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diff --git a/old/2mwsm10.txt b/old/2mwsm10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8a332a8 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/2mwsm10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14917 @@ +Project Gutenberg Etext The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches +of Lord Macaulay, Volume 2 [From the Edinburgh Review] of 4 + + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations* + +Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and +further information is included below. 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(January 1828.) + +History. (May 1828.) + +Mill on Government. (March 1829.) + +Westminster Reviewer's Defence of Mill. (June 1829.) + +Utilitarian Theory of Government. (October 1829.) + +Sadler's Law of Population. (July 1830.) + +Sadler's Refutation Refuted. (January 1831.) + +Mirabeau. (July 1832.) + +Barere. (April 1844.) + + + + +MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS OF LORD MACAULAY. + + + + +CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EDINBURGH REVIEW. + + +JOHN DRYDEN. + +(January 1828.) + + +"The Poetical Works of John Dryden". In 2 volumes. University +Edition. London, 1826. + + +The public voice has assigned to Dryden the first place in the +second rank of our poets,--no mean station in a table of +intellectual precedency so rich in illustrious names. It is +allowed that, even of the few who were his superiors in genius, +none has exercised a more extensive or permanent influence on the +national habits of thought and expression. His life was +commensurate with the period during which a great revolution in +the public taste was effected; and in that revolution he played +the part of Cromwell. By unscrupulously taking the lead in its +wildest excesses, he obtained the absolute guidance of it. By +trampling on laws, he acquired the authority of a legislator. By +signalising himself as the most daring and irreverent of rebels, +he raised himself to the dignity of a recognised prince. He +commenced his career by the most frantic outrages. He terminated +it in the repose of established sovereignty,--the author of a new +code, the root of a new dynasty. + +Of Dryden, however, as of almost every man who has been +distinguished either in the literary or in the political world, +it may be said that the course which he pursued, and the effect +which he produced, depended less on his personal qualities than +on the circumstances in which he was placed. Those who have read +history with discrimination know the fallacy of those panegyrics +and invectives which represent individuals as effecting great +moral and intellectual revolutions, subverting established +systems, and imprinting a new character on their age. The +difference between one man and another is by no means so great as +the superstitious crowd supposes. But the same feelings which in +ancient Rome produced the apotheosis of a popular emperor, and in +modern Rome the canonisation of a devout prelate, lead men to +cherish an illusion which furnishes them with something to adore. +By a law of association, from the operation of which even minds +the most strictly regulated by reason are not wholly exempt, +misery disposes us to hatred, and happiness to love, although +there may be no person to whom our misery or our happiness can be +ascribed. The peevishness of an invalid vents itself even on +those who alleviate his pain. The good humour of a man elated by +success often displays itself towards enemies. In the same +manner, the feelings of pleasure and admiration, to which the +contemplation of great events gives birth, make an object where +they do not find it. Thus, nations descend to the absurdities of +Egyptian idolatry, and worship stocks and reptiles--Sacheverells +and Wilkeses. They even fall prostrate before a deity to which +they have themselves given the form which commands their +veneration, and which, unless fashioned by them, would have +remained a shapeless block. They persuade themselves that they +are the creatures of what they have themselves created. For, in +fact, it is the age that forms the man, not the man that forms +the age. Great minds do indeed re-act on the society which has +made them what they are; but they only pay with interest what +they have received. We extol Bacon, and sneer at Aquinas. But, +if their situations had been changed, Bacon might have been the +Angelical Doctor, the most subtle Aristotelian of the schools; +the Dominican might have led forth the sciences from their house +of bondage. If Luther had been born in the tenth century, he +would have effected no reformation. If he had never been born at +all, it is evident that the sixteenth century could not have +elapsed without a great schism in the church. Voltaire, in the +days of Louis the Fourteenth, would probably have been, like most +of the literary men of that time, a zealous Jansenist, eminent +among the defenders of efficacious grace, a bitter assailant of +the lax morality of the Jesuits and the unreasonable decisions of +the Sorbonne. If Pascal had entered on his literary career when +intelligence was more general, and abuses at the same time more +flagrant, when the church was polluted by the Iscariot Dubois, +the court disgraced by the orgies of Canillac, and the nation +sacrificed to the juggles of Law, if he had lived to see a +dynasty of harlots, an empty treasury and a crowded harem, an +army formidable only to those whom it should have protected, a +priesthood just religious enough to be intolerant, he might +possibly, like every man of genius in France, have imbibed +extravagant prejudices against monarchy and Christianity. The +wit which blasted the sophisms of Escobar--the impassioned +eloquence which defended the sisters of Port Royal--the +intellectual hardihood which was not beaten down even by Papal +authority--might have raised him to the Patriarchate of the +Philosophical Church. It was long disputed whether the honour of +inventing the method of Fluxions belonged to Newton or to +Leibnitz. It is now generally allowed that these great men made +the same discovery at the same time. Mathematical science, +indeed, had then reached such a point that, if neither of them +had ever existed, the principle must inevitably have occurred to +some person within a few years. So in our own time the doctrine +of rent, now universally received by political economists, was +propounded, almost at the same moment, by two writers unconnected +with each other. Preceding speculators had long been blundering +round about it; and it could not possibly have been missed much +longer by the most heedless inquirer. We are inclined to think +that, with respect to every great addition which has been made to +the stock of human knowledge, the case has been similar; that +without Copernicus we should have been Copernicans,--that without +Columbus America would have been discovered,--that without Locke +we should have possessed a just theory of the origin of human +ideas. Society indeed has its great men and its little men, as +the earth has its mountains and its valleys. But the +inequalities of intellect, like the inequalities of the surface +of our globe, bear so small a proportion to the mass, that, in +calculating its great revolutions, they may safely be neglected. +The sun illuminates the hills, while it is still below the +horizon, and truth is discovered by the highest minds a little +before it becomes manifest to the multitude. This is the extent +of their superiority. They are the first to catch and reflect a +light, which, without their assistance, must, in a short time, be +visible to those who lie far beneath them. + +The same remark will apply equally to the fine arts. The laws on +which depend the progress and decline of poetry, painting, and +sculpture, operate with little less certainty than those which +regulate the periodical returns of heat and cold, of fertility +and barrenness. Those who seem to lead the public taste are, in +general, merely outrunning it in the direction which it is +spontaneously pursuing. Without a just apprehension of the laws +to which we have alluded the merits and defects of Dryden can be +but imperfectly understood. We will, therefore, state what we +conceive them to be. + +The ages in which the master-pieces of imagination have been +produced have by no means been those in which taste has been most +correct. It seems that the creative faculty, and the critical +faculty, cannot exist together in their highest perfection. The +causes of this phenomenon it is not difficult to assign. + +It is true that the man who is best able to take a machine to +pieces, and who most clearly comprehends the manner in which all +its wheels and springs conduce to its general effect, will be the +man most competent to form another machine of similar power. In +all the branches of physical and moral science which admit of +perfect analysis, he who can resolve will be able to combine. +But the analysis which criticism can effect of poetry is +necessarily imperfect. One element must for ever elude its +researches; and that is the very element by which poetry is +poetry. In the description of nature, for example, a judicious +reader will easily detect an incongruous image. But he will find +it impossible to explain in what consists the art of a writer +who, in a few words, brings some spot before him so vividly that +he shall know it as if he had lived there from childhood; while +another, employing the same materials, the same verdure, the same +water, and the same flowers, committing no inaccuracy, +introducing nothing which can be positively pronounced +superfluous, omitting nothing which can be positively pronounced +necessary, shall produce no more effect than an advertisement of +a capital residence and a desirable pleasure-ground. To take +another example: the great features of the character of Hotspur +are obvious to the most superficial reader. We at once perceive +that his courage is splendid, his thirst of glory intense, his +animal spirits high, his temper careless, arbitrary, and +petulant; that he indulges his own humour without caring whose +feelings he may wound, or whose enmity he may provoke, by his +levity. Thus far criticism will go. But something is still +wanting. A man might have all those qualities, and every other +quality which the most minute examiner can introduce into his +catalogue of the virtues and faults of Hotspur, and yet he would +not be Hotspur. Almost everything that we have said of him +applies equally to Falconbridge. Yet in the mouth of +Falconbridge most of his speeches would seem out of place. In +real life this perpetually occurs. We are sensible of wide +differences between men whom, if we were required to describe +them, we should describe in almost the same terms. If we were +attempting to draw elaborate characters of them, we should +scarcely be able to point out any strong distinction; yet we +approach them with feelings altogether dissimilar. We cannot +conceive of them as using the expressions or the gestures of each +other. Let us suppose that a zoologist should attempt to give an +account of some animal, a porcupine for instance, to people who +had never seen it. The porcupine, he might say, is of the class +mammalia, and the order glires. There are whiskers on its face; +it is two feet long; it has four toes before, five behind, two +fore teeth, and eight grinders. Its body is covered with hair +and quills. And, when all this has been said, would any one of +the auditors have formed a just idea of a porcupine? Would any +two of them have formed the same idea? There might exist +innumerable races of animals, possessing all the characteristics +which have been mentioned yet altogether unlike to each other. +What the description of our naturalist is to a real porcupine, +the remarks of criticism are to the images of poetry. What it so +imperfectly decomposes it cannot perfectly reconstruct. It is +evidently as impossible to produce an Othello or a Macbeth by +reversing an analytical process so defective, as it would be for +an anatomist to form a living man out of the fragments of his +dissecting-room. In both cases the vital principle eludes the +finest instruments, and vanishes in the very instant in which its +seat is touched. Hence those who, trusting to their critical +skill, attempt to write poems give us, not images of things, but +catalogues of qualities. Their characters are allegories--not +good men and bad men, but cardinal virtues and deadly sins. We +seem to have fallen among the acquaintances of our old friend +Christian: sometimes we meet Mistrust and Timorous; sometimes Mr +Hate-good and Mr Love-lust; and then again Prudence, Piety and +Charity. + +That critical discernment is not sufficient to make men poets, is +generally allowed. Why it should keep them from becoming poets, +is not perhaps equally evident; but the fact is, that poetry +requires not an examining but a believing frame of mind. Those +feel it most, and write it best, who forget that it is a work of +art; to whom its imitations, like the realities from which they +are taken, are subjects, not for connoisseurship, but for tears +and laughter, resentment and affection; who are too much under +the influence of the illusion to admire the genius which has +produced it; who are too much frightened for Ulysses in the cave +of Polyphemus to care whether the pun about Outis be good or bad; +who forget that such a person as Shakspeare ever existed, while +they weep and curse with Lear. It is by giving faith to the +creations of the imagination that a man becomes a poet. It is by +treating those creations as deceptions, and by resolving them, as +nearly as possible, into their elements, that he becomes a +critic. In the moment in which the skill of the artist is +perceived, the spell of the art is broken. + +These considerations account for the absurdities into which the +greatest writers have fallen, when they have attempted to give +general rules for composition, or to pronounce judgment on the +works of others. They are unaccustomed to analyse what they +feel; they, therefore, perpetually refer their emotions to causes +which have not in the slightest degree tended to produce them. +They feel pleasure in reading a book. They never consider that +this pleasure may be the effect of ideas which some unmeaning +expression, striking on the first link of a chain of +associations, may have called up in their own minds--that they +have themselves furnished to the author the beauties which they +admire. + +Cervantes is the delight of all classes of readers. Every +school-boy thumbs to pieces the most wretched translations of his +romance, and knows the lantern jaws of the Knight Errant, and the +broad cheeks of the Squire, as well as the faces of his own +playfellows. The most experienced and fastidious judges are +amazed at the perfection of that art which extracts +inextinguishable laughter from the greatest of human calamities +without once violating the reverence due to it; at that +discriminating delicacy of touch which makes a character +exquisitely ridiculous, without impairing its worth, its grace, +or its dignity. In Don Quixote are several dissertations on the +principles of poetic and dramatic writing. No passages in the +whole work exhibit stronger marks of labour and attention; and no +passages in any work with which we are acquainted are more +worthless and puerile. In our time they would scarcely obtain +admittance into the literary department of the Morning Post. +Every reader of the Divine Comedy must be struck by the +veneration which Dante expresses for writers far inferior to +himself. He will not lift up his eyes from the ground in the +presence of Brunetto, all whose works are not worth the worst of +his own hundred cantos. He does not venture to walk in the same +line with the bombastic Statius. His admiration of Virgil is +absolute idolatry. If, indeed, it had been excited by the +elegant, splendid, and harmonious diction of the Roman poet, it +would not have been altogether unreasonable; but it is rather as +an authority on all points of philosophy, than as a work of +imagination, that he values the Aeneid. The most trivial +passages he regards as oracles of the highest authority, and of +the most recondite meaning. He describes his conductor as the +sea of all wisdom--the sun which heals every disordered sight. +As he judged of Virgil, the Italians of the fourteenth century +judged of him; they were proud of him; they praised him; they +struck medals bearing his head; they quarrelled for the honour of +possessing his remains; they maintained professors to expound his +writings. But what they admired was not that mighty imagination +which called a new world into existence, and made all its sights +and sounds familiar to the eye and ear of the mind. They said +little of those awful and lovely creations on which later critics +delight to dwell--Farinata lifting his haughty and tranquil brow +from his couch of everlasting fire--the lion-like repose of +Sordello--or the light which shone from the celestial smile of +Beatrice. They extolled their great poet for his smattering of +ancient literature and history; for his logic and his divinity; +for his absurd physics, and his most absurd metaphysics; for +everything but that in which he pre-eminently excelled. Like the +fool in the story, who ruined his dwelling by digging for gold, +which, as he had dreamed, was concealed under its foundations, +they laid waste one of the noblest works of human genius, by +seeking in it for buried treasures of wisdom which existed only +in their own wild reveries. The finest passages were little +valued till they had been debased into some monstrous allegory. +Louder applause was given to the lecture on fate and free-will, +or to the ridiculous astronomical theories, than to those +tremendous lines which disclose the secrets of the tower of +hunger, or to that half-told tale of guilty love, so passionate +and so full of tears. + +We do not mean to say that the contemporaries of Dante read with +less emotion than their descendants of Ugolino groping among the +wasted corpses of his children, or of Francesca starting at the +tremulous kiss and dropping the fatal volume. Far from it. We +believe that they admired these things less than ourselves, but +that they felt them more. We should perhaps say that they felt +them too much to admire them. The progress of a nation from +barbarism to civilisation produces a change similar to that which +takes place during the progress of an individual from infancy to +mature age. What man does not remember with regret the first +time that he read Robinson Crusoe? Then, indeed, he was unable +to appreciate the powers of the writer; or, rather, he neither +knew nor cared whether the book had a writer at all. He probably +thought it not half so fine as some rant of Macpherson about +dark-browed Foldath, and white-bosomed Strinadona. He now values +Fingal and Temora only as showing with how little evidence a +story may be believed, and with how little merit a book may be +popular. Of the romance of Defoe he entertains the highest +opinion. He perceives the hand of a master in ten thousand +touches which formerly he passed by without notice. But, though +he understands the merits of the narrative better than formerly, +he is far less interested by it. Xury, and Friday, and pretty +Poll, the boat with the shoulder-of-mutton sail, and the canoe +which could not be brought down to the water edge, the tent with +its hedge and ladders, the preserve of kids, and the den where +the old goat died, can never again be to him the realities which +they were. The days when his favourite volume set him upon +making wheel-barrows and chairs, upon digging caves and fencing +huts in the garden, can never return. Such is the law of our +nature. Our judgment ripens; our imagination decays. We cannot +at once enjoy the flowers of the spring of life and the fruits of +its autumn, the pleasures of close investigation and those of +agreeable error. We cannot sit at once in the front of the stage +and behind the scenes. We cannot be under the illusion of the +spectacle, while we are watching the movements of the ropes and +pulleys which dispose it. + +The chapter in which Fielding describes the behaviour of +Partridge at the theatre affords so complete an illustration of +our proposition, that we cannot refrain from quoting some parts +of it. + +"Partridge gave that credit to Mr Garrick which he had denied to +Jones, and fell into so violent a trembling that his knees +knocked against each other. Jones asked him what was the matter, +and whether he was afraid of the warrior upon the stage?--'O, la, +sir,' said he, 'I perceive now it is what you told me. I am not +afraid of anything, for I know it is but a play; and if it was +really a ghost, it could do one no harm at such a distance and in +so much company; and yet, if I was frightened, I am not the only +person.'--'Why, who,' cries Jones, 'dost thou take to be such a +coward here besides thyself?'--'Nay, you may call me a coward if +you will; but if that little man there upon the stage is not +frightened, I never saw any man frightened in my life'...He sat +with his eyes fixed partly on the ghost and partly on Hamlet, and +with his mouth open; the same passions which succeeded each other +in Hamlet, succeeding likewise in him... + +"Little more worth remembering occurred during the play, at the +end of which Jones asked him which of the players he liked best? +To this he answered, with some appearance of indignation at the +question, 'The King, without doubt.'--'Indeed, Mr Partridge,' +says Mrs Miller, 'you are not of the same opinion with the town; +for they are all agreed that Hamlet is acted by the best player +who was ever on the stage.'--'He the best player!' cries +Partridge, with a contemptuous sneer; 'why I could act as well as +he myself. I am sure if I had seen a ghost, I should have looked +in the very same manner, and done just as he did. And then to be +sure, in that scene, as you called it, between him and his +mother, where you told me he acted so fine, why any man, that is, +any good man, that had such a mother, would have done exactly the +same. I know you are only joking with me; but indeed, madam, +though I never was at a play in London, yet I have seen acting +before in the country, and the King for my money; he speaks all +his words distinctly, and half as loud again as the other. +Anybody may see he is an actor.'" + +In this excellent passage Partridge is represented as a very bad +theatrical critic. But none of those who laugh at him possess +the tithe of his sensibility to theatrical excellence. He +admires in the wrong place; but he trembles in the right place. +It is indeed because he is so much excited by the acting of +Garrick, that he ranks him below the strutting, mouthing +performer, who personates the King. So, we have heard it said +that, in some parts of Spain and Portugal, an actor who should +represent a depraved character finely, instead of calling down +the applauses of the audience, is hissed and pelted without +mercy. It would be the same in England, if we, for one moment, +thought that Shylock or Iago was standing before us. While the +dramatic art was in its infancy at Athens, it produced similar +effects on the ardent and imaginative spectators. It is said +that they blamed Aeschylus for frightening them into fits with +his Furies. Herodotus tells us that, when Phyrnichus produced +his tragedy on the fall of Miletus, they fined him in a penalty +of a thousand drachmas for torturing their feelings by so +pathetic an exhibition. They did not regard him as a great +artist, but merely as a man who had given them pain. When they +woke from the distressing illusion, they treated the author of it +as they would have treated a messenger who should have brought +them fatal and alarming tidings which turned out to be false. In +the same manner, a child screams with terror at the sight of a +person in an ugly mask. He has perhaps seen the mask put on. +But his imagination is too strong for his reason; and he entreats +that it may be taken off. + +We should act in the same manner if the grief and horror produced +in us by works of the imagination amounted to real torture. But +in us these emotions are comparatively languid. They rarely +affect our appetite or our sleep. They leave us sufficiently at +ease to trace them to their causes, and to estimate the powers +which produce them. Our attention is speedily diverted from the +images which call forth our tears to the art by which those +images have been selected and combined. We applaud the genius of +the writer. We applaud our own sagacity and sensibility; and we +are comforted. + +Yet, though we think that in the progress of nations towards +refinement the reasoning powers are improved at the expense of +the imagination, we acknowledge that to this rule there are many +apparent exceptions. We are not, however, quite satisfied that +they are more than apparent. Men reasoned better, for example, +in the time of Elizabeth than in the time of Egbert; and they +also wrote better poetry. But we must distinguish between poetry +as a mental act, and poetry as a species of composition. If we +take it in the latter sense, its excellence depends not solely on +the vigour of the imagination, but partly also on the instruments +which the imagination employs. Within certain limits, therefore, +poetry may be improving while the poetical faculty is decaying. +The vividness of the picture presented to the reader is not +necessarily proportioned to the vividness of the prototype which +exists in the mind of the writer. In the other arts we see this +clearly. Should a man, gifted by nature with all the genius of +Canova, attempt to carve a statue without instruction as to the +management of his chisel, or attention to the anatomy of the +human body, he would produce something compared with which the +Highlander at the door of a snuff shop would deserve admiration. +If an uninitiated Raphael were to attempt a painting, it would be +a mere daub; indeed, the connoisseurs say that the early works of +Raphael are little better. Yet, who can attribute this to want +of imagination? Who can doubt that the youth of that great +artist was passed amidst an ideal world of beautiful and majestic +forms? Or, who will attribute the difference which appears +between his first rude essays and his magnificent Transfiguration +to a change in the constitution of his mind? In poetry, as in +painting and sculpture, it is necessary that the imitator should +be well acquainted with that which he undertakes to imitate, and +expert in the mechanical part of his art. Genius will not +furnish him with a vocabulary: it will not teach him what word +most exactly corresponds to his idea, and will most fully convey +it to others: it will not make him a great descriptive poet, +till he has looked with attention on the face of nature; or a +great dramatist, till he has felt and witnessed much of the +influence of the passions. Information and experience are, +therefore, necessary; not for the purpose of strengthening the +imagination, which is never so strong as in people incapable of +reasoning--savages, children, madmen, and dreamers; but for the +purpose of enabling the artist to communicate his conceptions to +others. + +In a barbarous age the imagination exercises a despotic power. +So strong is the perception of what is unreal that it often +overpowers all the passions of the mind and all the sensations of +the body. At first, indeed, the phantasm remains undivulged, a +hidden treasure, a wordless poetry, an invisible painting, a +silent music, a dream of which the pains and pleasures exist to +the dreamer alone, a bitterness which the heart only knoweth, a +joy with which a stranger intermeddleth not. The machinery, by +which ideas are to be conveyed from one person to another, is as +yet rude and defective. Between mind and mind there is a great +gulf. The imitative arts do not exist, or are in their lowest +state. But the actions of men amply prove that the faculty which +gives birth to those arts is morbidly active. It is not yet the +inspiration of poets and sculptors; but it is the amusement of +the day, the terror of the night, the fertile source of wild +superstitions. It turns the clouds into gigantic shapes, and the +winds into doleful voices. The belief which springs from it is +more absolute and undoubting than any which can be derived from +evidence. It resembles the faith which we repose in our own +sensations. Thus, the Arab, when covered with wounds, saw +nothing but the dark eyes and the green kerchief of a beckoning +Houri. The Northern warrior laughed in the pangs of death when +he thought of the mead of Valhalla. + +The first works of the imagination are, as we have said, poor and +rude, not from the want of genius, but from the want of +materials. Phidias could have done nothing with an old tree and +a fish-bone, or Homer with the language of New Holland. + +Yet the effect of these early performances, imperfect as they +must necessarily be, is immense. All deficiencies are supplied +by the susceptibility of those to whom they are addressed. We +all know what pleasure a wooden doll, which may be bought for +sixpence, will afford to a little girl. She will require no +other company. She will nurse it, dress it, and talk to it all +day. No grown-up man takes half so much delight in one of the +incomparable babies of Chantrey. In the same manner, savages are +more affected by the rude compositions of their bards than +nations more advanced in civilisation by the greatest master- +pieces of poetry. + +In process of time, the instruments by which the imagination +works are brought to perfection. Men have not more imagination +than their rude ancestors. We strongly suspect that they have +much less. But they produce better works of imagination. Thus, +up to a certain period, the diminution of the poetical powers is +far more than compensated by the improvement of all the +appliances and means of which those powers stand in need. Then +comes the short period of splendid and consummate excellence. +And then, from causes against which it is vain to struggle, +poetry begins to decline. The progress of language, which was at +first favourable, becomes fatal to it, and, instead of +compensating for the decay of the imagination, accelerates that +decay, and renders it more obvious. When the adventurer in the +Arabian tale anointed one of his eyes with the contents of the +magical box, all the riches of the earth, however widely +dispersed, however sacredly concealed, became visible to him. +But, when he tried the experiment on both eyes, he was struck +with blindness. What the enchanted elixir was to the sight of +the body, language is to the sight of the imagination. At first +it calls up a world of glorious allusions; but, when it becomes +too copious, it altogether destroys the visual power. + +As the development of the mind proceeds, symbols, instead of +being employed to convey images, are substituted for them. +Civilised men think as they trade, not in kind, but by means of a +circulating medium. In these circumstances, the sciences improve +rapidly, and criticism among the rest; but poetry, in the highest +sense of the word, disappears. Then comes the dotage of the fine +arts, a second childhood, as feeble as the former, and far more +hopeless. This is the age of critical poetry, of poetry by +courtesy, of poetry to which the memory, the judgment, and the +wit contribute far more than the imagination. We readily allow +that many works of this description are excellent: we will not +contend with those who think them more valuable than the great +poems of an earlier period. We only maintain that they belong to +a different species of composition, and are produced by a +different faculty. + +It is some consolation to reflect that this critical school of +poetry improves as the science of criticism improves; and that +the science of criticism, like every other science, is constantly +tending towards perfection. As experiments are multiplied, +principles are better understood. + +In some countries, in our own for example, there has been an +interval between the downfall of the creative school and the rise +of the critical, a period during which imagination has been in +its decrepitude, and taste in its infancy. Such a revolutionary +interregnum as this will be deformed by every species of +extravagance. + +The first victory of good taste is over the bombast and conceits +which deform such times as these. But criticism is still in a +very imperfect state. What is accidental is for a long time +confounded with what is essential. General theories are drawn +from detached facts. How many hours the action of a play may be +allowed to occupy,--how many similes an Epic Poet may introduce +into his first book,--whether a piece, which is acknowledged to +have a beginning and an end, may not be without a middle, and +other questions as puerile as these, formerly occupied the +attention of men of letters in France, and even in this country. +Poets, in such circumstances as these, exhibit all the narrowness +and feebleness of the criticism by which their manner has been +fashioned. From outrageous absurdity they are preserved indeed +by their timidity. But they perpetually sacrifice nature and +reason to arbitrary canons of taste. In their eagerness to avoid +the mala prohibita of a foolish code, they are perpetually +rushing on the mala in se. Their great predecessors, it is true, +were as bad critics as themselves, or perhaps worse, but those +predecessors, as we have attempted to show, were inspired by a +faculty independent of criticism, and, therefore, wrote well +while they judged ill. + +In time men begin to take more rational and comprehensive views +of literature. The analysis of poetry, which, as we have +remarked, must at best be imperfect, approaches nearer and nearer +to exactness. The merits of the wonderful models of former times +are justly appreciated. The frigid productions of a later age +are rated at no more than their proper value. Pleasing and +ingenious imitations of the manner of the great masters appear. +Poetry has a partial revival, a Saint Martin's Summer, which, +after a period of dreariness and decay, agreeably reminds us of +the splendour of its June. A second harvest is gathered in; +though, growing on a spent soil, it has not the heart of the +former. Thus, in the present age, Monti has successfully +imitated the style of Dante; and something of the Elizabethan +inspiration has been caught by several eminent countrymen of our +own. But never will Italy produce another Inferno, or England +another Hamlet. We look on the beauties of the modern +imaginations with feelings similar to those with which we see +flowers disposed in vases, to ornament the drawing-rooms of a +capital. We doubtless regard them with pleasure, with greater +pleasure, perhaps, because, in the midst of a place ungenial to +them, they remind us of the distant spots on which they flourish +in spontaneous exuberance. But we miss the sap, the freshness, +and the bloom. Or, if we may borrow another illustration from +Queen Scheherezade, we would compare the writers of this school +to the jewellers who were employed to complete the unfinished +window of the palace of Aladdin. Whatever skill or cost could do +was done. Palace and bazaar were ransacked for precious stones. +Yet the artists, with all their dexterity, with all their +assiduity, and with all their vast means, were unable to produce +anything comparable to the wonders which a spirit of a higher +order had wrought in a single night. + +The history of every literature with which we are acquainted +confirms, we think, the principles which we have laid down. In +Greece we see the imaginative school of poetry gradually fading +into the critical. Aeschylus and Pindar were succeeded by +Sophocles, Sophocles by Euripides, Euripides by the Alexandrian +versifiers. Of these last, Theocritus alone has left +compositions which deserve to be read. The splendour and +grotesque fairyland of the Old Comedy, rich with such gorgeous +hues, peopled with such fantastic shapes, and vocal alternately +with the sweetest peals of music and the loudest bursts of elvish +laughter, disappeared forever. The master-pieces of the New +Comedy are known to us by Latin translations of extraordinary +merit. From these translations, and from the expressions of the +ancient critics, it is clear that the original compositions were +distinguished by grace and sweetness, that they sparkled with +wit, and abounded with pleasing sentiment; but that the creative +power was gone. Julius Caesar called Terence a half Menander,--a +sure proof that Menander was not a quarter Aristophanes. + +The literature of the Romans was merely a continuation of the +literature of the Greeks. The pupils started from the point at +which their masters had, in the course of many generations +arrived. They thus almost wholly missed the period of original +invention. The only Latin poets whose writings exhibit much +vigour of imagination are Lucretius and Catullus. The Augustan +age produced nothing equal to their finer passages. + +In France that licensed jester, whose jingling cap and motley +coat concealed more genius than ever mustered in the saloon of +Ninon or of Madame Geoffrin, was succeeded by writers as decorous +and as tiresome as gentlemen ushers. + +The poetry of Italy and of Spain has undergone the same change. +But nowhere has the revolution been more complete and violent +than in England. The same person who, when a boy, had clapped +his thrilling hands at the first representation of the Tempest +might, without attaining to a marvellous longevity, have lived to +read the earlier works of Prior and Addison. The change, we +believe, must, sooner or later, have taken place. But its +progress was accelerated, and its character modified, by the +political occurrences of the times, and particularly by two +events, the closing of the theatres under the Commonwealth, and +the restoration of the House of Stuart. + +We have said that the critical and poetical faculties are not +only distinct, but almost incompatible. The state of our +literature during the reigns of Elizabeth and James the First is +a strong confirmation of this remark. The greatest works of +imagination that the world has ever seen were produced at that +period. The national taste, in the meantime, was to the last +degree detestable. Alliterations, puns, antithetical forms of +expression lavishly employed where no corresponding opposition +existed between the thoughts expressed, strained allegories, +pedantic allusions, everything, in short, quaint and affected, in +matter and manner, made up what was then considered as fine +writing. The eloquence of the bar, the pulpit, and the council- +board, was deformed by conceits which would have disgraced the +rhyming shepherds of an Italian academy. The king quibbled on +the throne. We might, indeed, console ourselves by reflecting +that his majesty was a fool. But the chancellor quibbled in +concert from the wool-sack: and the chancellor was Francis +Bacon. It is needless to mention Sidney and the whole tribe of +Euphuists; for Shakspeare himself, the greatest poet that ever +lived, falls into the same fault whenever he means to be +particularly fine. While he abandons himself to the impulse of +his imagination, his compositions are not only the sweetest and +the most sublime, but also the most faultless, that the world has +ever seen. But, as soon as his critical powers come into play, +he sinks to the level of Cowley; or rather he does ill what +Cowley did well. All that is bad in his works is bad +elaborately, and of malice aforethought. The only thing wanting +to make them perfect was, that he should never have troubled +himself with thinking whether they were good or not. Like the +angels in Milton, he sinks "with compulsion and laborious +flight." His natural tendency is upwards. That he may soar, it +is only necessary that he should not struggle to fall. He +resembles an American Cacique, who, possessing in unmeasured +abundance the metals which in polished societies are esteemed the +most precious, was utterly unconscious of their value, and gave +up treasures more valuable than the imperial crowns of other +countries, to secure some gaudy and far-fetched but worthless +bauble, a plated button, or a necklace of coloured glass. + +We have attempted to show that, as knowledge is extended and as +the reason develops itself, the imitative arts decay. We should, +therefore, expect that the corruption of poetry would commence in +the educated classes of society. And this, in fact, is almost +constantly the case. The few great works of imagination which +appear in a critical age are, almost without exception, the works +of uneducated men. Thus, at a time when persons of quality +translated French romances, and when the universities celebrated +royal deaths in verses about tritons and fauns, a preaching +tinker produced the Pilgrim's Progress. And thus a ploughman +startled a generation which had thought Hayley and Beattie great +poets, with the adventures of Tam O'Shanter. Even in the latter +part of the reign of Elizabeth the fashionable poetry had +degenerated. It retained few vestiges of the imagination of +earlier times. It had not yet been subjected to the rules of +good taste. Affectation had completely tainted madrigals and +sonnets. The grotesque conceits and the tuneless numbers of +Donne were, in the time of James, the favourite models of +composition at Whitehall and at the Temple. But, though the +literature of the Court was in its decay, the literature of the +people was in its perfection. The Muses had taken sanctuary in +the theatres, the haunts of a class whose taste was not better +than that of the Right Honourables and singular good Lords who +admired metaphysical love-verses, but whose imagination retained +all its freshness and vigour; whose censure and approbation might +be erroneously bestowed, but whose tears and laughter was never +in the wrong. The infection which had tainted lyric and didactic +poetry had but slightly and partially touched the drama. While +the noble and the learned were comparing eyes to burning-glasses, +and tears to terrestrial globes, coyness to an enthymeme, absence +to a pair of compasses, and an unrequited passion to the fortieth +remainder-man in an entail, Juliet leaning from the balcony, and +Miranda smiling over the chess-board, sent home many spectators, +as kind and simple-hearted as the master and mistress of +Fletcher's Ralpho, to cry themselves to sleep. + +No species of fiction is so delightful to us as the old English +drama. Even its inferior productions possess a charm not to be +found in any other kind of poetry. It is the most lucid mirror +that ever was held up to nature. The creations of the great +dramatists of Athens produce the effect of magnificent +sculptures, conceived by a mighty imagination, polished with the +utmost delicacy, embodying ideas of ineffable majesty and beauty, +but cold, pale, and rigid, with no bloom on the cheek, and no +speculation in the eye. In all the draperies, the figures, and +the faces, in the lovers and the tyrants, the Bacchanals and the +Furies, there is the same marble chillness and deadness. Most of +the characters of the French stage resemble the waxen gentlemen +and ladies in the window of a perfumer, rouged, curled, and +bedizened, but fixed in such stiff attitudes, and staring with +eyes expressive of such utter unmeaningness, that they cannot +produce an illusion for a single moment. In the English plays +alone is to be found the warmth, the mellowness, and the reality +of painting. We know the minds of men and women, as we know the +faces of the men and women of Vandyke. + +The excellence of these works is in a great measure the result of +two peculiarities, which the critics of the French school +consider as defects,--from the mixture of tragedy and comedy, and +from the length and extent of the action. The former is +necessary to render the drama a just representation of a world in +which the laughers and weepers are perpetually jostling each +other,--in which every event has its serious and ludicrous side. +The latter enables us to form an intimate acquaintance with +characters with which we could not possibly become familiar +during the few hours to which the unities restrict the poet. In +this respect, the works of Shakspeare, in particular, are +miracles of art. In a piece, which may be read aloud in three +hours, we see a character gradually unfold all its recesses to +us. We see it change with the change of circumstances. The +petulant youth rises into the politic and warlike sovereign. The +profuse and courteous philanthropist sours into a hater and +scorner of his kind. The tyrant is altered, by the chastening of +affliction, into a pensive moralist. The veteran general, +distinguished by coolness, sagacity, and self-command, sinks +under a conflict between love strong as death, and jealousy cruel +as the grave. The brave and loyal subject passes, step by step, +to the extremities of human depravity. We trace his progress, +from the first dawnings of unlawful ambition to the cynical +melancholy of his impenitent remorse. Yet, in these pieces, +there are no unnatural transitions. Nothing is omitted: nothing +is crowded. Great as are the changes, narrow as is the compass +within which they are exhibited, they shock us as little as the +gradual alterations of those familiar faces which we see every +evening and every morning. The magical skill of the poet +resembles that of the Dervise in the Spectator, who condensed all +the events of seven years into the single moment during which the +king held his head under the water. + +It is deserving of remark, that, at the time of which we speak, +the plays even of men not eminently distinguished by genius,-- +such, for example, as Jonson,--were far superior to the best +works of imagination in other departments. Therefore, though we +conceive that, from causes which we have already investigated, +our poetry must necessarily have declined, we think that, unless +its fate had been accelerated by external attacks, it might have +enjoyed an euthanasia, that genius might have been kept alive by +the drama till its place could, in some degree, be supplied by +taste,--that there would have been scarcely any interval between +the age of sublime invention and that of agreeable imitation. +The works of Shakspeare, which were not appreciated with any +degree of justice before the middle of the eighteenth century, +might then have been the recognised standards of excellence +during the latter part of the seventeenth; and he and the great +Elizabethan writers might have been almost immediately succeeded +by a generation of poets similar to those who adorn our own +times. + +But the Puritans drove imagination from its last asylum. They +prohibited theatrical representations, and stigmatised the whole +race of dramatists as enemies of morality and religion. Much +that is objectionable may be found in the writers whom they +reprobated; but whether they took the best measures for stopping +the evil appears to us very doubtful, and must, we think, have +appeared doubtful to themselves, when, after the lapse of a few +years, they saw the unclean spirit whom they had cast out return +to his old haunts, with seven others fouler than himself. + +By the extinction of the drama, the fashionable school of +poetry,--a school without truth of sentiment or harmony of +versification,--without the powers of an earlier, or the +correctness of a later age,--was left to enjoy undisputed +ascendency. A vicious ingenuity, a morbid quickness to perceive +resemblances and analogies between things apparently +heterogeneous, constituted almost its only claim to admiration. +Suckling was dead. Milton was absorbed in political and +theological controversy. If Waller differed from the Cowleian +sect of writers, he differed for the worse. He had as little +poetry as they, and much less wit; nor is the languor of his +verses less offensive than the ruggedness of theirs. In Denham +alone the faint dawn of a better manner was discernible. + +But, low as was the state of our poetry during the civil war and +the Protectorate, a still deeper fall was at hand. Hitherto our +literature had been idiomatic. In mind as in situation we had +been islanders. The revolutions in our taste, like the +revolutions in our government, had been settled without the +interference of strangers. Had this state of things continued, +the same just principles of reasoning which, about this time, +were applied with unprecedented success to every part of +philosophy would soon have conducted our ancestors to a sounder +code of criticism. There were already strong signs of +improvement. Our prose had at length worked itself clear from +those quaint conceits which still deformed almost every metrical +composition. The parliamentary debates, and the diplomatic +correspondence of that eventful period, had contributed much to +this reform. In such bustling times, it was absolutely necessary +to speak and write to the purpose. The absurdities of Puritanism +had, perhaps, done more. At the time when that odious style, +which deforms the writings of Hall and of Lord Bacon, was almost +universal, had appeared that stupendous work, the English Bible,- +-a book which, if everything else in our language should perish, +would alone suffice to show the whole extent of its beauty and +power. The respect which the translators felt for the original +prevented them from adding any of the hideous decorations then in +fashion. The groundwork of the version, indeed, was of an +earlier age. The familiarity with which the Puritans, on almost +every occasion, used the Scriptural phrases was no doubt very +ridiculous; but it produced good effects. It was a cant; but it +drove out a cant far more offensive. + +The highest kind of poetry is, in a great measure, independent of +those circumstances which regulate the style of composition in +prose. But with that inferior species of poetry which succeeds +to it the case is widely different. In a few years, the good +sense and good taste which had weeded out affectation from moral +and political treatises would, in the natural course of things, +have effected a similar reform in the sonnet and the ode. The +rigour of the victorious sectaries had relaxed. A dominant +religion is never ascetic. The Government connived at theatrical +representations. The influence of Shakspeare was once more felt. +But darker days were approaching. A foreign yoke was to be +imposed on our literature. Charles, surrounded by the companions +of his long exile, returned to govern a nation which ought never +to have cast him out or never to have received him back. Every +year which he had passed among strangers had rendered him more +unfit to rule his countrymen. In France he had seen the +refractory magistracy humbled, and royal prerogative, though +exercised by a foreign priest in the name of a child, victorious +over all opposition. This spectacle naturally gratified a prince +to whose family the opposition of Parliaments had been so fatal. +Politeness was his solitary good quality. The insults which he +had suffered in Scotland had taught him to prize it. The +effeminacy and apathy of his disposition fitted him to excel in +it. The elegance and vivacity of the French manners fascinated +him. With the political maxims and the social habits of his +favourite people, he adopted their taste in composition, and, +when seated on the throne, soon rendered it fashionable, partly +by direct patronage, but still more by that contemptible policy, +which, for a time, made England the last of the nations, and +raised Louis the Fourteenth to a height of power and fame, such +as no French sovereign had ever before attained. + +It was to please Charles that rhyme was first introduced into our +plays. Thus, a rising blow, which would at any time have been +mortal, was dealt to the English Drama, then just recovering from +its languishing condition. Two detestable manners, the +indigenous and the imported, were now in a state of alternate +conflict and amalgamation. The bombastic meanness of the new +style was blended with the ingenious absurdity of the old; and +the mixture produced something which the world had never before +seen, and which, we hope, it will never see again,--something, by +the side of which the worst nonsense of all other ages appears to +advantage--something, which those who have attempted to +caricature it have, against their will, been forced to flatter-- +of which the tragedy of Bayes is a very favourable specimen. +What Lord Dorset observed to Edward Howard might have been +addressed to almost all his contemporaries-- + +"As skilful divers to the bottom fall +Swifter than those who cannot swim at all; +So, in this way of writing without thinking, +Thou hast a strange alacrity in sinking." + +From this reproach some clever men of the world must be excepted, +and among them Dorset himself. Though by no means great poets, +or even good versifiers, they always wrote with meaning, and +sometimes with wit. Nothing indeed more strongly shows to what a +miserable state literature had fallen, than the immense +superiority which the occasional rhymes, carelessly thrown on +paper by men of this class, possess over the elaborate +productions of almost all the professed authors. The reigning +taste was so bad, that the success of a writer was in inverse +proportion to his labour, and to his desire of excellence. An +exception must be made for Butler, who had as much wit and +learning as Cowley, and who knew, what Cowley never knew, how to +use them. A great command of good homely English distinguishes +him still more from the other writers of the time. As for +Gondibert, those may criticise it who can read it. Imagination +was extinct. Taste was depraved. Poetry, driven from palaces, +colleges, and theatres, had found an asylum in the obscure +dwelling where a Great Man, born out of due season, in disgrace, +penury, pain and blindness, still kept uncontaminated a character +and a genius worthy of a better age. + +Everything about Milton is wonderful; but nothing is so wonderful +as that, in an age so unfavourable to poetry, he should have +produced the greatest of modern epic poems. We are not sure that +this is not in some degree to be attributed to his want of sight. +The imagination is notoriously most active when the external +world is shut out. In sleep its illusions are perfect. They +produce all the effect of realities. In darkness its visions are +always more distinct than in the light. Every person who amuses +himself with what is called building castles in the air must have +experienced this. We know artists who, before they attempt to +draw a face from memory, close their eyes, that they may recall a +more perfect image of the features and the expression. We are +therefore inclined to believe that the genius of Milton may have +been preserved from the influence of times so unfavourable to it +by his infirmity. Be this as it may, his works at first enjoyed +a very small share of popularity. To be neglected by his +contemporaries was the penalty which he paid for surpassing them. +His great poem was not generally studied or admired till writers +far inferior to him had, by obsequiously cringing to the public +taste, acquired sufficient favour to reform it. + +Of these, Dryden was the most eminent. Amidst the crowd of +authors who, during the earlier years of Charles the Second, +courted notoriety by every species of absurdity and affectation, +he speedily became conspicuous. No man exercised so much +influence on the age. The reason is obvious. On no man did the +age exercise so much influence. He was perhaps the greatest of +those whom we have designated as the critical poets; and his +literary career exhibited, on a reduced scale, the whole history +of the school to which he belonged,--the rudeness and +extravagance of its infancy,--the propriety, the grace, the +dignified good sense, the temperate splendour of its maturity. +His imagination was torpid, till it was awakened by his judgment. +He began with quaint parallels and empty mouthing. He gradually +acquired the energy of the satirist, the gravity of the moralist, +the rapture of the lyric poet. The revolution through which +English literature has been passing, from the time of Cowley to +that of Scott, may be seen in miniature within the compass of his +volumes. + +His life divides itself into two parts. There is some debatable +ground on the common frontier; but the line may be drawn with +tolerable accuracy. The year 1678 is that on which we should be +inclined to fix as the date of a great change in his manner. +During the preceding period appeared some of his courtly +panegyrics--his Annus Mirabilis, and most of his plays; indeed, +all his rhyming tragedies. To the subsequent period belong his +best dramas,--All for Love, the Spanish Friar, and Sebastian,-- +his satires, his translations, his didactic poems, his fables, +and his odes. + +Of the small pieces which were presented to chancellors and +princes it would scarcely be fair to speak. The greatest +advantage which the Fine Arts derive from the extension of +knowledge is, that the patronage of individuals becomes +unnecessary. Some writers still affect to regret the age of +patronage. None but bad writers have reason to regret it. It is +always an age of general ignorance. Where ten thousand readers +are eager for the appearance of a book, a small contribution from +each makes up a splendid remuneration for the author. Where +literature is a luxury, confined to few, each of them must pay +high. If the Empress Catherine, for example, wanted an epic +poem, she must have wholly supported the poet;--just as, in a +remote country village, a man who wants a muttonchop is sometimes +forced to take the whole sheep;--a thing which never happens +where the demand is large. But men who pay largely for the +gratification of their taste, will expect to have it united with +some gratification to their vanity. Flattery is carried to a +shameless extent; and the habit of flattery almost inevitably +introduces a false taste into composition. Its language is made +up of hyperbolical commonplaces,--offensive from their +triteness,--still more offensive from their extravagance. In no +school is the trick of overstepping the modesty of nature so +speedily acquired. The writer, accustomed to find exaggeration +acceptable and necessary on one subject, uses it on all. It is +not strange, therefore, that the early panegyrical verses of +Dryden should be made up of meanness and bombast. They abound +with the conceits which his immediate predecessors had brought +into fashion. But his language and his versification were +already far superior to theirs. + +The Annus Mirabilis shows great command of expression, and a fine +ear for heroic rhyme. Here its merits end. Not only has it no +claim to be called poetry, but it seems to be the work of a man +who could never, by any possibility, write poetry. Its affected +similes are the best part of it. Gaudy weeds present a more +encouraging spectacle than utter barrenness. There is scarcely a +single stanza in this long work to which the imagination seems to +have contributed anything. It is produced, not by creation, but +by construction. It is made up, not of pictures, but of +inferences. We will give a single instance, and certainly a +favourable instance,--a quatrain which Johnson has praised. +Dryden is describing the sea-fight with the Dutch-- + +"Amidst whole heaps of spices lights a ball; +And now their odours armed against them fly. +Some preciously by shattered porcelain fall, +And some by aromatic splinters die." + +The poet should place his readers, as nearly as possible, in the +situation of the sufferers or the spectators. His narration +ought to produce feelings similar to those which would be excited +by the event itself. Is this the case here? Who, in a sea- +fight, ever thought of the price of the china which beats out the +brains of a sailor; or of the odour of the splinter which +shatters his leg? It is not by an act of the imagination, at +once calling up the scene before the interior eye, but by painful +meditation,--by turning the subject round and round,--by tracing +out facts into remote consequences,--that these incongruous +topics are introduced into the description. Homer, it is true, +perpetually uses epithets which are not peculiarly appropriate. +Achilles is the swift-footed, when he is sitting still. Ulysses +is the much-enduring, when he has nothing to endure. Every spear +casts a long shadow, every ox has crooked horns, and every woman +a high bosom, though these particulars may be quite beside the +purpose. In our old ballads a similar practice prevails. The +gold is always red, and the ladies always gay, though nothing +whatever may depend on the hue of the gold, or the temper of the +ladies. But these adjectives are mere customary additions. They +merge in the substantives to which they are attached. If they at +all colour the idea, it is with a tinge so slight as in no +respect to alter the general effect. In the passage which we +have quoted from Dryden the case is very different. "Preciously" +and "aromatic" divert our whole attention to themselves, and +dissolve the image of the battle in a moment. The whole poem +reminds us of Lucan, and of the worst parts of Lucan,--the sea- +fight in the Bay of Marseilles, for example. The description of +the two fleets during the night is perhaps the only passage which +ought to be exempted from this censure. If it was from the Annus +Mirabilis that Milton formed his opinion, when he pronounced +Dryden a good rhymer but no poet, he certainly judged correctly. +But Dryden was, as we have said, one of those writers in whom the +period of imagination does not precede, but follow, the period of +observation and reflection. + +His plays, his rhyming plays in particular, are admirable +subjects for those who wish to study the morbid anatomy of the +drama. He was utterly destitute of the power of exhibiting real +human beings. Even in the far inferior talent of composing +characters out of those elements into which the imperfect process +of our reason can resolve them, he was very deficient. His men +are not even good personifications; they are not well-assorted +assemblages of qualities. Now and then, indeed, he seizes a very +coarse and marked distinction, and gives us, not a likeness, but +a strong caricature, in which a single peculiarity is protruded, +and everything else neglected; like the Marquis of Granby at an +inn-door, whom we know by nothing but his baldness; or Wilkes, +who is Wilkes only in his squint. These are the best specimens +of his skill. For most of his pictures seem, like Turkey +carpets, to have been expressly designed not to resemble anything +in the heavens above, in the earth beneath, or in the waters +under the earth. + +The latter manner he practises most frequently in his tragedies, +the former in his comedies. The comic characters are, without +mixture, loathsome and despicable. The men of Etherege and +Vanbrugh are bad enough. Those of Smollett are perhaps worse. +But they do not approach to the Celadons, the Wildbloods, the +Woodalls, and the Rhodophils of Dryden. The vices of these last +are set off by a certain fierce hard impudence, to which we know +nothing comparable. Their love is the appetite of beasts; their +friendship the confederacy of knaves. The ladies seem to have +been expressly created to form helps meet for such gentlemen. In +deceiving and insulting their old fathers they do not perhaps +exceed the license which, by immemorial prescription, has been +allowed to heroines. But they also cheat at cards, rob strong +boxes, put up their favours to auction, betray their friends, +abuse their rivals in the style of Billingsgate, and invite their +lovers in the language of the Piazza. These, it must be +remembered, are not the valets and waiting-women, the Mascarilles +and Nerines, but the recognised heroes and heroines who appear as +the representatives of good society, and who, at the end of the +fifth act, marry and live very happily ever after. The +sensuality, baseness, and malice of their natures is unredeemed +by any quality of a different description,--by any touch of +kindness,--or even by any honest burst of hearty hatred and +revenge. We are in a world where there is no humanity, no +veracity, no sense of shame,--a world for which any good-natured +man would gladly take in exchange the society of Milton's devils. +But as soon as we enter the regions of Tragedy, we find a great +change. There is no lack of fine sentiment there. Metastasio is +surpassed in his own department. Scuderi is out-scuderied. We +are introduced to people whose proceedings we can trace to no +motive,--of whose feelings we can form no more idea than of a +sixth sense. We have left a race of creatures, whose love is as +delicate and affectionate as the passion which an alderman feels +for a turtle. We find ourselves among beings, whose love is a +purely disinterested emotion,--a loyalty extending to passive +obedience,--a religion, like that of the Quietists, unsupported +by any sanction of hope or fear. We see nothing but despotism +without power, and sacrifices without compensation. + +We will give a few instances. In Aurengzebe, Arimant, governor +of Agra, falls in love with his prisoner Indamora. She rejects +his suit with scorn; but assures him that she shall make great +use of her power over him. He threatens to be angry. She +answers, very coolly: + +"Do not: your anger, like your love, is vain: +Whene'er I please, you must be pleased again. +Knowing what power I have your will to bend, +I'll use it; for I need just such a friend." + +This is no idle menace. She soon brings a letter addressed to +his rival,--orders him to read it,--asks him whether he thinks it +sufficiently tender,--and finally commands him to carry it +himself. Such tyranny as this, it may be thought, would justify +resistance. Arimant does indeed venture to remonstrate:-- + +"This fatal paper rather let me tear, +Than, like Bellerophon, my sentence bear." + +The answer of the lady is incomparable:-- + +"You may; but 'twill not be your best advice; +'Twill only give me pains of writing twice. +You know you must obey me, soon or late. +Why should you vainly struggle with your fate?" + +Poor Arimant seems to be of the same opinion. He mutters +something about fate and free-will, and walks off with the +billet-doux. + +In the Indian Emperor, Montezuma presents Almeria with a garland +as a token of his love, and offers to make her his queen. She +replies:-- + +"I take this garland, not as given by you; +But as my merit's and my beauty's due; +As for the crown which you, my slave, possess, +To share it with you would but make me less." + +In return for such proofs of tenderness as these, her admirer +consents to murder his two sons and a benefactor to whom he feels +the warmest gratitude. Lyndaraxa, in the Conquest of Granada, +assumes the same lofty tone with Abdelmelech. He complains that +she smiles upon his rival. + +"Lynd. And when did I my power so far resign, + That you should regulate each look of mine? + +Abdel. Then, when you gave your love, you gave that power. + +Lynd. 'Twas during pleasure--'tis revoked this hour. + +Abdel. I'll hate you, and this visit is my last. + +Lynd. Do, if you can: you know I hold you fast." + +That these passages violate all historical propriety, that +sentiments to which nothing similar was ever even affected except +by the cavaliers of Europe, are transferred to Mexico and Agra, +is a light accusation. We have no objection to a conventional +world, an Illyrian puritan, or a Bohemian seaport. While the +faces are good, we care little about the back-ground. Sir Joshua +Reynolds says that the curtains and hangings in an historical +painting ought to be, not velvet or cotton, but merely drapery. +The same principle should be applied to poetry and romance. The +truth of character is the first object; the truth of place and +time is to be considered only in the second place. Puff himself +could tell the actor to turn out his toes, and remind him that +Keeper Hatton was a great dancer. We wish that, in our own time, +a writer of a very different order from Puff had not too often +forgotten human nature in the niceties of upholstery, millinery, +and cookery. + +We blame Dryden, not because the persons of his dramas are not +Moors or Americans, but because they are not men and women;--not +because love, such as he represents it, could not exist in a +harem or in a wigwam, but because it could not exist anywhere. +As is the love of his heroes, such are all their other emotions. +All their qualities, their courage, their generosity, their +pride, are on the same colossal scale. Justice and prudence are +virtues which can exist only in a moderate degree, and which +change their nature and their name if pushed to excess. Of +justice and prudence, therefore, Dryden leaves his favourites +destitute. He did not care to give them what he could not give +without measure. The tyrants and ruffians are merely the heroes +altered by a few touches, similar to those which transformed the +honest face of Sir Roger de Coverley into the Saracen's head. +Through the grin and frown the original features are still +perceptible. + +It is in the tragi-comedies that these absurdities strike us +most. The two races of men, or rather the angels and the +baboons, are there presented to us together. We meet in one +scene with nothing but gross, selfish, unblushing, lying +libertines of both sexes, who, as a punishment, we suppose, for +their depravity, are condemned to talk nothing but prose. But, +as soon as we meet with people who speak in verse, we know that +we are in society which would have enraptured the Cathos and +Madelon of Moliere, in society for which Oroondates would have +too little of the lover, and Clelia too much of the coquette. + +As Dryden was unable to render his plays interesting by means of +that which is the peculiar and appropriate excellence of the +drama, it was necessary that he should find some substitute for +it. In his comedies he supplied its place, sometimes by wit, but +more frequently by intrigue, by disguises, mistakes of persons, +dialogues at cross purposes, hair-breadth escapes, perplexing +concealments, and surprising disclosures. He thus succeeded at +least in making these pieces very amusing. + +In his tragedies he trusted, and not altogether without reason, +to his diction and his versification. It was on this account, in +all probability, that he so eagerly adopted, and so reluctantly +abandoned, the practice of rhyming in his plays. What is +unnatural appears less unnatural in that species of verse than in +lines which approach more nearly to common conversation; and in +the management of the heroic couplet Dryden has never been +equalled. It is unnecessary to urge any arguments against a +fashion now universally condemned. But it is worthy of +observation, that, though Dryden was deficient in that talent +which blank verse exhibits to the greatest advantage, and was +certainly the best writer of heroic rhyme in our language, yet +the plays which have, from the time of their first appearance, +been considered as his best, are in blank verse. No experiment +can be more decisive. + +It must be allowed that the worst even of the rhyming tragedies +contains good description and magnificent rhetoric. But, even +when we forget that they are plays, and, passing by their +dramatic improprieties, consider them with reference to the +language, we are perpetually disgusted by passages which it is +difficult to conceive how any author could have written, or any +audience have tolerated, rants in which the raving violence of +the manner forms a strange contrast with the abject tameness of +the thought. The author laid the whole fault on the audience, +and declared that, when he wrote them, he considered them bad +enough to please. This defence is unworthy of a man of genius, +and after all, is no defence. Otway pleased without rant; and so +might Dryden have done, if he had possessed the powers of Otway. +The fact is, that he had a tendency to bombast, which, though +subsequently corrected by time and thought, was never wholly +removed, and which showed itself in performances not designed to +please the rude mob of the theatre. + +Some indulgent critics have represented this failing as an +indication of genius, as the profusion of unlimited wealth, the +wantonness of exuberant vigour. To us it seems to bear a nearer +affinity to the tawdriness of poverty, or the spasms and +convulsions of weakness. Dryden surely had not more imagination +than Homer, Dante, or Milton, who never fall into this vice. The +swelling diction of Aeschylus and Isaiah resembles that of +Almanzor and Maximin no more than the tumidity of a muscle +resembles the tumidity of a boil. The former is symptomatic of +health and strength, the latter of debility and disease. If ever +Shakspeare rants, it is not when his imagination is hurrying him +along, but when he is hurrying his imagination along,--when his +mind is for a moment jaded,--when, as was said of Euripides, he +resembles a lion, who excites his own fury by lashing himself +with his tail. What happened to Shakspeare from the occasional +suspension of his powers happened to Dryden from constant +impotence. He, like his confederate Lee, had judgment enough to +appreciate the great poets of the preceding age, but not judgment +enough to shun competition with them. He felt and admired their +wild and daring sublimity. That it belonged to another age than +that in which he lived and required other talents than those +which he possessed, that, in aspiring to emulate it, he was +wasting, in a hopeless attempt, powers which might render him +pre-eminent in a different career, was a lesson which he did not +learn till late. As those knavish enthusiasts, the French +prophets, courted inspiration by mimicking the writhings, +swoonings, and gaspings which they considered as its symptoms, he +attempted, by affected fits of poetical fury, to bring on a real +paroxysm; and, like them, he got nothing but his distortions for +his pains. + +Horace very happily compares those who, in his time, imitated +Pindar to the youth who attempted to fly to heaven on waxen +wings, and who experienced so fatal and ignominious a fall. His +own admirable good sense preserved him from this error, and +taught him to cultivate a style in which excellence was within +his reach. Dryden had not the same self-knowledge. He saw that +the greatest poets were never so successful as when they rushed +beyond the ordinary bounds, and that some inexplicable good +fortune preserved them from tripping even when they staggered on +the brink of nonsense. He did not perceive that they were guided +and sustained by a power denied to himself. They wrote from the +dictation of the imagination; and they found a response in the +imaginations of others. He, on the contrary, sat down to work +himself, by reflection and argument, into a deliberate wildness, +a rational frenzy. + +In looking over the admirable designs which accompany the Faust, +we have always been much struck by one which represents the +wizard and the tempter riding at full speed. The demon sits on +his furious horse as heedlessly as if he were reposing on a +chair. That he should keep his saddle in such a posture, would +seem impossible to any who did not know that he was secure in the +privileges of a superhuman nature. The attitude of Faust, on the +contrary, is the perfection of horsemanship. Poets of the first +order might safely write as desperately as Mephistopheles rode. +But Dryden, though admitted to communion with higher spirits, +though armed with a portion of their power, and intrusted with +some of their secrets, was of another race. What they might +securely venture to do, it was madness in him to attempt. It was +necessary that taste and critical science should supply his +deficiencies. + +We will give a few examples. Nothing can be finer than the +description of Hector at the Grecian wall:-- + +o d ar esthore phaidimos Ektor, +Nukti thoe atalantos upopia lampe de chalko +Smerdaleo, ton eesto peri chroi doia de chersi +Dour echen ouk an tis min erukakoi antibolesas, +Nosphi theun, ot esalto pulas puri d osse dedeei.-- +Autika d oi men teichos uperbasan, oi de kat autas +Poietas esechunto pulas Danaioi d ephobethen +Neas ana glaphuras omados d aliastos etuchthe. + +What daring expressions! Yet how significant! How picturesque! +Hector seems to rise up in his strength and fury. The gloom of +night in his frown,--the fire burning in his eyes,--the javelins +and the blazing armour,--the mighty rush through the gates and +down the battlements,--the trampling and the infinite roar of the +multitude,--everything is with us; everything is real. + +Dryden has described a very similar event in Maximin, and has +done his best to be sublime, as follows:-- + +"There with a forest of their darts he strove, +And stood like Capaneus defying Jove; +With his broad sword the boldest beating down, +Till Fate grew pale, lest he should win the town, +And turn'd the iron leaves of its dark book +To make new dooms, or mend what it mistook." + +How exquisite is the imagery of the fairy-songs in the Tempest +and the Midsummer Night's Dream; Ariel riding through the +twilight on the bat, or sucking in the bells of flowers with the +bee; or the little bower-women of Titania, driving the spiders +from the couch of the Queen! Dryden truly said, that + +"Shakspeare's magic could not copied be; +Within that circle none durst walk but he." + +It would have been well if he had not himself dared to step +within the enchanted line, and drawn on himself a fate similar to +that which, according to the old superstition, punished such +presumptuous interference. The following lines are parts of the +song of his fairies:-- + +"Merry, merry, merry, we sail from the East, +Half-tippled at a rainbow feast. +In the bright moonshine, while winds whistle loud, +Tivy, tivy, tivy, we mount and we fly, +All racking along in a downy white cloud; +And lest our leap from the sky prove too far, +We slide on the back of a new falling star, +And drop from above +In a jelly of love." + +These are very favourable instances. Those who wish for a bad +one may read the dying speeches of Maximin, and may compare them +with the last scenes of Othello and Lear. + +If Dryden had died before the expiration of the first of the +periods into which we have divided his literary life, he would +have left a reputation, at best, little higher than that of Lee +or Davenant. He would have been known only to men of letters; +and by them he would have been mentioned as a writer who threw +away, on subjects which he was incompetent to treat, powers +which, judiciously employed, might have raised him to eminence; +whose diction and whose numbers had sometimes very high merit, +but all whose works were blemished by a false taste, and by +errors of gross negligence. A few of his prologues and epilogues +might perhaps still have been remembered and quoted. In these +little pieces he early showed all the powers which afterwards +rendered him the greatest of modern satirists. But, during the +latter part of his life, he gradually abandoned the drama. His +plays appeared at longer intervals. He renounced rhyme in +tragedy. His language became less turgid--his characters less +exaggerated. He did not indeed produce correct representations +of human nature; but he ceased to daub such monstrous chimeras as +those which abound in his earlier pieces. Here and there +passages occur worthy of the best ages of the British stage. The +style which the drama requires changes with every change of +character and situation. He who can vary his manner to suit the +variation is the great dramatist; but he who excels in one manner +only will, when that manner happens to be appropriate, appear to +be a great dramatist; as the hands of a watch which does not go +point right once in the twelve hours. Sometimes there is a scene +of solemn debate. This a mere rhetorician may write as well as +the greatest tragedian that ever lived. We confess that to us +the speech of Sempronius in Cato seems very nearly as good as +Shakspeare could have made it. But when the senate breaks up, +and we find that the lovers and their mistresses, the hero, the +villain, and the deputy-villain, all continue to harangue in the +same style, we perceive the difference between a man who can +write a play and a man who can write a speech. In the same +manner, wit, a talent for description, or a talent for narration, +may, for a time, pass for dramatic genius. Dryden was an +incomparable reasoner in verse. He was conscious of his power; +he was proud of it; and the authors of the Rehearsal justly +charged him with abusing it. His warriors and princesses are +fond of discussing points of amorous casuistry, such as would +have delighted a Parliament of Love. They frequently go still +deeper, and speculate on philosophical necessity and the origin +of evil. + +There were, however, some occasions which absolutely required +this peculiar talent. Then Dryden was indeed at home. All his +best scenes are of this description. They are all between men; +for the heroes of Dryden, like many other gentlemen, can never +talk sense when ladies are in company. They are all intended to +exhibit the empire of reason over violent passion. We have two +interlocutors, the one eager and impassioned, the other high, +cool, and judicious. The composed and rational character +gradually acquires the ascendency. His fierce companion is first +inflamed to rage by his reproaches, then overawed by his +equanimity, convinced by his arguments, and soothed by his +persuasions. This is the case in the scene between Hector and +Troilus, in that between Antony and Ventidius, and in that +between Sebastian and Dorax. Nothing of the same kind in +Shakspeare is equal to them, except the quarrel between Brutus +and Cassius, which is worth them all three. + +Some years before his death, Dryden altogether ceased to write +for the stage. He had turned his powers in a new direction, with +success the most splendid and decisive. His taste had gradually +awakened his creative faculties. The first rank in poetry was +beyond his reach; but he challenged and secured the most +honourable place in the second. His imagination resembled the +wings of an ostrich; it enabled him to run, though not to soar. +When he attempted the highest flights, he became ridiculous; but, +while he remained in a lower region, he out-stripped all +competitors. + +All his natural and all his acquired powers fitted him to found a +good critical school of poetry. Indeed he carried his reforms +too far for his age. After his death our literature retrograded; +and a century was necessary to bring it back to the point at +which he left it. The general soundness and healthfulness of his +mental constitution, his information, of vast superficies, though +of small volume, his wit scarcely inferior to that of the most +distinguished followers of Donne, his eloquence, grave, +deliberate, and commanding, could not save him from disgraceful +failure as a rival of Shakspeare, but raised him far above the +level of Boileau. His command of language was immense. With him +died the secret of the old poetical diction of England,--the art +of producing rich effects by familiar words. In the following +century it was as completely lost as the Gothic method of +painting glass, and was but poorly supplied by the laborious and +tesselated imitations of Mason and Gray. On the other hand, he +was the first writer under whose skilful management the +scientific vocabulary fell into natural and pleasing verse. In +this department, he succeeded as completely as his contemporary +Gibbons succeeded in the similar enterprise of carving the most +delicate flowers from heart of oak. The toughest and most knotty +parts of language became ductile at his touch. His +versification, in the same manner, while it gave the first model +of that neatness and precision which the following generation +esteemed so highly, exhibited at the same time, the last examples +of nobleness, freedom, variety of pause, and cadence. His +tragedies in rhyme, however worthless in themselves, had at least +served the purpose of nonsense-verses; they had taught him all +the arts of melody which the heroic couplet admits. For bombast, +his prevailing vice, his new subjects gave little opportunity; +his better taste gradually discarded it. + +He possessed, as we have said, in a pre-eminent degree the power +of reasoning in verse; and this power was now peculiarly useful +to him. His logic is by no means uniformly sound. On points of +criticism, he always reasons ingeniously; and when he is disposed +to be honest, correctly. But the theological and political +questions which he undertook to treat in verse were precisely +those which he understood least. His arguments, therefore, are +often worthless. But the manner in which they are stated is +beyond all praise. The style is transparent. The topics follow +each other in the happiest order. The objections are drawn up in +such a manner that the whole fire of the reply may be brought to +bear on them. The circumlocutions which are substituted for +technical phrases are clear, neat, and exact. The illustrations +at once adorn and elucidate the reasoning. The sparkling +epigrams of Cowley, and the simple garrulity of the burlesque +poets of Italy, are alternately employed, in the happiest manner, +to give effect to what is obvious or clearness to what is +obscure. + +His literary creed was catholic, even to latitudinarianism; not +from any want of acuteness, but from a disposition to be easily +satisfied. He was quick to discern the smallest glimpse of +merit; he was indulgent even to gross improprieties, when +accompanied by any redeeming talent. When he said a severe +thing, it was to serve a temporary purpose,--to support an +argument, or to tease a rival. Never was so able a critic so +free from fastidiousness. He loved the old poets, especially +Shakspeare. He admired the ingenuity which Donne and Cowley had +so wildly abused. He did justice, amidst the general silence, to +the memory of Milton. He praised to the skies the school-boy +lines of Addison. Always looking on the fair side of every +object, he admired extravagance on account of the invention which +he supposed it to indicate; he excused affectation in favour of +wit; he tolerated even tameness for the sake of the correctness +which was its concomitant. + +It was probably to this turn of mind, rather than to the more +disgraceful causes which Johnson has assigned, that we are to +attribute the exaggeration which disfigures the panegyrics of +Dryden. No writer, it must be owned, has carried the flattery of +dedication to a greater length. But this was not, we suspect, +merely interested servility: it was the overflowing of a mind +singularly disposed to admiration,--of a mind which diminished +vices, and magnified virtues and obligations. The most adulatory +of his addresses is that in which he dedicates the State of +Innocence to Mary of Modena. Johnson thinks it strange that any +man should use such language without self-detestation. But he +has not remarked that to the very same work is prefixed an +eulogium on Milton, which certainly could not have been +acceptable at the Court of Charles the Second. Many years later, +when Whig principles were in a great measure triumphant, Sprat +refused to admit a monument of John Phillips into Westminster +Abbey--because, in the epitaph, the name of Milton incidentally +occurred. The walls of his church, he declared, should not be +polluted by the name of a republican! Dryden was attached, both +by principle and interest, to the Court. But nothing could +deaden his sensibility to excellence. We are unwilling to accuse +him severely, because the same disposition, which prompted him to +pay so generous a tribute to the memory of a poet whom his +patrons detested, hurried him into extravagance when he described +a princess distinguished by the splendour of her beauty and the +graciousness of her manners. + +This is an amiable temper; but it is not the temper of great men. +Where there is elevation of character, there will be +fastidiousness. It is only in novels and on tombstones that we +meet with people who are indulgent to the faults of others, and +unmerciful to their own; and Dryden, at all events, was not one +of these paragons. His charity was extended most liberally to +others; but it certainly began at home. In taste he was by no +means deficient. His critical works are, beyond all comparison, +superior to any which had, till then, appeared in England. They +were generally intended as apologies for his own poems, rather +than as expositions of general principles; he, therefore, often +attempts to deceive the reader by sophistry which could scarcely +have deceived himself. His dicta are the dicta, not of a judge, +but of an advocate:--often of an advocate in an unsound cause. +Yet, in the very act of misrepresenting the laws of composition, +he shows how well he understands them. But he was perpetually +acting against his better knowledge. His sins were sins against +light. He trusted that what was bad would be pardoned for the +sake of what was good. What was good, he took no pains to make +better. He was not, like most persons who rise to eminence, +dissatisfied even with his best productions. He had set up no +unattainable standard of perfection, the contemplation of which +might at once improve and mortify him. His path was not attended +by an unapproachable mirage of excellence, for ever receding, and +for ever pursued. He was not disgusted by the negligence of +others; and he extended the same toleration to himself. His mind +was of a slovenly character,--fond of splendour, but indifferent +to neatness. Hence most of his writings exhibit the sluttish +magnificence of a Russian noble, all vermin and diamonds, dirty +linen and inestimable sables. Those faults which spring from +affectation, time and thought in a great measure removed from his +poems. But his carelessness he retained to the last. If towards +the close of his life he less frequently went wrong from +negligence, it was only because long habits of composition +rendered it more easy to go right. In his best pieces we find +false rhymes,--triplets, in which the third line appears to be a +mere intruder, and, while it breaks the music, adds nothing to +the meaning,--gigantic Alexandrines of fourteen and sixteen +syllables, and truncated verses for which he never troubled +himself to find a termination or a partner. + +Such are the beauties and the faults which may be found in +profusion throughout the later works of Dryden. A more just and +complete estimate of his natural and acquired powers,--of the +merits of his style and of its blemishes,--may be formed from the +Hind and Panther, than from any of his other writings. As a +didactic poem, it is far superior to the Religio Laici. The +satirical parts, particularly the character of Burnet, are +scarcely inferior to the best passages in Absalom and Achitophel. +There are, moreover, occasional touches of a tenderness which +affects us more, because it is decent, rational, and manly, and +reminds us of the best scenes in his tragedies. His +versification sinks and swells in happy unison with the subject; +and his wealth of language seems to be unlimited. Yet, the +carelessness with which he has constructed his plot, and the +innumerable inconsistencies into which he is every moment +falling, detract much from the pleasure which such various +excellence affords. + +In Absalom and Achitophel he hit upon a new and rich vein, which +he worked with signal success. They ancient satirists were the +subjects of a despotic government. They were compelled to +abstain from political topics, and to confine their attention to +the frailties of private life. They might, indeed, sometimes +venture to take liberties with public men, + +"Quorum Flaminia tegitur cinis atque Latina." + +Thus Juvenal immortalised the obsequious senators who met to +decide the fate of the memorable turbot. His fourth satire +frequently reminds us of the great political poem of Dryden; but +it was not written till Domitian had fallen: and it wants +something of the peculiar flavour which belongs to contemporary +invective alone. His anger has stood so long that, though the +body is not impaired, the effervescence, the first cream, is +gone. Boileau lay under similar restraints; and, if he had been +free from all restraints, would have been no match for our +countryman. + +The advantages which Dryden derived from the nature of his +subject he improved to the very utmost. His manner is almost +perfect. The style of Horace and Boileau is fit only for light +subjects. The Frenchman did indeed attempt to turn the +theological reasonings of the Provincial Letters into verse, but +with very indifferent success. The glitter of Pope is gold. The +ardour of Persius is without brilliancy. Magnificent +versification and ingenious combinations rarely harmonise with +the expression of deep feeling. In Juvenal and Dryden alone we +have the sparkle and the heat together. Those great satirists +succeeded in communicating the fervour of their feelings to +materials the most incombustible, and kindled the whole mass into +a blaze, at once dazzling and destructive. We cannot, indeed, +think, without regret, of the part which so eminent a writer as +Dryden took in the disputes of that period. There was, no doubt, +madness and wickedness on both sides. But there was liberty on +the one, and despotism on the other. On this point, however, we +will not dwell. At Talavera the English and French troops for a +moment suspended their conflict, to drink of a stream which +flowed between them. The shells were passed across from enemy to +enemy without apprehension or molestation. We, in the same +manner, would rather assist our political adversaries to drink +with us of that fountain of intellectual pleasure, which should +be the common refreshment of both parties, than disturb and +pollute it with the havoc of unseasonable hostilities. + +Macflecnoe is inferior to Absalom and Achitophel only in the +subject. In the execution it is even superior. But the greatest +work of Dryden was the last, the Ode on Saint Cecilia's Day. It +is the masterpiece of the second class of poetry, and ranks but +just below the great models of the first. It reminds us of the +Pedasus of Achilles-- + +os, kai thnetos eon, epeth ippois athanatoisi. + +By comparing it with the impotent ravings of the heroic tragedies +we may measure the progress which the mind of Dryden had made. +He had learned to avoid a too audacious competition with higher +natures, to keep at a distance from the verge of bombast or +nonsense, to venture on no expression which did not convey a +distinct idea to his own mind. There is none of that "darkness +visible" of style which he had formerly affected, and in which +the greatest poets only can succeed. Everything is definite, +significant, and picturesque. His early writings resembled the +gigantic works of those Chinese gardeners who attempt to rival +nature herself, to form cataracts of terrific height and sound, +to raise precipitous ridges of mountains, and to imitate in +artificial plantations the vastness and the gloom of some +primeval forest. This manner he abandoned; nor did he ever adopt +the Dutch taste which Pope affected, the trim parterres, and the +rectangular walks. He rather resembled our Kents and Browns, who +imitating the great features of landscape without emulating them, +consulting the genius of the place, assisting nature and +carefully disguising their art, produced, not a Chamouni or a +Niagara, but a Stowe or a Hagley. + +We are, on the whole, inclined to regret that Dryden did not +accomplish his purpose of writing an epic poem. It certainly +would not have been a work of the highest rank. It would not +have rivalled the Iliad, the Odyssey, or the Paradise Lost; but +it would have been superior to the productions of Apollonius, +Lucan, or Statius, and not inferior to the Jerusalem Delivered. +It would probably have been a vigorous narrative, animated with +something of the spirit of the old romances, enriched with much +splendid description, and interspersed with fine declamations and +disquisitions. The danger of Dryden would have been from aiming +too high; from dwelling too much, for example, on his angels of +kingdoms, and attempting a competition with that great writer who +in his own time had so incomparably succeeded in representing to +us the sights and sounds of another world. To Milton, and to +Milton alone, belonged the secrets of the great deep, the beach +of sulphur, the ocean of fire, the palaces of the fallen +dominations, glimmering through the everlasting shade, the silent +wilderness of verdure and fragrance where armed angels kept watch +over the sleep of the first lovers, the portico of diamond, the +sea of jasper, the sapphire pavement empurpled with celestial +roses, and the infinite ranks of the Cherubim, blazing with +adamant and gold. The council, the tournament, the procession, +the crowded cathedral, the camp, the guard-room, the chase, were +the proper scenes for Dryden. + +But we have not space to pass in review all the works which +Dryden wrote. We, therefore, will not speculate longer on those +which he might possibly have written. He may, on the whole, be +pronounced to have been a man possessed of splendid talents, +which he often abused, and of a sound judgment, the admonitions +of which he often neglected; a man who succeeded only in an +inferior department of his art, but who, in that department, +succeeded pre-eminently; and who with a more independent spirit, +a more anxious desire of excellence, and more respect for +himself, would, in his own walk, have attained to absolute +perfection. + + +HISTORY. + +(May 1828.) + +"The Romance of History. England." By Henry Neele. London, +1828. + +To write history respectably--that is, to abbreviate despatches, +and make extracts from speeches, to intersperse in due proportion +epithets of praise and abhorrence, to draw up antithetical +characters of great men, setting forth how many contradictory +virtues and vices they united, and abounding in "withs" and +"withouts"--all this is very easy. But to be a really great +historian is perhaps the rarest of intellectual distinctions. +Many scientific works are, in their kind, absolutely perfect. +There are poems which we should be inclined to designate as +faultless, or as disfigured only by blemishes which pass +unnoticed in the general blaze of excellence. There are +speeches, some speeches of Demosthenes particularly, in which it +would be impossible to alter a word without altering it for the +worse. But we are acquainted with no history which approaches to +our notion of what a history ought to be--with no history which +does not widely depart, either on the right hand or on the left, +from the exact line. + +The cause may easily be assigned. This province of literature is +a debatable land. It lies on the confines of two distinct +territories. It is under the jurisdiction of two hostile powers; +and, like other districts similarly situated, it is ill defined, +ill cultivated, and ill regulated. Instead of being equally +shared between its two rulers, the Reason and the Imagination, it +falls alternately under the sole and absolute dominion of each. +It is sometimes fiction. It is sometimes theory. + +History, it has been said, is philosophy teaching by examples. +Unhappily, what the philosophy gains in soundness and depth the +examples generally lose in vividness. A perfect historian must +possess an imagination sufficiently powerful to make his +narrative affecting and picturesque. Yet he must control it so +absolutely as to content himself with the materials which he +finds, and to refrain from supplying deficiencies by additions of +his own. He must be a profound and ingenious reasoner. Yet he +must possess sufficient self-command to abstain from casting his +facts in the mould of his hypothesis. Those who can justly +estimate these almost insuperable difficulties will not think it +strange that every writer should have failed, either in the +narrative or in the speculative department of history. + +It may be laid down as a general rule, though subject to +considerable qualifications and exceptions, that history begins +in novel and ends in essay. Of the romantic historians Herodotus +is the earliest and the best. His animation, his simple-hearted +tenderness, his wonderful talent for description and dialogue, +and the pure sweet flow of his language, place him at the head of +narrators. He reminds us of a delightful child. There is a +grace beyond the reach of affectation in his awkwardness, a +malice in his innocence, an intelligence in his nonsense, an +insinuating eloquence in his lisp. We know of no writer who +makes such interest for himself and his book in the heart of the +reader. At the distance of three-and-twenty centuries, we feel +for him the same sort of pitying fondness which Fontaine and Gay +are said to have inspired in society. He has written an +incomparable book. He has written something better perhaps than +the best history; but he has not written a good history; he is, +from the first to the last chapter, an inventor. We do not here +refer merely to those gross fictions with which he has been +reproached by the critics of later times. We speak of that +colouring which is equally diffused over his whole narrative, and +which perpetually leaves the most sagacious reader in doubt what +to reject and what to receive. The most authentic parts of his +work bear the same relation to his wildest legends which Henry +the Fifth bears to the Tempest. There was an expedition +undertaken by Xerxes against Greece; and there was an invasion of +France. There was a battle at Plataea; and there was a battle at +Agincourt. Cambridge and Exeter, the Constable and the Dauphin, +were persons as real as Demaratus and Pausanias. The harangue of +the Archbishop on the Salic Law and the Book of Numbers differs +much less from the orations which have in all ages proceeded from +the right reverend bench than the speeches of Mardonius and +Artabanus from those which were delivered at the council-board of +Susa. Shakspeare gives us enumerations of armies, and returns of +killed and wounded, which are not, we suspect, much less accurate +than those of Herodotus. There are passages in Herodotus nearly +as long as acts of Shakspeare, in which everything is told +dramatically, and in which the narrative serves only the purpose +of stage-directions. It is possible, no doubt, that the +substance of some real conversations may have been reported to +the historian. But events which, if they ever happened, happened +in ages and nations so remote that the particulars could never +have been known to him, are related with the greatest minuteness +of detail. We have all that Candaules said to Gyges, and all +that passed between Astyages and Harpagus. We are, therefore, +unable to judge whether, in the account which he gives of +transactions respecting which he might possibly have been well +informed, we can trust to anything beyond the naked outline; +whether, for example, the answer of Gelon to the ambassadors of +the Grecian confederacy, or the expressions which passed between +Aristides and Themistocles at their famous interview, have been +correctly transmitted to us. The great events are, no doubt, +faithfully related. So, probably, are many of the slighter +circumstances; but which of them it is impossible to ascertain. +The fictions are so much like the facts, and the facts so much +like the fictions, that, with respect to many most interesting +particulars, our belief is neither given nor withheld, but +remains in an uneasy and interminable state of abeyance. We know +that there is truth; but we cannot exactly decide where it lies. + +The faults of Herodotus are the faults of a simple and +imaginative mind. Children and servants are remarkably +Herodotean in their style of narration. They tell everything +dramatically. Their "says hes" and "says shes" are proverbial. +Every person who has had to settle their disputes knows that, +even when they have no intention to deceive, their reports of +conversation always require to be carefully sifted. If an +educated man were giving an account of the late change of +administration, he would say--"Lord Goderich resigned; and the +King, in consequence, sent for the Duke of Wellington." A porter +tells the story as if he had been hid behind the curtains of the +royal bed at Windsor: "So Lord Goderich says, 'I cannot manage +this business; I must go out.' So the King says,--says he, +'Well, then, I must send for the Duke of Wellington--that's +all.'" This is in the very manner of the father of history. + +Herodotus wrote as it was natural that he should write. He wrote +for a nation susceptible, curious, lively, insatiably desirous of +novelty and excitement; for a nation in which the fine arts had +attained their highest excellence, but in which philosophy was +still in its infancy. His countrymen had but recently begun to +cultivate prose composition. Public transactions had generally +been recorded in verse. The first historians might, therefore, +indulge without fear of censure in the license allowed to their +predecessors the bards. Books were few. The events of former +times were learned from tradition and from popular ballads; the +manners of foreign countries from the reports of travellers. It +is well known that the mystery which overhangs what is distant, +either in space or time, frequently prevents us from censuring as +unnatural what we perceive to be impossible. We stare at a +dragoon who has killed three French cuirassiers, as a prodigy; +yet we read, without the least disgust, how Godfrey slew his +thousands, and Rinaldo his ten thousands. Within the last +hundred years, stories about China and Bantam, which ought not to +have imposed on an old nurse, were gravely laid down as +foundations of political theories by eminent philosophers. What +the time of the Crusades is to us, the generation of Croesus and +Solon was to the Greeks of the time of Herodotus. Babylon was to +them what Pekin was to the French academicians of the last +century. + +For such a people was the book of Herodotus composed; and, if we +may trust to a report, not sanctioned indeed by writers of high +authority, but in itself not improbable, it was composed, not to +be read, but to be heard. It was not to the slow circulation of +a few copies, which the rich only could possess, that the +aspiring author looked for his reward. The great Olympian +festival,--the solemnity which collected multitudes, proud of the +Grecian name, from the wildest mountains of Doris, and the +remotest colonies of Italy and Libya,--was to witness his +triumph. The interest of the narrative, and the beauty of the +style, were aided by the imposing effect of recitation,--by the +splendour of the spectacle,--by the powerful influence of +sympathy. A critic who could have asked for authorities in the +midst of such a scene must have been of a cold and sceptical +nature; and few such critics were there. As was the historian, +such were the auditors,--inquisitive, credulous, easily moved by +religious awe or patriotic enthusiasm. They were the very men to +hear with delight of strange beasts, and birds, and trees,--of +dwarfs, and giants, and cannibals--of gods, whose very names it +was impiety to utter,--of ancient dynasties, which had left +behind them monuments surpassing all the works of later times,-- +of towns like provinces,--of rivers like seas,--of stupendous +walls, and temples, and pyramids,--of the rites which the Magi +performed at daybreak on the tops of the mountains,--of the +secrets inscribed on the eternal obelisks of Memphis. With equal +delight they would have listened to the graceful romances of +their own country. They now heard of the exact accomplishment of +obscure predictions, of the punishment of crimes over which the +justice of heaven had seemed to slumber,--of dreams, omens, +warnings from the dead,--of princesses, for whom noble suitors +contended in every generous exercise of strength and skill,--of +infants, strangely preserved from the dagger of the assassin, to +fulfil high destinies. + +As the narrative approached their own times, the interest became +still more absorbing. The chronicler had now to tell the story +of that great conflict from which Europe dates its intellectual +and political supremacy,--a story which, even at this distance of +time, is the most marvellous and the most touching in the annals +of the human race,--a story abounding with all that is wild and +wonderful, with all that is pathetic and animating; with the +gigantic caprices of infinite wealth and despotic power--with the +mightier miracles of wisdom, of virtue, and of courage. He told +them of rivers dried up in a day,--of provinces famished for a +meal,--of a passage for ships hewn through the mountains,--of a +road for armies spread upon the waves,--of monarchies and +commonwealths swept away,--of anxiety, of terror, of confusion, +of despair!--and then of proud and stubborn hearts tried in that +extremity of evil, and not found wanting,--of resistance long +maintained against desperate odds,--of lives dearly sold, when +resistance could be maintained no more,--of signal deliverance, +and of unsparing revenge. Whatever gave a stronger air of +reality to a narrative so well calculated to inflame the +passions, and to flatter national pride, was certain to be +favourably received. + +Between the time at which Herodotus is said to have composed his +history, and the close of the Peloponnesian war, about forty +years elapsed,--forty years, crowded with great military and +political events. The circumstances of that period produced a +great effect on the Grecian character; and nowhere was this +effect so remarkable as in the illustrious democracy of Athens. +An Athenian, indeed, even in the time of Herodotus, would +scarcely have written a book so romantic and garrulous as that of +Herodotus. As civilisation advanced, the citizens of that famous +republic became still less visionary, and still less simple- +hearted. They aspired to know where their ancestors had been +content to doubt; they began to doubt where their ancestors had +thought it their duty to believe. Aristophanes is fond of +alluding to this change in the temper of his countrymen. The +father and son, in the Clouds, are evidently representatives of +the generations to which they respectively belonged. Nothing +more clearly illustrates the nature of this moral revolution than +the change which passed upon tragedy. The wild sublimity of +Aeschylus became the scoff of every young Phidippides. Lectures +on abstruse points of philosophy, the fine distinctions of +casuistry, and the dazzling fence of rhetoric, were substituted +for poetry. The language lost something of that infantine +sweetness which had characterised it. It became less like the +ancient Tuscan, and more like the modern French. + +The fashionable logic of the Greeks was, indeed, far from strict. +Logic never can be strict where books are scarce, and where +information is conveyed orally. We are all aware how frequently +fallacies, which, when set down on paper, are at once detected, +pass for unanswerable arguments when dexterously and volubly +urged in Parliament, at the bar, or in private conversation. The +reason is evident. We cannot inspect them closely enough to +perceive their inaccuracy. We cannot readily compare them with +each other. We lose sight of one part of the subject before +another, which ought to be received in connection with it, comes +before us; and as there is no immutable record of what has been +admitted and of what has been denied, direct contradictions pass +muster with little difficulty. Almost all the education of a +Greek consisted in talking and listening. His opinions on +government were picked up in the debates of the assembly. If he +wished to study metaphysics, instead of shutting himself up with +a book, he walked down to the market-place to look for a sophist. +So completely were men formed to these habits, that even writing +acquired a conversational air. The philosophers adopted the form +of dialogue, as the most natural mode of communicating knowledge. +Their reasonings have the merits and the defects which belong to +that species of composition, and are characterised rather by +quickness and subtilty than by depth and precision. Truth is +exhibited in parts, and by glimpses. Innumerable clever hints +are given; but no sound and durable system is erected. The +argumentum ad hominem, a kind of argument most efficacious in +debate, but utterly useless for the investigation of general +principles, is among their favourite resources. Hence, though +nothing can be more admirable than the skill which Socrates +displays in the conversations which Plato has reported or +invented, his victories, for the most part, seem to us +unprofitable. A trophy is set up; but no new province is added +to the dominions of the human mind. + +Still, where thousands of keen and ready intellects were +constantly employed in speculating on the qualiies of actions and +on the principles of government, it was impossible that history +should retain its whole character. It became less gossiping and +less picturesque; but much more accurate, and somewhat more +scientific. + +The history of Thucydides differs from that of Herodotus as a +portrait differs from the representation of an imaginary scene; +as the Burke or Fox of Reynolds differs from his Ugolino or his +Beaufort. In the former case, the archetype is given: in the +latter it is created. The faculties which are required for the +latter purpose are of a higher and rarer order than those which +suffice for the former, and indeed necessarily comprise them. He +who is able to paint what he sees with the eye of the mind will +surely be able to paint what he sees with the eye of the body. +He who can invent a story, and tell it well, will also be able to +tell, in an interesting manner, a story which he has not +invented. If, in practice, some of the best writers of fiction +have been among the worst writers of history, it has been because +one of their talents had merged in another so completely that it +could not be severed; because, having long been habituated to +invent and narrate at the same time, they found it impossible to +narrate without inventing. + +Some capricious and discontented artists have affected to +consider portrait-painting as unworthy of a man of genius. Some +critics have spoken in the same contemptuous manner of history. +Johnson puts the case thus: The historian tells either what is +false or what is true: in the former case he is no historian: +in the latter he has no opportunity for displaying his abilities: +for truth is one: and all who tell the truth must tell it alike. + +It is not difficult to elude both the horns of this dilemma. We +will recur to the analogous art of portrait-painting. Any man +with eyes and hands may be taught to take a likeness. The +process, up to a certain point, is merely mechanical. If this +were all, a man of talents might justly despise the occupation. +But we could mention portraits which are resemblances,--but not +mere resemblances; faithful,--but much more than faithful; +portraits which condense into one point of time, and exhibit, at +a single glance, the whole history of turbid and eventful lives-- +in which the eye seems to scrutinise us, and the mouth to command +us--in which the brow menaces, and the lip almost quivers with +scorn--in which every wrinkle is a comment on some important +transaction. The account which Thucydides has given of the +retreat from Syracuse is, among narratives, what Vandyke's Lord +Strafford is among paintings. + +Diversity, it is said, implies error: truth is one, and admits +of no degrees. We answer, that this principle holds good only in +abstract reasonings. When we talk of the truth of imitation in +the fine arts, we mean an imperfect and a graduated truth. No +picture is exactly like the original; nor is a picture good in +proportion as it is like the original. When Sir Thomas Lawrence +paints a handsome peeress, he does not contemplate her through a +powerful microscope, and transfer to the canvas the pores of the +skin, the blood-vessels of the eye, and all the other beauties +which Gulliver discovered in the Brobdingnagian maids of honour. +If he were to do this, the effect would not merely be unpleasant, +but, unless the scale of the picture were proportionably +enlarged, would be absolutely FALSE. And, after all, a +microscope of greater power than that which he had employed would +convict him of innumerable omissions. The same may be said of +history. Perfectly and absolutely true it cannot be: for, to be +perfectly and absolutely true, it ought to record ALL the +slightest particulars of the slightest transactions--all the +things done and all the words uttered during the time of which it +treats. The omission of any circumstance, however insignificant, +would be a defect. If history were written thus, the Bodleian +Library would not contain the occurrences of a week. What is +told in the fullest and most accurate annals bears an infinitely +small proportion to what is suppressed. The difference between +the copious work of Clarendon and the account of the civil wars +in the abridgment of Goldsmith vanishes when compared with the +immense mass of facts respecting which both are equally silent. + +No picture, then, and no history, can present us with the whole +truth: but those are the best pictures and the best histories +which exhibit such parts of the truth as most nearly produce the +effect of the whole. He who is deficient in the art of selection +may, by showing nothing but the truth, produce all the effect of +the grossest falsehood. It perpetually happens that one writer +tells less truth than another, merely because he tells more +truths. In the imitative arts we constantly see this. There are +lines in the human face, and objects in landscape, which stand in +such relations to each other, that they ought either to be all +introduced into a painting together or all omitted together. A +sketch into which none of them enters may be excellent; but, if +some are given and others left out, though there are more points +of likeness, there is less likeness. An outline scrawled with a +pen, which seizes the marked features of a countenance, will give +a much stronger idea of it than a bad painting in oils. Yet the +worst painting in oils that ever hung at Somerset House resembles +the original in many more particulars. A bust of white marble +may give an excellent idea of a blooming face. Colour the lips +and cheeks of the bust, leaving the hair and eyes unaltered, and +the similarity, instead of being more striking, will be less so. + +History has its foreground and its background: and it is +principally in the management of its perspective that one artist +differs from another. Some events must be represented on a large +scale, others diminished; the great majority will be lost in the +dimness of the horizon; and a general idea of their joint effect +will be given by a few slight touches. + +In this respect no writer has ever equalled Thucydides. He was a +perfect master of the art of gradual diminution. His history is +sometimes as concise as a chronological chart; yet it is always +perspicuous. It is sometimes as minute as one of Lovelace's +letters; yet it is never prolix. He never fails to contract and +to expand it in the right place. + +Thucydides borrowed from Herodotus the practice of putting +speeches of his own into the mouths of his characters. In +Herodotus this usage is scarcely censurable. It is of a piece +with his whole manner. But it is altogether incongruous in the +work of his successor, and violates, not only the accuracy of +history, but the decencies of fiction. When once we enter into +the spirit of Herodotus, we find no inconsistency. The +conventional probability of his drama is preserved from the +beginning to the end. The deliberate orations, and the familiar +dialogues, are in strict keeping with each other. But the +speeches of Thucydides are neither preceded nor followed by +anything with which they harmonise. They give to the whole book +something of the grotesque character of those Chinese pleasure- +grounds in which perpendicular rocks of granite start up in the +midst of a soft green plain. Invention is shocking where truth +is in such close juxtaposition with it. + +Thucydides honestly tells us that some of these discourses are +purely fictitious. He may have reported the substance of others +correctly, but it is clear from the internal evidence that he has +preserved no more than the substance. His own peculiar habits of +thought and expression are everywhere discernible. Individual +and national peculiarities are seldom to be traced in the +sentiments, and never in the diction. The oratory of the +Corinthians and Thebans is not less Attic, either in matter or in +manner, than that of the Athenians. The style of Cleon is as +pure, as austere, as terse, and as significant, as that of +Pericles. + +In spite of this great fault, it must be allowed that Thucydides +has surpassed all his rivals in the art of historical narration, +in the art of producing an effect on the imagination, by skilful +selection and disposition, without indulging in the license of +invention. But narration, though an important part of the +business of a historian, is not the whole. To append a moral to +a work of fiction is either useless or superfluous. A fiction +may give a more impressive effect to what is already known; but +it can teach nothing new. If it presents to us characters and +trains of events to which our experience furnishes us with +nothing similar, instead of deriving instruction from it, we +pronounce it unnatural. We do not form our opinions from it; but +we try it by our preconceived opinions. Fiction, therefore, is +essentially imitative. Its merit consists in its resemblance to +a model with which we are already familiar, or to which at least +we can instantly refer. Hence it is that the anecdotes which +interest us most strongly in authentic narrative are offensive +when introduced into novels; that what is called the romantic +part of history is in fact the least romantic. It is delightful +as history, because it contradicts our previous notions of human +nature, and of the connection of causes and effects. It is, on +that very account, shocking and incongruous in fiction. In +fiction, the principles are given, to find the facts: in +history, the facts are given, to find the principles; and the +writer who does not explain the phenomena as well as state them, +performs only one half of his office. Facts are the mere dross +of history. It is from the abstract truth which interpenetrates +them, and lies latent among them like gold in the ore, that the +mass derives its whole value: and the precious particles are +generally combined with the baser in such a manner that the +separation is a task of the utmost difficulty. + +Here Thucydides is deficient: the deficiency, indeed, is not +discreditable to him. It was the inevitable effect of +circumstances. It was in the nature of things necessary that, in +some part of its progress through political science, the human +mind should reach that point which it attained in his time. +Knowledge advances by steps, and not by leaps. The axioms of an +English debating club would have been startling and mysterious +paradoxes to the most enlightened statesmen of Athens. But it +would be as absurd to speak contemptuously of the Athenian on +this account as to ridicule Strabo for not having given us an +account of Chili, or to talk of Ptolemy as we talk of Sir Richard +Phillips. Still, when we wish for solid geographical +information, we must prefer the solemn coxcombry of Pinkerton to +the noble work of Strabo. If we wanted instruction respecting +the solar system, we should consult the silliest girl from a +boarding-school, rather than Ptolemy. + +Thucydides was undoubtedly a sagacious and reflecting man. This +clearly appears from the ability with which he discusses +practical questions. But the talent of deciding on the +circumstances of a particular case is often possessed in the +highest perfection by persons destitute of the power of +generalisation. Men skilled in the military tactics of civilised +nations have been amazed at the far-sightedness and penetration +which a Mohawk displays in concerting his stratagems, or in +discerning those of his enemies. In England, no class possesses +so much of that peculiar ability which is required for +constructing ingenious schemes, and for obviating remote +difficulties, as the thieves and the thief-takers. Women have +more of this dexterity than men. Lawyers have more of it than +statesmen: statesmen have more of it than philosophers. Monk +had more of it than Harrington and all his club. Walpole had +more of it than Adam Smith or Beccaria. Indeed, the species of +discipline by which this dexterity is acquired tends to contract +the mind, and to render it incapable of abstract reasoning. + +The Grecian statesmen of the age of Thucydides were distinguished +by their practical sagacity, their insight into motives, their +skill in devising means for the attainment of their ends. A +state of society in which the rich were constantly planning the +oppression of the poor, and the poor the spoliation of the rich, +in which the ties of party had superseded those of country, in +which revolutions and counter-revolutions were events of daily +occurrence, was naturally prolific in desperate and crafty +political adventurers. This was the very school in which men +were likely to acquire the dissimulation of Mazarin, the +judicious temerity of Richelieu, the penetration, the exquisite +tact, the almost instinctive presentiment of approaching events +which gave so much authority to the counsel of Shaftesbury, that +"it was as if a man had inquired of the oracle of God." In this +school Thucydides studied; and his wisdom is that which such a +school would naturally afford. He judges better of circumstances +than of principles. The more a question is narrowed, the better +he reasons upon it. His work suggests many most important +considerations respecting the first principles of government and +morals, the growth of factions, the organisation of armies, and +the mutual relations of communities. Yet all his general +observations on these subjects are very superficial. His most +judicious remarks differ from the remarks of a really +philosophical historian, as a sum correctly cast up by a +bookkeeper from a general expression discovered by an algebraist. +The former is useful only in a single transaction; the latter may +be applied to an infinite number of cases. + +This opinion will, we fear, be considered as heterodox. For, not +to speak of the illusion which the sight of a Greek type, or the +sound of a Greek diphthong, often produces, there are some +peculiarities in the manner of Thucydides which in no small +degree have tended to secure to him the reputation of profundity. +His book is evidently the book of a man and a statesman; and in +this respect presents a remarkable contrast to the delightful +childishness of Herodotus. Throughout it there is an air of +matured power, of grave and melancholy reflection, of +impartiality and habitual self-command. His feelings are rarely +indulged, and speedily repressed. Vulgar prejudices of every +kind, and particularly vulgar superstitions, he treats with a +cold and sober disdain peculiar to himself. His style is +weighty, condensed, antithetical, and not unfrequently obscure. +But, when we look at his political philosophy, without regard to +these circumstances, we find him to have been, what indeed it +would have been a miracle if he had not been, simply an Athenian +of the fifth century before Christ. + +Xenophon is commonly placed, but we think without much reason, in +the same rank with Herodotus and Thucydides. He resembles them, +indeed, in the purity and sweetness of his style; but in spirit, +he rather resembles that later school of historians whose works +seem to be fables composed for a moral, and who, in their +eagerness to give us warnings and examples, forget to give us men +and women. The Life of Cyrus, whether we look upon it as a +history or as a romance, seems to us a very wretched performance. +The Expedition of the Ten Thousand, and the History of Grecian +Affairs, are certainly pleasant reading; but they indicate no +great power of mind. In truth, Xenophon, though his taste was +elegant, his disposition amiable, and his intercourse with the +world extensive, had, we suspect, rather a weak head. Such was +evidently the opinion of that extraordinary man to whom he early +attached himself, and for whose memory he entertained an +idolatrous veneration. He came in only for the milk with which +Socrates nourished his babes in philosophy. A few saws of +morality, and a few of the simplest doctrines of natural +religion, were enough for the good young man. The strong meat, +the bold speculations on physical and metaphysical science, were +reserved for auditors of a different description. Even the +lawless habits of a captain of mercenary troops could not change +the tendency which the character of Xenophon early acquired. To +the last, he seems to have retained a sort of heathen Puritanism. +The sentiments of piety and virtue which abound in his works are +those of a well-meaning man, somewhat timid and narrow-minded, +devout from constitution rather than from rational conviction. +He was as superstitious as Herodotus, but in a way far more +offensive. The very peculiarities which charm us in an infant, +the toothless mumbling, the stammering, the tottering, the +helplessness, the causeless tears and laughter, are disgusting in +old age. In the same manner, the absurdity which precedes a +period of general intelligence is often pleasing; that which +follows it is contemptible. The nonsense of Herodotus is that of +a baby. The nonsense of Xenophon is that of a dotard. His +stories about dreams, omens, and prophecies, present a strange +contrast to the passages in which the shrewd and incredulous +Thucydides mentions the popular superstitions. It is not quite +clear that Xenophon was honest in his credulity; his fanaticism +was in some degree politic. He would have made an excellent +member of the Apostolic Camarilla. An alarmist by nature, an +aristocrat by party, he carried to an unreasonable excess his +horror of popular turbulence. The quiet atrocity of Sparta did +not shock him in the same manner; for he hated tumult more than +crimes. He was desirous to find restraints which might curb the +passions of the multitude; and he absurdly fancied that he had +found them in a religion without evidences or sanction, precepts +or example, in a frigid system of Theophilanthropy, supported by +nursery tales. + +Polybius and Arrian have given us authentic accounts of facts; +and here their merit ends. They were not men of comprehensive +minds; they had not the art of telling a story in an interesting +manner. They have in consequence been thrown into the shade by +writers who, though less studious of truth than themselves, +understood far better the art of producing effect,--by Livy and +Quintus Curtius. + +Yet Polybius and Arrian deserve high praise when compared with +the writers of that school of which Plutarch may be considered as +the head. For the historians of this class we must confess that +we entertain a peculiar aversion. They seem to have been +pedants, who, though destitute of those valuable qualities which +are frequently found in conjunction with pedantry, thought +themselves great philosophers and great politicians. They not +only mislead their readers in every page, as to particular facts, +but they appear to have altogether misconceived the whole +character of the times of which they write. They were +inhabitants of an empire bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the +Euphrates, by the ice of Scythia and the sands of Mauritania; +composed of nations whose manners, whose languages, whose +religion, whose countenances and complexions, were widely +different; governed by one mighty despotism, which had risen on +the ruins of a thousand commonwealths and kingdoms. Of liberty, +such as it is in small democracies, of patriotism, such as it is +in small independent communities of any kind, they had, and they +could have, no experimental knowledge. But they had read of men +who exerted themselves in the cause of their country with an +energy unknown in later times, who had violated the dearest of +domestic charities, or voluntarily devoted themselves to death +for the public good; and they wondered at the degeneracy of their +contemporaries. It never occurred to them that the feelings +which they so greatly admired sprung from local and occasional +causes; that they will always grow up spontaneously in small +societies; and that, in large empires, though they may be forced +into existence for a short time by peculiar circumstances, they +cannot be general or permanent. It is impossible that any man +should feel for a fortress on a remote frontier as he feels for +his own house; that he should grieve for a defeat in which ten +thousand people whom he never saw have fallen as he grieves for a +defeat which has half unpeopled the street in which he lives; +that he should leave his home for a military expedition in order +to preserve the balance of power, as cheerfully as he would leave +it to repel invaders who had begun to burn all the corn fields in +his neighbourhood. + +The writers of whom we speak should have considered this. They +should have considered that in patriotism, such as it existed +amongst the Greeks, there was nothing essentially and eternally +good; that an exclusive attachment to a particular society, +though a natural, and, under certain restrictions, a most useful +sentiment, implies no extraordinary attainments in wisdom or +virtue; that, where it has existed in an intense degree, it has +turned states into gangs of robbers whom their mutual fidelity +has rendered more dangerous, has given a character of peculiar +atrocity to war, and has generated that worst of all political +evils, the tyranny of nations over nations. + +Enthusiastically attached to the name of liberty, these +historians troubled themselves little about its definition. The +Spartans, tormented by ten thousand absurd restraints, unable to +please themselves in the choice of their wives, their suppers, or +their company, compelled to assume a peculiar manner, and to talk +in a peculiar style, gloried in their liberty. The aristocracy +of Rome repeatedly made liberty a plea for cutting off the +favourites of the people. In almost all the little commonwealths +of antiquity, liberty was used as a pretext for measures directed +against everything which makes liberty valuable, for measures +which stifled discussion, corrupted the administration of +justice, and discouraged the accumulation of property. The +writers, whose works we are considering, confounded the sound +with the substance, and the means with the end. Their +imaginations were inflamed by mystery. They conceived of liberty +as monks conceive of love, as cockneys conceive of the happiness +and innocence of rural life, as novel-reading sempstresses +conceive of Almack's and Grosvenor Square, accomplished +Marquesses and handsome Colonels of the Guards. In the relation +of events, and the delineation of characters, they have paid +little attention to facts, to the costume of the times of which +they pretend to treat, or to the general principles of human +nature. They have been faithful only to their own puerile and +extravagant doctrines. Generals and statesmen are metamorphosed +into magnanimous coxcombs, from whose fulsome virtues we turn +away with disgust. The fine sayings and exploits of their heroes +remind us of the insufferable perfections of Sir Charles +Grandison, and affect us with a nausea similar to that which we +feel when an actor, in one of Morton's or Kotzebue's plays, lays +his hand on his heart, advances to the ground-lights, and mouths +a moral sentence for the edification of the gods. + +These writers, men who knew not what it was to have a country, +men who had never enjoyed political rights, brought into fashion +an offensive cant about patriotism and zeal for freedom. What +the English Puritans did for the language of Christianity, what +Scuderi did for the language of love, they did for the language +of public spirit. By habitual exaggeration they made it mean. +By monotonous emphasis they made it feeble. They abused it till +it became scarcely possible to use it with effect. + +Their ordinary rules of morality are deduced from extreme cases. +The common regimen which they prescribe for society is made up of +those desperate remedies which only its most desperate distempers +require. They look with peculiar complacency on actions which +even those who approve them consider as exceptions to laws of +almost universal application--which bear so close an affinity to +the most atrocious crimes that, even where it may be unjust to +censure them, it is unsafe to praise them. It is not strange, +therefore, that some flagitious instances of perfidy and cruelty +should have been passed unchallenged in such company, that grave +moralists, with no personal interest at stake, should have +extolled, in the highest terms, deeds of which the atrocity +appalled even the infuriated factions in whose cause they were +perpetrated. The part which Timoleon took in the assassination +of his brother shocked many of his own partisans. The +recollection of it preyed long on his own mind. But it was +reserved for historians who lived some centuries later to +discover that his conduct was a glorious display of virtue, and +to lament that, from the frailty of human nature, a man who could +perform so great an exploit could repent of it. + +The writings of these men, and of their modern imitators, have +produced effects which deserve some notice. The English have +been so long accustomed to political speculation, and have +enjoyed so large a measure of practical liberty, that such works +have produced little effect on their minds. We have classical +associations and great names of our own which we can confidently +oppose to the most splendid of ancient times. Senate has not to +our ears a sound so venerable as Parliament. We respect to the +Great Charter more than the laws of Solon. The Capitol and the +Forum impress us with less awe than our own Westminster Hall and +Westminster Abbey, the place where the great men of twenty +generations have contended, the place where they sleep together! +The list of warriors and statesmen by whom our constitution was +founded or preserved, from De Montfort down to Fox, may well +stand a comparison with the Fasti of Rome. The dying +thanksgiving of Sidney is as noble as the libation which Thrasea +poured to Liberating Jove: and we think with far less pleasure +of Cato tearing out his entrails than of Russell saying, as he +turned away from his wife, that the bitterness of death was past. +Even those parts of our history over which, on some accounts, we +would gladly throw a veil may be proudly opposed to those on +which the moralists of antiquity loved most to dwell. The enemy +of English liberty was not murdered by men whom he had pardoned +and loaded with benefits. He was not stabbed in the back by +those who smiled and cringed before his face. He was vanquished +on fields of stricken battle; he was arraigned, sentenced, and +executed in the face of heaven and earth. Our liberty is neither +Greek nor Roman; but essentially English. It has a character of +its own,--a character which has taken a tinge from the sentiments +of the chivalrous ages, and which accords with the peculiarities +of our manners and of our insular situation. It has a language, +too, of its own, and a language singularly idiomatic, full of +meaning to ourselves, scarcely intelligible to strangers. + +Here, therefore, the effect of books such as those which we have +been considering has been harmless. They have, indeed, given +currency to many very erroneous opinions with respect to ancient +history. They have heated the imaginations of boys. They have +misled the judgment and corrupted the taste of some men of +letters, such as Akenside and Sir William Jones. But on persons +engaged in public affairs they have had very little influence. +The foundations of our constitution were laid by men who knew +nothing of the Greeks but that they denied the orthodox +procession and cheated the Crusaders; and nothing of Rome, but +that the Pope lived there. Those who followed, contented +themselves with improving on the original plan. They found +models at home and therefore they did not look for them abroad. +But, when enlightened men on the Continent began to think about +political reformation, having no patterns before their eyes in +their domestic history, they naturally had recourse to those +remains of antiquity, the study of which is considered throughout +Europe as an important part of education. The historians of whom +we have been speaking had been members of large communities, and +subjects of absolute sovereigns. Hence it is, as we have already +said, that they commit such gross errors in speaking of the +little republics of antiquity. Their works were now read in the +spirit in which they had been written. They were read by men +placed in circumstances closely resembling their own, +unacquainted with the real nature of liberty, but inclined to +believe everything good which could be told respecting it. How +powerfully these books impressed these speculative reformers, is +well known to all who have paid any attention to the French +literature of the last century. But, perhaps, the writer on whom +they produced the greatest effect was Vittorio Alfieri. In some +of his plays, particularly in Virginia, Timoleon, and Brutus the +Younger, he has even caricatured the extravagance of his masters. + +It was not strange that the blind, thus led by the blind, should +stumble. The transactions of the French Revolution, in some +measure, took their character from these works. Without the +assistance of these works, indeed, a revolution would have taken +place,--a revolution productive of much good and much evil, +tremendous but shortlived, evil dearly purchased, but durable +good. But it would not have been exactly such a revolution. The +style, the accessories, would have been in many respects +different. There would have been less of bombast in language, +less of affectation in manner, less of solemn trifling and +ostentatious simplicity. The acts of legislative assemblies, and +the correspondence of diplomatists, would not have been disgraced +by rants worthy only of a college declamation. The government of +a great and polished nation would not have rendered itself +ridiculous by attempting to revive the usages of a world which +had long passed away, or rather of a world which had never +existed except in the description of a fantastic school of +writers. These second-hand imitations resembled the originals +about as much as the classical feast with which the Doctor in +Peregrine Pickle turned the stomachs of all his guests resembled +one of the suppers of Lucullus in the Hall of Apollo. + +These were mere follies. But the spirit excited by these writers +produced more serious effects. The greater part of the crimes +which disgraced the revolution sprung indeed from the relaxation +of law, from popular ignorance, from the remembrance of past +oppression, from the fear of foreign conquest, from rapacity, +from ambition, from party-spirit. But many atrocious proceedings +must, doubtless, be ascribed to heated imagination, to perverted +principle, to a distaste for what was vulgar in morals, and a +passion for what was startling and dubious. Mr Burke has touched +on this subject with great felicity of expression: "The +gradation of their republic," says he, "is laid in moral +paradoxes. All those instances to be found in history, whether +real or fabulous, of a doubtful public spirit, at which morality +is perplexed, reason is staggered, and from which affrighted +nature recoils, are their chosen and almost sole examples for the +instruction of their youth." This evil, we believe, is to be +directly ascribed to the influence of the historians whom we have +mentioned, and their modern imitators. + +Livy had some faults in common with these writers. But on the +whole he must be considered as forming a class by himself: no +historian with whom we are acquainted has shown so complete an +indifference to truth. He seems to have cared only about the +picturesque effect of his book, and the honour of his country. +On the other hand, we do not know, in the whole range of +literature, an instance of a bad thing so well done. The +painting of the narrative is beyond description vivid and +graceful. The abundance of interesting sentiments and splendid +imagery in the speeches is almost miraculous. His mind is a soil +which is never over-teemed, a fountain which never seems to +trickle. It pours forth profusely; yet it gives no sign of +exhaustion. It was probably to this exuberance of thought and +language, always fresh, always sweet, always pure, no sooner +yielded than repaired, that the critics applied that expression +which has been so much discussed lactea ubertas. + +All the merits and all the defects of Livy take a colouring from +the character of his nation. He was a writer peculiarly Roman; +the proud citizen of a commonwealth which had indeed lost the +reality of liberty, but which still sacredly preserved its forms +--in fact, the subject of an arbitrary prince, but in his own +estimation one of the masters of the world, with a hundred kings +below him, and only the gods above him. He, therefore, looked +back on former times with feelings far different from those which +were naturally entertained by his Greek contemporaries, and which +at a later period became general among men of letters throughout +the Roman Empire. He contemplated the past with interest and +delight, not because it furnished a contrast to the present, but +because it had led to the present. He recurred to it, not to +lose in proud recollections the sense of national degradation, +but to trace the progress of national glory. It is true that his +veneration for antiquity produced on him some of the effects +which it produced on those who arrived at it by a very different +road. He has something of their exaggeration, something of their +cant, something of their fondness for anomalies and lusus naturae +in morality. Yet even here we perceive a difference. They talk +rapturously of patriotism and liberty in the abstract. He does +not seem to think any country but Rome deserving of love; nor is +it for liberty as liberty, but for liberty as a part of the Roman +institutions, that he is zealous. + +Of the concise and elegant accounts of the campaigns of Caesar +little can be said. They are incomparable models for military +despatches. But histories they are not, and do not pretend to +be. + +The ancient critics placed Sallust in the same rank with Livy; +and unquestionably the small portion of his works which has come +down to us is calculated to give a high opinion of his talents. +But his style is not very pleasant: and his most powerful work, +the account of the Conspiracy of Catiline, has rather the air of +a clever party pamphlet than that of a history. It abounds with +strange inconsistencies, which, unexplained as they are, +necessarily excite doubts as to the fairness of the narrative. +It is true, that many circumstances now forgotten may have been +familiar to his contemporaries, and may have rendered passages +clear to them which to us appear dubious and perplexing. But a +great historian should remember that he writes for distant +generations, for men who will perceive the apparent +contradictions, and will possess no means of reconciling them. +We can only vindicate the fidelity of Sallust at the expense of +his skill. But in fact all the information which we have from +contemporaries respecting this famous plot is liable to the same +objection, and is read by discerning men with the same +incredulity. It is all on one side. No answer has reached our +times. Yet on the showing of the accusers the accused seem +entitled to acquittal. Catiline, we are told, intrigued with a +Vestal virgin, and murdered his own son. His house was a den of +gamblers and debauchees. No young man could cross his threshold +without danger to his fortune and reputation. Yet this is the +man with whom Cicero was willing to coalesce in a contest for the +first magistracy of the republic; and whom he described, long +after the fatal termination of the conspiracy, as an accomplished +hypocrite, by whom he had himself been deceived, and who had +acted with consummate skill the character of a good citizen and a +good friend. We are told that the plot was the most wicked and +desperate ever known, and, almost in the same breath, that the +great body of the people, and many of the nobles, favoured it; +that the richest citizens of Rome were eager for the spoliation +of all property, and its highest functionaries for the +destruction of all order; that Crassus, Caesar, the Praetor +Lentulus, one of the consuls of the year, one of the consuls +elect, were proved or suspected to be engaged in a scheme for +subverting institutions to which they owed the highest honours, +and introducing universal anarchy. We are told that a +government, which knew all this, suffered the conspirator, whose +rank, talents, and courage rendered him most dangerous, to quit +Rome without molestation. We are told that bondmen and +gladiators were to be armed against the citizens. Yet we find +that Catiline rejected the slaves who crowded to enlist in his +army, lest, as Sallust himself expresses it, "he should seem to +identify their cause with that of the citizens." Finally, we are +told that the magistrate, who was universally allowed to have +saved all classes of his countrymen from conflagration and +massacre, rendered himself so unpopular by his conduct that a +marked insult was offered to him at the expiration of his office, +and a severe punishment inflicted on him shortly after. + +Sallust tells us, what, indeed, the letters and speeches of +Cicero sufficiently prove, that some persons consider the +shocking, and atrocious parts of the plot as mere inventions of +the government, designed to excuse its unconstitutional measures. +We must confess ourselves to be of that opinion. There was, +undoubtedly, a strong party desirous to change the +administration. While Pompey held the command of an army, they +could not effect their purpose without preparing means for +repelling force, if necessary, by force. In all this there is +nothing different from the ordinary practice of Roman factions. +The other charges brought against the conspirators are so +inconsistent and improbable, that we give no credit whatever to +them. If our readers think this scepticism unreasonable, let +them turn to the contemporary accounts of the Popish plot. Let +them look over the votes of Parliament, and the speeches of the +king; the charges of Scroggs, and the harangues of the managers +employed against Strafford. A person who should form his +judgment from these pieces alone would believe that London was +set on fire by the Papists, and that Sir Edmondbury Godfrey was +murdered for his religion. Yet these stories are now altogether +exploded. They have been abandoned by statesmen to aldermen, by +aldermen to clergymen, by clergymen to old women, and by old +women to Sir Harcourt Lees. + +Of the Latin historians, Tacitus was certainly the greatest. His +style, indeed, is not only faulty in itself, but is, in some +respects, peculiarly unfit for historical composition. He +carries his love of effect far beyond the limits of moderation. +He tells a fine story finely, but he cannot tell a plain story +plainly. He stimulates till stimulants lose their power. +Thucydides, as we have already observed, relates ordinary +transactions with the unpretending clearness and succinctness of +a gazette. His great powers of painting he reserves for events +of which the slightest details are interesting. The simplicity +of the setting gives additional lustre to the brilliants. There +are passages in the narrative of Tacitus superior to the best +which can be quoted from Thucydides. But they are not enchased +and relieved with the same skill. They are far more striking +when extracted from the body of the work to which they belong +than when they occur in their place, and are read in connection +with what precedes and follows. + +In the delineation of character, Tacitus is unrivalled among +historians, and has very few superiors among dramatists and +novelists. By the delineation of character, we do not mean the +practice of drawing up epigrammatic catalogues of good and bad +qualities, and appending them to the names of eminent men. No +writer, indeed, has done this more skilfully than Tacitus; but +this is not his peculiar glory. All the persons who occupy a +large space in his works have an individuality of character which +seems to pervade all their words and actions. We know them as if +we had lived with them. Claudius, Nero, Otho, both the +Agrippinas, are masterpieces. But Tiberius is a still higher +miracle of art. The historian undertook to make us intimately +acquainted with a man singularly dark and inscrutable,--with a +man whose real disposition long remained swathed up in intricate +folds of factitious virtues, and over whose actions the hypocrisy +of his youth, and the seclusion of his old age, threw a singular +mystery. He was to exhibit the specious qualities of the tyrant +in a light which might render them transparent, and enable us at +once to perceive the covering and the vices which it concealed. +He was to trace the gradations by which the first magistrate of a +republic, a senator mingling freely in debate, a noble +associating with his brother nobles, was transformed into an +Asiatic sultan; he was to exhibit a character, distinguished by +courage, self-command, and profound policy, yet defiled by all + +"th' extravagancy +And crazy ribaldry of fancy." + +He was to mark the gradual effect of advancing age and +approaching death on this strange compound of strength and +weakness; to exhibit the old sovereign of the world sinking into +a dotage which, though it rendered his appetites eccentric, and +his temper savage, never impaired the powers of his stern and +penetrating mind--conscious of failing strength, raging with +capricious sensuality, yet to the last the keenest of observers, +the most artful of dissemblers, and the most terrible of masters. +The task was one of extreme difficulty. The execution is almost +perfect. + +The talent which is required to write history thus bears a +considerable affinity to the talent of a great dramatist. There +is one obvious distinction. The dramatist creates; the historian +only disposes. The difference is not in the mode of execution, +but in the mode of conception. Shakspeare is guided by a model +which exists in his imagination; Tacitus, by a model furnished +from without. Hamlet is to Tiberius what the Laocoon is to the +Newton of Roubilliac. + +In this part of his art Tacitus certainly had neither equal nor +second among the ancient historians. Herodotus, though he wrote +in a dramatic form, had little of dramatic genius. The frequent +dialogues which he introduces give vivacity and movement to the +narrative, but are not strikingly characteristic. Xenophon is +fond of telling his readers, at considerable length, what he +thought of the persons whose adventures he relates. But he does +not show them the men, and enable them to judge for themselves. +The heroes of Livy are the most insipid of all beings, real or +imaginary, the heroes of Plutarch always excepted. Indeed, the +manner of Plutarch in this respect reminds us of the cookery of +those continental inns, the horror of English travellers, in +which a certain nondescript broth is kept constantly boiling, and +copiously poured, without distinction, over every dish as it +comes up to table. Thucydides, though at a wide interval, comes +next to Tacitus. His Pericles, his Nicias, his Cleon, his +Brasidas, are happily discriminated. The lines are few, the +colouring faint: but the general air and expression is caught. + +We begin, like the priest in Don Quixote's library, to be tired +with taking down books one after another for separate judgment, +and feel inclined to pass sentence on them in masses. We shall +therefore, instead of pointing out the defects and merits of the +different modern historians, state generally in what particulars +they have surpassed their predecessors, and in what we conceive +them to have failed. + +They have certainly been, in one sense, far more strict in their +adherence to truth than most of the Greek and Roman writers. +They do not think themselves entitled to render their narrative +interesting by introducing descriptions, conversations, and +harangues which have no existence but in their own imagination. +This improvement was gradually introduced. History commenced +among the modern nations of Europe, as it had commenced among the +Greeks, in romance. Froissart was our Herodotus. Italy was to +Europe what Athens was to Greece. In Italy, therefore, a more +accurate and manly mode of narration was early introduced. +Machiavelli and Guicciardini, in imitation of Livy and +Thucydides, composed speeches for their historical personages. +But, as the classical enthusiasm which distinguished the age of +Lorenzo and Leo gradually subsided, this absurd practice was +abandoned. In France, we fear, it still, in some degree, keeps +its ground. In our own country, a writer who should venture on +it would be laughed to scorn. Whether the historians of the last +two centuries tell more truth than those of antiquity, may +perhaps be doubted. But it is quite certain that they tell fewer +falsehoods. + +In the philosophy of history, the moderns have very far surpassed +the ancients. It is not, indeed, strange that the Greeks and +Romans should not have carried the science of government, or any +other experimental science, so far as it has been carried in our +time; for the experimental sciences are generally in a state of +progression. They were better understood in the seventeenth +century than in the sixteenth, and in the eighteenth century than +in the seventeenth. But this constant improvement, this natural +growth of knowledge, will not altogether account for the immense +superiority of the modern writers. The difference is a +difference not in degree, but of kind. It is not merely that new +principles have been discovered, but that new faculties seem to +be exerted. It is not that at one time the human intellect +should have made but small progress, and at another time have +advanced far: but that at one time it should have been +stationary, and at another time constantly proceeding. In taste +and imagination, in the graces of style, in the arts of +persuasion, in the magnificence of public works, the ancients +were at least our equals. They reasoned as justly as ourselves +on subjects which required pure demonstration. But in the moral +sciences they made scarcely any advance. During the long period +which elapsed between the fifth century before the Christian era +and the fifth century after it little perceptible progress was +made. All the metaphysical discoveries of all the philosophers, +from the time of Socrates to the northern invasion, are not to be +compared in importance with those which have been made in England +every fifty years since the time of Elizabeth. There is not the +least reason to believe that the principles of government, +legislation, and political economy, were better understood in the +time of Augustus Caesar than in the time of Pericles. In our own +country, the sound doctrines of trade and jurisprudence have +been, within the lifetime of a single generation, dimly hinted, +boldly propounded, defended, systematised, adopted by all +reflecting men of all parties, quoted in legislative assemblies, +incorporated into laws and treaties. + +To what is this change to be attributed? Partly, no doubt, to +the discovery of printing, a discovery which has not only +diffused knowledge widely, but, as we have already observed, has +also introduced into reasoning a precision unknown in those +ancient communities, in which information, was, for the most +part, conveyed orally. There was, we suspect, another cause, +less obvious, but still more powerful. + +The spirit of the two most famous nations of antiquity was +remarkably exclusive. In the time of Homer the Greeks had not +begun to consider themselves as a distinct race. They still +looked with something of childish wonder and awe on the riches +and wisdom of Sidon and Egypt. From what causes, and by what +gradations, their feelings underwent a change, it is not easy to +determine. Their history, from the Trojan to the Persian war, is +covered with an obscurity broken only by dim and scattered gleams +of truth. But it is certain that a great alteration took place. +They regarded themselves as a separate people. They had common +religious rites, and common principles of public law, in which +foreigners had no part. In all their political systems, +monarchical, aristocratical, and democratical, there was a strong +family likeness. After the retreat of Xerxes and the fall of +Mardonius, national pride rendered the separation between the +Greeks and the barbarians complete. The conquerors considered +themselves men of a superior breed, men who, in their intercourse +with neighbouring nations, were to teach, and not to learn. They +looked for nothing out of themselves. They borrowed nothing. +They translated nothing. We cannot call to mind a single +expression of any Greek writer earlier than the age of Augustus, +indicating an opinion that anything worth reading could be +written in any language except his own. The feelings which +sprung from national glory were not altogether extinguished by +national degradation. They were fondly cherished through ages of +slavery and shame. The literature of Rome herself was regarded +with contempt by those who had fled before her arms, and who +bowed beneath her fasces. Voltaire says, in one of his six +thousand pamphlets, that he was the first person who told the +French that England had produced eminent men besides the Duke of +Marlborough. Down to a very late period, the Greeks seem to have +stood in need of similar information with respect to their +masters. With Paulus Aemilius, Sylla, and Caesar, they were well +acquainted. But the notions which they entertained respecting +Cicero and Virgil were, probably, not unlike those which Boileau +may have formed about Shakspeare. Dionysius lived in the most +splendid age of Latin poetry and eloquence. He was a critic, +and, after the manner of his age, an able critic. He studied the +language of Rome, associated with its learned men, and compiled +its history. Yet he seems to have thought its literature +valuable only for the purpose of illustrating its antiquities. +His reading appears to have been confined to its public records, +and to a few old annalists. Once, and but once, if we remember +rightly, he quotes Ennius, to solve a question of etymology. He +has written much on the art of oratory: yet he has not mentioned +the name of Cicero. + +The Romans submitted to the pretensions of a race which they +despised. Their epic poet, while he claimed for them pre- +eminence in the arts of government and war, acknowledged their +inferiority in taste, eloquence, and science. Men of letters +affected to understand the Greek language better than their own. +Pomponius preferred the honour of becoming an Athenian, by +intellectual naturalisation, to all the distinctions which were +to be acquired in the political contests of Rome. His great +friend composed Greek poems and memoirs. It is well-known that +Petrarch considered that beautiful language in which his sonnets +are written, as a barbarous jargon, and intrusted his fame to +those wretched Latin hexameters which, during the last four +centuries, have scarcely found four readers. Many eminent Romans +appear to have felt the same contempt for their native tongue as +compared with the Greek. The prejudice continued to a very late +period. Julian was as partial to the Greek language as Frederic +the Great to the French: and it seems that he could not express +himself with elegance in the dialect of the state which he ruled. + +Even those Latin writers who did not carry this affectation so +far looked on Greece as the only fount of knowledge. From Greece +they derived the measures of their poetry, and, indeed, all of +poetry that can be imported. From Greece they borrowed the +principles and the vocabulary of their philosophy. To the +literature of other nations they do not seem to have paid the +slightest attention. The sacred books of the Hebrews, for +example, books which, considered merely as human compositions, +are invaluable to the critic, the antiquarian, and the +philosopher, seem to have been utterly unnoticed by them. The +peculiarities of Judaism, and the rapid growth of Christianity, +attracted their notice. They made war against the Jews. They +made laws against the Christians. But they never opened the +books of Moses. Juvenal quotes the Pentateuch with censure. The +author of the treatise on "the Sublime" quotes it with praise: +but both of them quote it erroneously. When we consider what +sublime poetry, what curious history, what striking and peculiar +views of the Divine nature and of the social duties of men, are +to be found in the Jewish scriptures, when we consider that two +sects on which the attention of the government was constantly +fixed appealed to those scriptures as the rule of their faith and +practice, this indifference is astonishing. The fact seems to +be, that the Greeks admired only themselves, and that the Romans +admired only themselves and the Greeks. Literary men turned away +with disgust from modes of thought and expression so widely +different from all that they had been accustomed to admire. The +effect was narrowness and sameness of thought. Their minds, if +we may so express ourselves, bred in and in, and were accordingly +cursed with barrenness and degeneracy. No extraneous beauty or +vigour was engrafted on the decaying stock. By an exclusive +attention to one class of phenomena, by an exclusive taste for +one species of excellence, the human intellect was stunted. +Occasional coincidences were turned into general rules. +Prejudices were confounded with instincts. On man, as he was +found in a particular state of society--on government, as it had +existed in a particular corner of the world, many just +observations were made; but of man as man, or government as +government, little was known. Philosophy remained stationary. +Slight changes, sometimes for the worse and sometimes for the +better, were made in the superstructure. But nobody thought of +examining the foundations. + +The vast despotism of the Caesars, gradually effacing all +national peculiarities, and assimilating the remotest provinces +of the empire to each other, augmented the evil. At the close of +the third century after Christ, the prospects of mankind were +fearfully dreary. A system of etiquette, as pompously frivolous +as that of the Escurial, had been established. A sovereign +almost invisible; a crowd of dignitaries minutely distinguished +by badges and titles; rhetoricians who said nothing but what had +been said ten thousand times; schools in which nothing was taught +but what had been known for ages: such was the machinery +provided for the government and instruction of the most +enlightened part of the human race. That great community was +then in danger of experiencing a calamity far more terrible than +any of the quick, inflammatory, destroying maladies, to which +nations are liable,--a tottering, drivelling, paralytic +longevity, the immortality of the Struldbrugs, a Chinese +civilisation. It would be easy to indicate many points of +resemblance between the subjects of Diocletian and the people of +that Celestial Empire, where, during many centuries, nothing has +been learned or unlearned; where government, where education, +where the whole system of life, is a ceremony; where knowledge +forgets to increase and multiply, and, like the talent buried in +the earth, or the pound wrapped up in the napkin, experiences +neither waste no augmentation. + +The torpor was broken by two great revolutions, the one moral, +the other political, the one from within, the other from without. +The victory of Christianity over Paganism, considered with +relation to this subject only, was of great importance. It +overthrew the old system of morals; and with it much of the old +system of metaphysics. It furnished the orator with new topics +of declamation, and the logician with new points of controversy. +Above all, it introduced a new principle, of which the operation +was constantly felt in every part of society. It stirred the +stagnant mass from the inmost depths. It excited all the +passions of a stormy democracy in the quiet and listless +population of an overgrown empire. The fear of heresy did what +the sense of oppression could not do; it changed men, accustomed +to be turned over like sheep from tyrant to tyrant, into devoted +partisans and obstinate rebels. The tones of an eloquence which +had been silent for ages resounded from the pulpit of Gregory. A +spirit which had been extinguished on the plains of Philippi +revived in Athanasius and Ambrose. + +Yet even this remedy was not sufficiently violent for the +disease. It did not prevent the empire of Constantinople from +relapsing, after a short paroxysm of excitement, into a state of +stupefaction, to which history furnishes scarcely any parallel. +We there find that a polished society, a society in which a most +intricate and elaborate system of jurisprudence was established, +in which the arts of luxury were well understood, in which the +works of the great ancient writers were preserved and studied, +existed for nearly a thousand years without making one great +discovery in science, or producing one book which is read by any +but curious inquirers. There were tumults, too, and +controversies, and wars in abundance: and these things, bad as +they are in themselves, have generally been favourable to the +progress of the intellect. But here they tormented without +stimulating. The waters were troubled; but no healing influence +descended. The agitations resembled the grinnings and writhings +of a galvanised corpse, not the struggles of an athletic man. + +From this miserable state the Western Empire was saved by the +fiercest and most destroying visitation with which God has ever +chastened his creatures--the invasion of the Northern nations. +Such a cure was required for such a distemper. The fire of +London, it has been observed was a blessing. It burned down the +city; but it burned out the plague. The same may be said of the +tremendous devastation of the Roman dominions. It annihilated +the noisome recesses in which lurked the seeds of great moral +maladies; it cleared an atmosphere fatal to the health and vigour +of the human mind. It cost Europe a thousand years of barbarism +to escape the fate of China. + +At length the terrible purification was accomplished; and the +second civilisation of mankind commenced, under circumstances +which afforded a strong security that it would never retrograde +and never pause. Europe was now a great federal community. Her +numerous states were united by the easy ties of international law +and a common religion. Their institutions, their languages, +their manners, their tastes in literature, their modes of +education, were widely different. Their connection was close +enough to allow of mutual observation and improvement, yet not so +close as to destroy the idioms of national opinion and feeling. + +The balance of moral and intellectual influence thus established +between the nations of Europe is far more important than the +balance of political power. Indeed, we are inclined to think +that the latter is valuable principally because it tends to +maintain the former. The civilised world has thus been preserved +from a uniformity of character fatal to all improvement. Every +part of it has been illuminated with light reflected from every +other. Competition has produced activity where monopoly would +have produced sluggishness. The number of experiments in moral +science which the speculator has an opportunity of witnessing has +been increased beyond all calculation. Society and human nature, +instead of being seen in a single point of view, are presented to +him under ten thousand different aspects. By observing the +manners of surrounding nations, by studying their literature, by +comparing it with that of his own country and of the ancient +republics, he is enabled to correct those errors into which the +most acute men must fall when they reason from a single species +to a genus. He learns to distinguish what is local from what is +universal: what is transitory from what is eternal; to +discriminate between exceptions and rules; to trace the operation +of disturbing causes; to separate those general principles which +are always true and everywhere applicable from the accidental +circumstances with which, in every community, they are blended, +and with which, in an isolated community, they are confounded by +the most philosophical mind. + +Hence it is that, in generalisation, the writers of modern times +have far surpassed those of antiquity. The historians of our own +country are unequalled in depth and precision of reason; and, +even in the works of our mere compilers, we often meet with +speculations beyond the reach of Thucydides or Tacitus. + +But it must, at the same time, be admitted that they have +characteristic faults, so closely connected with their +characteristic merits, and of such magnitude, that it may well be +doubted whether, on the whole, this department of literature has +gained or lost during the last two-and-twenty centuries. + +The best historians of later times have been seduced from truth, +not by their imagination, but by their reason. They far excel +their predecessors in the art of deducing general principles from +facts. But unhappily they have fallen into the error of +distorting facts to suit general principles. They arrive at a +theory from looking at some of the phenomena; and the remaining +phenomena they strain or curtail to suit the theory. For this +purpose it is not necessary that they should assert what is +absolutely false; for all questions in morals and politics are +questions of comparison and degree. Any proposition which does +not involve a contradiction in terms may by possibility be true; +and, if all the circumstances which raise a probability in its +favour, be stated and enforced, and those which lead to an +opposite conclusion be omitted or lightly passed over, it may +appear to be demonstrated. In every human character and +transaction there is a mixture of good and evil: a little +exaggeration, a little suppression, a judicious use of epithets, +a watchful and searching scepticism with respect to the evidence +on one side, a convenient credulity with respect to every report +or tradition on the other, may easily make a saint of Laud, or a +tyrant of Henry the Fourth. + +This species of misrepresentation abounds in the most valuable +works of modern historians. Herodotus tells his story like a +slovenly witness, who, heated by partialities and prejudices, +unacquainted with the established rules of evidence, and +uninstructed as to the obligations of his oath, confounds what he +imagines with what he has seen and heard, and brings out facts, +reports, conjectures, and fancies, in one mass. Hume is an +accomplished advocate. Without positively asserting much more +than he can prove, he gives prominence to all the circumstances +which support his case; he glides lightly over those which are +unfavourable to it; his own witnesses are applauded and +encouraged; the statements which seem to throw discredit on them +are controverted; the contradictions into which they fall are +explained away; a clear and connected abstract of their evidence +is given. Everything that is offered on the other side is +scrutinised with the utmost severity; every suspicious +circumstance is a ground for comment and invective; what cannot +be denied is extenuated, or passed by without notice; concessions +even are sometimes made: but this insidious candour only +increases the effect of the vast mass of sophistry. + +We have mentioned Hume as the ablest and most popular writer of +his class; but the charge which we have brought against him is +one to which all our most distinguished historians are in some +degree obnoxious. Gibbon, in particular, deserves very severe +censure. Of all the numerous culprits, however, none is more +deeply guilty than Mr Mitford. We willingly acknowledge the +obligations which are due to his talents and industry. The +modern historians of Greece had been in the habit of writing as +if the world had learned nothing new during the last sixteen +hundred years. Instead of illustrating the events which they +narrated by the philosophy of a more enlightened age, they judged +of antiquity by itself alone. They seemed to think that notions, +long driven from every other corner of literature, had a +prescriptive right to occupy this last fastness. They considered +all the ancient historians as equally authentic. They scarcely +made any distinction between him who related events at which he +had himself been present and him who five hundred years after +composed a philosophic romance for a society which had in the +interval undergone a complete change. It was all Greek, and all +true! The centuries which separated Plutarch from Thucydides +seemed as nothing to men who lived in an age so remote. The +distance of time produced an error similar to that which is +sometimes produced by distance of place. There are many good +ladies who think that all the people in India live together, and +who charge a friend setting out for Calcutta with kind messages +to Bombay. To Rollin and Barthelemi, in the same manner, all the +classics were contemporaries. + +Mr Mitford certainly introduced great improvements; he showed us +that men who wrote in Greek and Latin sometimes told lies; he +showed us that ancient history might be related in such a manner +as to furnish not only allusions to schoolboys, but important +lessons to statesmen. From that love of theatrical effect and +high-flown sentiment which had poisoned almost every other work +on the same subject his book is perfectly free. But his passion +for a theory as false, and far more ungenerous, led him +substantially to violate truth in every page. Statements +unfavourable to democracy are made with unhesitating confidence, +and with the utmost bitterness of language. Every charge brought +against a monarch or an aristocracy is sifted with the utmost +care. If it cannot be denied, some palliating supposition is +suggested; or we are at least reminded that some circumstances +now unknown MAY have justified what at present appears +unjustifiable. Two events are reported by the same author in the +same sentence; their truth rests on the same testimony; but the +one supports the darling hypothesis, and the other seems +inconsistent with it. The one is taken and the other is left. + +The practice of distorting narrative into a conformity with +theory is a vice not so unfavourable as at first sight it may +appear to the interests of political science. We have compared +the writers who indulge in it to advocates; and we may add, that +their conflicting fallacies, like those of advocates, correct +each other. It has always been held, in the most enlightened +nations, that a tribunal will decide a judicial question most +fairly when it has heard two able men argue, as unfairly as +possible, on the two opposite sides of it; and we are inclined to +think that this opinion is just. Sometimes, it is true, superior +eloquence and dexterity will make the worse appear the better +reason; but it is at least certain that the judge will be +compelled to contemplate the case under two different aspects. +It is certain that no important consideration will altogether +escape notice. + +This is at present the state of history. The poet laureate +appears for the Church of England, Lingard for the Church of +Rome. Brodie has moved to set aside the verdicts obtained by +Hume; and the cause in which Mitford succeeded is, we understand, +about to be reheard. In the midst of these disputes, however, +history proper, if we may use the term, is disappearing. The +high, grave, impartial summing up of Thucydides is nowhere to be +found. + +While our historians are practising all the arts of controversy, +they miserably neglect the art of narration, the art of +interesting the affections and presenting pictures to the +imagination. That a writer may produce these effects without +violating truth is sufficiently proved by many excellent +biographical works. The immense popularity which well-written +books of this kind have acquired deserves the serious +consideration of historians. Voltaire's Charles the Twelfth, +Marmontel's Memoirs, Boswell's Life of Johnson, Southey's account +of Nelson, are perused with delight by the most frivolous and +indolent. Whenever any tolerable book of the same description +makes its appearance, the circulating libraries are mobbed; the +book societies are in commotion; the new novel lies uncut; the +magazines and newspapers fill their columns with extracts. In +the meantime histories of great empires, written by men of +eminent ability, lie unread on the shelves of ostentatious +libraries. + +The writers of history seem to entertain an aristocratical +contempt for the writers of memoirs. They think it beneath the +dignity of men who describe the revolutions of nations to dwell +on the details which constitute the charm of biography. They +have imposed on themselves a code of conventional decencies as +absurd as that which has been the bane of the French drama. The +most characteristic and interesting circumstances are omitted or +softened down, because, as we are told, they are too trivial for +the majesty of history. The majesty of history seems to resemble +the majesty of the poor King of Spain, who died a martyr to +ceremony because the proper dignitaries were not at hand to +render him assistance. + +That history would be more amusing if this etiquette were relaxed +will, we suppose, be acknowledged. But would it be less +dignified or less useful? What do we mean when we say that one +past event is important and another insignificant? No past event +has any intrinsic importance. The knowledge of it is valuable +only as it leads us to form just calculations with respect to the +future. A history which does not serve this purpose, though it +may be filled with battles, treaties, and commotions, is as +useless as the series of turnpike tickets collected by Sir +Matthew Mite. + +Let us suppose that Lord Clarendon, instead of filling hundreds +of folio pages with copies of state papers, in which the same +assertions and contradictions are repeated till the reader is +overpowered with weariness, had condescended to be the Boswell of +the Long Parliament. Let us suppose that he had exhibited to us +the wise and lofty self-government of Hampden, leading while he +seemed to follow, and propounding unanswerable arguments in the +strongest forms with the modest air of an inquirer anxious for +information; the delusions which misled the noble spirit of Vane; +the coarse fanaticism which concealed the yet loftier genius of +Cromwell, destined to control a motionless army and a factious +people, to abase the flag of Holland, to arrest the victorious +arms of Sweden, and to hold the balance firm between the rival +monarchies of France and Spain. Let us suppose that he had made +his Cavaliers and Roundheads talk in their own style; that he had +reported some of the ribaldry of Rupert's pages, and some of the +cant of Harrison and Fleetwood. Would not his work in that case +have been more interesting? Would it not have been more +accurate? + +A history in which every particular incident may be true may on +the whole be false. The circumstances which have most influence +on the happiness of mankind, the changes of manners and morals, +the transition of communities from poverty to wealth, from +knowledge to ignorance, from ferocity to humanity--these are, for +the most part, noiseless revolutions. Their progress is rarely +indicated by what historians are pleased to call important +events. They are not achieved by armies, or enacted by senates. +They are sanctioned by no treaties, and recorded in no archives. +They are carried on in every school, in every church, behind ten +thousand counters, at ten thousand firesides. The upper current +of society presents no certain criterion by which we can judge of +the direction in which the under current flows. We read of +defeats and victories. But we know that nations may be miserable +amidst victories and prosperous amidst defeats. We read of the +fall of wise ministers and of the rise of profligate favourites. +But we must remember how small a proportion the good or evil +effected by a single statesman can bear to the good or evil of a +great social system. + +Bishop Watson compares a geologist to a gnat mounted on an +elephant, and laying down theories as to the whole internal +structure of the vast animal, from the phenomena of the hide. +The comparison is unjust to the geologists; but is very +applicable to those historians who write as if the body politic +were homogeneous, who look only on the surface of affairs, and +never think of the mighty and various organisation which lies +deep below. + +In the works of such writers as these, England, at the close of +the Seven Years' War, is in the highest state of prosperity: at +the close of the American war she is in a miserable and degraded +condition; as if the people were not on the whole as rich, as +well governed, and as well educated at the latter period as at +the former. We have read books called Histories of England, +under the reign of George the Second, in which the rise of +Methodism is not even mentioned. A hundred years hence this +breed of authors will, we hope, be extinct. If it should still +exist, the late ministerial interregnum will be described in +terms which will seem to imply that all government was at an end; +that the social contract was annulled; and that the hand of every +man was against his neighbour, until the wisdom and virtue of the +new cabinet educed order out of the chaos of anarchy. We are +quite certain that misconceptions as gross prevail at this moment +respecting many important parts of our annals. + +The effect of historical reading is analogous, in many respects, +to that produced by foreign travel. The student, like the +tourist, is transported into a new state of society. He sees new +fashions. He hears new modes of expression. His mind is +enlarged by contemplating the wide diversities of laws, of +morals, and of manners. But men may travel far, and return with +minds as contracted as if they had never stirred from their own +market-town. In the same manner, men may know the dates of many +battles and the genealogies of many royal houses, and yet be no +wiser. Most people look at past times as princes look at foreign +countries. More than one illustrious stranger has landed on our +island amidst the shouts of a mob, has dined with the king, has +hunted with the master of the stag-hounds, has seen the guards +reviewed, and a knight of the garter installed, has cantered +along Regent Street, has visited Saint Paul's, and noted down its +dimensions; and has then departed, thinking that he has seen +England. He has, in fact, seen a few public buildings, public +men, and public ceremonies. But of the vast and complex system +of society, of the fine shades of national character, of the +practical operation of government and laws, he knows nothing. He +who would understand these things rightly must not confine his +observations to palaces and solemn days. He must see ordinary +men as they appear in their ordinary business and in their +ordinary pleasures. He must mingle in the crowds of the exchange +and the coffee-house. He must obtain admittance to the convivial +table and the domestic hearth. He must bear with vulgar +expressions. He must not shrink from exploring even the retreats +of misery. He who wishes to understand the condition of mankind +in former ages must proceed on the same principle. If he attends +only to public transactions, to wars, congresses, and debates, +his studies will be as unprofitable as the travels of those +imperial, royal, and serene sovereigns who form their judgment of +our island from having gone in state to a few fine sights, and +from having held formal conferences with a few great officers. + +The perfect historian is he in whose work the character and +spirit of an age is exhibited in miniature. He relates no fact, +he attributes no expression to his characters, which is not +authenticated by sufficient testimony. But, by judicious +selection, rejection, and arrangement, he gives to truth those +attractions which have been usurped by fiction. In his narrative +a due subordination is observed: some transactions are +prominent; others retire. But the scale on which he represents +them is increased or diminished, not according to the dignity of +the persons concerned in them, but according to the degree in +which they elucidate the condition of society and the nature of +man. He shows us the court, the camp, and the senate. But he +shows us also the nation. He considers no anecdote, no +peculiarity of manner, no familiar saying, as too insignificant +for his notice which is not too insignificant to illustrate the +operation of laws, of religion, and of education, and to mark the +progress of the human mind. Men will not merely be described, +but will be made intimately known to us. The changes of manners +will be indicated, not merely by a few general phrases or a few +extracts from statistical documents, but by appropriate images +presented in every line. + +If a man, such as we are supposing, should write the history of +England, he would assuredly not omit the battles, the sieges, the +negotiations, the seditions, the ministerial changes. But with +these he would intersperse the details which are the charm of +historical romances. At Lincoln Cathedral there is a beautiful +painted window, which was made by an apprentice out of the pieces +of glass which had been rejected by his master. It is so far +superior to every other in the church, that, according to the +tradition, the vanquished artist killed himself from +mortification. Sir Walter Scott, in the same manner, has used +those fragments of truth which historians have scornfully thrown +behind them in a manner which may well excite their envy. He has +constructed out of their gleanings works which, even considered +as histories, are scarcely less valuable than theirs. But a +truly great historian would reclaim those materials which the +novelist has appropriated. The history of the government, and +the history of the people, would be exhibited in that mode in +which alone they can be exhibited justly, in inseparable +conjunction and intermixture. We should not then have to look +for the wars and votes of the Puritans in Clarendon, and for +their phraseology in Old Mortality; for one half of King James in +Hume, and for the other half in the Fortunes of Nigel. + +The early part of our imaginary history would be rich with +colouring from romance, ballad, and chronicle. We should find +ourselves in the company of knights such as those of Froissart, +and of pilgrims such as those who rode with Chaucer from the +Tabard. Society would be shown from the highest to the lowest,-- +from the royal cloth of state to the den of the outlaw; from the +throne of the legate to the chimney-corner where the begging +friar regaled himself. Palmers, minstrels, crusaders,--the +stately monastery, with the good cheer in its refectory and the +high-mass in its chapel,--the manor-house, with its hunting and +hawking,--the tournament, with the heralds and ladies, the +trumpets and the cloth of gold,--would give truth and life to the +representation. We should perceive, in a thousand slight +touches, the importance of the privileged burgher, and the fierce +and haughty spirit which swelled under the collar of the degraded +villain. The revival of letters would not merely be described in +a few magnificent periods. We should discern, in innumerable +particulars, the fermentation of mind, the eager appetite for +knowledge, which distinguished the sixteenth from the fifteenth +century. In the Reformation we should see, not merely a schism +which changed the ecclesiastical constitution of England and the +mutual relations of the European powers, but a moral war which +raged in every family, which set the father against the son, and +the son against the father, the mother against the daughter, and +the daughter against the mother. Henry would be painted with the +skill of Tacitus. We should have the change of his character +from his profuse and joyous youth to his savage and imperious old +age. We should perceive the gradual progress of selfish and +tyrannical passions in a mind not naturally insensible or +ungenerous; and to the last we should detect some remains of that +open and noble temper which endeared him to a people whom he +oppressed, struggling with the hardness of despotism and the +irritability of disease. We should see Elizabeth in all her +weakness and in all her strength, surrounded by the handsome +favourites whom she never trusted, and the wise old statesmen +whom she never dismissed, uniting in herself the most +contradictory qualities of both her parents,--the coquetry, the +caprice, the petty malice of Anne,--the haughty and resolute +spirit of Henry. We have no hesitation in saying that a great +artist might produce a portrait of this remarkable woman at least +as striking as that in the novel of Kenilworth, without employing +a single trait not authenticated by ample testimony. In the +meantime, we should see arts cultivated, wealth accumulated, the +conveniences of life improved. We should see the keeps, where +nobles, insecure themselves, spread insecurity around them, +gradually giving place to the halls of peaceful opulence, to the +oriels of Longleat, and the stately pinnacles of Burleigh. We +should see towns extended, deserts cultivated, the hamlets of +fishermen turned into wealthy havens, the meal of the peasant +improved, and his hut more commodiously furnished. We should see +those opinions and feelings which produced the great struggle +against the House of Stuart slowly growing up in the bosom of +private families, before they manifested themselves in +parliamentary debates. Then would come the civil war. Those +skirmishes on which Clarendon dwells so minutely would be told, +as Thucydides would have told them, with perspicuous conciseness. +They are merely connecting links. But the great characteristics +of the age, the loyal enthusiasm of the brave English gentry, the +fierce licentiousness of the swearing, dicing, drunken +reprobates, whose excesses disgraced the royal cause,--the +austerity of the Presbyterian Sabbaths in the city, the +extravagance of the independent preachers in the camp, the +precise garb, the severe countenance, the petty scruples, the +affected accent, the absurd names and phrases which marked the +Puritans,--the valour, the policy, the public spirit, which +lurked beneath these ungraceful disguises,--the dreams of the +raving Fifth-monarchy-man, the dreams, scarcely less wild, of the +philosophic republican, all these would enter into the +representation, and render it at once more exact and more +striking. + +The instruction derived from history thus written would be of a +vivid and practical character. It would be received by the +imagination as well as by the reason. It would be not merely +traced on the mind, but branded into it. Many truths, too, would +be learned, which can be learned in no other manner. As the +history of states is generally written, the greatest and most +momentous revolutions seem to come upon them like supernatural +inflictions, without warning or cause. But the fact is, that +such revolutions are almost always the consequences of moral +changes, which have gradually passed on the mass of the +community, and which originally proceed far before their progress +is indicated by any public measure. An intimate knowledge of the +domestic history of nations is therefore absolutely necessary to +the prognosis of political events. A narrative, defective in +this respect, is as useless as a medical treatise which should +pass by all the symptoms attendant on the early stage of a +disease and mention only what occurs when the patient is beyond +the reach of remedies. + +A historian, such as we have been attempting to describe, would +indeed be an intellectual prodigy. In his mind, powers scarcely +compatible with each other must be tempered into an exquisite +harmony. We shall sooner see another Shakspeare or another +Homer. The highest excellence to which any single faculty can be +brought would be less surprising than such a happy and delicate +combination of qualities. Yet the contemplation of imaginary +models is not an unpleasant or useless employment of the mind. +It cannot indeed produce perfection; but it produces improvement +and nourishes that generous and liberal fastidiousness which is +not inconsistent with the strongest sensibility to merit, and +which, while it exalts our conceptions of the art, does not +render us unjust to the artist. + +... + + +MILL ON GOVERNMENT. + +(March 1829.) + +"Essays on Government, Jurisprudence, the Liberty of the Press, +Prisons, and Prison Discipline, Colonies, the Law of Nations, and +Education." By James Mill, Esq., author of the History of +British India. Reprinted by permission from the Supplement to +the Encyclopaedia Britannica. (Not for sale.) London, 1828. + +Of those philosophers who call themselves Utilitarians, and whom +others generally call Benthamites, Mr Mill is, with the exception +of the illustrious founder of the sect, by far the most +distinguished. The little work now before us contains a summary +of the opinions held by this gentleman and his brethren on +several subjects most important to society. All the seven essays +of which it consists abound in curious matter. But at present we +intend to confine our remarks to the Treatise on Government, +which stands first in the volume. On some future occasion, we +may perhaps attempt to do justice to the rest. + +It must be owned that to do justice to any composition of Mr Mill +is not, in the opinion of his admirers, a very easy task. They +do not, indeed, place him in the same rank with Mr Bentham; but +the terms in which they extol the disciple, though feeble when +compared with the hyperboles of adoration employed by them in +speaking of the master, are as strong as any sober man would +allow himself to use concerning Locke or Bacon. The essay before +us is perhaps the most remarkable of the works to which Mr Mill +owes his fame. By the members of his sect, it is considered as +perfect and unanswerable. Every part of it is an article of +their faith; and the damnatory clauses, in which their creed +abounds far beyond any theological symbol with which we are +acquainted, are strong and full against all who reject any +portion of what is so irrefragably established. No man, they +maintain, who has understanding sufficient to carry him through +the first proposition of Euclid, can read this masterpiece of +demonstration and honestly declare that he remains unconvinced. + +We have formed a very different opinion of this work. We think +that the theory of Mr Mill rests altogether on false principles, +and that even on those false principles he does not reason +logically. Nevertheless, we do not think it strange that his +speculations should have filled the Utilitarians with admiration. +We have been for some time past inclined to suspect that these +people, whom some regard as the lights of the world and others as +incarnate demons, are in general ordinary men, with narrow +understandings and little information. The contempt which they +express for elegant literature is evidently the contempt of +ignorance. We apprehend 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 old +number of the Westminster Review, and in a month transforms them +into philosophers. Mingled with these 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 grandmothers, there are, we well know, many +well-meaning men who have really read and thought much; but whose +reading and meditation have been almost exclusively confined to +one class of subjects; and who, consequently, though they possess +much valuable knowledge respecting those subjects, are by no +means so well qualified to judge of a great system as if they had +taken a more enlarged view of literature and society. + +Nothing is more amusing or instructive than to observe the manner +in which people who think themselves wiser than all the rest of +the world fall into snares which the simple good sense of their +neighbours detects and avoids. It is one of the principle tenets +of the Utilitarians that sentiment and eloquence serve only to +impede the pursuit of truth. They therefore affect a quakerly +plainness, or rather a cynical negligence and impurity, of style. +The strongest arguments, when clothed in brilliant language, seem +to them so much wordy nonsense. In the meantime they surrender +their understandings, with a facility found in no other party, to +the meanest and most abject sophisms, provided those sophisms +come before them disguised with the externals of demonstration. +They do not seem to know that logic has its illusions as well as +rhetoric,--that a fallacy may lurk in a syllogism as well as in a +metaphor. + +Mr Mill is exactly the writer to please people of this +description. His arguments are stated with the utmost +affectation of precision; his divisions are awfully formal; and +his style is generally as dry as that of Euclid's Elements. +Whether this be a merit, we must be permitted to doubt. Thus +much is certain: that the ages in which the true principles of +philosophy were least understood were those in which the +ceremonial of logic was most strictly observed, and that the time +from which we date the rapid progress of the experimental +sciences was also the time at which a less exact and formal way +of writing came into use. + +The style which the Utilitarians admire suits only those subjects +on which it is possible to reason a priori. It grew up with the +verbal sophistry which flourished during the dark ages. With +that sophistry it fell before the Baconian philosopher in the day +of the great deliverance of the human mind. The inductive method +not only endured but required greater freedom of diction. It was +impossible to reason from phenomena up to principles, to mark +slight shades of difference in quality, or to estimate the +comparative effect of two opposite considerations between which +there was no common measure, by means of the naked and meagre +jargon of the schoolmen. Of those schoolmen Mr Mill has +inherited both the spirit and the style. He is an Aristotelian +of the fifteenth century, born out of due season. We have here +an elaborate treatise on Government, from which, but for two or +three passing allusions, it would not appear that the author was +aware that any governments actually existed among men. Certain +propensities of human nature are assumed; and from these premises +the whole science of politics is synthetically deduced! We can +scarcely persuade ourselves that we are not reading a book +written before the time of Bacon and Galileo,--a book written in +those days in which physicians reasoned from the nature of heat +to the treatment of fever, and astronomers proved syllogistically +that the planets could have no independent motion,--because the +heavens were incorruptible, and nature abhorred a vacuum! + +The reason, too, which Mr Mill has assigned for taking this +course strikes us as most extraordinary. + +"Experience," says he, "if we look only at the outside of the +facts, appears to be DIVIDED on this subject. Absolute monarchy, +under Neros and Caligulas, under such men as the Emperors of +Morocco and Sultans of Turkey, is the scourge of human nature. +On the other side, the people of Denmark, tired out with the +oppression of an aristocracy, resolved that their king should be +absolute; and, under their absolute monarch, are as well governed +as any people in Europe." + +This Mr Mill actually gives as a reason for pursuing the a priori +method. But, in our judgment, the very circumstances which he +mentions irresistibly prove that the a priori method is +altogether unfit for investigations of this kind, and that the +only way to arrive at the truth is by induction. EXPERIENCE can +never be divided, or even appear to be divided, except with +reference to some hypothesis. When we say that one fact is +inconsistent with another fact, we mean only that it is +inconsistent with THE THEORY which we have founded on that other +fact. But, if the fact be certain, the unavoidable conclusion is +that our theory is false; and, in order to correct it, we must +reason back from an enlarged collection of facts to principles. + +Now here we have two governments which, by Mr Mill's own account, +come under the same head in his THEORETICAL classification. It +is evident, therefore, that, by reasoning on that theoretical +classification, we shall be brought to the conclusion that these +two forms of government must produce the same effects. But Mr +Mill himself tells us that they do not produce the same effects. +Hence he infers that the only way to get at truth is to place +implicit confidence in that chain of proof a priori from which it +appears that they must produce the same effects! To believe at +once in a theory and in a fact which contradicts it is an +exercise of faith sufficiently hard: but to believe in a theory +BECAUSE a fact contradicts it is what neither philosopher nor +pope ever before required. This, however, is what Mr Mill +demands of us. He seems to think that, if all despots, without +exception, governed ill, it would be unnecessary to prove, by a +synthetical argument, what would then be sufficiently clear from +experience. But, as some despots will be so perverse as to +govern well, he finds himself compelled to prove the +impossibility of their governing well by that synthetical +argument which would have been superfluous had not the facts +contradicted it. He reasons a priori, because the phenomena are +not what, by reasoning a priori, he will prove them to be. In +other words, he reasons a priori, because, by so reasoning, he is +certain to arrive at a false conclusion! + +In the course of the examination to which we propose to subject +the speculations of Mr Mill we shall have to notice many other +curious instances of that turn of mind which the passage above +quoted indicates. + +The first chapter of his Essay relates to the ends of government. +The conception on this subject, he tells us, which exists in the +minds of most men is vague and undistinguishing. He first +assumes, justly enough, that the end of government is "to +increase to the utmost the pleasures, and diminish to the utmost +the pains, which men derive from each other." He then proceeds +to show, with great form, that "the greatest possible happiness +of society is attained by insuring to every man the greatest +possible quantity of the produce of his labour." To effect this +is, in his opinion, the end of government. It is remarkable that +Mr Mill, with all his affected display of precision, has here +given a description of the ends of government far less precise +than that which is in the mouths of the vulgar. The first man +with whom Mr Mill may travel in a stage coach will tell him that +government exists for the protection of the PERSONS and property +of men. But Mr Mill seems to think that the preservation of +property is the first and only object. It is true, doubtless, +that many of the injuries which are offered to the persons of men +proceed from a desire to possess their property. But the +practice of vindictive assassination as it has existed in some +parts of Europe--the practice of fighting wanton and sanguinary +duels, like those of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, in +which bands of seconds risked their lives as well as the +principals;--these practices, and many others which might be +named, are evidently injurious to society; and we do not see how +a government which tolerated them could be said "to diminish to +the utmost the pains which men derive from each other." +Therefore, according to Mr Mill's very correct assumption, such a +government would not perfectly accomplish the end of its +institution. Yet such a government might, as far as we can +perceive, "insure to every man the greatest possible quantity of +the produce of his labour." Therefore such a government might, +according to Mr Mill's subsequent doctrine, perfectly accomplish +the end of its institution. The matter is not of much +consequence, except as an instance of that slovenliness of +thinking which is often concealed beneath a peculiar ostentation +of logical neatness. + +Having determined the ends, Mr Mill proceeds to consider the +means. For the preservation of property some portion of the +community must be intrusted with power. This is government; and +the question is, how are those to whom the necessary power is +intrusted to be prevented from abusing it? + +Mr Mill first passes in review the simple forms of government. +He allows that it would be inconvenient, if not physically +impossible, that the whole community should meet in a mass; it +follows, therefore, that the powers of government cannot be +directly exercised by the people. But he sees no objection to +pure and direct Democracy, except the difficulty which we have +mentioned. + +"The community," says he, "cannot have an interest opposite to +its interests. To affirm this would be a contradiction in terms. +The community within itself, and with respect to itself, can have +no sinister interest. One community may intend the evil of +another; never its own. This is an indubitable proposition, and +one of great importance." + +Mr Mill then proceeds to demonstrate that a purely aristocratical +form of government is necessarily bad. + +"The reason for which government exists is, that one man, if +stronger than another, will take from him whatever that other +possesses and he desires. But if one man will do this, so will +several. And if powers are put into the hands of a comparatively +small number, called an aristocracy,--powers which make them +stronger than the rest of the community, they will take from the +rest of the community as much as they please of the objects of +desire. They will thus defeat the very end for which government +was instituted. The unfitness, therefore, of an aristocracy to +be intrusted with the powers of government, rests on +demonstration. + +In exactly the same manner Mr Mill proves absolute monarchy to be +a bad form of government. + +"If government is founded upon this as a law of human nature, +that a man, if able, will take from others anything which they +have and he desires, it is sufficiently evident, that when a man +is called a king he does not change his nature; so that when he +has got power to enable him to take from every man what he +pleases, he will take whatever he pleases. To suppose that he +will not, is to affirm that government is unnecessary, and that +human beings will abstain from injuring one another of their own +accord. + +"It is very evident that this reasoning extends to every +modification of the smaller number. Whenever the powers of +government are placed in any hands other than those of the +community, whether those of one man, of a few, or of several, +those principles of human nature which imply that government is +at all necessary, imply that those persons will make use of them +to defeat the very end for which government exists." + +But is it not possible that a king or an aristocracy may soon be +saturated with the objects of their desires, and may then protect +the community in the enjoyment of the rest? Mr Mill answers in +the negative. He proves, with great pomp, that every man desires +to have the actions of every other correspondent to his will. +Others can be induced to conform to our will only by motives +derived from pleasure or from pain. The infliction of pain is of +course direct injury; and, even if it take the milder course, in +order to produce obedience by motives derived from pleasure, the +government must confer favours. But, as there is no limit to its +desire of obedience, there will be no limit to its disposition to +confer favours; and, as it can confer favours only by plundering +the people, there will be no limit to its disposition to plunder +the people. It is therefore not true that there is in the mind +of a king, or in the minds of an aristocracy, any point of +saturation with the objects of desire. + +Mr Mill then proceeds to show that, as monarchical and +oligarchical governments can influence men by motives drawn from +pain, as well as by motives drawn from pleasure, they will carry +their cruelty, as well as their rapacity, to a frightful extent. +As he seems greatly to admire his own reasonings on this subject, +we think it but fair to let him speak for himself. + +"The chain of inference in this case is close and strong to a +most unusual degree. A man desires that the actions of other men +shall be instantly and accurately correspondent to his will. He +desires that the actions of the greatest possible number shall be +so. Terror is the grand instrument. Terror can work only +through assurance that evil will follow any failure of conformity +between the will and the actions willed. Every failure must +therefore be punished. As there are no bounds to the mind's +desire of its pleasure, there are, of course, no bounds to its +desire of perfection in the instruments of that pleasure. There +are, therefore, no bounds to its desire of exactness in the +conformity between its will and the actions willed; and by +consequence to the strength of that terror which is its procuring +cause. Even the most minute failure must be visited with the +heaviest infliction; and as failure in extreme exactness must +frequently happen, the occasions of cruelty must be incessant. + +"We have thus arrived at several conclusions of the highest +possible importance. We have seen that the principle of human +nature, upon which the necessity of government is founded, the +propensity of one man to possess himself of the objects of desire +at the cost of another, leads on, by infallible sequence, where +power over a community is attained, and nothing checks, not only +to that degree of plunder which leaves the members (excepting +always the recipients and instruments of the plunder) the bare +means of subsistence, but to that degree of cruelty which is +necessary to keep in existence the most intense terrors." + +Now, no man who has the least knowledge of the real state of the +world, either in former ages or at the present moment, can +possibly be convinced, though he may perhaps be bewildered, by +arguments like these. During the last two centuries, some +hundreds of absolute princes have reigned in Europe. Is it true, +that their cruelty has kept in existence the most intense degree +of terror; that their rapacity has left no more than the bare +means of subsistence to any of their subjects, their ministers +and soldiers excepted? Is this true of all of them? Of one half +of them? Of one tenth part of them? Of a single one? Is it +true, in the full extent, even of Philip the Second, of Louis the +Fifteenth, or of the Emperor Paul? But it is scarcely necessary +to quote history. No man of common sense, however ignorant he +may be of books, can be imposed on by Mr Mill's argument; because +no man of common sense can live among his fellow-creatures for a +day without seeing innumerable facts which contradict it. It is +our business, however, to point out its fallacy; and happily the +fallacy is not very recondite. + +We grant that rulers will take as much as they can of the objects +of their desires; and that, when the agency of other men is +necessary to that end, they will attempt by all means in their +power to enforce the prompt obedience of such men. But what are +the objects of human desire? Physical pleasure, no doubt, in +part. But the mere appetites which we have in common with the +animals would be gratified almost as cheaply and easily as those +of the animals are gratified, if nothing were given to taste, to +ostentation, or to the affections. How small a portion of the +income of a gentleman in easy circumstances is laid out merely in +giving pleasurable sensations to the body of the possessor! The +greater part even of what is spent on his kitchen and his cellar +goes, not to titillate his palate, but to keep up his character +for hospitality, to save him from the reproach of meanness in +housekeeping, and to cement the ties of good neighbourhood. It +is clear that a king or an aristocracy may be supplied to satiety +with mere corporal pleasures, at an expense which the rudest and +poorest community would scarcely feel. + +Those tastes and propensities which belong to us as reasoning and +imaginative beings are not indeed so easily gratified. There is, +we admit, no point of saturation with objects of desire which +come under this head. And therefore the argument of Mr Mill will +be just, unless there be something in the nature of the objects +of desire themselves which is inconsistent with it. Now, of +these objects there is none which men in general seem to desire +more than the good opinion of others. The hatred and contempt of +the public are generally felt to be intolerable. It is probable +that our regard for the sentiments of our fellow-creatures +springs, by association, from a sense of their ability to hurt or +to serve us. But, be this as it may, it is notorious that, when +the habit of mind of which we speak has once been formed, men +feel extremely solicitous about the opinions of those by whom it +is most improbable, nay, absolutely impossible, that they should +ever be in the slightest degree injured or benefited. The desire +of posthumous fame and the dread of posthumous reproach and +execration are feelings from the influence of which scarcely any +man is perfectly free, and which in many men are powerful and +constant motives of action. As we are afraid that, if we handle +this part of the argument after our own manner, we shall incur +the reproach of sentimentality, a word which, in the sacred +language of the Benthamites, is synonymous with idiocy, we will +quote what Mr Mill himself says on the subject, in his Treatise +on Jurisprudence. + +"Pains from the moral source are the pains derived from the +unfavourable sentiments of mankind...These pains are capable of +rising to a height with which hardly any other pains incident to +our nature can be compared. There is a certain degree of +unfavourableness in the sentiments of his fellow-creatures, under +which hardly any man, not below the standard of humanity, can +endure to live. + +"The importance of this powerful agency, for the prevention of +injurious acts, is too obvious to need to be illustrated. If +sufficiently at command, it would almost supersede the use of +other means... + +"To know how to direct the unfavourable sentiments of mankind, it +is necessary to know in as complete, that is, in as +comprehensive, a way as possible, what it is which gives them +birth. Without entering into the metaphysics of the question, it +is a sufficient practical answer, for the present purpose, to say +that the unfavourable sentiments of man are excited by everything +which hurts them." + +It is strange that a writer who considers the pain derived from +the unfavourable sentiments of others as so acute that, if +sufficiently at command, it would supersede the use of the +gallows and the tread-mill, should take no notice of this most +important restraint when discussing the question of government. +We will attempt to deduce a theory of politics in the +mathematical form, in which Mr Mill delights, from the premises +with which he has himself furnished us. + +PROPOSITION I. THEOREM. + +No rulers will do anything which may hurt the people. + +This is the thesis to be maintained; and the following we humbly +offer to Mr Mill, as its syllogistic demonstration. + +No rulers will do that which produces pain to themselves. + +But the unfavourable sentiments of the people will give pain to +them. + +Therefore no rulers will do anything which may excite the +unfavourable sentiments of the people. + +But the unfavourable sentiments of the people are excited by +everything which hurts them. + +Therefore no rulers will do anything which may hurt the people. +Which was the thing to be proved. + +Having thus, as we think, not unsuccessfully imitated Mr Mill's +logic, we do not see why we should not imitate, what is at least +equally perfect in its kind, its self-complacency, and proclaim +our Eureka in his own words: "The chain of inference, in this +case, is close and strong to a most unusual degree." + +The fact is, that, when men, in treating of things which cannot +be circumscribed by precise definitions, adopt this mode of +reasoning, when once they begin to talk of power, happiness, +misery, pain, pleasure, motives, objects of desire, as they talk +of lines and numbers, there is no end to the contradictions and +absurdities into which they fall. There is no proposition so +monstrously untrue in morals or politics that we will not +undertake to prove it, by something which shall sound like a +logical demonstration from admitted principles. + +Mr Mill argues that, if men are not inclined to plunder each +other, government is unnecessary; and that, if they are so +inclined, the powers of government, when entrusted to a small +number of them, will necessarily be abused. Surely it is not by +propounding dilemmas of this sort that we are likely to arrive at +sound conclusions in any moral science. The whole question is a +question of degree. If all men preferred the moderate +approbation of their neighbours to any degree of wealth or +grandeur, or sensual pleasure, government would be unnecessary. +If all men desired wealth so intensely as to be willing to brave +the hatred of their fellow-creatures for sixpence, Mr Mill's +argument against monarchies and aristocracies would be true to +the full extent. But the fact is, that all men have some desires +which impel them to injure their neighbours, and some desires +which impel them to benefit their neighbours. Now, if there were +a community consisting of two classes of men, one of which should +be principally influenced by the one set of motives and the other +by the other, government would clearly be necessary to restrain +the class which was eager for plunder and careless of reputation: +and yet the powers of government might be safely intrusted to the +class which was chiefly actuated by the love of approbation. +Now, it might with no small plausibility be maintained that, in +many countries, THERE ARE two classes which, in some degree, +answer to this description; that the poor compose the class which +government is established to restrain, and the people of some +property the class to which the powers of government may without +danger be confided. It might be said that a man who can barely +earn a livelihood by severe labour is under stronger temptations +to pillage others than a man who enjoys many luxuries. It might +be said that a man who is lost in the crowd is less likely to +have the fear of public opinion before his eyes than a man whose +station and mode of living render him conspicuous. We do not +assert all this. We only say that it was Mr Mill's business to +prove the contrary; and that, not having proved the contrary, he +is not entitled to say, "that those principles which imply that +government is at all necessary, imply that an aristocracy will +make use of its power to defeat the end for which governments +exist." This is not true, unless it be true that a rich man is +as likely to covet the goods of his neighbours as a poor man, and +that a poor man is as likely to be solicitous about the opinions +of his neighbours as a rich man. + +But we do not see that, by reasoning a priori on such subjects as +these, it is possible to advance one single step. We know that +every man has some desires which he can gratify only by hurting +his neighbours, and some which he can gratify only by pleasing +them. Mr Mill has chosen to look only at one-half of human +nature, and to reason on the motives which impel men to oppress +and despoil others, as if they were the only motives by which men +could possibly be influenced. We have already shown that, by +taking the other half of the human character, and reasoning on it +as if it were the whole, we can bring out a result diametrically +opposite to that at which Mr Mill has arrived. We can, by such a +process, easily prove that any form of government is good, or +that all government is superfluous. + +We must now accompany Mr Mill on the next stage of his argument. + +Does any combination of the three simple forms of government +afford the requisite securities against the abuse of power? Mr +Mill complains that those who maintain the affirmative generally +beg the question; and proceeds to settle the point by proving, +after his fashion, that no combination of the three simple forms, +or of any two of them, can possibly exist. + +"From the principles which we have already laid down it follows +that, of the objects of human desire, and, speaking more +definitely, of the means to the ends of human desire, namely, +wealth and power, each party will endeavour to obtain as much as +possible. + +"If any expedient presents itself to any of the supposed parties +effectual to this end, and not opposed to any preferred object of +pursuit, we may infer with certainty that it will be adopted. +One effectual expedient is not more effectual than obvious. Any +two of the parties, by combining, may swallow up the third. That +such combination will take place appears to be as certain as +anything which depends upon human will; because there are strong +motives in favour of it, and none that can be conceived in +opposition to it...The mixture of three of the kinds of +government, it is thus evident, cannot possibly exist...It may be +proper to enquire whether an union may not be possible of two of +them... + +"Let us first suppose, that monarchy is united with aristocracy. +Their power is equal or not equal. If it is not equal, it +follows, as a necessary consequence, from the principles which we +have already established, that the stronger will take from the +weaker till it engrosses the whole. The only question therefore +is, What will happen when the power is equal? + +"In the first place, it seems impossible that such equality +should ever exist. How is it to be established? or, by what +criterion is it to be ascertained? If there is no such +criterion, it must, in all cases, be the result of chance. If +so, the chances against it are as infinity to one. The idea, +therefore, is wholly chimerical and absurd... + +"In this doctrine of the mixture of the simple forms of +government is included the celebrated theory of the balance among +the component parts of a government. By this it is supposed +that, when a government is composed of monarchy, aristocracy, and +democracy, they balance one another, and by mutual checks produce +good government. A few words will suffice to show that, if any +theory deserves the epithets of 'wild, visionary, and +chimerical,' it is that of the balance. If there are three +powers, how is it possible to prevent two of them from combining +to swallow up the third? + +"The analysis which we have already performed will enable us to +trace rapidly the concatenation of causes and effects in this +imagined case. + +"We have already seen that the interests of the community, +considered in the aggregate, or in the democratical point of +view, is, that each individual should receive protection; and +that the powers which are constituted for that purpose should be +employed exclusively for that purpose...We have also seen that +the interest of the king and of the governing aristocracy is +directly the reverse. It is to have unlimited power over the +rest of the community, and to use it for their own advantage. In +the supposed case of the balance of the monarchical, +aristocratical, and democratical powers, it cannot be for the +interest of either the monarchy or the aristocracy to combine +with the democracy; because it is the interest of the democracy, +or community at large, that neither the king nor the aristocracy +should have one particle of power, or one particle of the wealth +of the community, for their own advantage. + +"The democracy or community have all possible motives to +endeavour to prevent the monarchy and aristocracy from exercising +power, or obtaining the wealth of the community for their own +advantage. The monarchy and aristocracy have all possible +motives for endeavouring to obtain unlimited power over the +persons and property of the community. The consequence is +inevitable: they have all possible motives for combining to +obtain that power." + +If any part of this passage be more eminently absurd than +another, it is, we think, the argument by which Mr Mill proves +that there cannot be an union of monarchy and aristocracy. Their +power, he says, must be equal or not equal. But of equality +there is no criterion. Therefore the chances against its +existence are as infinity to one. If the power be not equal, +then it follows, from the principles of human nature, that the +stronger will take from the weaker, till it has engrossed the +whole. + +Now, if there be no criterion of equality between two portions of +power there can be no common measure of portions of power. +Therefore it is utterly impossible to compare them together. But +where two portions of power are of the same kind, there is no +difficulty in ascertaining, sufficiently for all practical +purposes, whether they are equal or unequal. It is easy to judge +whether two men run equally fast, or can lift equal weights. Two +arbitrators, whose joint decision is to be final, and neither of +whom can do anything without the assent of the other, possess +equal power. Two electors, each of whom has a vote for a +borough, possess, in that respect, equal power. If not, all Mr +Mill's political theories fall to the ground at once. For, if it +be impossible to ascertain whether two portions of power are +equal, he never can show that even under a system of universal +suffrage, a minority might not carry every thing their own way, +against the wishes and interests of the majority. + +Where there are two portions of power differing in kind, there +is, we admit, no criterion of equality. But then, in such a +case, it is absurd to talk, as Mr Mill does, about the stronger +and the weaker. Popularly, indeed, and with reference to some +particular objects, these words may very fairly be used. But to +use them mathematically is altogether improper. If we are +speaking of a boxing-match, we may say that some famous bruiser +has greater bodily power than any man in England. If we are +speaking of a pantomime, we may say the same of some very agile +harlequin. But it would be talking nonsense to say, in general, +that the power of Harlequin either exceeded that of the pugilist +or fell short of it. + +If Mr Mill's argument be good as between different branches of a +legislature, it is equally good as between sovereign powers. +Every government, it may be said, will, if it can, take the +objects of its desires from every other. If the French +government can subdue England it will do so. If the English +government can subdue France it will do so. But the power of +England and France is either equal or not equal. The chance that +it is not exactly equal is as infinity to one, and may safely be +left out of the account; and then the stronger will infallibly +take from the weaker till the weaker is altogether enslaved. + +Surely the answer to all this hubbub of unmeaning words is the +plainest possible. For some purposes France is stronger than +England. For some purposes England is stronger than France. For +some, neither has any power at all. France has the greater +population, England the greater capital; France has the greater +army, England the greater fleet. For an expedition to Rio +Janeiro or the Philippines, England has the greater power. For a +war on the Po or the Danube, France has the greater power. But +neither has power sufficient to keep the other in quiet +subjection for a month. Invasion would be very perilous; the +idea of complete conquest on either side utterly ridiculous. +This is the manly and sensible way of discussing such questions. +The ergo, or rather the argal, of Mr Mill cannot impose on a +child. Yet we ought scarcely to say this; for we remember to +have heard A CHILD ask whether Bonaparte was stronger than an +elephant! + +Mr Mill reminds us of those philosophers of the sixteenth century +who, having satisfied themselves a priori that the rapidity with +which bodies descended to the earth varied exactly as their +weights, refused to believe the contrary on the evidence of their +own eyes and ears. The British constitution, according to Mr +Mill's classification, is a mixture of monarchy and aristocracy; +one House of Parliament being composed of hereditary nobles, and +the other almost entirely chosen by a privileged class who +possess the elective franchise on account of their property, or +their connection with certain corporations. Mr Mill's argument +proves that, from the time that these two powers were mingled in +our government, that is, from the very first dawn of our history, +one or the other must have been constantly encroaching. +According to him, moreover, all the encroachments must have been +on one side. For the first encroachment could only have been +made by the stronger; and that first encroachment would have made +the stronger stronger still. It is, therefore, matter of +absolute demonstration, that either the Parliament was stronger +than the Crown in the reign of Henry VIII., or that the Crown was +stronger than the Parliament in 1641. "Hippocrate dira ce que +lui plaira," says the girl in Moliere; "mais le cocher est mort." +Mr Mill may say what he pleases; but the English constitution is +still alive. That since the Revolution the Parliament has +possessed great power in the State, is what nobody will dispute. +The King, on the other hand, can create new peers, and can +dissolve Parliaments. William sustained severe mortifications +from the House of Commons, and was, indeed, unjustifiably +oppressed. Anne was desirous to change a ministry which had a +majority in both Houses. She watched her moment for a +dissolution, created twelve Tory peers, and succeeded. Thirty +years later, the House of Commons drove Walpole from his seat. +In 1784, George III. was able to keep Mr Pitt in office in the +face of a majority of the House of Commons. In 1804, the +apprehension of a defeat in Parliament compelled the same King to +part from his most favoured minister. But, in 1807, he was able +to do exactly what Anne had done nearly a hundred years before. +Now, had the power of the King increased during the intervening +century, or had it remained stationary? Is it possible that the +one lot among the infinite number should have fallen to us? If +not, Mr Mill has proved that one of the two parties must have +been constantly taking from the other. Many of the ablest men in +England think that the influence of the Crown has, on the whole, +increased since the reign of Anne. Others think that the +Parliament has been growing in strength. But of this there is no +doubt, that both sides possessed great power then, and possess +great power now. Surely, if there were the least truth in the +argument of Mr Mill, it could not possibly be a matter of doubt, +at the end of a hundred and twenty years, whether the one side or +the other had been the gainer. + +But we ask pardon. We forgot that a fact, irreconcilable with Mr +Mill's theory, furnishes, in his opinion, the strongest reason +for adhering to the theory. To take up the question in another +manner, is it not plain that there may be two bodies, each +possessing a perfect and entire power, which cannot be taken from +it without its own concurrence? What is the meaning of the words +stronger and weaker, when applied to such bodies as these? The +one may, indeed, by physical force, altogether destroy the other. +But this is not the question. A third party, a general of their +own, for example, may, by physical force, subjugate them both. +Nor is there any form of government, Mr Mill's utopian democracy +not excepted, secure from such an occurrence. We are speaking of +the powers with which the constitution invests the two branches +of the legislature; and we ask Mr Mill how, on his own +principles, he can maintain that one of them will be able to +encroach on the other, if the consent of the other be necessary +to such encroachment? + +Mr Mill tells us that, if a government be composed of the three +simple forms, which he will not admit the British constitution to +be, two of the component parts will inevitably join against the +third. Now, if two of them combine and act as one, this case +evidently resolves itself into the last: and all the +observations which we have just made will fully apply to it. Mr +Mill says, that "any two of the parties, by combining, may +swallow up the third;" and afterwards asks, "How is it possible +to prevent two of them from combining to swallow up the third?" +Surely Mr Mill must be aware that in politics two is not always +the double of one. If the concurrence of all the three branches +of the legislature be necessary to every law, each branch will +possess constitutional power sufficient to protect it against +anything but that physical force from which no form of government +is secure. Mr Mill reminds us of the Irishman, who could not be +brought to understand how one juryman could possibly starve out +eleven others. + +But is it certain that two of the branches of the legislature +will combine against the third? "It appears to be as certain," +says Mr Mill, "as anything which depends upon human will; because +there are strong motives in favour of it, and none that can be +conceived in opposition to it." He subsequently sets forth what +these motives are. The interest of the democracy is that each +individual should receive protection. The interest of the King +and the aristocracy is to have all the power that they can +obtain, and to use it for their own ends. Therefore the King and +the aristocracy have all possible motives for combining against +the people. If our readers will look back to the passage quoted +above, they will see that we represent Mr Mill's argument quite +fairly. + +Now we should have thought that, without the help of either +history or experience, Mr Mill would have discovered, by the +light of his own logic, the fallacy which lurks, and indeed +scarcely lurks, under this pretended demonstration. The interest +of the King may be opposed to that of the people. But is it +identical with that of the aristocracy? In the very page which +contains this argument, intended to prove that the King and the +aristocracy will coalesce against the people, Mr Mill attempts to +show that there is so strong an opposition of interest between +the King and the aristocracy that if the powers of government are +divided between them the one will inevitably usurp the power of +the other. If so, he is not entitled to conclude that they will +combine to destroy the power of the people merely because their +interests may be at variance with those of the people. He is +bound to show, not merely that in all communities the interest of +a king must be opposed to that of the people, but also that, in +all communities, it must be more directly opposed to the interest +of the people than to the interest of the aristocracy. But he +has not shown this. Therefore he has not proved his proposition +on his own principles. To quote history would be a mere waste of +time. Every schoolboy, whose studies have gone so far as the +Abridgments of Goldsmith, can mention instances in which +sovereigns have allied themselves with the people against the +aristocracy, and in which the nobles have allied themselves with +the people against the sovereign. In general, when there are +three parties, every one of which has much to fear from the +others, it is not found that two of them combine to plunder the +third. If such a combination be formed, it scarcely ever effects +its purpose. It soon becomes evident which member of the +coalition is likely to be the greater gainer by the transaction. +He becomes an object of jealousy to his ally, who, in all +probability, changes sides, and compels him to restore what he +has taken. Everybody knows how Henry VIII. trimmed between +Francis and the Emperor Charles. But it is idle to cite examples +of the operation of a principle which is illustrated in almost +every page of history, ancient or modern, and to which almost +every state in Europe has, at one time or another, been indebted +for its independence. + +Mr Mill has now, as he conceives, demonstrated that the simple +forms of government are bad, and that the mixed forms cannot +possibly exist. There is still, however, it seems, a hope for +mankind. + +"In the grand discovery of modern times, the system of +representation, the solution of all the difficulties, both +speculative and practical, will perhaps be found. If it cannot, +we seem to be forced upon the extraordinary conclusion, that good +government is impossible. For, as there is no individual or +combination of individuals, except the community itself, who +would not have an interest in bad government if intrusted with +its powers, and as the community itself is incapable of +exercising those powers, and must intrust them to certain +individuals, the conclusion is obvious: the community itself +must check those individuals; else they will follow their +interest, and produce bad government. But how is it the +community can check? The community can act only when assembled; +and when assembled, it is incapable of acting. The community, +however, can choose representatives." + +The next question is--How must the representative body be +constituted? Mr Mill lays down two principles, about which, he +says, "it is unlikely that there will be any dispute." + +"First, The checking body must have a degree of power sufficient +for the business of checking." + +"Secondly, It must have an identity of interest with the +community. Otherwise, it will make a mischievous use of its +power." + +The first of these propositions certainly admits of no dispute. +As to the second, we shall hereafter take occasion to make some +remarks on the sense in which Mr Mill understands the words +"interest of the community." + +It does not appear very easy, on Mr Mill's principles, to find +out any mode of making the interest of the representative body +identical with that of the constituent body. The plan proposed +by Mr Mill is simply that of very frequent election. "As it +appears," says he, "that limiting the duration of their power is +a security against the sinister interest of the people's +representatives, so it appears that it is the only security of +which the nature of the case admits." But all the arguments by +which Mr Mill has proved monarchy and aristocracy to be +pernicious will, as it appears to us, equally prove this security +to be no security at all. Is it not clear that the +representatives, as soon as they are elected, are an aristocracy, +with an interest opposed to the interest of the community? Why +should they not pass a law for extending the term of their power +from one year to ten years, or declare themselves senators for +life? If the whole legislative power is given to them, they will +be constitutionally competent to do this. If part of the +legislative power is withheld from them, to whom is that part +given? Is the people to retain it, and to express its assent or +dissent in primary assemblies? Mr Mill himself tells us that the +community can only act when assembled, and that, when assembled, +it is incapable of acting. Or is it to be provided, as in some +of the American republics, that no change in the fundamental laws +shall be made without the consent of a convention, specially +elected for the purpose? Still the difficulty recurs: Why may +not the members of the convention betray their trust, as well as +the members of the ordinary legislature? When private men, they +may have been zealous for the interests of the community. When +candidates, they may have pledged themselves to the cause of the +constitution. But, as soon as they are a convention, as soon as +they are separated from the people, as soon as the supreme power +is put into their hands, commences that interest opposite to the +interest of the community which must, according to Mr Mill, +produce measures opposite to the interests of the community. We +must find some other means, therefore, of checking this check +upon a check; some other prop to carry the tortoise, that carries +the elephant, that carries the world. + +We know well that there is no real danger in such a case. But +there is no danger only because there is no truth in Mr Mill's +principles. If men were what he represents them to be, the +letter of the very constitution which he recommends would afford +no safeguard against bad government. The real security is this, +that legislators will be deterred by the fear of resistance and +of infamy from acting in the manner which we have described. But +restraints, exactly the same in kind, and differing only in +degree, exist in all forms of government. That broad line of +distinction which Mr Mill tries to point out between monarchies +and aristocracies on the one side, and democracies on the other, +has in fact no existence. In no form of government is there an +absolute identity of interest between the people and their +rulers. In every form of government, the rulers stand in some +awe of the people. The fear of resistance and the sense of shame +operate in a certain degree, on the most absolute kings and the +most illiberal oligarchies. And nothing but the fear of +resistance and the sense of shame preserves the freedom of the +most democratic communities from the encroachments of their +annual and biennial delegates. + +We have seen how Mr Mill proposes to render the interest of the +representative body identical with that of the constituent body. +The next question is, in what manner the interest of the +constituent body is to be rendered identical with that of the +community. Mr Mill shows that a minority of the community, +consisting even of many thousands, would be a bad constituent +body, and, indeed, merely a numerous aristocracy. + +"The benefits of the representative system," says he, "are lost +in all cases in which the interests of the choosing body are not +the same with those of the community. It is very evident, that +if the community itself were the choosing body, the interests of +the community and that of the choosing body would be the same." + +On these grounds Mr Mill recommends that all males of mature age, +rich and poor, educated and ignorant, shall have votes. But why +not the women too? This question has often been asked in +parliamentary debate, and has never, to our knowledge, received a +plausible answer. Mr Mill escapes from it as fast as he can. +But we shall take the liberty to dwell a little on the words of +the oracle. "One thing," says he, "is pretty clear, that all +those individuals whose interests are involved in those of other +individuals, may be struck off without inconvenience...In this +light women may be regarded, the interest of almost all of whom +is involved either in that of their fathers, or in that of their +husbands." + +If we were to content ourselves with saying, in answer to all the +arguments in Mr Mill's essay, that the interest of a king is +involved in that of the community, we should be accused, and +justly, of talking nonsense. Yet such an assertion would not, as +far as we can perceive, be more unreasonable than that which Mr +Mill has here ventured to make. Without adducing one fact, +without taking the trouble to perplex the question by one +sophism, he placidly dogmatises away the interest of one half of +the human race. If there be a word of truth in history, women +have always been, and still are, over the greater part of the +globe, humble companions, play things, captives, menials, beasts +of burden. Except in a few happy and highly civilised +communities, they are strictly in a state of personal slavery. +Even in those countries where they are best treated, the laws are +generally unfavourable to them, with respect to almost all the +points in which they are most deeply interested. + +Mr Mill is not legislating for England or the United States, but +for mankind. Is then the interest of a Turk the same with that +of the girls who compose his harem? Is the interest of a Chinese +the same with that of the woman whom he harnesses to his plough? +Is the interest of an Italian the same with that of the daughter +whom he devotes to God? The interest of a respectable Englishman +may be said, without any impropriety, to be identical with that +of his wife. But why is it so? Because human nature is NOT what +Mr Mill conceives it to be; because civilised men, pursuing their +own happiness in a social state, are not Yahoos fighting for +carrion; because there is a pleasure in being loved and esteemed, +as well as in being feared and servilely obeyed. Why does not a +gentleman restrict his wife to the bare maintenance which the law +would compel him to allow her, that he may have more to spend on +his personal pleasures? Because, if he loves her, he has +pleasure in seeing her pleased; and because, even if he dislikes +her, he is unwilling that the whole neighbourhood should cry +shame on his meanness and ill-nature. Why does not the +legislature, altogether composed of males, pass a law to deprive +women of all civil privileges whatever, and reduce them to the +state of slaves? By passing such a law, they would gratify what +Mr Mill tells us is an inseparable part of human nature, the +desire to possess unlimited power of inflicting pain upon others. +That they do not pass such a law, though they have the power to +pass it, and that no man in England wishes to see such a law +passed, proves that the desire to possess unlimited power of +inflicting pain is not inseparable from human nature. + +If there be in this country an identity of interest between the +two sexes, it cannot possibly arise from anything but the +pleasure of being loved, and of communicating happiness. For, +that it does not spring from the mere instinct of sex, the +treatment which women experience over the greater part of the +world abundantly proves. And, if it be said that our laws of +marriage have produced it, this only removes the argument a step +further; for those laws have been made by males. Now, if the +kind feelings of one half of the species be a sufficient security +for the happiness of the other, why may not the kind feelings of +a monarch or an aristocracy be sufficient at least to prevent +them from grinding the people to the very utmost of their power? + +If Mr Mill will examine why it is that women are better treated +in England than in Persia, he may perhaps find out, in the course +of his inquiries, why it is that the Danes are better governed +than the subjects of Caligula. + +We now come to the most important practical question in the whole +essay. Is it desirable that all males arrived at years of +discretion should vote for representatives, or should a pecuniary +qualification be required? Mr Mill's opinion is, that the lower +the qualification the better; and that the best system is that in +which there is none at all. + +"The qualification," says he, "must either be such as to embrace +the majority of the population, or something less than the +majority. Suppose, in the first place, that it embraces the +majority, the question is, whether the majority would have an +interest in oppressing those who, upon this supposition, would be +deprived of political power? If we reduce the calculation to its +elements, we shall see that the interest which they would have of +this deplorable kind, though it would be something, would not be +very great. Each man of the majority, if the majority were +constituted the governing body, would have something less than +the benefit of oppressing a single man. If the majority were +twice as great as the minority, each man of the majority would +only have one half the benefit of oppressing a single +man...Suppose in the second place, that the qualification did not +admit a body of electors so large as the majority, in that case, +taking again the calculation in its elements, we shall see that +each man would have a benefit equal to that derived from the +oppression of more than one man; and that, in proportion as the +elective body constituted a smaller and smaller minority, the +benefit of misrule to the elective body would be increased, and +bad government would be insured." + +The first remark which we have to make on this argument is, that, +by Mr Mill's own account, even a government in which every human +being should vote would still be defective. For, under a system +of universal suffrage, the majority of the electors return the +representative, and the majority of the representatives make the +law. The whole people may vote, therefore; but only the majority +govern. So that, by Mr Mill's own confession, the most perfect +system of government conceivable is one in which the interest of +the ruling body to oppress, though not great, is something. + +But is Mr Mill in the right when he says that such an interest +could not be very great? We think not. If, indeed, every man in +the community possessed an equal share of what Mr Mill calls the +objects of desire, the majority would probably abstain from +plundering the minority. A large minority would offer a vigorous +resistance; and the property of a small minority would not repay +the other members of the community for the trouble of dividing +it. But it happens that in all civilised communities there is a +small minority of rich men, and a great majority of poor men. If +there were a thousand men with ten pounds apiece, it would not be +worth while for nine hundred and ninety of them to rob ten, and +it would be a bold attempt for six hundred of them to rob four +hundred. But, if ten of them had a hundred thousand pounds +apiece, the case would be very different. There would then be +much to be got, and nothing to be feared. + +"That one human being will desire to render the person and +property of another subservient to his pleasures, notwithstanding +the pain or loss of pleasure which it may occasion to that other +individual, is," according to Mr Mill, "the foundation of +government." That the property of the rich minority can be made +subservient to the pleasures of the poor majority will scarcely +be denied. But Mr Mill proposes to give the poor majority power +over the rich minority. Is it possible to doubt to what, on his +own principles, such an arrangement must lead? + +It may perhaps be said that, in the long run, it is for the +interest of the people that property should be secure, and that +therefore they will respect it. We answer thus:--It cannot be +pretended that it is not for the immediate interest of the people +to plunder the rich. Therefore, even if it were quite certain +that, in the long run, the people would, as a body, lose by doing +so, it would not necessarily follow that the fear of remote ill +consequences would overcome the desire of immediate acquisitions. +Every individual might flatter himself that the punishment would +not fall on him. Mr Mill himself tells us, in his Essay on +Jurisprudence, that no quantity of evil which is remote and +uncertain will suffice to prevent crime. + +But we are rather inclined to think that it would, on the whole, +be for the interest of the majority to plunder the rich. If so, +the Utilitarians will say, that the rich OUGHT to be plundered. +We deny the inference. For, in the first place, if the object of +government be the greatest happiness of the greatest number, the +intensity of the suffering which a measure inflicts must be taken +into consideration, as well as the number of the sufferers. In +the next place, we have to notice one most important distinction +which Mr Mill has altogether overlooked. Throughout his essay, +he confounds the community with the species. He talks of the +greatest happiness of the greatest number: but, when we examine +his reasonings, we find that he thinks only of the greatest +number of a single generation. + +Therefore, even if we were to concede that all those arguments of +which we have exposed the fallacy are unanswerable, we might +still deny the conclusion at which the essayist arrives. Even if +we were to grant that he had found out the form of government +which is best for the majority of the people now living on the +face of the earth, we might still without inconsistency maintain +that form of government to be pernicious to mankind. It would +still be incumbent on Mr Mill to prove that the interest of every +generation is identical with the interest of all succeeding +generations. And how on his own principles he could do this we +are at a loss to conceive. + +The case, indeed, is strictly analogous to that of an +aristocratic government. In an aristocracy, says Mr Mill, the +few being invested with the powers of government, can take the +objects of their desires from the people. In the same manner, +every generation in turn can gratify itself at the expense of +posterity,--priority of time, in the latter case, giving an +advantage exactly corresponding to that which superiority of +station gives in the former. That an aristocracy will abuse its +advantage, is, according to Mr Mill, matter of demonstration. Is +it not equally certain that the whole people will do the same: +that, if they have the power, they will commit waste of every +sort on the estate of mankind, and transmit it to posterity +impoverished and desolated? + +How is it possible for any person who holds the doctrines of Mr +Mill to doubt that the rich, in a democracy such as that which he +recommends, would be pillaged as unmercifully as under a Turkish +Pacha? It is no doubt for the interest of the next generation, +and it may be for the remote interest of the present generation, +that property should be held sacred. And so no doubt it will be +for the interest of the next Pacha, and even for that of the +present Pacha, if he should hold office long, that the +inhabitants of his Pachalik should be encouraged to accumulate +wealth. Scarcely any despotic sovereign has plundered his +subjects to a large extent without having reason before the end +of his reign to regret it. Everybody knows how bitterly Louis +the Fourteenth, towards the close of his life, lamented his +former extravagance. If that magnificent prince had not expended +millions on Marli and Versailles, and tens of millions on the +aggrandisement of his grandson, he would not have been compelled +at last to pay servile court to low-born money-lenders, to humble +himself before men on whom, in the days of his pride, he would +not have vouchsafed to look, for the means of supporting even his +own household. Examples to the same effect might easily be +multiplied. But despots, we see, do plunder their subjects, +though history and experience tell them that, by prematurely +exacting the means of profusion, they are in fact devouring the +seed-corn from which the future harvest of revenue is to spring. +Why then should we suppose that the people will be deterred from +procuring immediate relief and enjoyment by the fear of distant +calamities, of calamities which perhaps may not be fully felt +till the times of their grandchildren? + +These conclusions are strictly drawn from Mr Mill's own +principles: and, unlike most of the conclusions which he has +himself drawn from those principles, they are not as far as we +know contradicted by facts. The case of the United States is not +in point. In a country where the necessaries of life are cheap +and the wages of labour high, where a man who has no capital but +his legs and arms may expect to become rich by industry and +frugality, it is not very decidedly even for the immediate +advantage of the poor to plunder the rich; and the punishment of +doing so would very speedily follow the offence. But in +countries in which the great majority live from hand to mouth, +and in which vast masses of wealth have been accumulated by a +comparatively small number, the case is widely different. The +immediate want is, at particular seasons, craving, imperious, +irresistible. In our own time it has steeled men to the fear of +the gallows, and urged them on the point of the bayonet. And, if +these men had at their command that gallows and those bayonets +which now scarcely restrain them, what is to be expected? Nor is +this state of things one which can exist only under a bad +government. If there be the least truth in the doctrines of the +school to which Mr Mill belongs, the increase of population will +necessarily produce it everywhere. The increase of population is +accelerated by good and cheap government. Therefore, the better +the government, the greater is the inequality of conditions: and +the greater the inequality of conditions, the stronger are the +motives which impel the populace to spoliation. As for America, +we appeal to the twentieth century. + +It is scarcely necessary to discuss the effects which a general +spoliation of the rich would produce. It may indeed happen that, +where a legal and political system full of abuses is inseparably +bound up with the institution of property, a nation may gain by a +single convulsion, in which both perish together. The price is +fearful. But if, when the shock is over, a new order of things +should arise under which property may enjoy security, the +industry of individuals will soon repair the devastation. Thus +we entertain no doubt that the Revolution was, on the whole, a +most salutary event for France. But would France have gained if, +ever since the year 1793, she had been governed by a democratic +convention? If Mr Mill's principles be sound, we say that almost +her whole capital would by this time have been annihilated. As +soon as the first explosion was beginning to be forgotten, as +soon as wealth again began to germinate, as soon as the poor +again began to compare their cottages and salads with the hotels +and banquets of the rich, there would have been another scramble +for property, another maximum, another general confiscation, +another reign of terror. Four or five such convulsions following +each other, at intervals of ten or twelve years, would reduce the +most flourishing countries of Europe to the state of Barbary or +the Morea. + +The civilised part of the world has now nothing to fear from the +hostility of savage nations. Once the deluge of barbarism has +passed over it, to destroy and to fertilise; and in the present +state of mankind we enjoy a full security against that calamity. +That flood will no more return to cover the earth. But is it +possible that in the bosom of civilisation itself may be +engendered the malady which shall destroy it? Is it possible +that institutions may be established which, without the help of +earthquake, of famine, of pestilence, or of the foreign sword, +may undo the work of so many ages of wisdom and glory, and +gradually sweep away taste, literature, science, commerce, +manufactures, everything but the rude arts necessary to the +support of animal life? Is it possible that, in two or three +hundred years, a few lean and half-naked fishermen may divide +with owls and foxes the ruins of the greatest European cities-- +may wash their nets amidst the relics of her gigantic docks, and +build their huts out of the capitals of her stately cathedrals? +If the principles of Mr Mill be sound, we say, without +hesitation, that the form of government which he recommends will +assuredly produce all this. But, if these principles be unsound, +if the reasonings by which we have opposed them be just, the +higher and middling orders are the natural representatives of the +human race. Their interest may be opposed in some things to that +of their poorer contemporaries; but it is identical with that of +the innumerable generations which are to follow. + +Mr Mill concludes his essay, by answering an objection often made +to the project of universal suffrage--that the people do not +understand their own interests. We shall not go through his +arguments on this subject, because, till he has proved that it is +for the interest of the people to respect property, he only makes +matters worse by proving that they understand their interests. +But we cannot refrain from treating our readers with a delicious +bonne bouche of wisdom, which he has kept for the last moment. + +"The opinions of that class of the people who are below the +middle rank are formed, and their minds are directed, by that +intelligent, that virtuous rank, who come the most immediately in +contact with them, who are in the constant habit of intimate +communication with them, to whom they fly for advice and +assistance in all their numerous difficulties, upon whom they +feel an immediate and daily dependence in health and in sickness, +in infancy and in old age, to whom their children look up as +models for their imitation, whose opinions they hear daily +repeated, and account it their honour to adopt. There can be no +doubt that the middle rank, which gives to science, to art, and +to legislation itself their most distinguished ornaments, and is +the chief source of all that has exalted and refined human +nature, is that portion of the community, of which, if the basis +of representation were ever so far extended, the opinion would +ultimately decide. Of the people beneath them, a vast majority +would be sure to be guided by their advice and example." + +This single paragraph is sufficient to upset Mr Mill's theory. +Will the people act against their own interest? Or will the +middle rank act against its own interest? Or is the interest of +the middle rank identical with the interest of the people? If +the people act according to the directions of the middle rank, as +Mr Mill says that they assuredly will, one of these three +questions must be answered in the affirmative. But, if any one +of the three be answered in the affirmative, his whole system +falls to the ground. If the interest of the middle rank be +identical with that of the people, why should not the powers of +government be intrusted to that rank? If the powers of +government were intrusted to that rank, there would evidently be +an aristocracy of wealth; and "to constitute an aristocracy of +wealth, though it were a very numerous one, would," according to +Mr Mill, "leave the community without protection, and exposed to +all the evils of unbridled power." Will not the same motives +which induce the middle classes to abuse one kind of power induce +them to abuse another? If their interest be the same with that +of the people they will govern the people well. If it be +opposite to that of the people they will advise the people ill. +The system of universal suffrage, therefore, according to Mr +Mill's own account, is only a device for doing circuitously what +a representative system, with a pretty high qualification, would +do directly. + +So ends this celebrated Essay. And such is this philosophy for +which the experience of three thousand years is to be discarded; +this philosophy, the professors of which speak as if it had +guided the world to the knowledge of navigation and alphabetical +writing; as if, before its dawn, the inhabitants of Europe had +lived in caverns and eaten each other! We are sick, it seems, +like the children of Israel, of the objects of our old and +legitimate worship. We pine for a new idolatry. All that is +costly and all that is ornamental in our intellectual treasures +must be delivered up, and cast into the furnace--and there comes +out this Calf! + +Our readers can scarcely mistake our object in writing this +article. They will not suspect us of any disposition to advocate +the cause of absolute monarchy, or of any narrow form of +oligarchy, or to exaggerate the evils of popular government. Our +object at present is, not so much to attack or defend any +particular system of polity, as to expose the vices of a kind of +reasoning utterly unfit for moral and political discussions; of a +kind of reasoning which may so readily be turned to purposes of +falsehood that it ought to receive no quarter, even when by +accident it may be employed on the side of truth. + +Our objection to the essay of Mr Mill is fundamental. We believe +that it is utterly impossible to deduce the science of government +from the principles of human nature. + +What proposition is there respecting human nature which is +absolutely and universally true? We know of only one: and that +is not only true, but identical; that men always act from self- +interest. This truism the Utilitarians proclaim with as much +pride as if it were new, and as much zeal as if it were +important. But in fact, when explained, it means only that men, +if they can, will do as they choose. When we see the actions of +a man we know with certainty what he thinks his interest to be. +But it is impossible to reason with certainty from what WE take +to be his interest to his actions. One man goes without a dinner +that he may add a shilling to a hundred thousand pounds: another +runs in debt to give balls and masquerades. One man cuts his +father's throat to get possession of his old clothes: another +hazards his own life to save that of an enemy. One man +volunteers on a forlorn hope: another is drummed out of a +regiment for cowardice. Each of these men has, no doubt, acted +from self-interest. But we gain nothing by knowing this, except +the pleasure, if it be one, of multiplying useless words. In +fact, this principle is just as recondite and just as important +as the great truth that whatever is, is. If a philosopher were +always to state facts in the following form--"There is a shower: +but whatever is, is; therefore, there is a shower,"--his +reasoning would be perfectly sound; but we do not apprehend that +it would materially enlarge the circle of human knowledge. And +it is equally idle to attribute any importance to a proposition, +which, when interpreted means only that a man had rather do what +he had rather do. + +If the doctrine, that men always act from self-interest, be laid +down in any other sense than this--if the meaning of the word +self-interest be narrowed so as to exclude any one of the motives +which may by possibility act on any human being, the proposition +ceases to be identical: but at the same time it ceases to be +true. + +What we have said of the word "self-interest" applies to all the +synonymes and circumlocutions which are employed to convey the +same meaning; pain and pleasure, happiness and misery, objects of +desire, and so forth. + +The whole art of Mr Mill's essay consists in one simple trick of +legerdemain. It consists in using words of the sort which we +have been describing first in one sense and then in another. Men +will take the objects of their desire if they can. +Unquestionably:--but this is an identical proposition: for an +object of desire means merely a thing which a man will procure if +he can. Nothing can possibly be inferred from a maxim of this +kind. When we see a man take something we shall know that it was +an object of his desire. But till then we have no means of +judging with certainty what he desires or what he will take. The +general proposition, however, having been admitted, Mr Mill +proceeds to reason as if men had no desires but those which can +be gratified only by spoliation and oppression. It then becomes +easy to deduce doctrines of vast importance from the original +axiom. The only misfortune is, that by thus narrowing the +meaning of the word desire the axiom becomes false, and all the +doctrines consequent upon it are false likewise. + +When we pass beyond those maxims which it is impossible to deny +without a contradiction in terms, and which, therefore, do not +enable us to advance a single step in practical knowledge, we do +not believe that it is possible to lay down a single general rule +respecting the motives which influence human actions. There is +nothing which may not, by association or by comparison, become an +object either of desire or of aversion. The fear of death is +generally considered as one of the strongest of our feelings. It +is the most formidable sanction which legislators have been able +to devise. Yet it is notorious that, as Lord Bacon has observed, +there is no passion by which that fear has not been often +overcome. Physical pain is indisputably an evil; yet it has been +often endured and even welcomed. Innumerable martyrs have +exulted in torments which made the spectators shudder: and to +use a more homely illustration, there are few wives who do not +long to be mothers. + +Is the love of approbation a stronger motive than the love of +wealth? It is impossible to answer this question generally even +in the case of an individual with whom we are very intimate. We +often say, indeed, that a man loves fame more than money, or +money more than fame. But this is said in a loose and popular +sense; for there is scarcely a man who would not endure a few +sneers for a great sum of money, if he were in pecuniary +distress; and scarcely a man, on the other hand, who, if he were +in flourishing circumstances, would expose himself to the hatred +and contempt of the public for a trifle. In order, therefore, to +return a precise answer even about a single human being, we must +know what is the amount of the sacrifice of reputation demanded +and of the pecuniary advantage offered, and in what situation the +person to whom the temptation is proposed stands at the time. +But, when the question is propounded generally about the whole +species, the impossibility of answering is still more evident. +Man differs from man; generation from generation; nation from +nation. Education, station, sex, age, accidental associations, +produce infinite shades of variety. + +Now, the only mode in which we can conceive it possible to deduce +a theory of government from the principles of human nature is +this. We must find out what are the motives which, in a +particular form of government, impel rulers to bad measures, and +what are those which impel them to good measures. We must then +compare the effect of the two classes of motives; and according +as we find the one or the other to prevail, we must pronounce the +form of government in question good or bad. + +Now let it be supposed that, in aristocratical and monarchical +states, the desire of wealth and other desires of the same class +always tend to produce misgovernment, and that the love of +approbation and other kindred feelings always tend to produce +good government. Then, if it be impossible, as we have shown +that it is, to pronounce generally which of the two classes of +motives is the more influential, it is impossible to find out, a +priori, whether a monarchical or aristocratical form of +government be good or bad. + +Mr Mill has avoided the difficulty of making the comparison, by +very coolly putting all the weights into one of the scales,--by +reasoning as if no human being had ever sympathised with the +feelings, been gratified by the thanks, or been galled by the +execrations, of another. + +The case, as we have put it, is decisive against Mr Mill, and yet +we have put it in a manner far too favourable to him. For, in +fact, it is impossible to lay it down as a general rule that the +love of wealth in a sovereign always produces misgovernment, or +the love of approbation good government. A patient and far- +sighted ruler, for example, who is less desirous of raising a +great sum immediately than of securing an unencumbered and +progressive revenue, will, by taking off restraints from trade +and giving perfect security to property, encourage accumulation +and entice capital from foreign countries. The commercial policy +of Prussia, which is perhaps superior to that of any country in +the world, and which puts to shame the absurdities of our +republican brethren on the other side of the Atlantic, has +probably sprung from the desire of an absolute ruler to enrich +himself. On the other hand, when the popular estimate of virtues +and vices is erroneous, which is too often the case, the love of +approbation leads sovereigns to spend the wealth of the nation on +useless shows, or to engage in wanton and destructive wars. If +then we can neither compare the strength of two motives, nor +determine with certainty to what description of actions either +motive will lead, how can we possibly deduce a theory of +government from the nature of man? + +How, then, are we to arrive at just conclusions on a subject so +important to the happiness of mankind? Surely by that method +which, in every experimental science to which it has been +applied, has signally increased the power and knowledge of our +species,--by that method for which our new philosophers would +substitute quibbles scarcely worthy of the barbarous respondents +and opponents of the middle ages,--by the method of Induction;-- +by observing the present state of the world,--by assiduously +studying the history of past ages,--by sifting the evidence of +facts,--by carefully combining and contrasting those which are +authentic,--by generalising with judgment and diffidence,--by +perpetually bringing the theory which we have constructed to the +test of new facts,--by correcting, or altogether abandoning it, +according as those new facts prove it to be partially or +fundamentally unsound. Proceeding thus,--patiently,--diligently, +--candidly,--we may hope to form a system as far inferior in +pretension to that which we have been examining and as far +superior to it in real utility as the prescriptions of a great +physician, varying with every stage of every malady and with the +constitution of every patient, to the pill of the advertising +quack which is to cure all human beings, in all climates, of all +diseases. + +This is that noble Science of Politics, which is equally removed +from the barren theories of the Utilitarian sophists, and from +the petty craft, so often mistaken for statesmanship by minds +grown narrow in habits of intrigue, jobbing, and official +etiquette;--which of all sciences is the most important to the +welfare of nations,--which of all sciences most tends to expand +and invigorate the mind,--which draws nutriment and ornament from +every part of philosophy and literature, and dispenses in return +nutriment and ornament to all. We are sorry and surprised when +we see men of good intentions and good natural abilities abandon +this healthful and generous study to pore over speculations like +those which we have been examining. And we should heartily +rejoice to find that our remarks had induced any person of this +description to employ, in researches of real utility, the talents +and industry which are now wasted on verbal sophisms, wretched of +their wretched kind. + +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. + +... + + +WESTMINSTER REVIEWER'S DEFENCE OF MILL. + +(June 1829.) + +"Westminster Review" Number XXI., Article XVI. "Edinburgh +Review" Number XCVII., Article on Mill's Essays on Government, +etc. + +We have had great reason, we think, to be gratified by the +success of our late attack on the Utilitarians. We could publish +a long list of the cures which it has wrought in cases previously +considered as hopeless. Delicacy forbids us to divulge names; +but we cannot refrain from alluding to two remarkable instances. +A respectable lady writes to inform us that her son, who was +plucked at Cambridge last January, has not been heard to call Sir +James Mackintosh a poor ignorant fool more than twice since the +appearance of our article. A distinguished political writer in +the Westminster and Parliamentary Reviews has borrowed Hume's +History, and has actually got as far as the battle of Agincourt. +He assures us that he takes great pleasure in his new study, and +that he is very impatient to learn how Scotland and England +became one kingdom. But the greatest compliment that we have +received is that Mr Bentham himself should have condescended to +take the field in defence of Mr Mill. We have not been in the +habit of reviewing reviews: but, as Mr Bentham is a truly great +man, and as his party have thought fit to announce in puffs and +placards that this article is written by him, and contains not +only an answer to our attacks, but a development of the "greatest +happiness principle," with the latest improvements of the author, +we shall for once depart from our general rule. However the +conflict may terminate, we shall at least not have been +vanquished by an ignoble hand. + +Of Mr Bentham himself we shall endeavour, even while defending +ourselves against his reproaches, to speak with the respect to +which his venerable age, his genius, and his public services +entitle him. If any harsh expression should escape us, we trust +that he will attribute it to inadvertence, to the momentary +warmth of controversy,--to anything, in short, rather than to a +design of affronting him. Though we have nothing in common with +the crew of Hurds and Boswells, who, either from interested +motives, or from the habit of intellectual servility and +dependence, pamper and vitiate his appetite with the noxious +sweetness of their undiscerning praise, we are not perhaps less +competent than they to appreciate his merit, or less sincerely +disposed to acknowledge it. Though we may sometimes think his +reasonings on moral and political questions feeble and +sophistical--though we may sometimes smile at his extraordinary +language--we can never be weary of admiring the amplitude of his +comprehension, the keenness of his penetration, the exuberant +fertility with which his mind pours forth arguments and +illustrations. However sharply he may speak of us, we can never +cease to revere in him the father of the philosophy of +Jurisprudence. He has a full right to all the privileges of a +great inventor: and, in our court of criticism, those privileges +will never be pleaded in vain. But they are limited in the same +manner in which, fortunately for the ends of justice, the +privileges of the peerage are now limited. The advantage is +personal and incommunicable. A nobleman can now no longer cover +with his protection every lackey who follows his heels, or every +bully who draws in his quarrel: and, highly as we respect the +exalted rank which Mr Bentham holds among the writers of our +time, yet when, for the due maintenance of literary police, we +shall think it necessary to confute sophists, or to bring +pretenders to shame, we shall not depart from the ordinary course +of our proceedings because the offenders call themselves +Benthamites. + +Whether Mr Mill has much reason to thank Mr Bentham for +undertaking his defence, our readers, when they have finished +this article, will perhaps be inclined to doubt. Great as Mr +Bentham's talents are, he has, we think, shown an undue +confidence in them. He should have considered how dangerous it +is for any man, however eloquent and ingenious he may be, to +attack or defend a book without reading it: and we feel quite +convinced that Mr Bentham would never have written the article +before us if he had, before he began, perused our review with +attention, and compared it with Mr Mill's Essay. + +He has utterly mistaken our object and meaning. He seems to +think that we have undertaken to set up some theory of government +in opposition to that of Mr Mill. But we distinctly disclaimed +any such design. From the beginning to the end of our article, +there is not, as far as we remember, a single sentence which, +when fairly construed, can be considered as indicating any such +design. If such an expression can be found, it has been dropped +by inadvertence. Our object was to prove, not that monarchy and +aristocracy are good, but that Mr Mill had not proved them to be +bad; not that democracy is bad, but that Mr Mill had not proved +it to be good. The points in issue are these: whether the +famous Essay on Government be, as it has been called, a perfect +solution of the great political problem, or a series of sophisms +and blunders; and whether the sect which, while it glories in the +precision of its logic, extols this Essay as a masterpiece of +demonstration be a sect deserving of the respect or of the +derision of mankind. These, we say, are the issues; and on these +we with full confidence put ourselves on the country. + +It is not necessary, for the purposes of this investigation, that +we should state what our political creed is, or whether we have +any political creed at all. A man who cannot act the most +trivial part in a farce has a right to hiss Romeo Coates: a man +who does not know a vein from an artery may caution a simple +neighbour against the advertisements of Dr Eady. A complete +theory of government would indeed be a noble present to mankind; +but it is a present which we do not hope and do not pretend that +we can offer. If, however, we cannot lay the foundation, it is +something to clear away the rubbish; if we cannot set up truth, +it is something to pull down error. Even if the subjects of +which the Utilitarians treat were subjects of less fearful +importance, we should think it no small service to the cause of +good sense and good taste to point out the contrast between their +magnificent pretensions and their miserable performances. Some +of them have, however, thought fit to display their ingenuity on +questions of the most momentous kind, and on questions concerning +which men cannot reason ill with impunity. We think it, under +these circumstances, an absolute duty to expose the fallacy of +their arguments. It is no matter of pride or of pleasure. To +read their works is the most soporific employment that we know; +and a man ought no more to be proud of refuting them than of +having two legs. We must now come to close quarters with Mr +Bentham, whom, we need not say, we do not mean to include in this +observation. He charges us with maintaining,-- + +"First, 'That it is not true that all despots govern ill;'-- +whereon the world is in a mistake, and the Whigs have the true +light. And for proof, principally,--that the King of Denmark is +not Caligula. To which the answer is, that the King of Denmark +is not a despot. He was put in his present situation by the +people turning the scale in his favour in a balanced contest +between himself and the nobility. And it is quite clear that the +same power would turn the scale the other way the moment a King +of Denmark should take into his head to be Caligula. It is of +little consequence by what congeries of letters the Majesty of +Denmark is typified in the royal press of Copenhagen, while the +real fact is that the sword of the people is suspended over his +head, in case of ill-behaviour, as effectually as in other +countries where more noise is made upon the subject. Everybody +believes the sovereign of Denmark to be a good and virtuous +gentleman; but there is no more superhuman merit in his being so +than in the case of a rural squire who does not shoot his land- +steward or quarter his wife with his yeomanry sabre. + +"It is true that there are partial exceptions to the rule, that +all men use power as badly as they dare. There may have been +such things as amiable negro-drivers and sentimental masters of +press-gangs; and here and there, among the odd freaks of human +nature, there may have been specimens of men who were 'No +tyrants, though bred up to tyranny.' But it would be as wise to +recommend wolves for nurses at the Foundling on the credit of +Romulus and Remus as to substitute the exception for the general +fact, and advise mankind to take to trusting to arbitrary power +on the credit of these specimens." + +Now, in the first place, we never cited the case of Denmark to +prove that all despots do not govern ill. We cited it to prove +that Mr Mill did not know how to reason. Mr Mill gave it as a +reason for deducing the theory of government from the general +laws of human nature that the King of Denmark was not Caligula. +This we said, and we still say, was absurd. + +In the second place, it was not we, but Mr Mill, who said that +the King of Denmark was a despot. His words are these:--"The +people of Denmark, tired out with the oppression of an +aristocracy, resolved that their king should be absolute; and +under their absolute monarch are as well governed as any people +in Europe." We leave Mr Bentham to settle with Mr Mill the +distinction between a despot and an absolute king. + +In the third place, Mr Bentham says that there was in Denmark a +balanced contest between the king and the nobility. We find some +difficulty in believing that Mr Bentham seriously means to say +this, when we consider that Mr Mill has demonstrated the chance +to be as infinity to one against the existence of such a balanced +contest. + +Fourthly, Mr Bentham says that in this balanced contest the +people turned the scale in favour of the king against the +aristocracy. But Mr Mill has demonstrated that it cannot +possibly be for the interest of the monarchy and democracy to +join against the aristocracy; and that wherever the three parties +exist, the king and the aristocracy will combine against the +people. This, Mr Mill assures us, is as certain as anything +which depends upon human will. + +Fifthly, Mr Bentham says that, if the King of Denmark were to +oppress his people, the people and nobles would combine against +the king. But Mr Mill has proved that it can never be for the +interest of the aristocracy to combine with the democracy against +the king. It is evidently Mr Bentham's opinion, that "monarchy, +aristocracy, and democracy may balance each other, and by mutual +checks produce good government." But this is the very theory +which Mr Mill pronounces to be the wildest, the most visionary, +the most chimerical ever broached on the subject of government. + +We have no dispute on these heads with Mr Bentham. On the +contrary, we think his explanation true--or at least, true in +part; and we heartily thank him for lending us his assistance to +demolish the essay of his follower. His wit and his sarcasm are +sport to us; but they are death to his unhappy disciple. + +Mr Bentham seems to imagine that we have said something implying +an opinion favourable to despotism. We can scarcely suppose +that, as he has not condescended to read that portion of our work +which he undertook to answer, he can have bestowed much attention +on its general character. Had he done so he would, we think, +scarcely have entertained such a suspicion. Mr Mill asserts, and +pretends to prove, that under no despotic government does any +human being, except the tools of the sovereign, possess more than +the necessaries of life, and that the most intense degree of +terror is kept up by constant cruelty. This, we say, is untrue. +It is not merely a rule to which there are exceptions: but it is +not the rule. Despotism is bad; but it is scarcely anywhere so +bad as Mr Mill says that it is everywhere. This we are sure Mr +Bentham will allow. If a man were to say that five hundred +thousand people die every year in London of dram-drinking, he +would not assert a proposition more monstrously false than Mr +Mill's. Would it be just to charge us with defending +intoxication because we might say that such a man was grossly in +the wrong? + +We say with Mr Bentham that despotism is a bad thing. We say +with Mr Bentham that the exceptions do not destroy the authority +of the rule. But this we say--that a single exception overthrows +an argument which either does not prove the rule at all, or else +proves the rule to be TRUE WITHOUT EXCEPTIONS; and such an +argument is Mr Mill's argument against despotism. In this +respect there is a great difference between rules drawn from +experience and rules deduced a priori. We might believe that +there had been a fall of snow last August, and yet not think it +likely that there would be snow next August. A single occurrence +opposed to our general experience would tell for very little in +our calculation of the chances. But, if we could once satisfy +ourselves that in ANY single right-angled triangle the square of +the hypothenuse might be less than the squares of the sides, we +must reject the forty-seventh proposition of Euclid altogether. +We willingly adopt Mr Bentham's lively illustration about the +wolf; and we will say in passing that it gives us real pleasure +to see how little old age has diminished the gaiety of this +eminent man. We can assure him that his merriment gives us far +more pleasure on his account than pain on our own. We say with +him, Keep the wolf out of the nursery, in spite of the story of +Romulus and Remus. But, if the shepherd who saw the wolf licking +and suckling those famous twins were, after telling this story to +his companions, to assert that it was an infallible rule that no +wolf ever had spared, or ever would spare, any living thing which +might fall in its way--that its nature was carnivorous--and that +it could not possibly disobey its nature, we think that the +hearers might have been excused for staring. It may be strange, +but is not inconsistent, that a wolf which has eaten ninety-nine +children should spare the hundredth. But the fact that a wolf +has once spared a child is sufficient to show that there must be +some flaw in the chain of reasoning purporting to prove that +wolves cannot possibly spare children. + +Mr Bentham proceeds to attack another position which he conceives +us to maintain:-- + +"Secondly, That a government not under the control of the +community (for there is no question upon any other) 'MAY SOON BE +SATURATED.' Tell it not in Bow Street, whisper it not in Hatton +Garden,--that there is a plan for preventing injustice by +'saturation.' With what peals of unearthly merriment would +Minos, Aeacus, and Rhadamanthus be aroused upon their benches, if +the 'light wings of saffron and of blue' should bear this theory +into their grim domains! Why do not the owners of pocket- +handkerchiefs try to 'saturate?' Why does not the cheated +publican beg leave to check the gulosity of his defrauder with a +repetatur haustus, and the pummelled plaintiff neutralise the +malice of his adversary, by requesting to have the rest of the +beating in presence of the court,--if it is not that such conduct +would run counter to all the conclusions of experience, and be +the procreation of the mischief it affected to destroy? Woful is +the man whose wealth depends on his having more than somebody +else can be persuaded to take from him; and woful also is the +people that is in such a case!" + +Now this is certainly very pleasant writing: but there is no +great difficulty in answering the argument. The real reason +which makes it absurd to think of preventing theft by pensioning +off thieves is this, that there is no limit to the number of +thieves. If there were only a hundred thieves in a place, and we +were quite sure that no person not already addicted to theft +would take to it, it might become a question whether to keep the +thieves from dishonesty by raising them above distress would not +be a better course than to employ officers against them. But the +actual cases are not parallel. Every man who chooses can become +a thief; but a man cannot become a king or a member of the +aristocracy whenever he chooses. The number of the depredators +is limited; and therefore the amount of depredation, so far as +physical pleasures are concerned, must be limited also. Now, we +made the remark which Mr Bentham censures with reference to +physical pleasures only. The pleasures of ostentation, of taste, +of revenge, and other pleasures of the same description, have, we +distinctly allowed, no limit. Our words are these:--"a king or +an aristocracy may be supplied to satiety with CORPORAL +PLEASURES, at an expense which the rudest and poorest community +would scarcely feel." Does Mr Bentham deny this? If he does, we +leave him to Mr Mill. "What," says that philosopher, in his +Essay on Education, "what are the ordinary pursuits of wealth and +power, which kindle to such a height the ardour of mankind? Not +the mere love of eating and of drinking, or all the physical +objects together which wealth can purchase or power command. +With these every man is in the long run speedily satisfied." +What the difference is between being speedily satisfied and being +soon saturated, we leave Mr Bentham and Mr Mill to settle +together. + +The word "saturation," however, seems to provoke Mr Bentham's +mirth. It certainly did not strike us as very pure English; but, +as Mr Mill used it, we supposed it to be good Benthamese. With +the latter language we are not critically acquainted, though, as +it has many roots in common with our mother tongue, we can +contrive, by the help of a converted Utilitarian, who attends us +in the capacity of Moonshee, to make out a little. But Mr +Bentham's authority is of course decisive; and we bow to it. + +Mr Bentham next represents us as maintaining:-- + +"Thirdly, That 'though there may be some tastes and propensities +that have no point of saturation, there exists a sufficient check +in the desire of the good opinion of others.' The misfortune of +this argument is, that no man cares for the good opinion of those +he has been accustomed to wrong, If oysters have opinions, it is +probable they think very ill of those who eat them in August; but +small is the effect upon the autumnal glutton that engulfs their +gentle substances within his own. The planter and the slave- +driver care just as much about negro opinion, as the epicure +about the sentiments of oysters. M. Ude throwing live eels into +the fire as a kindly method of divesting them of the unsavoury +oil that lodges beneath their skins, is not more convinced of the +immense aggregate of good which arises to the lordlier parts of +the creation, than is the gentle peer who strips his fellow man +of country and of family for a wild-fowl slain. The goodly +landowner, who lives by morsels squeezed indiscriminately from +the waxy hands of the cobbler and the polluted ones of the +nightman, is in no small degree the object of both hatred and +contempt; but it is to be feared that he is a long way from +feeling them to be intolerable. The principle of 'At mihi plaudo +ipse domi, simul ac nummos contemplor in arca,' is sufficient to +make a wide interval between the opinions of the plaintiff and +defendant in such cases. In short, to banish law and leave all +plaintiffs to trust to the desire of reputation on the opposite +side, would only be transporting the theory of the Whigs from the +House of Commons to Westminster Hall." + +Now, in the first place, we never maintained the proposition +which Mr Bentham puts into our mouths. We said, and say, that +there is a CERTAIN check to the rapacity and cruelty of men, in +their desire of the good opinion of others. We never said that +it was sufficient. Let Mr Mill show it to be insufficient. It +is enough for us to prove that there is a set-off against the +principle from which Mr Mill deduces the whole theory of +government. The balance may be, and, we believe, will be, +against despotism and the narrower forms of aristocracy. But +what is this to the correctness or incorrectness of Mr Mill's +accounts? The question is not, whether the motives which lead +rulers to behave ill are stronger than those which lead them to +behave well;--but, whether we ought to form a theory of +government by looking ONLY at the motives which lead rulers to +behave ill and never noticing those which lead them to behave +well. + +Absolute rulers, says Mr Bentham, do not care for the good +opinion of their subjects; for no man cares for the good opinion +of those whom he has been accustomed to wrong. By Mr Bentham's +leave, this is a plain begging of the question. The point at +issue is this:--Will kings and nobles wrong the people? The +argument in favour of kings and nobles is this:--they will not +wrong the people, because they care for the good opinion of the +people. But this argument Mr Bentham meets thus:--they will not +care for the good opinion of the people, because they are +accustomed to wrong the people. + +Here Mr Mill differs, as usual, from Mr Bentham. "The greatest +princes," says he, in his Essay on Education, "the most +despotical masters of human destiny, when asked what they aim at +by their wars and conquests, would answer, if sincere, as +Frederick of Prussia answered, pour faire parler de soi;--to +occupy a large space in the admiration of mankind." Putting Mr +Mill's and Mr Bentham's principles together, we might make out +very easily that "the greatest princes, the most despotical +masters of human destiny," would never abuse their power. + +A man who has been long accustomed to injure people must also +have been long accustomed to do without their love, and to endure +their aversion. Such a man may not miss the pleasure of +popularity; for men seldom miss a pleasure which they have long +denied themselves. An old tyrant does without popularity just as +an old water-drinker does without wine. But, though it is +perfectly true that men who for the good of their health have +long abstained from wine feel the want of it very little, it +would be absurd to infer that men will always abstain from wine +when their health requires that they should do so. And it would +be equally absurd to say, because men who have been accustomed to +oppress care little for popularity, that men will therefore +necessarily prefer the pleasure of oppression to those of +popularity. + +Then, again, a man may be accustomed to wrong people in one point +and not in another. He may care for their good opinion with +regard to one point and not with regard to another. The Regent +Orleans laughed at charges of impiety, libertinism, extravagance, +idleness, disgraceful promotions. But the slightest allusion to +the charge of poisoning threw him into convulsions. Louis the +Fifteenth braved the hatred and contempt of his subjects during +many years of the most odious and imbecile misgovernment. But, +when a report was spread that he used human blood for his baths, +he was almost driven mad by it. Surely Mr Bentham's position +"that no man cares for the good opinion of those whom he has been +accustomed to wrong" would be objectionable, as far too sweeping +and indiscriminate, even if it did not involve, as in the present +case we have shown that it does, a direct begging of the question +at issue. + +Mr Bentham proceeds:-- + +"Fourthly, The Edinburgh Reviewers are of opinion, that 'it +might, with no small plausibility, be maintained, that in many +countries, there are two classes which, in some degree, answer to +this description;' [viz.] 'that the poor compose the class which +government is established to restrain; and the people of some +property the class to which the powers of government may without +danger be confided.' + +"They take great pains, it is true, to say this and not to say +it. They shuffle and creep about, to secure a hole to escape at, +if 'what they do not assert' should be found in any degree +inconvenient. A man might waste his life in trying to find out +whether the Misses of the 'Edinburgh' mean to say Yes or No in +their political coquetry. But whichever way the lovely spinsters +may decide, it is diametrically opposed to history and the +evidence of facts, that the poor ARE the class whom there is any +difficulty in restraining. It is not the poor but the rich that +have a propensity to take the property of other people. There is +no instance upon earth of the poor having combined to take away +the property of the rich; and all the instances habitually +brought forward in support of it are gross misrepresentations, +founded upon the most necessary acts of self-defence on the part +of the most numerous classes. Such a misrepresentation is the +common one of the Agrarian law; which was nothing but an attempt +on the part of the Roman people to get back some part of what had +been taken from them by undisguised robbery. Such another is the +stock example of the French Revolution, appealed to by the +'Edinburgh Review' in the actual case. It is utterly untrue that +the French Revolution took place because 'the poor began to +compare their cottages and salads with the hotels and banquets of +the rich;' it took place because they were robbed of their +cottages and salads to support the hotels and banquets of their +oppressors. It is utterly untrue that there was either a +scramble for property or a general confiscation; the classes who +took part with the foreign invaders lost their property, as they +would have done here, and ought to do everywhere. All these are +the vulgar errors of the man on the lion's back,--which the lion +will set to rights when he can tell his own story. History is +nothing but the relation of the sufferings of the poor from the +rich; except precisely so far as the numerous classes of the +community have contrived to keep the virtual power in their +hands, or, in other words, to establish free governments. If a +poor man injures the rich, the law is instantly at his heels; the +injuries of the rich towards the poor are always inflicted BY the +law. And to enable the rich to do this to any extent that may be +practicable or prudent, there is clearly one postulate required, +which is, that the rich shall make the law." + +This passage is alone sufficient to prove that Mr Bentham has not +taken the trouble to read our article from beginning to end. We +are quite sure that he would not stoop to misrepresent it. And, +if he had read it with any attention, he would have perceived +that all this coquetry, this hesitation, this Yes and No, this +saying and not saying, is simply an exercise of the undeniable +right which in controversy belongs to the defensive side--to the +side which proposes to establish nothing. The affirmative of the +issue and the burden of the proof are with Mr Mill, not with us. +We are not bound, perhaps we are not able, to show that the form +of government which he recommends is bad. It is quite enough if +we can show that he does not prove it to be good. In his proof, +among many other flaws, is this--He says, that if men are not +inclined to plunder each other, government is unnecessary, and +that, if men are so inclined, kings and aristocracies will +plunder the people. Now, this we say, is a fallacy. That SOME +men will plunder their neighbours if they can, is a sufficient +reason for the existence of governments. But it is not +demonstrated that kings and aristocracies will plunder the +people, unless it be true that ALL men will plunder their +neighbours, if they can. Men are placed in very different +situations. Some have all the bodily pleasures that they desire, +and many other pleasures besides, without plundering anybody. +Others can scarcely obtain their daily bread without plundering. +It may be true, but surely it is not self-evident, that the +former class is under as strong temptations to plunder as the +latter. Mr Mill was therefore bound to prove it. That he has +not proved it is one of thirty or forty fatal errors in his +argument. It is not necessary that we should express an opinion +or even have an opinion on the subject. Perhaps we are in a +state of perfect scepticism: but what then? Are we the +theorymakers? When we bring before the world a theory of +government, it will be time to call upon us to offer proof at +every step. At present we stand on our undoubted logical right. +We concede nothing; and we deny nothing. We say to the +Utilitarian theorists:--When you prove your doctrine, we will +believe it; and, till you prove it, we will not believe it. + +Mr Bentham has quite misunderstood what we said about the French +Revolution. We never alluded to that event for the purpose of +proving that the poor were inclined to rob the rich. Mr Mill's +principles of human nature furnished us with that part of our +argument ready-made. We alluded to the French Revolution for the +purpose of illustrating the effects which general spoliation +produces on society, not for the purpose of showing that general +spoliation will take place under a democracy. We allowed +distinctly that, in the peculiar circumstances of the French +monarchy, the Revolution, though accompanied by a great shock to +the institution of property, was a blessing. Surely Mr Bentham +will not maintain that the injury produced by the deluge of +assignats and by the maximum fell only on the emigrants,--or that +there were not many emigrants who would have stayed and lived +peaceably under any government if their persons and property had +been secure. + +We never said that the French Revolution took place because the +poor began to compare their cottages and salads with the hotels +and banquets of the rich. We were not speaking about THE CAUSES +of the Revolution, or thinking about them. This we said, and +say, that, if a democratic government had been established in +France, the poor, when they began to compare their cottages and +salads with the hotels and banquets of the rich, would, on the +supposition that Mr Mill's principles are sound, have plundered +the rich, and repeated without provocation all the severities and +confiscations which at the time of the Revolution, were committed +with provocation. We say that Mr Mill's favourite form of +government would, if his own views of human nature be just, make +those violent convulsions and transfers of property which now +rarely happen, except, as in the case of the French Revolution, +when the people are maddened by oppression, events of annual or +biennial occurrence. We gave no opinion of our own. We give +none now. We say that this proposition may be proved from Mr +Mill's own premises, by steps strictly analogous to those by +which he proves monarchy and aristocracy to be bad forms of +government. To say this, is not to say that the proposition is +true. For we hold both Mr Mill's premises and his deduction to +be unsound throughout. + +Mr Bentham challenges us to prove from history that the people +will plunder the rich. What does history say to Mr Mill's +doctrine, that absolute kings will always plunder their subjects +so unmercifully as to leave nothing but a bare subsistence to any +except their own creatures? If experience is to be the test, Mr +Mill's theory is unsound. If Mr Mill's reasoning a priori be +sound, the people in a democracy will plunder the rich. Let us +use one weight and one measure. Let us not throw history aside +when we are proving a theory, and take it up again when we have +to refute an objection founded on the principles of that theory. + +We have not done, however, with Mr Bentham's charges against us. + +"Among other specimens of their ingenuity, they think they +embarrass the subject by asking why, on the principles in +question, women should not have votes as well as men. AND WHY +NOT? + +'Gentle shepherd, tell me why?'-- + +If the mode of election was what it ought to be, there would be +no more difficulty in women voting for a representative in +Parliament than for a director at the India House. The world +will find out at some time that the readiest way to secure +justice on some points is to be just on all:--that the whole is +easier to accomplish than the part; and that, whenever the camel +is driven through the eye of the needle, it would be simple folly +and debility that would leave a hoof behind." + +Why, says or sings Mr Bentham, should not women vote? It may +seem uncivil in us to turn a deaf ear to his Arcadian warblings. +But we submit, with great deference, that it is not OUR business +to tell him why. We fully agree with him that the principle of +female suffrage is not so palpably absurd that a chain of +reasoning ought to be pronounced unsound merely because it leads +to female suffrage. We say that every argument which tells in +favour of the universal suffrage of the males tells equally in +favour of female suffrage. Mr Mill, however, wishes to see all +men vote, but says that it is unnecessary that women should vote; +and for making this distinction HE gives as a reason an assertion +which, in the first place, is not true, and which, in the next +place, would, if true, overset his whole theory of human nature; +namely, that the interest of the women is identical with that of +the men. We side with Mr Bentham, so far, at least, as this: +that, when we join to drive the camel through the needle, he +shall go through hoof and all. We at present desire to be +excused from driving the camel. It is Mr Mill who leaves the +hoof behind. But we should think it uncourteous to reproach him +in the language which Mr Bentham, in the exercise of his paternal +authority over the sect, thinks himself entitled to employ. + +"Another of their perverted ingenuities is, that 'they are rather +inclined to think,' that it would, on the whole, be for the +interest of the majority to plunder the rich; and if so, the +Utilitarians will say that the rich OUGHT to be plundered. On +which it is sufficient to reply, that for the majority to plunder +the rich would amount to a declaration that nobody should be +rich; which, as all men wish to be rich, would involve a suicide +of hope. And as nobody has shown a fragment of reason why such a +proceeding should be for the general happiness, it does not +follow that the 'Utilitarians' would recommend it. The Edinburgh +Reviewers have a waiting gentlewoman's ideas of 'Utilitarianism.' +It is unsupported by anything but the pitiable 'We are rather +inclined to think'--and is utterly contradicted by the whole +course of history and human experience besides,--that there is +either danger or possibility of such a consummation as the +majority agreeing on the plunder of the rich. There have been +instances in human memory, of their agreeing to plunder rich +oppressors, rich traitors, rich enemies,--but the rich +simpliciter never. It is as true now as in the days of +Harrington that 'a people never will, nor ever can, never did, +nor ever shall, take up arms for levelling.' All the commotions +in the world have been for something else; and 'levelling' is +brought forward as the blind to conceal what the other was." + +We say, again and again, that we are on the defensive. We do not +think it necessary to prove that a quack medicine is poison. Let +the vendor prove it to be sanative. We do not pretend to show +that universal suffrage is an evil. Let its advocates show it to +be a good. Mr Mill tells us that, if power be given for short +terms to representatives elected by all the males of mature age, +it will then be for the interest of those representatives to +promote the greatest happiness of the greatest number. To prove +this, it is necessary that he should prove three propositions: +first, that the interest of such a representative body will be +identical with the interest of the constituent body; secondly, +that the interest of the constituent body will be identical with +that of the community; thirdly, that the interest of one +generation of a community is identical with that of all +succeeding generations. The two first propositions Mr Mill +attempts to prove and fails. The last he does not even attempt +to prove. We therefore refuse our assent to his conclusions. Is +this unreasonable? + +We never even dreamed, what Mr Bentham conceives us to have +maintained, that it could be for the greatest happiness of +MANKIND to plunder the rich. But we are "rather inclined to +think," though doubtingly and with a disposition to yield to +conviction, that it may be for the pecuniary interest of the +majority of a single generation in a thickly-peopled country to +plunder the rich. Why we are inclined to think so we will +explain, whenever we send a theory of government to an +Encyclopaedia. At present we are bound to say only that we think +so, and shall think so till somebody shows us a reason for +thinking otherwise. + +Mr Bentham's answer to us is simple assertion. He must not think +that we mean any discourtesy by meeting it with a simple denial. +The fact is, that almost all the governments that have ever +existed in the civilised world have been, in part at least, +monarchical and aristocratical. The first government constituted +on principles approaching to those which the Utilitarians hold +was, we think, that of the United States. That the poor have +never combined to plunder the rich in the governments of the old +world, no more proves that they might not combine to plunder the +rich under a system of universal suffrage, than the fact that the +English kings of the House of Brunswick have not been Neros and +Domitians proves that sovereigns may safely be intrusted with +absolute power. Of what the people would do in a state of +perfect sovereignty we can judge only by indications, which, +though rarely of much moment in themselves, and though always +suppressed with little difficulty, are yet of great significance, +and resemble those by which our domestic animals sometimes remind +us that they are of kin with the fiercest monsters of the forest. +It would not be wise to reason from the behaviour of a dog +crouching under the lash, which is the case of the Italian +people, or from the behaviour of a dog pampered with the best +morsels of a plentiful kitchen, which is the case of the purpose +of America, to the behaviour of a wolf, which is nothing but a +dog run wild, after a week's fast among the snows of the +Pyrenees. No commotion, says Mr Bentham, was ever really +produced by the wish of levelling; the wish has been put forward +as a blind; but something else has been the real object. Grant +all this. But why has levelling been put forward as a blind in +times of commotion to conceal the real objects of the agitators? +Is it with declarations which involve "a suicide of hope" that +man attempt to allure others? Was famine, pestilence, slavery, +ever held out to attract the people? If levelling has been made +a pretence for disturbances, the argument against Mr Bentham's +doctrine is as strong as if it had been the real object of +disturbances. + +But the great objection which Mr Bentham makes to our review, +still remains to be noticed:-- + +"The pith of the charge against the author of the Essays is, that +he has written 'an elaborate Treatise on Government,' and +'deduced the whole science from the assumption of certain +propensities of human nature.' Now, in the name of Sir Richard +Birnie and all saints, from what else SHOULD it be deduced? What +did ever anybody imagine to be the end, object, and design of +government AS IT OUGHT TO BE but the same operation, on an +extended scale, which that meritorious chief magistrate conducts +on a limited one at Bow Street; to wit, the preventing one man +from injuring another? Imagine, then, that the Whiggery of Bow +Street were to rise up against the proposition that their science +was to be deduced from 'certain propensities of human nature,' +and thereon were to ratiocinate as follows:-- + +"'How then are we to arrive at just conclusions on a subject so +important to the happiness of mankind? Surely by that method, +which, in every experimental science to which it has been +applied, has signally increased the power and knowledge of our +species,--by that method for which our new philosophers would +substitute quibbles scarcely worthy of the barbarous respondents +and opponents of the middle ages,--by the method of induction,-- +by observing the present state of the world,--by assiduously +studying the history of past ages,--by sifting the evidence of +facts,--by carefully combining and contrasting those which are +authentic,--by generalising with judgment and diffidence,--by +perpetually bringing the theory which we have constructed to the +test of new facts,--by correcting, or altogether abandoning it, +according as those new facts prove it to be partially or +fundamentally unsound. Proceeding thus,--patiently, diligently, +candidly, we may hope to form a system as far inferior in +pretension to that which we have been examining, and as far +superior to it in real utility, as the prescriptions of a great +physician, varying with every stage of every malady, and with the +constitution of every patient, to the pill of the advertising +quack, which is to cure all human beings, in all climates, of all +diseases.' + +"Fancy now,--only fancy,--the delivery of these wise words at Bow +Street; and think how speedily the practical catchpolls would +reply, that all this might be very fine, but, as far as they had +studied history, the naked story was, after all, that numbers of +men had a propensity to thieving, and their business was to catch +them; that they, too, had been sifters of facts; and, to say the +truth, their simple opinion was, that their brethren of the red +waistcoat--though they should be sorry to think ill of any man-- +had somehow contracted a leaning to the other side, and were more +bent on puzzling the case for the benefit of the defendants, than +on doing the duty of good officers and true. Such would, beyond +all doubt, be the sentence passed on such trimmers in the +microcosm of Bow Street. It might not absolutely follow that +they were in a plot to rob the goldsmiths' shops, or to set fire +to the House of Commons; but it would be quite clear that they +had got A FEELING,--that they were in process of siding with the +thieves,--and that it was not to them that any man must look who +was anxious that pantries should be safe." + +This is all very witty; but it does not touch us. On the present +occasion, we cannot but flatter ourselves that we bear a much +greater resemblance to a practical catchpoll than either Mr Mill +or Mr Bentham. It would, to be sure, be very absurd in a +magistrate discussing the arrangements of a police-office, to +spout in the style either of our article or Mr Bentham's; but, in +substance, he would proceed, if he were a man of sense, exactly +as WE recommend. He would, on being appointed to provide for the +security of property in a town, study attentively the state of +the town. He would learn at what places, at what times, and +under what circumstances, theft and outrage were most frequent. +Are the streets, he would ask, most infested with thieves at +sunset or at midnight? Are there any public places of resort +which give peculiar facilities to pickpockets? Are there any +districts completely inhabited by a lawless population? Which +are the flash houses, and which the shops of receivers? Having +made himself master of the facts, he would act accordingly. A +strong detachment of officers might be necessary for Petticoat +Lane; another for the pit entrance of Covent Garden Theatre. +Grosvenor Square and Hamilton Place would require little or no +protection. Exactly thus should we reason about government. +Lombardy is oppressed by tyrants; and constitutional checks, such +as may produce security to the people, are required. It is, so +to speak, one of the resorts of thieves; and there is great need +of police-officers. Denmark resembles one of those respectable +streets in which it is scarcely necessary to station a catchpoll, +because the inhabitants would at once join to seize a thief. +Yet, even in such a street, we should wish to see an officer +appear now and then, as his occasional superintence would render +the security more complete. And even Denmark, we think, would be +better off under a constitutional form of government. + +Mr Mill proceeds like a director of police, who, without asking a +single question about the state of his district, should give his +orders thus:--"My maxim is, that every man will take what he can. +Every man in London would be a thief, but for the thieftakers. +This is an undeniable principle of human nature. Some of my +predecessors have wasted their time in enquiring about particular +pawnbrokers, and particular alehouses. Experience is altogether +divided. Of people placed in exactly the same situation, I see +that one steals, and that another would sooner burn his hand off. +THEREFORE I trust to the laws of human nature alone, and +pronounce all men thieves alike. Let everybody, high and low, be +watched. Let Townsend take particular care that the Duke of +Wellington does not steal the silk handkerchief of the lord in +waiting at the levee. A person has lost a watch. Go to Lord +Fitzwilliam and search him for it; he is as great a receiver of +stolen goods as Ikey Solomons himself. Don't tell me about his +rank, and character, and fortune. He is a man; and a man does +not change his nature when he is called a lord. ("If Government +is founded upon this, as a law of human nature, that a man, if +able, will take from others anything which they have and he +desires, it is sufficiently evident that when a man is called a +king, he does not change his nature, so that, when he has power +to take what he pleases, he will take what he pleases. To +suppose that he will not, is to affirm that government is +unnecessary and that human beings will abstain from injuring one +another of their own accord."--"Mill on Government".) Either men +will steal or they will not steal. If they will not, why do I +sit here? If they will, his lordship must be a thief." The +Whiggery of Bow Street would perhaps rise up against this wisdom. +Would Mr Bentham think that the Whiggery of Bow Street was in the +wrong? + +We blamed Mr Mill for deducing his theory of government from the +principles of human nature. "In the name of Sir Richard Birnie +and all saints," cries Mr Bentham, "from what else should it be +deduced?" In spite of this solemn adjuration, with shall venture +to answer Mr Bentham's question by another. How does he arrive +at those principles of human nature from which he proposes to +deduce the science of government? We think that we may venture +to put an answer into his mouth; for in truth there is but one +possible answer. He will say--By experience. But what is the +extent of this experience? Is it an experience which includes +experience of the conduct of men intrusted with the powers of +government; or is it exclusive of that experience? If it +includes experience of the manner in which men act when intrusted +with the powers of government, then those principles of human +nature from which the science of government is to be deduced can +only be known after going through that inductive process by which +we propose to arrive at the science of government. Our knowledge +of human nature, instead of being prior in order to our knowledge +of the science of government, will be posterior to it. And it +would be correct to say, that by means of the science of +government, and of other kindred sciences--the science of +education, for example, which falls under exactly the same +principle--we arrive at the science of human nature. + +If, on the other hand, we are to deduce the theory of government +from principles of human nature, in arriving at which principles +we have not taken into the account the manner in which men act +when invested with the powers of government, then those +principles must be defective. They have not been formed by a +sufficiently copious induction. We are reasoning, from what a +man does in one situation, to what he will do in another. +Sometimes we may be quite justified in reasoning thus. When we +have no means of acquiring information about the particular case +before us, we are compelled to resort to cases which bear some +resemblance to it. But the more satisfactory course is to obtain +information about the particular case; and, whenever this can be +obtained, it ought to be obtained. When first the yellow fever +broke out, a physician might be justified in treating it as he +had been accustomed to treat those complaints which, on the +whole, had the most symptoms in common with it. But what should +we think of a physician who should now tell us that he deduced +his treatment of yellow fever from the general theory of +pathology? Surely we should ask him, Whether, in constructing +his theory of pathology, he had or had not taken into the account +the facts which had been ascertained respecting the yellow fever? +If he had, then it would be more correct to say that he had +arrived at the principles of pathology partly by his experience +of cases of yellow fever than that he had deduced his treatment +of yellow fever from the principles of pathology. If he had not, +he should not prescribe for us. If we had the yellow fever, we +should prefer a man who had never treated any cases but cases of +yellow fever to a man who had walked the hospitals of London and +Paris for years, but who knew nothing of our particular disease. + +Let Lord Bacon speak for us: "Inductionem censemus eam esse +demonstrandi formam, quae sensum tuetur, et naturam premit, et +operibus imminet, ac fere immiscetur. Itaque ordo quoque +demonstrandi plane invertitur. Adhuc enim res ita geri +consuevit, ut a sensu et particularibus primo loco ad maxime +generalia advoletur, tanquam ad polos fixos, circa quos +disputationes vertantur; ab illis caetera, per media, deriventur; +via certe compendiaria, sed praecipiti, et ad naturam impervia, +ad disputationes proclivi et accommodata. At, secundum nos, +axiomata continenter et gradatim excitantur, ut non, nisi +postremo loco, ad maxime generalia veniatur." Can any words more +exactly describe the political reasonings of Mr Mill than those +in which Lord Bacon thus describes the logomachies of the +schoolmen? Mr Mill springs at once to a general principle of the +widest extent, and from that general principle deduces +syllogistically every thing which is included in it. We say with +Bacon--"non, nisi postremo loco, ad maxime generalia veniatur." +In the present inquiry, the science of human nature is the +"maxime generale." To this the Utilitarian rushes at once, and +from this he deduces a hundred sciences. But the true +philosopher, the inductive reasoner, travels up to it slowly, +through those hundred sciences, of which the science of +government is one. + +As we have lying before us that incomparable volume, the noblest +and most useful of all the works of the human reason, the Novum +Organum, we will transcribe a few lines, in which the Utilitarian +philosophy is portrayed to the life. + +"Syllogismus ad 'Principia' scientiarum non adhibetur, ad media +axiomata frustra adhibetur, cum sit subtilitati naturae longe +impar. Assensum itaque constringit, non res. Syllogismus ex +propositionibus constat, propositiones ex verbis, verba notionum +tesserae sunt. Itaque si notiones ipsae, id quod basis rei est, +confusae sint, et tenere a rebus abstractae, nihil in iis quae +superstruuntur est firmitudinis. Itaque spes est una in +Inductione vera. In notionibus nil sani est, nec in Logicis nec +in physicis. Non substantia, non qualitas, agere, pati, ipsum +esse, bonae notiones sunt; multo minus grave, leve, densum, +tenue, humidum, siccum, generatio, corruptio, attrahere, fugare, +elementum, materia, forma, et id genus, sed omnes phantasticae et +male terminatae." + +Substitute for the "substantia," the "generatio," the +"corruptio," the "elementum," the "materia," of the old +schoolmen, Mr Mill's pain, pleasure, interest, power, objects of +desire,--and the words of Bacon will seem to suit the current +year as well as the beginning of the seventeenth century. + +We have now gone through the objections that Mr Bentham makes to +our article: and we submit ourselves on all the charges to the +judgment of the public. + +The rest of Mr Bentham's article consists of an exposition of the +Utilitarian principle, or, as he decrees that it shall be called, +the "greatest happiness principle." He seems to think that we +have been assailing it. We never said a syllable against it. We +spoke slightingly of the Utilitarian sect, as we thought of them, +and think of them; but it was not for holding this doctrine that +we blamed them. In attacking them we no more meant to attack the +"greatest happiness principle" than when we say that Mahometanism +is a false religion we mean to deny the unity of God, which is +the first article of the Mahometan creed;--no more than Mr +Bentham, when he sneers at the Whigs means to blame them for +denying the divine right of kings. We reasoned throughout our +article on the supposition that the end of government was to +produce the greatest happiness to mankind. + +Mr Bentham gives an account of the manner in which he arrived at +the discovery of the "greatest happiness principle." He then +proceeds to describe the effects which, as he conceives, that +discovery is producing in language so rhetorical and ardent that, +if it had been written by any other person, a genuine Utilitarian +would certainly have thrown down the book in disgust. + +"The only rivals of any note to the new principle which were +brought forward, were those known by the names of the 'moral +sense,' and the 'original contract.' The new principle +superseded the first of these, by presenting it with a guide for +its decisions; and the other, by making it unnecessary to resort +to a remote and imaginary contract for what was clearly the +business of every man and every hour. Throughout the whole +horizon of morals and of politics, the consequences were glorious +and vast. It might be said without danger of exaggeration, that +they who sat in darkness had seen a great light. The mists in +which mankind had jousted against each other were swept away, as +when the sun of astronomical science arose in the full +development of the principle of gravitation. If the object of +legislation was the greatest happiness, MORALITY was the +promotion of the same end by the conduct of the individual; and +by analogy, the happiness of the world was the morality of +nations. + +"...All the sublime obscurities, which had haunted the mind of +man from the first formation of society,--the phantoms whose +steps had been on earth, and their heads among the clouds-- +marshalled themselves at the sound of this new principle of +connection and of union, and stood a regulated band, where all +was order, symmetry, and force. What men had struggled for and +bled, while they saw it but as through a glass darkly, was made +the object of substantial knowledge and lively apprehension. The +bones of sages and of patriots stirred within their tombs, that +what they dimly saw and followed had become the world's common +heritage. And the great result was wrought by no supernatural +means, nor produced by any unparallelable concatenation of +events. It was foretold by no oracles, and ushered by no +portents; but was brought about by the quiet and reiterated +exercise of God's first gift of common sense." + +Mr Bentham's discovery does not, as we think we shall be able to +show, approach in importance to that of gravitation, to which he +compares it. At all events, Mr Bentham seems to us to act much +as Sir Isaac Newton would have done if he had gone about boasting +that he was the first person who taught bricklayers not to jump +off scaffolds and break their legs. + +Does Mr Bentham profess to hold out any new motive which may +induce men to promote the happiness of the species to which they +belong? Not at all. He distinctly admits that, if he is asked +why government should attempt to produce the greatest possible +happiness, he can give no answer. + +"The real answer," says he, "appeared to be, that men at large +OUGHT not to allow a government to afflict them with more evil or +less good than they can help. What A GOVERNMENT ought to do is a +mysterious and searching question, which those may answer who +know what it means; but what other men ought to do is a question +of no mystery at all. The word OUGHT, if it means anything, must +have reference to some kind of interest or motives; and what +interest a government has in doing right, when it happens to be +interested in doing wrong, is a question for the schoolmen. The +fact appears to be, that OUGHT is not predicable of governments. +The question is not why governments are bound not to do this or +that, but why OTHER MEN should let them if they can help it. The +point is not to determine why the lion should not eat sheep, but +why men should not eat their own mutton if they can." + +The principle of Mr Bentham, if we understand it, is this, that +mankind ought to act so as to produce their greatest happiness. +The word OUGHT, he tells us, has no meaning, unless it be used +with reference to some interest. But the interest of a man is +synonymous with his greatest happiness:--and therefore to say +that a man ought to do a thing, is to say that it is for his +greatest happiness to do it. And to say that mankind OUGHT to +act so as to produce their greatest happiness, is to say that the +greatest happiness is the greatest happiness--and this is all! + +Does Mr Bentham's principle tend to make any man wish for +anything for which he would not have wished, or do anything which +he would not have done, if the principle had never been heard of? +If not, it is an utterly useless principle. Now, every man +pursues his own happiness or interest--call it which you will. +If his happiness coincides with the happiness of the species, +then, whether he ever heard of the "greatest happiness principle" +or not, he will, to the best of his knowledge and ability, +attempt to produce the greatest happiness of the species. But, +if what he thinks his happiness be inconsistent with the greatest +happiness of mankind, will this new principle convert him to +another frame of mind? Mr Bentham himself allows, as we have +seen, that he can give no reason why a man should promote the +greatest happiness of others if their greatest happiness be +inconsistent with what he thinks his own. We should very much +like to know how the Utilitarian principle would run when reduced +to one plain imperative proposition? Will it run thus--pursue +your own happiness? This is superfluous. Every man pursues it, +according to his light, and always has pursued it, and always +must pursue it. To say that a man has done anything, is to say +that he thought it for his happiness to do it. Will the +principle run thus--pursue the greatest happiness of mankind, +whether it be your own greatest happiness or not? This is absurd +and impossible; and Bentham himself allows it to be so. But, if +the principle be not stated in one of these two ways, we cannot +imagine how it is to be stated at all. Stated in one of these +ways, it is an identical proposition,--true, but utterly barren +of consequences. Stated in the other way, it is a contradiction +in terms. Mr Bentham has distinctly declined the absurdity. Are +we then to suppose that he adopts the truism? + +There are thus, it seems, two great truths which the Utilitarian +philosophy is to communicate to mankind--two truths which are to +produce a revolution in morals, in laws, in governments, in +literature, in the whole system of life. The first of these is +speculative; the second is practical. The speculative truth is, +that the greatest happiness is the greatest happiness. The +practical rule is very simple; for it imports merely that men +should never omit, when they wish for anything, to wish for it, +or when they do anything, to do it! It is a great comfort to us +to think that we readily assented to the former of these great +doctrines as soon as it was stated to us; and that we have long +endeavoured, as far as human frailty would permit, to conform to +the latter in our practice. We are, however, inclined to suspect +that the calamities of the human race have been owing, less to +their not knowing that happiness was happiness, than to their not +knowing how to obtain it--less to their neglecting to do what +they did, than to their not being able to do what they wished, or +not wishing to do what they ought. + +Thus frivolous, thus useless is this philosophy,-- +"controversiarum ferax, operum effoeta, ad garriendum prompta, ad +generandum invalida." (Bacon, "Novum Organum".) The humble +mechanic who discovers some slight improvement in the +construction of safety lamps or steam-vessels does more for the +happiness of mankind than the "magnificent principle," as Mr +Bentham calls it, will do in ten thousand years. The mechanic +teaches us how we may in a small degree be better off than we +were. The Utilitarian advises us with great pomp to be as well +off as we can. + +The doctrine of a moral sense may be very unphilosophical; but we +do not think that it can be proved to be pernicious. Men did not +entertain certain desires and aversions because they believed in +a moral sense, but they gave the name of moral sense to a feeling +which they found in their minds, however it came there. If they +had given it no name at all it would still have influenced their +actions; and it will not be very easy to demonstrate that it has +influenced their actions the more because they have called it the +moral sense. The theory of the original contract is a fiction, +and a very absurd fiction; but in practice it meant, what the +"greatest happiness principle," if ever it becomes a watchword of +political warfare, will mean--that is to say, whatever served the +turn of those who used it. Both the one expression and the other +sound very well in debating clubs; but in the real conflicts of +life our passions and interests bid them stand aside and know +their place. The "greatest happiness principle" has always been +latent under the words, social contract, justice, benevolence, +patriotism, liberty, and so forth, just as far as it was for the +happiness, real or imagined, of those who used these words to +promote the greatest happiness of mankind. And of this we may be +sure, that the words "greatest happiness" will never, in any +man's mouth, mean more than the greatest happiness of others +which is consistent with what he thinks his own. The project of +mending a bad world by teaching people to give new names to old +things reminds us of Walter Shandy's scheme for compensating the +loss of his son's nose by christening him Trismegistus. What +society wants is a new motive--not a new cant. If Mr Bentham can +find out any argument yet undiscovered which may induce men to +pursue the general happiness, he will indeed be a great +benefactor to our species. But those whose happiness is +identical with the general happiness are even now promoting the +general happiness to the very best of their power and knowledge; +and Mr Bentham himself confesses that he has no means of +persuading those whose happiness is not identical with the +general happiness to act upon his principle. Is not this, then, +darkening counsel by words without knowledge? If the only fruit +of the "magnificent principle" is to be, that the oppressors and +pilferers of the next generation are to talk of seeking the +greatest happiness of the greatest number, just as the same class +of men have talked in our time of seeking to uphold the +Protestant constitution--just as they talked under Anne of +seeking the good of the Church, and under Cromwell of seeking the +Lord--where is the gain? Is not every great question already +enveloped in a sufficiently dark cloud of unmeaning words? Is it +so difficult for a man to cant some one or more of the good old +English cants which his father and grandfather canted before him, +that he must learn, in the schools of the Utilitarians, a new +sleight of tongue, to make fools clap and wise men sneer? Let +our countrymen keep their eyes on the neophytes of this sect, and +see whether we turn out to be mistaken in the prediction which we +now hazard. It will before long be found, we prophesy, that, as +the corruption of a dunce is the generation of an Utilitarian, so +is the corruption of an Utilitarian the generation of a jobber. + +The most elevated station that the "greatest happiness principle" +is ever likely to attain is this, that it may be a fashionable +phrase among newspaper writers and members of parliament--that it +may succeed to the dignity which has been enjoyed by the +"original contract," by the "constitution of 1688," and other +expressions of the same kind. We do not apprehend that it is a +less flexible cant than those which have preceded it, or that it +will less easily furnish a pretext for any design for which a +pretext may be required. The "original contract" meant in the +Convention Parliament the co-ordinate authority of the Three +Estates. If there were to be a radical insurrection tomorrow, +the "original contract" would stand just as well for annual +parliaments and universal suffrage. The "Glorious Constitution," +again, has meant everything in turn: the Habeas Corpus Act, the +Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, the Test Act, the Repeal of +the Test Act. There has not been for many years a single +important measure which has not been unconstitutional with its +opponents, and which its supporters have not maintained to be +agreeable to the true spirit of the constitution. Is it easier +to ascertain what is for the greatest happiness of the human race +than what is the constitution of England? If not, the "greatest +happiness principle" will be what the "principles of the +constitution" are, a thing to be appealed to by everybody, and +understood by everybody in the sense which suits him best. It +will mean cheap bread, dear bread, free trade, protecting duties, +annual parliaments, septennial parliaments, universal suffrage, +Old Sarum, trial by jury, martial law--everything, in short, +good, bad, or indifferent, of which any person, from rapacity or +from benevolence, chooses to undertake the defence. It will mean +six-and-eightpence with the attorney, tithes at the rectory, and +game-laws at the manor-house. The Statute of Uses, in appearance +the most sweeping legislative reform in our history, was said to +have produced no other effect than that of adding three words to +a conveyance. The universal admission of Mr Bentham's great +principle would, as far as we can see, produce no other effect +than that those orators who, while waiting for a meaning, gain +time (like bankers paying in sixpences during a run) by uttering +words that mean nothing would substitute "the greatest +happiness," or rather, as the longer phrase, "the greatest +happiness of the greatest number," for "under existing +circumstances,"--"now that I am on my legs,"--and "Mr Speaker, I, +for one, am free to say." In fact, principles of this sort +resemble those forms which are sold by law-stationers, with +blanks for the names of parties, and for the special +circumstances of every case--mere customary headings and +conclusions, which are equally at the command of the most honest +and of the most unrighteous claimant. It is on the filling up +that everything depends. + +The "greatest happiness principle" of Mr Bentham is included in +the Christian morality; and, to our thinking, it is there +exhibited in an infinitely more sound and philosophical form than +in the Utilitarian speculations. For in the New Testament it is +neither an identical proposition, nor a contradiction in terms; +and, as laid down by Mr Bentham, it must be either the one or the +other. "Do as you would be done by: Love your neighbour as +yourself:" these are the precepts of Jesus Christ. Understood +in an enlarged sense, these precepts are, in fact, a direction to +every man to promote the greatest happiness of the greatest +number. But this direction would be utterly unmeaning, as it +actually is in Mr Bentham's philosophy, unless it were +accompanied by a sanction. In the Christian scheme, accordingly, +it is accompanied by a sanction of immense force. To a man whose +greatest happiness in this world is inconsistent with the +greatest happiness of the greatest number is held out the +prospect of an infinite happiness hereafter, from which he +excludes himself by wronging his fellow-creatures here. + +This is practical philosophy, as practical as that on which penal +legislation is founded. A man is told to do something which +otherwise he would not do, and is furnished with a new motive for +doing it. Mr Bentham has no new motive to furnish his disciples +with. He has talents sufficient to effect anything that can be +effected. But to induce men to act without an inducement is too +much, even for him. He should reflect that the whole vast world +of morals cannot be moved unless the mover can obtain some stand +for his engines beyond it. He acts as Archimedes would have +done, if he had attempted to move the earth by a lever fixed on +the earth. The action and reaction neutralise each other. The +artist labours, and the world remains at rest. Mr Bentham can +only tell us to do something which we have always been doing, and +should still have continued to do, if we had never heard of the +"greatest happiness principle"--or else to do something which we +have no conceivable motive for doing, and therefore shall not do. +Mr Bentham's principle is at best no more than the golden rule of +the Gospel without its sanction. Whatever evils, therefore, have +existed in societies in which the authority of the Gospel is +recognised may, a fortiori, as it appears to us, exist in +societies in which the Utilitarian principle is recognised. We +do not apprehend that it is more difficult for a tyrant or a +persecutor to persuade himself and others that in putting to +death those who oppose his power or differ from his opinions he +is pursuing "the greatest happiness," than that he is doing as he +would be done by. But religion gives him a motive for doing as +he would be done by: and Mr Bentham furnishes him no motive to +induce him to promote the general happiness. If, on the other +hand, Mr Bentham's principle mean only that every man should +pursue his own greatest happiness, he merely asserts what +everybody knows, and recommends what everybody does. + +It is not upon this "greatest happiness principle" that the fame +of Mr Bentham will rest. He has not taught people to pursue +their own happiness; for that they always did. He has not taught +them to promote the happiness of others, at the expense of their +own; for that they will not and cannot do. But he has taught +them HOW, in some most important points, to promote their own +happiness; and, if his school had emulated him as successfully in +this respect as in the trick of passing off truisms for +discoveries, the name of Benthamite would have been no word for +the scoffer. But few of those who consider themselves as in a +more especial manner his followers have anything in common with +him but his faults. The whole science of Jurisprudence is his. +He has done much for political economy; but we are not aware that +in either department any improvement has been made by members of +his sect. He discovered truths; all that THEY have done has been +to make those truths unpopular. He investigated the philosophy +of law; he could teach them only to snarl at lawyers. + +We entertain no apprehensions of danger to the institutions of +this country from the Utilitarians. Our fears are of a different +kind. We dread the odium and discredit of their alliance. We +wish to see a broad and clear line drawn between the judicious +friends of practical reform and a sect which, having derived all +its influence from the countenance which they have imprudently +bestowed upon it, hates them with the deadly hatred of +ingratitude. There is not, and we firmly believe that there +never was, in this country a party so unpopular. They have +already made the science of political economy--a science of vast +importance to the welfare of nations--an object of disgust to the +majority of the community. The question of parliamentary reform +will share the same fate if once an association be formed in the +public mind between Reform and Utilitarianism. + +We bear no enmity to any member of the sect; and for Mr Bentham +we entertain very high admiration. We know that among his +followers there are some well-intentioned men, and some men of +talents; but we cannot say that we think the logic on which they +pride themselves likely to improve their heads, or the scheme of +morality which they have adopted likely to improve their hearts. +Their theory of morals, however, well deserves an article to +itself; and perhaps, on some future occasion, we may discuss it +more fully than time and space at present allow. + +The preceding article was written, and was actually in types, +when a letter from Mr Bentham appeared in the newspapers, +importing that, "though he had furnished the Westminster Review +with some memoranda respecting 'the greatest happiness +principle,' he had nothing to do with the remarks on our former +article." We are truly happy to find that this illustrious man +had so small a share in a performance which, for his sake, we +have treated with far greater lenity than it deserved. The +mistake, however, does not in the least affect any part of our +arguments; and we have therefore thought it unnecessary to cancel +or cast anew any of the foregoing pages. Indeed, we are not +sorry that the world should see how respectfully we were disposed +to treat a great man, even when we considered him as the author +of a very weak and very unfair attack on ourselves. We wish, +however, to intimate to the actual writer of that attack that our +civilities were intended for the author of the "Preuves +Judiciaires," and the "Defence of Usury"--and not for him. We +cannot conclude, indeed, without expressing a wish--though we +fear it has but little chance of reaching Mr Bentham--that he +would endeavour to find better editors for his compositions. If +M. Dumont had not been a redacteur of a different description +from some of his successors, Mr Bentham would never have attained +the distinction of even giving his name to a sect. + +... + + +UTILITARIAN THEORY OF GOVERNMENT. + +(October 1829.) + +Westminster Review (XXII., Article 16), on the Strictures of the +Edinburgh Review (XCVIII., Article 1), on the Utilitarian Theory +of Government, and the "Greatest Happiness Principle." + +We have long been of opinion that the Utilitarians have owed all +their influence to a mere delusion--that, while professing to +have submitted their minds to an intellectual discipline of +peculiar severity, to have discarded all sentimentality, and to +have acquired consummate skill in the art of reasoning, they are +decidedly inferior to the mass of educated men in the very +qualities in which they conceive themselves to excel. They have +undoubtedly freed themselves from the dominion of some absurd +notions. But their struggle for intellectual emancipation has +ended, as injudicious and violent struggles for political +emancipation too often end, in a mere change of tyrants. Indeed, +we are not sure that we do not prefer the venerable nonsense +which holds prescriptive sway over the ultra-Tory to the upstart +dynasty of prejudices and sophisms by which the revolutionists of +the moral world have suffered themselves to be enslaved. + +The Utilitarians have sometimes been abused as intolerant, +arrogant, irreligious,--as enemies of literature, of the fine +arts, and of the domestic charities. They have been reviled for +some things of which they were guilty, and for some of which they +were innocent. But scarcely anybody seems to have perceived that +almost all their peculiar faults arise from the utter want both +of comprehensiveness and of precision in their mode of reasoning. +We have, for some time past, been convinced that this was really +the case; and that, whenever their philosophy should be boldly +and unsparingly scrutinised, the world would see that it had been +under a mistake respecting them. + +We have made the experiment; and it has succeeded far beyond our +most sanguine expectations. A chosen champion of the School has +come forth against us. A specimen of his logical abilities now +lies before us; and we pledge ourselves to show that no +prebendary at an anti-Catholic meeting, no true-blue baronet +after the third bottle at a Pitt Club, ever displayed such utter +incapacity of comprehending or answering an argument as appears +in the speculations of this Utilitarian apostle; that he does not +understand our meaning, or Mr Mill's meaning, or Mr Bentham's +meaning, or his own meaning; and that the various parts of his +system--if the name of system can be so misapplied--directly +contradict each other. + +Having shown this, we intend to leave him in undisputed +possession of whatever advantage he may derive from the last +word. We propose only to convince the public that there is +nothing in the far-framed logic of the Utilitarians of which any +plain man has reason to be afraid; that this logic will impose on +no man who dares to look it in the face. + +The Westminster Reviewer begins by charging us with having +misrepresented an important part of Mr Mill's argument. + +"The first extract given by the Edinburgh Reviewers from the +Essay was an insulated passage, purposely despoiled of what had +preceded and what followed. The author had been observing, that +'some profound and benevolent investigators of human affairs had +adopted the conclusion that, of all the possible forms of +government, absolute monarchy is the best.' This is what the +reviewers have omitted at the beginning. He then adds, as in the +extract, that 'Experience, IF WE LOOK ONLY AT THE OUTSIDE OF THE +FACTS, appears to be divided on this subject;' there are +Caligulas in one place, and kings of Denmark in another. 'As the +surface of history affords, therefore, no certain principle of +decision, WE MUST GO BEYOND THE SURFACE, and penetrate to the +springs within.' This is what the reviewers have omitted at the +end." + +It is perfectly true that our quotation from Mr Mill's essay was, +like most other quotations, preceded and followed by something +which we did not quote. But, if the Westminster Reviewer means +to say that either what preceded or what followed would, if +quoted, have shown that we put a wrong interpretation on the +passage which was extracted, he does not understand Mr Mill +rightly. + +Mr Mill undoubtedly says that, "as the surface of history affords +no certain principle of decision, we must go beyond the surface, +and penetrate to the springs within." But these expressions will +admit of several interpretations. In what sense, then, does Mr +Mill use them? If he means that we ought to inspect the facts +with close attention, he means what is rational. But, if he +means that we ought to leave the facts, with all their apparent +inconsistencies, unexplained--to lay down a general principle of +the widest extent, and to deduce doctrines from that principle by +syllogistic argument, without pausing to consider whether those +doctrines be or be not consistent with the facts,--then he means +what is irrational; and this is clearly what he does mean: for +he immediately begins, without offering the least explanation of +the contradictory appearances which he has himself described, to +go beyond the surface in the following manner:--"That one human +being will desire to render the person and property of another +subservient to his pleasures, notwithstanding the pain or loss of +pleasure which it may occasion to that other individual, is the +foundation of government. The desire of the object implies the +desire of the power necessary to accomplish the object." And +thus he proceeds to deduce consequences directly inconsistent +with what he has himself stated respecting the situation of the +Danish people. + +If we assume that the object of government is the preservation of +the persons and property of men, then we must hold that, wherever +that object is attained, there the principle of good government +exists. If that object be attained both in Denmark and in the +United States of America, then that which makes government good +must exist, under whatever disguise of title or name, both in +Denmark and in the United States. If men lived in fear for their +lives and their possessions under Nero and under the National +Convention, it follows that the causes from which misgovernment +proceeds existed both in the despotism of Rome and in the +democracy of France. What, then, is that which, being found in +Denmark and in the United States, and not being found in the +Roman Empire or under the administration of Robespierre, renders +governments, widely differing in their external form, practically +good? Be it what it may, it certainly is not that which Mr Mill +proves a priori that it must be,--a democratic representative +assembly. For the Danes have no such assembly. + +The latent principle of good government ought to be tracked, as +it appears to us, in the same manner in which Lord Bacon proposed +to track the principle of Heat. Make as large a list as +possible, said that great man, of those bodies in which, however +widely they differ from each other in appearance, we perceive +heat; and as large a list as possible of those which, while they +bear a general resemblance to hot bodies, are nevertheless not +hot. Observe the different degrees of heat in different hot +bodies; and then, if there be something which is found in all hot +bodies, and of which the increase or diminution is always +accompanied by an increase or diminution of heat, we may hope +that we have really discovered the object of our search. In the +same manner we ought to examine the constitution of all those +communities in which, under whatever form, the blessings of good +government are enjoyed; and to discover, if possible, in what +they resemble each other, and in what they all differ from those +societies in which the object of government is not attained. By +proceeding thus we shall arrive, not indeed at a perfect theory +of government, but at a theory which will be of great practical +use, and which the experience of every successive generation will +probably bring nearer and nearer to perfection. + +The inconsistencies into which Mr Mill has been betrayed by +taking a different course ought to serve as a warning to all +speculators. Because Denmark is well governed by a monarch who, +in appearance at least, is absolute, Mr Mill thinks that the only +mode of arriving at the true principles of government is to +deduce them a priori from the laws of human nature. And what +conclusion does he bring out by this deduction? We will give it +in his own words:--"In the grand discovery of modern times, the +system of representation, the solution of all the difficulties, +both speculative and practical, will perhaps be found. If it +cannot, we seem to be forced upon the extraordinary conclusion +that good government is impossible." That the Danes are well +governed without a representation is a reason for deducing the +theory of government from a general principle from which it +necessarily follows that good government is impossible without a +representation! We have done our best to put this question +plainly; and we think that, if the Westminster Reviewer will read +over what we have written twice or thrice with patience and +attention, some glimpse of our meaning will break in even on his +mind. + +Some objections follow, so frivolous and unfair, that we are +almost ashamed to notice them. + +"When it was said that there was in Denmark a balanced contest +between the king and the nobility, what was said was, that there +was a balanced contest, but it did not last. It was balanced +till something put an end to the balance; and so is everything +else. That such a balance will not last, is precisely what Mr +Mill had demonstrated." + +Mr Mill, we positively affirm, pretends to demonstrate, not +merely that a balanced contest between the king and the +aristocracy will not last, but that the chances are as infinity +to one against the existence of such a balanced contest. This is +a mere question of fact. We quote the words of the essay, and +defy the Westminster Reviewer to impeach our accuracy:-- + +"It seems impossible that such equality should ever exist. How +is it to be established? Or by what criterion is it to be +ascertained? If there is no such criterion, it must, in all +cases, be the result of chance. If so, the chances against it +are as infinity to one." + +The Reviewer has confounded the division of power with the +balance or equal division of power. Mr Mill says that the +division of power can never exist long, because it is next to +impossible that the equal division of power should ever exist at +all. + +"When Mr Mill asserted that it cannot be for the interest of +either the monarchy or the aristocracy to combine with the +democracy, it is plain he did not assert that if the monarchy and +aristocracy were in doubtful contest with each other, they would +not, either of them, accept of the assistance of the democracy. +He spoke of their taking the side of the democracy; not of their +allowing the democracy to take side with themselves." + +If Mr Mill meant anything, he must have meant this--that the +monarchy and the aristocracy will never forget their enmity to +the democracy in their enmity to each other. + +"The monarchy and aristocracy," says he, "have all possible +motives for endeavouring to obtain unlimited power over the +persons and property of the community. The consequence is +inevitable. They have all possible motives for combining to +obtain that power, and unless the people have power enough to be +a match for both they have no protection. The balance, +therefore, is a thing the existence of which upon the best +possible evidence is to be regarded as impossible." + +If Mr Mill meant only what the Westminster Reviewer conceives him +to have meant, his argument would leave the popular theory of the +balance quite untouched. For it is the very theory of the +balance that the help of the people will be solicited by the +nobles when hard pressed by the king, and by the king when hard +pressed by the nobles; and that, as the price of giving alternate +support to the crown and the aristocracy, they will obtain +something for themselves, as the Reviewer admits that they have +done in Denmark. If Mr Mill admits this, he admits the only +theory of the balance of which we ever heard--that very theory +which he has declared to be wild and chimerical. If he denies +it, he is at issue with the Westminster Reviewer as to the +phenomena of the Danish government. + +We now come to a more important passage. Our opponent has +discovered, as he conceives, a radical error which runs through +our whole argument, and vitiates every part of it. We suspect +that we shall spoil his triumph. + +"Mr Mill never asserted 'THAT UNDER NO DESPOTIC GOVERNMENT DOES +ANY HUMAN BEING, EXCEPT THE TOOLS OF THE SOVEREIGN, POSSESS MORE +THAN THE NECESSARIES OF LIFE, AND THAT THE MOST INTENSE DEGREE OF +TERROR IS KEPT UP BY CONSTANT CRUELTY.' He said that absolute +power leads to such results 'by infallible sequence, where power +over a community is attained, AND NOTHING CHECKS.' The critic on +the Mount never made a more palpable misquotation. + +"The spirit of this misquotation runs through every part of the +reply of the Edinburgh Review that relates to the Essay on +Government; and is repeated in as many shapes as the Roman pork. +The whole description of 'Mr Mill's argument against despotism,' +--including the illustration from right-angled triangles and the +square of the hypothenuse,--is founded on this invention of +saying what an author has not said, and leaving unsaid what he +has." + +We thought, and still think, for reasons which our readers will +soon understand, that we represented Mr Mill's principle quite +fairly, and according to the rule of law and common sense, ut res +magis valeat quam pereat. Let us, however, give him all the +advantage of the explanation tendered by his advocate, and see +what he will gain by it. + +The Utilitarian doctrine then is, not that despots and +aristocracies will always plunder and oppress the people to the +last point, but that they will do so if nothing checks them. + +In the first place, it is quite clear that the doctrine thus +stated is of no use at all, unless the force of the checks be +estimated. The first law of motion is, that a ball once +projected will fly on to all eternity with undiminished velocity, +unless something checks. The fact is, that a ball stops in a few +seconds after proceeding a few yards with very variable motion. +Every man would wring his child's neck and pick his friend's +pocket if nothing checked him. In fact, the principle thus +stated means only that governments will oppress unless they +abstain from oppressing. This is quite true, we own. But we +might with equal propriety turn the maxim round, and lay it down, +as the fundamental principle of government, that all rulers will +govern well, unless some motive interferes to keep them from +doing so. + +If there be, as the Westminster Reviewer acknowledges, certain +checks which, under political institutions the most arbitrary in +seeming, sometimes produce good government, and almost always +place some restraint on the rapacity and cruelty of the powerful, +surely the knowledge of those checks, of their nature, and of +their effect, must be a most important part of the science of +government. Does Mr Mill say anything upon this part of the +subject? Not one word. + +The line of defence now taken by the Utilitarians evidently +degrades Mr Mill's theory of government from the rank which, till +within the last few months, was claimed for it by the whole sect. +It is no longer a practical system, fit to guide statesmen, but +merely a barren exercise of the intellect, like those +propositions in mechanics in which the effect of friction and of +the resistance of the air is left out of the question; and which, +therefore, though correctly deduced from the premises, are in +practice utterly false. For, if Mr Mill professes to prove only +that absolute monarchy and aristocracy are pernicious without +checks,--if he allows that there are checks which produce good +government even under absolute monarchs and aristocracies,--and +if he omits to tell us what those checks are, and what effects +they produce under different circumstances,--he surely gives us +no information which can be of real utility. + +But the fact is,--and it is most extraordinary that the +Westminster Reviewer should not have perceived it--that if once +the existence of checks on the abuse of power in monarchies and +aristocracies be admitted, the whole of Mr Mill's theory falls to +the ground at once. This is so palpable, that in spite of the +opinion of the Westminster Reviewer, we must acquit Mr Mill of +having intended to make such an admission. We still think that +the words, "where power over a community is attained, and nothing +checks," must not be understood to mean that under a monarchical +or aristocratical form of government there can really be any +check which can in any degree mitigate the wretchedness of the +people. + +For all possible checks may be classed under two general heads,-- +want of will, and want of power. Now, if a king or an +aristocracy, having the power to plunder and oppress the people, +can want the will, all Mr Mill's principles of human nature must +be pronounced unsound. He tells us, "that the desire to possess +unlimited power of inflicting pain upon others, is an inseparable +part of human nature;" and that "a chain of inference, close and +strong to a most unusual degree," leads to the conclusion that +those who possess this power will always desire to use it. It is +plain, therefore, that, if Mr Mill's principles be sound, the +check on a monarchical or an aristocratical government will not +be the want of will to oppress. + +If a king or an aristocracy, having, as Mr Mill tells us that +they always must have, the will to oppress the people with the +utmost severity, want the power, then the government, by whatever +name it may be called, must be virtually a mixed government or a +pure democracy: for it is quite clear that the people possess +some power in the state--some means of influencing the nominal +rulers. But Mr Mill has demonstrated that no mixed government +can possibly exist, or at least that such a government must come +to a very speedy end: therefore, every country in which people +not in the service of the government have, for any length of +time, been permitted to accumulate more than the bare means of +subsistence must be a pure democracy. That is to say, France +before the revolution, and Ireland during the last century, were +pure democracies. Prussia, Austria, Russia, all the governments +of the civilised world, are pure democracies. If this be not a +reductio ad absurdum, we do not know what is. + +The errors of Mr Mill proceed principally from that radical vice +in his reasoning which, in our last number we described in the +words of Lord Bacon. The Westminster Reviewer is unable to +discover the meaning of our extracts from the "Novum Organum", +and expresses himself as follows: + +"The quotations from Lord Bacon are misapplications, such as +anybody may make to anything he dislikes. There is no more +resemblance between pain, pleasure, motives, etc., and +substantia, generatio, corruptio, elementum, materia,--than +between lines angles, magnitudes, etc., and the same." + +It would perhaps be unreasonable to expect that a writer who +cannot understand his own English should understand Lord Bacon's +Latin. We will therefore attempt to make our meaning clearer. + +What Lord Bacon blames in the schoolmen of his time is this,-- +that they reasoned syllogistically on words which had not been +defined with precision; such as moist, dry, generation, +corruption, and so forth. Mr Mill's error is exactly of the same +kind. He reasons syllogistically about power, pleasure, and +pain, without attaching any definite notion to any one of those +words. There is no more resemblance, says the Westminster +Reviewer, between pain and substantia than between pain and a +line or an angle. By his permission, in the very point to which +Lord Bacon's observation applies, Mr Mill's subjects do resemble +the substantia and elementum of the schoolmen and differ from the +lines and magnitudes of Euclid. We can reason a priori on +mathematics, because we can define with an exactitude which +precludes all possibility of confusion. If a mathematician were +to admit the least laxity into his notions, if he were to allow +himself to be deluded by the vague sense which words bear in +popular use, or by the aspect of an ill-drawn diagram, if he were +to forget in his reasonings that a point was indivisible, or that +the definition of a line excluded breadth, there would be no end +to his blunders. The schoolmen tried to reason mathematically +about things which had not been, and perhaps could not be, +defined with mathematical accuracy. We know the result. Mr Mill +has in our time attempted to do the same. He talks of power, for +example, as if the meaning of the word power were as determinate +as the meaning of the word circle. But, when we analyse his +speculations, we find that his notion of power is, in the words +of Bacon, "phantiastica et male terminata." + +There are two senses in which we may use the word "power," and +those words which denote the various distributions of power, as, +for example, "monarchy":--the one sense popular and superficial, +the other more scientific and accurate. Mr Mill, since he chose +to reason a priori, ought to have clearly pointed out in which +sense he intended to use words of this kind, and to have adhered +inflexibly to the sense on which he fixed. Instead of doing +this, he flies backwards and forwards from the one sense to the +other, and brings out conclusions at last which suit neither. + +The state of those two communities to which he has himself +referred--the kingdom of Denmark and the empire of Rome--may +serve to illustrate our meaning. Looking merely at the surface +of things, we should call Denmark a despotic monarchy, and the +Roman world, in the first century after Christ, an aristocratical +republic. Caligula was, in theory, nothing more than a +magistrate elected by the senate, and subject to the senate. +That irresponsible dignity which, in the most limited monarchies +of our time, is ascribed to the person of the sovereign never +belonged to the earlier Caesars. The sentence of death which the +great council of the commonwealth passed on Nero was strictly +according to the theory of the constitution. Yet, in fact, the +power of the Roman emperors approached nearer to absolute +dominion than that of any prince in modern Europe. On the other +hand, the King of Denmark, in theory the most despotic of +princes, would in practice find it most perilous to indulge in +cruelty and licentiousness. Nor is there, we believe, at the +present moment a single sovereign in our part of the world who +has so much real power over the lives of his subjects as +Robespierre, while he lodged at a chandler's and dined at a +restaurateur's, exercised over the lives of those whom he called +his fellow citizens. + +Mr Mill and the Westminster Reviewer seem to agree that there +cannot long exist in any society a division of power between a +monarch, an aristocracy, and the people, or between any two of +them. However the power be distributed, one of the three parties +will, according to them, inevitably monopolise the whole. Now, +what is here meant by power? If Mr Mill speaks of the external +semblance of power,--of power recognised by the theory of the +constitution,--he is palpably wrong. In England, for example, we +have had for ages the name and form of a mixed government, if +nothing more. Indeed, Mr Mill himself owns that there are +appearances which have given colour to the theory of the balance, +though he maintains that these appearances are delusive. But, if +he uses the word power in a deeper and philosophical sense, he +is, if possible, still more in the wrong than on the former +supposition. For, if he had considered in what the power of one +human being over other human beings must ultimately consist, he +would have perceived, not only that there are mixed governments +in the world, but that all the governments in the world, and all +the governments which can even be conceived as existing in the +world, are virtually mixed. + +If a king possessed the lamp of Aladdin,--if he governed by the +help of a genius who carried away the daughters and wives of his +subjects through the air to the royal Parc-aux-cerfs, and turned +into stone every man who wagged a finger against his majesty's +government, there would indeed be an unmixed despotism. But, +fortunately, a ruler can be gratified only by means of his +subjects. His power depends on their obedience; and, as any +three or four of them are more than a match for him by himself, +he can only enforce the unwilling obedience of some by means of +the willing obedience of others. + +Take any of those who are popularly called absolute princes-- +Napoleon for example. Could Napoleon have walked through Paris, +cutting off the head of one person in every house which he +passed? Certainly not without the assistance of an army. If +not, why not? Because the people had sufficient physical power +to resist him, and would have put forth that power in defence of +their lives and of the lives of their children. In other words, +there was a portion of power in the democracy under Napoleon. +Napoleon might probably have indulged himself in such an +atrocious freak of power if his army would have seconded him. +But, if his army had taken part with the people, he would have +found himself utterly helpless; and, even if they had obeyed his +orders against the people, they would not have suffered him to +decimate their own body. In other words, there was a portion of +power in the hands of a minority of the people, that is to say, +in the hands of an aristocracy, under the reign of Napoleon. + +To come nearer home,--Mr Mill tells us that it is a mistake to +imagine that the English government is mixed. He holds, we +suppose, with all the politicians of the Utilitarian school, that +it is purely aristocratical. There certainly is an aristocracy +in England; and we are afraid that their power is greater than it +ought to be. They have power enough to keep up the game-laws and +corn-laws; but they have not power enough to subject the bodies +of men of the lowest class to wanton outrage at their pleasure. +Suppose that they were to make a law that any gentleman of two +thousand a-year might have a day-labourer or a pauper flogged +with a cat-of-nine-tails whenever the whim might take him. It is +quite clear that the first day on which such flagellation should +be administered would be the last day of the English aristocracy. +In this point, and in many other points which might be named, the +commonalty in our island enjoy a security quite as complete as if +they exercised the right of universal suffrage. We say, +therefore, that the English people have in their own hands a +sufficient guarantee that in some points the aristocracy will +conform to their wishes;--in other words, they have a certain +portion of power over the aristocracy. Therefore the English +government is mixed. + +Wherever a king or an oligarchy refrains from the last extremity +of rapacity and tyranny through fear of the resistance of the +people, there the constitution, whatever it may be called, is in +some measure democratical. The admixture of democratic power may +be slight. It may be much slighter than it ought to be; but some +admixture there is. Wherever a numerical minority, by means of +superior wealth or intelligence, of political concert, or of +military discipline, exercises a greater influence on the society +than any other equal number of persons,--there, whatever the form +of government may be called, a mixture of aristocracy does in +fact exist. And, wherever a single man, from whatever cause, is +so necessary to the community, or to any portion of it, that he +possesses more power than any other man, there is a mixture of +monarchy. This is the philosophical classification of +governments: and if we use this classification we shall find, +not only that there are mixed governments, but that all +governments are, and must always be, mixed. But we may safely +challenge Mr Mill to give any definition of power, or to make any +classification of governments, which shall bear him out in his +assertion that a lasting division of authority is impracticable. + +It is evidently on the real distribution of power, and not on +names and badges, that the happiness of nations must depend. The +representative system, though doubtless a great and precious +discovery in politics, is only one of the many modes in which the +democratic part of the community can efficiently check the +governing few. That certain men have been chosen as deputies of +the people,--that there is a piece of paper stating such deputies +to possess certain powers,--these circumstances in themselves +constitute no security for good government. Such a constitution +nominally existed in France; while, in fact, an oligarchy of +committees and clubs trampled at once on the electors and the +elected. Representation is a very happy contrivance for enabling +large bodies of men to exert their power with less risk of +disorder than there would otherwise be. But, assuredly, it does +not of itself give power. Unless a representative assembly is +sure of being supported in the last resort by the physical +strength of large masses who have spirit to defend the +constitution and sense to defend it in concert, the mob of the +town in which it meets may overawe it;--the howls of the +listeners in its glory may silence its deliberations;--an able +and daring individual may dissolve it. And, if that sense and +that spirit of which we speak be diffused through a society, +then, even without a representative assembly, that society will +enjoy many of the blessings of good government. + +Which is the better able to defend himself;--a strong man with +nothing but his fists, or a paralytic cripple encumbered with a +sword which he cannot lift? Such, we believe, is the difference +between Denmark and some new republics in which the +constitutional forms of the United States have been most +sedulously imitated. + +Look at the Long Parliament on the day on which Charles came to +seize the five members: and look at it again on the day when +Cromwell stamped with his foot on its floor. On which day was +its apparent power the greater? On which day was its real power +the less? Nominally subject, it was able to defy the sovereign. +Nominally sovereign, it was turned out of doors by its servant. + +Constitutions are in politics what paper money is in commerce. +They afford great facilities and conveniences. But we must not +attribute to them that value which really belongs to what they +represent. They are not power, but symbols of power, and will, +in an emergency, prove altogether useless unless the power for +which they stand be forthcoming. The real power by which the +community is governed is made up of all the means which all its +members possess of giving pleasure or pain to each other. + +Great light may be thrown on the nature of a circulating medium +by the phenomena of a state of barter. And in the same manner it +may be useful to those who wish to comprehend the nature and +operation of the outward signs of power to look at communities in +which no such signs exist; for example, at the great community of +nations. There we find nothing analogous to a constitution; but +do we not find a government? We do in fact find government in +its purest, and simplest, and most intelligible form. We see one +portion of power acting directly on another portion of power. We +see a certain police kept up; the weak to a certain degree +protected; the strong to a certain degree restrained. We see the +principle of the balance in constant operation. We see the whole +system sometimes undisturbed by any attempt at encroachment for +twenty or thirty years at a time; and all this is produced +without a legislative assembly, or an executive magistracy-- +without tribunals--without any code which deserves the name; +solely by the mutual hopes and fears of the various members of +the federation. In the community of nations, the first appeal is +to physical force. In communities of men, forms of government +serve to put off that appeal, and often render it unnecessary. +But it is still open to the oppressed or the ambitious. + +Of course, we do not mean to deny that a form of government will, +after it has existed for a long time, materially affect the real +distribution of power throughout the community. This is because +those who administer a government, with their dependants, form a +compact and disciplined body, which, acting methodically and in +concert, is more powerful than any other equally numerous body +which is inferior in organisation. The power of rulers is not, +as superficial observers sometimes seem to think, a thing sui +generis. It is exactly similar in kind, though generally +superior in amount, to that of any set of conspirators who plot +to overthrow it. We have seen in our time the most extensive and +the best organised conspiracy that ever existed--a conspiracy +which possessed all the elements of real power in so great a +degree that it was able to cope with a strong government, and to +triumph over it--the Catholic Association. An Utilitarian would +tell us, we suppose, that the Irish Catholics had no portion of +political power whatever on the first day of the late Session of +Parliament. + +Let us really go beyond the surface of facts: let us, in the +sound sense of the words, penetrate to the springs within; and +the deeper we go the more reason shall we find to smile at those +theorists who hold that the sole hope of the human race is in a +rule-of-three sum and a ballot-box. + +We must now return to the Westminster Reviewer. The following +paragraph is an excellent specimen of his peculiar mode of +understanding and answering arguments. + +"The reply to the argument against 'saturation,' supplies its own +answer. The reason why it is of no use to try to 'saturate' is +precisely what the Edinburgh Reviewers have suggested,--'THAT +THERE IS NO LIMIT TO THE NUMBER OF THIEVES.' There are the +thieves, and the thieves' cousins,--with their men-servants, +their maid-servants, and their little ones, to the fortieth +generation. It is true, that 'a man cannot become a king or a +member of the aristocracy whenever he chooses;' but if there is +to be no limit to the depredators except their own inclination to +increase and multiply, the situation of those who are to suffer +is as wretched as it needs be. It is impossible to define what +ARE 'corporal pleasures.' A Duchess of Cleveland was 'a corporal +pleasure.' The most disgraceful period in the history of any +nation--that of the Restoration--presents an instance of the +length to which it is possible to go in an attempt to 'saturate' +with pleasures of this kind." + +To reason with such a writer is like talking to a deaf man who +catches at a stray word, makes answer beside the mark, and is led +further and further into error by every attempt to explain. Yet, +that our readers may fully appreciate the abilities of the new +philosophers, we shall take the trouble to go over some of our +ground again. + +Mr Mill attempts to prove that there is no point of saturation +with the objects of human desire. He then takes it for granted +that men have no objects of desire but those which can be +obtained only at the expense of the happiness of others. Hence +he infers that absolute monarchs and aristocracies will +necessarily oppress and pillage the people to a frightful extent. + +We answered in substance thus. There are two kinds of objects of +desire; those which give mere bodily pleasure, and those which +please through the medium of associations. Objects of the former +class, it is true, a man cannot obtain without depriving somebody +else of a share. But then with these every man is soon +satisfied. A king or an aristocracy cannot spend any very large +portion of the national wealth on the mere pleasures of sense. +With the pleasures which belong to us as reasoning and +imaginative beings we are never satiated, it is true; but then, +on the other hand, many of those pleasures can be obtained +without injury to any person, and some of them can be obtained +only by doing good to others. + +The Westminster Reviewer, in his former attack on us, laughed at +us for saying that a king or an aristocracy could not be easily +satiated with the pleasures of sense, and asked why the same +course was not tried with thieves. We were not a little +surprised at so silly an objection from the pen, as we imagined, +of Mr Bentham. We returned, however, a very simple answer. +There is no limit to the number of thieves. Any man who chooses +can steal: but a man cannot become a member of the aristocracy +or a king whenever he chooses. To satiate one thief, is to tempt +twenty other people to steal. But by satiating one king or five +hundred nobles with bodily pleasures we do not produce more kings +or more nobles. The answer of the Westminster Reviewer we have +quoted above; and it will amply repay our readers for the trouble +of examining it. We never read any passage which indicated +notions so vague and confused. The number of the thieves, says +our Utilitarian, is not limited. For there are the dependants +and friends of the king and of the nobles. Is it possible that +he should not perceive that this comes under a different head? +The bodily pleasures which a man in power dispenses among his +creatures are bodily pleasures as respects his creatures, no +doubt. But the pleasure which he derives from bestowing them is +not a bodily pleasure. It is one of those pleasures which belong +to him as a reasoning and imaginative being. No man of common +understanding can have failed to perceive that, when we said that +a king or an aristocracy might easily be supplied to satiety with +sensual pleasures, we were speaking of sensual pleasures directly +enjoyed by themselves. But "it is impossible," says the +Reviewer, "to define what are corporal pleasures." Our brother +would indeed, we suspect, find it a difficult task; nor, if we +are to judge of his genius for classification from the specimen +which immediately follows, would we advise him to make the +attempt. "A Duchess of Cleveland was a corporal pleasure." And +to this wise remark is appended a note, setting forth that +Charles the Second gave to the Duchess of Cleveland the money +which he ought to have spent on the war with Holland. We +scarcely know how to answer a man who unites so much pretension +to so much ignorance. There are, among the many Utilitarians who +talk about Hume, Condillac, and Hartley, a few who have read +those writers. Let the Reviewer ask one of these what he thinks +on the subject. We shall not undertake to whip a pupil of so +little promise through his first course of metaphysics. We +shall, therefore, only say--leaving him to guess and wonder what +we can mean--that, in our opinion, the Duchess of Cleveland was +not a merely corporal pleasure,--that the feeling which leads a +prince to prefer one woman to all others, and to lavish the +wealth of kingdoms on her, is a feeling which can only be +explained by the law of association. + +But we are tired, and even more ashamed than tired, of exposing +these blunders. The whole article is of a piece. One passage, +however, we must select, because it contains a very gross +misrepresentation. + +"'THEY NEVER ALLUDED TO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION FOR THE PURPOSE OF +PROVING THAT THE POOR WERE INCLINED TO ROB THE RICH.' They only +said, 'as soon as the poor AGAIN began to compare their cottages +and salads with the hotels and banquets of the rich, there would +have been another scramble for property, another general +confiscation,' etc." + +We said that, IF MR MILL'S PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN NATURE WERE +CORRECT, there would have been another scramble for property, and +another confiscation. We particularly pointed this out in our +last article. We showed the Westminster Reviewer that he had +misunderstood us. We dwelt particularly on the condition which +was introduced into our statement. We said that we had not +given, and did not mean to give, any opinion of our own. And, +after this, the Westminster Reviewer thinks proper to repeat his +former misrepresentation, without taking the least notice of that +qualification to which we, in the most marked manner, called his +attention. + +We hasten on to the most curious part of the article under our +consideration--the defence of the "greatest happiness principle." +The Reviewer charges us with having quite mistaken its nature. + +"All that they have established is, that they do not understand +it. Instead of the truism of the Whigs, 'that the greatest +happiness is the greatest happiness,' what Mr Bentham had +demonstrated, or at all events had laid such foundations that +there was no trouble in demonstrating, was, that the greatest +happiness of the individual was in the long run to be obtained by +pursuing the greatest happiness of the aggregate." + +It was distinctly admitted by the Westminster Reviewer, as we +remarked in our last article, that he could give no answer to the +question,--why governments should attempt to produce the greatest +possible happiness? The Reviewer replies thus:-- + +"Nothing of the kind will be admitted at all. In the passage +thus selected to be tacked to the other, the question started +was, concerning 'the object of government;' in which government +was spoken of as an operation, not as anything that is capable of +feeling pleasure or pain. In this sense it is true enough, that +OUGHT is not predicable of governments." + +We will quote, once again, the passage which we quoted in our +last Number; and we really hope that our brother critic will feel +something like shame while he peruses it. + +"The real answer appeared to be, that men at large OUGHT not to +allow a government to afflict them with more evil or less good, +than they can help. What a GOVERNMENT ought to do is a +mysterious and searching question which those may answer who know +what it means; but what other men ought to do is a question of no +mystery at all. The word OUGHT, if it means anything, must have +reference to some kind of interest or motives; and what interest +a government has in doing right, when it happens to be interested +in doing wrong, is a question for the schoolmen. The fact +appears to be that OUGHT is not predicable of governments. The +question is not, why governments are bound not to do this or +that, but why other men should let them if they can help it. The +point is not to determine why the lion should not eat sheep, but +why men should not eat their own mutton if they can." + +We defy the Westminster Reviewer to reconcile this passage with +the "general happiness principle" as he now states it. He tells +us that he meant by government, not the people invested with the +powers of government, but a mere OPERATION incapable of feeling +pleasure or pain. We say, that he meant the people invested with +the powers of government, and nothing else. It is true that +OUGHT is not predicable of an operation. But who would ever +dream of raising any question about the DUTIES of an operation? +What did the Reviewer mean by saying, that a government could not +be interested in doing right because it was interested in doing +wrong? Can an operation be interested in either? And what did +he mean by his comparison about the lion? Is a lion an operation +incapable of pain or pleasure? And what did he mean by the +expression, "other men," so obviously opposed to the word +"government?" But let the public judge between us. It is +superfluous to argue a point so clear. + +The Reviewer does indeed seem to feel that his expressions cannot +be explained away, and attempts to shuffle out of the difficulty +by owning, that "the double meaning of the word government was +not got clear of without confusion." He has now, at all events, +he assures us, made himself master of Mr Bentham's philosophy. +The real and genuine "greatest happiness principle" is, that the +greatest happiness of every individual is identical with the +greatest happiness of society; and all other "greatest happiness +principles" whatever are counterfeits. "This," says he, "is the +spirit of Mr Bentham's principle; and if there is anything +opposed to it in any former statement it may be corrected by the +present." + +Assuredly, if a fair and honourable opponent had, in discussing a +question so abstruse as that concerning the origin of moral +obligation, made some unguarded admission inconsistent with the +spirit of his doctrines, we should not be inclined to triumph +over him. But no tenderness is due to a writer who, in the very +act of confessing his blunders, insults those by whom his +blunders have been detected, and accuses them of misunderstanding +what, in fact, he has himself mis-stated. + +The whole of this transaction illustrates excellently the real +character of this sect. A paper comes forth, professing to +contain a full development of the "greatest happiness principle," +with the latest improvements of Mr Bentham. The writer boasts +that his article has the honour of being the announcement and the +organ of this wonderful discovery, which is to make "the bones of +sages and patriots stir within their tombs." + +This "magnificent principle" is then stated thus: Mankind ought +to pursue their greatest happiness. But there are persons whose +interest is opposed to the greatest happiness of mankind. OUGHT +is not predicable of such persons. For the word OUGHT has no +meaning unless it be used with reference to some interest. + +We answered, with much more lenity than we should have shown to +such nonsense, had it not proceeded, as we supposed, from Mr +Bentham, that interest was synonymous with greatest happiness; +and that, therefore, if the word OUGHT has no meaning, unless +used with reference to interest, then, to say that mankind ought +to pursue their greatest happiness, is simply to say, that the +greatest happiness is the greatest happiness; that every +individual pursues his own happiness; that either what he thinks +his happiness must coincide with the greatest happiness of +society or not; that, if what he thinks his happiness coincides +with the greatest happiness of society, he will attempt to +promote the greatest happiness of society whether he ever heard +of the "greatest happiness principle" or not; and that, by the +admission of the Westminster Reviewer, if his happiness is +inconsistent with the greatest happiness of society, there is no +reason why he should promote the greatest happiness of society. +Now, that there are individuals who think that for their +happiness which is not for the greatest happiness of society is +evident. The Westminster Reviewer allowed that some of these +individuals were in the right; and did not pretend to give any +reason which could induce any one of them to think himself in the +wrong. So that the "magnificent principle" turned out to be, +either a truism or a contradiction in terms; either this maxim-- +"Do what you do;" or this maxim, "Do what you cannot do." + +The Westminster Reviewer had the wit to see that he could not +defend this palpable nonsense; but, instead of manfully owning +that he had misunderstood the whole nature of the "greatest +happiness principle" in the summer, and had obtained new light +during the autumn, he attempts to withdraw the former principle +unobserved, and to substitute another, directly opposed to it, in +its place; clamouring all the time against our unfairness, like +one who, while changing the cards, diverts the attention of the +table from his sleight of hand by vociferating charges of foul +play against other people. + +The "greatest happiness principle" for the present quarter is +then this,--that every individual will best promote his own +happiness in this world, religious considerations being left out +of the question, by promoting the greatest happiness of the whole +species. And this principle, we are told, holds good with +respect to kings and aristocracies as well as with other people. + +"It is certain that the individual operators in any government, +if they were thoroughly intelligent and entered into a perfect +calculation of all existing chances, would seek for their own +happiness in the promotion of the general; which brings them, if +they knew it, under Mr Bentham's rule. The mistake of supposing +the contrary, lies in confounding criminals who have had the luck +to escape punishment with those who have the risk still before +them. Suppose, for instance, a member of the House of Commons +were at this moment to debate within himself, whether it would be +for his ultimate happiness to begin, according to his ability, to +misgovern. If he could be sure of being as lucky as some that +are dead and gone, there might be difficulty in finding him an +answer. But he is NOT sure; and never can be, till he is dead. +He does not know that he is not close upon the moment when +misgovernment such as he is tempted to contemplate, will be made +a terrible example of. It is not fair to pick out the instance +of the thief that has died unhanged. The question is, whether +thieving is at this moment an advisable trade to begin with all +the possibilities of hanging not got over? This is the spirit of +Mr Bentham's principle; and if there is anything opposed to it in +any former statement, it may be corrected by the present." + +We hope that we have now at last got to the real "magnificent +principle,"--to the principle which is really to make "the bones +of the sages and patriots stir." What effect it may produce on +the bones of the dead we shall not pretend to decide; but we are +sure that it will do very little for the happiness of the living. + +In the first place, nothing is more certain than this, that the +Utilitarian theory of government, as developed in Mr Mill's Essay +and in all the other works on the subject which have been put +forth by the sect, rests on those two principles,--that men +follow their interest, and that the interest of individuals may +be, and in fact perpetually is, opposed to the interest of +society. Unless these two principles be granted, Mr Mill's Essay +does not contain one sound sentence. All his arguments against +monarchy and aristocracy, all his arguments in favour of +democracy, nay, the very argument by which he shows that there is +any necessity for having government at all, must be rejected as +utterly worthless. + +This is so palpable that even the Westminster Reviewer, though +not the most clear-sighted of men, could not help seeing it. +Accordingly, he attempts to guard himself against the objection, +after the manner of such reasoners, by committing two blunders +instead of one. "All this," says he, "only shows that the +members of a government would do well if they were all-wise," and +he proceeds to tell us that, as rulers are not all-wise, they +will invariably act against this principle wherever they can, so +that the democratical checks will still be necessary to produce +good government. + +No form which human folly takes is so richly and exquisitely +laughable as the spectacle of an Utilitarian in a dilemma. What +earthly good can there be in a principle upon which no man will +act until he is all-wise? A certain most important doctrine, we +are told, has been demonstrated so clearly that it ought to be +the foundation of the science of government. And yet the whole +frame of government is to be constituted exactly as if this +fundamental doctrine were false, and on the supposition that no +human being will ever act as if he believed it to be true! + +The whole argument of the Utilitarians in favour of universal +suffrage proceeds on the supposition that even the rudest and +most uneducated men cannot, for any length of time, be deluded +into acting against their own true interest. Yet now they tell +us that, in all aristocratical communities, the higher and more +educated class will, not occasionally, but invariably, act +against its own interest. Now, the only use of proving anything, +as far as we can see, is that people may believe it. To say that +a man does what he believes to be against his happiness is a +contradiction in terms. If, therefore, government and laws are +to be constituted on the supposition on which Mr Mill's Essay is +founded, that all individuals will, whenever they have power over +others put into their hands, act in opposition to the general +happiness, then government and laws must be constituted on the +supposition that no individual believes, or ever will believe, +his own happiness to be identical with the happiness of society. +That is to say, government and laws are to be constituted on the +supposition that no human being will ever be satisfied by Mr +Bentham's proof of his "greatest happiness principle,"--a +supposition which may be true enough, but which says little, we +think, for the principle in question. + +But where has this principle been demonstrated? We are curious, +we confess, to see this demonstration which is to change the face +of the world and yet is to convince nobody. The most amusing +circumstance is that the Westminster Reviewer himself does not +seem to know whether the principle has been demonstrated or not. +"Mr Bentham," he says, "has demonstrated it, or at all events has +laid such foundations that there is no trouble in demonstrating +it." Surely it is rather strange that such a matter should be +left in doubt. The Reviewer proposed, in his former article, a +slight verbal emendation in the statement of the principle; he +then announced that the principle had received its last +improvement; and gloried in the circumstance that the Westminster +Review had been selected as the organ of that improvement. Did +it never occur to him that one slight improvement to a doctrine +is to prove it? + +Mr Bentham has not demonstrated the "greatest happiness +principle," as now stated. He is far too wise a man to think of +demonstrating any such thing. In those sections of his +"Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation", to +which the Reviewer refers us in his note, there is not a word of +the kind. Mr Bentham says, most truly, that there are no +occasions in which a man has not SOME motives for consulting the +happiness of other men; and he proceeds to set forth what those +motives are--sympathy on all occasions, and the love of +reputation on most occasions. This is the very doctrine which we +have been maintaining against Mr Mill and the Westminster +Reviewer. The principal charge which we brought against Mr Mill +was, that those motives to which Mr Bentham ascribes so much +influence were quite left out of consideration in his theory. +The Westminster Reviewer, in the very article now before us, +abuses us for saying, in the spirit, and almost in the words of +Mr Bentham, that "there is a certain check to the rapacity and +cruelty of men in their desire of the good opinion of others." +But does this principle, in which we fully agree with Mr Bentham, +go the length of the new "greatest happiness principle?" The +question is, not whether men have SOME motives for promoting the +greatest happiness, but whether the STRONGER motives be those +which impel them to promote the greatest happiness. That this +would always be the case if men knew their own worldly interests +is the assertion of the Reviewer. As he expresses some doubt +whether Mr Bentham has demonstrated this or not, we would advise +him to set the point at rest by giving his own demonstration. + +The Reviewer has not attempted to give a general confirmation of +the "greatest happiness principle;" but he has tried to prove +that it holds good in one or two particular cases. And even in +those particular cases he has utterly failed. A man, says he, +who calculated the chances fairly would perceive that it would be +for his greatest happiness to abstain from stealing; for a thief +runs a greater risk of being hanged than an honest man. + +It would have been wise, we think, in the Westminster Reviewer, +before he entered on a discussion of this sort, to settle in what +human happiness consists. Each of the ancient sects of +philosophy held some tenet on this subject which served for a +distinguishing badge. The summum bonum of the Utilitarians, as +far as we can judge from the passage which we are now +considering, is the not being hanged. + +That it is an unpleasant thing to be hanged, we most willingly +concede to our brother. But that the whole question of happiness +or misery resolves itself into this single point, we cannot so +easily admit. We must look at the thing purchased as well as the +price paid for it. A thief, assuredly, runs a greater risk of +being hanged than a labourer; and so an officer in the army runs +a greater risk of being shot than a banker's clerk; and a +governor of India runs a greater risk of dying of cholera than a +lord of the bedchamber. But does it therefore follow that every +man, whatever his habits or feelings may be, would, if he knew +his own happiness, become a clerk rather than a cornet, or +goldstick in waiting rather than governor of India? + +Nothing can be more absurd than to suppose, like the Westminster +Reviewer, that thieves steal only because they do not calculate +the chances of being hanged as correctly as honest men. It never +seems to have occurred to him as possible that a man may so +greatly prefer the life of a thief to the life of a labourer that +he may determine to brave the risk of detection and punishment, +though he may even think that risk greater than it really is. +And how, on Utilitarian principles, is such a man to be convinced +that he is in the wrong? "You will be found out."-- +"Undoubtedly."--"You will be hanged within two years."--"I expect +to be hanged within one year."--"Then why do you pursue this +lawless mode of life?"--"Because I would rather live for one year +with plenty of money, dressed like a gentleman, eating and +drinking of the best, frequenting public places, and visiting a +dashing mistress, than break stones on the road, or sit down to +the loom, with the certainty of attaining a good old age. It is +my humour. Are you answered?" + +A king, says the Reviewer again, would govern well, if he were +wise, for fear of provoking his subjects to insurrection. +Therefore the true happiness of a king is identical with the +greatest happiness of society. Tell Charles II. that, if he will +be constant to his queen, sober at table, regular at prayers, +frugal in his expenses, active in the transaction of business, if +he will drive the herd of slaves, buffoons, and procurers from +Whitehall, and make the happiness of his people the rule of his +conduct, he will have a much greater chance of reigning in +comfort to an advanced age; that his profusion and tyranny have +exasperated his subjects, and may, perhaps, bring him to an end +as terrible as his father's. He might answer, that he saw the +danger, but that life was not worth having without ease and +vicious pleasures. And what has our philosopher to say? Does he +not see that it is no more possible to reason a man out of liking +a short life and a merry one more than a long life and a dull one +than to reason a Greenlander out of his train oil? We may say +that the tastes of the thief and the tyrant differ from ours; but +what right have we to say, looking at this world alone, that they +do not pursue their greatest happiness very judiciously? + +It is the grossest ignorance of human nature to suppose that +another man calculates the chances differently from us, merely +because he does what, in his place, we should not do. Every man +has tastes and propensities, which he is disposed to gratify at a +risk and expense which people of different temperaments and +habits think extravagant. "Why," says Horace, "does one brother +like to lounge in the forum, to play in the Campus, and to anoint +himself in the baths, so well, that he would not put himself out +of his way for all the wealth of the richest plantations of the +East; while the other toils from sunrise to sunset for the +purpose of increasing his fortune?" Horace attributes the +diversity to the influence of the Genius and the natal star: and +eighteen hundred years have taught us only to disguise our +ignorance beneath a more philosophical language. + +We think, therefore, that the Westminster Reviewer, even if we +admit his calculation of the chances to be right, does not make +out his case. But he appears to us to miscalculate chances more +grossly than any person who ever acted or speculated in this +world. "It is for the happiness," says he, "of a member of the +House of Commons to govern well; for he never can tell that he is +not close on the moment when misgovernment will be terribly +punished: if he was sure that he should be as lucky as his +predecessors, it might be for his happiness to misgovern; but he +is not sure." Certainly a member of Parliament is not sure that +he shall not be torn in pieces by a mob, or guillotined by a +revolutionary tribunal for his opposition to reform. Nor is the +Westminster Reviewer sure that he shall not be hanged for writing +in favour of universal suffrage. We may have democratical +massacres. We may also have aristocratical proscriptions. It is +not very likely, thank God, that we should see either. But the +radical, we think, runs as much danger as the aristocrat. As to +our friend the Westminster Reviewer, he, it must be owned, has as +good a right as any man on his side, "Antoni gladios contemnere." +But take the man whose votes, ever since he has sate in +Parliament, have been the most uniformly bad, and oppose him to +the man whose votes have been the most uniformly good. The +Westminster Reviewer would probably select Mr Sadler and Mr Hume. +Now, does any rational man think,--will the Westminster Reviewer +himself say,--that Mr Sadler runs more risk of coming to a +miserable end on account of his public conduct than Mr Hume? Mr +Sadler does not know that he is not close on the moment when he +will be made an example of; for Mr Sadler knows, if possible, +less about the future than about the past. But he has no more +reason to expect that he shall be made an example of than to +expect that London will be swallowed up by an earthquake next +spring; and it would be as foolish in him to act on the former +supposition as on the latter. There is a risk; for there is a +risk of everything which does not involve a contradiction; but it +is a risk from which no man in his wits would give a shilling to +be insured. Yet our Westminster Reviewer tells us that this risk +alone, apart from all considerations of religion, honour or +benevolence, would, as a matter of mere calculation, induce a +wise member of the House of Commons to refuse any emoluments +which might be offered him as the price of his support to +pernicious measures. + +We have hitherto been examining cases proposed by our opponent. +It is now our turn to propose one; and we beg that he will spare +no wisdom in solving it. + +A thief is condemned to be hanged. On the eve of the day fixed +for the execution a turnkey enters his cell and tells him that +all is safe, that he has only to slip out, that his friends are +waiting in the neighbourhood with disguises, and that a passage +is taken for him in an American packet. Now, it is clearly for +the greatest happiness of society that the thief should be hanged +and the corrupt turnkey exposed and punished. Will the +Westminster Reviewer tell us that it is for the greatest +happiness of the thief to summon the head jailer and tell the +whole story? Now, either it is for the greatest happiness of a +thief to be hanged or it is not. If it is, then the argument, by +which the Westminster Reviewer attempts to prove that men do not +promote their own happiness by thieving, falls to the ground. If +it is not, then there are men whose greatest happiness is at +variance with the greatest happiness of the community. + +To sum up our arguments shortly, we say that the "greatest +happiness principle," as now stated, is diametrically opposed to +the principle stated in the Westminster Review three months ago. + +We say that, if the "greatest happiness principle," as now +stated, be sound, Mr Mill's Essay, and all other works concerning +Government which, like that Essay, proceed on the supposition +that individuals may have an interest opposed to the greatest +happiness of society, are fundamentally erroneous. + +We say that those who hold this principle to be sound must be +prepared to maintain, either that monarchs and aristocracies may +be trusted to govern the community, or else that men cannot be +trusted to follow their own interest when that interest is +demonstrated to them. + +We say that, if men cannot be trusted to follow their own +interest when that interest has been demonstrated to them, then +the Utilitarian arguments in favour of universal suffrage are +good for nothing. + +We say that the "greatest happiness principle" has not been +proved; that it cannot be generally proved; that even in the +particular cases selected by the Reviewer it is not clear that +the principle is true; and that many cases might be stated in +which the common sense of mankind would at once pronounce it to +be false. + +We now leave the Westminster Reviewer to alter and amend his +"magnificent principle" as he thinks best. Unlimited, it is +false. Properly limited, it will be barren. The "greatest +happiness principle" of the 1st of July, as far as we could +discern its meaning through a cloud of rodomontade, was an idle +truism. The "greatest happiness principle" of the 1st of October +is, in the phrase of the American newspapers, "important if +true." But unhappily it is not true. It is not our business to +conjecture what new maxim is to make the bones of sages and +patriots stir on the 1st of December. We can only say that, +unless it be something infinitely more ingenious than its two +predecessors, we shall leave it unmolested. The Westminster +Reviewer may, if he pleases, indulge himself like Sultan +Schahriar with espousing a rapid succession of virgin theories. +But we must beg to be excused from playing the part of the vizier +who regularly attended on the day after the wedding to strangle +the new Sultana. + +The Westminster Reviewer charges us with urging it as an +objection to the "greatest happiness principle" that "it is +included in the Christian morality." This is a mere fiction of +his own. We never attacked the morality of the Gospel. We +blamed the Utilitarians for claiming the credit of a discovery, +when they had merely stolen that morality, and spoiled it in the +stealing. They have taken the precept of Christ and left the +motive; and they demand the praise of a most wonderful and +beneficial invention, when all that they have done has been to +make a most useful maxim useless by separating it from its +sanction. On religious principles it is true that every +individual will best promote his own happiness by promoting the +happiness of others. But if religious considerations be left out +of the question it is not true. If we do not reason on the +supposition of a future state, where is the motive? If we do +reason on that supposition, where is the discovery? + +The Westminster Reviewer tells us that "we wish to see the +science of Government unsettled because we see no prospect of a +settlement which accords with our interests." His angry +eagerness to have questions settled resembles that of a judge in +one of Dryden's plays--the Amphitryon, we think--who wishes to +decide a cause after hearing only one party, and, when he has +been at last compelled to listen to the statement of the +defendant, flies into a passion, and exclaims, "There now, sir! +See what you have done. The case was quite clear a minute ago; +and you must come and puzzle it!" He is the zealot of a sect. +We are searchers after truth. He wishes to have the question +settled. We wish to have it sifted first. The querulous manner +in which we have been blamed for attacking Mr Mill's system, and +propounding no system of our own, reminds us of the horror with +which that shallow dogmatist, Epicurus, the worst parts of whose +nonsense the Utilitarians have attempted to revive, shrank from +the keen and searching scepticism of the second Academy. + +It is not our fault that an experimental science of vast extent +does not admit of being settled by a short demonstration; that +the subtilty of nature, in the moral as in the physical world, +triumphs over the subtilty of syllogism. The quack, who declares +on affidavit that, by using his pills and attending to his +printed directions, hundreds who had been dismissed incurable +from the hospitals have renewed their youth like the eagles, may, +perhaps, think that Sir Henry Halford, when he feels the pulses +of patients, inquires about their symptoms, and prescribes a +different remedy to each, is unsettling the science of medicine +for the sake of a fee. + +If, in the course of this controversy, we have refrained from +expressing any opinion respecting the political institutions of +England, it is not because we have not an opinion, or because we +shrink from avowing it. The Utilitarians, indeed, conscious that +their boasted theory of government would not bear investigation, +were desirous to turn the dispute about Mr Mill's Essay into a +dispute about the Whig party, rotten boroughs, unpaid +magistrates, and ex-officio informations. When we blamed them +for talking nonsense, they cried out that they were insulted for +being reformers,--just as poor Ancient Pistol swore that the +scars which he had received from the cudgel of Fluellen were got +in the Gallia wars. We, however, did not think it desirable to +mix up political questions, about which the public mind is +violently agitated, with a great problem in moral philosophy. + +Our notions about Government are not, however, altogether +unsettled. We have an opinion about parliamentary reform, though +we have not arrived at that opinion by the royal road which Mr +Mill has opened for the explorers of political science. As we +are taking leave, probably for the last time, of this +controversy, we will state very concisely what our doctrines are. +On some future occasion we may, perhaps, explain and defend them +at length. + +Our fervent wish, and we will add our sanguine hope, is that we +may see such a reform of the House of Commons as may render its +votes the express image of the opinion of the middle orders of +Britain. A pecuniary qualification we think absolutely +necessary; and in settling its amount, our object would be to +draw the line in such a manner that every decent farmer and +shopkeeper might possess the elective franchise. We should wish +to see an end put to all the advantages which particular forms of +property possess over other forms, and particular portions of +property over other equal portions. And this would content us. +Such a reform would, according to Mr Mill, establish an +aristocracy of wealth, and leave the community without protection +and exposed to all the evils of unbridled power. Most willingly +would we stake the whole controversy between us on the success of +the experiment which we propose. + +... + + +SADLER'S LAW OF POPULATION. + +(July 1830.) + +"The Law of Population; a Treatise in Six Books, in Disproof of +the Superfecundity of Human Beings, and developing the real +Principle of their Increase". By Michael Thomas Sadler, M.P. +2 volumes 8vo. London: 1830. + +we did not expect a good book from Mr Sadler: and it is well +that we did not; for he has given us a very bad one. The matter +of his treatise is extraordinary; the manner more extraordinary +still. His arrangement is confused, his repetitions endless, his +style everything which it ought not to be. Instead of saying +what he has to say with the perspicuity, the precision, and the +simplicity in which consists the eloquence proper to scientific +writing, he indulges without measure in vague, bombastic +declamation, made up of those fine things which boys of fifteen +admire, and which everybody, who is not destined to be a boy all +his life, weeds vigorously out of his compositions after five- +and-twenty. That portion of his two thick volumes which is not +made up of statistical tables, consists principally of +ejaculations, apostrophes, metaphors, similes,--all the worst of +their respective kinds. His thoughts are dressed up in this +shabby finery with so much profusion and so little +discrimination, that they remind us of a company of wretched +strolling players, who have huddled on suits of ragged and faded +tinsel, taken from a common wardrobe, and fitting neither their +persons nor their parts; and who then exhibit themselves to the +laughing and pitying spectators, in a state of strutting, +ranting, painted, gilded beggary. "Oh, rare Daniels!" +"Political economist, go and do thou likewise!" "Hear, ye +political economists and anti-populationists!" "Population, if +not proscribed and worried down by the Cerberean dogs of this +wretched and cruel system, really does press against the level of +the means of subsistence, and still elevating that level, it +continues thus to urge society through advancing stages, till at +length the strong and resistless hand of necessity presses the +secret spring of human prosperity, and the portals of Providence +fly open, and disclose to the enraptured gaze the promised land +of contented and rewarded labour." These are specimens, taken at +random, of Mr Sadler's eloquence. We could easily multiply them; +but our readers, we fear, are already inclined to cry for mercy. + +Much blank verse and much rhyme is also scattered through these +volumes, sometimes rightly quoted, sometimes wrongly,--sometimes +good, sometimes insufferable,--sometimes taken from Shakspeare, +and sometimes, for aught we know, Mr Sadler's own. "Let man," +cries the philosopher, "take heed how he rashly violates his +trust;" and thereupon he breaks forth into singing as follows: + +"What myriads wait in destiny's dark womb, +Doubtful of life or an eternal tomb! +'Tis his to blot them from the book of fate, +Or, like a second Deity, create; +To dry the stream of being in its source, +Or bid it, widening, win its restless course; +While, earth and heaven replenishing, the flood +Rolls to its Ocean fount, and rests in God." + +If these lines are not Mr Sadler's, we heartily beg his pardon +for our suspicion--a suspicion which, we acknowledge, ought not +to be lightly entertained of any human being. We can only say +that we never met with them before, and that we do not much care +how long it may be before we meet with them, or with any others +like them, again. + +The spirit of this work is as bad as its style. We never met +with a book which so strongly indicated that the writer was in a +good humour with himself, and in a bad humour with everybody +else; which contained so much of that kind of reproach which is +vulgarly said to be no slander, and of that kind of praise which +is vulgarly said to be no commendation. Mr Malthus is attacked +in language which it would be scarcely decent to employ +respecting Titus Oates. "Atrocious," "execrable," "blasphemous," +and other epithets of the same kind, are poured forth against +that able, excellent, and honourable man, with a profusion which +in the early part of the work excites indignation, but after the +first hundred pages, produces mere weariness and nausea. In the +preface, Mr Sadler excuses himself on the plea of haste. Two- +thirds of his book, he tells us, were written in a few months. +If any terms have escaped him which can be construed into +personal disrespect, he shall deeply regret that he had not more +time to revise them. We must inform him that the tone of his +book required a very different apology; and that a quarter of a +year, though it is a short time for a man to be engaged in +writing a book, is a very long time for a man to be in a passion. + +The imputation of being in a passion Mr Sadler will not disclaim. +His is a theme, he tells us, on which "it were impious to be +calm;" and he boasts that, "instead of conforming to the candour +of the present age, he has imitated the honesty of preceding +ones, in expressing himself with the utmost plainness and freedom +throughout." If Mr Sadler really wishes that the controversy +about his new principle of population should be carried on with +all the license of the seventeenth century, we can have no +personal objections. We are quite as little afraid of a contest +in which quarter shall be neither given nor taken as he can be. +But we would advise him seriously to consider, before he +publishes the promised continuation of his work, whether he be +not one of that class of writers who stand peculiarly in need of +the candour which he insults, and who would have most to fear +from that unsparing severity which he practises and recommends. + +There is only one excuse for the extreme acrimony with which this +book is written; and that excuse is but a bad one. Mr Sadler +imagines that the theory of Mr Malthus is inconsistent with +Christianity, and even with the purer forms of Deism. Now, even +had this been the case, a greater degree of mildness and self- +command than Mr Sadler has shown would have been becoming in a +writer who had undertaken to defend the religion of charity. +But, in fact, the imputation which has been thrown on Mr Malthus +and his followers is so absurd as scarcely to deserve an answer. +As it appears, however, in almost every page of Mr Sadler's book, +we will say a few words respecting it. + +Mr Sadler describes Mr Malthus's principle in the following +words:-- + +"It pronounces that there exists an evil in the principle of +population; an evil, not accidental, but inherent; not of +occasional occurrence, but in perpetual operation; not light, +transient, or mitigated, but productive of miseries, compared +with which all those inflicted by human institutions, that is to +say, by the weakness and wickedness of man, however instigated, +are 'light;' an evil, finally, for which there is no remedy save +one, which had been long overlooked, and which is now enunciated +in terms which evince anything rather than confidence. It is a +principle, moreover, pre-eminently bold, as well as 'clear.' +With a presumption, to call it by no fitter name, of which it may +be doubted whether literature, heathen or Christian, furnishes a +parallel, it professes to trace this supposed evil to its source, +'the laws of nature, which are those of God;' thereby implying, +and indeed asserting, that the law by which the Deity multiplies +his offspring, and that by which he makes provision for their +sustentation, are different, and, indeed, irreconcilable." + +"This theory," he adds, "in the plain apprehension of the many, +lowers the character of the Deity in that attribute, which, as +Rousseau has well observed, is the most essential to him, his +goodness; or otherwise, impugns his wisdom." + +Now nothing is more certain than that there is physical and moral +evil in the world. Whoever, therefore, believes, as we do most +firmly believe, in the goodness of God, must believe that there +is no incompatibility between the goodness of God and the +existence of physical and moral evil. If, then, the goodness of +God be not incompatible with the existence of physical and moral +evil, on what grounds does Mr Sadler maintain that the goodness +of God is incompatible with the law of population laid down by Mr +Malthus? + +Is there any difference between the particular form of evil which +would be produced by over-population, and other forms of evil +which we know to exist in the world? It is, says Mr Sadler, not +a light or transient evil, but a great and permanent evil. What +then? The question of the origin of evil is a question of ay or +no,--not a question of more or less. If any explanation can be +found by which the slightest inconvenience ever sustained by any +sentient being can be reconciled with the divine attribute of +benevolence, that explanation will equally apply to the most +dreadful and extensive calamities that can ever afflict the human +race. The difficulty arises from an apparent contradiction in +terms; and that difficulty is as complete in the case of a +headache which lasts for an hour as in the case of a pestilence +which unpeoples an empire,--in the case of the gust which makes +us shiver for a moment as in the case of the hurricane in which +an Armada is cast away. + +It is, according to Mr Sadler, an instance of presumption +unparalleled in literature, heathen or Christian, to trace an +evil to "the laws of nature, which are those of God," as its +source. Is not hydrophobia an evil? And is it not a law of +nature that hydrophobia should be communicated by the bite of a +mad dog? Is not malaria an evil? And is it not a law of nature +that in particular situations the human frame should be liable to +malaria? We know that there is evil in the world. If it is not +to be traced to the laws of nature, how did it come into the +world? Is it supernatural? And, if we suppose it to be +supernatural, is not the difficulty of reconciling it with the +divine attributes as great as if we suppose it to be natural? +Or, rather, what do the words natural and supernatural mean when +applied to the operations of the Supreme Mind? + +Mr Sadler has attempted, in another part of his work, to meet +these obvious arguments, by a distinction without a difference. + +"The scourges of human existence, as necessary regulators of the +numbers of mankind, it is also agreed by some, are not +inconsistent with the wisdom or benevolence of the Governor of +the universe; though such think that it is a mere after-concern +to 'reconcile the undeniable state of the fact to the attributes +we assign to the Deity.' 'The purpose of the earthquake,' say +they, 'the hurricane, the drought, or the famine, by which +thousands, and sometimes almost millions, of the human race, are +at once overwhelmed, or left the victims of lingering want, is +certainly inscrutable.' How singular is it that a sophism like +this, so false, as a mere illustration, should pass for an +argument, as it has long done! The principle of population is +declared to be naturally productive of evils to mankind, and as +having that constant and manifest tendency to increase their +numbers beyond the means of their subsistence, which has produced +the unhappy and disgusting consequences so often enumerated. +This is, then, its universal tendency or rule. But is there in +Nature the same constant tendency to these earthquakes, +hurricanes, droughts, and famines by which so many myriads, if +not millions, are overwhelmed or reduced at once to ruin? No; +these awful events are strange exceptions to the ordinary course +of things; their visitations are partial, and they occur at +distant intervals of time. While Religion has assigned to them a +very solemn office, Philosophy readily refers them to those great +and benevolent principles of Nature by which the universe is +regulated. But were there a constantly operating tendency to +these calamitous occurrences; did we feel the earth beneath us +tremulous, and giving ceaseless and certain tokens of the coming +catastrophe of Nature; were the hurricane heard mustering its +devastating powers, and perpetually muttering around us; were the +skies 'like brass,' without a cloud to produce one genial drop to +refresh the thirsty earth, and famine, consequently, visibly on +the approach; I say, would such a state of things, as resulting +from the constant laws of Nature, be 'reconcilable with the +attributes we assign to the Deity,' or with any attributes which +in these inventive days could be assigned to him, so as to +represent him as anything but the tormenter, rather than the kind +benefactor, of his creatures? Life, in such a condition, would +be like the unceasingly threatened and miserable existence of +Damocles at the table of Dionysius, and the tyrant himself the +worthy image of the Deity of the anti-populationists." + +Surely this is wretched trifling. Is it on the number of bad +harvests, or of volcanic eruptions, that this great question +depends? Mr Sadler's piety, it seems, would be proof against one +rainy summer, but would be overcome by three or four in +succession. On the coasts of the Mediterranean, where +earthquakes are rare, he would be an optimist. South America +would make him a sceptic, and Java a decided Manichean. To say +that religion assigns a solemn office to these visitations is +nothing to the purpose. Why was man so constituted as to need +such warnings? It is equally unmeaning to say that philosophy +refers these events to benevolent general laws of nature. In so +far as the laws of nature produce evil, they are clearly not +benevolent. They may produce much good. But why is this good +mixed with evil? The most subtle and powerful intellects have +been labouring for centuries to solve these difficulties. The +true solution, we are inclined to think, is that which has been +rather suggested, than developed, by Paley and Butler. But there +is not one solution which will not apply quite as well to the +evils of over-population as to any other evil. Many excellent +people think that it is presumptuous to meddle with such high +questions at all, and that, though there doubtless is an +explanation, our faculties are not sufficiently enlarged to +comprehend that explanation. This mode of getting rid of the +difficulty, again, will apply quite as well to the evils of over- +population as to any other evils. We are sure that those who +humbly confess their inability to expound the great enigma act +more rationally and more decorously than Mr Sadler, who tells us, +with the utmost confidence, which are the means and which the +ends,--which the exceptions and which the rules, in the +government of the universe;--who consents to bear a little evil +without denying the divine benevolence, but distinctly announces +that a certain quantity of dry weather or stormy weather would +force him to regard the Deity as the tyrant of his creatures. + +The great discovery by which Mr Sadler has, as he conceives, +vindicated the ways of Providence is enounced with all the pomp +of capital letters. We must particularly beg that our readers +will peruse it with attention. + +"No one fact relative to the human species is more clearly +ascertained, whether by general observation or actual proof, than +that their fecundity varies in different communities and +countries. The principle which effects this variation, without +the necessity of those cruel and unnatural expedients so +frequently adverted to, constitutes what I presume to call THE +LAW OF POPULATION; and that law may be thus briefly enunciated:-- + +"THE PROLIFICNESS OF HUMAN BEINGS, OTHERWISE SIMILARLY +CIRCUMSTANCED, VARIES INVERSELY AS THEIR NUMBERS. + +"The preceding definition may be thus amplified and explained. +Premising, as a mere truism, that marriages under precisely +similar circumstances will, on the average, be equally fruitful +everywhere, I proceed to state, first, that the prolificness of a +given number of marriages will, all other circumstances being the +same, vary in proportion to the condensation of the population, +so that that prolificness shall be greatest where the numbers on +an equal space are the fewest, and, on the contrary, the smallest +where those numbers are the largest." + +Mr Sadler, at setting out, abuses Mr Malthus for enouncing his +theory in terms taken from the exact sciences. "Applied to the +mensuration of human fecundity," he tells us, "the most +fallacious of all things is geometrical demonstration;" and he +again informs us that those "act an irrational and irrelevant +part who affect to measure the mighty depth of God's mercies by +their arithmetic, and to demonstrate, by their geometrical +ratios, that it is inadequate to receive and contain the efflux +of that fountain of life which is in Him." + +It appears, however, that it is not to the use of mathematical +words, but only to the use of those words in their right senses +that Mr Sadler objects. The law of inverse variation, or inverse +proportion, is as much a part of mathematical science as the law +of geometric progression. The only difference in this respect +between Mr Malthus and Mr Sadler is, that Mr Malthus knows what +is meant by geometric progression, and that Mr Sadler has not the +faintest notion of what is meant by inverse variation. Had he +understood the proposition which he has enounced with so much +pomp, its ludicrous absurdity must at once have flashed on his +mind. + +Let it be supposed that there is a tract in the back settlements +of America, or in New South Wales, equal in size to London, with +only a single couple, a man and his wife, living upon it. The +population of London, with its immediate suburbs, is now probably +about a million and a half. The average fecundity of a marriage +in London is, as Mr Sadler tells us 2.35. How many children will +the woman in the back settlements bear according to Mr Sadler's +theory? The solution of the problem is easy. As the population +in this tract in the back settlements is to the population of +London, so will be the number of children born from a marriage in +London to the number of children born from the marriage of this +couple in the back settlements. That is to say-- + +2 : 1,500,000 :: 2.35 : 1,762,500. + +The lady will have 1,762,500 children: a large "efflux of the +fountain of life," to borrow Mr Sadler's sonorous rhetoric, as +the most philoprogenitive parent could possibly desire. + +But let us, instead of putting cases of our own, look at some of +those which Mr Sadler has brought forward in support of his +theory. The following table, he tells us, exhibits a striking +proof of the truth of his main position. It seems to us to prove +only that Mr Sadler does not know what inverse proportion means. + +Countries Inhabitants on a Children to a + Square Mile, about Marriage + +Cape of Good Hope 1 5.48 +North America 4 5.22 +Russia in Europe 23 4.94 +Denmark 73 4.89 +Prussia 100 4.70 +France 140 4.22 +England 160 3.66 + +Is 1 to 160 as 3.66 to 5.48? If Mr Sadler's principle were just, +the number of children produced by a marriage at the Cape would +be, not 5.48, but very near 600. Or take America and France. Is +4 to 140 as 4.22 to 5.22? The number of births to a marriage in +North America ought, according to this proportion, to be about +150. + +Mr Sadler states the law of population in England thus:-- + +"Where the inhabitants are found to be on the square mile, + +From To Counties Number of births to 100 marriages + + 50 100 2 420 + 100 150 9 396 + 150 200 16 390 + 200 250 4 388 + 250 300 5 378 + 300 350 3 353 + 500 600 2 331 +4000 and upwards 1 246 + +"Now, I think it quite reasonable to conclude, that, were there +not another document in existence relative to this subject, the +facts thus deduced from the census of England are fully +sufficient to demonstrate the position, that the fecundity of +human beings varies inversely as their numbers. How, I ask, can +it be evaded?" + +What, we ask, is there to evade? Is 246 to 420 as 50 to 4000? +Is 331 to 396 as 100 to 500? If the law propounded by Mr Sadler +were correct, the births to a hundred marriages in the least +populous part of England, would be 246 x 4000 / 50, that is +19,680,--nearly two hundred children to every mother. But we +will not carry on these calculations. The absurdity of Mr +Sadler's proposition is so palpable that it is unnecessary to +select particular instances. Let us see what are the extremes of +population and fecundity in well-known countries. The space +which Mr Sadler generally takes is a square mile. The population +at the Cape of Good Hope is, according to him, one to the square +mile. That of London is two hundred thousand to the square mile. +The number of children at the Cape, Mr Sadler informs us, is 5.48 +to a marriage. In London, he states it at 2.35 to a marriage. +Now how can that of which all the variations lie between 2.35 and +5.48 vary, either directly or inversely, as that which admits of +all the variations between one and two hundred thousand? Mr +Sadler evidently does not know the meaning of the word +proportion. A million is a larger quantity than ten. A hundred +is a larger quantity than five. Mr Sadler thinks, therefore, +that there is no impropriety in saying that a hundred is to five +as a million is to ten, or in the inverse ratio of ten to a +million. He proposes to prove that the fecundity of marriages +varies in inverse proportion to the density of the population. +But all that he attempts to prove is that, while the population +increases from one to a hundred and sixty on the square mile, the +fecundity will diminish from 5.48 to 3.66; and that again, while +the population increases from one hundred and sixty to two +hundred thousand on the square mile, the fecundity will diminish +from 3.66 to 2.35. + +The proposition which Mr Sadler enounces, without understanding +the words which he uses, would indeed, if it could be proved, set +us at ease as to the dangers of over-population. But it is, as +we have shown, a proposition so grossly absurd that it is +difficult for any man to keep his countenance while he repeats +it. The utmost that Mr Sadler has ever attempted to prove is +this,--that the fecundity of the human race diminishes as +population becomes more condensed,--but that the diminution of +fecundity bears a very small ratio to the increase of +population,--so that, while the population on a square mile is +multiplied two hundred-thousand-fold, the fecundity decreases by +little more than one half. + +Does this principle vindicate the honour of God? Does it hold +out any new hope or comfort to man? Not at all. We pledge +ourselves to show, with the utmost strictness of reasoning, from +Mr Sadler's own principles, and from facts of the most notorious +description, that every consequence which follows from the law of +geometrical progression, laid down by Mr Malthus, will follow +from the law, miscalled a law of inverse variation, which has +been laid down by Mr Sadler. + +London is the most thickly peopled spot of its size in the known +world. Therefore the fecundity of the population of London must, +according to Mr Sadler, be less than the fecundity of human +beings living on any other spot of equal size. Mr Sadler tells +us, that "the ratios of mortality are influenced by the different +degrees in which the population is condensated; and that, other +circumstances being similar, the relative number of deaths in a +thinly-populated, or country district, is less than that which +takes place in towns, and in towns of a moderate size less again +than that which exists in large and populous cities." Therefore +the mortality in London must, according to him, be greater than +in other places. But, though, according to Mr Sadler, the +fecundity is less in London than elsewhere, and though the +mortality is greater there than elsewhere, we find that even in +London the number of births greatly exceeds the number of deaths. +During the ten years which ended with 1820, there were fifty +thousand more baptisms than burials within the bills of +mortality. It follows, therefore, that, even within London +itself, an increase of the population is taking place by internal +propagation. + +Now, if the population of a place in which the fecundity is less +and the mortality greater than in other places still goes on +increasing by propagation, it follows that in other places the +population will increase, and increase still faster. There is +clearly nothing in Mr Sadler's boasted law of fecundity which +will keep the population from multiplying till the whole earth is +as thick with human beings as St Giles's parish. If Mr Sadler +denies this, he must hold that, in places less thickly peopled +than London, marriages may be less fruitful than in London, which +is directly contrary to his own principles; or that in places +less thickly peopled than London, and similarly situated, people +will die faster than in London, which is again directly contrary +to his own principles. Now, if it follows, as it clearly does +follow, from Mr Sadler's own doctrines, that the human race might +be stowed together by three or four hundred to the acre, and +might still, as far as the principle of propagation is concerned, +go on increasing, what advantage, in a religious or moral point +of view, has his theory over that of Mr Malthus? The principle +of Mr Malthus, says Mr Sadler, leads to consequences of the most +frightful description. Be it so. But do not all these +consequences spring equally from his own principle? Revealed +religion condemns Mr Malthus. Be it so. But Mr Sadler must +share in the reproach of heresy. The theory of Mr Malthus +represents the Deity as a Dionysius hanging the sword over the +heads of his trembling slaves. Be it so. But under what +rhetorical figure are we to represent the Deity of Mr Sadler? + +A man who wishes to serve the cause of religion ought to hesitate +long before he stakes the truth of religion on the event of a +controversy respecting facts in the physical world. For a time +he may succeed in making a theory which he dislikes unpopular by +persuading the public that it contradicts the Scriptures and is +inconsistent with the attributes of the Deity. But, if at last +an overwhelming force of evidence proves this maligned theory to +be true, what is the effect of the arguments by which the +objector has attempted to prove that it is irreconcilable with +natural and revealed religion? Merely this, to make men +infidels. Like the Israelites, in their battle with the +Philistines, he has presumptuously and without warrant brought +down the ark of God into the camp as a means of ensuring +victory:--and the consequence of this profanation is that, when +the battle is lost, the ark is taken. + +In every age the Church has been cautioned against this fatal and +impious rashness by its most illustrious members,--by the fervid +Augustin, by the subtle Aquinas, by the all-accomplished Pascal. +The warning has been given in vain. That close alliance which, +under the disguise of the most deadly enmity, has always +subsisted between fanaticism and atheism is still unbroken. At +one time, the cry was,--"If you hold that the earth moves round +the sun, you deny the truth of the Bible." Popes, conclaves, and +religious orders, rose up against the Copernican heresy. But, as +Pascal said, they could not prevent the earth from moving, or +themselves from moving along with it. One thing, however, they +could do, and they did. They could teach numbers to consider the +Bible as a collection of old women's stories which the progress +of civilisation and knowledge was refuting one by one. They had +attempted to show that the Ptolemaic system was as much a part of +Christianity as the resurrection of the dead. Was it strange, +then, that when the Ptolemaic system became an object of ridicule +to every man of education in Catholic countries, the doctrine of +the resurrection should be in peril? In the present generation, +and in our own country, the prevailing system of geology has +been, with equal folly, attacked on the ground that it is +inconsistent with the Mosaic dates. And here we have Mr Sadler, +out of his especial zeal for religion, first proving that the +doctrine of superfecundity is irreconcilable with the goodness of +God, and then laying down principles, and stating facts, from +which the doctrine of superfecundity necessarily follows. This +blundering piety reminds us of the adventures of a certain +missionary who went to convert the inhabitants of Madagascar. +The good father had an audience of the king, and began to +instruct his majesty in the history of the human race as given in +the Scriptures. "Thus, sir," said he, "was woman made out of the +rib of man, and ever since that time a woman has had one rib more +than a man." "Surely, father, you must be mistaken there," said +the king. "Mistaken!" said the missionary. "It is an +indisputable fact. My faith upon it! My life upon it!" The +good man had heard the fact asserted by his nurse when he was a +child,--had always considered it as a strong confirmation of the +Scriptures, and fully believed it without having ever thought of +verifying it. The king ordered a man and woman, the leanest that +could be found, to be brought before him, and desired his +spiritual instructor to count their ribs. The father counted +over and over, upward and downward, and still found the same +number in both. He then cleared his throat, stammered, +stuttered, and began to assure the king that though he had +committed a little error in saying that a woman had more ribs +than a man, he was quite right in saying that the first woman was +made out of the rib of the first man. "How can I tell that?" +said the king. "You come to me with a strange story which you +say is revealed to you from heaven. I have already made you +confess that one half of it is a lie: and how can you have the +face to expect that I shall believe the other half?" + +We have shown that Mr Sadler's theory, if it be true, is as much +a theory of superfecundity as that of Mr Malthus. But it is not +true. And from Mr Sadler's own tables we will prove that it is +not true. + +The fecundity of the human race in England Mr Sadler rates as +follows:-- + +"Where the inhabitants are found to be on the square mile-- + +From To Counties Number of births per 100 marriages + + 50 100 2 420 + 100 150 9 396 + 150 200 16 390 + 200 250 4 388 + 250 300 5 378 + 300 350 3 353 + 500 600 2 331 +4000 and upwards 1 246 + +Having given this table, he begins, as usual, to boast and +triumph. "Were there not another document on the subject in +existence," says he, "the facts thus deduced from the census of +England are sufficient to demonstrate the position, that the +fecundity of human beings varies inversely as their numbers." In +no case would these facts demonstrate that the fecundity of human +beings varies inversely as their numbers in the right sense of +the words inverse variation. But certainly they would, "if there +were no other document in existence," appear to indicate +something like what Mr Sadler means by inverse variation. +Unhappily for him, however, there are other documents in +existence; and he has himself furnished us with them. We will +extract another of his tables:-- + +TABLE LXIV. + +Showing the Operation of the Law of Population in the different +Hundreds of the County of Lancaster. + +(In the following table the name of the Hundred is followed in +order by: +Population on each Square Mile. +Square Miles. +Population in 1821, exclusive of Towns of separate Jurisdiction. +Marriages from 1811 to 1821. +Baptisms from 1811 to 1821. +Baptisms to 100 Marriages.) + +Lonsdale : 96 : 441 : 42,486 : 3,651 : 16,129 : 442 +Almondness : 267 : 228 : 60,930 : 3,670 : 15,228 : 415 +Leyland : 354 : 126 : 44,583 : 2,858 : 11,182 : 391 +West Derby : 409 : 377 : 154,040 : 24,182 : 86,407 : 357 +Blackburn : 513 : 286 : 146,608 : 10,814 : 31,463 : 291 +Salford : 869 : 373 : 322,592 : 40,143 : 114,941 : 286 + +Mr Sadler rejoices much over this table. The results, he says, +have surprised himself; and, indeed, as we shall show, they might +well have done so. + +The result of his inquiries with respect to France he presents in +the following table: + +"In those departments where there are to each inhabitant-- + +Hectares Departments Legitimate births to + every 1000 marriages + +4 to 5 2 5130 +3 to 4 3 4372 +2 to 3 30 4250 +1 to 2 44 4234 + .06 to 1 5 4146 + .06 1 2557 + +Then comes the shout of exaltation as regularly as the Gloria +Patri at the end of a Psalm. "Is there any possibility of +gainsaying the conclusions these facts force upon us; namely that +the fecundity of marriages is regulated by the density of the +population, and inversely to it?" + +Certainly these tables, taken separately, look well for Mr +Sadler's theory. He must be a bungling gamester who cannot win +when he is suffered to pack the cards his own way. We must beg +leave to shuffle them a little; and we will venture to promise +our readers that some curious results will follow from the +operation. In nine counties of England, says Mr Sadler, in which +the population is from 100 to 150 on the square mile, the births +to 100 marriages are 396. He afterwards expresses some doubt as +to the accuracy of the documents from which this estimate has +been formed, and rates the number of births as high as 414. Let +him take his choice. We will allow him every advantage. + +In the table which we have quoted, numbered lxiv., he tells us +that in Almondness, where the population is 267 to the square +mile, there are 415 births to 100 marriages. The population of +Almondness is twice as thick as the population of the nine +counties referred to in the other table. Yet the number of +births to a marriage is greater in Almondness than in those +counties. + +Once more, he tells us that in three counties, in which the +population was from 300 to 350 on the square mile, the births to +100 marriages were 353. He afterwards rates them at 375. Again +we say, let him take his choice. But from his table of the +population of Lancashire it appears that, in the hundred of +Leyland, where the population is 354 to the square mile, the +number of births to 100 marriages is 391. Here again we have the +marriages becoming more fruitful as the population becomes +denser. + +Let us now shuffle the censuses of England and France together. +In two English counties which contain from 50 to 100 inhabitants +on the square mile, the births to 100 marriages are, according to +Mr Sadler, 420. But in forty-four departments of France, in +which there are from one to two hecatares to each inhabitant, +that is to say, in which the population is from 125 to 250 or +rather more, to the square mile, the number of births to 100 +marriages is 423 and a fraction. + +Again, in five departments of France in which there is less than +one hecatare to each inhabitant, that is to say, in which the +population is more than 250 to the square mile, the number of +births to 100 marriages is 414 and a fraction. But in the four +counties of England in which the population is from 200 to 250 on +the square mile, the number of births to 100 marriages is, +according to one of Mr Sadler's tables, only 388, and by his very +highest estimate no more than 402. + +Mr Sadler gives us a long table of all the towns of England and +Ireland, which, he tells us, irrefragably demonstrates his +principle. We assert, and will prove, that these tables are +alone sufficient to upset his whole theory. + +It is very true that, in the great towns the number of births to +a marriage appears to be smaller than in the less populous towns. +But we learn some other facts from these tables which we should +be glad to know how Mr Sadler will explain. We find that the +fecundity in towns of fewer than 3000 inhabitants is actually +much greater than the average fecundity of the kingdom, and that +the fecundity in towns of between 3000 and 4000 inhabitants is at +least as great as the average fecundity of the kingdom. The +average fecundity of a marriage in towns of fewer than 3000 +inhabitants is about four; in towns of between 3000 and 4000 +inhabitants it is 3.60. Now, the average fecundity of England, +when it contained only 160 inhabitants to a square mile, and +when, therefore, according to the new law of population, the +fecundity must have been greater than it now is, was only, +according to Mr Sadler, 3.66 to a marriage. To proceed,--the +fecundity of a marriage in the English towns of between 4000 and +5000 inhabitants is stated at 3.56. But, when we turn to Mr +Sadler's table of counties, we find the fecundity of a marriage +in Warwickshire and Staffordshire rated at only 3.48, and in +Lancashire and Surrey at only 3.41. + +These facts disprove Mr Sadler's principle; and the fact on which +he lays so much stress--that the fecundity is less in the great +towns than in the small towns--does not tend in any degree to +prove his principle. There is not the least reason to believe +that the population is more dense, ON A GIVEN SPACE, in London or +Manchester than in a town of 4000 inhabitants. But it is quite +certain that the population is more dense in a town of 4000 +inhabitants than in Warwickshire or Lancashire. That the +fecundity of Manchester is less than the fecundity of Sandwich or +Guildford is a circumstance which has nothing whatever to do with +Mr Sadler's theory. But that the fecundity of Sandwich is +greater than the average fecundity of Kent,--that the fecundity +of Guildford is greater than the average fecundity of Surrey,--as +from his own tables appears to be the case,--these are facts +utterly inconsistent with his theory. + +We need not here examine why it is that the human race is less +fruitful in great cities than in small towns or in the open +country. The fact has long been notorious. We are inclined to +attribute it to the same causes which tend to abridge human life +in great cities,--to general sickliness and want of tone, +produced by close air and sedentary employments. Thus far, and +thus far only, we agree with Mr Sadler, that, when population is +crowded together in such masses that the general health and +energy of the frame are impaired by the condensation, and by the +habits attending on the condensation, then the fecundity of the +race diminishes. But this is evidently a check of the same class +with war, pestilence, and famine. It is a check for the +operation of which Mr Malthus has allowed. + +That any condensation which does not affect the general health +will affect fecundity, is not only not proved--it is disproved-- +by Mr Sadler's own tables. + +Mr Sadler passes on to Prussia, and sums up his information +respecting that country as follows:-- + +(In the following table numbers appear in the order: +Inhabitants on a Square Mile, German. +Number of Provinces. +Births to 100 Marriages, 1754. +Births to 100 Marriages, 1784. +Births to 100 Marriages, Busching.) + +Under 1000 : 2 : 434 : 472 : 503 +1000 to 2000 : 4 : 414 : 455 : 454 +2000 to 3000 : 6 : 384 : 424 : 426 +3000 to 4000 : 2 : 365 : 408 : 394 + +After the table comes the boast as usual: + +"Thus is the law of population deduced from the registers of +Prussia also: and were the argument to pause here, it is +conclusive. The results obtained from the registers of this and +the preceding countries, exhibiting, as they do most clearly, the +principle of human increase, it is utterly impossible should have +been the work of chance; on the contrary, the regularity with +which the facts class themselves in conformity with that +principle, and the striking analogy which the whole of them bear +to each other, demonstrate equally the design of Nature, and the +certainty of its accomplishment." + +We are sorry to disturb Mr Sadler's complacency. But, in our +opinion, this table completely disproves his whole principle. If +we read the columns perpendicularly, indeed, they seem to be in +his favour. But how stands the case if we read horizontally? +Does Mr Sadler believe that, during the thirty years which +elapsed between 1754 and 1784, the population of Prussia had been +diminishing? No fact in history is better ascertained than that, +during the long peace which followed the seven years' war, it +increased with great rapidity. Indeed, if the fecundity were +what Mr Sadler states it to have been, it must have increased +with great rapidity. Yet, the ratio of births to marriages is +greater in 1784 than in 1754, and that in every province. It is, +therefore, perfectly clear that the fecundity does not diminish +whenever the density of the population increases. + +We will try another of Mr Sadler's tables: + +TABLE LXXXI. + +Showing the Estimated Prolificness of Marriages in England at the +close of the Seventeenth Century. + +(In the following table the name of the Place is followed in +order by: +Number of Inhabitants. +One Annual Marriage, to. +Number of Marriages. +Children to one Marriage. +Total Number of Births. + +London : 530,000 : 106 : 5,000 : 4. : 20,000 +Large Towns : 870,000 : 128 : 6,800 : 4.5 : 30,000 +Small Towns and +Country Places : 4,100,000 : 141 : 29,200 : 4.8 : 140,160 + ------------------------------------------- + : 5,500,000 : 134 : 41,000 : 4.65 : 190,760 + +Standing by itself, this table, like most of the others, seems to +support Mr Sadler's theory. But surely London, at the close of +the seventeenth century, was far more thickly peopled than the +kingdom of England now is. Yet the fecundity in London at the +close of the seventeenth century was 4; and the average fecundity +of the whole kingdom now is not more, according to Mr Sadler, +than 3 1/2. Then again, the large towns in 1700 were far more +thickly peopled than Westmoreland and the North Riding of +Yorkshire now are. Yet the fecundity in those large towns was +then 4.5. And Mr Sadler tells us that it is now only 4.2 in +Westmoreland and the North Riding. + +It is scarcely necessary to say anything about the censuses of +the Netherlands, as Mr Sadler himself confesses that there is +some difficulty in reconciling them with his theory, and helps +out his awkward explanation by supposing, quite gratuitously, as +it seems to us, that the official documents are inaccurate. The +argument which he has drawn from the United States will detain us +but for a very short time. He has not told us,--perhaps he had +not the means of telling us,--what proportion the number of +births in the different parts of that country bears to the number +of marriages. He shows that in the thinly peopled states the +number of children bears a greater proportion to the number of +grown-up people than in the old states; and this, he conceives, +is a sufficient proof that the condensation of the population is +unfavourable to fecundity. We deny the inference altogether. +Nothing can be more obvious than the explanation of the +phenomenon. The back settlements are for the most part peopled +by emigration from the old states; and emigrants are almost +always breeders. They are almost always vigorous people in the +prime of life. Mr Sadler himself, in another part of his book, +in which he tries very unsuccessfully to show that the rapid +multiplication of the people of America is principally owing to +emigration from Europe, states this fact in the plainest manner: + +"Nothing is more certain, than that emigration is almost +universally supplied by 'single persons in the beginning of +mature life;' nor, secondly, that such persons, as Dr Franklin +long ago asserted, 'marry and raise families.' + +"Nor is this all. It is not more true, that emigrants, generally +speaking, consist of individuals in the prime of life, than that +'they are the most active and vigorous' of that age, as Dr +Seybert describes them to be. They are, as it respects the +principle at issue, a select class, even compared with that of +their own age, generally considered. Their very object in +leaving their native countries is to settle in life, a phrase +that needs no explanation; and they do so. No equal number of +human beings, therefore, have ever given so large or rapid an +increase to a community as 'settlers' have invariably done." + +It is perfectly clear that children are more numerous in the back +settlements of America than in the maritime states, not because +unoccupied land makes people prolific, but because the most +prolific people go to the unoccupied land. + +Mr Sadler having, as he conceives, fully established his theory +of population by statistical evidence, proceeds to prove, "that +it is in unison, or rather required by the principles of +physiology." The difference between himself and his opponents he +states as follows:-- + +"In pursuing this part of my subject, I must begin by reminding +the reader of the difference between those who hold the +superfecundity of mankind and myself, in regard to those +principles which will form the basis of the present argument. +They contend, that production precedes population; I, on the +contrary, maintain that population precedes, and is indeed the +cause of, production. They teach that man breeds up to the +capital, or in proportion to the abundance of the food, he +possesses: I assert, that he is comparatively sterile when he is +wealthy, and that he breeds in proportion to his poverty; not +meaning, however, by that poverty, a state of privation +approaching to actual starvation, any more than, I suppose, they +would contend, that extreme and culpable excess is the grand +patron of population. In a word, they hold that a state of ease +and affluence is the great promoter of prolificness. I maintain +that a considerable degree of labour, and even privation, is a +more efficient cause of an increased degree of human fecundity." + +To prove this point, he quotes Aristotle, Hippocrates, Dr Short, +Dr Gregory, Dr Perceval, M. Villermi, Lord Bacon, and Rousseau. +We will not dispute about it; for it seems quite clear to us that +if he succeeds in establishing it he overturns his own theory. +If men breed in proportion to their poverty, as he tells us +here,--and at the same time breed in inverse proportion to their +numbers, as he told us before,--it necessarily follows that the +poverty of men must be in inverse proportion to their numbers. +Inverse proportion, indeed, as we have shown, is not the phrase +which expresses Mr Sadler's meaning. To speak more correctly, it +follows, from his own positions, that, if one population be +thinner than another, it will also be poorer. Is this the fact? +Mr Sadler tells us, in one of those tables which we have already +quoted, that in the United States the population is four to a +square mile, and the fecundity 5.22 to a marriage, and that in +Russia the population is twenty-three to a square mile, and the +fecundity 4.94 to a marriage. Is the North American labourer +poorer than the Russian boor? If not, what becomes of Mr +Sadler's argument? + +The most decisive proof of Mr Sadler's theory, according to him, +is that which he has kept for the last. It is derived from the +registers of the English Peerage. The peers, he says, and says +truly, are the class with respect to whom we possess the most +accurate statistical information. + +"Touching their NUMBER, this has been accurately known and +recorded ever since the order has existed in the country. For +several centuries past, the addition to it of a single individual +has been a matter of public interest and notoriety: this +hereditary honour conferring not personal dignity merely, but +important privileges, and being almost always identified with +great wealth and influence. The records relating to it are kept +with the most scrupulous attention, not only by heirs and +expectants, but they are appealed to by more distant connections, +as conferring distinction on all who can claim such affinity. +Hence there are few disputes concerning successions to this rank, +but such as go back to very remote periods. In later times, the +marriages, births, and deaths, of the nobility, have not only +been registered by and known to those personally interested, but +have been published periodically, and, consequently, subject to +perpetual correction and revision; while many of the most +powerful motives which can influence the human mind conspire to +preserve these records from the slightest falsification. +Compared with these, therefore, all other registers, or reports, +whether of sworn searchers or others, are incorrectness itself." + +Mr Sadler goes on to tell us that the peers are a marrying class, +and that their general longevity proves them to be a healthy +class. Still peerages often become extinct;--and from this fact +he infers that they are a sterile class. So far, says he, from +increasing in geometrical progression, they do not even keep up +their numbers. "Nature interdicts their increase." + +"Thus," says he, "in all ages of the world, and in every nation +of it, have the highest ranks of the community been the most +sterile, and the lowest the most prolific. As it respects our +own country, from the lowest grade of society, the Irish peasant, +to the highest, the British peer, this remains a conspicuous +truth; and the regulation of the degree of fecundity conformably +to this principle, through the intermediate gradations of +society, constitutes one of the features of the system developed +in these pages." + +We take the issue which Mr Sadler has himself offered. We agree +with him, that the registers of the English Peerage are of far +higher authority than any other statistical documents. We are +content that by those registers his principle should be judged. +And we meet him by positively denying his facts. We assert that +the English nobles are not only not a sterile, but an eminently +prolific, part of the community. Mr Sadler concludes that they +are sterile, merely because peerages often become extinct. Is +this the proper way of ascertaining the point? Is it thus that +he avails himself of those registers on the accuracy and fulness +of which he descants so largely? Surely his right course would +have been to count the marriages, and the number of births in the +Peerage. This he has not done;--but we have done it. And what +is the result? + +It appears from the last edition of Debrett's "Peerage", +published in 1828, that there were at that time 287 peers of the +United Kingdom, who had been married once or oftener. The whole +number of marriages contracted by these 287 peers was 333. The +number of children by these marriages was 1437,--more than five +to a peer,--more than 4.3 to a marriage,--more, that is to say, +than the average number in those counties of England in which, +according to Mr Sadler's own statement, the fecundity is the +greatest. + +But this is not all. These marriages had not, in 1828, produced +their full effect. Some of them had been very lately contracted. +In a very large proportion of them there was every probability of +additional issue. To allow for this probability, we may safely +add one to the average which we have already obtained, and rate +the fecundity of a noble marriage in England at 5.3;--higher than +the fecundity which Mr Sadler assigns to the people of the United +States. Even if we do not make this allowance, the average +fecundity of marriages of peers is higher by one-fifth than the +average fecundity of marriages throughout the kingdom. And this +is the sterile class! This is the class which "Nature has +interdicted from increasing!" The evidence to which Mr Sadler +has himself appealed proves that his principle is false,--utterly +false,--wildly and extravagantly false. It proves that a class, +living during half of every year in the most crowded population +in the world, breeds faster than those who live in the country;-- +that the class which enjoys the greatest degree of luxury and +ease breeds faster than the class which undergoes labour and +privation. To talk a little in Mr Sadler's style, we must own +that we are ourselves surprised at the results which our +examination of the peerage has brought out. We certainly should +have thought that the habits of fashionable life, and long +residence even in the most airy parts of so great a city as +London, would have been more unfavourable to the fecundity of the +higher orders than they appear to be. + +Peerages, it is true, often become extinct. But it is quite +clear, from what we have stated, that this is not because +peeresses are barren. There is no difficulty in discovering what +the causes really are. In the first place, most of the titles of +our nobles are limited to heirs male; so that, though the average +fecundity of a noble marriage is upwards of five, yet, for the +purpose of keeping up a peerage, it cannot be reckoned at much +more than two and a half. Secondly, though the peers are, as Mr +Sadler says, a marrying class, the younger sons of peers are +decidedly not a marrying class; so that a peer, though he has at +least as great a chance of having a son as his neighbours, has +less chance than they of having a collateral heir. + +We have now disposed, we think, of Mr Sadler's principle of +population. Our readers must, by this time, be pretty well +satisfied as to his qualifications for setting up theories of his +own. We will, therefore, present them with a few instances of +the skill and fairness which he shows when he undertakes to pull +down the theories of other men. The doctrine of Mr Malthus, that +population, if not checked by want, by vice, by excessive +mortality, or by the prudent self-denial of individuals, would +increase in a geometric progression, is, in Mr Sadler's opinion, +at once false and atrocious. + +"It may at once be denied," says he, "that human increase +proceeds geometrically; and for this simple but decisive reason, +that the existence of a geometrical ratio of increase in the +works of nature is neither true nor possible. It would fling +into utter confusion all order, time, magnitude, and space." + +This is as curious a specimen of reasoning as any that has been +offered to the world since the days when theories were founded on +the principle that nature abhors a vacuum. We proceed a few +pages further, however; and we then find that geometric +progression is unnatural only in those cases in which Mr Malthus +conceives that it exists; and that, in all cases in which Mr +Malthus denies the existence of a geometric ratio, nature changes +sides, and adopts that ratio as the rule of increase. + +Mr Malthus holds that subsistence will increase only in an +arithmetical ratio. "As far as nature has to do with the +question," says Mr Sadler, "men might, for instance, plant twice +the number of peas, and breed from a double number of the same +animals, with equal prospect of their multiplication." Now, if +Mr Sadler thinks that, as far as nature is concerned, four sheep +will double as fast as two, and eight as fast as four, how can he +deny that the geometrical ratio of increase does exist in the +works of nature? Or has he a definition of his own for +geometrical progression, as well as for inverse proportion? + +Mr Malthus, and those who agree with him, have generally referred +to the United States, as a country in which the human race +increases in a geometrical ratio, and have fixed on thirty-five +years as the term in which the population of that country doubles +itself. Mr Sadler contends that it is physically impossible for +a people to double in twenty-five years; nay, that thirty-five +years is far too short a period,--that the Americans do not +double by procreation in less than forty-seven years,--and that +the rapid increase of their numbers is produced by emigration +from Europe. + +Emigration has certainly had some effect in increasing the +population of the United States. But so great has the rate of +that increase been that, after making full allowance for the +effect of emigration, there will be a residue, attributable to +procreation alone, amply sufficient to double the population in +twenty-five years. + +Mr Sadler states the results of the four censuses as follows:-- + +"There were, of white inhabitants, in the whole of the United +States in 1790, 3,093,111; in 1800, 4,309,656; in 1810, +5,862,093; and in 1820, 7,861,710. The increase, in the first +term, being 39 per cent.; that in the second, 36 per cent.; and +that in the third and last, 33 per cent. It is superfluous to +say, that it is utterly impossible to deduce the geometric theory +of human increase, whatever be the period of duplication, from +such terms as these." + +Mr Sadler is a bad arithmetician. The increase in the last term +is not as he states it, 33 per cent., but more than 34 per cent. +Now, an increase of 32 per cent. in ten years, is more than +sufficient to double the population in twenty-five years. And +there is, we think, very strong reason to believe that the white +population of the United States does increase by 32 per cent. +every ten years. + +Our reason is this. There is in the United States a class of +persons whose numbers are not increased by emigration,--the negro +slaves. During the interval which elapsed between the census of +1810 and the census of 1820, the change in their numbers must +have been produced by procreation, and by procreation alone. +Their situation, though much happier than that of the wretched +beings who cultivate the sugar plantations of Trinidad and +Demerara, cannot be supposed to be more favourable to health and +fecundity than that of free labourers. In 1810, the slave-trade +had been but recently abolished; and there were in consequence +many more male than female slaves,--a circumstance, of course, +very unfavourable to procreation. Slaves are perpetually passing +into the class of freemen; but no freeman ever descends into +servitude; so that the census will not exhibit the whole effect +of the procreation which really takes place. + +We find, by the census of 1810, that the number of slaves in the +Union was then 1,191,000. In 1820, they had increased to +1,538,000. That is to say, in ten years, they had increased 29 +per cent.--within three per cent. of that rate of increase which +would double their numbers in twenty-five years. We may, we +think, fairly calculate that, if the female slaves had been as +numerous as the males, and if no manumissions had taken place, +the census of the slave population would have exhibited an +increase of 32 per cent. in ten years. + +If we are right in fixing on 32 per cent. as the rate at which +the white population of America increases by procreation in ten +years, it will follow that, during the last ten years of the +eighteenth century, nearly one-sixth of the increase was the +effect of emigration; from 1800 to 1810, about one-ninth; and +from 1810 to 1820, about one-seventeenth. This is what we should +have expected; for it is clear that, unless the number of +emigrants be constantly increasing, it must, as compared with the +resident population, be relatively decreasing. The number of +persons added to the population of the United States by +emigration, between 1810 and 1820, would be nearly 120,000. From +the data furnished by Mr Sadler himself, we should be inclined to +think that this would be a fair estimate. + +"Dr Seybert says, that the passengers to ten of the principal +ports of the United States, in the year 1817, amounted to 22,235; +of whom 11,977 were from Great Britain and Ireland; 4164 from +Germany and Holland; 1245 from France; 58 from Italy, 2901 from +the British possessions in North America; 1569 from the West +Indies; and from all other countries, 321. These, however, we +may conclude, with the editor of Styles's Register, were far +short of the number that arrived." + +We have not the honour of knowing either Dr Seybert or the editor +of Styles's Register. We cannot, therefore, decide on their +respective claims to our confidence so peremptorily as Mr Sadler +thinks fit to do. Nor can we agree to what Mr Sadler very +gravely assigns as a reason for disbelieving Dr Seyberts's +testimony. "Such accounts," he says, "if not wilfully +exaggerated, must always fall short of the truth." It would be a +curious question of casuistry to determine what a man ought to do +in a case in which he cannot tell the truth except by being +guilty of wilful exaggeration. We will, however, suppose, with +Mr Sadler, that Dr Seybert, finding himself compelled to choose +between two sins, preferred telling a falsehood to exaggerating; +and that he has consequently underrated the number of emigrants. +We will take it at double of the Doctor's estimate, and suppose +that, in 1817, 45,000 Europeans crossed to the United States. +Now, it must be remembered that the year 1817 was a year of the +severest and most general distress all over Europe,--a year of +scarcity everywhere, and of cruel famine in some places. There +can, therefore, be no doubt that the emigration of 1817 was very +far above the average, probably more than three times that of an +ordinary year. Till the year 1815, the war rendered it almost +impossible to emigrate to the United States either from England +or from the Continent. If we suppose the average emigration of +the remaining years to have been 16,000, we shall probably not be +much mistaken. In 1818 and 1819, the number was certainly much +beyond that average; in 1815 and 1816, probably much below it. +But, even if we were to suppose that, in every year from the +peace to 1820, the number of emigrants had been as high as we +have supposed it to be in 1817, the increase by procreation among +the white inhabitants of the United States would still appear to +be about 30 per cent. in ten years. + +Mr Sadler acknowledges that Cobbett exaggerates the number of +emigrants when he states it at 150,000 a year. Yet even this +estimate, absurdly great as it is, would not be sufficient to +explain the increase of the population of the United States on Mr +Sadler's principles. He is, he tells us, "convinced that +doubling in 35 years is a far more rapid duplication than ever +has taken place in that country from procreation only." An +increase of 20 per cent. in ten years, by procreation, would +therefore be the very utmost that he would allow to be possible. +We have already shown, by reference to the census of the slave +population, that this doctrine is quite absurd. And, if we +suppose it to be sound, we shall be driven to the conclusion that +above eight hundred thousand people emigrated from Europe to the +United States in a space of little more than five years. The +whole increase of the white population from 1810 to 1820 was +within a few hundreds of 2,000,000. If we are to attribute to +procreation only 20 per cent. on the number returned by the +census of 1810, we shall have about 830,000 persons to account +for in some other way;--and to suppose that the emigrants who +went to America between the peace of 1815 and the census of 1820, +with the children who were born to them there, would make up that +number, would be the height of absurdity. + +We could say much more; but we think it quite unnecessary at +present. We have shown that Mr Sadler is careless in the +collection of facts,--that he is incapable of reasoning on facts +when he has collected them,--that he does not understand the +simplest terms of science,--that he has enounced a proposition of +which he does not know the meaning,--that the proposition which +he means to enounce, and which he tries to prove, leads directly +to all those consequences which he represents as impious and +immoral,--and that, from the very documents to which he has +himself appealed, it may be demonstrated that his theory is +false. We may, perhaps, resume the subject when his next volume +appears. Meanwhile, we hope that he will delay its publication +until he has learned a little arithmetic, and unlearned a great +deal of eloquence. + +... + + +SADLER'S REFUTATION REFUTED. + +(January 1831.) + +"A Refutation of an Article in the Edinburgh Review (No. CII.) +entitled, 'Sadler's Law of Population, and disproof of Human +Superfecundity;' containing also Additional Proofs of the +Principle enunciated in that Treatise, founded on the Censuses of +different Countries recently published." By Michael Thomas +Sadler, M.P. 8vo. London: 1830. + +"Before anything came out against my Essay, I was told I must +prepare myself for a storm coming against it, it being resolved +by some men that it was necessary that book of mine should, as it +is phrased, be run down."--John Locke. + +We have, in violation of our usual practice, transcribed Mr +Sadler's title-page from top to bottom, motto and all. The +parallel implied between the Essay on the Human Understanding and +the Essay on Superfecundity is exquisitely laughable. We can +match it, however, with mottoes as ludicrous. We remember to +have heard of a dramatic piece, entitled "News from Camperdown," +written soon after Lord Duncan's victory, by a man once as much +in his own good graces as Mr Sadler is, and now as much forgotten +as Mr Sadler will soon be, Robert Heron. His piece was brought +upon the stage, and damned, "as it is phrased," in the second +act; but the author, thinking that it had been unfairly and +unjustly "run down," published it, in order to put his critics to +shame, with this motto from Swift: "When a true genius appears +in the world, you may know him by this mark--that the dunces are +all in confederacy against him." We remember another anecdote, +which may perhaps be acceptable to so zealous a churchman as Mr +Sadler. A certain Antinomian preacher, the oracle of a barn, in +a county of which we do not think it proper to mention the name, +finding that divinity was not by itself a sufficiently lucrative +profession, resolved to combine with it that of dog-stealing. He +was, by ill-fortune, detected in several offences of this +description, and was in consequence brought before two justices, +who, in virtue of the powers given them by an act of parliament, +sentenced him to a whipping for each theft. The degrading +punishment inflicted on the pastor naturally thinned the flock; +and the poor man was in danger of wanting bread. He accordingly +put forth a handbill solemnly protesting his innocence, +describing his sufferings, and appealing to the Christian charity +of the public; and to his pathetic address he prefixed this most +appropriate text: "Thrice was I beaten with rods.--St Paul's +Epistle to the Corinthians." He did not perceive that, though St +Paul had been scourged, no number of whippings, however severe, +will of themselves entitle a man to be considered as an apostle. +Mr Sadler seems to us to have fallen into a somewhat similar +error. He should remember that, though Locke may have been +laughed at, so has Sir Claudius Hunter; and that it takes +something more than the laughter of all the world to make a +Locke. + +The body of this pamphlet by no means justifies the parallel so +modestly insinuated on the title-page. Yet we must own that, +though Mr Sadler has not risen to the level of Locke, he has done +what was almost as difficult, if not as honourable--he has fallen +below his own. He is at best a bad writer. His arrangement is +an elaborate confusion. His style has been constructed, with +great care, in such a manner as to produce the least possible +effect by means of the greatest possible number of words. +Aspiring to the exalted character of a Christian philosopher, he +can never preserve through a single paragraph either the calmness +of a philosopher or the meekness of a Christian. His ill-nature +would make a very little wit formidable. But, happily, his +efforts to wound resemble those of a juggler's snake. The bags +of poison are full, but the fang is wanting. In this foolish +pamphlet, all the unpleasant peculiarities of his style and +temper are brought out in the strongest manner. He is from the +beginning to the end in a paroxysm of rage, and would certainly +do us some mischief if he knew how. We will give a single +instance for the present. Others will present themselves as we +proceed. We laughed at some doggerel verses which he cited, and +which we, never having seen them before, suspected to be his own. +We are now sure that if the principle on which Solomon decided a +famous case of filiation were correct, there can be no doubt as +to the justice of our suspicion. Mr Sadler, who, whatever +elements of the poetical character he may lack, possesses the +poetical irritability in an abundance which might have sufficed +for Homer himself, resolved to retaliate on the person, who, as +he supposed, had reviewed him. He has, accordingly, ransacked +some collection of college verses, in the hope of finding, among +the performances of his supposed antagonist, something as bad as +his own. And we must in fairness admit that he has succeeded +pretty well. We must admit that the gentleman in question +sometimes put into his exercises, at seventeen, almost as great +nonsense as Mr Sadler is in the habit of putting into his books +at sixty. + +Mr Sadler complains that we have devoted whole pages to mere +abuse of him. We deny the charge. We have, indeed, +characterised, in terms of just reprehension, that spirit which +shows itself in every part of his prolix work. Those terms of +reprehension we are by no means inclined to retract; and we +conceive that we might have used much stronger expressions, +without the least offence either to truth or to decorum. There +is a limit prescribed to us by our sense of what is due to +ourselves. But we think that no indulgence is due to Mr Sadler. +A writer who distinctly announces that he has not conformed to +the candour of the age--who makes it his boast that he expresses +himself throughout with the greatest plainness and freedom--and +whose constant practice proves that by plainness and freedom he +means coarseness and rancour--has no right to expect that others +shall remember courtesies which he has forgotten, or shall +respect one who has ceased to respect himself. + +Mr Sadler declares that he has never vilified Mr Malthus +personally, and has confined himself to attacking the doctrines +which that gentleman maintains. We should wish to leave that +point to the decision of all who have read Mr Sadler's book, or +any twenty pages of it. To quote particular instances of a +temper which penetrates and inspires the whole work, is to weaken +our charge. Yet, that we may not be suspected of flinching, we +will give two specimens,--the two first which occur to our +recollection. "Whose minister is it that speaks thus?" says Mr +Sadler, after misrepresenting in a most extraordinary manner, +though, we are willing to believe, unintentionally, one of the +positions of Mr Malthus. "Whose minister is it that speaks thus? +That of the lover and avenger of little children?" Again, Mr +Malthus recommends, erroneously perhaps, but assuredly from +humane motives, that alms, when given, should be given very +sparingly. Mr Sadler quotes the recommendation, and adds the +following courteous comment:--"The tender mercies of the wicked +are cruel." We cannot think that a writer who indulges in these +indecent and unjust attacks on professional and personal +character has any right to complain of our sarcasms on his +metaphors and rhymes. + +We will now proceed to examine the reply which Mr Sadler has +thought fit to make to our arguments. He begins by attacking our +remarks on the origin of evil. They are, says he, too profound +for common apprehension; and he hopes that they are too profound +for our own. That they seem profound to him we can well believe. +Profundity, in its secondary as in its primary sense, is a +relative term. When Grildrig was nearly drowned in the +Brobdingnagian cream-jug he doubtless thought it very deep. But +to common apprehension our reasoning would, we are persuaded, +appear perfectly simple. + +The theory of Mr Malthus, says Mr Sadler, cannot be true, because +it asserts the existence of a great and terrible evil, and is +therefore inconsistent with the goodness of God. We answer thus. +We know that there are in the world great and terrible evils. In +spite of these evils, we believe in the goodness of God. Why may +we not then continue to believe in his goodness, though another +evil should be added to the list? + +How does Mr Sadler answer this? Merely by telling us, that we +are too wicked to be reasoned with. He completely shrinks from +the question; a question, be it remembered, not raised by us--a +question which we should have felt strong objections to raising +unnecessarily--a question put forward by himself, as intimately +connected with the subject of his two ponderous volumes. He +attempts to carp at detached parts of our reasoning on the +subject. With what success he carries on this guerilla war after +declining a general action with the main body of our argument our +readers shall see. + +"The Reviewer sends me to Paley, who is, I confess, rather more +intelligible on the subject, and who, fortunately, has decided +the very point in dispute. I will first give the words of the +Reviewer, who, when speaking of my general argument regarding the +magnitude of the evils, moral and physical, implied in the theory +I oppose, sums up his ideas thus:--'Mr Sadler says, that it is +not a light or transient evil, but a great and permanent evil. +What then? The question of the origin of evil is a question of +aye or no,--not a question of MORE or LESS.' But what says +Paley? His express rule is this, that 'when we cannot resolve +all appearances into benevolence of design, we make the FEW give +place to the MANY, the LITTLE to the GREAT; that we take our +judgment from a large and decided preponderancy.' Now in +weighing these two authorities, directly at issue on this point, +I think there will be little trouble in determining which we +shall make 'to give place;' or, if we 'look to a large and +decided preponderancy' of either talent, learning, or +benevolence, from whom we shall 'take our judgment.' The +effrontery, or, to speak more charitably, the ignorance of a +reference to Paley on this subject, and in this instance, is +really marvellous." + +Now, does not Mr Sadler see that the very words which he quotes +from Paley contain in themselves a refutation of his whole +argument? Paley says, indeed, as every man in his senses would +say, that in a certain case, which he has specified, the more and +the less come into question. But in what case? "When we CANNOT +resolve all appearances into the benevolence of design." It is +better that there should be a little evil than a great deal of +evil. This is self-evident. But it is also self-evident, that +no evil is better than a little evil. Why, then, is there any +evil? It is a mystery which we cannot solve. It is a mystery +which Paley, by the very words which Mr Sadler has quoted, +acknowledges himself unable to solve; and it is because he cannot +solve that mystery that he proceeds to take into consideration +the more and the less. Believing in the divine goodness, we must +necessarily believe that the evils which exist are necessary to +avert greater evils. But what those greater evils are, we do not +know. How the happiness of any part of the sentient creation +would be in any respect diminished if, for example, children cut +their teeth without pain, we cannot understand. The case is +exactly the same with the principle of Mr Malthus. If +superfecundity exists, it exists, no doubt, because it is a less +evil than some other evil which otherwise would exist. Can Mr +Sadler prove that this is an impossibility? + +One single expression which Mr Sadler employs on this subject is +sufficient to show how utterly incompetent he is to discuss it. +"On the Christian hypothesis," says he, "no doubt exists as to +the origin of evil." He does not, we think, understand what is +meant by the origin of evil. The Christian Scriptures profess to +give no solution of that mystery. They relate facts: but they +leave the metaphysical question undetermined. They tell us that +man fell; but why he was not so constituted as to be incapable of +falling, or why the Supreme Being has not mitigated the +consequences of the Fall more than they actually have been +mitigated, the Scriptures did not tell us, and, it may without +presumption be said, could not tell us, unless we had been +creatures different from what we are. There is something, either +in the nature of our faculties or in the nature of the machinery +employed by us for the purpose of reasoning, which condemns us, +on this and similar subjects, to hopeless ignorance. Man can +understand these high matters only by ceasing to be man, just as +a fly can understand a lemma of Newton only by ceasing to be a +fly. To make it an objection to the Christian system that it +gives us no solution of these difficulties, is to make it an +objection to the Christian system that it is a system formed for +human beings. Of the puzzles of the Academy, there is not one +which does not apply as strongly to Deism as to Christianity, and +to Atheism as to Deism. There are difficulties in everything. +Yet we are sure that something must be true. + +If revelation speaks on the subject of the origin of evil it +speaks only to discourage dogmatism and temerity. In the most +ancient, the most beautiful, and the most profound of all works +on the subject, the Book of Job, both the sufferer who complains +of the divine government, and the injudicious advisers who +attempt to defend it on wrong principles, are silenced by the +voice of supreme wisdom, and reminded that the question is beyond +the reach of the human intellect. St Paul silences the supposed +objector, who strives to force him into controversy, in the same +manner. The church has been, ever since the apostolic times, +agitated by this question, and by a question which is inseparable +from it, the question of fate and free-will. The greatest +theologians and philosophers have acknowledged that these things +were too high for them, and have contended themselves with +hinting at what seemed to be the most probable solution. What +says Johnson? "All our effort ends in belief that for the evils +of life there is some good reason, and in confession that the +reason cannot be found." What says Paley? "Of the origin of +evil no universal solution has been discovered. I mean no +solution which reaches to all cases of complaint.--The +consideration of general laws, although it may concern the +question of the origin of evil very nearly, which I think it +does, rests in views disproportionate to our faculties, and in a +knowledge which we do not possess. It serves rather to account +for the obscurity of the subject, than to supply us with distinct +answers to our difficulties." What says presumptuous ignorance? +"No doubt whatever exists as to the origin of evil." It is +remarkable that Mr Sadler does not tell us what his solution is. +The world, we suspect, will lose little by his silence. + +He falls on the reviewer again. + +"Though I have shown," says he, "and on authorities from which +none can lightly differ, not only the cruelty and immorality +which this system necessarily involves, but its most revolting +feature, its gross partiality, he has wholly suppressed this, the +most important part of my argument; as even the bare notice of it +would have instantly exposed the sophistry to which he has had +recourse. If, however, he would fairly meet the whole question, +let him show me that 'hydrophobia,' which he gives as an example +of the laws of God and nature, is a calamity to which the poor +alone are liable; or that 'malaria,' which, with singular +infelicity, he has chosen as an illustration of the fancied evils +of population, is a respecter of persons." + +We said nothing about this argument, as Mr Sadler calls it, +merely because we did not think it worth while: and we are half +ashamed to say anything about it now. But, since Mr Sadler is so +urgent for an answer, he shall have one. If there is evil, it +must be either partial or universal. Which is the better of the +two? Hydrophobia, says this great philosopher, is no argument +against the divine goodness, because mad dogs bite rich and poor +alike; but if the rich were exempted, and only nine people +suffered for ten who suffer now, hydrophobia would forthwith, +simply because it would produce less evil than at present, become +an argument against the divine goodness! To state such a +proposition, is to refute it. And is not the malaria a respecter +of persons? It infests Rome. Does it infest London? There are +complaints peculiar to the tropical countries. There are others +which are found only in mountainous districts; others which are +confined to marshy regions; others again which run in particular +families. Is not this partiality? Why is it more inconsistent +with the divine goodness that poor men should suffer an evil from +which rich men are exempt, than that a particular portion of the +community should inherit gout, scrofula, insanity, and other +maladies? And are there no miseries under which, in fact, the +poor alone are suffering? Mr Sadler himself acknowledges, in +this very paragraph, that there are such; but he tells us that +these calamities are the effects of misgovernment, and that this +misgovernment is the effect of political economy. Be it so. But +does he not see that he is only removing the difficulty one step +further? Why does Providence suffer men, whose minds are filled +with false and pernicious notions, to have power in the state? +For good ends, we doubt not, if the fact be so; but for ends +inscrutable to us, who see only a small part of the vast scheme, +and who see that small part only for a short period. Does Mr +Sadler doubt that the Supreme Being has power as absolute over +the revolutions of political as over the organisation of natural +bodies? Surely not: and, if not, we do not see that he +vindicates the ways of Providence by attributing the distresses, +which the poor, as he confesses, endure, to an error in +legislation rather than to a law of physiology. Turn the +question as we may, disguise it as we may, we shall find that it +at last resolves itself into the same great enigma,--the origin +of physical and moral evil: an enigma which the highest human +intellects have given up in despair, but which Mr Sadler thinks +himself perfectly able to solve. + +He next accuses us of having paused long on verbal criticism. We +certainly did object to his improper use of the words "inverse +variation." Mr Sadler complains of this with his usual +bitterness. + +"Now what is the Reviewer's quarrel with me on this occasion? +That he does not understand the meaning of my terms? No. He +acknowledges the contrary. That I have not fully explained the +sense in which I have used them? No. An explanation, he knows, +is immediately subjoined, though he has carefully suppressed it. +That I have varied the sense in which I have applied them? No. +I challenge him to show it. But he nevertheless goes on for many +pages together in arguing against what he knows, and, in fact, +acknowledges, I did not mean; and then turns round and argues +again, though much more feebly, indeed, against what he says I +did mean! Now, even had I been in error as to the use of a word, +I appeal to the reader whether such an unworthy and disingenuous +course would not, if generally pursued, make controversy on all +subjects, however important, that into which, in such hands, it +always degenerates--a dispute about words." + +The best way to avoid controversies about words is to use words +in their proper senses. Mr Sadler may think our objection +captious; but how he can think it disingenuous we do not well +understand. If we had represented him as meaning what we knew +that he did not mean, we should have acted in a disgraceful +manner. But we did not represent him, and he allows that we did +not represent him, as meaning what he did not mean. We blamed +him, and with perfect justice and propriety, for saying what he +did not mean. Every man has in one sense a right to define his +own terms; that is to say, if he chooses to call one two, and two +seven, it would be absurd to charge him with false arithmetic for +saying that seven is the double of one. But it would be +perfectly fair to blame him for changing the established sense of +words. The words, "inverse variation," in matters not purely +scientific, have often been used in the loose way in which Mr +Sadler has used them. But we shall be surprised if he can find a +single instance of their having been so used in a matter of pure +arithmetic. + +We will illustrate our meaning thus. Lord Thurlow, in one of his +speeches about Indian affairs, said that one Hastings was worth +twenty Macartneys. He might, with equal propriety, have said ten +Macartneys, or a hundred Macartneys. Nor would there have been +the least inconsistency in his using all the three expressions in +one speech. But would this be an excuse for a financier who, in +a matter of account, should reason as if ten, twenty, and a +hundred were the same number? + +Mr Sadler tells us that he purposely avoided the use of the word +proportion in stating his principle. He seems, therefore, to +allow that the word proportion would have been improper. Yet he +did in fact employ it in explaining his principle, accompanied +with an awkward explanation intended to signify that, though he +said proportion, he meant something quite different from +proportion. We should not have said so much on this subject +either in our former article, or at present, but that there is in +all Mr Sadler's writings an air of scientific pedantry, which +renders his errors fair game. We will now let the matter rest; +and, instead of assailing Mr Sadler with our verbal criticism, +proceed to defend ourselves against his literal criticism. + +"The Reviewer promised his readers that some curious results +should follow from his shuffling. We will enable him to keep his +word. + +"'In two English counties,' says he, 'which contain from 50 to +100 inhabitants on the square mile, the births to 100 marriages +are, according to Mr Sadler, 420; but in 44 departments of +France, in which there are from one to two hecatares [hectares] +to each inhabitant, that is to say, in which the population is +from 125 to 250, or rather more, to the square mile, the number +of births to one hundred marriages is 423 and a fraction.' + +"The first curious result is, that our Reviewer is ignorant, not +only of the name, but of the extent, of a French hectare; +otherwise he is guilty of a practice which, even if transferred +to the gambling-table, would, I presume, prevent him from being +allowed ever to shuffle, even there, again. He was most ready to +pronounce upon a mistake of one per cent. in a calculation of +mine, the difference in no wise affecting the argument in hand; +but here I must inform him, that his error, whether wilfully or +ignorantly put forth, involves his entire argument. + +"The French hectare I had calculated to contain 107,708 67/100 +English square feet, or 2 47265/100000 acres; Dr Kelly takes it, +on authority which he gives, at 107,644 143923/1000000 English +square feet, or 2 471169/1000000 acres. The last French +"Annuaires", however, state it, I perceive, as being equal to 2 +473614/1000000 acres. The difference is very trifling, and will +not in the slightest degree cover our critic's error. The first +calculation gives about 258 83/100 hectares to an English square +mile; the second, 258 73/100; the last, or French calculation 258 +98/100. When, therefore, the Reviewer calculates the population +of the departments of France thus: 'from one to two hectares to +each inhabitant, that is to say, in which the population is from +125 to 250, or rather more, to the square mile; his 'that is to +say,' is that which he ought not to have said--no rare case with +him, as we shall show throughout." + +We must inform Mr Sadler, in the first place, that we inserted +the vowel which amuses him so much, not from ignorance or from +carelessness, but advisedly, and in conformity with the practice +of several respectable writers. He will find the word hecatare +in Ree's Cyclopaedia. He will find it also in Dr Young. We +prefer the form which we have employed, because it is +etymologically correct. Mr Sadler seems not to know that a +hecatare is so-called, because it contains a hundred ares. + +We were perfectly acquainted with the extent as well as with the +name of a hecatare. Is it at all strange that we should use the +words "250, or rather more," in speaking of 258 and a fraction? +Do not people constantly employ round numbers with still greater +looseness, in translating foreign distances and foreign money? +If indeed, as Mr Sadler says, the difference which he chooses to +call an error involved the entire argument, or any part of the +argument, we should have been guilty of gross unfairness. But it +is not so. The difference between 258 and 250, as even Mr Sadler +would see if he were not blind with fury, was a difference to his +advantage. Our point was this. The fecundity of a dense +population in certain departments of France is greater than that +of a thinly scattered population in certain counties of England. +The more dense, therefore, the population in those departments of +France, the stronger was our case. By putting 250, instead of +258, we understated our case. Mr Sadler's correction of our +orthography leads us to suspect that he knows very little of +Greek; and his correction of our calculation quite satisfies us +that he knows very little of logic. + +But, to come to the gist of the controversy. Our argument, drawn +from Mr Sadler's own tables, remains absolutely untouched. He +makes excuses indeed; for an excuse is the last thing that Mr +Sadler will ever want. There is something half laughable and +half provoking in the facility with which he asserts and +retracts, says and unsays, exactly as suits his argument. +Sometimes the register of baptisms is imperfect, and sometimes +the register of burials. Then again these registers become all +at once exact almost to an unit. He brings forward a census of +Prussia in proof of his theory. We show that it directly +confutes his theory; and it forthwith becomes "notoriously and +grossly defective." The census of the Netherlands is not to be +easily dealt with; and the census of the Netherlands is therefore +pronounced inaccurate. In his book on the Law of Population, he +tells us that "in the slave-holding States of America, the male +slaves constitute a decided majority of that unfortunate class." +This fact we turned against him; and, forgetting that he had +himself stated it, he tells us that "it is as erroneous as many +other ideas which we entertain," and that "he will venture to +assert that the female slaves were, at the nubile age, as +numerous as the males." The increase of the negroes in the +United States puzzles him; and he creates a vast slave-trade to +solve it. He confounds together things perfectly different; the +slave-trade carried on under the American flag, and the slave- +trade carried on for the supply of the American soil,--the slave- +trade with Africa, and the internal slave-trade between the +different States. He exaggerates a few occasional acts of +smuggling into an immense and regular importation, and makes his +escape as well as he can under cover of this hubbub of words. +Documents are authentic and facts true precisely in proportion to +the support which they afford to his theory. This is one way, +undoubtedly, of making books; but we question much whether it be +the way to make discoveries. + +As to the inconsistencies which we pointed out between his theory +and his own tables, he finds no difficulty in explaining them +away or facing them out. In one case there would have been no +contradiction if, instead of taking one of his tables, we had +multiplied the number of three tables together, and taken the +average. Another would never have existed if there had not been +a great migration of people into Lancashire. Another is not to +be got over by any device. But then it is very small, and of no +consequence to the argument. + +Here, indeed, he is perhaps right. The inconsistencies which we +noticed, were, in themselves, of little moment. We give them as +samples,--as mere hints, to caution those of our readers who +might also happen to be readers of Mr Sadler against being +deceived by his packing. He complains of the word packing. We +repeat it; and, since he has defied us to the proof, we will go +fully into the question which, in our last article, we only +glanced at, and prove, in such a manner as shall not leave even +to Mr Sadler any shadow of excuse, that his theory owes its +speciousness to packing, and to packing alone. + +That our readers may fully understand our reasoning, we will +again state what Mr Sadler's proposition is. He asserts that, on +a given space, the number of children to a marriage becomes less +and less as the population becomes more and more numerous. + +We will begin with the census of France given by Mr Sadler. By +joining the departments together in combinations which suit his +purpose, he has contrived to produce three tables, which he +presents as decisive proofs of his theory. + +The first is as follows:-- + +"The legitimate births are, in those departments where there are +to each inhabitant-- + +Hectares Departments To every 1000 marriages + +4 to 5 2 130 +3 to 4 3 4372 +2 to 3 30 4250 +1 to 2 44 4234 + .06 to 1 5 4146 + .06 1 2657 + +The two other computations he has given in one table. We subjoin +it. + +Hect. to each Number of Legit. Births to Legit. Births to +Inhabitant Departments 100 Marriages 100 Mar. (1826) + +4 to 5 2 497 397 +3 to 4 3 439 389 +2 to 3 30 424 379 +1 to 2 44 420 375 +under 1 5 415 372 +and .06 1 263 253 + +These tables, as we said in our former article, certainly look +well for Mr Sadler's theory. "Do they?" says he. "Assuredly +they do; and in admitting this, the Reviewer has admitted the +theory to be proved." We cannot absolutely agree to this. A +theory is not proved, we must tell Mr Sadler, merely because the +evidence in its favour looks well at first sight. There is an +old proverb, very homely in expression, but well deserving to be +had in constant remembrance by all men, engaged either in action +or in speculation--"One story is good till another is told!" + +We affirm, then, that the results which these tables present, and +which seem so favourable to Mr Sadler's theory, are produced by +packing, and by packing alone. + +In the first place, if we look at the departments singly, the +whole is in disorder. About the department in which Paris is +situated there is no dispute: Mr Malthus distinctly admits that +great cities prevent propagation. There remain eighty-four +departments; and of these there is not, we believe, a single one +in the place which, according to Mr Sadler's principle, it ought +to occupy. + +That which ought to be highest in fecundity is tenth in one +table, fourteenth in another, and only thirty-first according to +the third. That which ought to be third is twenty-second by the +table, which places it highest. That which ought to be fourth is +fortieth by the table, which places it highest. That which ought +to be eighth is fiftieth or sixtieth. That which ought to be +tenth from the top is at about the same distance from the bottom. +On the other hand, that which, according to Mr Sadler's +principle, ought to be last but two of all the eighty-four is +third in two of the tables, and seventh in that which places it +lowest; and that which ought to be last is, in one of Mr Sadler's +tables, above that which ought to be first, in two of them, above +that which ought to be third, and, in all of them, above that +which ought to be fourth. + +By dividing the departments in a particular manner, Mr Sadler has +produced results which he contemplates with great satisfaction. +But, if we draw the lines a little higher up or a little lower +down, we shall find that all his calculations are thrown into +utter confusion; and that the phenomena, if they indicate +anything, indicate a law the very reverse of that which he has +propounded. + +Let us take, for example, the thirty-two departments, as they +stand in Mr Sadler's table, from Lozere to Meuse inclusive, and +divide them into two sets of sixteen departments each. The set +from Lozere and Loiret inclusive consists of those departments in +which the space to each inhabitant is from 3.8 hecatares to 2.42. +The set from Cantal to Meuse inclusive consists of those +departments in which the space to each inhabitant is from 2.42 +hecatares to 2.07. That is to say, in the former set the +inhabitants are from 68 to 107 on the square mile, or +thereabouts. In the latter they are from 107 to 125. Therefore, +on Mr Sadler's principle, the fecundity ought to be smaller in +the latter set than in the former. It is, however, greater, and +that in every one of Mr Sadler's three tables. + +Let us now go a little lower down, and take another set of +sixteen departments--those which lie together in Mr Sadler's +tables, from Herault to Jura inclusive. Here the population is +still thicker than in the second of those sets which we before +compared. The fecundity, therefore, ought, on Mr Sadler's +principle, to be less than in that set. But it is again greater, +and that in all Mr Sadler's three tables. We have a regularly +ascending series, where, if his theory had any truth in it, we +ought to have a regularly descending series. We will give the +results of our calculation. + +The number of children to 1000 marriages is-- + + 1st Table 2nd Table 3rd Table + +In the sixteen departments where +there are from 68 to 107 people +on a square mile................ 4188 4226 3780 + +In the sixteen departments where +there are from 107 to 125 people +on a square mile................ 4374 4332 3855 + +In the sixteen departments where +there are from 134 to 155 people +on a square mile................ 4484 4416 3914 + +We will give another instance, if possible still more decisive. +We will take the three departments of France which ought, on Mr +Sadler's principle, to be the lowest in fecundity of all the +eighty-five, saving only that in which Paris stands; and we will +compare them with the three departments in which the fecundity +ought, according to him, to be greater than in any other +department of France, two only excepted. We will compare Bas +Rhin, Rhone, and Nord, with Lozere, Landes, and Indre. In +Lozere, Landes, and Indre, the population is from 68 to 84 on the +square mile or nearly so. In Bas Rhin, Rhone, and Nord, it is +from 300 to 417 on the square mile. There cannot be a more +overwhelming answer to Mr Sadler's theory than the table which we +subjoin: + +The number of births to 1000 marriages is-- + + 1st Table 2nd Table 3rd Table + +In the three departments in which +there are from 68 to 84 people +on the square mile............... 4372 4390 3890 + +In the three departments in which +there are from 300 to 417 people +on the square mile............... 4457 4510 4060 + +These are strong cases. But we have a still stronger case. Take +the whole of the third, fourth, and fifth divisions into which Mr +Sadler has portioned out the French departments. These three +divisions make up almost the whole kingdom of France. They +contain seventy-nine out of the eighty-five departments. Mr +Sadler has contrived to divide them in such a manner that, to a +person who looks merely at his averages, the fecundity seems to +diminish as the population thickens. We will separate them into +two parts instead of three. We will draw the line between the +department of Gironde and that of Herault. On the one side are +the thirty-two departments from Cher to Gironde inclusive. On +the other side are the forty-six departments from Herault to Nord +inclusive. In all the departments of the former set, the +population is under 132 on the square mile. In all the +departments of the latter set, it is above 132 on the square +mile. It is clear that, if there be one word of truth in Mr +Sadler's theory, the fecundity in the latter of these divisions +must be very decidedly smaller than in the former. Is it so? It +is, on the contrary, greater in all the three tables. We give +the result. + +The number of births to 1000 marriages is-- + + 1st Table 2nd Table 3rd Table + +In the thirty-two departments in +which there are from 86 to 132 +people on the square mile....... 4210 4199 3760 + +In the forty-seven departments in +which there are from 132 to 417 +people on the square mile........ 4250 4224 3766 + +This fact is alone enough to decide the question. Yet it is only +one of a crowd of similar facts. If the line between Mr Sadler's +second and third division be drawn six departments lower down, +the third and fourth divisions will, in all the tables, be above +the second. If the line between the third and fourth divisions +be drawn two departments lower down, the fourth division will be +above the third in all the tables. If the line between the +fourth and fifth division be drawn two departments lower down, +the fifth will, in all the tables, be above the fourth, above the +third, and even above the second. How, then, has Mr Sadler +obtained his results? By packing solely. By placing in one +compartment a district no larger than the Isle of Wight; in +another, a district somewhat less than Yorkshire; in the third, a +territory much larger than the island of Great Britain. + +By the same artifice it is that he has obtained from the census +of England those delusive averages which he brings forward with +the utmost ostentation in proof of his principle. We will +examine the facts relating to England, as we have examined those +relating to France. + +If we look at the counties one by one, Mr Sadler's principle +utterly fails. Hertfordshire with 251 on the square mile; +Worcester with 258; and Kent with 282, exhibit a far greater +fecundity than the East Riding of York, which has 151 on the +square mile; Monmouthshire, which has 145; or Northumberland, +which has 108. The fecundity of Staffordshire, which has more +than 300 on the square mile, is as high as the average fecundity +of the counties which have from 150 to 200 on the square mile. +But, instead of confining ourselves to particular instances, we +will try masses. + +Take the eight counties of England which stand together in Mr +Sadler's list, from Cumberland to Dorset inclusive. In these the +population is from 107 to 150 on the square mile. Compare with +these the eight counties from Berks to Durham inclusive, in which +the population is from 175 to 200 on the square mile. Is the +fecundity in the latter counties smaller than in the former? On +the contrary, the result stands thus: + +The number of children to 100 marriages is-- + +In the eight counties of England, in which there are +from 107 to 146 people on the square mile............. 388 + +In the eight counties of England, in which there are +from 175 to 200 people on the square mile..............402 + +Take the six districts from the East Riding of York to the County +of Norfolk inclusive. Here the population is from 150 to 170 on +the square mile. To these oppose the six counties from Derby to +Worcester inclusive. The population is from 200 to 260. Here +again we find that a law, directly the reverse of that which Mr +Sadler has laid down, appears to regulate the fecundity of the +inhabitants. + +The number of children to 100 marriages is-- + +In the six counties in which there are from 150 to 170 +people on the square mile................................392 + +In the six counties in which there are from 200 to 260 +people on the square mile................................399 + +But we will make another experiment on Mr Sadler's tables, if +possible more decisive than any of those which we have hitherto +made. We will take the four largest divisions into which he has +distributed the English counties, and which follow each other in +regular order. That our readers may fully comprehend the nature +of that packing by which his theory is supported, we will set +before them this part of his table. + +(Here follows a table showing for population on a square mile the +proportion of births to 100 marriages, based on figures for the +years 1810 to 1821. + +100 to 150...396 +150 to 200...390 +200 to 250...388 +250 to 300...378) + +These averages look well, undoubtedly, for Mr Sadler's theory. +The numbers 396, 390, 388, 378, follow each other very speciously +in a descending order. But let our readers divide these thirty- +four counties into two equal sets of seventeen counties each, and +try whether the principle will then hold good. We have made this +calculation, and we present them with the following result. + +The number of children to 100 marriages is-- + +In the seventeen counties of England in which there +are from 100 to 177 people on the square mile..........387 + +In the seventeen counties in which there +are from 177 to 282 people on the square mile..........389 + +The difference is small, but not smaller than differences which +Mr Sadler has brought forward as proofs of his theory. We say +that these English tables no more prove that fecundity increases +with the population than that it diminishes with the population. +The thirty-four counties which we have taken make up, at least +four-fifths of the kingdom: and we see that, through those +thirty-four counties, the phenomena are directly opposed to Mr +Sadler's principle. That in the capital, and in great +manufacturing towns, marriages are less prolific than in the open +country, we admit, and Mr Malthus admits. But that any +condensation of the population, short of that which injures all +physical energies, will diminish the prolific powers of man, is, +from these very tables of Mr Sadler, completely disproved. + +It is scarcely worth while to proceed with instances, after +proofs so overwhelming as those which we have given. Yet we will +show that Mr Sadler has formed his averages on the census of +Prussia by an artifice exactly similar to that which we have +already exposed. + +Demonstrating the Law of Population from the Censuses of Prussia +at two several Periods. + +(Here follows a table showing for inhabitants on a square league +the average number of births to each marriage from two different +censuses.) + + 1756 1784 + + 832 to 928...4.34 and 4.72 +1175 to 1909...4.14 and 4.45 (including East Prussia at 1175) +2083 to 2700...3.84 and 4.24 +3142 to 3461...3.65 and 4.08 + +Of the census of 1756 we will say nothing, as Mr Sadler, finding +himself hard pressed by the argument which we drew from it, now +declares it to be grossly defective. We confine ourselves to the +census of 1784: and we will draw our lines at points somewhat +different from those at which Mr Sadler has drawn his. Let the +first compartment remain as it stands. Let East Prussia, which +contains a much larger population than his last compartment, +stand alone in the second division. Let the third consist of the +New Mark, the Mark of Brandenburg, East Friesland and +Guelderland, and the fourth of the remaining provinces. Our +readers will find that, on this arrangement, the division which, +on Mr Sadler's principle, ought to be second in fecundity stands +higher than that which ought to be first; and that the division +which ought to be fourth stands higher than that which ought to +be third. We will give the result in one view. + +The number of births to a marriage is-- + +In those provinces of Prussia where there are fewer than +1000 people on the square league.......................4.72 + +In the province in which there are 1175 people on the +square league..........................................5.10 + +In the provinces in which there are from 1190 to 2083 +people on the square league............................4.10 + +In the provinces in which there are from 2314 to 3461 +people on the square league............................4.27 + +We will go no further with this examination. In fact, we have +nothing more to examine. The tables which we have scrutinised +constitute the whole strength of Mr Sadler's case; and we +confidently leave it to our readers to say, whether we have not +shown that the strength of his case is weakness. + +Be it remembered too that we are reasoning on data furnished by +Mr Sadler himself. We have not made collections of facts to set +against his, as we easily might have done. It is on his own +showing, it is out of his own mouth, that his theory stands +condemned. + +That packing which we have exposed is not the only sort of +packing which Mr Sadler has practised. We mentioned in our +review some facts relating to the towns of England, which appear +from Mr Sadler's tables, and which it seems impossible to explain +if his principles be sound. The average fecundity of a marriage +in towns of fewer than 3000 inhabitants is greater than the +average fecundity of the kingdom. The average fecundity in towns +of from 4000 to 5000 inhabitants is greater than the average +fecundity of Warwickshire, Lancashire, or Surrey. How is it, we +asked, if Mr Sadler's principle be correct, that the fecundity of +Guildford should be greater than the average fecundity of the +county in which it stands? + +Mr Sadler, in reply, talks about "the absurdity of comparing the +fecundity in the small towns alluded to with that in the counties +of Warwick and Stafford, or in those of Lancaster and Surrey." +He proceeds thus-- + +"In Warwickshire, far above half the population is comprised in +large towns, including, of course, the immense metropolis of one +great branch of our manufactures, Birmingham. In the county of +Stafford, besides the large and populous towns in its iron +districts, situated so close together as almost to form, for +considerable distances, a continuous street; there is, in its +potteries, a great population, recently accumulated, not +included, indeed, in the towns distinctly enumerated in the +censuses, but vastly exceeding in its condensation that found in +the places to which the Reviewer alludes. In Lancashire, again, +to which he also appeals, one-fourth of the entire population is +made up of the inhabitants of two only of the towns of that +county; far above half of it is contained in towns, compared with +which those he refers to are villages: even the hamlets of the +manufacturing parts of Lancashire are often far more populous +than the places he mentions. But he presents us with a climax of +absurdity in appealing lastly to the population of Surrey as +quite rural compared with that of the twelve towns having less +than 5000 inhabitants in their respective jurisdictions, such as +Saffron-Walden, Monmouth, etc. Now, in the last census, Surrey +numbered 398,658 inhabitants, and to say not a word about the +other towns of the county, much above two hundred thousands of +these are WITHIN THE BILLS OF MORTALITY! 'We should, therefore, +be glad to know' how it is utterly inconsistent with my principle +that the fecundity of Guildford, which numbers about 3000 +inhabitants, should be greater than the average fecundity of +Surrey, made up, as the bulk of the population of Surrey is, of +the inhabitants of some of the worst parts of the metropolis? Or +why the fecundity of a given number of marriages in the eleven +little rural towns he alludes to, being somewhat higher than that +of an equal number, half taken, for instance, from the heart of +Birmingham or Manchester, and half from the populous districts by +which they are surrounded, is inconsistent with my theory? + +"Had the Reviewer's object, in this instance, been to discover +the truth, or had he known how to pursue it, it is perfectly +clear, at first sight, that he would not have instituted a +comparison between the prolificness which exists in the small +towns he has alluded to, and that in certain districts, the +population of which is made up, partly of rural inhabitants and +partly of accumulations of people in immense masses, the +prolificness of which, if he will allow me still the use of the +phrase, is inversely as their magnitude; but he would have +compared these small towns with the country places properly so +called, and then again the different classes of towns with each +other; this method would have led him to certain conclusions on +the subject." + +Now, this reply shows that Mr Sadler does not in the least +understand the principle which he has himself laid down. What is +that principle? It is this, that the fecundity of human beings +ON GIVEN SPACES, varies inversely as their numbers. We know what +he means by inverse variation. But we must suppose that he uses +the words, "given spaces," in the proper sense. Given spaces are +equal spaces. Is there any reason to believe, that in those +parts of Surrey which lie within the bills of mortality, there is +any space equal in area to the space on which Guildford stands, +which is more thickly peopled than the space on which Guildford +stands? We do not know that there is any such. We are sure that +there are not many. Why, therefore, on Mr Sadler's principle, +should the people of Guildford be more prolific than the people +who live within the bills of mortality? And, if the people of +Guildford ought, as on Mr Sadler's principle they unquestionably +ought, to stand as low in the scale of fecundity as the people of +Southwark itself, it follows, most clearly, that they ought to +stand far lower than the average obtained by taking all the +people of Surrey together. + +The same remark applies to the case of Birmingham, and to all the +other cases which Mr Sadler mentions. Towns of 5000 inhabitants +may be, and often are, as thickly peopled "on a given space," as +Birmingham. They are, in other words, as thickly peopled as a +portion of Birmingham, equal to them in area. If so, on Mr +Sadler's principle, they ought to be as low in the scale of +fecundity as Birmingham. But they are not so. On the contrary, +they stand higher than the average obtained by taking the +fecundity of Birmingham in combination with the fecundity of the +rural districts of Warwickshire. + +The plain fact is, that Mr Sadler has confounded the population +of a city with its population "on a given space,"--a mistake +which, in a gentleman who assures us that mathematical science +was one of his early and favourite studies, is somewhat curious. +It is as absurd, on his principle, to say that the fecundity of +London ought to be less than the fecundity of Edinburgh, because +London has a greater population than Edinburgh, as to say that +the fecundity of Russia ought to be greater than that of England, +because Russia has a greater population than England. He cannot +say that the spaces on which towns stand are too small to +exemplify the truth of his principle. For he has himself brought +forward the scale of fecundity in towns, as a proof of his +principle. And, in the very passage which we quoted above, he +tells us that, if we knew how to pursue truth or wished to find +it, we "should have compared these small towns with country +places, and the different classes of towns with each other." +That is to say, we ought to compare together such unequal spaces +as give results favourable to his theory, and never to compare +such equal spaces as give results opposed to it. Does he mean +anything by "a given space?" Or does he mean merely such a space +as suits his argument? It is perfectly clear that, if he is +allowed to take this course, he may prove anything. No fact can +come amiss to him. Suppose, for example, that the fecundity of +New York should prove to be smaller than the fecundity of +Liverpool. "That," says Mr Sadler, "makes for my theory. For +there are more people within two miles of the Broadway of New +York, than within two miles of the Exchange of Liverpool." +Suppose, on the other hand, that the fecundity of New York should +be greater than the fecundity of Liverpool. "This," says Mr +Sadler again, "is an unanswerable proof of my theory. For there +are many more people within forty miles of Liverpool than within +forty miles of New York." In order to obtain his numbers, he +takes spaces in any combinations which may suit him. In order to +obtain his averages, he takes numbers in any combinations which +may suit him. And then he tells us that, because his tables, at +the first glance, look well for his theory, his theory is +irrefragably proved. + +We will add a few words respecting the argument which we drew +from the peerage. Mr Sadler asserted that the peers were a class +condemned by nature to sterility. We denied this, and showed +from the last edition of Debrett, that the peers of the United +Kingdom have considerably more than the average number of +children to a marriage. Mr Sadler's answer has amused us much. +He denies the accuracy of our counting, and, by reckoning all the +Scotch and Irish peers as peers of the United Kingdom, certainly +makes very different numbers from those which we gave. A member +of the Parliament of the United Kingdom might have been expected, +we think, to know better what a peer of the United Kingdom is. + +By taking the Scotch and Irish peers, Mr Sadler has altered the +average. But it is considerably higher than the average +fecundity of England, and still, therefore, constitutes an +unanswerable argument against his theory. + +The shifts to which, in this difficulty, he has recourse, are +exceedingly diverting. "The average fecundity of the marriages +of peers," said we, "is higher by one-fifth than the average +fecundity of marriages throughout the kingdom." + +"Where, or by whom did the Reviewer find it supposed," answers Mr +Sadler, "that the registered baptisms expressed the full +fecundity of the marriages of England?" + +Assuredly, if the registers of England are so defective as to +explain the difference which, on our calculation, exists between +the fecundity of the peers and the fecundity of the people, no +argument against Mr Sadler's theory can be drawn from that +difference. But what becomes of all the other arguments which Mr +Sadler has founded on these very registers? Above all, what +becomes of his comparison between the censuses of England and +France? In the pamphlet before us, he dwells with great +complacency on a coincidence which seems to him to support his +theory, and which to us seems, of itself, sufficient to overthrow +it. + +"In my table of the population of France in the forty-four +departments in which there are from one to two hectares to each +inhabitant, the fecundity of 100 marriages, calculated on the +average of the results of the three computations relating to +different periods given in my table, is 406 7/10. In the twenty- +two counties of England in which there is from one to two +hectares to each inhabitant, or from 129 to 259 on the square +mile,--beginning, therefore, with Huntingdonshire, and ending +with Worcestershire,--the whole number of marriages during ten +years will be found to amount to 379,624, and the whole number of +the births during the same term to 1,545,549--or 407 1/10 births +to 100 marriages! A difference of one in one thousand only, +compared with the French proportion!" + +Does not Mr Sadler see that, if the registers of England, which +are notoriously very defective, give a result exactly +corresponding almost to an unit with that obtained from the +registers of France, which are notoriously very full and +accurate, this proves the very reverse of what he employs it to +prove? The correspondence of the registers proves that there is +no correspondence in the facts. In order to raise the average +fecundity of England even to the level of the average fecundity +of the peers of the three kingdoms, which is 3.81 to a marriage, +it is necessary to add nearly six per cent. to the number of +births given in the English registers. But, if this addition be +made, we shall have, in the counties of England, from +Huntingdonshire to Worcestershire inclusive, 4.30 births to a +marriage or thereabouts: and the boasted coincidence between the +phenomena of propagation in France and England disappears at +once. This is a curious specimen of Mr Sadler's proficiency in +the art of making excuses. In the same pamphlet he reasons as if +the same registers were accurate to one in a thousand, and as if +they were wrong at the very least by one in eighteen. + +He tries to show that we have not taken a fair criterion of the +fecundity of the peers. We are not quite sure that we understand +his reasoning on this subject. The order of his observations is +more than usually confused, and the cloud of words more than +usually thick. We will give the argument on which he seems to +lay most stress in his own words:-- + +"But I shall first notice a far more obvious and important +blunder into which the Reviewer has fallen; or into which, I +rather fear, he knowingly wishes to precipitate his readers, +since I have distinctly pointed out what ought to have preserved +him from it in the very chapter he is criticising and +contradicting. It is this:--he has entirely omitted 'counting' +the sterile marriages of all those peerages which have become +extinct during the very period his counting embraces. He counts, +for instance, Earl Fitzwilliam, his marriages, and heir; but has +he not omitted to enumerate the marriages of those branches of +the same noble house, which have become extinct since that +venerable individual possessed his title? He talks of my having +appealed merely to the extinction of peerages in my argument; +but, on his plan of computation, extinctions are perpetually and +wholly lost sight of. In computing the average prolificness of +the marriages of the nobles, he positively counts from a select +class of them only, one from which the unprolific are constantly +weeded, and regularly disappear; and he thus comes to the +conclusion, that the peers are 'an eminently prolific class!' +Just as though a farmer should compute the rate of increase; not +from the quantity of seed sown, but from that part of it only +which comes to perfection, entirely omitting all which had failed +to spring up or come to maturity. Upon this principle the most +scanty crop ever obtained, in which the husbandman should fail to +receive 'seed again,' as the phrase is, might be so 'counted' as +to appear 'eminently prolific' indeed." + +If we understand this passage rightly, it decisively proves that +Mr Sadler is incompetent to perform even the lowest offices of +statistical research. What shadow of reason is there to believe +that the peers who were alive in the year 1828 differed as to +their prolificness from any other equally numerous set of peers +taken at random? In what sense were the peers who were alive in +1828 analogous to that part of the seed which comes to +perfection? Did we entirely omit all that failed? On the +contrary, we counted the sterile as well as the fruitful +marriages of all the peers of the United Kingdom living at one +time. In what way were the peers who were alive in 1828 a select +class? In what way were the sterile weeded from among them? Did +every peer who had been married without having issue die in 1827? +What shadow of reason is there to suppose that there was not the +ordinary proportion of barren marriages among the marriages +contracted by the noblemen whose names are in Debrett's last +edition? But we ought, says Mr Sadler, to have counted all the +sterile marriages of all the peers "whose titles had become +extinct during the period which our counting embraced;" that is +to say, since the earliest marriage contracted by any peer living +in 1828. Was such a proposition ever heard of before? Surely we +were bound to do no such thing, unless at the same time we had +counted also the children born from all the fruitful marriages +contracted by peers during the same period. Mr Sadler would have +us divide the number of children born to peers living in 1828, +not by the number of marriages which those peers contracted, but +by the number of marriages which those peers contracted added to +a crowd of marriages selected, on account of their sterility, +from among the noble marriages which have taken place during the +last fifty years. Is this the way to obtain fair averages? We +might as well require that all the noble marriages which during +the last fifty years have produced ten children apiece should be +added to those of the peers living in 1828. The proper way to +ascertain whether a set of people be prolific or sterile is, not +to take marriages selected from the mass either on account of +their fruitfulness or on account of their sterility, but to take +a collection of marriages which there is no reason to think +either more or less fruitful than others. What reason is there +to think that the marriages contracted by the peers who were +alive in 1828 were more fruitful than those contracted by the +peers who were alive in 1800 or in 1750? + +We will add another passage from Mr Sadler's pamphlet on this +subject. We attributed the extinction of peerages partly to the +fact that those honours are for the most part limited to heirs +male. + +"This is a discovery indeed! Peeresses 'eminently prolific,' do +not, as Macbeth conjured his spouse, 'bring forth men-children +only;' they actually produce daughters as well as sons!! Why, +does not the Reviewer see, that so long as the rule of nature, +which proportions the sexes so accurately to each other, +continues to exist, a tendency to a diminution in one sex proves, +as certainly as the demonstration of any mathematical problem, a +tendency to a diminution in both; but to talk of 'eminently +prolific' peeresses, and still maintain that the rapid extinction +in peerages is owing to their not bearing male children +exclusively, is arrant nonsense." + +Now, if there be any proposition on the face of the earth which +we should not have expected to hear characterised as arrant +nonsense, it is this,--that an honour limited to males alone is +more likely to become extinct than an honour which, like the +crown of England, descends indifferently to sons and daughters. +We have heard, nay, we actually know families, in which, much as +Mr Sadler may marvel at it, there are daughters and no sons. +Nay, we know many such families. We are as much inclined as Mr +Sadler to trace the benevolent and wise arrangements of +Providence in the physical world, when once we are satisfied as +to the facts on which we proceed. And we have always considered +it as an arrangement deserving of the highest admiration, that, +though in families the number of males and females differs +widely, yet in great collections of human beings the disparity +almost disappears. The chance undoubtedly is, that in a thousand +marriages the number of daughters will not very much exceed the +number of sons. But the chance also is, that several of those +marriages will produce daughters, and daughters only. In every +generation of the peerage there are several such cases. When a +peer whose title is limited to male heirs dies, leaving only +daughters, his peerage must expire, unless he have, not only a +collateral heir, but a collateral heir descended through an +uninterrupted line of males from the first possessor of the +honour. If the deceased peer was the first nobleman of his +family, then, by the supposition, his peerage will become +extinct. If he was the second, it will become extinct, unless he +leaves a brother or a brother's son. If the second peer had a +brother, the first peer must have had at least two sons; and this +is more than the average number of sons to a marriage in England. +When, therefore, it is considered how many peerages are in the +first and second generation, it will not appear strange that +extinctions should frequently take place. There are peerages +which descend to females as well as males. But, in such cases, +if a peer dies, leaving only daughters, the very fecundity of the +marriage is a cause of the extinction of the peerage. If there +were only one daughter, the honour would descend. If there are +several, it falls into abeyance. + +But it is needless to multiply words in a case so clear; and, +indeed it is needless to say anything more about Mr Sadler's +book. We have, if we do not deceive ourselves, completely +exposed the calculations on which his theory rests; and we do not +think that we should either amuse our readers or serve the cause +of science if we were to rebut in succession a series of futile +charges brought in the most angry spirit against ourselves; +ignorant imputations of ignorance, and unfair complaints of +unfairness,--conveyed in long, dreary, declamations, so prolix +that we cannot find space to quote them, and so confused that we +cannot venture to abridge them. + +There is much indeed in this foolish pamphlet to laugh at, from +the motto in the first page down to some wisdom about cows in the +last. One part of it indeed is solemn enough, we mean a certain +jeu d'esprit of Mr Sadler's touching a tract of Dr Arbuthnot's. +This is indeed "very tragical mirth," as Peter Quince's playbill +has it; and we would not advise any person who reads for +amusement to venture on it as long as he can procure a volume of +the Statutes at Large. This, however, to do Mr Sadler justice, +is an exception. His witticisms, and his tables of figures, +constitute the only parts of his work which can be perused with +perfect gravity. His blunders are diverting, his excuses +exquisitely comic. But his anger is the most grotesque +exhibition that we ever saw. He foams at the mouth with the love +of truth, and vindicates the Divine benevolence with a most +edifying heartiness of hatred. On this subject we will give him +one word of parting advice. If he raves in this way to ease his +mind, or because he thinks that he does himself credit by it, or +from a sense of religious duty, far be it from us to interfere. +His peace, his reputation, and his religion are his own concern; +and he, like the nobleman to whom his treatise is dedicated, has +a right to do what he will with his own. But, if he has adopted +his abusive style from a notion that it would hurt our feelings, +we must inform him that he is altogether mistaken; and that he +would do well in future to give us his arguments, if he has any, +and to keep his anger for those who fear it. + +... + + +MIRABEAU. + +(July 1832.) + +"Souvenirs sur Mirabeau, et sur les deux Premieres Assemblees +Legislatives". Par Etienne Dumont, de Geneve: ouvrage posthume +publie par M.J.L. Duval, Membre du Conseil Representatif du +Canton du Geneve. 8vo. Paris: 1832. + +This is a very amusing and a very instructive book: but even if +it were less amusing and less instructive, it would still be +interesting as a relic of a wise and virtuous man. M. Dumont was +one of those persons, the care of whose fame belongs in an +especial manner to mankind. For he was one of those persons who +have, for the sake of mankind, neglected the care of their own +fame. In his walk through life there was no obtrusiveness, no +pushing, no elbowing, none of the little arts which bring forward +little men. With every right to the head of the board, he took +the lowest room, and well deserved to be greeted with--Friend, go +up higher. Though no man was more capable of achieving for +himself a separate and independent renown, he attached himself to +others; he laboured to raise their fame; he was content to +receive as his share of the reward the mere overflowings which +redounded from the full measure of their glory. Not that he was +of a servile and idolatrous habit of mind:--not that he was one +of the tribe of Boswells,--those literary Gibeonites, born to be +hewers of wood and drawers of water to the higher intellectual +castes. Possessed of talents and acquirements which made him +great, he wished only to be useful. In the prime of manhood, at +the very time of life at which ambitious men are most ambitious, +he was not solicitous to proclaim that he furnished information, +arguments, and eloquence to Mirabeau. In his later years he was +perfectly willing that his renown should merge in that of Mr +Bentham. + +The services which M. Dumont has rendered to society can be fully +appreciated only by those who have studied Mr Bentham's works, +both in their rude and in their finished state. The difference +both for show and for use is as great as the difference between a +lump of golden ore and a rouleau of sovereigns fresh from the +mint. Of Mr Bentham we would at all times speak with the +reverence which is due to a great original thinker, and to a +sincere and ardent friend of the human race. If a few weaknesses +were mingled with his eminent virtues,--if a few errors +insinuated themselves among the many valuable truths which he +taught,--this is assuredly no time for noticing those weaknesses +or those errors in an unkind or sarcastic spirit. A great man +has gone from among us, full of years, of good works, and of +deserved honours. In some of the highest departments in which +the human intellect can exert itself he has not left his equal or +his second behind him. From his contemporaries he has had, +according to the usual lot, more or less than justice. He has +had blind flatterers and blind detractors--flatterers who could +see nothing but perfection in his style, detractors who could see +nothing but nonsense in his matter. He will now have judges. +Posterity will pronounce its calm and impartial decision; and +that decision will, we firmly believe, place in the same rank +with Galileo, and with Locke, the man who found jurisprudence a +gibberish and left it a science. Never was there a literary +partnership so fortunate as that of Mr Bentham and M. Dumont. +The raw material which Mr Bentham furnished was most precious; +but it was unmarketable. He was, assuredly, at once a great +logician and a great rhetorician. But the effect of his logic +was injured by a vicious arrangement, and the effect of his +rhetoric by a vicious style. His mind was vigorous, +comprehensive, subtile, fertile of arguments, fertile of +illustrations. But he spoke in an unknown tongue; and, that the +congregation might be edified, it was necessary that some brother +having the gift of interpretation should expound the invaluable +jargon. His oracles were of high import; but they were traced on +leaves and flung loose to the wind. So negligent was he of the +arts of selection, distribution, and compression, that to persons +who formed their judgment of him from his works in their +undigested state he seemed to be the least systematic of all +philosophers. The truth is, that his opinions formed a system, +which, whether sound or unsound, is more exact, more entire, and +more consistent with itself than any other. Yet to superficial +readers of his works in their original form, and indeed to all +readers of those works who did not bring great industry and great +acuteness to the study, he seemed to be a man of a quick and +ingenious but ill-regulated mind,--who saw truth only by +glimpses,--who threw out many striking hints, but who had never +thought of combining his doctrines in one harmonious whole. + +M. Dumont was admirably qualified to supply what was wanting in +Mr Bentham. In the qualities in which the French writers surpass +those of all other nations--neatness, clearness, precision, +condensation--he surpassed all French writers. If M. Dumont had +never been born, Mr Bentham would still have been a very great +man. But he would have been great to himself alone. The +fertility of his mind would have resembled the fertility of those +vast American wildernesses in which blossoms and decays a rich +but unprofitable vegetation, "wherewith the reaper filleth not +his hand, neither he that bindeth up the sheaves his bosom." It +would have been with his discoveries as it has been with the +"Century of Inventions." His speculations on laws would have +been of no more practical use than Lord Worcester's speculations +on steam-engines. Some generations hence, perhaps, when +legislation had found its Watt, an antiquarian might have +published to the world the curious fact that, in the reign of +George the Third, there had been a man called Bentham, who had +given hints of many discoveries made since his time, and who had +really, for his age, taken a most philosophical view of the +principles of jurisprudence. + +Many persons have attempted to interpret between this powerful +mind and the public. But, in our opinion, M. Dumont alone has +succeeded. It is remarkable that, in foreign countries, where Mr +Bentham's works are known solely through the medium of the French +version, his merit is almost universally acknowledged. Even +those who are most decidedly opposed to his political opinions-- +the very chiefs of the Holy Alliance--have publicly testified +their respect for him. In England, on the contrary, many persons +who certainly entertained no prejudice against him on political +grounds were long in the habit of mentioning him contemptuously. +Indeed, what was said of Bacon's philosophy may be said of +Bentham's. It was in little repute among us, till judgments in +its favour came from beyond sea, and convinced us, to our shame, +that we had been abusing and laughing at one of the greatest men +of the age. + +M. Dumont might easily have found employments more gratifying to +personal vanity than that of arranging works not his own. But he +could have found no employment more useful or more truly +honourable. The book before us, hastily written as it is, +contains abundant proof, if proof were needed, that he did not +become an editor because he wanted the talents which would have +made him eminent as a writer. + +Persons who hold democratical opinions, and who have been +accustomed to consider M. Dumont as one of their party, have been +surprised and mortified to learn that he speaks with very little +respect of the French Revolution and of its authors. Some +zealous Tories have naturally expressed great satisfaction at +finding their doctrines, in some respects, confirmed by the +testimony of an unwilling witness. The date of the work, we +think, explains everything. If it had been written ten years +earlier, or twenty years later, it would have been very different +from what it is. It was written, neither during the first +excitement of the Revolution, nor at that later period when the +practical good produced by the Revolution had become manifest to +the most prejudiced observers; but in those wretched times when +the enthusiasm had abated, and the solid advantages were not yet +fully seen. It was written in the year 1799,--a year in which +the most sanguine friend of liberty might well feel some +misgivings as to the effects of what the National Assembly had +done. The evils which attend every great change had been +severely felt. The benefit was still to come. The price--a +heavy price--had been paid. The thing purchased had not yet been +delivered. Europe was swarming with French exiles. The fleets +and armies of the second coalition were victorious. Within +France, the reign of terror was over; but the reign of law had +not commenced. There had been, indeed, during three or four +years, a written Constitution, by which rights were defined and +checks provided. But these rights had been repeatedly violated; +and those checks had proved utterly inefficient. The laws which +had been framed to secure the distinct authority of the executive +magistrates and of the legislative assemblies--the freedom of +election--the freedom of debate--the freedom of the press--the +personal freedom of citizens--were a dead letter. The ordinary +mode in which the Republic was governed was by coups d'etat. On +one occasion, the legislative councils were placed under military +restraint by the directors. Then, again, directors were deposed +by the legislative councils. Elections were set aside by the +executive authority. Ship-loads of writers and speakers were +sent, without a legal trial, to die of fever in Guiana. France, +in short, was in that state in which revolutions, effected by +violence, almost always leave a nation. The habit of obedience +had been lost. The spell of prescription had been broken. Those +associations on which, far more than on any arguments about +property and order, the authority of magistrates rests, had +completely passed away. The power of the government consisted +merely in the physical force which it could bring to its support. +Moral force it had none. It was itself a government sprung from +a recent convulsion. Its own fundamental maxim was, that +rebellion might be justifiable. Its own existence proved that +rebellion might be successful. The people had been accustomed, +during several years, to offer resistance to the constituted +authorities on the slightest provocation, and to see the +constituted authorities yield to that resistance. The whole +political world was "without form and void"--an incessant whirl +of hostile atoms, which, every moment, formed some new +combination. The only man who could fix the agitated elements of +society in a stable form was following a wild vision of glory and +empire through the Syrian deserts. The time was not yet come, +when + +"Confusion heard his voice; and wild uproar +Stood ruled:" + +when, out of the chaos into which the old society had been +resolved, were to rise a new dynasty, a new peerage, a new +church, and a new code. + +The dying words of Madame Roland, "Oh, Liberty! how many crimes +are committed in thy name!" were at that time echoed by many of +the most upright and benevolent of mankind. M. Guizot has, in +one of his admirable pamphlets, happily and justly described M. +Laine as "an honest and liberal man, discouraged by the +Revolution." This description, at the time when M. Dumont's +Memoirs were written, would have applied to almost every honest +and liberal man in Europe; and would, beyond all doubt, have +applied to M. Dumont himself. To that fanatical worship of the +all-wise and all-good people, which had been common a few years +before, had succeeded an uneasy suspicion that the follies and +vices of the people would frustrate all attempts to serve them. +The wild and joyous exaltation, with which the meeting of the +States-General and the fall of the Bastile had been hailed, had +passed away. In its place was dejection, and a gloomy distrust +of suspicious appearances. The philosophers and philanthropists +had reigned. And what had their reign produced? Philosophy had +brought with it mummeries as absurd as any which had been +practised by the most superstitious zealot of the darkest age. +Philanthropy had brought with it crimes as horrible as the +massacre of Saint Bartholomew. This was the emancipation of the +human mind. These were the fruits of the great victory of reason +over prejudice. France had rejected the faith of Pascal and +Descartes as a nursery fable, that a courtezan might be her idol, +and a madman her priest. She had asserted her freedom against +Louis, that she might bow down before Robespierre. For a time +men thought that all the boasted wisdom of the eighteenth century +was folly; and that those hopes of great political and social +ameliorations which had been cherished by Voltaire and Condorcet +were utterly delusive. + +Under the influence of these feelings, M. Dumont has gone so far +as to say that the writings of Mr Burke on the French Revolution, +though disfigured by exaggeration, and though containing +doctrines subversive of all public liberty, had been, on the +whole, justified by events, and had probably saved Europe from +great disasters. That such a man as the friend and fellow- +labourer of Mr Bentham should have expressed such an opinion is a +circumstance which well deserves the consideration of +uncharitable politicians. These Memoirs have not convinced us +that the French Revolution was not a great blessing to mankind. +But they have convinced us that very great indulgence is due to +those who, while the Revolution was actually taking place, +regarded it with unmixed aversion and horror. We can perceive +where their error lay. We can perceive that the evil was +temporary, and the good durable. But we cannot be sure that, if +our lot had been cast in their times, we should not, like them, +have been discouraged and disgusted--that we should not, like +them, have seen, in that great victory of the French people, only +insanity and crime. + +It is curious to observe how some men are applauded, and others +reviled, for merely being what all their neighbours are,--for +merely going passively down the stream of events,--for merely +representing the opinions and passions of a whole generation. +The friends of popular government ordinarily speak with extreme +severity of Mr Pitt, and with respect and tenderness of Mr +Canning. Yet the whole difference, we suspect, consisted merely +in this,--that Mr Pitt died in 1806, and Mr Canning in 1827. +During the years which were common to the public life of both, Mr +Canning was assuredly not a more liberal statesman than his +patron. The truth is that Mr Pitt began his political life at +the end of the American War, when the nation was suffering from +the effects of corruption. He closed it in the midst of the +calamities produced by the French Revolution, when the nation was +still strongly impressed with the horrors of anarchy. He +changed, undoubtedly. In his youth he had brought in reform +bills. In his manhood he brought in gagging bills. But the +change, though lamentable, was, in our opinion, perfectly +natural, and might have been perfectly honest. He changed with +the great body of his countrymen. Mr Canning on the other hand, +entered into public life when Europe was in dread of the +Jacobins. He closed his public life when Europe was suffering +under the tyranny of the Holy Alliance. He, too, changed with +the nation. As the crimes of the Jacobins had turned the master +into something very like a Tory, the events which followed the +Congress of Vienna turned the pupil into something very like a +Whig. + +So much are men the creatures of circumstances. We see that, if +M. Dumont had died in 1799, he would have died, to use the new +cant word, a decided "Conservative." If Mr Pitt had lived in +1832, it is our firm belief that he would have been a decided +Reformer. + +The judgment passed by M. Dumont in this work on the French +Revolution must be taken with considerable allowances. It +resembles a criticism on a play of which only the first act has +been performed, or on a building from which the scaffolding has +not yet been taken down. We have no doubt that, if the excellent +author had revised these Memoirs thirty years after the time at +which they were written, he would have seen reason to omit a few +passages, and to add many qualifications and explanations. + +He would not probably have been inclined to retract the censures, +just, though severe, which he has passed on the ignorance, the +presumption, and the pedantry, of the National Assembly. But he +would have admitted that, in spite of those faults, perhaps even +by reason of those faults, that Assembly had conferred +inestimable benefits on mankind. It is clear that, among the +French of that day, political knowledge was absolutely in its +infancy. It would indeed have been strange if it had attained +maturity in the time of censors, of lettres-de-cachet, and of +beds of justice. The electors did not know how to elect. The +representatives did not know how to deliberate. M. Dumont taught +the constituent body of Montreuil how to perform their functions, +and found them apt to learn. He afterwards tried, in concert +with Mirabeau, to instruct the National Assembly in that +admirable system of Parliamentary tactics which has been long +established in the English House of Commons, and which has made +the House of Commons, in spite of all the defects in its +composition, the best and fairest debating society in the world. +But these accomplished legislators, though quite as ignorant as +the mob of Montreuil, proved much less docile, and cried out that +they did not want to go to school to the English. Their debates +consisted of endless successions of trashy pamphlets, all +beginning with something about the original compact of society, +man in the hunting state, and other such foolery. They sometimes +diversified and enlivened these long readings by a little +rioting. They bawled; they hooted; they shook their fists. They +kept no order among themselves. They were insulted with impunity +by the crowd which filled their galleries. They gave long and +solemn consideration to trifles. They hurried through the most +important resolutions with fearful expedition. They wasted +months in quibbling about the words of that false and childish +Declaration of Rights on which they professed to found their new +constitution, and which was at irreconcilable variance with every +clause of that constitution. They annihilated in a single night +privileges, many of which partook of the nature of property, and +ought therefore to have been most delicately handled. + +They are called the Constituent Assembly. Never was a name less +appropriate. They were not constituent, but the very reverse of +constituent. They constituted nothing that stood or that +deserved to last. They had not, and they could not possibly +have, the information or the habits of mind which are necessary +for the framing of that most exquisite of all machines--a +government. The metaphysical cant with which they prefaced their +constitution has long been the scoff of all parties. Their +constitution itself,--that constitution which they described as +absolutely perfect, and to which they predicted immortality,-- +disappeared in a few months, and left no trace behind it. They +were great only in the work of destruction. + +The glory of the National Assembly is this, that they were in +truth, what Mr Burke called them in austere irony, the ablest +architects of ruin that ever the world saw. They were utterly +incompetent to perform any work which required a discriminating +eye and a skilful hand. But the work which was then to be done +was a work of devastation. They had to deal with abuses so +horrible and so deeply rooted that the highest political wisdom +could scarcely have produced greater good to mankind than was +produced by their fierce and senseless temerity. Demolition is +undoubtedly a vulgar task; the highest glory of the statesman is +to construct. But there is a time for everything,--a time to set +up, and a time to pull down. The talents of revolutionary +leaders and those of the legislator have equally their use and +their season. It is the natural, the almost universal, law, that +the age of insurrections and proscriptions shall precede the age +of good government, of temperate liberty, and liberal order. + +And how should it be otherwise? It is not in swaddling-bands +that we learn to walk. It is not in the dark that we learn to +distinguish colours. It is not under oppression that we learn +how to use freedom. The ordinary sophism by which misrule is +defended is, when truly stated, this:--The people must continue +in slavery, because slavery has generated in them all the vices +of slaves. Because they are ignorant, they must remain under a +power which has made and which keeps them ignorant. Because they +have been made ferocious by misgovernment, they must be +misgoverned for ever. If the system under which they live were +so mild and liberal that under its operation they had become +humane and enlightened, it would be safe to venture on a change. +But, as this system has destroyed morality, and prevented the +development of the intellect,--as it has turned men, who might +under different training have formed a virtuous and happy +community, into savage and stupid wild beasts,--therefore it +ought to last for ever. The English Revolution, it is said, was +truly a glorious Revolution. Practical evils were redressed; no +excesses were committed; no sweeping confiscations took place; +the authority of the laws was scarcely for a moment suspended; +the fullest and freest discussion was tolerated in Parliament; +the nation showed, by the calm and temperate manner in which it +asserted its liberty, that it was fit to enjoy liberty. The +French Revolution was, on the other hand, the most horrible event +recorded in history,--all madness and wickedness,--absurdity in +theory, and atrocity in practice. What folly and injustice in +the revolutionary laws! What grotesque affectation in the +revolutionary ceremonies! What fanaticism! What licentiousness! +What cruelty! Anacharsis Clootz and Marat,--feasts of the +Supreme Being, and marriages of the Loire--trees of liberty, and +heads dancing on pikes--the whole forms a kind of infernal farce, +made up of everything ridiculous, and everything frightful. This +it is to give freedom to those who have neither wisdom nor +virtue. + +It is not only by bad men interested in the defence of abuses +that arguments like these have been urged against all schemes of +political improvement. Some of the highest and purest of human +beings conceived such scorn and aversion for the follies and +crimes of the French Revolution that they recanted, in the moment +of triumph, those liberal opinions to which they had clung in +defiance of persecution. And, if we inquire why it was that they +began to doubt whether liberty were a blessing, we shall find +that it was only because events had proved, in the clearest +manner, that liberty is the parent of virtue and of order. They +ceased to abhor tyranny merely because it had been signally shown +that the effect of tyranny on the hearts and understandings of +men is more demoralising and more stupifying than had ever been +imagined by the most zealous friend of popular rights. The truth +is, that a stronger argument against the old monarchy of France +may be drawn from the noyades and the fusillades than from the +Bastile and the Parc-aux-cerfs. We believe it to be a rule +without an exception, that the violence of a revolution +corresponds to the degree of misgovernment which has produced +that revolution. Why was the French Revolution so bloody and +destructive? Why was our revolution of 1641 comparatively mild? +Why was our revolution of 1688 milder still? Why was the +American Revolution, considered as an internal movement, the +mildest of all? There is an obvious and complete solution of the +problem. The English under James the First and Charles the First +were less oppressed than the French under Louis the Fifteenth and +Louis the Sixteenth. The English were less oppressed after the +Restoration than before the great Rebellion. And America under +George the Third was less oppressed than England under the +Stuarts. The reaction was exactly proportioned to the pressure, +--the vengeance to the provocation. + +When Mr Burke was reminded in his later years of the zeal which +he had displayed in the cause of the Americans, he vindicated +himself from the charge of inconsistency, by contrasting the +wisdom and moderation of the Colonial insurgents of 1776 with the +fanaticism and wickedness of the Jacobins of 1792. He was in +fact bringing an argument a fortiori against himself. The +circumstances on which he rested his vindication fully proved +that the old government of France stood in far more need of a +complete change than the old government of America. The +difference between Washington and Robespierre,--the difference +between Franklin and Barere,--the difference between the +destruction of a few barrels of tea and the confiscation of +thousands of square miles,--the difference between the tarring +and feathering of a tax-gatherer and the massacres of September, +--measure the difference between the government of America under +the rule of England and the government of France under the rule +of the Bourbons. + +Louis the Sixteenth made great voluntary concessions to his +people; and they sent him to the scaffold. Charles the Tenth +violated the fundamental laws of the state, established a +despotism, and butchered his subjects for not submitting quietly +to that despotism. He failed in his wicked attempt. He was at +the mercy of those whom he had injured. The pavements of Paris +were still heaped up in barricades;--the hospitals were still +full of the wounded;--the dead were still unburied;--a thousand +families were in mourning;--a hundred thousand citizens were in +arms. The crime was recent;--the life of the criminal was in the +hands of the sufferers;--and they touched not one hair of his +head. In the first revolution, victims were sent to death by +scores for the most trifling acts proved by the lowest testimony, +before the most partial tribunals. After the second revolution, +those ministers who had signed the ordinances, those ministers, +whose guilt, as it was of the foulest kind, was proved by the +clearest evidence,--were punished only with imprisonment. In the +first revolution, property was attacked. In the second, it was +held sacred. Both revolutions, it is true, left the public mind +of France in an unsettled state. Both revolutions were followed +by insurrectionary movements. But, after the first revolution, +the insurgents were almost always stronger than the law; and, +since the second revolution, the law has invariably been found +stronger than the insurgents. There is, indeed, much in the +present state of France which may well excite the uneasiness of +those who desire to see her free, happy, powerful, and secure. +Yet, if we compare the present state of France with the state in +which she was forty years ago, how vast a change for the better +has taken place! How little effect, for example, during the +first revolution, would the sentence of a judicial body have +produced on an armed and victorious partty! If, after the 10th +of August, or after the proscription of the Gironde, or after the +9th of Thermidor, or after the carnage of Vendemiaire, or after +the arrests of Fructidor, any tribunal had decided against the +conquerors in favour of the conquered, with what contempt, with +what derision, would its award have been received! The judges +would have lost their heads, or would have been sent to die in +some unwholesome colony. The fate of the victim whom they had +endeavoured to save would only have been made darker and more +hopeless by their interference. We have lately seen a signal +proof that, in France, the law is now stronger than the sword. +We have seen a government, in the very moment of triumph and +revenge, submitting itself to the authority of a court of law. A +just and independent sentence has been pronounced--a sentence +worthy of the ancient renown of that magistracy to which belong +the noblest recollections of French history--which, in an age of +persecutors, produced L'Hopital,--which, in an age of courtiers, +produced D'Aguesseau,--which, in an age of wickedness and +madness, exhibited to mankind a pattern of every virtue in the +life and in the death of Malesherbes. The respectful manner in +which that sentence has been received is alone sufficient to show +how widely the French of this generation differ from their +fathers. And how is the difference to be explained? The race, +the soil, the climate, are the same. If those dull, honest +Englishmen, who explain the events of 1793 and 1794 by saying +that the French are naturally frivolous and cruel, were in the +right, why is the guillotine now standing idle? Not surely for +want of Carlists, of aristocrats, of people guilty of incivism, +of people suspected of being suspicious characters. Is not the +true explanation this, that the Frenchman of 1832 has been far +better governed than the Frenchman of 1789,--that his soul has +never been galled by the oppressive privileges of a separate +caste,--that he has been in some degree accustomed to discuss +political questions, and to perform political functions,--that he +has lived for seventeen or eighteen years under institutions +which, however defective, have yet been far superior to any +institutions that had before existed in France? + +As the second French Revolution has been far milder than the +first, so that great change which has just been effected in +England has been milder even than the second French Revolution,-- +milder than any revolution recorded in history. Some orators +have described the reform of the House of Commons as a +revolution. Others have denied the propriety of the term. The +question, though in seeming merely a question of definition, +suggests much curious and interesting matter for reflection. If +we look at the magnitude of the reform, it may well be called a +revolution. If we look at the means by which it has been +effected, it is merely an Act of Parliament, regularly brought +in, read, committed, and passed. In the whole history of +England, there is no prouder circumstance than this,--that a +change, which could not, in any other age, or in any other +country, have been effected without physical violence, should +here have been effected by the force of reason, and under the +forms of law. The work of three civil wars has been accomplished +by three sessions of Parliament. An ancient and deeply rooted +system of abuses has been fiercely attacked and stubbornly +defended. It has fallen; and not one sword has been drawn; not +one estate has been confiscated; not one family has been forced +to emigrate. The bank has kept its credit. The funds have kept +their price. Every man has gone forth to his work and to his +labour till the evening. During the fiercest excitement of the +contest,--during the first fortnight of that immortal May,--there +was not one moment at which any sanguinary act committed on the +person of any of the most unpopular men in England would not have +filled the country with horror and indignation. + +And now that the victory is won, has it been abused? An immense +mass of power has been transferred from an oligarchy to the +nation. Are the members of the vanquished oligarchy insecure? +Does the nation seem disposed to play the tyrant? Are not those +who, in any other state of society, would have been visited with +the severest vengeance of the triumphant party,--would have been +pining in dungeons, or flying to foreign countries,--still +enjoying their possessions and their honours, still taking part +as freely as ever in public affairs? Two years ago they were +dominant. They are now vanquished. Yet the whole people would +regard with horror any man who should dare to propose any +vindictive measure. So common is this feeling,--so much is it a +matter of course among us,--that many of our readers will +scarcely understand what we see to admire in it. + +To what are we to attribute the unparalleled moderation and +humanity which the English people had displayed at this great +conjuncture? The answer is plain. This moderation, this +humanity, are the fruits of a hundred and fifty years of liberty. +During many generations we have had legislative assemblies which, +however defective their constitution might be, have always +contained many members chosen by the people, and many others +eager to obtain the approbation of the people:--assemblies in +which perfect freedom of debate was allowed;--assemblies in which +the smallest minority had a fair hearing; assemblies in which +abuses, even when they were not redressed, were at least exposed. +For many generations we have had the trial by jury, the Habeas +Corpus Act, the freedom of the press, the right of meeting to +discuss public affairs, the right of petitioning the legislature. +A vast portion of the population has long been accustomed to the +exercise of political functions, and has been thoroughly seasoned +to political excitement. In most other countries there is no +middle course between absolute submission and open rebellion. In +England there has always been for centuries a constitutional +opposition. Thus our institutions had been so good that they had +educated us into a capacity for better institutions. There is +not a large town in the kingdom which does not contain better +materials for a legislature than all France could furnish in +1789. There is not a spouting-club at any pot-house in London in +which the rules of debate are not better understood, and more +strictly observed, than in the Constituent Assembly. There is +scarcely a Political Union which could not frame in half an hour +a declaration of rights superior to that which occupied the +collective wisdom of France for several months. + +It would be impossible even to glance at all the causes of the +French Revolution within the limits to which we must confine +ourselves. One thing is clear. The government, the aristocracy, +and the church were rewarded after their works. They reaped that +which they had sown. They found the nation such as they had made +it. That the people had become possessed of irresistible power +before they had attained the slightest knowledge of the art of +government--that practical questions of vast moment were left to +be solved by men to whom politics had been only matter of theory +--that a legislature was composed of persons who were scarcely +fit to compose a debating society--that the whole nation was +ready to lend an ear to any flatterer who appealed to its +cupidity, to its fears, or to its thirst for vengeance--all this +was the effect of misrule, obstinately continued in defiance of +solemn warnings, and of the visible signs of an approaching +retribution. + +Even while the monarchy seemed to be in its highest and most +palmy state, the causes of that great destruction had already +begun to operate. They may be distinctly traced even under the +reign of Louis the Fourteenth. That reign is the time to which +the Ultra-Royalists refer as the Golden Age of France. It was in +truth one of those periods which shine with an unnatural and +delusive splendour, and which are rapidly followed by gloom and +decay. + +Concerning Louis the Fourteenth himself, the world seems at last +to have formed a correct judgment. He was not a great general; +he was not a great statesman; but he was, in one sense of the +words, a great king. Never was there so consummate a master of +what our James the First would have called kingcraft,--of all +those arts which most advantageously display the merits of a +prince, and most completely hide his defects. Though his +internal administration was bad,--though the military triumphs +which gave splendour to the early part of his reign were not +achieved by himself,--though his later years were crowded with +defeats and humiliations,--though he was so ignorant that he +scarcely understood the Latin of his mass-book,--though he fell +under the control of a cunning Jesuit and of a more cunning old +woman,--he succeeded in passing himself off on his people as a +being above humanity. And this is the more extraordinary because +he did not seclude himself from the public gaze like those +Oriental despots whose faces are never seen, and whose very names +it is a crime to pronounce lightly. It has been said that no man +is a hero to his valet;--and all the world saw as much of Louis +the Fourteenth as his valet could see. Five hundred people +assembled to see him shave and put on his breeches in the +morning. He then kneeled down at the side of his bed, and said +his prayer while the whole assembly awaited the end in solemn +silence--the ecclesiastics on their knees, and the laymen with +their hats before their faces. He walked about his gardens with +a train of two hundred courtiers at his heels. All Versailles +came to see him dine and sup. He was put to bed at night in the +midst of a crowd as great as that which had met to see him rise +in the morning. He took his very emetics in state, and vomited +majestically in the presence of all the grandes and petites +entrees. Yet, though he constantly exposed himself to the public +gaze in situations in which it is scarcely possible for any man +to preserve much personal dignity, he to the last impressed those +who surrounded him with the deepest awe and reverence. The +illusion which he produced on his worshippers can be compared +only to those illusions to which lovers are proverbially subject +during the season of courtship. It was an illusion which +affected even the senses. The contemporaries of Louis thought +him tall. Voltaire, who might have seen him, and who had lived +with some of the most distinguished members of his court, speaks +repeatedly of his majestic stature. Yet it is as certain as any +fact can be, that he was rather below than above the middle size. +He had, it seems, a way of holding himself, a way of walking, a +way of swelling his chest and rearing his head, which deceived +the eyes of the multitude. Eighty years after his death, the +royal cemetery was violated by the revolutionists, his coffin was +opened; his body was dragged out; and it appeared that the +prince, whose majestic figure had been so long and loudly +extolled, was in truth a little man. (Even M. de Chateaubriand, +to whom we should have thought all the Bourbons would have seemed +at least six feet high, admits this fact. "C'est une erreur," +says he in his strange memoirs of the Duke of Berri, "de croire +que Louis XIV. etait d'une haute stature. Une cuirasse qui nous +reste de lui, et les exhumations de St Denys, n'ont laisse sur +certain point aucun doute.") That fine expression of Juvenal is +singularly applicable, both in its literal and in its +metaphorical sense, to Louis the Fourteenth: + +"Mors sola fatetur +Quantula sint hominum corpuscula." + +His person and his government have had the same fate. He had the +art of making both appear grand and august, in spite of the +clearest evidence that both were below the ordinary standard. +Death and time have exposed both the deceptions. The body of the +great king has been measured more justly than it was measured by +the courtiers who were afraid to look above his shoe-tie. His +public character has been scrutinized by men free from the hopes +and fears of Boileau and Moliere. In the grave, the most +majestic of princes is only five feet eight. In history, the +hero and the politician dwindles into a vain and feeble tyrant,-- +the slave of priests and women--little in war,--little in +government,--little in everything but the art of simulating +greatness. + +He left to his infant successor a famished and miserable people, +a beaten and humbled army, provinces turned into deserts by +misgovernment and persecution, factions dividing the court, a +schism raging in the church, an immense debt, an empty treasury, +immeasurable palaces, an innumerable household, inestimable +jewels and furniture. All the sap and nutriment of the state +seemed to have been drawn to feed one bloated and unwholesome +excrescence. The nation was withered. The court was morbidly +flourishing. Yet it does not appear that the associations which +attached the people to the monarchy had lost strength during his +reign. He had neglected or sacrificed their dearest interests; +but he had struck their imaginations. The very things which +ought to have made him most unpopular,--the prodigies of luxury +and magnificence with which his person was surrounded, while, +beyond the inclosure of his parks, nothing was to be seen but +starvation and despair,--seemed to increase the respectful +attachment which his subjects felt for him. That governments +exist only for the good of the people, appears to be the most +obvious and simple of all truths. Yet history proves that it is +one of the most recondite. We can scarcely wonder that it should +be so seldom present to the minds of rulers, when we see how +slowly, and through how much suffering, nations arrive at the +knowledge of it. + +There was indeed one Frenchman who had discovered those +principles which it now seems impossible to miss,--that the many +are not made for the use of one,--that the truly good government +is not that which concentrates magnificence in a court, but that +which diffuses happiness among a people,--that a king who gains +victory after victory, and adds province to province, may +deserve, not the admiration, but the abhorrence and contempt of +mankind. These were the doctrines which Fenelon taught. +Considered as an epic poem, Telemachus can scarcely be placed +above Glover's Leonidas or Wilkie's Epigoniad. Considered as a +treatise on politics and morals, it abounds with errors of +detail; and the truths which it inculcates seem trite to a modern +reader. But, if we compare the spirit in which it is written +with the spirit which pervades the rest of the French literature +of that age, we shall perceive that, though in appearance trite, +it was in truth one of the most original works that have ever +appeared. The fundamental principles of Fenelon's political +morality, the test by which he judged of institutions and of men, +were absolutely new to his countrymen. He had taught them +indeed, with the happiest effect, to his royal pupil. But how +incomprehensible they were to most people, we learn from Saint +Simon. That amusing writer tells us, as a thing almost +incredible, that the Duke of Burgundy declared it to be his +opinion that kings existed for the good of the people, and not +the people for the good of kings. Saint Simon is delighted with +the benevolence of this saying; but startled by its novelty and +terrified by its boldness. Indeed he distinctly says that it was +not safe to repeat the sentiment in the court of Louis. Saint +Simon was, of all the members of that court, the least courtly. +He was as nearly an oppositionist as any man of his time. His +disposition was proud, bitter, and cynical. In religion he was a +Jansenist; in politics, a less hearty royalist than most of his +neighbours. His opinions and his temper had preserved him from +the illusions which the demeanour of Louis produced on others. +He neither loved nor respected the king. Yet even this man,--one +of the most liberal men in France,--was struck dumb with +astonishment at hearing the fundamental axiom of all government +propounded,--an axiom which, in our time, nobody in England or +France would dispute,--which the stoutest Tory takes for granted +as much as the fiercest Radical, and concerning which the Carlist +would agree with the most republican deputy of the "extreme +left." No person will do justice to Fenelon, who does not +constantly keep in mind that Telemachus was written in an age and +nation in which bold and independent thinkers stared to hear that +twenty millions of human beings did not exist for the +gratification of one. That work is commonly considered as a +schoolbook, very fit for children, because its style is easy and +its morality blameless, but unworthy of the attention of +statesmen and philosophers. We can distinguish in it, if we are +not greatly mistaken, the first faint dawn of a long and splendid +day of intellectual light,--the dim promise of a great +deliverance,--the undeveloped germ of the charter and of the +code. + +What mighty interests were staked on the life of the Duke of +Burgundy! and how different an aspect might the history of France +have borne if he had attained the age of his grandfather or of +his son;--if he had been permitted to show how much could be done +for humanity by the highest virtue in the highest fortune! There +is scarcely anything in history more remarkable than the +descriptions which remain to us of that extraordinary man. The +fierce and impetuous temper which he showed in early youth,--the +complete change which a judicious education produced in his +character,--his fervid piety,--his large benevolence,--the +strictness with which he judged himself,--the liberality with +which he judged others,--the fortitude with which alone, in the +whole court, he stood up against the commands of Louis, when a +religious scruple was concerned,--the charity with which alone, +in the whole court, he defended the profligate Orleans against +calumniators,--his great projects for the good of the people,-- +his activity in business,--his taste for letters,--his strong +domestic attachments,--even the ungraceful person and the shy and +awkward manner which concealed from the eyes of the sneering +courtiers of his grandfather so many rare endowments,--make his +character the most interesting that is to be found in the annals +of his house. He had resolved, if he came to the throne, to +disperse that ostentatious court, which was supported at an +expense ruinous to the nation,--to preserve peace,--to correct +the abuses which were found in every part of the system of +revenue,--to abolish or modify oppressive privileges,--to reform +the administration of justice,--to revive the institution of the +States-General. If he had ruled over France during forty or +fifty years, that great movement of the human mind, which no +government could have arrested, which bad government only +rendered more violent, would, we are inclined to think, have been +conducted, by peaceable means to a happy termination. + +Disease and sorrow removed from the world that wisdom and virtue +of which it was not worthy. During two generations France was +ruled by men who, with all the vices of Louis the Fourteenth, had +none of the art by which that magnificent prince passed off his +vices for virtues. The people had now to see tyranny naked. +That foul Duessa was stripped of her gorgeous ornaments. She had +always been hideous; but a strange enchantment had made her seem +fair and glorious in the eyes of her willing slaves. The spell +was now broken; the deformity was made manifest; and the lovers, +lately so happy and so proud, turned away loathing and horror- +struck. + +First came the Regency. The strictness with which Louis had, +towards the close of his life, exacted from those around him an +outward attention to religious duties, produced an effect similar +to that which the rigour of the Puritans had produced in England. +It was the boast of Madame de Maintenon, in the time of her +greatness, that devotion had become the fashion. A fashion +indeed it was; and, like a fashion, it passed away. The +austerity of the tyrant's old age had injured the morality of the +higher orders more than even the licentiousness of his youth. +Not only had he not reformed their vices, but, by forcing them to +be hypocrites, he had shaken their belief in virtue. They had +found it so easy to perform the grimace of piety, that it was +natural for them to consider all piety as grimace. The times +were changed. Pensions, regiments, and abbeys, were no longer to +be obtained by regular confession and severe penance: and the +obsequious courtiers, who had kept Lent like monks of La Trappe, +and who had turned up the whites of their eyes at the edifying +parts of sermons preached before the king, aspired to the title +of roue as ardently as they had aspired to that of devot; and +went, during Passion Week, to the revels of the Palais Royal as +readily as they had formerly repaired to the sermons of +Massillon. + +The Regent was in many respects the fac-simile of our Charles the +Second. Like Charles, he was a good-natured man, uttl destitute +of sensibility. Like Charles, he had good natural talents, which +a deplorable indolence rendered useless to the state. Like +Charles, he thought all men corrupted and interested, and yet did +not dislike them for being so. His opinion of human nature was +Gulliver's; but he did not regard human nature with Gulliver's +horror. He thought that he and his fellow-creatures were Yahoos; +and he thought a Yahoo a very agreeable kind of animal. No +princes were ever more social than Charles and Philip of Orleans: +yet no princes ever had less capacity for friendship. The +tempers of these clever cynics were so easy, and their minds so +languid, that habit supplied in them the place of affection, and +made them the tools of people for whom they cared not one straw. +In love, both were mere sensualists without delicacy or +tenderness. In politics, both were utterly careless of faith and +of national honour. Charles shut up the Exchequer. Philip +patronised the System. The councils of Charles were swayed by +the gold of Barillon; the councils of Philip by the gold of +Walpole. Charles for private objects made war on Holland, the +natural ally of England. Philip for private objects made war on +the Spanish branch of the house of Bourbon, the natural ally, +indeed the creature of France. Even in trifling circumstances +the parallel might be carried on. Both these princes were fond +of experimental philosophy, and passed in the laboratory much +time which would have been more advantageously passed at the +council-table. Both were more strongly attached to their female +relatives than to any other human being; and in both cases it was +suspected that this attachment was not perfectly innocent. In +personal courage, and in all the virtues which are connected with +personal courage, the Regent was indisputably superior to +Charles. Indeed Charles but narrowly escaped the stain of +cowardice. Philip was eminently brave, and, like most brave men, +was generally open and sincere. Charles added dissimulation to +his other vices. + +The administration of the Regent was scarcely less pernicious, +and infinitely more scandalous, than that of the deceased +monarch. It was by magnificent public works, and by wars +conducted on a gigantic scale, that Louis had brought distress on +his people. The Regent aggravated that distress by frauds of +which a lame duck on the stock-exchange would have been ashamed. +France, even while suffering under the most severe calamities, +had reverenced the conqueror. She despised the swindler. + +When Orleans and the wretched Dubois had disappeared, the power +passed to the Duke of Bourbon; a prince degraded in the public +eye by the infamously lucrative part which he had taken in the +juggles of the System, and by the humility with which he bore the +caprices of a loose and imperious woman. It seemed to be decreed +that every branch of the royal family should successively incur +the abhorrence and contempt of the nation. + +Between the fall of the Duke of Bourbon and the death of Fleury, +a few years of frugal and moderate government intervened. Then +recommenced the downward progress of the monarchy. Profligacy in +the court, extravagance in the finances, schism in the church, +faction in the Parliaments, unjust war terminated by ignominious +peace,--all that indicates and all that produces the ruin of +great empires, make up the history of that miserable period. +Abroad, the French were beaten and humbled everywhere, by land +and by sea, on the Elbe and on the Rhine, in Asia and in America. +At home, they were turned over from vizier to vizier, and from +sultana to sultana, till they had reached that point beneath +which there was no lower abyss of infamy,--till the yoke of +Maupeou had made them pine for Choiseul,--till Madame du Barri +had taught them to regret Madame de Pompadour. + +But unpopular as the monarchy had become, the aristocracy was +more unpopular still; and not without reason. The tyranny of an +individual is far more supportable than the tyranny of a caste. +The old privileges were galling and hateful to the new wealth and +the new knowledge. Everything indicated the approach of no +common revolution,--of a revolution destined to change, not +merely the form of government, but the distribution of property +and the whole social system,--of a revolution the effects of +which were to be felt at every fireside in France,--of a new +Jaquerie, in which the victory was to remain with Jaques +bonhomme. In the van of the movement were the moneyed men and +the men of letters,--the wounded pride of wealth, and the wounded +pride of intellect. An immense multitude, made ignorant and +cruel by oppression, was raging in the rear. + +We greatly doubt whether any course which could have been pursued +by Louis the Sixteenth could have averted a great convulsion. +But we are sure that, if there was such a course, it was the +course recommended by M. Turgot. The church and the aristocracy, +with that blindness to danger, that incapacity of believing that +anything can be except what has been, which the long possession +of power seldom fails to generate, mocked at the counsel which +might have saved them. They would not have reform; and they had +revolution. They would not pay a small contribution in place of +the odious corvees; and they lived to see their castles +demolished, and their lands sold to strangers. They would not +endure Turgot; and they were forced to endure Robespierre. + +Then the rulers of France, as if smitten with judicial blindness, +plunged headlong into the American war. They thus committed at +once two great errors. They encouraged the spirit of revolution. +They augmented at the same time those public burdens, the +pressure of which is generally the immediate cause of +revolutions. The event of the war carried to the height the +enthusiasm of speculative democrats. The financial difficulties +produced by the war carried to the height the discontent of that +larger body of people who cared little about theories, and much +about taxes. + +The meeting of the States-General was the signal for the +explosion of all the hoarded passions of a century. In that +assembly, there were undoubtedly very able men. But they had no +practical knowledge of the art of government. All the great +English revolutions have been conducted by practical statesmen. +The French Revolution was conducted by mere speculators. Our +constitution has never been so far behind the age as to have +become an object of aversion to the people. The English +revolutions have therefore been undertaken for the purpose of +defending, correcting, and restoring,--never for the mere purpose +of destroying. Our countrymen have always, even in times of the +greatest excitement, spoken reverently of the form of government +under which they lived, and attacked only what they regarded as +its corruptions. In the very act of innovating they have +constantly appealed to ancient prescription; they have seldom +looked abroad for models; they have seldom troubled themselves +with Utopian theories; they have not been anxious to prove that +liberty is a natural right of men; they have been content to +regard it as the lawful birthright of Englishmen. Their social +contract is no fiction. It is still extant on the original +parchment, sealed with wax which was affixed at Runnymede, and +attested by the lordly names of the Marischals and Fitzherberts. +No general arguments about the original equality of men, no fine +stories out of Plutarch and Cornelius Nepos, have ever affected +them so much as their own familiar words,--Magna Charta,--Habeas +Corpus,--Trial by Jury,--Bill of Rights. This part of our +national character has undoubtedly its disadvantages. An +Englishman too often reasons on politics in the spirit rather of +a lawyer than of a philosopher. There is too often something +narrow, something exclusive, something Jewish, if we may use the +word, in his love of freedom. He is disposed to consider popular +rights as the special heritage of the chosen race to which he +belongs. He is inclined rather to repel than to encourage the +alien proselyte who aspires to a share of his privileges. Very +different was the spirit of the Constituent Assembly. They had +none of our narrowness; but they had none of our practical skill +in the management of affairs. They did not understand how to +regulate the order of their own debates; and they thought +themselves able to legislate for the whole world. All the past +was loathsome to them. All their agreeable associations were +connected with the future. Hopes were to them all that +recollections are to us. In the institutions of their country +they found nothing to love or to admire. As far back as they +could look, they saw only the tyranny of one class and the +degradation of another,--Frank and Gaul, knight and villein, +gentleman and roturier. They hated the monarchy, the church, the +nobility. They cared nothing for the States or the Parliament. +It was long the fashion to ascribe all the follies which they +committed to the writings of the philosophers. We believe that +it was misrule, and nothing but misrule, that put the sting into +those writings. It is not true that the French abandoned +experience for theories. They took up with theories because they +had no experience of good government. It was because they had no +charter that they ranted about the original contract. As soon as +tolerable institutions were given to them, they began to look to +those institutions. In 1830 their rallying cry was "Vive la +Charte". In 1789 they had nothing but theories round which to +rally. They had seen social distinctions only in a bad form; and +it was therefore natural that they should be deluded by sophisms +about the equality of men. They had experienced so much evil +from the sovereignty of kings that they might be excused for +lending a ready ear to those who preached, in an exaggerated +form, the doctrine of the sovereignty of the people. + +The English, content with their own national recollections and +names, have never sought for models in the institutions of Greece +or Rome. The French, having nothing in their own history to +which they could look back with pleasure, had recourse to the +history of the great ancient commonwealths: they drew their +notions of those commonwealths, not from contemporary writers, +but from romances written by pedantic moralists long after the +extinction of public liberty. They neglected Thucydides for +Plutarch. Blind themselves, they took blind guides. They had no +experience of freedom; and they took their opinions concerning it +from men who had no more experience of it than themselves, and +whose imaginations, inflamed by mystery and privation, +exaggerated the unknown enjoyment;--from men who raved about +patriotism without having ever had a country, and eulogised +tyrannicide while crouching before tyrants. The maxim which the +French legislators learned in this school was, that political +liberty is an end, and not a means; that it is not merely +valuable as the great safeguard of order, of property, and of +morality, but that it is in itself a high and exquisite happiness +to which order, property, and morality ought without one scruple +to be sacrificed. The lessons which may be learned from ancient +history are indeed most useful and important; but they were not +likely to be learned by men who, in all their rhapsodies about +the Athenian democracy, seemed utterly to forget that in that +democracy there were ten slaves to one citizen; and who +constantly decorated their invectives against the aristocrats +with panegyrics on Brutus and Cato,--two aristocrats, fiercer, +prouder, and more exclusive, than any that emigrated with the +Count of Artois. + +We have never met with so vivid and interesting a picture of the +National Assembly as that which M. Dumont has set before us. His +Mirabeau, in particular, is incomparable. All the former +Mirabeaus were daubs in comparison. Some were merely painted +from the imagination--others were gross caricatures: this is the +very individual, neither god nor demon, but a man--a Frenchman--a +Frenchman of the eighteenth century, with great talents, with +strong passions, depraved by bad education, surrounded by +temptations of every kind,--made desperate at one time by +disgrace, and then again intoxicated by fame. All his opposite +and seemingly inconsistent qualities are in this representation +so blended together as to make up a harmonious and natural whole. +Till now, Mirabeau was to us, and, we believe, to most readers of +history, not a man, but a string of antitheses. Henceforth he +will be a real human being, a remarkable and eccentric being +indeed, but perfectly conceivable. + +He was fond, M. Dumont tells us, of giving odd compound +nicknames. Thus, M. de Lafayette was Grandison-Cromwell; the +King of Prussia was Alaric-Cottin; D'Espremenil was Crispin- +Catiline. We think that Mirabeau himself might be described, +after his own fashion, as a Wilkes-Chatham. He had Wilkes's +sensuality, Wilkes's levity, Wilkes's insensibility to shame. +Like Wilkes, he had brought on himself the censure even of men of +pleasure by the peculiar grossness of his immorality, and by the +obscenity of his writings. Like Wilkes, he was heedless, not +only of the laws of morality, but of the laws of honour. Yet he +affected, like Wilkes, to unite the character of the demagogue to +that of the fine gentleman. Like Wilkes, he conciliated, by his +good-humour and his high spirits, the regard of many who despised +his character. Like Wilkes, he was hideously ugly; like Wilkes, +he made a jest of his own ugliness; and, like Wilkes, he was, in +spite of his ugliness, very attentive to his dress, and very +successful in affairs of gallantry. + +Resembling Wilkes in the lower and grosser parts of his +character, he had, in his higher qualities, some affinity to +Chatham. His eloquence, as far as we can judge of it, bore no +inconsiderable resemblance to that of the great English minister. +He was not eminently successful in long set speeches. He was +not, on the other hand, a close and ready debater. Sudden +bursts, which seemed to be the effect of inspiration--short +sentences which came like lightning, dazzling, burning, striking +down everything before them--sentences which, spoken at critical +moments, decided the fate of great questions--sentences which at +once became proverbs--sentences which everybody still knows by +heart--in these chiefly lay the oratorical power both of Chatham +and of Mirabeau. There have been far greater speakers, and far +greater statesmen, than either of them; but we doubt whether any +men have, in modern times, exercised such vast personal influence +over stormy and divided assemblies. The power of both was as +much moral as intellectual. In true dignity of character, in +private and public virtue, it may seem absurd to institute any +comparison between them; but they had the same haughtiness and +vehemence of temper. In their language and manner there was a +disdainful self-confidence, an imperiousness, a fierceness of +passion, before which all common minds quailed. Even Murray and +Charles Townshend, though intellectually not inferior to Chatham, +were always cowed by him. Barnave, in the same manner, though +the best debater in the National Assembly, flinched before the +energy of Mirabeau. Men, except in bad novels, are not all good +or all evil. It can scarcely be denied that the virtue of Lord +Chatham was a little theatrical. On the other hand there was in +Mirabeau, not indeed anything deserving the name of virtue, but +that imperfect substitute for virtue which is found in almost all +superior minds,--a sensibility to the beautiful and the good, +which sometimes amounted to sincere enthusiasm; and which, +mingled with the desire of admiration, sometimes gave to his +character a lustre resembling the lustre of true goodness,--as +the "faded splendour wan" which lingered round the fallen +archangel resembled the exceeding brightness of those spirits who +had kept their first estate. + +There are several other admirable portraits of eminent men in +these Memoirs. That of Sieyes in particular, and that of +Talleyrand, are master-pieces, full of life and expression. But +nothing in the book has interested us more than the view which M. +Dumont has presented to us, unostentatiously, and, we may say, +unconsciously, of his own character. The sturdy rectitude, the +large charity, the good-nature, the modesty, the independent +spirit, the ardent philanthropy, the unaffected indifference to +money and to fame, make up a character which, while it has +nothing unnatural, seems to us to approach nearer to perfection +than any of the Grandisons and Allworthys of fiction. The work +is not indeed precisely such a work as we had anticipated--it is +more lively, more picturesque, more amusing than we had promised +ourselves; and it is, on the other hand, less profound and +philosophic. But, if it is not, in all respects, such as might +have been expected from the intellect of M. Dumont, it is +assuredly such as might have been expected from his heart. + +... + + +BARERE. + +(April 1844.) + +"Memoires de Bertrand Barere": publies par MM. Hippolyte Carnot, +Membre de la Chambre des Deputes, et David d'Angers, Membre de +l'Institut: precedes d'une Notice Historique par H. Carnot. +4 tomes. Paris: 1843. + +This book has more than one title to our serious attention. It +is an appeal, solemnly made to posterity by a man who played a +conspicuous part in great events, and who represents himself as +deeply aggrieved by the rash and malevolent censure of his +contemporaries. To such an appeal we shall always give ready +audience. We can perform no duty more useful to society, or more +agreeable to our own feelings, than that of making, as far as our +power extends, reparation to the slandered and persecuted +benefactors of mankind. We therefore promptly took into our +consideration this copious apology for the life of Bertrand +Barere. We have made up our minds; and we now purpose to do him, +by the blessing of God, full and signal justice. It is to be +observed that the appellant in this case does not come into court +alone. He is attended to the bar of public opinion by two +compurgators who occupy highly honourable stations. One of these +is M. David of Angers, member of the institute, an eminent +sculptor, and, if we have been rightly informed, a favourite +pupil, though not a kinsman, of the painter who bore the same +name. The other, to whom we owe the biographical preface, is M. +Hippolyte Carnot, member of the Chamber of Deputies, and son of +the celebrated Director. In the judgment of M. David and of M. +Hippolyte Carnot, Barere was a deserving and an ill-used man--a +man who, though by no means faultless, must yet, when due +allowance is made for the force of circumstances and the +infirmity of human nature, be considered as on the whole entitled +to our esteem. It will be for the public to determine, after a +full hearing, whether the editors have, by thus connecting their +names with that of Barere, raised his character or lowered their +own. + +We are not conscious that, when we opened this book, we were +under the influence of any feeling likely to pervert our +judgment. Undoubtedly we had long entertained a most +unfavourable opinion of Barere: but to this opinion we were not +tied by any passion or by any interest. Our dislike was a +reasonable dislike, and might have been removed by reason. +Indeed our expectation was, that these Memoirs would in some +measure clear Barere's fame. That he could vindicate himself +from all the charges which had been brought against him, we knew +to be impossible; and his editors admit that he has not done so. +But we thought it highly probable that some grave accusations +would be refuted, and that many offences to which he would have +been forced to plead guilty would be greatly extenuated. We were +not disposed to be severe. We were fully aware that temptations +such as those to which the members of the Convention and of the +Committee of Public Safety were exposed must try severely the +strength of the firmest virtue. Indeed our inclination has +always been to regard with an indulgence, which to some rigid +moralists appears excessive, those faults into which gentle and +noble spirits are sometimes hurried by the excitement of +conflict, by the maddening influence of sympathy, and by ill- +regulated zeal for a public cause. + +With such feelings we read this book, and compared it with other +accounts of the events in which Barere bore a part. It is now +our duty to express the opinion to which this investigation has +led us. + +Our opinion then is this: that Barere approached nearer than any +person mentioned in history or fiction, whether man or devil, to +the idea of consummate and universal depravity. In him the +qualities which are the proper objects of hatred, and the +qualities which are the proper objects of contempt, preserve an +exquisite and absolute harmony. In almost every particular sort +of wickedness he has had rivals. His sensuality was immoderate; +but this was a failing common to him with many great and amiable +men. There have been many men as cowardly as he, some as cruel, +a few as mean, a few as impudent. There may also have been as +great liars, though we never met with them or read of them. But +when we put everything together, sensuality, poltroonery, +baseness, effrontery, mendacity, barbarity, the result is +something which in a novel we should condemn as caricature, and +to which, we venture to say, no parallel can be found in history. + +It would be grossly unjust, we acknowledge, to try a man situated +as Barere was by a severe standard. Nor have we done so. We +have formed our opinion of him, by comparing him, not with +politicians of stainless character, not with Chancellor +D'Aguesseau, or General Washington, or Mr Wilberforce, or Earl +Grey, but with his own colleagues of the Mountain. That party +included a considerable number of the worst men that ever lived; +but we see in it nothing like Barere. Compared with him, Fouche +seems honest; Billaud seems humane; Hebert seems to rise into +dignity. Every other chief of a party, says M. Hippolyte Carnot, +has found apologists: one set of men exalts the Girondists; +another set justifies Danton; a third deifies Robespierre: but +Barere has remained without a defender. We venture to suggest a +very simple solution of this phenomenon. All the other chiefs of +parties had some good qualities; and Barere had none. The +genius, courage, patriotism, and humanity of the Girondist +statesmen more than atoned for what was culpable in their +conduct, and should have protected them from the insult of being +compared with such a thing as Barere. Danton and Robespierre +were indeed bad men; but in both of them some important parts of +the mind remained sound. Danton was brave and resolute, fond of +pleasure, of power, and of distinction, with vehement passions, +with lax principles, but with some kind and manly feelings, +capable of great crimes, but capable also of friendship and of +compassion. He, therefore, naturally finds admirers among +persons of bold and sanguine dispositions. Robespierre was a +vain, envious, and suspicious man, with a hard heart, weak +nerves, and a gloomy temper. But we cannot with truth deny that +he was, in the vulgar sense of the word, disinterested, that his +private life was correct, or that he was sincerely zealous for +his own system of politics and morals. He, therefore, naturally +finds admirers among honest but moody and bitter democrats. If +no class has taken the reputation of Barere under its patronage, +the reason is plain: Barere had not a single virtue, nor even +the semblance of one. + +It is true that he was not, as far as we are able to judge, +originally of a savage disposition; but this circumstance seems +to us only to aggravate his guilt. There are some unhappy men +constitutionally prone to the darker passions, men all whose +blood is gall, and to whom bitter words and harsh actions are as +natural as snarling and biting to a ferocious dog. To come into +the world with this wretched mental disease is a greater calamity +than to be born blind or deaf. A man who, having such a temper, +keeps it in subjection, and constrains himself to behave +habitually with justice and humanity towards those who are in his +power, seems to us worthy of the highest admiration. There have +been instances of this self-command; and they are among the most +signal triumphs of philosophy and religion. On the other hand, a +man who, having been blessed by nature with a bland disposition, +gradually brings himself to inflict misery on his fellow- +creatures with indifference, with satisfaction, and at length +with a hideous rapture, deserves to be regarded as a portent of +wickedness; and such a man was Barere. The history of his +downward progress is full of instruction. Weakness, cowardice, +and fickleness were born with him; the best quality which he +received from nature was a good temper. These, it is true, are +not very promising materials; yet, out of materials as +unpromising, high sentiments of piety and of honour have +sometimes made martyrs and heroes. Rigid principles often do for +feeble minds what stays do for feeble bodies. But Barere had no +principles at all. His character was equally destitute of +natural and of acquired strength. Neither in the commerce of +life, nor in books, did we ever become acquainted with any mind +so unstable, so utterly destitute of tone, so incapable of +independent thought and earnest preference, so ready to take +impressions and so ready to lose them. He resembled those +creepers which must lean on something, and which, as soon as +their prop is removed, fall down in utter helplessness. He could +no more stand up, erect and self-supported, in any cause, than +the ivy can rear itself like the oak, or the wild vine shoot to +heaven like the cedar of Lebanon. It is barely possible that, +under good guidance and in favourable circumstances, such a man +might have slipped through life without discredit. But the +unseaworthy craft, which even in still water would have been in +danger of going down from its own rottenness, was launched on a +raging ocean, amidst a storm in which a whole armada of gallant +ships was cast away. The weakest and most servile of human +beings found himself on a sudden an actor in a Revolution which +convulsed the whole civilised world. At first he fell under the +influence of humane and moderate men, and talked the language of +humanity and moderation. But he soon found himself surrounded by +fierce and resolute spirits, scared by no danger and restrained +by no scruple. He had to choose whether he would be their victim +or their accomplice. His choice was soon made. He tasted blood, +and felt no loathing; he tasted it again, and liked it well. +Cruelty became with him, first a habit, then a passion, at last a +madness. So complete and rapid was the degeneracy of his nature, +that within a very few months after the time when he had passed +for a good-natured man, he had brought himself to look on the +despair and misery of his fellow-creatures with a glee resembling +that of the fiends whom Dante saw watching the pool of seething +pitch in Malebolge. He had many associates in guilt; but he +distinguished himself from them all by the Bacchanalian +exaltation which he seemed to feel in the work of death. He was +drunk with innocent and noble blood, laughed and shouted as he +butchered, and howled strange songs and reeled in strange dances +amidst the carnage. Then came a sudden and violent turn of +fortune. The miserable man was hurled down from the height of +power to hopeless ruin and infamy. The shock sobered him at +once. The fumes of his horrible intoxication passed away. But +he was now so irrecoverably depraved that the discipline of +adversity only drove him further into wickedness. Ferocious +vices, of which he had never been suspected, had been developed +in him by power. Another class of vices, less hateful perhaps, +but more despicable, was now developed in him by poverty and +disgrace. Having appalled the whole world by great crimes +perpetrated under the pretence of zeal for liberty, he became the +meanest of all the tools of despotism. It is not easy to settle +the order of precedence among his vices, but we are inclined to +think that his baseness was, on the whole, a rarer and more +marvellous thing than his cruelty. + +This is the view which we have long taken of Barere's character; +but, till we read these Memoirs, we held our opinion with the +diffidence which becomes a judge who has only heard one side. +The case seemed strong, and in parts unanswerable; yet we did not +know what the accused party might have to say for himself; and, +not being much inclined to take our fellow-creatures either for +angels of light or for angels of darkness, we could not but feel +some suspicion that his offences had been exaggerated. That +suspicion is now at an end. The vindication is before us. It +occupies four volumes. It was the work of forty years. It would +be absurd to suppose that it does not refute every serious charge +which admitted of refutation. How many serious charges, then, +are here refuted? Not a single one. Most of the imputations +which have been thrown on Barere he does not even notice. In +such cases, of course, judgment must go against him by default. +The fact is, that nothing can be more meagre and uninteresting +than his account of the great public transactions in which he was +engaged. He gives us hardly a word of new information respecting +the proceedings of the Committee of Public Safety; and, by way of +compensation, tells us long stories about things which happened +before he emerged from obscurity, and after he had again sunk +into it. Nor is this the worst. As soon as he ceases to write +trifles, he begins to write lies; and such lies! A man who has +never been within the tropics does not know what a thunderstorm +means; a man who has never looked on Niagara has but a faint idea +of a cataract; and he who has not read Barere's Memoirs may be +said not to know what it is to lie. Among the numerous classes +which make up the great genus Mendacium, the Mendacium +Vasconicum, or Gascon lie, has, during some centuries, been +highly esteemed as peculiarly circumstantial and peculiarly +impudent; and, among the Mendacia Vasconica, the Mendacium +Barerianum is, without doubt, the finest species. It is indeed a +superb variety, and quite throws into the shade some Mendacia +which we were used to regard with admiration. The Mendacium +Wraxallianum, for example, though by no means to be despised, +will not sustain the comparison for a moment. Seriously, we +think that M. Hippolyte Carnot is much to blame in this matter. +We can hardly suppose him to be worse read than ourselves in the +history of the Convention, a history which must interest him +deeply, not only as a Frenchman, but also as a son. He must, +therefore, be perfectly aware that many of the most important +statements which these volumes contain are falsehoods, such as +Corneille's Dorante, or Moliere's Scapin, or Colin d'Harleville's +Monsieur de Crac would have been ashamed to utter. We are far, +indeed, from holding M. Hippolyte Carnot answerable for Barere's +want of veracity; but M. Hippolyte Carnot has arranged these +Memoirs, has introduced them to the world by a laudatory preface, +has described them as documents of great historical value, and +has illustrated them by notes. We cannot but think that, by +acting thus, he contracted some obligations of which he does not +seem to have been at all aware; and that he ought not to have +suffered any monstrous fiction to go forth under the sanction of +his name, without adding a line at the foot of the page for the +purpose of cautioning the reader. + +We will content ourselves at present with pointing out two +instances of Barere's wilful and deliberate mendacity; namely, +his account of the death of Marie Antoinette, and his account of +the death of the Girondists. His account of the death of Marie +Antoinette is as follows:--"Robespierre in his turn proposed that +the members of the Capet family should be banished, and that +Marie Antoinette should be brought to trial before the +Revolutionary Tribunal. He would have been better employed in +concerting military measures which might have repaired our +disasters in Belgium, and might have arrested the progress of the +enemies of the Revolution in the west."--(Volume ii. page 312.) + +Now, it is notorious that Marie Antoinette was sent before the +Revolutionary Tribunal, not at Robespierre's instance, but in +direct opposition to Robespierre's wishes. We will cite a single +authority, which is quite decisive. Bonaparte, who had no +conceivable motive to disguise the truth, who had the best +opportunities of knowing the truth, and who, after his marriage +with the Archduchess, naturally felt an interest in the fate of +his wife's kinswomen, distinctly affirmed that Robespierre +opposed the trying of the Queen. (O'Meara's "Voice from St +Helena", ii. 170.) Who, then, was the person who really did +propose that the Capet family should be banished, and that Marie +Antoinette should be tried? Full information will be found in +the "Moniteur". ("Moniteur", 2d, 7th and 9th of August, 1793.) +From that valuable record it appears that, on the first of August +1793, an orator, deputed by the Committee of Public Safety, +addressed the Convention in a long and elaborate discourse. He +asked, in passionate language, how it happened that the enemies +of the Republic still continued to hope for success. "Is it," he +cried, "because we have too long forgotten the crimes of the +Austrian woman? Is it because we have shown so strange an +indulgence to the race of our ancient tyrants? It is time that +this unwise apathy should cease; it is time to extirpate from the +soil of the Republic the last roots of royalty. As for the +children of Louis the conspirator, they are hostages for the +Republic. The charge of their maintenance shall be reduced to +what is necessary for the food and keep of two individuals. The +public treasure shall no longer be lavished on creatures who have +too long been considered as privileged. But behind them lurks a +woman who has been the cause of all the disasters of France, and +whose share in every project adverse to the revolution has long +been known. National justice claims its rights over her. It is +to the tribunal appointed for the trial of conspirators that she +ought to be sent. It is only by striking the Austrian woman that +you can make Francis and George, Charles and William, sensible of +the crimes which their ministers and their armies have +committed." The speaker concluded by moving that Marie +Antoinette should be brought to judgment, and should, for that +end, be forthwith transferred to the Conciergerie; and that all +the members of the house of Capet, with the exception of those +who were under the sword of the law, and of the two children of +Louis, should be banished from the French territory. The motion +was carried without debate. + +Now, who was the person who made this speech and this motion? It +was Barere himself. It is clear, then, that Barere attributed +his own mean insolence and barbarity to one who, whatever his +crimes may have been, was in this matter innocent. The only +question remaining is, whether Barere was misled by his memory, +or wrote a deliberate falsehood. + +We are convinced that he wrote a deliberate falsehood. His +memory is described by his editors as remarkably good, and must +have been bad indeed if he could not remember such a fact as +this. It is true that the number of murders in which he +subsequently bore a part was so great that he might well confound +one with another, that he might well forget what part of the +daily hecatomb was consigned to death by himself, and what part +by his colleagues. But two circumstances make it quite +incredible that the share which he took in the death of Marie +Antoinette should have escaped his recollection. She was one of +his earliest victims. She was one of his most illustrious +victims. The most hardened assassin remembers the first time +that he shed blood; and the widow of Louis was no ordinary +sufferer. If the question had been about some milliner, +butchered for hiding in her garret her brother who had let drop a +word against the Jacobin Club--if the question had been about +some old nun, dragged to death for having mumbled what were +called fanatical words over her beads--Barere's memory might well +have deceived him. It would be as unreasonable to expect him to +remember all the wretches whom he slew as all the pinches of +snuff that he took. But, though Barere murdered many hundreds of +human beings, he murdered only one Queen. That he, a small +country lawyer, who, a few years before, would have thought +himself honoured by a glance or a word from the daughter of so +many Caesars, should call her the Austrian woman, should send her +from jail to jail, should deliver her over to the executioner, +was surely a great event in his life. Whether he had reason to +be proud of it or ashamed of it, is a question on which we may +perhaps differ from his editors; but they will admit, we think, +that he could not have forgotten it. + +We, therefore, confidently charge Barere with having written a +deliberate falsehood; and we have no hesitation in saying that we +never, in the course of any historical researches that we have +happened to make, fell in with a falsehood so audacious, except +only the falsehood which we are about to expose. + +Of the proceeding against the Girondists, Barere speaks with just +severity. He calls it an atrocious injustice perpetrated against +the legislators of the republic. He complains that distinguished +deputies, who ought to have been readmitted to their seats in the +Convention, were sent to the scaffold as conspirators. The day, +he exclaims, was a day of mourning for France. It mutilated the +national representation; it weakened the sacred principle, that +the delegates of the people were inviolable. He protests that he +had no share in the guilt. "I have had," he says, "the patience +to go through the 'Moniteur', extracting all the charges brought +against deputies, and all the decrees for arresting and +impeaching deputies. Nowhere will you find my name. I never +brought a charge against any of my colleagues, or made a report +against any, or drew up an impeachment against any." (Volume ii. +407.) + +Now, we affirm that this is a lie. We affirm that Barere himself +took the lead in the proceedings of the Convention against the +Girondists. We affirm that he, on the twenty-eighth of July +1793, proposed a decree for bringing nine Girondist deputies to +trial, and for putting to death sixteen other Girondist deputies +without any trial at all. We affirm that, when the accused +deputies had been brought to trial, and when some apprehension +arose that their eloquence might produce an effect even on the +Revolutionary Tribunal, Barere did, on the 8th of Brumaire, +second a motion for a decree authorising the tribunal to decide +without hearing out the defence; and, for the truth of every one +of these things so affirmed by us, we appeal to the very +"Moniteur" to which Barere has dared to appeal. ("Moniteur", +31st of July 1793, and Nonidi, first Decade of Brumaire, in the +year 2(?).) + +What M. Hippolyte Carnot, knowing, as he must know, that this +book contains such falsehoods as those which we have exposed, can +have meant, when he described it as a valuable addition to our +stock of historical information, passes our comprehension. When +a man is not ashamed to tell lies about events which took place +before hundreds of witnesses, and which are recorded in well- +known and accessible books, what credit can we give to his +account of things done in corners? No historian who does not +wish to be laughed at will ever cite the unsupported authority of +Barere as sufficient to prove any fact whatever. The only thing, +as far as we can see, on which these volumes throw any light, is +the exceeding baseness of the author. + +So much for the veracity of the Memoirs. In a literary point of +view, they are beneath criticism. They are as shallow, flippant, +and affected, as Barere's oratory in the Convention. They are +also, what his oratory in the Convention was not, utterly +insipid. In fact, they are the mere dregs and rinsings of a +bottle of which even the first froth was but of very questionable +flavour. + +We will now try to present our readers with a sketch of this +man's life. We shall, of course, make very sparing use indeed of +his own Memoirs; and never without distrust, except where they +are confirmed by other evidence. + +Bertrand Barere was born in the year 1755, at Tarbes in Gascony. +His father was the proprietor of a small estate at Vieuzac, in +the beautiful vale of Argeles. Bertrand always loved to be +called Barere de Vieuzac, and flattered himself with the hope +that, by the help of this feudal addition to his name, he might +pass for a gentleman. He was educated for the bar at Toulouse, +the seat of one of the most celebrated parliaments of the +kingdom, practised as an advocate with considerable success, and +wrote some small pieces, which he sent to the principal literary +societies in the south of France. Among provincial towns, +Toulouse seems to have been remarkably rich in indifferent +versifiers and critics. It gloried especially in one venerable +institution, called the Academy of the Floral Games. This body +held every year a grand meeting which was a subject of intense +interest to the whole city, and at which flowers of gold and +silver were given as prizes for odes, for idyls, and for +something that was called eloquence. These bounties produced of +course the ordinary effect of bounties, and turned people who +might have been thriving attorneys and useful apothecaries into +small wits and bad poets. Barere does not appear to have been so +lucky as to obtain any of these precious flowers; but one of his +performances was mentioned with honour. At Montauban he was more +fortunate. The academy of that town bestowed on him several +prizes, one for a panegyric on Louis the Twelfth, in which the +blessings of monarchy and the loyalty of the French nation were +set forth; and another for a panegyric on poor Franc de +Pompignan, in which, as may easily be supposed, the philosophy of +the eighteenth century was sharply assailed. Then Barere found +an old stone inscribed with three Latin words, and wrote a +dissertation upon it, which procured him a seat in a learned +Assembly, called the Toulouse Academy of Sciences, Inscriptions, +and Polite Literature. At length the doors of the Academy of the +Floral Games were opened to so much merit. Barere, in his +thirty-third year, took his seat as one of that illustrious +brotherhood, and made an inaugural oration which was greatly +admired. He apologises for recounting these triumphs of his +youthful genius. We own that we cannot blame him for dwelling +long on the least disgraceful portion of his existence. To send +in declamations for prizes offered by provincial academies is +indeed no very useful or dignified employment for a bearded man; +but it would have been well if Barere had always been so +employed. + +In 1785 he married a young lady of considerable fortune. Whether +she was in other respects qualified to make a home happy, is a +point respecting which we are imperfectly informed. In a little +work, entitled "Melancholy Pages", which was written in 1797, +Barere avers that his marriage was one of mere convenience, that +at the altar his heart was heavy with sorrowful forebodings, that +he turned pale as he pronounced the solemn "Yes," that unbidden +tears rolled down his cheeks, that his mother shared his +presentiment, and that the evil omen was accomplished. "My +marriage," he says, "was one of the most unhappy of marriages." +So romantic a tale, told by so noted a liar, did not command our +belief. We were, therefore, not much surprised to discover that, +in his Memoirs, he calls his wife a most amiable woman, and +declares that, after he had been united to her six years, he +found her as amiable as ever. He complains, indeed, that she was +too much attached to royalty and to the old superstition; but he +assures us that his respect for her virtues induced him to +tolerate her prejudices. Now Barere, at the time of his +marriage, was himself a Royalist and a Catholic. He had gained +one prize by flattering the Throne, and another by defending the +Church. It is hardly possible, therefore, that disputes about +politics or religion should have embittered his domestic life +till some time after he became a husband. Our own guess is, that +his wife was, as he says, a virtuous and amiable woman, and that +she did her best to make him happy during some years. It seems +clear that, when circumstances developed the latent atrocity of +his character, she could no longer endure him, refused to see +him, and sent back his letters unopened. Then it was, we +imagine, that he invented the fable about his distress on his +wedding day. + +In 1788 Barere paid his first visit to Paris, attended reviews, +heard Laharpe at the Lycaeum, and Condorcet at the Academy of +Sciences, stared at the envoys of Tippoo Sahib, saw the Royal +Family dine at Versailles, and kept a journal in which he noted +down adventures and speculations. Some parts of this journal are +printed in the first volume of the work before us, and are +certainly most characteristic. The worst vices of the writer had +not yet shown themselves; but the weakness which was the parent +of those vices appears in every line. His levity, his +inconsistency, his servility, were already what they were to the +last. All his opinions, all his feelings, spin round and round +like a weathercock in a whirlwind. Nay, the very impressions +which he receives through his senses are not the same two days +together. He sees Louis the Sixteenth, and is so much blinded by +loyalty as to find his Majesty handsome. "I fixed my eyes," he +says, "with a lively curiosity on his fine countenance, which I +thought open and noble." The next time that the king appears all +is altered. His Majesty's eyes are without the smallest +expression; he has a vulgar laugh which seems like idiocy, an +ignoble figure, an awkward gait, and the look of a big boy ill +brought up. It is the same with more important questions. +Barere is for the parliaments on the Monday and against the +parliaments on the Tuesday, for feudality in the morning and +against feudality in the afternoon. One day he admires the +English constitution; then he shudders to think that, in the +struggles by which that constitution had been obtained, the +barbarous islanders had murdered a king, and gives the preference +to the constitution of Bearn. Bearn, he says, has a sublime +constitution, a beautiful constitution. There the nobility and +clergy meet in one house, and the Commons in another. If the +houses differ, the King has the casting vote. A few weeks later +we find him raving against the principles of this sublime and +beautiful constitution. To admit deputies of the nobility and +clergy into the legislature is, he says, neither more nor less +than to admit enemies of the nation into the legislature. + +In this state of mind, without one settled purpose or opinion, +the slave of the last word, royalist, aristocrat, democrat, +according to the prevailing sentiment of the coffee-house or +drawing-room into which he had just looked, did Barere enter into +public life. The States-General had been summoned. Barere went +down to his own province, was there elected one of the +representatives of the Third Estate, and returned to Paris in May +1789. + +A great crisis, often predicted, had at last arrived. In no +country, we conceive, have intellectual freedom and political +servitude existed together so long as in France, during the +seventy or eighty years which preceded the last convocation of +the Orders. Ancient abuses and new theories flourished in equal +vigour side by side. The people, having no constitutional means +of checking even the most flagitious misgovernment, were +indemnified for oppression by being suffered to luxuriate in +anarchical speculation, and to deny or ridicule every principle +on which the institutions of the State reposed. Neither those +who attribute the downfall of the old French institutions to the +public grievances, nor those who attribute it to the doctrines of +the philosophers, appear to us to have taken into their view more +than one half of the subject. Grievances as heavy have often +been endured without producing a revolution; doctrines as bold +have often been propounded without producing a revolution. The +question, whether the French nation was alienated from its old +polity by the follies and vices of the Viziers and Sultanas who +pillaged and disgraced it, or by the writings of Voltaire and +Rousseau, seems to us as idle as the question whether it was fire +or gunpowder that blew up the mills at Hounslow. Neither cause +would have sufficed alone. Tyranny may last through ages where +discussion is suppressed. Discussion may safely be left free by +rulers who act on popular principles. But combine a press like +that of London with a government like that of St Petersburg; and +the inevitable effect will be an explosion that will shake the +world. So it was in France. Despotism and License, mingling in +unblessed union, engendered that mighty Revolution in which the +lineaments of both parents were strangely blended. The long +gestation was accomplished; and Europe saw, with mixed hope and +terror, that agonising travail and that portentous birth. + +Among the crowd of legislators which at this conjuncture poured +from all the provinces of France into Paris, Barere made no +contemptible figure. The opinions which he for the moment +professed were popular, yet not extreme. His character was fair; +his personal advantages are said to have been considerable; and, +from the portrait which is prefixed to these Memoirs, and which +represents him as he appeared in the Convention, we would judge +that his features must have been strikingly handsome, though we +think that we can read in them cowardice and meanness very +legibly written by the hand of God. His conversation was lively +and easy; his manners remarkably good for a country lawyer. +Women of rank and wit said that he was the only man who, on his +first arrival from a remote province, had that indescribable air +which it was supposed that Paris alone could give. His +eloquence, indeed, was by no means so much admired in the capital +as it had been by the ingenious academicians of Montauban and +Toulouse. His style was thought very bad; and very bad, if a +foreigner may venture to judge, it continued to the last. It +would, however, be unjust to deny that he had some talents for +speaking and writing. His rhetoric, though deformed by every +imaginable fault of taste, from bombast down to buffoonery, was +not wholly without force and vivacity. He had also one quality +which, in active life, often gives fourth-rate men an advantage +over first-rate men. Whatever he could do, he could do without +effort, at any moment, in any abundance, and on any side of any +question. There was, indeed, a perfect harmony between his moral +character and his intellectual character. His temper was that of +a slave; his abilities were exactly those which qualified him to +be a useful slave. Of thinking to purpose, he was utterly +incapable; but he had wonderful readiness in arranging and +expressing thoughts furnished by others. + +In the National Assembly he had no opportunity of displaying the +full extent either of his talents or of his vices. He was indeed +eclipsed by much abler men. He went, as was his habit, with the +stream, spoke occasionally with some success, and edited a +journal called the "Point du Jour", in which the debates of the +Assembly were reported. + +He at first ranked by no means among the violent reformers. He +was not friendly to that new division of the French territory +which was among the most important changes introduced by the +Revolution, and was especially unwilling to see his native +province dismembered. He was entrusted with the task of framing +Reports on the Woods and Forests. Louis was exceedingly anxious +about this matter; for his majesty was a keen sportsman, and +would much rather have gone without the Veto, or the prerogative +of making peace and war, than without his hunting and shooting. +Gentlemen of the royal household were sent to Barere, in order to +intercede for the deer and pheasants. Nor was this intercession +unsuccessful. The reports were so drawn that Barere was +afterwards accused of having dishonestly sacrificed the interests +of the public to the tastes of the court. To one of these +reports he had the inconceivable folly and bad taste to prefix a +punning motto from Virgil, fit only for such essays as he had +been in the habit of composing for the Floral Games-- + +"Si canimus sylvas, sylvae sint Consule dignae." + +This literary foppery was one of the few things in which he was +consistent. Royalist or Girondist, Jacobin or Imperialist, he +was always a Trissotin. + +As the monarchical party became weaker and weaker, Barere +gradually estranged himself more and more from it, and drew +closer and closer to the republicans. It would seem that, during +this transition, he was for a time closely connected with the +family of Orleans. It is certain that he was entrusted with the +guardianship of the celebrated Pamela, afterwards Lady Edward +Fitzgerald; and it was asserted that he received during some +years a pension of twelve thousand francs from the Palais Royal. + +At the end of September 1791, the labours of the National +Assembly terminated, and those of the first and last Legislative +Assembly commenced. + +It had been enacted that no member of the National Assembly +should sit in the Legislative Assembly; a preposterous and +mischievous regulation, to which the disasters which followed +must in part be ascribed. In England, what would be thought of a +Parliament which did not contain one single person who had ever +sat in parliament before? Yet it may safely be affirmed that the +number of Englishmen who, never having taken any share in public +affairs, are yet well qualified, by knowledge and observation, to +be members of the legislature is at least a hundred times as +great as the number of Frenchmen who were so qualified in 1791. +How, indeed, should it have been otherwise? In England, +centuries of representative government have made all educated +people in some measure statesmen. In France the National +Assembly had probably been composed of as good materials as were +then to be found. It had undoubtedly removed a vast mass of +abuses; some of its members had read and thought much about +theories of government; and others had shown great oratorical +talents. But that kind of skill which is required for the +constructing, launching, and steering of a polity was lamentably +wanting; for it is a kind of skill to which practice contributes +more than books. Books are indeed useful to the politician, as +they are useful to the navigator and to the surgeon. But the +real navigator is formed on the waves; the real surgeon is formed +at bedsides; and the conflicts of free states are the real school +of constitutional statesmen. The National Assembly had, however, +now served an apprenticeship of two laborious and eventful years. +It had, indeed, by no means finished its education; but it was no +longer, as on the day when it met, altogether rude to political +functions. Its later proceedings contain abundant proof that the +members had profited by their experience. Beyond all doubt there +was not in France any equal number of persons possessing in an +equal degree the qualities necessary for the judicious direction +of public affairs; and, just at this moment, these legislators, +misled by a childish wish to display their own disinterestedness, +deserted the duties which they had half learned, and which nobody +else had learned at all, and left their hall to a second crowd of +novices, who had still to master the first rudiments of political +business. When Barere wrote his Memoirs, the absurdity of this +self-denying ordinance had been proved by events, and was, we +believe, acknowledged by all parties. He accordingly, with his +usual mendacity, speaks of it in terms implying that he had +opposed it. There was, he tells us, no good citizen who did not +regret this fatal vote. Nay, all wise men, he says, wished the +National Assembly to continue its sittings as the first +Legislative Assembly. But no attention was paid to the wishes of +the enlightened friends of liberty; and the generous but fatal +suicide was perpetrated. Now the fact is, that Barere, far from +opposing this ill-advised measure, was one of those who most +eagerly supported it; that he described it from the tribune as +wise and magnanimous; that he assigned, as his reasons for taking +this view, some of those phrases in which orators of his class +delight, and which, on all men who have the smallest insight into +politics, produce an effect very similar to that of ipecacuanha. +"Those," he said, "who have framed a constitution for their +country are, so to speak, out of the pale of that social state of +which they are the authors; for creative power is not in the same +sphere with that which it has created." + +M. Hippolyte Carnot has noticed this untruth, and attributes it +to mere forgetfulness. We leave it to him to reconcile his very +charitable supposition with what he elsewhere says of the +remarkable excellence of Barere's memory. + +Many members of the National Assembly were indemnified for the +sacrifice of legislative power by appointments in various +departments of the public service. Of these fortunate persons +Barere was one. A high Court of Appeal had just been instituted. +This court was to sit at Paris: but its jurisdiction was to +extend over the whole realm; and the departments were to choose +the judges. Barere was nominated by the department of the Upper +Pyrenees, and took his seat in the Palace of Justice. He +asserts, and our readers may, if they choose, believe, that it +was about this time in contemplation to make him Minister of the +Interior, and that in order to avoid so grave a responsibility, +he obtained permission to pay a visit to his native place. It is +certain that he left Paris early in the year 1792, and passed +some months in the south of France. + +In the mean time, it became clear that the constitution of 1791 +would not work. It was, indeed, not to be expected that a +constitution new both in its principles and its details would at +first work easily. Had the chief magistrate enjoyed the entire +confidence of the people, had he performed his part with the +utmost zeal, fidelity, and ability--had the representative body +included all the wisest statesmen of France, the difficulties +might still have been found insuperable. But, in fact, the +experiment was made under every disadvantage. The King, very +naturally, hated the constitution. In the Legislative Assembly +were men of genius and men of good intentions, but not a single +man of experience. Nevertheless, if France had been suffered to +settle her own affairs without foreign interference, it is +possible that the calamities which followed might have been +averted. The King, who, with many good qualities, was sluggish +and sensual, might have found compensation for his lost +prerogatives in his immense civil list, in his palaces and +hunting grounds, in soups, Perigord pies, and champagne. The +people, finding themselves secure in the enjoyment of the +valuable reforms which the National Assembly had, in the midst of +all its errors, effected, would not have been easily excited by +demagogues to acts of atrocity; or, if acts of atrocity had been +committed, those acts would probably have produced a speedy and +violent reaction. Had tolerable quiet been preserved during a +few years, the constitution of 1791 might perhaps have taken +root, might have gradually acquired the strength which time alone +can give, and might, with some modifications which were +undoubtedly needed, have lasted down to the present time. The +European coalition against the Revolution extinguished all hope +of such a result. The deposition of Louis was, in our opinion, +the necessary consequence of that coalition. The question was +now no longer, whether the King should have an absolute Veto or a +suspensive Veto, whether there should be one chamber or two +chambers, whether the members of the representative body should +be re-eligible or not; but whether France should belong to the +French. The independence of the nation, the integrity of the +territory, were at stake; and we must say plainly that we +cordially approve of the conduct of those Frenchmen who, at that +conjuncture, resolved, like our own Blake, to play the men for +their country, under whatever form of government their country +might fall. + +It seems to us clear that the war with the Continental coalition +was, on the side of France, at first a defensive war, and +therefore a just war. It was not a war for small objects, or +against despicable enemies. On the event were staked all the +dearest interests of the French people. Foremost among the +threatening powers appeared two great and martial monarchies, +either of which, situated as France then was, might be regarded +as a formidable assailant. It is evident that, under such +circumstances, the French could not, without extreme imprudence, +entrust the supreme administration of their affairs to any person +whose attachment to the national cause admitted of doubt. Now, +it is no reproach to the memory of Louis to say that he was not +attached to the national cause. Had he been so, he would have +been something more than man. He had held absolute power, not by +usurpation, but by the accident of birth, and by the ancient +polity of the kingdom. That power he had, on the whole, used +with lenity. He had meant well by his people. He had been +willing to make to them, of his own mere motion, concessions such +as scarcely any other sovereign has ever made except under +duress. He had paid the penalty of faults not his own, of the +haughtiness and ambition of some of his predecessors, of the +dissoluteness and baseness of others. He had been vanquished, +taken captive, led in triumph, put in ward. He had escaped; he +had been caught; he had been dragged back like a runaway galley- +slave to the oar. He was still a state prisoner. His quiet was +broken by daily affronts and lampoons. Accustomed from the +cradle to be treated with profound reverence, he was now forced +to command his feelings, while men who, a few months before, had +been hackney writers or country attorneys, sat in his presence +with covered heads, and addressed him in the easy tone of +equality. Conscious of fair intentions, sensible of hard usage, +he doubtless detested the Revolution; and, while charged with the +conduct of the war against the confederates, pined in secret for +the sight of the German eagles and the sound of the German drums. +We do not blame him for this. But can we blame those who, being +resolved to defend the work of the National Assembly against the +interference of strangers, were not disposed to have him at their +head in the fearful struggle which was approaching? We have +nothing to say in defence or extenuation of the insolence, +injustice, and cruelty with which, after the victory of the +republicans, he and his family were treated. But this we say, +that the French had only one alternative, to deprive him of the +powers of first magistrate, or to ground their arms and submit +patiently to foreign dictation. The events of the tenth of +August sprang inevitably from the league of Pilnitz. The King's +palace was stormed; his guards were slaughtered. He was +suspended from his regal functions; and the Legislative Assembly +invited the nation to elect an extraordinary Convention, with the +full powers which the conjuncture required. To this Convention +the members of the National Assembly were eligible; and Barere +was chosen by his own department. + +The Convention met on the 21st of September 1792. The first +proceedings were unanimous. Royalty was abolished by +acclamation. No objections were made to this great change; and +no reasons were assigned for it. For certainly we cannot honour +with the name of reasons such apophthegms, as that kings are in +the moral world what monsters are in the physical world; and that +the history of kings is the martyrology of nations. But, though +the discussion was worthy only of a debating club of schoolboys, +the resolution to which the Convention came seems to have been +that which sound policy dictated. In saying this, we do not mean +to express an opinion that a republic is, either in the abstract +the best form of government, or is, under ordinary circumstances, +the form of government best suited to the French people. Our own +opinion is, that the best governments which have ever existed in +the world have been limited monarchies; and that France, in +particular, has never enjoyed so much prosperity and freedom as +under a limited monarchy. Nevertheless, we approve of the vote +of the Convention which abolished kingly government. The +interference of foreign powers had brought on a crisis which made +extraordinary measures necessary. Hereditary monarchy may be, +and we believe that it is, a very useful institution in a country +like France. And masts are very useful parts of a ship. But, if +the ship is on her beam-ends, it may be necessary to cut the +masts away. When once she has righted, she may come safe into +port under jury rigging, and there be completely repaired. But, +in the meantime, she must be hacked with unsparing hand, lest +that which, under ordinary circumstances, is an essential part of +her fabric should, in her extreme distress, sink her to the +bottom. Even so there are political emergencies in which it is +necessary that governments should be mutilated of their fair +proportions for a time, lest they be cast away forever; and with +such an emergency the Convention had to deal. The first object +of a good Frenchman should have been to save France from the fate +of Poland. The first requisite of a government was entire +devotion to the national cause. That requisite was wanting in +Louis; and such a want, at such a moment, could not be supplied +by any public or private virtues. If the king were set aside, +the abolition of kingship necessarily followed. In the state in +which the public mind then was, it would have been idle to think +of doing what our ancestors did in 1688, and what the French +Chamber of Deputies did in 1830. Such an attempt would have +failed amidst universal derision and execration. It would have +disgusted all zealous men of all opinions; and there were then +few men who were not zealous. Parties fatigued by long conflict, +and instructed by the severe discipline of that school in which +alone mankind will learn, are disposed to listen to the voice of +a mediator. But when they are in their first heady youth, devoid +of experience, fresh for exertion, flushed with hope, burning +with animosity, they agree only in spurning out of their way the +daysman who strives to take his stand between them and to lay his +hand upon them both. Such was in 1792 the state of France. On +one side was the great name of the heir of Hugh Capet, the +thirty-third king of the third race; on the other side was the +great name of the republic. There was no rallying point save +these two. It was necessary to make a choice; and those, in our +opinion, judged well who, waving for the moment all subordinate +questions, preferred independence to subjugation, and the natal +soil to the emigrant camp. + +As to the abolition of royalty, and as to the vigorous +prosecution of the war, the whole Convention seemed to be united +as one man. But a deep and broad gulf separated the +representative body into two great parties. + +On one side were those statesmen who are called, from the name of +the department which some of them represented, the Girondists, +and, from the name of one of their most conspicuous leaders, the +Brissotines. In activity and practical ability, Brissot and +Gensonne were the most conspicuous among them. In parliamentary +eloquence, no Frenchman of that time can be considered as equal +to Vergniaud. In a foreign country, and after the lapse of half +a century, some parts of his speeches are still read with +mournful admiration. No man, we are inclined to believe, ever +rose so rapidly to such a height of oratorical excellence. His +whole public life lasted barely two years. This is a +circumstance which distinguishes him from our own greatest +speakers, Fox, Burke, Pitt, Sheridan, Windham, Canning. Which of +these celebrated men would now be remembered as an orator, if he +had died two years after he first took his seat in the House of +Commons? Condorcet brought to the Girondist party a different +kind of strength. The public regarded him with justice as an +eminent mathematician, and, with less reason, as a great master +of ethical and political science; the philosophers considered him +as their chief, as the rightful heir, by intellectual descent and +by solemn adoption, of their deceased sovereign D'Alembert. In +the same ranks were found Guadet, Isnard, Barbaroux, Buzot, +Louvet, too well known as the author of a very ingenious and very +licentious romance, and more honourably distinguished by the +generosity with which he pleaded for the unfortunate, and by the +intrepidity with which he defied the wicked and powerful. Two +persons whose talents were not brilliant, but who enjoyed a high +reputation for probity and public spirit, Petion and Roland, lent +the whole weight of their names to the Girondist connection. The +wife of Roland brought to the deliberations of her husband's +friends masculine courage and force of thought, tempered by +womanly grace and vivacity. Nor was the splendour of a great +military reputation wanting to this celebrated party. Dumourier, +then victorious over the foreign invaders, and at the height of +popular favour, must be reckoned among the allies of the Gironde. + +The errors of the Brissotines were undoubtedly neither few nor +small; but, when we fairly compare their conduct with the conduct +of any other party which acted or suffered during the French +Revolution, we are forced to admit their superiority in every +quality except that single quality which in such times prevails +over every other, decision. They were zealous for the great +social reform which had been effected by the National Assembly; +and they were right. For, though that reform was, in some +respects, carried too far, it was a blessing well worth even the +fearful price which has been paid for it. They were resolved to +maintain the independence of their country against foreign +invaders; and they were right. For the heaviest of all yokes is +the yoke of the stranger. They thought that, if Louis remained +at their head, they could not carry on with the requisite energy +the conflict against the European coalition. They therefore +concurred in establishing a republican government; and here, +again, they were right. For, in that struggle for life and +death, it would have been madness to trust a hostile or even a +half hearted leader. + +Thus far they went along with the revolutionary movement. At +this point they stopped; and, in our judgment, they were right in +stopping, as they had been right in moving. For great ends, and +under extraordinary circumstances, they had concurred in measures +which, together with much good, had necessarily produced much +evil; which had unsettled the public mind; which had taken away +from government the sanction of prescription; which had loosened +the very foundations of property and law. They thought that it +was now their duty to prop what it had recently been their duty +to batter. They loved liberty, but liberty associated with +order, with justice, with mercy, and with civilisation. They +were republicans; but they were desirous to adorn their republic +with all that had given grace and dignity to the fallen monarchy. +They hoped that the humanity, the courtesy, the taste, which had +done much in old times to mitigate the slavery of France, would +now lend additional charms to her freedom. They saw with horror +crimes exceeding in atrocity those which had disgraced the +infuriated religious factions of the sixteenth century, +perpetrated in the name of reason and philanthropy. They +demanded, with eloquent vehemence, that the authors of the +lawless massacre, which, just before the meeting of the +Convention, had been committed in the prisons of Paris, should be +brought to condign punishment. They treated with just contempt +the pleas which have been set up for that great crime. They +admitted that the public danger was pressing; but they denied +that it justified a violation of those principles of morality on +which all society rests. The independence and honour of France +were indeed to be vindicated, but to be vindicated by triumphs +and not by murders. + +Opposed to the Girondists was a party which, having been long +execrated throughout the civilised world, has of late--such is +the ebb and flow of opinion--found not only apologists, but even +eulogists. We are not disposed to deny that some members of the +Mountain were sincere and public spirited men. But even the best +of them, Carnot, for example, and Cambon, were far too +unscrupulous as to the means which they employed for the purpose +of attaining great ends. In the train of these enthusiasts +followed a crowd, composed of all who, from sensual, sordid, or +malignant motives, wished for a period of boundless license. + +When the Convention met, the majority were with the Girondists, +and Barere was with the majority. On the King's trial, indeed, +he quitted the party with which he ordinarily acted, voted with +the Mountain, and spoke against the prisoner with a violence such +as few members even of the Mountain showed. + +The conduct of the leading Girondists on that occasion was little +to their honour. Of cruelty, indeed, we fully acquit them; but +it is impossible to acquit them of criminal irresolution and +disingenuousness. They were far, indeed, from thirsting for the +blood of Louis: on the contrary, they were most desirous to +protect him. But they were afraid that, if they went straight +forward to their object, the sincerity of their attachment to +republican institutions would be suspected. They wished to save +the King's life, and yet to obtain all the credit of having been +regicides. Accordingly, they traced out for themselves a crooked +course, by which they hoped to attain both their objects. They +first voted the King guilty. They then voted for referring the +question respecting his fate to the whole body of the people. +Defeated in this attempt to rescue him, they reluctantly, and +with ill-suppressed shame and concern, voted for the capital +sentence. Then they made a last attempt in his favour, and voted +for respiting the execution. These zigzag politics produced the +effect which any man conversant with public affairs might have +foreseen. The Girondists, instead of attaining both their ends, +failed of both. The Mountain justly charged them with having +attempted to save the King by underhand means. Their own +consciences told them, with equal justice, that their hands had +been dipped in the blood of the most inoffensive and most +unfortunate of men. The direct path was here, as usual, the path +not only of honour, but of safety. The principle on which the +Girondists stood as a party was, that the season for +revolutionary violence was over, and that the reign of law and +order ought now to commence. But the proceeding against the King +was clearly revolutionary in its nature. It was not in +conformity with the laws. The only plea for it was, that all +ordinary rules of jurisprudence and morality were suspended by +the extreme public danger. This was the very plea which the +Mountain urged in defence of the massacre of September, and to +which, when so urged, the Girondists refused to listen. They +therefore, by voting for the death of the King, conceded to the +Mountain the chief point at issue between the two parties. Had +they given a manful vote against the capital sentence, the +regicides would have been in a minority. It is probable that +there would have been an immediate appeal to force. The +Girondists might have been victorious. In the worst event, they +would have fallen with unblemished honour. Thus much is certain, +that their boldness and honesty could not possibly have produced +a worse effect than was actually produced by their timidity and +their stratagems. + +Barere, as we have said, sided with the Mountain on this +occasion. He voted against the appeal to the people and against +the respite. His demeanour and his language also were widely +different from those of the Girondists. Their hearts were heavy, +and their deportment was that of men oppressed by sorrow. It was +Vergniaud's duty to proclaim the result of the roll-call. His +face was pale, and he trembled with emotion, as in a low and +broken voice he announced that Louis was condemned to death. +Barere had not, it is true, yet attained to full perfection in +the art of mingling jests and conceits with words of death; but +he already gave promise of his future excellence in this high +department of Jacobin oratory. He concluded his speech with a +sentence worthy of his head and heart. "The tree of liberty," he +said, "as an ancient author remarks, flourishes when it is +watered with the blood of all classes of tyrants." M. Hippolyte +Carnot has quoted this passage in order, as we suppose, to do +honour to his hero. We wish that a note had been added to inform +us from what ancient author Barere quoted. In the course of our +own small reading among the Greek and Latin writers, we have not +happened to fall in with trees of liberty and watering-pots full +of blood; nor can we, such is our ignorance of classical +antiquity, even imagine an Attic or Roman orator employing +imagery of that sort. In plain words, when Barere talked about +an ancient author, he was lying, as he generally was when he +asserted any fact, great or small. Why he lied on this occasion +we cannot guess, unless indeed it was to keep his hand in. + +It is not improbable that, but for the one circumstance, Barere +would, like most of those with whom he ordinarily acted, have +voted for the appeal to the people and for the respite. But, +just before the commencement of the trial, papers had been +discovered which proved that, while a member of the National +Assembly, he had been in communication with the Court respecting +his Reports on the Woods and Forests. He was acquitted of all +criminality by the Convention; but the fiercer Republicans +considered him as a tool of the fallen monarch; and this reproach +was long repeated in the journal of Marat, and in the speeches at +the Jacobin club. It was natural that a man like Barere should, +under such circumstances, try to distinguish himself among the +crowd of regicides by peculiar ferocity. It was because he had +been a royalist that he was one of the foremost in shedding +blood. + +The King was no more. The leading Girondists had, by their +conduct towards him, lowered their character in the eyes both of +friends and foes. They still, however, maintained the contest +against the Mountain, called for vengeance on the assassins of +September, and protested against the anarchical and sanguinary +doctrines of Marat. For a time they seemed likely to prevail. +As publicists and orators, they had no rivals in the Convention. +They had with them, beyond all doubt, the great majority both of +the deputies and of the French nation. These advantages, it +should seem, ought to have decided the event of the struggle. +But the opposite party had compensating advantages of a different +kind. The chiefs of the Mountain, though not eminently +distinguished by eloquence or knowledge, had great audacity, +activity, and determination. The Convention and France were +against them; but the mob of Paris, the clubs of Paris, and the +municipal government of Paris, were on their side. + +The policy of the Jacobins, in this situation, was to subject +France to an aristocracy infinitely worse than that aristocracy +which had emigrated with the count of Artois--to an aristocracy +not of birth, not of wealth, not of education, but of mere +locality. They would not hear of privileged orders; but they +wished to have a privileged city. That twenty-five millions of +Frenchmen should be ruled by a hundred thousand gentlemen and +clergymen was insufferable; but that twenty-five millions of +Frenchmen should be ruled by a hundred thousand Parisians was as +it should be. The qualification of a member of the new oligarchy +was simply that he should live near the hall where the Convention +met, and should be able to squeeze himself daily into the gallery +during a debate, and now and then to attend with a pike for the +purpose of blockading the doors. It was quite agreeable to the +maxims of the Mountain that a score of draymen from Santerre's +brewery, or of devils from Hebert's printing-house, should be +permitted to drown the voices of men commissioned to speak the +sense of such cities as Marseilles, Bordeaux, and Lyons; and that +a rabble of half-naked porters from the Faubourg St Antoine +should have power to annul decrees for which the representatives +of fifty or sixty departments had voted. It was necessary to +find some pretext for so odious and absurd a tyranny. Such a +pretext was found. To the old phrases of liberty and equality +were added the sonorous watchwords, unity and indivisability. A +new crime was invented, and called by the name of federalism. +The object of the Girondists, it was asserted, was to break up +the great nation into little independent commonwealths, bound +together only by a league like that which connects the Swiss +Cantons or the United States of America. The great obstacle in +the way of this pernicious design was the influence of Paris. To +strengthen the influence of Paris ought therefore to be the chief +object of every patriot. + +The accusation brought against the leaders of the Girondist party +was a mere calumny. They were undoubtedly desirous to prevent +the capital from domineering over the republic, and would gladly +have seen the Convention removed for a time to some provincial +town, or placed under the protection of a trusty guard, which +might have overawed the Parisian mob; but there is not the +slightest reason to suspect them of any design against the unity +of the state. Barere, however, really was a federalist, and, we +are inclined to believe, the only federalist in the Convention. +As far as a man so unstable and servile can be said to have felt +any preference for any form of government, he felt a preference +for federal government. He was born under the Pyrenees; he was a +Gascon of the Gascons, one of a people strongly distinguished by +intellectual and moral character, by manners, by modes of speech, +by accent, and by physiognomy, from the French of the Seine and +of the Loire; and he had many of the peculiarities of the race to +which he belonged. When he first left his own province he had +attained his thirty-fourth year, and had acquired a high local +reputation for eloquence and literature. He had then visited +Paris for the first time. He had found himself in a new world. +His feelings were those of a banished man. It is clear also that +he had been by no means without his share of the small +disappointments and humiliations so often experienced by men of +letters who, elated by provincial applause, venture to display +their powers before the fastidious critics of a capital. On the +other hand, whenever he revisited the mountains among which he +had been born, he found himself an object of general admiration. +His dislike of Paris, and his partiality to his native district, +were therefore as strong and durable as any sentiments of a mind +like his could be. He long continued to maintain that the +ascendency of one great city was the bane of France; that the +superiority of taste and intelligence which it was the fashion to +ascribe to the inhabitants of that city were wholly imaginary; +and that the nation would never enjoy a really good government +till the Alsatian people, the Breton people, the people of Bearn, +the people of Provence, should have each an independent +existence, and laws suited to its own tastes and habits. These +communities he proposed to unite by a tie similar to that which +binds together the grave Puritans of Connecticut and the +dissolute slave-drivers of New Orleans. To Paris he was +unwilling to grant even the rank which Washington holds in the +United States. He thought it desirable that the congress of the +French federation should have no fixed place of meeting, but +should sit sometimes at Rouen, sometimes at Bordeaux, sometimes +at his own Toulouse. + +Animated by such feelings, he was, till the close of May 1793, a +Girondist, if not an ultra-Girondist. He exclaimed against those +impure and bloodthirsty men who wished to make the public danger +a pretext for cruelty and rapine. "Peril," he said, "could be no +excuse for crime. It is when the wind blows hard, and the waves +run high, that the anchor is most needed; it is when a revolution +is raging, that the great laws of morality are most necessary to +the safety of a state." Of Marat he spoke with abhorrence and +contempt; of the municipal authorities of Paris with just +severity. He loudly complained that there were Frenchmen who +paid to the Mountain that homage which was due to the Convention +alone. When the establishment of the Revolutionary Tribunal was +first proposed, he joined himself to Vergniaud and Buzot, who +strongly objected to that odious measure. "It cannot be," +exclaimed Barere, "that men really attached to liberty will +imitate the most frightful excesses of despotism!" He proved to +the Convention, after his fashion, out of Sallust, that such +arbitrary courts may indeed, for a time, be severe only on real +criminals, but must inevitably degenerate into instruments of +private cupidity and revenge. When, on the tenth of March, the +worst part of the population of Paris made the first unsuccessful +attempt to destroy the Girondists, Barere eagerly called for +vigorous measures of repression and punishment. On the second of +April, another attempt of the Jacobins of Paris to usurp supreme +dominion over the republic was brought to the knowledge of the +Convention; and again Barere spoke with warmth against the new +tyranny which afflicted France, and declared that the people of +the departments would never crouch beneath the tyranny of one +ambitious city. He even proposed a resolution to the effect that +the Convention would exert against the demagogues of the capital +the same energy which had been exerted against the tyrant Louis. +We are assured that, in private as in public, he at this time +uniformly spoke with strong aversion of the Mountain. + +His apparent zeal for the cause of humanity and order had its +reward. Early in April came the tidings of Dumourier's +defection. This was a heavy blow to the Girondists. Dumourier +was their general. His victories had thrown a lustre on the +whole party; his army, it had been hoped, would, in the worst +event, protect the deputies of the nation against the ragged +pikemen of the garrets of Paris. He was now a deserter and an +exile; and those who had lately placed their chief reliance on +his support were compelled to join with their deadliest enemies +in execrating his treason. At this perilous conjuncture, it was +resolved to appoint a Committee of Public Safety, and to arm that +committee with powers, small indeed when compared with those +which it afterwards drew to itself, but still great and +formidable. The moderate party, regarding Barere as a +representative of their feelings and opinions, elected him a +member. In his new situation he soon began to make himself +useful. He brought to the deliberations of the Committee, not +indeed the knowledge or the ability of a great statesman, but a +tongue and a pen which, if others would only supply ideas, never +paused for want of words. His mind was a mere organ of +communication between other minds. It originated nothing; it +retained nothing; but it transmitted everything. The post +assigned to him by his colleagues was not really of the highest +importance; but it was prominent, and drew the attention of all +Europe. When a great measure was to be brought forward, when an +account was to be rendered of an important event, he was +generally the mouthpiece of the administration. He was therefore +not unnaturally considered, by persons who lived at a distance +from the seat of government, and above all by foreigners, who, +while the war raged, knew France only from journals, as the head +of that administration of which, in truth, he was only the +secretary and the spokesman. The author of the History of +Europe, in our own Annual Registers, appears to have been +completely under this delusion. + +The conflict between the hostile parties was meanwhile fast +approaching to a crisis. The temper of Paris grew daily fiercer +and fiercer. Delegates appointed by thirty-five of the forty- +eight wards of the city appeared at the bar of the Convention, +and demanded that Vergniaud, Brissot, Guadet, Gensonne, +Barbaroux, Buzot, Petion, Louvet, and many other deputies, should +be expelled. This demand was disapproved by at least three- +fourths of the Assembly, and, when known in the departments, +called forth a general cry of indignation. Bordeaux declared +that it would stand by its representatives, and would, if +necessary, defend them by the sword against the tyranny of Paris. +Lyons and Marseilles were animated by a similar spirit. These +manifestations of public opinion gave courage to the majority of +the Convention. Thanks were voted to the people of Bordeaux for +their patriotic declaration; and a commission consisting of +twelve members was appointed for the purpose of investigating the +conduct of the municipal authorities of Paris, and was empowered +to place under arrest such persons as should appear to have been +concerned in any plot against the authority of the Convention. +This measure was adopted on the motion of Barere. + +A few days of stormy excitement and profound anxiety followed; +and then came the crash. On the thirty-first of May the mob of +Paris rose; the palace of the Tuileries was besieged by a vast +array of pikes; the majority of the deputies, after vain +struggles and remonstrances, yielded to violence, and suffered +the Mountain to carry a decree for the suspension and arrest of +the deputies whom the wards of the capital had accused. + +During this contest, Barere had been tossed backwards and +forwards between the two raging factions. His feelings, languid +and unsteady as they always were, drew him to the Girondists; but +he was awed by the vigour and determination of the Mountain. At +one moment he held high and firm language, complained that the +Convention was not free, and protested against the validity of +any vote passed under coercion. At another moment he proposed to +conciliate the Parisians by abolishing that commission of twelve +which he had himself proposed only a few days before; and himself +drew up a paper condemning the very measures which had been +adopted at his own instance, and eulogising the public spirit of +the insurgents. To do him justice, it was not without some +symptoms of shame that he read his document from the tribune, +where he had so often expressed very different sentiments. It is +said that, at some passages, he was even seen to blush. It may +have been so; he was still in his novitiate of infamy. + +Some days later he proposed that hostages for the personal safety +of the accused deputies should be sent to the departments, and +offered to be himself one of those hostages. Nor do we in the +least doubt that the offer was sincere. He would, we firmly +believe, have thought himself far safer at Bordeaux or Marseilles +than at Paris. His proposition, however, was not carried into +effect; and he remained in the power of the victorious Mountain. + +This was the great crisis of his life. Hitherto he had done +nothing inexpiable, nothing which marked him out as a much worse +man than most of his colleagues in the Convention. His voice had +generally been on the side of moderate measures. Had he bravely +cast in his lot with the Girondists, and suffered with them, he +would, like them, have had a not dishonourable place in history. +Had he, like the great body of deputies who meant well, but who +had not the courage to expose themselves to martyrdom, crouched +quietly under the dominion of the triumphant minority, and +suffered every motion of Robespierre and Billaud to pass +unopposed, he would have incurred no peculiar ignominy. But it +is probable that this course was not open to him. He had been +too prominent among the adversaries of the Mountain to be +admitted to quarter without making some atonement. It was +necessary that, if he hoped to find pardon from his new lords, he +should not be merely a silent and passive slave. What passed in +private between him and them cannot be accurately related; but +the result was soon apparent. The Committee of Public Safety was +renewed. Several of the fiercest of the dominant faction, +Couthon for example, and Saint Just, were substituted for more +moderate politicians; but Barere was suffered to retain his seat +at the Board. + +The indulgence with which he was treated excited the murmurs of +some stern and ardent zealots. Marat, in the very last words +that he wrote, words not published till the dagger of Charlotte +Corday had avenged France and mankind, complained that a man who +had no principles, who was always on the side of the strongest, +who had been a royalist, and who was ready, in case of a turn of +fortune, to be a royalist again, should be entrusted with an +important share in the administration. (See the "Publiciste" of +the 14th July, 1793. Marat was stabbed on the evening of the +13th.) But the chiefs of the Mountain judged more correctly. +They knew, indeed, as well as Marat, that Barere was a man +utterly without faith or steadiness; that, if he could be said to +have any political leaning, his leaning was not towards them; +that he felt for the Girondist party that faint and wavering sort +of preference of which alone his nature was susceptible; and +that, if he had been at liberty to make his choice, he would +rather have murdered Robespierre and Danton than Vergniaud and +Gensonne. But they justly appreciated that levity which made him +incapable alike of earnest love and of earnest hatred, and that +meanness which made it necessary to him to have a master. In +truth, what the planters of Carolina and Louisiana say of black +men with flat noses and woolly hair was strictly true of Barere. +The curse of Canaan was upon him. He was born a slave. Baseness +was an instinct in him. The impulse which drove him from a party +in adversity to a party in prosperity was as irresistible as that +which drives the cuckoo and the swallow towards the sun when the +dark and cold months are approaching. The law which doomed him +to be the humble attendant of stronger spirits resembled the law +which binds the pilot fish to the shark. "Ken ye," said a shrewd +Scotch lord, who was asked his opinion of James the First--"Ken +ye a John Ape? If I have Jacko by the collar, I can make him +bite you; but, if you have Jacko, you can make him bite me." +Just such a creature was Barere. In the hands of the Girondists +he would have been eager to proscribe the Jacobins; he was just +as ready, in the gripe of the Jacobins, to proscribe the +Girondists. On the fidelity of such a man the heads of the +Mountain could not, of course, reckon; but they valued their +conquest as the very easy and not very delicate lover in +Congreve's lively song valued the conquest of a prostitute of a +different kind. Barere was, like Chloe, false and common; but he +was, like Chloe, constant while possessed; and they asked no +more. They needed a service which he was perfectly competent to +perform. Destitute as he was of all the talents both of an +active and of a speculative statesman, he could with great +facility draw up a report, or make a speech on any subject and on +any side. If other people would furnish facts and thoughts, he +could always furnish phrases; and this talent was absolutely at +the command of his owners for the time being. Nor had he excited +any angry passion among those to whom he had hitherto been +opposed. They felt no more hatred to him than they felt to the +horses which dragged the cannon of the Duke of Brunswick and of +the Prince of Saxe-Coburg. The horses had only done according to +their kind, and would, if they fell into the hands of the French, +drag with equal vigour and equal docility the guns of the +republic, and therefore ought not merely to be spared, but to be +well fed and curried. So was it with Barere. He was of a nature +so low, that it might be doubted whether he could properly be an +object of the hostility of reasonable beings. He had not been an +enemy; he was not now a friend. But he had been an annoyance; +and he would now be a help. + +But, though the heads of the Mountain pardoned this man, and +admitted him into partnership with themselves, it was not without +exacting pledges such as made it impossible for him, false and +fickle as he was, ever again to find admission into the ranks +which he had deserted. That was truly a terrible sacrament by +which they admitted the apostate into their communion. They +demanded of him that he should himself take the most prominent +part in murdering his old friends. To refuse was as much as his +life was worth. But what is life worth when it is only one long +agony of remorse and shame? These, however, are feelings of +which it is idle to talk, when we are considering the conduct of +such a man as Barere. He undertook the task, mounted the +tribune, and told the Convention that the time was come for +taking the stern attitude of justice, and for striking at all +conspirators without distinction. He then moved that Buzot, +Barbaroux, Petion, and thirteen other deputies, should be placed +out of the pale of the law, or, in other words, beheaded without +a trial; and that Vergniaud, Guadet, Gensonne, and six others, +should be impeached. The motion was carried without debate. + +We have already seen with what effrontery Barere has denied, in +these Memoirs, that he took any part against the Girondists. +This denial, we think, was the only thing wanting to make his +infamy complete. The most impudent of all lies was a fit +companion for the foulest of all murders. + +Barere, however, had not yet earned his pardon. The Jacobin +party contained one gang which, even in that party, was pre- +eminent in every mean and every savage vice; a gang so low-minded +and so inhuman that, compared with them, Robespierre might be +called magnanimous and merciful. Of these wretches Hebert was +perhaps the best representative. His favourite amusement was to +torment and insult the miserable remains of that great family +which, having ruled France during eight hundred years, had now +become an object of pity to the humblest artisan or peasant. The +influence of this man, and of men like him, induced the Committee +of Public Safety to determine that Marie Antoinette should be +sent to the scaffold. Barere was again summoned to his duty. +Only four days after he had proposed the decrees against the +Girondist deputies he again mounted the tribune, in order to move +that the Queen should be brought before the Revolutionary +Tribunal. He was improving fast in the society of his new +allies. When he asked for the heads of Vergniaud and Petion he +had spoken like a man who had some slight sense of his own guilt +and degradation: he had said little; and that little had not +been violent. The office of expatiating on the guilt of his old +friends he had left to Saint Just. Very different was Barere's +second appearance in the character of an accuser. He now cried +out for blood in the eager tones of the true and burning thirst, +and raved against the Austrian woman with the virulence natural +to a coward who finds himself at liberty to outrage that which he +has feared and envied. We have already exposed the shameless +mendacity with which, in these Memoirs, he attempts to throw the +blame of his own guilt on the guiltless. + +On the day on which the fallen Queen was dragged, already more +than half dead, to her doom, Barere regaled Robespierre and some +other Jacobins at a tavern. Robespierre's acceptance of the +invitation caused some surprise to those who knew how long and +how bitterly it was his nature to hate. "Robespierre of the +party!" muttered Saint Just. "Barere is the only man whom +Robespierre has forgiven." We have an account of this singular +repast from one of the guests. Robespierre condemned the +senseless brutality with which Hebert had conducted the +proceedings against the Austrian woman, and, in talking on that +subject, became so much excited that he broke his plate in the +violence of his gesticulation. Barere exclaimed that the +guillotine had cut a diplomatic knot which it might have been +difficult to untie. In the intervals between the Beaune and the +Champagne, between the ragout of thrushes and the partridge with +truffles, he fervently preached his new political creed. "The +vessel of the revolution," he said, "can float into port only on +waves of blood. We must begin with the members of the National +Assembly and of the Legislative Assembly. That rubbish must be +swept away." + +As he talked at table he talked in the Convention. His peculiar +style of oratory was now formed. It was not altogether without +ingenuity and liveliness. But in any other age or country it +would have been thought unfit for the deliberations of a grave +assembly, and still more unfit for state papers. It might, +perhaps, succeed at a meeting of a Protestant Association in +Exeter Hall, at a Repeal dinner in Ireland, after men had well +drunk, or in an American oration on the fourth of July. No +legislative body would now endure it. But in France, during the +reign of the Convention, the old laws of composition were held in +as much contempt as the old government or the old creed. Correct +and noble diction belonged, like the etiquette of Versailles and +the solemnities of Notre Dame, to an age which had passed away. +Just as a swarm of ephemeral constitutions, democratic, +directorial, and consular, sprang from the decay of the ancient +monarchy; just as a swarm of new superstitions, the worship of +the Goddess of Reason, and the fooleries of the Theo- +philanthropists, sprang from the decay of the ancient Church; +even so, out of the decay of the ancient French eloquence sprang +new fashions of eloquence, for the understanding of which new +grammars and dictionaries were necessary. The same innovating +spirit which altered the common phrases of salutation, which +turned hundreds of Johns and Peters into Scaevolas and +Aristogitons, and which expelled Sunday and Monday, January and +February, Lady-day and Christmas, from the calendar, in order to +substitute Decadi and Primidi, Nivose and Pluviose, Feasts of +Opinion and Feasts of the Supreme Being, changed all the forms of +official correspondence. For the calm, guarded, and sternly +courteous language which governments had long been accustomed to +employ, were substituted puns, interjections, Ossianic rants, +rhetoric worthy only of a schoolboy, scurrility worthy only of a +fishwife. Of the phraseology which was now thought to be +peculiarly well suited to a report or a manifesto Barere had a +greater command than any man of his time, and, during the short +and sharp paroxysm of the revolutionary delirium, passed for a +great orator. When the fit was over, he was considered as what +he really was, a man of quick apprehension and fluent elocution, +with no originality, with little information, and with a taste as +bad as his heart. His Reports were popularly called Carmagnoles. +A few months ago we should have had some difficulty in conveying +to an English reader an exact notion of the state papers to which +this appellation was given. Fortunately a noble and +distinguished person, whom her Majesty's Ministers have thought +qualified to fill the most important post in the empire, has made +our task easy. Whoever has read Lord Ellenborough's +proclamations is able to form a complete idea of a Carmagnole. + +The effect which Barere's discourses at one time produced is not +to be wholly attributed to the perversion of the national taste. +The occasions on which he rose were frequently such as would have +secured to the worst speaker a favourable hearing. When any +military advantage had been gained, he was generally deputed by +the Committee of Public Safety to announce the good news. The +hall resounded with applause as he mounted the tribune, holding +the despatches in his hand. Deputies and strangers listened with +delight while he told them that victory was the order of the day; +that the guineas of Pitt had been vainly lavished to hire +machines six feet high, carrying guns; that the flight of the +English leopard deserved to be celebrated by Tyrtaeus; and that +the saltpetre dug out of the cellars of Paris had been turned +into thunder, which would crush the Titan brethren, George and +Francis. + +Meanwhile the trial of the accused Girondists, who were under +arrest in Paris, came on. They flattered themselves with a vain +hope of escape. They placed some reliance on their innocence, +and some reliance on their eloquence. They thought that shame +would suffice to restrain any man, however violent and cruel, +from publicly committing the flagrant iniquity of condemning them +to death. The Revolutionary Tribunal was new to its functions. +No member of the Convention had yet been executed; and it was +probable that the boldest Jacobin would shrink from being the +first to violate the sanctity which was supposed to belong to the +representatives of the people. + +The proceedings lasted some days. Gensonne and Brissot defended +themselves with great ability and presence of mind against the +vile Hebert and Chaumette, who appeared as accusers. The +eloquent voice of Vergniaud was heard for the last time. He +pleaded his own cause and that of his friends, with such force of +reason and elevation of sentiment that a murmur of pity and +admiration rose from the audience. Nay, the court itself, not +yet accustomed to riot in daily carnage, showed signs of emotion. +The sitting was adjourned; and a rumour went forth that there +would be an acquittal. The Jacobins met, breathing vengeance. +Robespierre undertook to be their organ. He rose on the +following day in the Convention, and proposed a decree of such +atrocity that even among the acts of that year it can hardly be +paralleled. By this decree the tribunal was empowered to cut +short the defence of the prisoners, to pronounce the case clear, +and to pass immediate judgment. One deputy made a faint +opposition. Barere instantly sprang up to support Robespierre-- +Barere, the federalist; Barere, the author of that Commission of +Twelve which was among the chief causes of the hatred borne by +Paris to the Girondists; Barere, who in these Memoirs denies that +he ever took any part against the Girondists; Barere, who has the +effrontery to declare that he greatly loved and esteemed +Vergniaud. The decree was passed; and the tribunal, without +suffering the prisoners to conclude what they had to say, +pronounced them guilty. + +The following day was the saddest in the sad history of the +Revolution. The sufferers were so innocent, so brave, so +eloquent, so accomplished, so young. Some of them were graceful +and handsome youths of six or seven and twenty. Vergniaud and +Gensonne were little more than thirty. They had been only a few +months engaged in public affairs. In a few months the fame of +their genius had filled Europe; and they were to die for no crime +but this, that they had wished to combine order, justice, and +mercy with freedom. Their great fault was want of courage. We +mean want of political courage--of that courage which is proof to +clamour and obloquy, and which meets great emergencies by daring +and decisive measures. Alas! they had but too good an +opportunity of proving that they did not want courage to endure +with manly cheerfulness the worst that could be inflicted by such +tyrants as Saint Just, and such slaves as Barere. + +They were not the only victims of the noble cause. Madame Roland +followed them to the scaffold with a spirit as heroic as their +own. Her husband was in a safe hiding-place, but could not bear +to survive her. His body was found on the high road near Rouen. +He had fallen on his sword. Condorcet swallowed opium. At +Bordeaux the steel fell on the necks of the bold and quick-witted +Guadet and of Barbaroux, the chief of those enthusiasts from the +Rhone whose valour, in the great crisis of the tenth of August, +had turned back the tide of battle from the Louvre to the +Tuileries. In a field near the Garonne was found all that the +wolves had left of Petion, once honoured, greatly indeed beyond +his deserts, as the model of republican virtue. We are far from +regarding even the best of the Girondists with unmixed +admiration; but history owes to them this honourable testimony, +that, being free to choose whether they would be oppressors or +victims, they deliberately and firmly resolved rather to suffer +injustice than to inflict it. + +And now began that strange period known by the name of the Reign +of Terror. The Jacobins had prevailed. This was their hour, and +the power of darkness. The Convention was subjugated and reduced +to profound silence on the highest questions of state. The +sovereignty passed to the Committee of Public Safety. To the +edicts framed by that Committee the representative assembly did +not venture to offer even the species of opposition which the +ancient parliament had frequently offered to the mandates of the +ancient kings. Six persons held the chief power in the small +cabinet which now domineered over France--Robespierre, Saint +Just, Couthon, Collot, Billaud, and Barere. + +To some of these men, and of those who adhered to them, it is due +to say that the fanaticism which had emancipated them from the +restraints of justice and compassion had emancipated them also +from the dominion of vulgar cupidity and of vulgar fear; that, +while hardly knowing where to find an assignat of a few francs to +pay for a dinner, they expended with strict integrity the immense +revenue which they collected by every art of rapine; and that +they were ready, in support of their cause, to mount the scaffold +with as much indifference as they showed when they signed the +death-warrants of aristocrats and priests. But no great party +can be composed of such materials as these. It is the inevitable +law that such zealots as we have described shall collect around +them a multitude of slaves, of cowards, and of libertines, whose +savage tempers and licentious appetites, withheld only by the +dread of law and magistracy from the worst excesses, are called +into full activity by the hope of immunity. A faction which, +from whatever motive, relaxes the great laws of morality is +certain to be joined by the most immoral part of the community. +This has been repeatedly proved in religious wars. The war of +the Holy Sepulchre, the Albigensian war, the Huguenot war, the +Thirty Years' war, all originated in pious zeal. That zeal +inflamed the champions of the Church to such a point that they +regarded all generosity to the vanquished as a sinful weakness. +The infidel, the heretic, was to be run down like a mad dog. No +outrage committed by the Catholic warrior on the miscreant enemy +could deserve punishment. As soon as it was known that boundless +license was thus given to barbarity and dissoluteness, thousands +of wretches who cared nothing for the sacred cause, but who were +eager to be exempted from the police of peaceful cities, and the +discipline of well-governed camps, flocked to the standard of the +faith. The men who had set up that statute were sincere, chaste, +regardless of lucre, and perhaps, where only themselves were +concerned, not unforgiving; but round that standard were +assembled such gangs of rogues, ravishers, plunderers, and +ferocious bravoes, as were scarcely ever found under the flag of +any state engaged in a mere temporal quarrel. In a very similar +way was the Jacobin party composed. There was a small nucleus of +enthusiasts; round that nucleus was gathered a vast mass of +ignoble depravity; and in all that mass there was nothing so +depraved and so ignoble as Barere. + +Then came those days when the most barbarous of all codes was +administered by the most barbarous of all tribunals; when no man +could greet his neighbours, or say his prayers, or dress his +hair, without danger of committing a capital crime; when spies +lurked in every corner; when the guillotine was long and hard at +work every morning; when the jails were filled as close as the +hold of a slave-ship; when the gutters ran foaming with blood +into the Seine; when it was death to be great-niece of a captain +of the royal guards, or half-brother of a doctor of the Sorbonne, +to express a doubt whether assignats would not fall, to hint that +the English had been victorious in the action of the first of +June, to have a copy of one of Burke's pamphlets locked up in a +desk, to laugh at a Jacobin for taking the name of Cassius or +Timoleon, or to call the Fifth Sansculottide by its old +superstitious name of St Matthew's Day. While the daily waggon- +loads of victims were carried to their doom through the streets +of Paris, the Proconsuls whom the sovereign Committee had sent +forth to the departments revelled in an extravagance of cruelty +unknown even in the capital. The knife of the deadly machine +rose and fell too slow for their work of slaughter. Long rows of +captives were mowed down with grapeshot. Holes were made in the +bottom of crowded barges. Lyons was turned into a desert. At +Arras even the cruel mercy of a speedy death was denied to the +prisoners. All down the Loire, from Saumur to the sea, great +flocks of crows and kites feasted on naked corpses, twined +together in hideous embraces. No mercy was shown to sex or age. +The number of young lads and of girls of seventeen who were +murdered by that execrable government is to be reckoned by +hundreds. Babies torn from the breast were tossed from pike to +pike along the Jacobin ranks. One champion of liberty had his +pockets well stuffed with ears. Another swaggered about with the +finger of a little child in his hat. A few months had sufficed +to degrade France below the level of New Zealand. + +It is absurd to say that any amount of public danger can justify +a system like this, we do not say on Christian principles, we do +not say on the principles of a high morality, but even on +principles of Machiavellian policy. It is true that great +emergencies call for activity and vigilance; it is true that they +justify severity which, in ordinary times, would deserve the name +of cruelty. But indiscriminate severity can never, under any +circumstances, be useful. It is plain that the whole efficacy of +punishment depends on the care with which the guilty are +distinguished. Punishment which strikes the guilty and the +innocent promiscuously, operates merely like a pestilence or a +great convulsion of nature, and has no more tendency to prevent +offences than the cholera, or an earthquake like that of Lisbon, +would have. The energy for which the Jacobin administration is +praised was merely the energy of the Malay who maddens himself +with opium, draws his knife, and runs amuck through the streets, +slashing right and left at friends and foes. Such has never been +the energy of truly great rulers; of Elizabeth, for example, of +Oliver, or of Frederick. They were not, indeed, scrupulous. +But, had they been less scrupulous than they were, the strength +and amplitude of their minds would have preserved them from +crimes such as those which the small men of the Committee of +Public Safety took for daring strokes of policy. The great Queen +who so long held her own against foreign and domestic enemies, +against temporal and spiritual arms; the great Protector who +governed with more than regal power, in despite both of royalists +and republicans; the great King who, with a beaten army and an +exhausted treasury, defended his little dominions to the last +against the united efforts of Russia, Austria, and France; with +what scorn would they have heard that it was impossible for them +to strike a salutary terror into the disaffected without sending +school-boys and school-girls to death by cart-loads and boat- +loads! + +The popular notion is, we believe, that the leading Terrorists +were wicked men, but, at the same time, great men. We can see +nothing great about them but their wickedness. That their policy +was daringly original is a vulgar error. Their policy is as old +as the oldest accounts which we have of human misgovernment. It +seemed new in France and in the eighteenth century only because +it had been long disused, for excellent reasons, by the +enlightened part of mankind. But it has always prevailed, and +still prevails, in savage and half-savage nations, and is the +chief cause which prevents such nations from making advances +towards civilisation. Thousands of deys, of beys, of pachas, of +rajahs, of nabobs, have shown themselves as great masters of +statecraft as the members of the Committee of Public Safety. +Djezzar, we imagine, was superior to any of them in their new +line. In fact, there is not a petty tyrant in Asia or Africa so +dull or so unlearned as not to be fully qualified for the +business of Jacobin police and Jacobin finance. To behead people +by scores without caring whether they are guilty or innocent; to +wring money out of the rich by the help of jailers and +executioners; to rob the public creditor, and to put him to death +if he remonstrates; to take loaves by force out of the bakers' +shops; to clothe and mount soldiers by seizing on one man's wool +and linen, and on another man's horses and saddles, without +compensation; is of all modes of governing the simplest and most +obvious. Of its morality we at present say nothing. But surely +it requires no capacity beyond that of a barbarian or a child. +By means like those which we have described, the Committee of +Public Safety undoubtedly succeeded, for a short time, in +enforcing profound submission, and in raising immense funds. But +to en force submission by butchery, and to raise funds by +spoliation, is not statesmanship. The real statesman is he who, +in troubled times, keeps down the turbulent without unnecessarily +harrassing the well-affected; and who, when great pecuniary +resources are needed, provides for the public exigencies without +violating the security of property and drying up the sources of +future prosperity. Such a statesman, we are confident, might, in +1793, have preserved the independence of France without shedding +a drop of innocent blood, without plundering a single warehouse. +Unhappily, the Republic was subject to men who were mere +demagogues and in no sense statesmen. They could declaim at a +club. They could lead a rabble to mischief. But they had no +skill to conduct the affairs of an empire. The want of skill +they supplied for a time by atrocity and blind violence. For +legislative ability, fiscal ability, military ability, diplomatic +ability, they had one substitute, the guillotine. Indeed their +exceeding ignorance, and the barrenness of their invention, are +the best excuse for their murders and robberies. We really +believe that they would not have cut so many throats, and picked +so many pockets, if they had known how to govern in any other +way. + +That under their administration the war against the European +Coalition was successfully conducted is true. But that war had +been successfully conducted before their elevation, and continued +to be successfully conducted after their fall. Terror was not +the order of the day when Brussels opened its gates to Dumourier. +Terror had ceased to be the order of the day when Piedmont and +Lombardy were conquered by Bonaparte. The truth is, that France +was saved, not by the Committee of Public Safety, but by the +energy, patriotism, and valour of the French people. Those high +qualities were victorious in spite of the incapacity of rulers +whose administration was a tissue, not merely of crimes, but of +blunders. + +We have not time to tell how the leaders of the savage faction at +length began to avenge mankind on each other: how the craven +Hebert was dragged wailing and trembling to his doom; how the +nobler Danton, moved by a late repentance, strove in vain to +repair the evil which he had wrought, and half redeemed the great +crime of September by man fully encountering death in the cause +of mercy. + +Our business is with Barere. In all those things he was not only +consenting, but eagerly and joyously forward. Not merely was he +one of the guilty administration. He was the man to whom was +especially assigned the office of proposing and defending +outrages on justice and humanity, and of furnishing to atrocious +schemes an appropriate garb of atrocious rodomontade. Barere +first proclaimed from the tribune of the Convention that terror +must be the order of the day. It was by Barere that the +Revolutionary Tribunal of Paris was provided with the aid of a +public accuser worthy of such a court, the infamous Fouquier +Tinville. It was Barere who, when one of the old members of the +National Assembly had been absolved by the Revolutionary +Tribunal, gave orders that a fresh jury should be summoned. +"Acquit one of the National Assembly!" he cried. "The Tribunal +is turning against the Revolution." It is unnecessary to say +that the prisoner's head was soon in the basket. It was Barere +who moved that the city of Lyons should be destroyed. "Let the +plough," he cried from the tribune, "pass over her. Let her name +cease to exist. The rebels are conquered; but are they all +exterminated? No weakness. No mercy. Let every one be smitten. +Two words will suffice to tell the whole. Lyons made war on +liberty; Lyons is no more." When Toulon was taken Barere came +forward to announce the event. "The conquest," said the apostate +Brissotine, "won by the Mountain over the Brissotines must be +commemorated by a mark set on the place where Toulon once stood. +The national thunder must crush the house of every trader in the +town. When Camille Desmoulins, long distinguished among the +republicans by zeal and ability, dared to raise his eloquent +voice against the Reign of Terror, and to point out the close +analogy between the government which then oppressed France and +the government of the worst of the Caesars, Barere rose to +complain of the weak compassion which tried to revive the hopes +of the aristocracy. "Whoever," he said, "is nobly born is a man +to be suspected. Every priest, every frequenter of the old +court, every lawyer, every banker, is a man to be suspected. +Every person who grumbles at the course which the Revolution +takes is a man to be suspected. There are whole castes already +tried and condemned. There are callings which carry their doom +with them. There are relations of blood which the law regards +with an evil eye. Republicans of France!" yelled the renegade +Girondist, the old enemy of the Mountain--"Republicans of France! +the Brissotines led you by gentle means to slavery. The Mountain +leads you by strong measures to freedom. Oh! who can count the +evils which a false compassion may produce?" When the friends of +Danton mustered courage to express a wish that the Convention +would at least hear him in his own defence before it sent him to +certain death, the voice of Barere was the loudest in opposition +to their prayer. When the crimes of Lebon, one of the worst, if +not the very worst, of the viceregents of the Committee of Public +Safety, had so maddened the people of the Department of the North +that they resorted to the desperate expedient of imploring the +protection of the Convention, Barere pleaded the cause of the +accused tyrant, and threatened the petitioners with the utmost +vengeance of the government. "These charges," he said, "have +been suggested by wily aristocrats. The man who crushes the +enemies of the people, though he may be hurried by his zeal into +some excesses, can never be a proper object of censure. The +proceedings of Lebon may have been a little harsh as to form." +One of the small irregularities thus gently censured was this: +Lebon kept a wretched man a quarter of an hour under the knife of +the guillotine, in order to torment him, by reading to him, +before he was despatched, a letter, the contents of which were +supposed to be such as would aggravate even the bitterness of +death. "But what," proceeded Barere, "is not permitted to the +hatred of a republican against aristocracy? How many generous +sentiments atone for what may perhaps seem acrimonious in the +prosecution of public enemies? Revolutionary measures are always +to be spoken of with respect. Liberty is a virgin whose veil it +is not lawful to lift." + +After this, it would be idle to dwell on facts which would +indeed, of themselves, suffice to render a name infamous, but +which make no perceptible addition to the great infamy of Barere. +It would be idle, for example, to relate how he, a man of +letters, a member of an Academy of Inscriptions, was foremost in +that war against learning, art, and history which disgraced the +Jacobin government; how he recommended a general conflagration of +libraries; how he proclaimed that all records of events anterior +to the Revolution ought to be destroyed; how he laid waste the +Abbey of St Denis, pulled down monuments consecrated by the +veneration of ages, and scattered on the wind the dust of ancient +kings. He was, in truth, seldom so well employed as when he +turned for a moment from making war on the living to make war on +the dead. + +Equally idle would it be to dilate on his sensual excesses. That +in Barere as in the whole breed of Neros, Caligulas, and +Domitians whom he resembled, voluptuousness was mingled with +cruelty; that he withdrew, twice in every decade, from the work +of blood, to the smiling gardens of Clichy, and there forgot +public cares in the madness of wine and in the arms of +courtesans, has often been repeated. M. Hippolyte Carnot does +not altogether deny the truth of these stories, but justly +observes that Barere's dissipation was not carried to such a +point as to interfere with his industry. Nothing can be more +true. Barere was by no means so much addicted to debauchery as +to neglect the work of murder. It was his boast that, even +during his hours of recreation, he cut out work for the +Revolutionary Tribunal. To those who expressed a fear that his +exertions would hurt his health, he gaily answered that he was +less busy than they thought. "The guillotine," he said, "does +all; the guillotine governs." For ourselves, we are much more +disposed to look indulgently on the pleasures which he allowed to +himself than on the pain which he inflicted on his neighbours. + +"Atque utinam his potius nugis tota illa dedisset +Tempora saevitiae, claras quibus abstulit urbi +Illustresque animas, impune ac vindice nullo." + +An immoderate appetite for sensual gratifications is undoubtedly +a blemish on the fame of Henry the Fourth, of Lord Somers, of Mr +Fox. But the vices of honest men are the virtues of Barere. + +And now Barere had become a really cruel man. It was from mere +pusillanimity that he had perpetrated his first great crimes. +But the whole history of our race proves that the taste for the +misery of others is a taste which minds not naturally ferocious +may too easily acquire, and which, when once acquired, is as +strong as any of the propensities with which we are born. A very +few months had sufficed to bring this man into a state of mind in +which images of despair, wailing, and death had an exhilarating +effect on him, and inspired him as wine and love inspire men of +free and joyous natures. The cart creaking under its daily +freight of victims, ancient men and lads, and fair young girls, +the binding of the hands, the thrusting of the head out of the +little national sash-window, the crash of the axe, the pool of +blood beneath the scaffold, the heads rolling by scores in the +panier--these things were to him what Lalage and a cask of +Falernian were to Horace, what Rosette and a bottle of iced +champagne are to De Beranger. As soon as he began to speak of +slaughter his heart seemed to be enlarged, and his fancy to +become unusually fertile of conceits and gasconades. +Robespierre, Saint Just, and Billaud, whose barbarity was the +effect of earnest and gloomy hatred, were, in his view, men who +made a toil of a pleasure. Cruelty was no such melancholy +business, to be gone about with an austere brow and a whining +tone; it was a recreation, fitly accompanied by singing and +laughing. In truth, Robespierre and Barere might be well +compared to the two renowned hangmen of Louis the Eleventh. They +were alike insensible of pity, alike bent on havoc. But, while +they murdered, one of them frowned and canted, the other grinned +and joked. For our own part, we prefer Jean qui pleure to Jean +qui rit. + +In the midst of the funeral gloom which overhung Paris, a gaiety +stranger and more ghastly than the horrors of the prison and the +scaffold distinguished the dwelling of Barere. Every morning a +crowd of suitors assembled to implore his protection. He came +forth in his rich dressing-gown, went round the antechamber, +dispensed smiles and promises among the obsequious crowd, +addressed himself with peculiar animation to every handsome woman +who appeared in the circle, and complimented her in the florid +style of Gascony on the bloom of her cheeks and the lustre of her +eyes. When he had enjoyed the fear and anxiety of his suppliants +he dismissed them, and flung all their memorials unread into the +fire. This was the best way, he conceived, to prevent arrears of +business from accumulating. Here he was only an imitator. +Cardinal Dubois had been in the habit of clearing his table of +papers in the same way. Nor was this the only point in which we +could point out a resemblance between the worst statesman of the +monarchy and the worst statesman of the republic. + +Of Barere's peculiar vein of pleasantry a notion may be formed +from an anecdote which one of his intimate associates, a juror of +the revolutionary tribunal, has related. A courtesan who bore a +conspicuous part in the orgies of Clichy implored Barere to use +his power against a head-dress which did not suit her style of +face, and which a rival beauty was trying to bring into fashion. +One of the magistrates of the capital was summoned and received +the necessary orders. Aristocracy, Barere said, was again +rearing its front. These new wigs were counter-revolutionary. +He had reason to know that they were made out of the long fair +hair of handsome aristocrats who had died by the national +chopper. Every lady who adorned herself with the relics of +criminals might justly be suspected of incivism. This ridiculous +lie imposed on the authorities of Paris. Female citizens were +solemnly warned against the obnoxious ringlets, and were left to +choose between their head-dresses and their heads. Barere's +delight at the success of this facetious fiction was quite +extravagant: he could not tell the story without going into such +convulsions of laughter as made his hearers hope that he was +about to choke. There was something peculiarly tickling and +exhilarating to his mind in this grotesque combination of the +frivolous with the horrible, of false locks and curling-irons +with spouting arteries and reeking hatchets. + +But, though Barere succeeded in earning the honourable nicknames +of the Witling of Terror, and the Anacreon of the Guillotine, +there was one place where it was long remembered to his +disadvantage that he had, for a time, talked the language of +humanity and moderation. That place was the Jacobin club. Even +after he had borne the chief part in the massacre of the +Girondists, in the murder of the Queen, in the destruction of +Lyons, he durst not show himself within that sacred precinct. At +one meeting of the society, a member complained that the +committee to which the supreme direction of affairs was +entrusted, after all the changes which had been made, still +contained one man who was not trustworthy. Robespierre, whose +influence over the Jacobins was boundless, undertook the defence +of his colleague, owned there was some ground for what had been +said, but spoke highly of Barere's industry and aptitude for +business. This seasonable interposition silenced the accuser; +but it was long before the neophyte could venture to appear at +the club. + +At length a masterpiece of wickedness, unique, we think, even +among Barere's great achievements, obtained his full pardon even +from that rigid conclave. The insupportable tyranny of the +Committee of Public Safety had at length brought the minds of +men, and even of women, into a fierce and hard temper, which +defied or welcomed death. The life which might be any morning +taken away, in consequence of the whisper of a private enemy, +seemed of little value. It was something to die after smiting +one of the oppressors; it was something to bequeath to the +surviving tyrants a terror not inferior to that which they had +themselves inspired. Human nature, hunted and worried to the +utmost, now turned furiously to bay. Fouquier Tinville was +afraid to walk the streets; a pistol was snapped at Collot +D'Herbois; a young girl, animated apparently by the spirit of +Charlotte Corday, attempted to obtain an interview with +Robespierre. Suspicions arose; she was searched; and two knives +were found about her. She was questioned, and spoke of the +Jacobin domination with resolute scorn and aversion. It is +unnecessary to say that she was sent to the guillotine. Barere +declared from the tribune that the cause of these attempts was +evident. Pitt and his guineas had done the whole. The English +Government had organised a vast system of murder, had armed the +hand of Charlotte Corday, and had now, by similar means, attacked +two of the most eminent friends of liberty in France. It is +needless to say that these imputations were, not only false, but +destitute of all show of truth. Nay, they were demonstrably +absurd: for the assassins to whom Barere referred rushed on +certain death, a sure proof that they were not hirelings. The +whole wealth of England would not have bribed any sane person to +do what Charlotte Corday did. But, when we consider her as an +enthusiast, her conduct is perfectly natural. Even those French +writers who are childish enough to believe that the English +Government contrived the infernal machine and strangled the +Emperor Paul have fully acquitted Mr Pitt of all share in the +death of Marat and in the attempt on Robespierre. Yet on +calumnies so futile as those which we have mentioned did Barere +ground a motion at which all Christendom stood aghast. He +proposed a decree that no quarter should be given to any English +or Hanoverian soldier. (M. Hippolyte Carnot does his best to +excuse this decree. His abuse of England is merely laughable. +England has managed to deal with enemies of a very different sort +from either himself or his hero. One disgraceful blunder, +however, we think it right to notice. M. Hippolyte Carnot +asserts that a motion similar to that of Barere was made in the +English Parliament by the late Lord Fitzwilliam. This assertion +is false. We defy M. Hippolyte Carnot to state the date and +terms of the motion of which he speaks. We do not accuse him of +intentional misrepresentation; but we confidently accuse him of +extreme ignorance and temerity. Our readers will be amused to +learn on what authority he has ventured to publish such a fable. +He quotes, not the journals of the Lords, not the Parliamentary +Debates, but a ranting message of the Executive Directory to the +Five Hundred, a message, too, the whole meaning of which he has +utterly misunderstood.) His Carmagnole was worthy of the +proposition with which it concluded. "That one Englishman should +be spared, that for the slaves of George, for the human machines +of York, the vocabulary of our armies should contain such a word +as generosity, this is what the National Convention cannot +endure. War to the death against every English soldier. If last +year, at Dunkirk, quarter had been refused to them when they +asked it on their knees, if our troops had exterminated them all, +instead of suffering them to infest our fortresses by their +presence, the English government would not have renewed its +attack on our frontiers this year. It is only the dead man who +never comes back. What is this moral pestilence which has +introduced into our armies false ideas of humanity? That the +English were to be treated with indulgence was the philanthropic +notion of the Brissotines; it was the patriotic practice of +Dumourier. But humanity consists in exterminating our enemies. +No mercy to the execrable Englishman. Such are the sentiments of +the true Frenchman; for he knows that he belongs to a nation +revolutionary as nature, powerful as freedom, ardent as the +saltpetre which she has just torn from the entrails of the earth. +Soldiers of liberty, when victory places Englishmen at your +mercy, strike! None of them must return to the servile soil of +Great Britain; none must pollute the free soil of France." + +The Convention, thoroughly tamed and silenced, acquiesced in +Barere's motion without debate. And now at last the doors of the +Jacobin Club were thrown open to the disciple who had surpassed +his masters. He was admitted a member by acclamation, and was +soon selected to preside. + +For a time he was not without hope that his decree would be +carried into full effect. Intelligence arrived from the seat of +war of a sharp contest between some French and English troops, in +which the Republicans had the advantage, and in which no +prisoners had been made. Such things happen occasionally in all +wars. Barere, however, attributed the ferocity of this combat to +his darling decree, and entertained the Convention with another +Carmagnole. + +"The Republicans," he said, "saw a division in red uniform at a +distance. The red-coats are attacked with the bayonet. Not one +of them escapes the blows of the Republicans. All the red-coats +have been killed. No mercy, no indulgence, has been shown +towards the villains. Not an Englishman whom the Republicans +could reach is now living. How many prisoners should you guess +that we have made? One single prisoner is the result of this +great day." + +And now this bad man's craving for blood had become insatiable. +The more he quaffed, the more he thirsted. He had begun with the +English; but soon he came down with a proposition for new +massacres. "All the troops," he said, "of the coalesced tyrants +in garrison at Conde, Valenciennes, Le Quesnoy, and Landrecies, +ought to be put to the sword unless they surrender at discretion +in twenty-four hours. The English, of course, will be admitted +to no capitulation whatever. With the English we have no treaty +but death. As to the rest, surrender at discretion in twenty- +four hours, or death, these are our conditions. If the slaves +resist, let them feel the edge of the sword." And then he waxed +facetious. "On these terms the Republic is willing to give them +a lesson in the art of war." At that jest, some hearers, worthy +of such a speaker, set up a laugh. Then he became serious again. +"Let the enemy perish," he cried, "I have already said it from +this tribune. It is only the dead man who never comes back. +Kings will not conspire against us in the grave. Armies will not +fight against us when they are annihilated. Let our war with +them be a war of extermination. What pity is due to slaves whom +the Emperor leads to war under the cane; whom the King of Prussia +beats to the shambles with the flat of the sword; and whom the +Duke of York makes drunk with rum and gin?" And at the rum and +gin the Mountain and the galleries laughed again. + +If Barere had been able to effect his purpose, it is difficult to +estimate the extent of the calamity which he would have brought +on the human race. No government, however averse to cruelty, +could, in justice to its own subjects, have given quarter to +enemies who gave none. Retaliation would have been, not merely +justifiable, but a sacred duty. It would have been necessary for +Howe and Nelson to make every French sailor whom they took walk +the plank. England has no peculiar reason to dread the +introduction of such a system. On the contrary, the operation of +Barere's new law of war would have been more unfavourable to his +countrymen than to ours; for we believe that, from the beginning +to the end of the war, there never was a time at which the number +of French prisoners in England was not greater than the number of +English prisoners in France; and so, we apprehend, it will be in +all wars while England retains her maritime superiority. Had the +murderous decree of the Convention been in force from 1794 to +1815, we are satisfied that, for every Englishman slain by the +French, at least three Frenchmen would have been put to the sword +by the English. It is, therefore, not as Englishmen, but as +members of the great society of mankind, that we speak with +indignation and horror of the change which Barere attempted to +introduce. The mere slaughter would have been the smallest part +of the evil. The butchering of a single unarmed man in cold +blood, under an act of the legislature, would have produced more +evil than the carnage of ten such fields as Albuera. Public law +would have been subverted from the foundations; national enmities +would have been inflamed to a degree of rage which happily it is +not easy for us to conceive; cordial peace would have been +impossible. The moral character of the European nations would +have been rapidly and deeply corrupted; for in all countries +those men whose calling is to put their lives in jeopardy for the +defence of the public weal enjoy high consideration, and are +considered as the best arbitrators on points of honour and manly +bearing. With the standard of morality established in the +military profession the general standard of morality must to a +great extent sink or rise. It is, therefore, a fortunate +circumstance that, during a long course of years, respect for the +weak and clemency towards the vanquished have been considered as +qualities not less essential to the accomplished soldier than +personal courage. How long would this continue to be the case, +if the slaying of prisoners were a part of the daily duty of the +warrior? What man of kind and generous nature would, under such +a system, willingly bear arms? Who, that was compelled to bear +arms, would long continue kind and generous? And is it not +certain that, if barbarity towards the helpless became the +characteristic of military men, the taint must rapidly spread to +civil and to domestic life, and must show itself in all the +dealings of the strong with the weak, of husbands with wives, of +employers with work men, of creditors with debtors? + +But, thank God, Barere's decree was a mere dead letter. It was +to be executed by men very different from those who, in the +interior of France, were the instruments of the Committee of +Public Safety, who prated at Jacobin Clubs, and ran to Fouquier +Tinville with charges of incivism against women whom they could +not seduce, and bankers from whom they could not extort money. +The warriors who, under Hoche, had guarded the walls of Dunkirk, +and who, under Kleber, had made good the defence of the wood of +Monceaux, shrank with horror from an office more degrading than +that of the hangman. "The Convention," said an officer to his +men, "has sent orders that all the English prisoners shall be +shot." "We will not shoot them" answered a stout-hearted +sergeant. "Send them to the Convention. If the deputies take +pleasure in killing a prisoner, they may kill him themselves, and +eat him too, like savages as they are." This was the sentiment +of the whole army. Bonaparte, who thoroughly understood war, who +at Jaffa and elsewhere gave ample proof that he was not unwilling +to strain the laws of war to their utmost rigour, and whose +hatred of England amounted to a folly, always spoke of Barere's +decree with loathing, and boasted that the army had refused to +obey the Convention. + +Such disobedience on the part of any other class of citizens +would have been instantly punished by wholesale massacre; but the +Committee of Public Safety was aware that the discipline which +had tamed the unwarlike population of the fields and cities might +not answer in camps. To fling people by scores out of a boat, +and, when they catch hold of it, to chop off their fingers with a +hatchet, is undoubtedly a very agreeable pastime for a +thoroughbred Jacobin, when the sufferers are, as at Nantes, old +confessors, young girls, or women with child. But such sport +might prove a little dangerous if tried upon grim ranks of +grenadiers, marked with the scars of Hondschoote, and singed by +the smoke of Fleurus. + +Barere, however, found some consolation. If he could not succeed +in murdering the English and the Hanoverians, he was amply +indemnified by a new and vast slaughter of his own countrymen and +countrywomen. If the defence which has been set up for the +members of the Committee of Public Safety had been well founded, +if it had been true that they governed with extreme severity only +because the republic was in extreme peril, it is clear that the +severity would have diminished as the peril diminished. But the +fact is, that those cruelties for which the public danger is made +a plea became more and more enormous as the danger became less +and less, and reached the full height when there was no longer +any danger at all. In the autumn of 1793, there was undoubtedly +reason to apprehend that France might be unable to maintain the +struggle against the European coalition. The enemy was +triumphant on the frontiers. More than half the departments +disowned the authority of the Convention. But at that time eight +or ten necks a day were thought an ample allowance for the +guillotine of the capital. In the summer of 1794, Bordeaux, +Toulon, Caen, Lyons, Marseilles, had submitted to the ascendency +of Paris. The French arms were victorious under the Pyrenees and +on the Sambre. Brussels had fallen. Prussia announced her +intention of withdrawing from the contest. The Republic, no +longer content with defending her own independence, was beginning +to meditate conquest beyond the Alps and the Rhine. She was now +more formidable to her neighbours than ever Louis the Fourteenth +had been. And now the Revolutionary Tribunal of Paris was not +content with forty, fifty, sixty heads in a morning. It was just +after a series of victories, which destroyed the whole force of +the single argument which has been urged in defence of the system +of terror, that the Committee of Public Safety resolved to infuse +into that system an energy hitherto unknown. It was proposed to +reconstruct the Revolutionary Tribunal, and to collect in the +space of two pages the whole revolutionary jurisprudence. Lists +of twelve judges and fifty jurors were made out from among the +fiercest Jacobins. The substantive law was simply this, that +whatever the tribunal should think pernicious to the republic was +a capital crime. The law of evidence was simply this, that +whatever satisfied the jurors was sufficient proof. The law of +procedure was of a piece with everything else. There was to be +an advocate against the prisoner, and no advocate for him. It +was expressly declared that, if the jurors were in any manner +convinced of the guilt of the prisoner, they might convict him +without hearing a single witness. The only punishment which the +court could inflict was death. + +Robespierre proposed this decree. When he had read it, a murmur +rose from the Convention. The fear which had long restrained the +deputies from opposing the Committee was overcome by a stronger +fear. Every man felt the knife at his throat. "The decree," +said one, "is of grave importance. I move that it be printed and +the debate be adjourned. If such a measure were adopted without +time for consideration, I would blow my brains out at once." The +motion for adjournment was seconded. Then Barere sprang up. "It +is impossible," he said, "that there can be any difference of +opinion among us as to a law like this, a law so favourable in +all respects to patriots; a law which insures the speedy +punishment of conspirators. If there is to be an adjournment, I +must insist that it shall not be for more than three days." The +opposition was overawed; the decree was passed; and, during the +six weeks which followed, the havoc was such as has never been +known before. + +And now the evil was beyond endurance. That timid majority which +had for a time supported the Girondists, and which had, after +their fall, contented itself with registering in silence the +decrees of the Committee of Public Safety, at length drew courage +from despair. Leaders of bold and firm character were not +wanting, men such as Fouche and Tallien, who, having been long +conspicuous among the chiefs of the Mountain, now found that +their own lives, or lives still dearer to them than their own, +were in extreme peril. Nor could it be longer kept secret that +there was a schism in the despotic committee. On one side were +Robespierre, Saint Just, and Couthon; on the other, Collot and +Billaud. Barere leaned towards these last, but only leaned +towards them. As was ever his fashion when a great crisis was at +hand, he fawned alternately on both parties, struck alternately +at both, and held himself in readiness to chant the praises or to +sign the death-warrant of either. In any event his Carmagnole +was ready. The tree of liberty, the blood of traitors, the +dagger of Brutus, the guineas of perfidious Albion, would do +equally well for Billaud and for Robespierre. + +The first attack which was made on Robespierre was indirect. An +old woman named Catherine Theot, half maniac, half impostor, was +protected by him, and exercised a strange influence over his +mind; for he was naturally prone to superstition, and, having +abjured the faith in which he had been brought up, was looking +about for something to believe. Barere drew up a report against +Catherine, which contained many facetious conceits, and ended, as +might be expected, with a motion for sending her and some other +wretched creatures of both sexes to the Revolutionary Tribunal, +or, in other words, to death. This report, however, he did not +dare to read to the Convention himself. Another member, less +timid, was induced to farther the cruel buffoonery; and the real +author enjoyed in security the dismay and vexation of +Robespierre. + +Barere now thought that he had done enough on one side, and that +it was time to make his peace with the other. On the seventh of +Thermidor, he pronounced in the Convention a panegyric on +Robespierre. "That representative of the people," he said, +"enjoys a reputation for patriotism, earned by five years of +exertion, and by unalterable fidelity to the principles of +independence and liberty." On the eighth of Thermidor, it became +clear that a decisive struggle was at hand. Robespierre struck +the first blow. He mounted the tribune, and uttered a long +invective on his opponents. It was moved that his discourse +should be printed; and Barere spoke for the printing. The sense +of the Convention soon appeared to be the other way; and Barere +apologised for his former speech, and implored his colleagues to +abstain from disputes which could be agreeable only to Pitt and +York. On the next day, the ever-memorable ninth of Thermidor, +came the real tug of war. Tallien, bravely taking his life in +his hand, led the onset. Billaud followed; and then all that +infinite hatred which had long been kept down by terror burst +forth, and swept every barrier before it. When at length the +voice of Robespierre, drowned by the President's bell, and by +shouts of "Down with the tyrant!" had died away in hoarse +gasping, Barere rose. He began with timid and doubtful phrases, +watched the effect of every word he uttered, and, when the +feeling of the Assembly had been unequivocally manifested, +declared against Robespierre. But it was not till the people out +of doors, and especially the gunners of Paris, had espoused the +cause of the Convention, that Barere felt quite at ease. Then he +sprang to the tribune, poured forth a Carmagnole about +Pisistratus and Catiline, and concluded by moving that the heads +of Robespierre and Robespierre's accomplices should be cut off +without a trial. The motion was carried. On the following +morning the vanquished members of the Committee of Public Safety +and their principal adherents suffered death. It was exactly one +year since Barere had commenced his career of slaughter by moving +the proscription of his old allies the Girondists. We greatly +doubt whether any human being has ever succeeded in packing more +wickedness into the space of three hundred and sixty-five days. + +The ninth of Thermidor is one of the great epochs in the history +of Europe. It is true that the three members of the Committee of +Public Safety who triumphed were by no means better men than the +three who fell. Indeed, we are inclined to think that of these +six statesmen the least bad were Robespierre and Saint Just, +whose cruelty was the effect of sincere fanaticism operating on +narrow understandings and acrimonious tempers. The worst of the +six was, beyond all doubt, Barere, who had no faith in any part +of the system which he upheld by persecution; who, while he sent +his fellow-creatures to death for being the third cousins of +royalists, had not in the least made up his mind that a republic +was better than a monarchy; who, while he slew his old friends +for federalism, was himself far more a federalist than any of +them; who had become a murderer merely for his safety, and who +continued to be a murderer merely for his pleasure. + +The tendency of the vulgar is to embody everything. Some +individual is selected, and often selected very injudicially, as +the representative of every great movement of the public mind, of +every great revolution in human affairs; and on this individual +are concentrated all the love and all the hatred, all the +admiration and all the contempt, which he ought rightfully to +share with a whole party, a whole sect, a whole nation, a whole +generation. Perhaps no human being has suffered so much from +this propensity of the multitude as Robespierre. He is regarded, +not merely as what he was, an envious, malevolent zealot, but as +the incarnation of Terror, as Jacobinism personified. The truth +is, that it was not by him that the system of terror was carried +to the last extreme. The most horrible days in the history of +the Revolutionary Tribunal of Paris were those which immediately +preceded the ninth of Thermidor. Robespierre had then ceased to +attend the meetings of the sovereign Committee; and the direction +of affairs was really in the hands of Billaud, of Collot, and of +Barere. + +It had never occurred to those three tyrants that, in +overthrowing Robespierre, they were overthrowing that system of +terror to which they were more attached than he had ever been. +Their object was to go on slaying even more mercilessly than +before. But they had misunderstood the nature of the great +crisis which had at last arrived. The yoke of the Committee was +broken for ever. The Convention had regained its liberty, had +tried its strength, had vanquished and punished its enemies. A +great reaction had commenced. Twenty-four hours after +Robespierre had ceased to live, it was moved and carried, amidst +loud bursts of applause, that the sittings of the Revolutionary +Tribunal should be suspended. Billaud was not at that moment +present. He entered the hall soon after, learned with +indignation what had passed, and moved that the vote should be +rescinded. But loud cries of "No, no!" rose from those benches +which had lately paid mute obedience to his commands. Barere +came forward on the same day, and abjured the Convention not to +relax the system of terror. "Beware, above all things," he +cried, "of that fatal moderation which talks of peace and of +clemency. Let aristocracy know that here she will find only +enemies sternly bent on vengeance, and judges who have no pity." +But the day of the Carmagnoles was over: the restraint of fear +had been relaxed; and the hatred with which the nation regarded +the Jacobin dominion broke forth with ungovernable violence. Not +more strongly did the tide of public opinion run against the old +monarchy and aristocracy, at the time of the taking of the +Bastile, than it now ran against the tyranny of the Mountain. +From every dungeon the prisoners came forth as they had gone in, +by hundreds. The decree which forbade the soldiers of the +republic to give quarter to the English was repealed by an +unanimous vote, amidst loud acclamations; nor, passed as it was, +disobeyed as it was, and rescinded as it was, can it be with +justice considered as a blemish on the fame of the French nation. +The Jacobin Club was refractory. It was suppressed without +resistance. The surviving Girondist deputies, who had concealed +themselves from the vengeance of their enemies in caverns and +garrets, were readmitted to their seats in the Convention. No +day passed without some signal reparation of injustice; no street +in Paris was without some trace of the recent change. In the +theatre, the bust of Marat was pulled down from its pedestal and +broken in pieces, amidst the applause of the audience. His +carcass was ejected from the Pantheon. The celebrated picture of +his death, which had hung in the hall of the Convention, was +removed. The savage inscriptions with which the walls of the +city had been covered disappeared; and, in place of death and +terror, humanity, the watchword of the new rulers, was everywhere +to be seen. In the meantime, the gay spirit of France, recently +subdued by oppression, and now elated by the joy of a great +deliverance, wantoned in a thousand forms. Art, taste, luxury, +revived. Female beauty regained its empire--an empire +strengthened by the remembrance of all the tender and all the +sublime virtues which women, delicately bred and reputed +frivolous, had displayed during the evil days. Refined manners, +chivalrous sentiments, followed in the train of love. The dawn +of the Arctic summer day after the Arctic winter night, the great +unsealing of the waters, the awakening of animal and vegetable +life, the sudden softening of the air, the sudden blooming of the +flowers, the sudden bursting of old forests into verdure, is but +a feeble type of that happiest and most genial of revolutions, +the revolution of the ninth of Thermidor. + +But, in the midst of the revival of all kind and generous +sentiments, there was one portion of the community against which +mercy itself seemed to cry out for vengeance. The chiefs of the +late government and their tools were now never named but as the +men of blood, the drinkers of blood, the cannibals. In some +parts of France, where the creatures of the Mountain had acted +with peculiar barbarity, the populace took the law into its own +hands and meted out justice to the Jacobins with the true Jacobin +measure, but at Paris the punishments were inflicted with order +and decency, and were few when compared with the number, and +lenient when compared with the enormity, of the crimes. Soon +after the ninth of Thermidor, two of the vilest of mankind, +Fouquier Tinville, whom Barere had placed at the Revolutionary +Tribunal, and Lebon, whom Barere had defended in the Convention, +were placed under arrest. A third miscreant soon shared their +fate, Carrier, the tyrant of Nantes. The trials of these men +brought to light horrors surpassing anything that Suetonius and +Lampridius have related of the worst Caesars. But it was +impossible to punish subordinate agents, who, bad as they were, +had only acted in accordance with the spirit of the government +which they served, and, at the same time, to grant impunity to +the heads of the wicked administration. A cry was raised, both +within and without the Convention for justice on Collot, Billaud, +and Barere. + +Collot and Billaud, with all their vices, appear to have been men +of resolute natures. They made no submission; but opposed to the +hatred of mankind, at first a fierce resistance, and afterwards a +dogged and sullen endurance. Barere, on the other hand, as soon +as he began to understand the real nature of the revolution of +Thermidor, attempted to abandon the Mountain, and to obtain +admission among his old friends of the moderate party. He +declared everywhere that he had never been in favour of severe +measures; that he was a Girondist; that he had always condemned +and lamented the manner in which the Brissotine deputies had been +treated. He now preached mercy from that tribune from which he +had recently preached extermination. "The time," he said, "has +come at which our clemency may be indulged without danger. We +may now safely consider temporary imprisonment as an adequate +punishment for political misdemeanours." It was only a fortnight +since, from the same place, he had declaimed against the +moderation which dared even to talk of clemency; it was only a +fortnight since he had ceased to send men and women to the +guillotine of Paris, at the rate of three hundred a week. He now +wished to make his peace with the moderate party at the expense +of the Terrorists, as he had, a year before, made his peace with +the Terrorists at the expense of the moderate party. But he was +disappointed. He had left himself no retreat. His face, his +voice, his rants, his jokes, had become hateful to the +Convention. When he spoke he was interrupted by murmurs. Bitter +reflections were daily cast on his cowardice and perfidy. On one +occasion Carnot rose to give an account of a victory, and so far +forgot the gravity of his own character as to indulge in the sort +of oratory which Barere had affected on similar occasions. He +was interrupted by cries of "No more Carmagnoles!" "No more of +Barere's puns!" + +At length, five months after the revolution of Thermidor, the +Convention resolved that a committee of twenty-one members should +be appointed to examine into the conduct of Billaud, Collot, and +Barere. In some weeks the report was made. From that report we +learn that a paper had been discovered, signed by Barere, and +containing a proposition for adding the last improvement to the +system of terror. France was to be divided into circuits; +itinerant revolutionary tribunals, composed of trusty Jacobins, +were to move from department to department; and the guillotine +was to travel in their train. + +Barere, in his defence, insisted that no speech or motion which +he had made in the Convention could, without a violation of the +freedom of debate, be treated as a crime. He was asked how he +could resort to such a mode of defence, after putting to death so +many deputies on account of opinions expressed in the Convention. +He had nothing to say, but that it was much to be regretted that +the sound principle had ever been violated. + +He arrogated to himself a large share of the merit of the +revolution in Thermidor. The men who had risked their lives to +effect that revolution, and who knew that, if they had failed, +Barere would, in all probability, have moved the decree for +beheading them without a trial, and have drawn up a proclamation +announcing their guilt and their punishment to all France, were +by no means disposed to acquiesce in his claims. He was reminded +that, only forty-eight hours before the decisive conflict, he +had, in the tribune, been profuse of adulation to Robespierre. +His answer to this reproach is worthy of himself. "It was +necessary," he said, "to dissemble. It was necessary to flatter +Robespierre's vanity, and, by panegyric, to impel him to the +attack. This was the motive which induced me to load him with +those praises of which you complain. Who ever blamed Brutus for +dissembling with Tarquin?" + +The accused triumvirs had only one chance of escaping punishment. +There was severe distress at that moment among the working people +of the capital. This distress the Jacobins attributed to the +reaction of Thermidor, to the lenity with which the aristocrats +were now treated, and to the measures which had been adopted +against the chiefs of the late administration. Nothing is too +absurd to be believed by a populace which has not breakfasted, +and which does not know how it is to dine. The rabble of the +Faubourg St Antoine rose, menaced the deputies, and demanded with +loud cries the liberation of the persecuted patriots. But the +Convention was no longer such as it had been, when similar means +were employed too successfully against the Girondists. Its +spirit was roused. Its strength had been proved. Military means +were at its command. The tumult was suppressed: and it was +decreed that same evening that Collot, Billaud, and Barere should +instantly be removed to a distant place of confinement. + +The next day the order of the Convention was executed. The +account which Barere has given of his journey is the most +interesting and the most trustworthy part of these Memoirs. +There is no witness so infamous that a court of justice will not +take his word against himself; and even Barere may be believed +when he tells us how much he was hated and despised. + +The carriage in which he was to travel passed, surrounded by +armed men, along the street of St Honore. A crowd soon gathered +round it and increased every moment. On the long flight of steps +before the church of St Roch stood rows of eager spectators. It +was with difficulty that the coach could make its way through +those who hung upon it, hooting, cursing, and striving to burst +the doors. Barere thought his life in danger, and was conducted +at his own request to a public office, where he hoped that he +might find shelter till the crowd should disperse. In the +meantime, another discussion on his fate took place in the +Convention. It was proposed to deal with him as he had dealt +with better men, to put him out of the pale of the law, and to +deliver him at once without any trial to the headsman. But the +humanity which, since the ninth of Thermidor, had generally +directed the public councils restrained the deputies from taking +this course. + +It was now night; and the streets gradually became quiet. The +clock struck twelve; and Barere, under a strong guard, again set +forth on his journey. He was conducted over the river to the +place where the Orleans road branches off from the southern +boulevard. Two travelling carriages stood there. In one of them +was Billaud, attended by two officers; in the other two more +officers were waiting to receive Barere. Collot was already on +the road. + +At Orleans, a city which had suffered cruelly from the Jacobin +tyranny, the three deputies were surrounded by a mob bent on +tearing them to pieces. All the national guards of the +neighbourhood were assembled; and this force was not greater than +the emergency required; for the multitude pursued the carriages +far on the road to Blois. + +At Amboise the prisoners learned that Tours was ready to receive +them. The stately bridge was occupied by a throng of people, who +swore that the men under whose rule the Loire had been choked +with corpses should have full personal experience of the nature +of a noyade. In consequence of this news, the officers who had +charge of the criminals made such arrangements that the carriages +reached Tours at two in the morning, and drove straight to the +post-house. Fresh horses were instantly ordered; and the +travellers started again at full gallop. They had, in truth, not +a moment to lose; for the alarm had been given; lights were seen +in motion; and the yells of a great multitude, disappointed of +its revenge, mingled with the sound of the departing wheels. + +At Poitiers there was another narrow escape. As the prisoners +quitted the post-house, they saw the whole population pouring in +fury down the steep declivity on which the city is built. They +passed near Niort, but could not venture to enter it. The +inhabitants came forth with threatening aspect, and vehemently +cried to the postillions to stop; but the postillions urged the +horses to full speed, and soon left the town behind. Through +such dangers the men of blood were brought in safety to Rochelle. + +Oleron was the place of their destination, a dreary island beaten +by the raging waves of the Bay of Biscay. The prisoners were +confined in the castle; each had a single chamber, at the door of +which a guard was placed; and each was allowed the ration of a +single soldier. They were not allowed to communicate either with +the garrison or with the population of the island; and soon after +their arrival they were denied the indulgence of walking on the +ramparts. The only place where they were suffered to take +exercise was the esplanade where the troops were drilled. + +They had not been long in this situation when news came that the +Jacobins of Paris had made a last attempt to regain ascendency in +the state, that the hall of the Convention had been forced by a +furious crowd, that one of the deputies had been murdered and his +head fixed on a pike, that the life of the President had been for +a time in imminent danger, and that some members of the +legislature had not been ashamed to join the rioters. But troops +had arrived in time to prevent a massacre. The insurgents had +been put to flight; the inhabitants of the disaffected quarters +of the capital had been disarmed; the guilty deputies had +suffered the just punishment of their treason; and the power of +the Mountain was broken for ever. These events strengthened the +aversion with which the system of terror and the authors of that +system were regarded. One member of the Convention had moved +that the three prisoners of Oleron should be put to death; +another, that they should be brought back to Paris, and tried by +a council of war. These propositions were rejected. But +something was conceded to the party which called for severity. A +vessel which had been fitted out with great expedition at +Rochefort touched at Oleron; and it was announced to Collot and +Billaud that they must instantly go on board. They were +forthwith conveyed to Guiana, where Collot soon drank himself to +death with brandy. Billaud lived many years, shunning his +fellow-creatures and shunned by them; and diverted his lonely +hours by teaching parrots to talk. Why a distinction was made +between Barere and his companions in guilt, neither he nor any +other writer, as far as we know, has explained. It does not +appear that the distinction was meant to be at all in his favour; +for orders soon arrived from Paris, that he should be brought to +trial for his crimes before the criminal court of the department +of the Upper Charente. He was accordingly brought back to the +continent, and confined during some months at Saintes, in an old +convent which had lately been turned into a jail. + +While he lingered here, the reaction which had followed the great +crisis of Thermidor met with a temporary check. The friends of +the House of Bourbon, presuming on the indulgence with which they +had been treated after the fall of Robespierre, not only ventured +to avow their opinions with little disguise, but at length took +arms against the Convention, and were not put down till much +blood had been shed in the streets of Paris. The vigilance of +the public authorities was therefore now directed chiefly against +the Royalists; and the rigour with which the Jacobins had lately +been treated was somewhat relaxed. The Convention, indeed, again +resolved that Barere should be sent to Guiana. But this decree +was not carried into effect. The prisoner, probably with the +connivance of some powerful persons, made his escape from Saintes +and fled to Bordeaux, where he remained in concealment during +some years. There seems to have been a kind of understanding +between him and the government, that, as long as he hid himself, +he should not be found, but that, if he obtruded himself on the +public eye, he must take the consequences of his rashness. + +While the constitution of 1795, with its Executive Directory, its +Council of Elders, and its Council of Five Hundred, was in +operation, he continued to live under the ban of the law. It was +in vain that he solicited, even at moments when the politics of +the Mountain seemed to be again in the ascendant, a remission of +the sentence pronounced by the Convention. Even his fellow- +regicides, even the authors of the slaughter of Vendemiaire and +of the arrests of Fructidor, were ashamed of him. + +About eighteen months after his escape from prison, his name was +again brought before the world. In his own province he still +retained some of his early popularity. He had, indeed, never +been in that province since the downfall of the monarchy. The +mountaineers of Gascony were far removed from the seat of +government, and were but imperfectly informed of what passed +there. They knew that their countryman had played an important +part, and that he had on some occasions promoted their local +interests; and they stood by him in his adversity and in his +disgrace with a constancy which presents a singular contrast to +his own abject fickleness. All France was amazed to learn that +the department of the Upper Pyrenees had chosen the proscribed +tyrant a member of the Council of Five Hundred. The council +which, like our House of Commons, was the judge of the election +of its own members, refused to admit him. When his name was read +from the roll, a cry of indignation rose from the benches. +"Which of you," exclaimed one of the members, "would sit by the +side of such a monster?" "Not I, not I!" answered a crowd of +voices. One deputy declared that he would vacate his seat if the +hall were polluted by the presence of such a wretch. The +election was declared null on the ground that the person elected +was a criminal skulking from justice; and many severe reflections +were thrown on the lenity which suffered him to be still at +large. + +He tried to make his peace with the Directory, by writing a bulky +libel on England, entitled, the Liberty of the Seas. He seems to +have confidently expected that this work would produce a great +effect. He printed three thousand copies, and in order to defray +the expense of publication, sold one of his farms for the sum of +ten thousand francs. The book came out; but nobody bought it, in +consequence, if Barere is to be believed, of the villainy of Mr +Pitt, who bribed the Directory to order the Reviewers not to +notice so formidable an attack on the maritime greatness of +perfidious Albion. + +Barere had been about three years at Bordeaux when he received +intelligence that the mob of the town designed him the honour of +a visit on the ninth of Thermidor, and would probably administer +to him what he had, in his defence of his friend Lebon, described +as substantial justice under forms a little harsh. It was +necessary for him to disguise himself in clothes such as were +worn by the carpenters of the dock. In this garb, with a bundle +of wood shavings under his arm, he made his escape into the +vineyards which surrounded the city, lurked during some days in a +peasant's hut, and, when the dreaded anniversary was over, stole +back into the city. A few months later he was again in danger. +He now thought that he should be nowhere so safe as in the +neighbourhood of Paris. He quitted Bordeaux, hastened undetected +through those towns where four years before his life had been in +extreme danger, passed through the capital in the morning +twilight, when none were in the streets except shop-boys taking +down the shutters, and arrived safe at the pleasant village of St +Ouen on the Seine. Here he remained in seclusion during some +months. In the meantime Bonaparte returned from Egypt, placed +himself at the had of a coalition of discontented parties, +covered his designs with the authority of the Elders, drove the +Five Hundred out of their hall at the point of the bayonet, and +became absolute monarch of France under the name of First Consul. + +Barere assures us that these events almost broke his heart; that +he could not bear to see France again subject to a master; and +that if the representatives had been worthy of that honourable +name, they would have arrested the ambitious general who insulted +them. These feelings, however, did not prevent him from +soliciting the protection of the new government, and from sending +to the First Consul a handsome copy of the essay on the Liberty +of the Seas. + +The policy of Bonaparte was to cover all the past with a general +oblivion. He belonged half to the Revolution and half to the +reaction. He was an upstart and a sovereign; and had therefore +something in common with the Jacobin, and something in common +with the Royalist. All, whether Jacobins or Royalists, who were +disposed to support his government, were readily received--all, +whether Jacobins or Royalists, who showed hostility to his +government, were put down and punished. Men who had borne a part +in the worst crimes of the Reign of Terror, and men who had +fought in the army of Conde, were to be found close together, +both in his antechambers and in his dungeons. He decorated +Fouche and Maury with the same cross. He sent Arena and Georges +Cadoudal to the same scaffold. From a government acting on such +principles Barere easily obtained the indulgence which the +Directory had constantly refused to grant. The sentence passed +by the Convention was remitted; and he was allowed to reside at +Paris. His pardon, it is true, was not granted in the most +honourable form; and he remained, during some time, under the +special supervision of the police. He hastened, however, to pay +his court at the Luxembourg palace, where Bonaparte then resided, +and was honoured with a few dry and careless words by the master +of France. + +Here begins a new chapter of Barere's history. What passed +between him and the Consular government cannot, of course, be so +accurately known to us as the speeches and reports which he made +in the Convention. It is, however, not difficult, from notorious +facts, and from the admissions scattered over these lying +Memoirs, to form a tolerably accurate notion of what took place. +Bonaparte wanted to buy Barere: Barere wanted to sell himself to +Bonaparte. The only question was one of price; and there was an +immense interval between what was offered and what was demanded. + +Bonaparte, whose vehemence of will, fixedness of purpose, and +reliance on his own genius were not only great but extravagant, +looked with scorn on the most effeminate and dependent of human +minds. He was quite capable of perpetrating crimes under the +influence either of ambition or of revenge: but he had no touch +of that accursed monomania, that craving for blood and tears, +which raged in some of the Jacobin chiefs. To proscribe the +Terrorists would have been wholly inconsistent with his policy; +but, of all the classes of men whom his comprehensive system +included, he liked them the least; and Barere was the worst of +them. This wretch had been branded with infamy, first by the +Convention, and then by the Council of Five Hundred. The +inhabitants of four or five great cities had attempted to tear +him limb from limb. Nor were his vices redeemed by eminent +talents for administration or legislation. It would be unwise to +place in any honourable or important post a man so wicked, so +odious, and so little qualified to discharge high political +duties. At the same time there was a way in which it seemed +likely that he might be of use to the government. The First +Consul, as he afterwards acknowledged, greatly overrated Barere's +powers as a writer. The effect which the Reports of the +Committee of Public Safety had produced by the camp fires of the +Republican armies had been great. Napoleon himself, when a young +soldier, had been delighted by those compositions, which had much +in common with the rhapsodies of his favourite poet, Macpherson. +The taste, indeed, of the great warrior and statesman was never +very pure. His bulletins, his general orders, and his +proclamations, are sometimes, it is true, masterpieces in their +kind; but we too often detect, even in his best writing, traces +of Fingal, and of the Carmagnoles. It is not strange, therefore, +that he should have been desirous to secure the aid of Barere's +pen. Nor was this the only kind of assistance which the old +member of the Committee of Public Safety might render to the +Consular government. He was likely to find admission into the +gloomy dens in which those Jacobins whose constancy was to be +overcome by no reverse, or whose crimes admitted of no expiation, +hid themselves from the curses of mankind. No enterprise was too +bold or too atrocious for minds crazed by fanatacism, and +familiar with misery and death. The government was anxious to +have information of what passed in their secret councils; and no +man was better qualified to furnish such information than Barere. + +For these reasons the First Consul was disposed to employ Barere +as a writer and as a spy. But Barere--was it possible that he +would submit to such a degradation? Bad as he was, he had played +a great part. He had belonged to that class of criminals who +filled the world with the renown of their crimes; he had been one +of a cabinet which had ruled France with absolute power, and made +war on all Europe with signal success. Nay, he had been, though +not the most powerful, yet, with the single exception of +Robespierre, the most conspicuous member of that cabinet. His +name had been a household word at Moscow and at Philadelphia, at +Edinburgh and at Cadiz. The blood of the Queen of France, the +blood of the greatest orators and philosophers of France, was on +his hands. He had spoken; and it had been decreed that the +plough should pass over the great city of Lyons. He had spoken +again; and it had been decreed that the streets of Toulon should +be razed to the ground. When depravity is placed so high as his, +the hatred which it inspires is mingled with awe. His place was +with great tyrants, with Critias and Sylla, with Eccelino and +Borgia; not with hireling scribblers and police runners. + +"Virtue, I grant you, is an empty boast; +But shall the dignity of vice be lost?" + +So sang Pope; and so felt Barere. When it was proposed to him to +publish a journal in defence of the Consular government, rage and +shame inspired him for the first and last time with something +like courage. He had filled as large a space in the eyes of +mankind as Mr Pitt or General Washington; and he was coolly +invited to descend at once to the level of Mr Lewis Goldsmith. +He saw, too, with agonies of envy, that a wide distinction was +made between himself and the other statesmen of the Revolution +who were summoned to the aid of the government. Those statesmen +were required, indeed, to make large sacrifices of principle; but +they were not called on to sacrifice what, in the opinion of the +vulgar, constitutes personal dignity. They were made tribunes +and legislators, ambassadors and counsellors of state, ministers, +senators, and consuls. They might reasonably expect to rise with +the rising fortunes of their master; and, in truth, many of them +were destined to wear the badge of his Legion of Honour and of +his order of the Iron Crown; to be arch-chancellors and arch- +treasurers, counts, dukes, and princes. Barere, only six years +before, had been far more powerful, far more widely renowned, +than any of them; and now, while they were thought worthy to +represent the majesty of France at foreign courts, while they +received crowds of suitors in gilded antechambers, he was to pass +his life in measuring paragraphs, and scolding correctors of the +press. It was too much. Those lips which had never before been +able to fashion themselves to a No, now murmured expostulation +and refusal. "I could not"--these are his own words--"abase +myself to such a point as to serve the First Consul merely in the +capacity of a journalist, while so many insignificant, low, and +servile people, such as the Treilhards, the Roederers, the +Lebruns, the Marets, and others whom it is superfluous to name, +held the first place in this government of upstarts." + +This outbreak of spirit was of short duration. Napoleon was +inexorable. It is said indeed that he was, for a moment, half +inclined to admit Barere into the Council of State; but the +members of that body remonstrated in the strongest terms, and +declared that such a nomination would be a disgrace to them all. +This plan was therefore relinquished. Thenceforth Barere's only +chance of obtaining the patronage of the government was to subdue +his pride, to forget that there had been a time when, with three +words, he might have had the heads of the three consuls, and to +betake himself, humbly and industriously, to the task of +composing lampoons on England and panegyrics on Bonaparte. + +It has been often asserted, we know not on what grounds, that +Barere was employed by the government not only as a writer, but +as a censor of the writings of other men. This imputation he +vehemently denies in his Memoirs; but our readers will probably +agree with us in thinking that his denial leaves the question +exactly where it was. + +Thus much is certain, that he was not restrained from exercising +the office of censor by any scruple of conscience or honour; for +he did accept an office, compared with which that of censor, +odious as it is, may be called an august and beneficent +magistracy. He began to have what are delicately called +relations with the police. We are not sure that we have formed, +or that we can convey, an exact notion of the nature of Barere's +new calling. It is a calling unknown in our country. It has +indeed often happened in England that a plot has been revealed to +the government by one of the conspirators. The informer has +sometimes been directed to carry it fair towards his accomplices, +and to let the evil design come to full maturity. As soon as his +work is done, he is generally snatched from the public gaze, and +sent to some obscure village or to some remote colony. The use +of spies, even to this extent, is in the highest degree unpopular +in England; but a political spy by profession is a creature from +which our island is as free as it is from wolves. In France the +race is well-known, and was never more numerous, more greedy, +more cunning, or more savage, than under the government of +Bonaparte. + +Our idea of a gentleman in relations with the Consular and +Imperial police may perhaps be incorrect. Such as it is, we will +try to convey it to our readers. We image to ourselves a well- +dressed person, with a soft voice and affable manners. His +opinions are those of the society in which he finds himself, but +a little stronger. He often complains, in the language of honest +indignation, that what passes in private conversation finds its +way strangely to the government, and cautions his associates to +take care what they say when they are not sure of their company. +As for himself, he owns that he is indiscreet. He can never +refrain from speaking his mind; and that is the reason that he is +not prefect of a department. + +In a gallery of the Palais Royal he overhears two friends talking +earnestly about the King and the Count of Artois. He follows +them into a coffee-house, sits at the table next to them, calls +for his half-dish and his small glass of cognac, takes up a +journal, and seems occupied with the news. His neighbours go on +talking without restraint, and in the style of persons warmly +attached to the exiled family. They depart; and he follows them +half round the boulevards till he fairly tracks them to their +apartments, and learns their names from the porters. From that +day every letter addressed to either of them is sent from the +post-office to the police, and opened. Their correspondents +become known to the government, and are carefully watched. Six +or eight honest families, in different parts of France, find +themselves at once under the frown of power without being able to +guess what offence they have given. One person is dismissed from +a public office; another learns with dismay that his promising +son has been turned out of the Polytechnic school. + +Next, the indefatigable servant of the state falls in with an old +republican, who has not changed with the times, who regrets the +red cap and the tree of liberty, who has not unlearned the Thee +and Thou, and who still subscribes his letters with "Health and +Fraternity." Into the ears of this sturdy politician our friend +pours forth a long series of complaints. What evil times! What +a change since the days when the Mountain governed France! What +is the First Consul but a king under a new name? What is this +Legion of Honour but a new aristocracy? The old superstition is +reviving with the old tyranny. There is a treaty with the Pope, +and a provision for the clergy. Emigrant nobles are returning in +crowds, and are better received at the Tuileries than the men of +the 10th of August. This cannot last. What is life without +liberty? What terrors has death to the true patriot? The old +Jacobin catches fire, bestows and receives the fraternal hug, and +hints that there will soon be great news, and that the breed of +Harmodius and Brutus is not quite extinct. The next day he is +close prisoner, and all his papers are in the hands of the +government. + +To this vocation, a vocation compared with which the life of a +beggar, of a pickpocket, of a pimp, is honourable, did Barere now +descend. It was his constant practice, as often as he enrolled +himself in a new party, to pay his footing with the heads of old +friends. He was at first a Royalist; and he made atonement by +watering the tree of liberty with the blood of Louis. He was +then a Girondist; and he made atonement by murdering Vergniaud +and Gensonne. He fawned on Robespierre up to the eighth of +Thermidor; and he made atonement by moving, on the ninth, that +Robespierre should be beheaded without a trial. He was now +enlisted in the service of the new monarchy; and he proceeded to +atone for his republican heresies by sending republican throats +to the guillotine. + +Among his most intimate associates was a Gascon named Demerville, +who had been employed in an office of high trust under the +Committee of Public Safety. This man was fanatically attached to +the Jacobin system of politics, and, in conjunction with other +enthusiasts of the same class, formed a design against the First +Consul. A hint of this design escaped him in conversation with +Barere. Barere carried the intelligence to Lannes, who commanded +the Consular Guards. Demerville was arrested, tried, and +beheaded; and among the witnesses who appeared against him was +his friend Barere. + +The account which Barere has given of these transactions is +studiously confused and grossly dishonest. We think, however, +that we can discern, through much falsehood and much artful +obscurity, some truths which he labours to conceal. It is clear +to us that the government suspected him of what the Italians call +a double treason. It was natural that such a suspicion should +attach to him. He had, in times not very remote, zealously +preached the Jacobin doctrine, that he who smites a tyrant +deserves higher praise than he who saves a citizen. Was it +possible that the member of the Committee of Public Safety, the +king-killer, the queen-killer, could in earnest mean to deliver +his old confederates, his bosom friends, to the executioner, +solely because they had planned an act which, if there were any +truth in his own Carmagnoles, was in the highest degree virtuous +and glorious? Was it not more probable that he was really +concerned in the plot, and that the information which he gave was +merely intended to lull or to mislead the police? Accordingly, +spies were set on the spy. He was ordered to quit Paris, and not +to come within twenty leagues till he received further orders. +Nay, he ran no small risk of being sent, with some of his old +friends, to Madagascar. + +He made his peace, however, with the government so far, that he +was not only permitted, during some years, to live unmolested, +but was employed in the lowest sort of political drudgery. In +the summer of 1803, while he was preparing to visit the south of +France, he received a letter which deserves to be inserted. It +was from Duroc, who is well known to have enjoyed a large share +of Napoleon's confidence and favour. + +"The First Consul, having been informed that Citizen Barere is +about to set out for the country, desires that he will stay at +Paris. + +"Citizen Barere will every week draw up a report on the state of +public opinion on the proceedings of the government, and +generally on everything which, in his judgment, it will be +interesting to the First Consul to learn. + +"He may write with perfect freedom. + +"He will deliver his reports under seal into General Duroc's own +hand, and General Duroc will deliver them to the First Consul. +But it is absolutely necessary that nobody should suspect that +this species of communication takes place; and, should any such +suspicion get abroad, the First Consul will cease to receive the +reports of Citizen Barere. + +"It will also be proper that Citizen Barere should frequently +insert in the journals articles tending to animate the public +mind, particularly against the English." + +During some years Barere continued to discharge the functions +assigned to him by his master. Secret reports, filled with the +talk of coffee-houses, were carried by him every week to the +Tuileries. His friends assure us that he took especial pains to +do all the harm in his power to the returned emigrants. It was +not his fault if Napoleon was not apprised of every murmur and +every sarcasm which old marquesses who had lost their estates, +and old clergymen who had lost their benefices, uttered against +the imperial system. M. Hippolyte Carnot, we grieve to say, is +so much blinded by party spirit that he seems to reckon this +dirty wickedness among his hero's titles to public esteem. + +Barere was, at the same time, an indefatigable journalist and +pamphleteer. He set up a paper directed against England, and +called the "Memorial Antibritannique". He planned a work +entitled, "France made great and illustrious by Napoleon." When +the Imperial government was established, the old regicide made +himself conspicuous even among the crowd of flatterers by the +peculiar fulsomeness of his adulation. He translated into French +a contemptible volume of Italian verses, entitled, "The Poetic +Crown, composed on the glorious accession of Napoleon the First, +by the Shepherds of Arcadia." He commenced a new series of +Carmagnoles very different from those which had charmed the +Mountain. The title of Emperor of the French, he said, was mean; +Napoleon ought to be Emperor of Europe. King of Italy was too +humble an appellation; Napoleon's style ought to be King of +Kings. + +But Barere laboured to small purpose in both his vocations. +Neither as a writer nor as a spy was he of much use. He +complains bitterly that his paper did not sell. While the +"Journal des Debats", then flourishing under the able management +of Geoffroy, had a circulation of at least twenty thousand +copies, the "Memorial Antibritannique" never, in its most +prosperous times, had more than fifteen hundred subscribers; and +these subscribers were, with scarcely an exception, persons +residing far from Paris, probably Gascons, among whom the name of +Barere had not yet lost its influence. + +A writer who cannot find readers generally attributes the public +neglect to any cause rather than to the true one; and Barere was +no exception to the general rule. His old hatred to Paris +revived in all its fury. That city, he says, has no sympathy +with France. No Parisian cares to subscribe to a journal which +dwells on the real wants and interests of the country. To a +Parisian nothing is so ridiculous as patriotism. The higher +classes of the capital have always been devoted to England. A +corporal from London is better received among them than a French +general. A journal, therefore, which attacks England has no +chance of their support. + +A much better explanation of the failure of the "Memorial" was +given by Bonaparte at St Helena. "Barere," said he to Barry +O'Meara, "had the reputation of being a man of talent: but I did +not find him so. I employed him to write; but he did not display +ability. He used many flowers of rhetoric, but no solid +argument; nothing but coglionerie wrapped up in high-sounding +language." + +The truth is that, though Barere was a man of quick parts, and +could do with ease what he could do at all, he had never been a +good writer. In the day of his power he had been in the habit of +haranguing an excitable audience on exciting topics. The faults +of his style passed uncensured; for it was a time of literary as +well as of civil lawlessness, and a patriot was licensed to +violate the ordinary rules of composition as well as the ordinary +rules of jurisprudence and of social morality. But there had now +been a literary as well as a civil reaction. As there was again +a throne and a court, a magistracy, a chivalry, and a hierarchy, +so was there a revival of classical taste. Honour was again paid +to the prose of Pascal and Massillon, and to the verse of Racine +and La Fontaine. The oratory which had delighted the galleries +of the Convention was not only as much out of date as the +language of Villehardouin and Joinville, but was associated in +the public mind with images of horror. All the peculiarities of +the Anacreon of the guillotine, his words unknown to the +Dictionary of the Academy, his conceits and his jokes, his Gascon +idioms and his Gascon hyperboles, had become as odious as the +cant of the Puritans was in England after the Restoration. + +Bonaparte, who had never loved the men of the Reign of Terror, +had now ceased to fear them. He was all-powerful and at the +height of glory; they were weak and universally abhorred. He was +a sovereign; and it is probable that he already meditated a +matrimonial alliance with sovereigns. He was naturally +unwilling, in his new position, to hold any intercourse with the +worst class of Jacobins. Had Barere's literary assistance been +important to the government, personal aversion might have yielded +to considerations of policy; but there was no motive for keeping +terms with a worthless man who had also proved a worthless +writer. Bonaparte, therefore, gave loose to his feelings. +Barere was not gently dropped, not sent into an honourable +retirement, but spurned and scourged away like a troublesome dog. +He had been in the habit of sending six copies of his journal on +fine paper daily to the Tuileries. Instead of receiving the +thanks and praises which he expected, he was drily told that the +great man had ordered five copies to be sent back. Still he +toiled on; still he cherished a hope that at last Napoleon would +relent, and that at last some share in the honours of the state +would reward so much assiduity and so much obsequiousness. He +was bitterly undeceived. Under the Imperial constitution the +electoral colleges of the departments did not possess the right +of choosing senators or deputies, but merely that of presenting +candidates. From among these candidates the emperor named +members of the senate, and the senate named members of the +legislative body. The inhabitants of the Upper Pyrenees were +still strangely partial to Barere. In the year 1805, they were +disposed to present him as a candidate for the senate. On this +Napoleon expressed the highest displeasure; and the president of +the electoral college was directed to tell the voters, in plain +terms, that such a choice would be disgraceful to the department. +All thought of naming Barere a candidate for the senate was +consequently dropped. But the people of Argeles ventured to name +him a candidate for the legislative body. That body was +altogether destitute of weight and dignity; it was not permitted +to debate; its only function was to vote in silence for whatever +the government proposed. It is not easy to understand how any +man who had sat in free and powerful deliberative assemblies +could condescend to bear a part in such a mummery. Barere, +however, was desirous of a place even in this mock legislature; +and a place even in this mock legislature was refused to him. In +the whole senate he had not a single vote. + +Such treatment was sufficient, it might have been thought, to +move the most abject of mankind to resentment. Still, however, +Barere cringed and fawned on. His letters came weekly to the +Tuileries till the year 1807. At length, while he was actually +writing the two hundred and twenty-third of the series, a note +was put into his hands. It was from Duroc, and was much more +perspicuous than polite. Barere was requested to send no more of +his Reports to the palace, as the Emperor was too busy to read +them. + +Contempt, says the Indian proverb, pierces even the shell of the +tortoise; and the contempt of the Court was felt to the quick +even by the callous heart of Barere. He had humbled himself to +the dust; and he had humbled himself in vain. Having been +eminent among the rulers of a great and victorious state, he had +stooped to serve a master in the vilest capacities; and he had +been told that, even in those capacities, he was not worthy of +the pittance which had been disdainfully flung to him. He was +now degraded below the level even of the hirelings whom the +government employed in the most infamous offices. He stood idle +in the market-place, not because he thought any office too +infamous, but because none would hire him. + +Yet he had reason to think himself fortunate; for, had all that +is avowed in these Memoirs been known, he would have received +very different tokens of the Imperial displeasure. We learn from +himself that, while publishing daily columns of flattery on +Bonaparte, and while carrying weekly budgets of calumny to the +Tuileries, he was in close connection with the agents whom the +Emperor Alexander, then by no means favourably disposed towards +France, employed to watch all that passed at Paris; was permitted +to read their secret despatches; was consulted by them as to the +temper of the public mind and the character of Napoleon; and did +his best to persuade them that the government was in a tottering +condition, and that the new sovereign was not, as the world +supposed, a great statesman and soldier. Next, Barere, still the +flatterer and talebearer of the Imperial Court, connected himself +in the same manner with the Spanish envoy. He owns that with +that envoy he had relations which he took the greatest pains to +conceal from his own government; that they met twice a day; and +that their conversation chiefly turned on the vices of Napoleon; +on his designs against Spain, and on the best mode of rendering +those designs abortive. In truth, Barere's baseness was +unfathomable. In the lowest deeps of shame he found out lower +deeps. It is bad to be a sycophant; it is bad to be a spy. But +even among sycophants and spies there are degrees of meanness. +The vilest sycophant is he who privily slanders the master on +whom he fawns; and the vilest spy is he who serves foreigners +against the government of his native land. + +From 1807 to 1814 Barere lived in obscurity, railing as bitterly +as his craven cowardice would permit against the Imperial +administration, and coming sometimes unpleasantly across the +police. When the Bourbons returned, he, as might have been +expected, became a royalist, and wrote a pamphlet setting forth +the horrors of the system from which the Restoration had +delivered France, and magnifying the wisdom and goodness which +had dictated the charter. He who had voted for the death of +Louis, he who had moved the decree for the trial of Marie +Antoinette, he whose hatred of monarchy had led him to make war +even upon the sepulchres of ancient monarchs, assures us, with +great complacency, that "in this work monarchical principles and +attachment to the House of Bourbon are nobly expressed." By this +apostasy he got nothing, not even any additional infamy; for his +character was already too black to be blackened. + +During the hundred days he again emerged for a very short time +into public life; he was chosen by his native district a member +of the Chamber of Representatives. But, though that assembly was +composed in a great measure of men who regarded the excesses of +the Jacobins with indulgence, he found himself an object of +general aversion. When the President first informed the Chamber +that M. Barere requested a hearing, a deep and indignant murmur +ran round the benches. After the battle of Waterloo, Barere +proposed that the Chamber should save France from the victorious +enemy, by putting forth a proclamation about the pass of +Thermopylae and the Lacedaemonian custom of wearing flowers in +times of extreme danger. Whether this composition, if it had +then appeared, would have stopped the English and Prussian +armies, is a question respecting which we are left to conjecture. +The Chamber refused to adopt this last of the Carmagnoles. + +The Emperor had abdicated. The Bourbons returned. The Chamber +of Representatives, after burlesquing during a few weeks the +proceedings of the National Convention, retired with the well- +earned character of having been the silliest political assembly +that had met in France. Those dreaming pedants and praters never +for a moment comprehended their position. They could never +understand that Europe must be either conciliated or vanquished; +that Europe could be conciliated only by the restoration of +Louis, and vanquished only by means of a dictatorial power +entrusted to Napoleon. They would not hear of Louis; yet they +would not hear of the only measures which could keep him out. +They incurred the enmity of all foreign powers by putting +Napoleon at their head; yet they shackled him, thwarted him, +quarrelled with him about every trifle, abandoned him on the +first reverse. They then opposed declamations and disquisitions +to eight hundred thousand bayonets; played at making a +constitution for their country, when it depended on the +indulgence of the victor whether they should have a country; and +were at last interrupted, in the midst of their babble about the +rights of man and the sovereignty of the people, by the soldiers +of Wellington and Blucher. + +A new Chamber of Deputies was elected, so bitterly hostile to the +Revolution that there was no small risk of a new Reign of Terror. +It is just, however, to say that the king, his ministers, and his +allies exerted themselves to restrain the violence of the +fanatical royalists, and that the punishments inflicted, though +in our opinion unjustifiable, were few and lenient when compared +with those which were demanded by M. de Labourdonnaye and M. Hyde +de Neuville. We have always heard, and are inclined to believe, +that the government was not disposed to treat even the regicides +with severity. But on this point the feeling of the Chamber of +Deputies was so strong that it was thought necessary to make some +concession. It was enacted, therefore, that whoever, having +voted in January 1793 for the death of Louis the Sixteenth, had +in any manner given in an adhesion to the government of Bonaparte +during the hundred days should be banished for life from France. +Barere fell within this description. He had voted for the death +of Louis; and he had sat in the Chamber of Representatives during +the hundred days. + +He accordingly retired to Belgium, and resided there, forgotten +by all mankind, till the year 1830. After the revolution of July +he was at liberty to return to France; and he fixed his residence +in his native province. But he was soon involved in a succession +of lawsuits with his nearest relations--"three fatal sisters and +an ungrateful brother," to use his own words. Who was in the +right is a question about which we have no means of judging, and +certainly shall not take Barere's word. The Courts appear to +have decided some points in his favour and some against him. The +natural inference is, that there were faults on all sides. The +result of this litigation was that the old man was reduced to +extreme poverty, and was forced to sell his paternal house. + +As far as we can judge from the few facts which remain to be +mentioned, Barere continued Barere to the last. After his exile +he turned Jacobin again, and, when he came back to France, joined +the party of the extreme left in railing at Louis Philippe, and +at all Louis Philippe's ministers. M. Casimir Perier, M. De +Broglie, M. Guizot, and M. Thiers, in particular, are honoured +with his abuse; and the King himself is held up to execration as +a hypocritical tyrant. Nevertheless, Barere had no scruple about +accepting a charitable donation of a thousand francs a year from +the privy purse of the sovereign whom he hated and reviled. This +pension, together with some small sums occasionally doled out to +him by the department of the Interior, on the ground that he was +a distressed man of letters, and by the department of Justice, on +the ground that he had formerly held a high judicial office, +saved him from the necessity of begging his bread. Having +survived all his colleagues of the renowned Committee of Public +Safety, and almost all his colleagues of the Convention, he died +in January 1841. He had attained his eighty-sixth year. + +We have now laid before our readers what we believe to be a just +account of this man's life. Can it be necessary for us to add +anything for the purpose of assisting their judgment of his +character? If we were writing about any of his colleagues in the +Committee of Public Safety, about Carnot, about Robespierre, or +Saint Just, nay, even about Couthon, Collot, or Billaud, we might +feel it necessary to go into a full examination of the arguments +which have been employed to vindicate or to excuse the system of +Terror. We could, we think, show that France was saved from her +foreign enemies, not by the system of Terror, but in spite of it; +and that the perils which were made the plea of the violent +policy of the Mountain were to a great extent created by that +very policy. We could, we think, also show that the evils +produced by the Jacobin administration did not terminate when it +fell; that it bequeathed a long series of calamities to France +and to Europe; that public opinion, which had during two +generations been constantly becoming more and more favourable to +civil and religious freedom, underwent, during the days of +Terror, a change of which the traces are still to be distinctly +perceived. It was natural that there should be such a change, +when men saw that those who called themselves the champions of +popular rights had compressed into the space of twelve months +more crimes than the Kings of France, Merovingian, Carlovingian, +and Capetian, had perpetrated in twelve centuries. Freedom was +regarded as a great delusion. Men were willing to submit to the +government of hereditary princes, of fortunate soldiers, of +nobles, of priests; to any government but that of philosophers +and philanthropists. Hence the imperial despotism, with its +enslaved press and its silent tribune, its dungeons stronger than +the old Bastile, and its tribunals more obsequious than the old +parliaments. Hence the restoration of the Bourbons and of the +Jesuits, the Chamber of 1815 with its categories of proscription, +the revival of the feudal spirit, the encroachments of the +clergy, the persecution of the Protestants, the appearance of a +new breed of De Montforts and Dominics in the full light of the +nineteenth century. Hence the admission of France into the Holy +Alliance, and the war waged by the old soldiers of the tricolor +against the liberties of Spain. Hence, too, the apprehensions +with which, even at the present day, the most temperate plans for +widening the narrow basis of the French representation are +regarded by those who are especially interested in the security +of property and maintenance of order. Half a century has not +sufficed to obliterate the stain which one year of depravity and +madness has left on the noblest of causes. + +Nothing is more ridiculous than the manner in which writers like +M. Hippolyte Carnot defend or excuse the Jacobin administration, +while they declaim against the reaction which followed. That the +reaction has produced and is still producing much evil, is +perfectly true. But what produced the reaction? The spring +flies up with a force proportioned to that with which it has been +pressed down. The pendulum which is drawn far in one direction +swings as far in the other. The joyous madness of intoxication +in the evening is followed by languor and nausea on the morrow. +And so, in politics, it is the sure law that every excess shall +generate its opposite; nor does he deserve the name of a +statesman who strikes a great blow without fully calculating the +effect of the rebound. But such calculation was infinitely +beyond the reach of the authors of the Reign of Terror. +Violence, and more violence, blood, and more blood, made up their +whole policy. In a few months these poor creatures succeeded in +bringing about a reaction, of which none of them saw, and of +which none of us may see the close; and, having brought it about, +they marvelled at it; they bewailed it; they execrated it; they +ascribed it to everything but the real cause--their own +immortality and their own profound incapacity for the conduct of +great affairs. + +These, however, are considerations to which, on the present +occasion, it is hardly necessary for us to advert; for, be the +defence which has been set up for the Jacobin policy good or bad, +it is a defence which cannot avail Barere. From his own life, +from his own pen, from his own mouth, we can prove that the part +which he took in the work of blood is to be attributed, not even +to sincere fanaticism, not even to misdirected and ill-regulated +patriotism, but either to cowardice, or to delight in human +misery. Will it be pretended that it was from public spirit that +he murdered the Girondists? In these very Memoirs he tells us +that he always regarded their death as the greatest calamity that +could befall France. Will it be pretended that it was from +public spirit that he raved for the head of the Austrian woman? +In these very Memoirs he tells us that the time spent in +attacking her was ill spent, and ought to have been employed in +concerting measures of national defence. Will it be pretended +that he was induced by sincere and earnest abhorrence of kingly +government to butcher the living and to outrage the dead; he who +invited Napoleon to take the title of King of Kings, he who +assures us that after the Restoration he expressed in noble +language his attachment to monarchy, and to the house of Bourbon? +Had he been less mean, something might have been said in +extenuation of his cruelty. Had he been less cruel, something +might have been said in extenuation of his meanness. But for +him, regicide and court-spy, for him who patronised Lebon and +betrayed Demerville, for him who wantoned alternately in +gasconades of Jacobinism and gasconades of servility, what excuse +has the largest charity to offer? + +We cannot conclude without saying something about two parts of +his character, which his biographer appears to consider as +deserving of high admiration. Barere, it is admitted, was +somewhat fickle; but in two things he was consistent, in his love +of Christianity, and in his hatred to England. If this were so, +we must say that England is much more beholden to him than +Christianity. + +It is possible that our inclinations may bias our judgment; but +we think that we do not flatter ourselves when we say that +Barere's aversion to our country was a sentiment as deep and +constant as his mind was capable of entertaining. The value of +this compliment is indeed somewhat diminished by the circumstance +that he knew very little about us. His ignorance of our +institutions, manners, and history is the less excusable, +because, according to his own account, he consorted much, during +the peace of Amiens, with Englishmen of note, such as that +eminent nobleman Lord Greaten, and that not less eminent +philosopher Mr Mackensie Coefhis. In spite, however, of his +connection with these well-known ornaments of our country, he was +so ill-informed about us as to fancy that our government was +always laying plans to torment him. If he was hooted at Saintes, +probably by people whose relations he had murdered, it was +because the cabinet of St James's had hired the mob. If nobody +would read his bad books it was because the cabinet of St James's +had secured the Reviewers. His accounts of Mr Fox, of Mr Pitt, +of the Duke of Wellington, of Mr Canning, swarm with blunders +surpassing even the ordinary blunders committed by Frenchmen who +write about England. Mr Fox and Mr Pitt, he tells us, were +ministers in two different reigns. Mr Pitt's sinking fund was +instituted in order to enable England to pay subsidies to the +powers allied against the French republic. The Duke of +Wellington's house in Hyde Park was built by the nation, which +twice voted the sum of 200,000 pounds for the purpose. This, +however, is exclusive of the cost of the frescoes, which were +also paid for out of the public purse. Mr Canning was the first +Englishman whose death Europe had reason to lament; for the death +of Lord Ward, a relation, we presume, of Lord Greaten and Mr +Coefhis, had been an immense benefit to mankind. + +Ignorant, however, as Barere was, he knew enough of us to hate +us; and we persuade ourselves that, had he known us better, he +would have hated us more. The nation which has combined, beyond +all example and all hope, the blessings of liberty with those of +order, might well be an object of aversion to one who had been +false alike to the cause of order and to the cause of liberty. +We have had amongst us intemperate zeal for popular rights; we +have had amongst us also the intemperance of loyalty. But we +have never been shocked by such a spectacle as the Barere of +1794, or as the Barere of 1804. Compared with him, our fiercest +demagogues have been gentle; compared with him, our meanest +courtiers have been manly. Mix together Thistlewood and Bubb +Doddington; and you are still far from having Barere. The +antipathy between him and us is such, that neither for the crimes +of his earlier nor for those of his later life does our language, +rich as it is, furnish us with adequate names. We have found it +difficult to relate his history without having perpetual recourse +to the French vocabulary of horror, and to the French vocabulary +of baseness. It is not easy to give a notion of his conduct in +the Convention, without using those emphatic terms, guillotinade, +noyade, fusillade, mitraillade. It is not easy to give a notion +of his conduct under the Consulate and the Empire without +borrowing such words as mouchard and mouton. + +We therefore like his invectives against us much better than +anything else that he has written; and dwell on them, not merely +with complacency, but with a feeling akin to gratitude. It was +but little that he could do to promote the honour of our country; +but that little he did strenuously and constantly. Renegade, +traitor, slave, coward, liar, slanderer, murderer, hack writer, +police-spy--the one small service which he could render to +England was to hate her: and such as he was may all who hate her +be! + +We cannot say that we contemplate with equal satisfaction that +fervent and constant zeal for religion which, according to M. +Hippolyte Carnot, distinguished Barere; for, as we think that +whatever brings dishonour on religion is a serious evil, we had, +we own, indulged a hope that Barere was an atheist. We now +learn, however, that he was at no time even a sceptic, that he +adhered to his faith through the whole Revolution, and that he +has left several manuscript works on divinity. One of these is a +pious treatise, entitled "Of Christianity, and of its Influence." +Another consists of meditations on the Psalms, which will +doubtless greatly console and edify the Church. + +This makes the character complete. Whatsoever things are false, +whatsoever things are dishonest, whatsoever things are unjust, +whatsoever things are impure, whatsoever things are hateful, +whatsoever things are of evil report, if there be any vice, and +if there be any infamy, all these things, we knew, were blended +in Barere. But one thing was still wanting; and that M. +Hippolyte Carnot has supplied. When to such an assemblage of +qualities a high profession of piety is added, the effect becomes +overpowering. We sink under the contemplation of such exquisite +and manifold perfection; and feel, with deep humility, how +presumptuous it was in us to think of composing the legend of +this beatified athlete of the faith, St Bertrand of the +Carmagnoles. + +Something more we had to say about him. But let him go. We did +not seek him out, and will not keep him longer. If those who +call themselves his friends had not forced him on our notice we +should never have vouchsafed to him more than a passing word of +scorn and abhorrence, such as we might fling at his brethren, +Hebert and Fouquier Tinville, and Carrier and Lebon. We have no +pleasure in seeing human nature thus degraded. We turn with +disgust from the filthy and spiteful Yahoos of the fiction; and +the filthiest and most spiteful Yahoo of the fiction was a noble +creature when compared with the Barere of history. But what is +no pleasure M. Hippolyte Carnot has made a duty. It is no light +thing that a man in high and honourable public trust, a man who, +from his connections and position, may not unnaturally be +supposed to speak the sentiments of a large class of his +countrymen, should come forward to demand approbation for a life +black with every sort of wickedness, and unredeemed by a single +virtue. This M. Hippolyte Carnot has done. By attempting to +enshrine this Jacobin carrion, he has forced us to gibbet it; and +we venture to say that, from the eminence of infamy on which we +have placed it, he will not easily take it down. + + + + + +End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of The Miscellaneous Writings +and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, Volume II. + diff --git a/old/2mwsm10.zip b/old/2mwsm10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0109ab6 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/2mwsm10.zip |