. Finally, should any good people be concerned to hear that + Pagan fictions will so long retain their influence over literature, let + them reflect that, as the Bishop of St David's says, in his "Proofs of the + Inspiration of the Sibylline Verses," read at the last meeting of the + Royal Society of Literature, "at all events, a Pagan is not a Papist." + </p> + <p> + Some readers of the present day may think that Quongti is by no means + entitled to the compliments which his Negro critic pays him on his + adherence to the historical circumstances of the time in which he has + chosen his subject; that, where he introduces any trait of our manners, it + is in the wrong place, and that he confounds the customs of our age with + those of much more remote periods. I can only say that the charge is + infinitely more applicable to Homer, Virgil, and Tasso. If, therefore, the + reader should detect, in the following abstract of the plot, any little + deviation from strict historical accuracy, let him reflect, for a moment, + whether Agamemnon would not have found as much to censure in the Iliad,—Dido + in the Aeneid,—or Godfrey in the Jerusalem. Let him not suffer his + opinions to depend on circumstances which cannot possibly affect the truth + or falsehood of the representation. If it be impossible for a single man + to kill hundreds in battle, the impossibility is not diminished by + distance of time. If it be as certain that Rinaldo never disenchanted a + forest in Palestine as it is that the Duke of Wellington never + disenchanted the forest of Soignies, can we, as rational men, tolerate the + one story and ridicule the other? Of this, at least, I am certain, that + whatever excuse we have for admiring the plots of those famous poems our + children will have for extolling that of the "Wellingtoniad." + </p> + <p> + I shall proceed to give a sketch of the narrative. The subject is "The + Reign of the Hundred Days." + </p> + <p> + BOOK I. + </p> + <p> + The poem commences, in form, with a solemn proposition of the subject. + Then the muse is invoked to give the poet accurate information as to the + causes of so terrible a commotion. The answer to this question, being, it + is to be supposed, the joint production of the poet and the muse, ascribes + the event to circumstances which have hitherto eluded all the research of + political writers, namely, the influence of the god Mars, who, we are + told, had some forty years before usurped the conjugal rights of old Carlo + Buonaparte, and given birth to Napoleon. By his incitement it was that the + emperor with his devoted companions was now on the sea, returning to his + ancient dominions. The gods were at present, fortunately for the + adventurer, feasting with the Ethiopians, whose entertainments, according + to the ancient custom described by Homer, they annually attended, with the + same sort of condescending gluttony which now carries the cabinet to + Guildhall on the 9th of November. Neptune was, in consequence, absent, and + unable to prevent the enemy of his favourite island from crossing his + element. Boreas, however, who had his abode on the banks of the Russian + ocean, and who, like Thetis in the Iliad, was not of sufficient quality to + have an invitation to Ethiopia, resolves to destroy the armament which + brings war and danger to his beloved Alexander. He accordingly raises a + storm which is most powerfully described. Napoleon bewails the inglorious + fate for which he seems to be reserved. "Oh! thrice happy," says he, + "those who were frozen to death at Krasnoi, or slaughtered at Leipsic. Oh, + Kutusoff, bravest of the Russians, wherefore was I not permitted to fall + by thy victorious sword?" He then offers a prayer to Aeolus, and vows to + him a sacrifice of a black ram. In consequence, the god recalls his + turbulent subject; the sea is calmed; and the ship anchors in the port of + Frejus. Napoleon and Bertrand, who is always called the faithful Bertrand, + land to explore the country; Mars meets them disguised as a lancer of the + guard, wearing the cross of the legion of honour. He advises them to apply + for necessaries of all kinds to the governor, shows them the way, and + disappears with a strong smell of gunpowder. Napoleon makes a pathetic + speech, and enters the governor's house. Here he sees hanging up a fine + print of the battle of Austerlitz, himself in the foreground giving his + orders. This puts him in high spirits; he advances and salutes the + governor, who receives him most loyally, gives him an entertainment, and, + according to the usage of all epic hosts, insists after dinner on a full + narration of all that has happened to him since the battle of Leipsic. + </p> + <p> + BOOK II. + </p> + <p> + Napoleon carries his narrative from the battle of Leipsic to his + abdication. But, as we shall have a great quantity of fighting on our + hands, I think it best to omit the details. + </p> + <p> + BOOK III. + </p> + <p> + Napoleon describes his sojourn at Elba, and his return; how he was driven + by stress of weather to Sardinia, and fought with the harpies there; how + he was then carried southward to Sicily, where he generously took on board + an English sailor, whom a man-of-war had unhappily left there, and who was + in imminent danger of being devoured by the Cyclops; how he landed in the + bay of Naples, saw the Sibyl, and descended to Tartarus; how he held a + long and pathetic conversation with Poniatowski, whom he found wandering + unburied on the banks of Styx; how he swore to give him a splendid + funeral; how he had also an affectionate interview with Desaix; how Moreau + and Sir Ralph Abercrombie fled at the sight of him. He relates that he + then re-embarked, and met with nothing of importance till the commencement + of the storm with which the poem opens. + </p> + <p> + BOOK IV. + </p> + <p> + The scene changes to Paris. Fame, in the garb of an express, brings + intelligence of the landing of Napoleon. The king performs a sacrifice: + but the entrails are unfavourable; and the victim is without a heart. He + prepares to encounter the invader. A young captain of the guard,—the + son of Maria Antoinette by Apollo,—in the shape of a fiddler, rushes + in to tell him that Napoleon is approaching with a vast army. The royal + forces are drawn out for battle. Full catalogues are given of the + regiments on both sides; their colonels, lieutenant-colonels, and uniform. + </p> + <p> + BOOK V. + </p> + <p> + The king comes forward and defies Napoleon to single combat. Napoleon + accepts it. Sacrifices are offered. The ground is measured by Ney and + Macdonald. The combatants advance. Louis snaps his pistol in vain. The + bullet of Napoleon, on the contrary, carries off the tip of the king's + ear. Napoleon then rushes on him sword in hand. But Louis snatches up a + stone, such as ten men of those degenerate days will be unable to move, + and hurls it at his antagonist. Mars averts it. Napoleon then seizes + Louis, and is about to strike a fatal blow, when Bacchus intervenes, like + Venus in the third book of the Iliad, bears off the king in a thick cloud, + and seats him in an hotel at Lille, with a bottle of Maraschino and a + basin of soup before him. Both armies instantly proclaim Napoleon emperor. + </p> + <p> + BOOK VI. + </p> + <p> + Neptune, returned from his Ethiopian revels, sees with rage the events + which have taken place in Europe. He flies to the cave of Alecto, and + drags out the fiend, commanding her to excite universal hostility against + Napoleon. The Fury repairs to Lord Castlereagh; and, as, when she visited + Turnus, she assumed the form of an old woman, she here appears in the + kindred shape of Mr Vansittart, and in an impassioned address exhorts his + lordship to war. His lordship, like Turnus, treats this unwonted monitor + with great disrespect, tells him that he is an old doting fool, and + advises him to look after the ways and means, and leave questions of peace + and war to his betters. The Fury then displays all her terrors. The neat + powdered hair bristles up into snakes; the black stockings appear clotted + with blood; and, brandishing a torch, she announces her name and mission. + Lord Castlereagh, seized with fury, flies instantly to the Parliament, and + recommends war with a torrent of eloquent invective. All the members + instantly clamour for vengeance, seize their arms which are hanging round + the walls of the house, and rush forth to prepare for instant hostilities. + </p> + <p> + BOOK VII. + </p> + <p> + In this book intelligence arrives at London of the flight of the Duchess + d'Angouleme from France. It is stated that this heroine, armed from head + to foot, defended Bordeaux against the adherents of Napoleon, and that she + fought hand to hand with Clausel, and beat him down with an enormous + stone. Deserted by her followers, she at last, like Turnus, plunged, armed + as she was, into the Garonne, and swam to an English ship which lay off + the coast. This intelligence yet more inflames the English to war. + </p> + <p> + A yet bolder flight than any which has been mentioned follows. The Duke of + Wellington goes to take leave of the duchess; and a scene passes quite + equal to the famous interview of Hector and Andromache. Lord Douro is + frightened at his father's feather, but begs for his epaulette. + </p> + <p> + BOOK VIII. + </p> + <p> + Neptune, trembling for the event of the war, implores Venus, who, as the + offspring of his element, naturally venerates him, to procure from Vulcan + a deadly sword and a pair of unerring pistols for the Duke. They are + accordingly made, and superbly decorated. The sheath of the sword, like + the shield of Achilles, is carved, in exquisitely fine miniature, with + scenes from the common life of the period; a dance at Almack's a boxing + match at the Fives-court, a lord mayor's procession, and a man hanging. + All these are fully and elegantly described. The Duke thus armed hastens + to Brussels. + </p> + <p> + BOOK IX. + </p> + <p> + The Duke is received at Brussels by the King of the Netherlands with great + magnificence. He is informed of the approach of the armies of all the + confederate kings. The poet, however, with a laudable zeal for the glory + of his country, completely passes over the exploits of the Austrians in + Italy, and the discussions of the congress. England and France, Wellington + and Napoleon, almost exclusively occupy his attention. Several days are + spent at Brussels in revelry. The English heroes astonish their allies by + exhibiting splendid games, similar to those which draw the flower of the + British aristocracy to Newmarket and Moulsey Hurst, and which will be + considered by our descendants with as much veneration as the Olympian and + Isthmian contests by classical students of the present time. In the combat + of the cestus, Shaw, the lifeguardsman, vanquishes the Prince of Orange, + and obtains a bull as a prize. In the horse-race, the Duke of Wellington + and Lord Uxbridge ride against each other; the Duke is victorious, and is + rewarded with twelve opera-girls. On the last day of the festivities, a + splendid dance takes place, at which all the heroes attend. + </p> + <p> + BOOK X. + </p> + <p> + Mars, seeing the English army thus inactive, hastens to rouse Napoleon, + who, conducted by Night and Silence, unexpectedly attacks the Prussians. + The slaughter is immense. Napoleon kills many whose histories and families + are happily particularised. He slays Herman, the craniologist, who dwelt + by the linden-shadowed Elbe, and measured with his eye the skulls of all + who walked through the streets of Berlin. Alas! his own skull is now cleft + by the Corsican sword. Four pupils of the University of Jena advance + together to encounter the Emperor; at four blows he destroys them all. + Blucher rushes to arrest the devastation; Napoleon strikes him to the + ground, and is on the point of killing him, but Gneisenau, Ziethen, Bulow, + and all the other heroes of the Prussian army, gather round him, and bear + the venerable chief to a distance from the field. The slaughter is + continued till night. In the meantime Neptune has despatched Fame to bear + the intelligence to the Duke, who is dancing at Brussels. The whole army + is put in motion. The Duke of Brunswick's horse speaks to admonish him of + his danger, but in vain. + </p> + <p> + BOOK XI. + </p> + <p> + Picton, the Duke of Brunswick, and the Prince of Orange, engage Ney at + Quatre Bras. Ney kills the Duke of Brunswick, and strips him, sending his + belt to Napoleon. The English fall back on Waterloo. Jupiter calls a + council of the gods, and commands that none shall interfere on either + side. Mars and Neptune make very eloquent speeches. The battle of Waterloo + commences. Napoleon kills Picton and Delancy. Ney engages Ponsonby and + kills him. The Prince of Orange is wounded by Soult. Lord Uxbridge flies + to check the carnage. He is severely wounded by Napoleon, and only saved + by the assistance of Lord Hill. In the meantime the Duke makes a + tremendous carnage among the French. He encounters General Duhesme and + vanquishes him, but spares his life. He kills Toubert, who kept the + gaming-house in the Palais Royal, and Maronet, who loved to spend whole + nights in drinking champagne. Clerval, who had been hooted from the stage, + and had then become a captain in the Imperial Guard, wished that he had + still continued to face the more harmless enmity of the Parisian pit. But + Larrey, the son of Esculapius, whom his father had instructed in all the + secrets of his art, and who was surgeon-general of the French army, + embraced the knees of the destroyer, and conjured him not to give death to + one whose office it was to give life. The Duke raised him, and bade him + live. + </p> + <p> + But we must hasten to the close. Napoleon rushes to encounter Wellington. + Both armies stand in mute amaze. The heroes fire their pistols; that of + Napoleon misses, but that of Wellington, formed by the hand of Vulcan, and + primed by the Cyclops, wounds the Emperor in the thigh. He flies, and + takes refuge among his troops. The flight becomes promiscuous. The arrival + of the Prussians, from a motive of patriotism, the poet completely passes + over. + </p> + <p> + BOOK XII. + </p> + <p> + Things are now hastening to the catastrophe. Napoleon flies to London, + and, seating himself on the hearth of the Regent, embraces the household + gods and conjures him, by the venerable age of George III., and by the + opening perfections of the Princess Charlotte, to spare him. The Prince is + inclined to do so; when, looking on his breast, he sees there the belt of + the Duke of Brunswick. He instantly draws his sword, and is about to stab + the destroyer of his kinsman. Piety and hospitality, however, restrain his + hand. He takes a middle course, and condemns Napoleon to be exposed on a + desert island. The King of France re-enters Paris; and the poem concludes. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + ON MITFORD'S HISTORY OF GREECE. (November 1824.) + </h2> + <p> + This is a book which enjoys a great and increasing popularity: but, while + it has attracted a considerable share of the public attention, it has been + little noticed by the critics. Mr Mitford has almost succeeded in + mounting, unperceived by those whose office it is to watch such aspirants, + to a high place among historians. He has taken a seat on the dais without + being challenged by a single seneschal. To oppose the progress of his fame + is now almost a hopeless enterprise. Had he been reviewed with candid + severity, when he had published only his first volume, his work would + either have deserved its reputation, or would never have obtained it. + "Then," as Indra says of Kehama, "then was the time to strike." The time + was neglected; and the consequence is that Mr Mitford like Kehama, has + laid his victorious hand on the literary Amreeta, and seems about to taste + the precious elixir of immortality. I shall venture to emulate the courage + of the honest Glendoveer— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "When now + He saw the Amreeta in Kehama's hand, + An impulse that defied all self-command, + In that extremity, + Stung him, and he resolved to seize the cup, + And dare the Rajah's force in Seeva's sight, + Forward he sprung to tempt the unequal fray." +</pre> + <p> + In plain words, I shall offer a few considerations, which may tend to + reduce an overpraised writer to his proper level. + </p> + <p> + The principal characteristic of this historian, the origin of his + excellencies and his defects, is a love of singularity. He has no notion + of going with a multitude to do either good or evil. An exploded opinion, + or an unpopular person, has an irresistible charm for him. The same + perverseness may be traced in his diction. His style would never have been + elegant; but it might at least have been manly and perspicuous; and + nothing but the most elaborate care could possibly have made it so bad as + it is. It is distinguished by harsh phrases, strange collocations, + occasional solecisms, frequent obscurity, and, above all, by a peculiar + oddity, which can no more be described than it can be overlooked. Nor is + this all. Mr Mitford piques himself on spelling better than any of his + neighbours; and this not only in ancient names, which he mangles in + defiance both of custom and of reason, but in the most ordinary words of + the English language. It is, in itself, a matter perfectly indifferent + whether we call a foreigner by the name which he bears in his own + language, or by that which corresponds to it in ours; whether we say + Lorenzo de Medici, or Lawrence de Medici, Jean Chauvin, or John Calvin. In + such cases established usage is considered as law by all writers except Mr + Mitford. If he were always consistent with himself, he might be excused + for sometimes disagreeing with his neighbours; but he proceeds on no + principle but that of being unlike the rest of the world. Every child has + heard of Linnaeus; therefore Mr Mitford calls him Linne: Rousseau is known + all over Europe as Jean Jacques; therefore Mr Mitford bestows on him the + strange appellation of John James. + </p> + <p> + Had Mr Mitford undertaken a History of any other country than Greece, this + propensity would have rendered his work useless and absurd. His occasional + remarks on the affairs of ancient Rome and of modern Europe are full of + errors: but he writes of times with respect to which almost every other + writer has been in the wrong; and, therefore, by resolutely deviating from + his predecessors, he is often in the right. + </p> + <p> + Almost all the modern historians of Greece have shown the grossest + ignorance of the most obvious phenomena of human nature. In their + representations the generals and statesmen of antiquity are absolutely + divested of all individuality. They are personifications; they are + passions, talents, opinions, virtues, vices, but not men. Inconsistency is + a thing of which these writers have no notion. That a man may have been + liberal in his youth and avaricious in his age, cruel to one enemy and + merciful to another, is to them utterly inconceivable. If the facts be + undeniable, they suppose some strange and deep design, in order to explain + what, as every one who has observed his own mind knows, needs no + explanation at all. This is a mode of writing very acceptable to the + multitude who have always been accustomed to make gods and daemons out of + men very little better or worse than themselves; but it appears + contemptible to all who have watched the changes of human character—to + all who have observed the influence of time, of circumstances, and of + associates, on mankind—to all who have seen a hero in the gout, a + democrat in the church, a pedant in love, or a philosopher in liquor. This + practice of painting in nothing but black and white is unpardonable even + in the drama. It is the great fault of Alfieri; and how much it injures + the effect of his compositions will be obvious to every one who will + compare his Rosmunda with the Lady Macbeth of Shakspeare. The one is a + wicked woman; the other is a fiend. Her only feeling is hatred; all her + words are curses. We are at once shocked and fatigued by the spectacle of + such raving cruelty, excited by no provocation, repeatedly changing its + object, and constant in nothing but in its in-extinguishable thirst for + blood. + </p> + <p> + In history this error is far more disgraceful. Indeed, there is no fault + which so completely ruins a narrative in the opinion of a judicious + reader. We know that the line of demarcation between good and bad men is + so faintly marked as often to elude the most careful investigation of + those who have the best opportunities for judging. Public men, above all, + are surrounded with so many temptations and difficulties that some doubt + must almost always hang over their real dispositions and intentions. The + lives of Pym, Cromwell, Monk, Clarendon, Marlborough, Burnet, Walpole, are + well known to us. We are acquainted with their actions, their speeches, + their writings; we have abundance of letters and well-authenticated + anecdotes relating to them: yet what candid man will venture very + positively to say which of them were honest and which of them were + dishonest men? It appears easier to pronounce decidedly upon the great + characters of antiquity, not because we have greater means of discovering + truth, but simply because we have less means of detecting error. The + modern historians of Greece have forgotten this. Their heroes and villains + are as consistent in all their sayings and doings as the cardinal virtues + and the deadly sins in an allegory. We should as soon expect a good action + from giant Slay-good in Bunyan as from Dionysius; and a crime of + Epaminondas would seem as incongruous as a faux-pas of the grave and + comely damsel called Discretion, who answered the bell at the door of the + house Beautiful. + </p> + <p> + This error was partly the cause and partly the effect of the high + estimation in which the later ancient writers have been held by modern + scholars. Those French and English authors who have treated of the affairs + of Greece have generally turned with contempt from the simple and natural + narrations of Thucydides and Xenophon to the extravagant representations + of Plutarch, Diodorus, Curtius, and other romancers of the same class,—men + who described military operations without ever having handled a sword, and + applied to the seditions of little republics speculations formed by + observation on an empire which covered half the known world. Of liberty + they knew nothing. It was to them a great mystery—a superhuman + enjoyment. They ranted about liberty and patriotism, from the same cause + which leads monks to talk more ardently than other men about love and + women. A wise man values political liberty, because it secures the persons + and the possessions of citizens; because it tends to prevent the + extravagance of rulers, and the corruption of judges; because it gives + birth to useful sciences and elegant arts; because it excites the industry + and increases the comforts of all classes of society. These theorists + imagined that it possessed something eternally and intrinsically good, + distinct from the blessings which it generally produced. They considered + it not as a means but as an end; an end to be attained at any cost. Their + favourite heroes are those who have sacrificed, for the mere name of + freedom, the prosperity—the security—the justice—from + which freedom derives its value. + </p> + <p> + There is another remarkable characteristic of these writers, in which + their modern worshippers have carefully imitated them—a great + fondness for good stories. The most established facts, dates, and + characters are never suffered to come into competition with a splendid + saying, or a romantic exploit. The early historians have left us natural + and simple descriptions of the great events which they witnessed, and the + great men with whom they associated. When we read the account which + Plutarch and Rollin have given of the same period, we scarcely know our + old acquaintance again; we are utterly confounded by the melo-dramatic + effect of the narration, and the sublime coxcombry of the characters. + </p> + <p> + These are the principal errors into which the predecessors of Mr Mitford + have fallen; and from most of these he is free. His faults are of a + completely different description. It is to be hoped that the students of + history may now be saved, like Dorax in Dryden's play, by swallowing two + conflicting poisons, each of which may serve as an antidote to the other. + </p> + <p> + The first and most important difference between Mr Mitford and those who + have preceded him is in his narration. Here the advantage lies, for the + most part, on his side. His principle is to follow the contemporary + historians, to look with doubt on all statements which are not in some + degree confirmed by them, and absolutely to reject all which are + contradicted by them. While he retains the guidance of some writer in whom + he can place confidence, he goes on excellently. When he loses it, he + falls to the level, or perhaps below the level, of the writers whom he so + much despises: he is as absurd as they, and very much duller. It is really + amusing to observe how he proceeds with his narration when he has no + better authority than poor Diodorus. He is compelled to relate something; + yet he believes nothing. He accompanies every fact with a long statement + of objections. His account of the administration of Dionysius is in no + sense a history. It ought to be entitled—"Historic doubts as to + certain events, alleged to have taken place in Sicily." + </p> + <p> + This scepticism, however, like that of some great legal characters almost + as sceptical as himself; vanishes whenever his political partialities + interfere. He is a vehement admirer of tyranny and oligarchy, and + considers no evidence as feeble which can be brought forward in favour of + those forms of government. Democracy he hates with a perfect hatred, a + hatred which, in the first volume of his history, appears only in his + episodes and reflections, but which, in those parts where he has less + reverence for his guides, and can venture to take his own way, completely + distorts even his narration. + </p> + <p> + In taking up these opinions, I have no doubt that Mr Mitford was + influenced by the same love of singularity which led him to spell "island" + without an "s," and to place two dots over the last letter of "idea." In + truth, preceding historians have erred so monstrously on the other side + that even the worst parts of Mr Mitford's book may be useful as a + corrective. For a young gentleman who talks much about his country, + tyrannicide, and Epaminondas, this work, diluted in a sufficient quantity + of Rollin and Berthelemi, may be a very useful remedy. + </p> + <p> + The errors of both parties arise from an ignorance or a neglect of the + fundamental principles of political science. The writers on one side + imagine popular government to be always a blessing; Mr Mitford omits no + opportunity of assuring us that it is always a curse. The fact is, that a + good government, like a good coat, is that which fits the body for which + it is designed. A man who, upon abstract principles, pronounces a + constitution to be good, without an exact knowledge of the people who are + to be governed by it, judges as absurdly as a tailor who should measure + the Belvidere Apollo for the clothes of all his customers. The demagogues + who wished to see Portugal a republic, and the wise critics who revile the + Virginians for not having instituted a peerage, appear equally ridiculous + to all men of sense and candour. + </p> + <p> + That is the best government which desires to make the people happy, and + knows how to make them happy. Neither the inclination nor the knowledge + will suffice alone; and it is difficult to find them together. + </p> + <p> + Pure democracy, and pure democracy alone, satisfies the former condition + of this great problem. That the governors may be solicitous only for the + interests of the governed, it is necessary that the interests of the + governors and the governed should be the same. This cannot be often the + case where power is intrusted to one or to a few. The privileged part of + the community will doubtless derive a certain degree of advantage from the + general prosperity of the state; but they will derive a greater from + oppression and exaction. The king will desire an useless war for his + glory, or a parc-aux-cerfs for his pleasure. The nobles will demand + monopolies and lettres-de-cachet. In proportion as the number of governors + is increased the evil is diminished. There are fewer to contribute, and + more to receive. The dividend which each can obtain of the public plunder + becomes less and less tempting. But the interests of the subjects and the + rulers never absolutely coincide till the subjects themselves become the + rulers, that is, till the government be either immediately or mediately + democratical. + </p> + <p> + But this is not enough. "Will without power," said the sagacious Casimir + to Milor Beefington, "is like children playing at soldiers." The people + will always be desirous to promote their own interests; but it may be + doubted, whether, in any community, they were ever sufficiently educated + to understand them. Even in this island, where the multitude have long + been better informed than in any other part of Europe, the rights of the + many have generally been asserted against themselves by the patriotism of + the few. Free trade, one of the greatest blessings which a government can + confer on a people, is in almost every country unpopular. It may be well + doubted, whether a liberal policy with regard to our commercial relations + would find any support from a parliament elected by universal suffrage. + The republicans on the other side of the Atlantic have recently adopted + regulations of which the consequences will, before long, show us, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "How nations sink, by darling schemes oppressed, + When vengeance listens to the fool's request." +</pre> + <p> + The people are to be governed for their own good; and, that they may be + governed for their own good, they must not be governed by their own + ignorance. There are countries in which it would be as absurd to establish + popular government as to abolish all the restraints in a school, or to + untie all the strait-waistcoats in a madhouse. + </p> + <p> + Hence it may be concluded that the happiest state of society is that in + which supreme power resides in the whole body of a well-informed people. + This is an imaginary, perhaps an unattainable, state of things. Yet, in + some measure, we may approximate to it; and he alone deserves the name of + a great statesman, whose principle it is to extend the power of the people + in proportion to the extent of their knowledge, and to give them every + facility for obtaining such a degree of knowledge as may render it safe to + trust them with absolute power. In the mean time, it is dangerous to + praise or condemn constitutions in the abstract; since, from the despotism + of St Petersburg to the democracy of Washington, there is scarcely a form + of government which might not, at least in some hypothetical case, be the + best possible. + </p> + <p> + If, however, there be any form of government which in all ages and all + nations has always been, and must always be, pernicious, it is certainly + that which Mr Mitford, on his usual principle of being wiser than all the + rest of the world, has taken under his especial patronage—pure + oligarchy. This is closely, and indeed inseparably, connected with another + of his eccentric tastes, a marked partiality for Lacedaemon, and a dislike + of Athens. Mr Mitford's book has, I suspect, rendered these sentiments in + some degree popular; and I shall, therefore, examine them at some length. + </p> + <p> + The shades in the Athenian character strike the eye more rapidly than + those in the Lacedaemonian: not because they are darker, but because they + are on a brighter ground. The law of ostracism is an instance of this. + Nothing can be conceived more odious than the practice of punishing a + citizen, simply and professedly, for his eminence;—and nothing in + the institutions of Athens is more frequently or more justly censured. + Lacedaemon was free from this. And why? Lacedaemon did not need it. + Oligarchy is an ostracism of itself,—an ostracism not occasional, + but permanent,—not dubious, but certain. Her laws prevented the + development of merit instead of attacking its maturity. They did not cut + down the plant in its high and palmy state, but cursed the soil with + eternal sterility. In spite of the law of ostracism, Athens produced, + within a hundred and fifty years, the greatest public men that ever + existed. Whom had Sparta to ostracise? She produced, at most, four eminent + men, Brasidas, Gylippus, Lysander, and Agesilaus. Of these, not one rose + to distinction within her jurisdiction. It was only when they escaped from + the region within which the influence of aristocracy withered everything + good and noble, it was only when they ceased to be Lacedaemonians, that + they became great men. Brasidas, among the cities of Thrace, was strictly + a democratical leader, the favourite minister and general of the people. + The same may be said of Gylippus, at Syracuse. Lysander, in the + Hellespont, and Agesilaus, in Asia, were liberated for a time from the + hateful restraints imposed by the constitution of Lycurgus. Both acquired + fame abroad; and both returned to be watched and depressed at home. This + is not peculiar to Sparta. Oligarchy, wherever it has existed, has always + stunted the growth of genius. Thus it was at Rome, till about a century + before the Christian era: we read of abundance of consuls and dictators + who won battles, and enjoyed triumphs; but we look in vain for a single + man of the first order of intellect,—for a Pericles, a Demosthenes, + or a Hannibal. The Gracchi formed a strong democratical party; Marius + revived it; the foundations of the old aristocracy were shaken; and two + generations fertile in really great men appeared. + </p> + <p> + Venice is a still more remarkable instance: in her history we see nothing + but the state; aristocracy had destroyed every seed of genius and virtue. + Her dominion was like herself, lofty and magnificent, but founded on filth + and weeds. God forbid that there should ever again exist a powerful and + civilised state, which, after existing through thirteen hundred eventful + years, should not bequeath to mankind the memory of one great name or one + generous action. + </p> + <p> + Many writers, and Mr Mitford among the number, have admired the stability + of the Spartan institutions; in fact, there is little to admire, and less + to approve. Oligarchy is the weakest and the most stable of governments; + and it is stable because it is weak. It has a sort of valetudinarian + longevity; it lives in the balance of Sanctorius; it takes no exercise; it + exposes itself to no accident; it is seized with an hypochondriac alarm at + every new sensation; it trembles at every breath; it lets blood for every + inflammation: and thus, without ever enjoying a day of health or pleasure, + drags on its existence to a doting and debilitated old age. + </p> + <p> + The Spartans purchased for their government a prolongation of its + existence by the sacrifice of happiness at home and dignity abroad. They + cringed to the powerful; they trampled on the weak; they massacred their + helots; they betrayed their allies; they contrived to be a day too late + for the battle of Marathon; they attempted to avoid the battle of Salamis; + they suffered the Athenians, to whom they owed their lives and liberties, + to be a second time driven from their country by the Persians, that they + might finish their own fortifications on the Isthmus; they attempted to + take advantage of the distress to which exertions in their cause had + reduced their preservers, in order to make them their slaves; they strove + to prevent those who had abandoned their walls to defend them, from + rebuilding them to defend themselves; they commenced the Peloponnesian war + in violation of their engagements with Athens; they abandoned it in + violation of their engagements with their allies; they gave up to the + sword whole cities which had placed themselves under their protection; + they bartered, for advantages confined to themselves, the interest, the + freedom, and the lives of those who had served them most faithfully; they + took with equal complacency, and equal infamy, the stripes of Elis and the + bribes of Persia; they never showed either resentment or gratitude; they + abstained from no injury, and they revenged none. Above all, they looked + on a citizen who served them well as their deadliest enemy. These are the + arts which protract the existence of government. + </p> + <p> + Nor were the domestic institutions of Lacedaemon less hateful or less + contemptible than her foreign policy. A perpetual interference with every + part of the system of human life, a constant struggle against nature and + reason, characterised all her laws. To violate even prejudices which have + taken deep root in the minds of a people is scarcely expedient; to think + of extirpating natural appetites and passions is frantic: the external + symptoms may be occasionally repressed; but the feeling still exists, and, + debarred from its natural objects, preys on the disordered mind and body + of its victim. Thus it is in convents—-thus it is among ascetic + sects—thus it was among the Lacedaemonians. Hence arose that + madness, or violence approaching to madness, which, in spite of every + external restraint, often appeared among the most distinguished citizens + of Sparta. Cleomenes terminated his career of raving cruelty by cutting + himself to pieces. Pausanias seems to have been absolutely insane; he + formed a hopeless and profligate scheme; he betrayed it by the ostentation + of his behaviour, and the imprudence of his measures; and he alienated, by + his insolence, all who might have served or protected him. Xenophon, a + warm admirer of Lacedaemon, furnishes us with the strongest evidence to + this effect. It is impossible not to observe the brutal and senseless fury + which characterises almost every Spartan with whom he was connected. + Clearchus nearly lost his life by his cruelty. Chirisophus deprived his + army of the services of a faithful guide by his unreasonable and ferocious + severity. But it is needless to multiply instances. Lycurgus, Mr Mitford's + favourite legislator, founded his whole system on a mistaken principle. He + never considered that governments were made for men, and not men for + governments. Instead of adapting the constitution to the people, he + distorted the minds of the people to suit the constitution, a scheme + worthy of the Laputan Academy of Projectors. And this appears to Mr + Mitford to constitute his peculiar title to admiration. Hear himself: + "What to modern eyes most strikingly sets that extraordinary man above all + other legislators is, that in so many circumstances, apparently out of the + reach of law, he controlled and formed to his own mind the wills and + habits of his people." I should suppose that this gentleman had the + advantage of receiving his education under the ferula of Dr Pangloss; for + his metaphysics are clearly those of the castle of Thunder-ten-tronckh: + "Remarquez bien que les nez ont ete faits pour porter des lunettes, aussi + avons nous des lunettes. Les jambes sont visiblement institues pour etre + chaussees, et nous avons des chausses. Les cochons etant faits pour etre + manges, nous mangeons du porc toute l'annee." + </p> + <p> + At Athens the laws did not constantly interfere with the tastes of the + people. The children were not taken from their parents by that universal + step-mother, the state. They were not starved into thieves, or tortured + into bullies; there was no established table at which every one must dine, + no established style in which every one must converse. An Athenian might + eat whatever he could afford to buy, and talk as long as he could find + people to listen. The government did not tell the people what opinions + they were to hold, or what songs they were to sing. Freedom produced + excellence. Thus philosophy took its origin. Thus were produced those + models of poetry, of oratory, and of the arts, which scarcely fall short + of the standard of ideal excellence. Nothing is more conducive to + happiness than the free exercise of the mind in pursuits congenial to it. + This happiness, assuredly, was enjoyed far more at Athens than at Sparta. + The Athenians are acknowledged even by their enemies to have been + distinguished, in private life, by their courteous and amiable demeanour. + Their levity, at least, was better than Spartan sullenness and their + impertinence than Spartan insolence. Even in courage it may be questioned + whether they were inferior to the Lacedaemonians. The great Athenian + historian has reported a remarkable observation of the great Athenian + minister. Pericles maintained that his countrymen, without submitting to + the hardships of a Spartan education, rivalled all the achievements of + Spartan valour, and that therefore the pleasures and amusements which they + enjoyed were to be considered as so much clear gain. The infantry of + Athens was certainly not equal to that of Lacedaemon; but this seems to + have been caused merely by want of practice: the attention of the + Athenians was diverted from the discipline of the phalanx to that of the + trireme. The Lacedaemonians, in spite of all their boasted valour, were, + from the same cause, timid and disorderly in naval action. + </p> + <p> + But we are told that crimes of great enormity were perpetrated by the + Athenian government, and the democracies under its protection. It is true + that Athens too often acted up to the full extent of the laws of war in an + age when those laws had not been mitigated by causes which have operated + in later times. This accusation is, in fact, common to Athens, to + Lacedaemon, to all the states of Greece, and to all states similarly + situated. Where communities are very large, the heavier evils of war are + felt but by few. The ploughboy sings, the spinning-wheel turns round, the + wedding-day is fixed, whether the last battle were lost or won. In little + states it cannot be thus; every man feels in his own property and person + the effect of a war. Every man is a soldier, and a soldier fighting for + his nearest interests. His own trees have been cut down—his own corn + has been burnt—his own house has been pillaged—his own + relations have been killed. How can he entertain towards the enemies of + his country the same feelings with one who has suffered nothing from them, + except perhaps the addition of a small sum to the taxes which he pays? Men + in such circumstances cannot be generous. They have too much at stake. It + is when they are, if I may so express myself, playing for love, it is when + war is a mere game at chess, it is when they are contending for a remote + colony, a frontier town, the honours of a flag, a salute, or a title, that + they can make fine speeches, and do good offices to their enemies. The + Black Prince waited behind the chair of his captive; Villars interchanged + repartees with Eugene; George II. sent congratulations to Louis XV., + during a war, upon occasion of his escape from the attempt of Damien: and + these things are fine and generous, and very gratifying to the author of + the Broad Stone of Honour, and all the other wise men who think, like him, + that God made the world only for the use of gentlemen. But they spring in + general from utter heartlessness. No war ought ever to be undertaken but + under circumstances which render all interchange of courtesy between the + combatants impossible. It is a bad thing that men should hate each other; + but it is far worse that they should contract the habit of cutting one + another's throats without hatred. War is never lenient, but where it is + wanton; when men are compelled to fight in selfdefence, they must hate and + avenge: this may be bad; but it is human nature; it is the clay as it came + from the hand of the potter. + </p> + <p> + It is true that among the dependencies of Athens seditions assumed a + character more ferocious than even in France, during the reign of terror—the + accursed Saturnalia of an accursed bondage. It is true that in Athens + itself, where such convulsions were scarcely known, the condition of the + higher orders was disagreeable; that they were compelled to contribute + large sums for the service or the amusement of the public; and that they + were sometimes harassed by vexatious informers. Whenever such cases occur, + Mr Mitford's scepticism vanishes. The "if," the "but," the "it is said," + the "if we may believe," with which he qualifies every charge against a + tyrant or an aristocracy, are at once abandoned. The blacker the story, + the firmer is his belief, and he never fails to inveigh with hearty + bitterness against democracy as the source of every species of crime. + </p> + <p> + The Athenians, I believe, possessed more liberty than was good for them. + Yet I will venture to assert that, while the splendour, the intelligence, + and the energy of that great people were peculiar to themselves, the + crimes with which they are charged arose from causes which were common to + them with every other state which then existed. The violence of faction in + that age sprung from a cause which has always been fertile in every + political and moral evil, domestic slavery. + </p> + <p> + The effect of slavery is completely to dissolve the connection which + naturally exists between the higher and lower classes of free citizens. + The rich spend their wealth in purchasing and maintaining slaves. There is + no demand for the labour of the poor; the fable of Menenius ceases to be + applicable; the belly communicates no nutriment to the members; there is + an atrophy in the body politic. The two parties, therefore, proceed to + extremities utterly unknown in countries where they have mutually need of + each other. In Rome the oligarchy was too powerful to be subverted by + force; and neither the tribunes nor the popular assemblies, though + constitutionally omnipotent, could maintain a successful contest against + men who possessed the whole property of the state. Hence the necessity for + measures tending to unsettle the whole frame of society, and to take away + every motive of industry; the abolition of debts, and the agrarian laws—propositions + absurdly condemned by men who do not consider the circumstances from which + they sprung. They were the desperate remedies of a desperate disease. In + Greece the oligarchical interest was not in general so deeply rooted as at + Rome. The multitude, therefore, often redressed by force grievances which, + at Rome, were commonly attacked under the forms of the constitution. They + drove out or massacred the rich, and divided their property. If the + superior union or military skill of the rich rendered them victorious, + they took measures equally violent, disarmed all in whom they could not + confide, often slaughtered great numbers, and occasionally expelled the + whole commonalty from the city, and remained, with their slaves, the sole + inhabitants. + </p> + <p> + From such calamities Athens and Lacedaemon alone were almost completely + free. At Athens the purses of the rich were laid under regular + contribution for the support of the poor; and this, rightly considered, + was as much a favour to the givers as to the receivers, since no other + measure could possibly have saved their houses from pillage and their + persons from violence. It is singular that Mr Mitford should perpetually + reprobate a policy which was the best that could be pursued in such a + state of things, and which alone saved Athens from the frightful outrages + which were perpetrated at Corcyra. + </p> + <p> + Lacedaemon, cursed with a system of slavery more odious than has ever + existed in any other country, avoided this evil by almost totally + annihilating private property. Lycurgus began by an agrarian law. He + abolished all professions except that of arms; he made the whole of his + community a standing army, every member of which had a common right to the + services of a crowd of miserable bondmen; he secured the state from + sedition at the expense of the Helots. Of all the parts of his system this + is the most creditable to his head, and the most disgraceful to his heart. + </p> + <p> + These considerations, and many others of equal importance, Mr Mitford has + neglected; but he has yet a heavier charge to answer. He has made not only + illogical inferences, but false statements. While he never states, without + qualifications and objections, the charges which the earliest and best + historians have brought against his favourite tyrants, Pisistratus, + Hippias, and Gelon, he transcribes, without any hesitation, the grossest + abuse of the least authoritative writers against every democracy and every + demagogue. Such an accusation should not be made without being supported; + and I will therefore select one out of many passages which will fully + substantiate the charge, and convict Mr Mitford of wilful + misrepresentation, or of negligence scarcely less culpable. Mr Mitford is + speaking of one of the greatest men that ever lived, Demosthenes, and + comparing him with his rival, Aeschines. Let him speak for himself. + </p> + <p> + "In earliest youth Demosthenes earned an opprobrious nickname by the + effeminacy of his dress and manner." Does Mr Mitford know that Demosthenes + denied this charge, and explained the nickname in a perfectly different + manner? (See the speech of Aeschines against Timarchus.) And, if he knew + it, should he not have stated it? He proceeds thus: "On emerging from + minority, by the Athenian law, at five-and-twenty, he earned another + opprobrious nickname by a prosecution of his guardians, which was + considered as a dishonourable attempt to extort money from them." In the + first place Demosthenes was not five-and-twenty years of age. Mr Mitford + might have learned, from so common a book as the Archaeologia of + Archbishop Potter, that at twenty Athenian citizens were freed from the + control of their guardians, and began to manage their own property. The + very speech of Demosthenes against his guardians proves most + satisfactorily that he was under twenty. In his speech against Midias, he + says that when he undertook that prosecution he was quite a boy. + (Meirakullion on komide.) His youth might, therefore, excuse the step, + even if it had been considered, as Mr Mitford says, a dishonourable + attempt to extort money. But who considered it as such? Not the judges who + condemned the guardians. The Athenian courts of justice were not the + purest in the world; but their decisions were at least as likely to be + just as the abuse of a deadly enemy. Mr Mitford refers for confirmation of + his statement to Aeschines and Plutarch. Aeschines by no means bears him + out; and Plutarch directly contradicts him. "Not long after," says Mr + Mitford, "he took blows publicly in the theater" (I preserve the + orthography, if it can be so called, of this historian) "from a petulant + youth of rank, named Meidias." Here are two disgraceful mistakes. In the + first place, it was long after; eight years at the very least, probably + much more. In the next place the petulant youth, of whom Mr Mitford + speaks, was fifty years old. (Whoever will read the speech of Demosthenes + against Midias will find the statements in the text confirmed, and will + have, moreover, the pleasure of becoming acquainted with one of the finest + compositions in the world.) Really Mr Mitford has less reason to censure + the carelessness of his predecessors than to reform his own. After this + monstrous inaccuracy, with regard to facts, we may be able to judge what + degree of credit ought to be given to the vague abuse of such a writer. + "The cowardice of Demosthenes in the field afterwards became notorious." + Demosthenes was a civil character; war was not his business. In his time + the division between military and political offices was beginning to be + strongly marked; yet the recollection of the days when every citizen was a + soldier was still recent. In such states of society a certain degree of + disrepute always attaches to sedentary men; but that any leader of the + Athenian democracy could have been, as Mr Mitford says of Demosthenes, a + few lines before, remarkable for "an extraordinary deficiency of personal + courage," is absolutely impossible. What mercenary warrior of the time + exposed his life to greater or more constant perils? Was there a single + soldier at Chaeronea who had more cause to tremble for his safety than the + orator, who, in case of defeat, could scarcely hope for mercy from the + people whom he had misled or the prince whom he had opposed? Were not the + ordinary fluctuations of popular feeling enough to deter any coward from + engaging in political conflicts? Isocrates, whom Mr Mitford extols, + because he constantly employed all the flowers of his school-boy rhetoric + to decorate oligarchy and tyranny, avoided the judicial and political + meetings of Athens from mere timidity, and seems to have hated democracy + only because he durst not look a popular assembly in the face. Demosthenes + was a man of a feeble constitution: his nerves were weak, but his spirit + was high; and the energy and enthusiasm of his feelings supported him + through life and in death. + </p> + <p> + So much for Demosthenes. Now for the orator of aristocracy. I do not wish + to abuse Aeschines. He may have been an honest man. He was certainly a + great man; and I feel a reverence, of which Mr Mitford seems to have no + notion, for great men of every party. But, when Mr Mitford says that the + private character of Aeschines was without stain, does he remember what + Aeschines has himself confessed in his speech against Timarchus? I can + make allowances, as well as Mr Mitford, for persons who lived under a + different system of laws and morals; but let them be made impartially. If + Demosthenes is to be attacked on account of some childish improprieties, + proved only by the assertion of an antagonist, what shall we say of those + maturer vices which that antagonist has himself acknowledged? "Against the + private character of Aeschines," says Mr Mitford, "Demosthenes seems not + to have had an insinuation to oppose." Has Mr Mitford ever read the speech + of Demosthenes on the Embassy? Or can he have forgotten, what was never + forgotten by anyone else who ever read it, the story which Demosthenes + relates with such terrible energy of language concerning the drunken + brutality of his rival? True or false, here is something more than an + insinuation; and nothing can vindicate the historian, who has overlooked + it, from the charge of negligence or of partiality. But Aeschines denied + the story. And did not Demosthenes also deny the story respecting his + childish nickname, which Mr Mitford has nevertheless told without any + qualification? But the judges, or some part of them, showed, by their + clamour, their disbelief of the relation of Demosthenes. And did not the + judges, who tried the cause between Demosthenes and his guardians, + indicate, in a much clearer manner, their approbation of the prosecution? + But Demosthenes was a demagogue, and is to be slandered. Aeschines was an + aristocrat, and is to be panegyrised. Is this a history, or a + party-pamphlet? + </p> + <p> + These passages, all selected from a single page of Mr Mitford's work, may + give some notion to those readers, who have not the means of comparing his + statements with the original authorities, of his extreme partiality and + carelessness. Indeed, whenever this historian mentions Demosthenes, he + violates all the laws of candour and even of decency; he weighs no + authorities; he makes no allowances; he forgets the best authenticated + facts in the history of the times, and the most generally recognised + principles of human nature. The opposition of the great orator to the + policy of Philip he represents as neither more nor less than deliberate + villany. I hold almost the same opinion with Mr Mitford respecting the + character and the views of that great and accomplished prince. But am I, + therefore, to pronounce Demosthenes profligate and insincere? Surely not. + Do we not perpetually see men of the greatest talents and the purest + intentions misled by national or factious prejudices? The most respectable + people in England were, little more than forty years ago, in the habit of + uttering the bitterest abuse against Washington and Franklin. It is + certainly to be regretted that men should err so grossly in their estimate + of character. But no person who knows anything of human nature will impute + such errors to depravity. + </p> + <p> + Mr Mitford is not more consistent with himself than with reason. Though he + is the advocate of all oligarchies, he is also a warm admirer of all + kings, and of all citizens who raised themselves to that species of + sovereignty which the Greeks denominated tyranny. If monarchy, as Mr + Mitford holds, be in itself a blessing, democracy must be a better form of + government than aristocracy, which is always opposed to the supremacy, and + even to the eminence, of individuals. On the other hand, it is but one + step that separates the demagogue and the sovereign. + </p> + <p> + If this article had not extended itself to so great a length, I should + offer a few observations on some other peculiarities of this writer,—his + general preference of the Barbarians to the Greeks,—his predilection + for Persians, Carthaginians, Thracians, for all nations, in short, except + that great and enlightened nation of which he is the historian. But I will + confine myself to a single topic. + </p> + <p> + Mr Mitford has remarked, with truth and spirit, that "any history + perfectly written, but especially a Grecian history perfectly written + should be a political institute for all nations." It has not occurred to + him that a Grecian history, perfectly written, should also be a complete + record of the rise and progress of poetry, philosophy, and the arts. Here + his work is extremely deficient. Indeed, though it may seem a strange + thing to say of a gentleman who has published so many quartos, Mr Mitford + seems to entertain a feeling, bordering on contempt, for literary and + speculative pursuits. The talents of action almost exclusively attract his + notice; and he talks with very complacent disdain of "the idle learned." + Homer, indeed, he admires; but principally, I am afraid, because he is + convinced that Homer could neither read nor write. He could not avoid + speaking of Socrates; but he has been far more solicitous to trace his + death to political causes, and to deduce from it consequences unfavourable + to Athens, and to popular governments, than to throw light on the + character and doctrines of the wonderful man, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "From whose mouth issued forth + Mellifluous streams that watered all the schools + Of Academics, old and new, with those + Surnamed Peripatetics, and the sect + Epicurean, and the Stoic severe." +</pre> + <p> + He does not seem to be aware that Demosthenes was a great orator; he + represents him sometimes as an aspirant demagogue, sometimes as an adroit + negotiator, and always as a great rogue. But that in which the Athenian + excelled all men of all ages, that irresistible eloquence, which at the + distance of more than two thousand years stirs our blood, and brings tears + into our eyes, he passes by with a few phrases of commonplace + commendation. The origin of the drama, the doctrines of the sophists, the + course of Athenian education, the state of the arts and sciences, the + whole domestic system of the Greeks, he has almost completely neglected. + Yet these things will appear, to a reflecting man, scarcely less worthy of + attention than the taking of Sphacteria or the discipline of the + targeteers of Iphicrates. + </p> + <p> + This, indeed, is a deficiency by no means peculiar to Mr Mitford. Most + people seem to imagine that a detail of public occurrences—the + operations of sieges—-the changes of administrations—the + treaties—the conspiracies—the rebellions—is a complete + history. Differences of definition are logically unimportant; but + practically they sometimes produce the most momentous effects. Thus it has + been in the present case. Historians have, almost without exception, + confined themselves to the public transactions of states, and have left to + the negligent administration of writers of fiction a province at least + equally extensive and valuable. + </p> + <p> + All wise statesmen have agreed to consider the prosperity or adversity of + nations as made up of the happiness or misery of individuals, and to + reject as chimerical all notions of a public interest of the community, + distinct from the interest of the component parts. It is therefore strange + that those whose office it is to supply statesmen with examples and + warnings should omit, as too mean for the dignity of history, + circumstances which exert the most extensive influence on the state of + society. In general, the under current of human life flows steadily on, + unruffled by the storms which agitate the surface. The happiness of the + many commonly depends on causes independent of victories or defeats, of + revolutions or restorations,—causes which can be regulated by no + laws, and which are recorded in no archives. These causes are the things + which it is of main importance to us to know, not how the Lacedaemonian + phalanx was broken at Leuctra,—not whether Alexander died of poison + or by disease. History, without these, is a shell without a kernel; and + such is almost all the history which is extant in the world. Paltry + skirmishes and plots are reported with absurd and useless minuteness; but + improvements the most essential to the comfort of human life extend + themselves over the world, and introduce themselves into every cottage, + before any annalist can condescend, from the dignity of writing about + generals and ambassadors, to take the least notice of them. Thus the + progress of the most salutary inventions and discoveries is buried in + impenetrable mystery; mankind are deprived of a most useful species of + knowledge, and their benefactors of their honest fame. In the meantime + every child knows by heart the dates and adventures of a long line of + barbarian kings. The history of nations, in the sense in which I use the + word, is often best studied in works not professedly historical. + Thucydides, as far as he goes, is an excellent writer; yet he affords us + far less knowledge of the most important particulars relating to Athens + than Plato or Aristophanes. The little treatise of Xenophon on Domestic + Economy contains more historical information than all the seven books of + his Hellenics. The same may be said of the Satires of Horace, of the + Letters of Cicero, of the novels of Le Sage, of the memoirs of Marmontel. + Many others might be mentioned; but these sufficiently illustrate my + meaning. + </p> + <p> + I would hope that there may yet appear a writer who may despise the + present narrow limits, and assert the rights of history over every part of + her natural domain. Should such a writer engage in that enterprise, in + which I cannot but consider Mr Mitford as having failed, he will record, + indeed, all that is interesting and important in military and political + transactions; but he will not think anything too trivial for the gravity + of history which is not too trivial to promote or diminish the happiness + of man. He will portray in vivid colours the domestic society, the + manners, the amusements, the conversation of the Greeks. He will not + disdain to discuss the state of agriculture, of the mechanical arts, and + of the conveniences of life. The progress of painting, of sculpture, and + of architecture, will form an important part of his plan. But, above all, + his attention will be given to the history of that splendid literature + from which has sprung all the strength, the wisdom, the freedom, and the + glory, of the western world. + </p> + <p> + Of the indifference which Mr Mitford shows on this subject I will not + speak; for I cannot speak with fairness. It is a subject on which I love + to forget the accuracy of a judge, in the veneration of a worshipper and + the gratitude of a child. If we consider merely the subtlety of + disquisition, the force of imagination, the perfect energy and elegance of + expression which characterise the great works of Athenian genius, we must + pronounce them intrinsically most valuable; but what shall we say when we + reflect that from hence have sprung directly or indirectly, all the + noblest creations of the human intellect; that from hence were the vast + accomplishments and the brilliant fancy of Cicero; the withering fire of + Juvenal; the plastic imagination of Dante; the humour of Cervantes; the + comprehension of Bacon; the wit of Butler; the supreme and universal + excellence of Shakspeare? All the triumphs of truth and genius over + prejudice and power, in every country and in every age, have been the + triumphs of Athens. Wherever a few great minds have made a stand against + violence and fraud, in the cause of liberty and reason, there has been her + spirit in the midst of them; inspiring, encouraging, consoling;—by + the lonely lamp of Erasmus; by the restless bed of Pascal; in the tribune + of Mirabeau; in the cell of Galileo; on the scaffold of Sidney. But who + shall estimate her influence on private happiness? Who shall say how many + thousands have been made wiser, happier, and better, by those pursuits in + which she has taught mankind to engage: to how many the studies which took + their rise from her have been wealth in poverty,—liberty in bondage,—health + in sickness,—society in solitude? Her power is indeed manifested at + the bar, in the senate, in the field of battle, in the schools of + philosophy. But these are not her glory. Wherever literature consoles + sorrow, or assuages pain,—wherever it brings gladness to eyes which + fail with wakefulness and tears, and ache for the dark house and the long + sleep,—there is exhibited, in its noblest form, the immortal + influence of Athens. + </p> + <p> + The dervise, in the Arabian tale, did not hesitate to abandon to his + comrade the camels with their load of jewels and gold, while he retained + the casket of that mysterious juice which enabled him to behold at one + glance all the hidden riches of the universe. Surely it is no exaggeration + to say that no external advantage is to be compared with that purification + of the intellectual eye which gives us to contemplate the infinite wealth + of the mental world, all the hoarded treasures of its primeval dynasties, + all the shapeless ore of its yet unexplored mines. This is the gift of + Athens to man. Her freedom and her power have for more than twenty + centuries been annihilated; her people have degenerated into timid slaves; + her language into a barbarous jargon; her temples have been given up to + the successive depredations of Romans, Turks, and Scotchmen; but her + intellectual empire is imperishable. And when those who have rivalled her + greatness shall have shared her fate; when civilisation and knowledge + shall have fixed their abode in distant continents; when the sceptre shall + have passed away from England; when, perhaps, travellers from distant + regions shall in vain labour to decipher on some mouldering pedestal the + name of our proudest chief; shall hear savage hymns chaunted to some + misshapen idol over the ruined dome of our proudest temple; and shall see + a single naked fisherman wash his nets in the river of the ten thousand + masts;—her influence and her glory will still survive,—fresh + in eternal youth, exempt from mutability and decay, immortal as the + intellectual principle from which they derived their origin, and over + which they exercise their control. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Miscellaneous Writings and +Speeches of Lord Macaulay, Vol. 1 (of 4), by Thomas Babington Macaulay + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WRITINGS OF LORD MACAULAY *** + +***** This file should be named 2167-h.htm or 2167-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/1/6/2167/ + +Produced by Mike Alder, Sue Asscher and David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions 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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