,transcribed from the #ahhi ,cassell    
,company edition by ,david ,price1 email
  ccx#jgd;coventry4ac4uk                
,,dialogues ,,of ,,the ,,dead4      ,,by
  ,,lord ,,lyttelton4    ,,cassell      
,,company1 ,,limited3  ,,london1        
,,paris1 ,,new ,,york  ,,melbourne4     
#ahhi4          ,,introduction4         
,george1 ,lord ,lyttelton1 was born in  
#agji1 at ,hagley1 in ,worcestershire4  
,he was educated at ,eton and at        
,christchurch1 ,oxford1 entered         
,parliament1  became a ,lord of the     
,treasury and ,chancellor of the        
,exchequer4  ,in #ageg  he withdrew from
 politics1 was raised to the peerage1   
and spent the last  eighteen years of   
his life in lettered ease4  ,in #agfj   
,lord ,lyttelton  first published these 
,dialogues of the ,dead1 which were     
revised for a  fourth edition in #agfe1 
and in #agfg he published in four       
volumes a  ,history of the ,life of     
,king ,henry the ,second and of the ,age
 in which he  ,lived1 a work upon which 

he had been busy for thirty years4  ,he 
began it  not long after he had         
published1 at the age of twenty-six1 his
 ,letters  from a ,persian in ,england  
to his ,friend at ,ispahan4  ,if we go  
farther  back we find ,george           
,lyttelton1 aged twenty-three1 beginning
 his life in  literature as a poet1 with
 four eclogues on ,the ,progress of     
,love4    ,to the last ,lord ,lyttelton 
was poet enough to feel true fellowship 
with  poets of his day4  ,he loved good 
literature1 and his own works show that 
he knew it4  ,he counted ,henry         
,fielding among his friends2 he was a   
friend  and helper to ,james ,thomson1  
the author of ,the ,seasons2 and when   
acting  as secretary to the king's son1 
,frederick1 ,prince of ,wales 7who held 
a  little court of his own1 in which    
there was much said about liberty71 his 
friendship brought ,thomson and ,mallet 
together in work on a masque for  the   
,prince and ,princess1 which included   
the song of ,rule ,britannia4    ,before

 ,lord ,lyttelton followed their        
example1 ,dialogues of the ,dead had    
been written by ,lucian1 and by         
,fenelon1 and by ,fontenelle2 and in our
  time they have been written by ,walter
 ,savage ,landor4  ,this half-dramatic  
plan of presenting a man's own thoughts 
upon the life of man and  characters of 
men1 and on the issues of men's         
characters in shaping life1  is a way of
 essay writing pleasant alike to the    
writer and the reader4  ,lord ,lyttelton
 was at his best in it4  ,the form of   
writing obliged him to  work with a     
lighter touch than he used when he      
sought to maintain the  dignity of      
history by the style of his ,history of 
,henry ,,ii4  ,his calm  liberality of  
mind enters into the discussion of many 
topics4  ,his truths  are old1 but there
 are no real truths of human life and   
conduct1 worth  anything at all1 that   
are of yesterday4  ,human love itself is
 called the  old1 old story2 but do we  
therefore cease from loving1 or from    

finding  such ways as we can of saying  
that we love4  ,dr4 ,johnson was not at 
his  wisest when he found fault with    
,lord ,lyttelton because1 in his        
,dialogues  of the ,dead1 that man sat  
down to write a book1 to tell the world 
what  the world had all his life been   
telling him4  ,this was exactly what he 
wished to do4  ,in the ,preface to his  
revised edition ,lord ,lyttelton said1  
,sometimes a new dress may render an old
 truth more pleasing to those  whom the 
mere love of novelty betrays into error1
 as it frequently does  not only the    
wits1 but the sages of these days4      
,indeed1 one of the best  services that 
could now be done to mankind by any good
 writer would be  the bringing them back
 to common sense1 from which the desire 
of shining  by extraordinary notions has
 seduced great numbers1 to the no small 
detriment of morality and of all real   
knowledge4    ,at any rate1 we now find 
it worth while to know what the world   
had been  telling all his life to an    

enlightened1 highly-educated man1 who   
was an  active politician in the days of
 ,walpole and of the elder ,pitt1 who   
was a  friend of ,pope's and of the best
 writers of the day1 and who in his     
occasional verse added at least one line
 to the household words of  ,english    
literature when in his warm-hearted     
,prologue to ,thomson's play of         
,coriolanus1 produced after its writer's
 death1 he said of that poet  what we   
may say of ,lord ,lyttelton himself1    
that he gave to the world       ,not one
 immoral1 one corrupted thought1        
,one line which1 dying1 he could wish to
 blot4    ,h4 ,m4          ,,dialogues  
,,of ,,the ,,dead4      ,,dialogue ,i4  
,,lord ,,falkland--,,mr4 ,,hampden4     
,lord ,falkland4--,are not you surprised
 to see me in ,elysium1 ,mr4  ,hampden8 
,mr4 ,hampden4--,i was going to put the 
same question to your lordship1  for    
doubtless you thought me a rebel4       
,lord ,falkland4--,and certainly you    
thought me an apostate from the         

,commonwealth1 and a supporter of       
tyranny4    ,mr4 ,hampden4--,i own ,i   
did1 and ,i don't wonder at the severity
 of your  thoughts about me4  ,the heat 
of the times deprived us both of our    
natural  candour4  ,yet ,i will confess 
to you here1 that1 before ,i died1 ,i   
began to  see in our party enough to    
justify your apprehensions that the     
civil war1  which we had entered into   
from generous motives1 from a laudable  
desire  to preserve our free            
constitution1 would end very unhappily1 
and perhaps1  in the issue1 destroy that
 constitution1 even by the arms of those
 who  pretended to be most zealous for  
it4    ,lord ,falkland4--,and ,i will as
 frankly own to you that ,i saw1 in the 
court and camp of the king1 so much to  
alarm me for the liberty of my  country1
 if our arms were successful1 that ,i   
dreaded a victory little  less than ,i  
did a defeat1 and had nothing in my     
mouth but the word peace1  which ,i     
constantly repeated with passionate     

fondness1 in every council at  which ,i 
was called to assist4    ,mr4           
,hampden4--,i wished for peace too1 as  
ardently as your lordship1 but  ,i saw  
no hopes of it4  ,the insincerity of the
 king and the influence of  the queen   
made it impossible to trust to his      
promises and declarations4  ,nay1 what  
reliance could we reasonably have upon  
laws designed to limit  and restrain the
 power of the ,crown1 after he had      
violated the ,bill of  ,rights1 obtained
 with such difficulty1 and containing so
 clear an  assertion of the privileges  
which had been in dispute8  ,if his     
conscience  would allow him to break an 
,act of ,parliament1 made to determine  
the  bounds of the royal prerogative1   
because he thought that the royal       
prerogative could have no bounds1 what  
legal ties could bind a conscience  so  
prejudiced8 or what effectual security  
could his people obtain against  the    
obstinate malignity of such an opinion1 
but entirely taking from him  the power 

of the sword1 and enabling themselves to
 defend the laws he had  passed8        
,lord ,falkland4--,there is evidently   
too much truth in what you have  said4  
,but by taking from the king the power  
of the sword1 you in reality  took all  
power4  ,it was converting the          
government into a democracy2 and  if he 
had submitted to it1 he would only have 
preserved the name of a  king4  ,the    
sceptre would have been held by those   
who had the sword2 or we  must have     
lived in a state of perpetual anarchy1  
without any force or  balance in the    
government2 a state which could not have
 lasted long1 but  would have ended in a
 republic or in absolute dominion4      
,mr4 ,hampden4--,your reasoning seems   
unanswerable4  ,but what could we do8   
,let ,dr4 ,laud and those other court   
divines1 who directed the king's        
conscience1 and fixed in it such        
principles as made him unfit to govern a
  limited monarchy--though with many    
good qualities1 and some great          

ones--let them1 ,i say1 answer for all  
the mischiefs they brought upon him  and
 the nation4    ,lord ,falkland4--,they 
were indeed much to blame2 but those    
principles  had gained ground before    
their times1 and seemed the principles  
of our  ,church1 in opposition to the   
,jesuits1 who had certainly gone too far
 in  the other extreme4    ,mr4         
,hampden4--,it is a disgrace to our     
,church to have taken up such  opinions2
 and ,i will venture to prophesy that   
our clergy in future times  must        
renounce them1 or they will be turned   
against them by those who mean  their   
destruction4  ,suppose a ,popish king on
 the throne1 will the clergy  adhere to 
passive obedience and non-resistance8   
,if they do1 they deliver  up their     
religion to ,rome2 if they do not1 their
 practice will confute  their own       
doctrines4    ,lord ,falkland4--,nature1
 sir1 will in the end be sure to set    
right  whatever opinion contradicts her 
great laws1 let who will be the teacher4

  ,but1 indeed1 the more ,i reflect on  
those miserable times in which we both  
lived1 the more ,i esteem it a favour of
 ,providence to us that we were cut  off
 so soon4  ,the most grievous misfortune
 that can befall a virtuous man  is to  
be in such a state that he can hardly so
 act as to approve his own  conduct4    
,in such a state we both were4  ,we     
could not easily make a step1  either   
forward or backward1 without great      
hazard of guilt1 or at least of         
dishonour4  ,we were unhappily entangled
 in connections with men who did  not   
mean so well as ourselves1 or did not   
judge so rightly4  ,if we  endeavoured  
to stop them1 they thought us false to  
the cause2 if we went  on with them1 we 
ran directly upon rocks1 which we saw1  
but could not  avoid4  ,nor could we    
take shelter in a philosophical retreat 
from  business4  ,inaction would in us  
have been cowardice and desertion4  ,to 
complete the public calamities1 a       
religious fury1 on both sides1 mingled  

itself with the rage of our civil       
dissensions1 more frantic than that1    
more implacable1 more averse to all     
healing measures4  ,the most            
intemperate counsels were thought the   
most pious1 and a regard to the  laws1  
if they opposed the suggestions of these
 fiery zealots1 was  accounted          
irreligion4  ,this added new            
difficulties to what was before but  too
 difficult in itself1 the settling of a 
nation which no longer could  put any   
confidence in its sovereign1 nor lay    
more restraints on the royal  authority 
without destroying the balance of the   
whole constitution4  ,in  those         
circumstances1 the balls that pierced   
our hearts were directed  thither by the
 hands of our guardian angels1 to       
deliver us from horrors  we could not   
support1 and perhaps from a guilt our   
souls abhorred4    ,mr4                 
,hampden4--,indeed1 things were brought 
to so deplorable a state1  that if      
either of us had seen his party         

triumphant1 he must have lamented  that 
triumph as the ruin of his country4     
,were ,i to return into life1 the       
experience ,i have had would make me    
very cautious how ,i kindled the  sparks
 of civil war in ,england2 for ,i have  
seen that1 when once that  devouring    
fire is lighted1 it is not in the power 
of the head of a party  to say to the   
conflagration1 ,thus far shalt thou go1 
and here shall thy  violence stop4      
,lord ,falkland4--,the conversation we  
have had1 as well as the  reflections of
 my own mind on past events1 would1 if  
,i were condemned to  my body again1    
teach me great moderation in my         
judgments of persons who  might happen  
to differ from me in difficult scenes of
 public action2 they  would entirely    
cure me of the spirit of party1 and make
 me think that as  in the ,church1 so   
also in the ,state1 no evil is more to  
be feared than a  rancorous and         
enthusiastical zeal4        ,,dialogue  
,,ii4      ,,louis ,,le ,,grand--,,peter

 ,,the ,,great4    ,louis4--,who1 sir1  
could have thought1 when you were       
learning the trade  of a shipwright in  
the dockyards of ,england and ,holland1 
that you would  ever acquire1 as ,i had 
done1 the surname of ,great4            
,peter4--,which of us best deserved that
 title posterity will decide4  ,but  my 
greatness appeared sufficiently in that 
very act which seemed to you a          
debasement4    ,louis4--,the dignity of 
a king does not stoop to such mean      
employments4  ,for my own part1 ,i was  
careful never to appear to the eyes of  
my subjects  or foreigners but in all   
the splendour and majesty of royal      
power4    ,peter4--,had ,i remained on  
the throne of ,russia1 as my ancestors  
did1  environed with all the pomp of    
barbarous greatness1 ,i should have been
  idolised by my people--as much1 at    
least1 as you ever were by the ,french4 
,my despotism was more absolute1 their  
servitude was more humble4  ,but  then  
,i could not have reformed their evil   

customs2 have taught them arts1         
civility1 navigation1 and war2 have     
exalted them from brutes in human       
shapes into men4  ,in this was seen the 
extraordinary force of my genius  beyond
 any comparison with all other kings1   
that ,i thought it no  degradation or   
diminution of my greatness to descend   
from my throne1 and  go and work in the 
dockyards of a foreign republic2 to     
serve as a private  sailor in my own    
fleets1 and as a common soldier in my   
own army1 till ,i  had raised myself by 
my merit in all the several steps and   
degrees of  promotion up to the highest 
command1 and had thus induced my        
nobility to  submit to a regular        
subordination in the sea and land       
service by a lesson  hard to their      
pride1 and which they would not have    
learnt from any other  master or by any 
other method of instruction4            
,louis4--,i am forced to acknowledge    
that it was a great act4  ,when ,i      
thought it a mean one1 my judgment was  

perverted by the prejudices  arising    
from my own education and the ridicule  
thrown upon it by some of  my courtiers1
 whose minds were too narrow to be able 
to comprehend the  greatness of yours in
 that situation4    ,peter4--,it was an 
act of more heroism than any ever done  
by ,alexander  or ,caesar4  ,nor would  
,i consent to exchange my glory with    
theirs4  ,they  both did great things2  
but they were at the head of great      
nations1 far  superior in valour and    
military skill to those with whom they  
contended4  ,i was the king of an       
ignorant1 undisciplined1 barbarous      
people4  ,my  enemies were at first so  
superior to my subjects that ten        
thousand of  them could beat a hundred  
thousand ,russians4  ,they had          
formidable navies2  ,i had not a ship4  
,the ,king of ,sweden was a prince of   
the most intrepid  courage1 assisted by 
generals of consummate knowledge in war1
 and served  by soldiers so disciplined 
that they were become the admiration and

  terror of ,europe4  ,yet ,i vanquished
 these soldiers2 ,i drove that prince   
to take refuge in ,turkey2 ,i won       
battles at sea as well as land2 ,i new- 
created my people2 ,i gave them arts1   
science1 policy2 ,i enabled them to     
keep all the powers of the ,north in awe
 and dependence1 to give kings to       
,poland1 to check and intimidate the    
,ottoman emperors1 to mix with great    
weight in the affairs of all ,europe4   
,what other man has ever done such      
wonders as these8  ,read all the records
 of ancient and modern times1 and  find1
 if you can1 one fit to be put in       
comparison with me6    ,louis4--,your   
glory would indeed have been supreme and
 unequalled if1 in  civilising your     
subjects1 you had reformed the brutality
 of your own  manners and the barbarous 
vices of your nature4  ,but1 alas6 the  
legislator and reformer of the          
,muscovites was drunken and cruel4      
,peter4--,my drunkenness ,i confess2 nor
 will ,i plead1 to excuse it1 the       

example of ,alexander4  ,it inflamed the
 tempers of both1 which were by  nature 
too fiery1 into furious passions of     
anger1 and produced actions of  which   
our reason1 when sober1 was ashamed4    
,but the cruelty you upbraid  me with   
may in some degree be excused1 as       
necessary to the work ,i had to         
perform4  ,fear of punishment was in the
 hearts of my barbarous subjects  the   
only principle of obedience4  ,to make  
them respect the royal  authority ,i was
 obliged to arm it with all the terrors 
of rage4  ,you had  a more pliant people
 to govern--a people whose minds could  
be ruled1 like  a fine-managed horse1   
with an easy and gentle rein4  ,the fear
 of shame  did more with them than the  
fear of the knout could do with the     
,russians4  ,the humanity of your       
character and the ferocity of mine were 
equally  suitable to the nations over   
which we reigned4  ,but what excuse can 
you  find for the cruel violence you    
employed against your ,protestant       

subjects8  ,they desired nothing but to 
live under the protection of laws  you  
yourself had confirmed2 and they repaid 
that protection by the most  hearty zeal
 for your service4  ,yet these did you  
force1 by the most  inhuman severities1 
either to quit the religion in which    
they were bred1  and which their        
consciences still retained1 or to leave 
their native  land1 and endure all the  
woes of a perpetual exile4  ,if the     
rules of  policy could not hinder you   
from thus depopulating your kingdom1 and
  transferring to foreign countries its 
manufactures and commerce1 ,i am        
surprised that your heart itself did not
 stop you4  ,it makes one shudder  to   
think that such orders should be sent   
from the most polished court in         
,europe1 as the most savage ,tartars    
could hardly have executed without      
remorse and compassion4    ,louis4--,it 
was not my heart1 but my religion1 that 
dictated these  severities4  ,my        
confessor told me they alone would atone

 for all my sins4    ,peter4--,had ,i   
believed in my patriarch as you believed
 in your priest1  ,i should not have    
been the great monarch that ,i was4     
,but ,i mean not to  detract from the   
merit of a prince whose memory is dear  
to his subjects4  ,they are proud of    
having obeyed you1 which is certainly   
the highest  praise to a king4  ,my     
people also date their glory from the   
era of my  reign4  ,but there is this   
capital distinction between us4  ,the   
pomp and  pageantry of state were       
necessary to your greatness2 ,i was     
great in  myself1 great in the energy   
and powers of my mind1 great in the     
superiority and sovereignty of my soul  
over all other men4        ,,dialogue   
,,iii4      ,,plato--,,fenelon4         
,plato4--,welcome to ,elysium1 ,o thou1 
the most pure1 the most gentle1 the     
most refined disciple of philosophy that
 the world in modern times has          
produced6  ,sage ,fenelon1 welcome6--,i 
need not name myself to you4  ,our      

souls by sympathy must know one another4
    ,fenelon4--,i know you to be ,plato1
 the most amiable of all the disciples  
of ,socrates1 and the philosopher of all
 antiquity whom ,i most desired to      
resemble4    ,plato4--,homer and        
,orpheus are impatient to see you in    
that region of  these happy fields which
 their shades inhabit4  ,they both      
acknowledge you  to be a great poet1    
though you have written no verses4  ,and
 they are now  busy in composing for you
 unfading wreaths of all the finest and 
sweetest  ,elysian flowers4  ,but ,i    
will lead you from them to the sacred   
grove of  philosophy1 on the highest    
hill of ,elysium1 where the air is most 
pure  and most serene4  ,i will conduct 
you to the fountain of wisdom1 in which 
you will see1 as in your own writings1  
the fair image of virtue  perpetually   
reflected4  ,it will raise in you more  
love than was felt by  ,narcissus1 when 
he contemplated the beauty of his own   
face in the  unruffled spring4  ,but you

 shall not pine1 as he did1 for a       
shadow4  ,the  goddess herself will     
affectionately meet your embraces and   
mingle with  your soul4    ,fenelon4--,i
 find you retain the allegorical and    
poetical style1 of  which you were so   
fond in many of your writings4  ,mine   
also run sometimes  into poetry1        
particularly in my ,telemachus1 which ,i
 meant to make a  kind of epic          
composition4  ,but ,i dare not rank     
myself among the great  poets1 nor      
pretend to any equality in oratory with 
you1 the most eloquent  of philosophers1
 on whose lips the ,attic bees distilled
 all their honey4    ,plato4--,the      
,french language is not so harmonious as
 the ,greek1 yet you  have given a      
sweetness to it which equally charms the
 ear and heart4  ,when  one reads your  
compositions1 one thinks that one hears 
,apollo's lyre1  strung by the hands of 
the ,graces1 and tuned by the ,muses4   
,the idea of a  perfect king1 which you 
have exhibited in your ,telemachus1 far 

excels1  in my own judgment1 my         
imaginary ,republic4  ,your ,dialogues  
breathe  the pure spirit of virtue1 of  
unaffected good sense1 of just          
criticism1  of fine taste4  ,they are in
 general as superior to your countryman 
,fontenelle's as reason is to false wit1
 or truth to affectation4  ,the         
greatest fault of them1 ,i think1 is1   
that some are too short4                
,fenelon4--,it has been objected to     
them--and ,i am sensible of it          
myself--that most of them are too full  
of commonplace morals4  ,but ,i  wrote  
them for the instruction of a young     
prince1 and one cannot too  forcibly    
imprint on the minds of those who are   
born to empire the most  simple truths2 
because1 as they grow up1 the flattery  
of a court will try  to disguise and    
conceal from them those truths1 and to  
eradicate from  their hearts the love of
 their duty1 if it has not taken there a
 very  deep root4    ,plato4--,it is1   
indeed1 the peculiar misfortune of      

princes1 that they  are often instructed
 with great care in the refinements of  
policy1 and  not taught the first       
principles of moral obligations1 or     
taught so  superficially that the       
virtuous man is soon lost in the corrupt
  politician4  ,but the lessons of      
virtue you gave your royal pupil are so 
graced by the charms of your eloquence  
that the oldest and wisest men may      
attend to them with pleasure4  ,all your
 writings are embellished with a        
sublime and agreeable imagination1 which
 gives elegance to simplicity1  and     
dignity to the most vulgar and obvious  
truths4  ,i have heard1 indeed1  that   
your countrymen are less sensible of the
 beauty of your genius and  style than  
any of their neighbours4  ,what has so  
much depraved their  taste8             
,fenelon4--,that which depraved the     
taste of the ,romans after the ago of   
,augustus--an immoderate love of wit1 of
 paradox1 of refinement4  ,the  works of
 their writers1 like the faces of their 

women1 must be painted  and adorned with
 artificial embellishments to attract   
their regards4  ,and  thus the natural  
beauty of both is lost4  ,but it is no  
wonder if few of  them esteem my        
,telemachus1 as the maxims ,i have      
principally inculcated  there are       
thought by many inconsistent with the   
grandeur of their  monarchy1 and with   
the splendour of a refined and opulent  
nation4  ,they  seem generally to be    
falling into opinions that the chief end
 of society  is to procure the pleasures
 of luxury2 that a nice and elegant     
taste of  voluptuous enjoyments is the  
perfection of merit2 and that a king1   
who is  gallant1 magnificent1 liberal1  
who builds a fine palace1 who furnishes 
it  well with good statues and pictures1
 who encourages the fine arts1 and      
makes them subservient to every modish  
vice1 who has a restless ambition1  a   
perfidious policy1 and a spirit of      
conquest1 is better for them than a     
,numa or a ,marcus ,aurelius4  ,whereas 

to check the excesses of luxury--those  
excesses1 ,i mean1 which enfeeble the   
spirit of a nation--to ease the  people1
 as much as is possible1 of the burden  
of taxes2 to give them the  blessings of
 peace and tranquillity1 when they can  
he obtained without  injury or          
dishonour2 to make them frugal1 and     
hardy1 and masculine in the  temper of  
their bodies and minds1 that they may be
 the fitter for war  whenever it does   
come upon them2 but1 above all1 to watch
 diligently over  their morals1 and     
discourage whatever may defile or       
corrupt them--is the  great business of 
government1 and ought to be in all      
circumstances the  principal object of a
 wise legislature4  ,unquestionably that
 is the  happiest country which has most
 virtue in it2 and to the eye of sober  
reason the poorest ,swiss canton is a   
much nobler state than the kingdom  of  
,france1 if it has more liberty1 better 
morals1 a more settled  tranquillity1   
more moderation in prosperity1 and more 

firmness in danger4    ,plato4--,your   
notions are just1 and if your country   
rejects them she  will not long hold the
 rank of the first nation in ,europe4   
,her  declension is begun1 her ruin     
approaches2 for1 omitting all other     
arguments1 can a state be well served   
when the raising of an opulent  fortune 
in its service1 and making a splendid   
use of that fortune1 is a  distinction  
more envied than any which arises from  
integrity in office or  public spirit in
 government8  ,can that spirit1 which is
 the parent of  national greatness1     
continue vigorous and diffusive where   
the desire of  wealth1 for the sake of a
 luxury which wealth alone can support1 
and an  ambition aspiring1 not to glory1
 but to profit1 are the predominant     
passions8  ,if it exists in a king or a 
minister of state1 how will either  of  
them find among a people so disposed the
 necessary instruments to  execute his  
great designs2 or1 rather1 what         
obstruction will he not find  from the  

continual opposition of private interest
 to public8  ,but if1 on  the contrary1 
a court inclines to tyranny1 what a     
facility will be given  by these        
dispositions to that evil purpose8  ,how
 will men with minds  relaxed by the    
enervating ease and softness of luxury  
have vigour to  oppose it8  ,will not   
most of them lean to servitude1 as their
 natural  state1 as that in which the   
extravagant and insatiable cravings of  
their  artificial wants may best be     
gratified at the charge of a bountiful  
master or by the spoils of an enslaved  
and ruined people8  ,when all sense  of 
public virtue is thus destroyed1 will   
not fraud1 corruption1 and  avarice1 or 
the opposite workings of court factions 
to bring disgrace on  each other1 ruin  
armies and fleets without the help of an
 enemy1 and give  up the independence of
 the nation to foreigners1 after having 
betrayed  its liberties to a king8  ,all
 these mischiefs you saw attendant on   
that  luxury1 which some modern         

philosophers account 7as ,i am informed7
 the  highest good to a state6  ,time   
will show that their doctrines are      
pernicious to society1 pernicious to    
government2 and that yours1 tempered    
and moderated so as to render them more 
practicable in the present              
circumstances of your country1 are wise1
 salutary1 and deserving of the  general
 thanks of mankind4  ,but lest you      
should think1 from the praise ,i  have  
given you1 that flattery can find a     
place in ,elysium1 allow me to  lament1 
with the tender sorrow of a friend1 that
 a man so superior to all  other follies
 could give into the reveries of a      
,madame ,guyon1 a  distracted           
enthusiast4  ,how strange was it to see 
the two great lights of  ,france1 you   
and the ,bishop of ,meaux1 engaged in a 
controversy whether a  madwoman was a   
heretic or a saint6    ,fenelon4--,i    
confess my own weakness1 and the        
ridiculousness of the  dispute2 but did 
not your warm imagination carry you also

 into some  reveries about divine love1 
in which you talked unintelligibly1 even
 to  yourself8    ,plato4--,i felt      
something more than ,i was able to      
express4    ,fenelon4--,i had my        
feelings too1 as fine and as lively as  
yours2 but we  should both have done    
better to have avoided those subjects in
 which  sentiment took the place of     
reason4        ,,dialogue ,,iv4         
,,mr4 ,,addison--,,dr4 ,,swift4    ,dr4 
,swift4--,surely1 ,addison1 ,fortune was
 exceedingly inclined to play  the fool 
7a humour her ladyship1 as well as most 
other ladies of very  great quality1 is 
frequently in7 when she made you a      
minister of state  and me a divine6     
,addison4--,i must confess we were both 
of us out of our elements2 but  you     
don't mean to insinuate that all would  
have been right if our  destinies had   
been reversed8    ,swift4--,yes1 ,i do4 
,you would have made an excellent       
bishop1 and ,i  should have governed    
,great ,britain1 as ,i did ,ireland1    

with an absolute  sway1 while ,i talked 
of nothing but liberty1 property1 and so
 forth4    ,addison4--,you governed the 
mob of ,ireland2 but ,i never understood
 that  you governed the kingdom4  ,a    
nation and a mob are very different     
things4    ,swift4--,ay1 so you fellows 
that have no genius for politics may    
suppose2 but there are times when1 by   
seasonably putting himself at the  head 
of the mob1 an able man may get to the  
head of the nation4  ,nay1  there are   
times when the nation itself is a mob1  
and ought to be treated  as such by a   
skilful observer4    ,addison4--,i don't
 deny the truth of your proposition2 but
 is there no  danger that1 from the     
natural vicissitudes of human affairs1  
the  favourite of the mob should be     
mobbed in his turn8                     
,swift4--,sometimes there may1 but ,i   
risked it1 and it answered my  purpose4 
,ask the lord-lieutenants1 who were     
forced to pay court to me  instead of my
 courting them1 whether they did not    

feel my superiority4  ,and if ,i could  
make myself so considerable when ,i was 
only a dirty ,dean  of ,st4 ,patrick's1 
without a seat in either ,house of      
,parliament1 what  should ,i have done  
if ,fortune had placed me in ,england1  
unencumbered with  a gown1 and in a     
situation that would have enabled me to 
make myself  heard in the ,house of     
,lords or of ,commons8                  
,addison4--,you would undoubtedly have  
done very marvellous acts6  ,perhaps    
you might then have been as zealous a   
,whig as my ,lord ,wharton himself2  or1
 if the ,whigs had unhappily offended   
the statesman as they did the  doctor1  
who knows whether you might not have    
brought in the ,pretender8  ,pray let me
 ask you one question between you and   
me3 ,if your great  talents had raised  
you to the office of first minister     
under that prince1  would you have      
tolerated the ,protestant religion or   
not8    ,swift4--,ha6 ,mr4 ,secretary1  
are you witty upon me8  ,do you think1  

because ,sunderland took a fancy to make
 you a great man in the state1  that he1
 or his master1 could make you as great 
in wit as ,nature made me8  ,no1 no2 wit
 is like grace1 it must be given from   
above4  ,you can no more  get that from 
the king than my lords the bishops can  
the other4  ,and1  though ,i will own   
you had some1 yet believe me1 my good   
friend1 it was no  match for mine4  ,i  
think you have not vanity enough in your
 nature to  pretend to a competition in 
that point with me4    ,addison4--,i    
have been told by my friends that ,i was
 rather too modest1  so ,i will not     
determine this dispute for myself1 but  
refer it to ,mercury1  the god of wit1  
who fortunately happens to be coming    
this way with a soul  he has brought to 
the ,shades4    ,hail1 divine ,hermes6  
,a question of precedence in the class  
of wit and  humour1 over which you      
preside1 having arisen between me and my
  countryman1 ,dr4 ,swift1 we beg       
leave--    ,mercury4--,dr4 ,swift1 ,i   

rejoice to see you4  ,how does my old   
lad8  ,how  does honest ,lemuel         
,gulliver8  ,have you been in ,lilliput 
lately1 or in the  ,flying ,island1 or  
with your good nurse ,glumdalclitch8    
,pray when did you  eat a crust with    
,lord ,peter8  ,is ,jack as mad still as
 ever8  ,i hear that  since you         
published the history of his case the   
poor fellow1 by more  gentle usage1 is  
almost got well4  ,if he had but more   
food he would be as  much in his senses 
as ,brother ,martin himself2 but        
,martin1 they tell me1  has lately      
spawned a strange brood of ,methodists1 
,moravians1  ,hutchinsonians1 who are   
madder than ever ,jack was in his worst 
days4  ,it  is a great pity you are not 
alive again to make a new edition of    
your  ,tale of the ,tub for the use of  
these fellows4  ,mr4 ,addison1 ,i beg   
your  pardon2 ,i should have spoken to  
you sooner1 but ,i was so struck with   
the  sight of my old friend the doctor1 
that ,i forgot for a time the respects  

due to you4    ,swift4--,addison1 ,i    
think our dispute is decided before the 
judge has  heard the cause4             
,addison4--,i own it is in your favour1 
but--    ,mercury4--,don't be           
discouraged1 friend ,addison4  ,apollo  
perhaps would  have given a different   
judgment4  ,i am a wit1 and a rogue1 and
 a foe to  all dignity4  ,swift and ,i  
naturally like one another4  ,he        
worships me  more than ,jupiter1 and ,i 
honour him more than ,homer2 but yet1 ,i
 assure  you1 ,i have a great value for 
you4  ,sir ,roger de ,coverley1 ,will   
,honeycomb1 ,will ,wimble1 the ,country 
,gentleman in the ,freeholder1 and      
twenty more characters1 drawn with the  
finest strokes of unaffected wit  and   
humour in your admirable writings1 have 
obtained for you a high place  in the   
class of my authors1 though not quite so
 high a one as the ,dean of  ,st4       
,patrick's4  ,perhaps you might have got
 before him if the decency of  your     
nature and the cautiousness of your     

judgment would have given you  leave4   
,but1 allowing that in the force and    
spirit of his wit he has  really the    
advantage1 how much does he yield to you
 in all the elegant  graces1 in the fine
 touches of delicate sentiment1 in      
developing the  secret springs of the   
soul1 in showing the mild lights and    
shades of a  character1 in distinctly   
marking each line1 and every soft       
gradation of  tints1 which would escape 
the common eye8  ,who ever painted like 
you the  beautiful parts of human       
nature1 and brought them out from under 
the  shade even of the greatest         
simplicity1 or the most ridiculous      
weaknesses2  so that we are forced to   
admire and feel that we venerate1 even  
while we  are laughing8  ,swift was able
 to do nothing that approaches to this4 
,he  could draw an ill face1 or         
caricature a good one1 with a masterly  
hand2  but there was all his power1 and1
 if ,i am to speak as a god1 a worthless
  power it is4  ,yours is divine4  ,it  

tends to exalt human nature4            
,swift4--,pray1 good ,mercury 7if ,i may
 have liberty to say a word for  myself7
 do you think that my talent was not    
highly beneficial to correct  human     
nature8  ,is whipping of no use to mend 
naughty boys8    ,mercury4--,men are    
generally not so patient of whipping as 
boys1 and a  rough satirist is seldom   
known to mend them4  ,satire1 like      
antimony1 if  it be used as a medicine1 
must be rendered less corrosive4  ,yours
 is  often rank poison4  ,but ,i will   
allow that you have done some good in   
your  way1 though not half so much as   
,addison did in his4                    
,addison4--,mercury1 ,i am satisfied4   
,it matters little what rank you  assign
 me as a wit1 if you give me the        
precedence as a friend and  benefactor  
to mankind4    ,mercury4--,i pass       
sentence on the writers1 not the men1   
and my decree is  this3--,when any hero 
is brought hither who wants to be       
humbled1 let the  talk of lowering his  

arrogance be assigned to ,swift4  ,the  
same good  office may be done to a      
philosopher vain of his wisdom and      
virtue1 or to  a bigot puffed up with   
spiritual pride4  ,the doctor's         
discipline will  soon convince the      
first1 that with all his boasted        
morality1 he is but a  ,yahoo2 and the  
latter1 that to be holy he must         
necessarily be humble4  ,i  would also  
have him apply his anticosmetic wash to 
the painted face of  female vanity1 and 
his rod1 which draws blood at every     
stroke1 to the  hard back of insolent   
folly or petulant wit4  ,but ,addison   
should be  employed to comfort those    
whose delicate minds are dejected with  
too  painful a sense of some infirmities
 in their nature4  ,to them he should   
hold his fair and charitable mirror1    
which would bring to their sight  their 
hidden excellences1 and put them in a   
temper fit for  ,elysium4--,adieu4      
,continue to esteem and love each other1
 as you did in  the other world1 though 

you were of opposite parties1 and1 what 
is still  more wonderful1 rival wits4   
,this alone is sufficient to entitle you
 both  to ,elysium4        ,,dialogue   
,v4      ,,ulysses--,,circe4--,,in      
,,circe',s ,,island4    ,circe4--,you   
will go then1 ,ulysses1 but tell me1    
without reserve1 what  carries you from 
me8    ,ulysses4--,pardon1 goddess1 the 
weakness of human nature4  ,my heart    
will  sigh for my country4  ,it is an   
attachment which all my admiration of   
you  cannot entirely overcome4          
,circe4--,this is not all4  ,i perceive 
you are afraid to declare your  whole   
mind4  ,but what1 ,ulysses1 do you fear8
  ,my terrors are gone4  ,the  proudest 
goddess on earth1 when she has favoured 
a mortal as ,i have  favoured you1 has  
laid her divinity and power at his feet4
    ,ulysses4--,it may be so while there
 still remains in her heart the         
tenderness of love1 or in her mind the  
fear of shame4  ,but you1 ,circe1  are  
above those vulgar sensations4          

,circe4--,i understand your caution2 it 
belongs to your character1 and          
therefore1 to remove all diffidence from
 you1 ,i swear by ,styx ,i will do  no  
manner of harm1 either to you or your   
friends1 for anything which you  say1   
however offensive it may be to my love  
or my pride1 but will send  you away    
from my island with all marks of my     
friendship4  ,tell me now1  truly1 what 
pleasures you hope to enjoy in the      
barren rock of ,ithaca1  which can      
compensate for those you leave in this  
paradise1 exempt from  all cares and    
overflowing with all delights8          
,ulysses4--,the pleasures of virtue2 the
 supreme happiness of doing good4  ,here
 ,i do nothing4  ,my mind is in a palsy2
 all its faculties are  benumbed4  ,i   
long to return into action1 that ,i may 
worthily employ those  talents which ,i 
have cultivated from the earliest days  
of my youth4  ,toils  and cares fright  
not me2 they are the exercise of my     
soul2 they keep it  in health and in    

vigour4  ,give me again the fields of   
,troy1 rather than  these vacant groves4
  ,there ,i could reap the bright       
harvest of glory2  here ,i am hid like a
 coward from the eyes of mankind1 and   
begin to appear  comtemptible in my own4
  ,the image of my former self haunts   
and seems to  upbraid me wheresoever ,i 
go4  ,i meet it under the gloom of every
 shade2  it even intrudes itself into   
your presence and chides me from your   
arms4  ,o goddess1 unless you have power
 to lay that spirit1 unless you can make
  me forget myself1 ,i cannot be happy  
here1 ,i shall every day be more        
wretched4    ,circe4--,may not a wise   
and good man1 who has spent all his     
youth in  active life and honourable    
danger1 when he begins to decline1 be   
permitted to retire and enjoy the rest  
of his days in quiet and pleasure8      
,ulysses4--,no retreat can be honourable
 to a wise and good man but in  company 
with the muses4  ,here ,i am deprived of
 that sacred society4  ,the  muses will 

not inhabit the abodes of voluptuousness
 and sensual pleasure4  ,how can ,i     
study or think while such a number of   
beasts--and the worst  beasts are men   
turned into beasts--are howling or      
roaring or grunting all  about me8      
,circe4--,there may be something in     
this1 but this ,i know is not all4  ,you
  suppress the strongest reason that    
draws you to ,ithaca4  ,there is another
  image besides that of your former     
self1 which appears to you in this      
island1 which follows you in your walks1
 which more particularly  interposes    
itself between you and me1 and chides   
you from my arms4  ,it is  ,penelope1   
,ulysses1 ,i know it is4  ,don't pretend
 to deny it4  ,you sigh for  ,penelope  
in my bosom itself4  ,and yet she is not
 an immortal4  ,she is  not1 as ,i am1  
endowed by ,nature with the gift of     
unfading youth4  ,several  years have   
passed since hers has been faded4  ,i   
might say1 without  vanity1 that in her 
best days she was never so handsome as  

,i4  ,but what  is she now8             
,ulysses4--,you have told me yourself1  
in a former conversation1 when ,i       
inquired of you about her1 that she is  
faithful to my bed1 and as fond of  me  
now1 after twenty years' absence1 as at 
the time when ,i left her to go  to     
,troy4  ,i left her in the bloom of     
youth and beauty4  ,how much must her   
constancy have been tried since that    
time6  ,how meritorious is her          
fidelity6  ,shall ,i reward her with    
falsehood8  ,shall ,i forget my         
,penelope1 who can't forget me1 who has 
no pleasure so dear to her as my        
remembrance8    ,circe4--,her love is   
preserved by the continual hope of your 
speedy  return4  ,take that hope from   
her4  ,let your companions return1 and  
let  her know that you have fixed your  
abode with me1 that you have fixed it   
for ever4  ,let her know that she is    
free to dispose as she pleases of her   
heart and her hand4  ,send my picture to
 her1 bid her compare it with her  own  

face4  ,if all this does not cure her of
 the remains of her passion1  if you    
don't hear of her marrying ,eurymachus  
in a twelvemonth1 ,i  understand nothing
 of womankind4    ,ulysses4--,o cruel   
goddess6 why will you force me to tell  
you truths ,i  desire to conceal8  ,if  
by such unmerited1 such barbarous usage 
,i could  lose her heart it would break 
mine4  ,how should ,i be able to endure 
the  torment of thinking that ,i had    
wronged such a wife8  ,what could make  
me  amends for her being no longer mine1
 for her being another's8  ,don't       
frown1 ,circe1 ,i must own--since you   
will have me speak--,i must own you     
could not4  ,with all your pride of     
immortal beauty1 with all your magical  
charms to assist those of ,nature1 you  
are not so powerful a charmer as  she4  
,you feel desire1 and you give it1 but  
you have never felt love1 nor  can you  
inspire it4  ,how can ,i love one who   
would have degraded me into a  beast8   
,penelope raised me into a hero4  ,her  

love ennobled1 invigorated1  exalted my 
mind4  ,she bid me go to the siege of   
,troy1 though the parting  with me was  
worse than death to herself4  ,she bid  
me expose myself there  to all the      
perils of war among the foremost heroes 
of ,greece1 though her  poor heart sunk 
and trembled at every thought of those  
perils1 and would  have given all its   
own blood to save a drop of mine4  ,then
 there was such  a conformity in all our
 inclinations6  ,when ,minerva was      
teaching me the  lessons of wisdom she  
delighted to be present4  ,she heard1   
she retained1  she gave them back to me 
softened and sweetened with the peculiar
 graces  of her own mind4  ,when we     
unbent our thoughts with the charms of  
poetry1  when we read together the poems
 of ,orpheus1 ,musaeus1 and ,linus1 with
 what  taste did she discern every      
excellence in them6  ,my feelings were  
dull  compared to hers4  ,she seemed    
herself to be the muse who had inspired 
those verses1 and had tuned their lyres 

to infuse into the hearts of  mankind   
the love of wisdom and virtue and the   
fear of the gods4  ,how  beneficent was 
she1 how tender to my people6  ,what    
care did she take to  instruct them in  
all the finer arts1 to relieve the      
necessities of the  sick and aged1 to   
superintend the education of children1  
to do my  subjects every good office of 
kind intercession1 to lay before me     
their  wants1 to mediate for those who  
were objects of mercy1 to sue for those 
who deserved the favours of the ,crown4 
,and shall ,i banish myself for  ever   
from such a consort8  ,shall ,i give up 
her society for the brutal  joys of a   
sensual life1 keeping indeed the        
exterior form of a man1 but  having lost
 the human soul1 or at least all its    
noble and godlike powers8  ,oh1 ,circe1 
it is impossible1 ,i can't bear the     
thought4    ,circe4--,begone2 don't     
imagine that ,i ask you to stay a moment
 longer4  ,the daughter of the sun is   
not so mean-spirited as to solicit a    

mortal to  share her happiness with her4
  ,it is a happiness which ,i find you  
cannot  enjoy4  ,i pity and despise you4
  ,all you have said seems to me a      
jargon  of sentiments fitter for a silly
 woman than a great man4  ,go read1 and 
spin too1 if you please1 with your wife4
  ,i forbid you to remain another  day  
in my island4  ,you shall have a fair   
wind to carry you from it4  ,after  that
 may every storm that ,neptune can raise
 pursue and overwhelm you4  ,begone1 ,i 
say1 quit my sight4    ,ulysses4--,great
 goddess1 ,i obey1 but remember your    
oath4        ,,dialogue ,,vi4           
,,mercury--,,an ,,english ,,duellist--,a
 ,,north ,,american ,,savage4    ,the   
,duellist4--,mercury1 ,charon's boat is 
on the other side of the  water4  ,allow
 me1 before it returns1 to have some    
conversation with the  ,north ,american 
savage whom you brought hither with me4 
,i never before  saw one of that        
species4  ,he looks very grim4  ,pray1  
sir1 what is your  name8  ,i understand 

you speak ,english4    ,savage4--,yes1  
,i learnt it in my childhood1 having    
been bred for some  years among the     
,english of ,new ,york4  ,but before ,i 
was a man ,i returned  to my valiant    
countrymen1 the ,mohawks2 and having    
been villainously  cheated by one of    
yours in the sale of some rum1 ,i never 
cared to have  anything to do with them 
afterwards4  ,yet ,i took up the hatchet
 for them  with the rest of my tribe in 
the late war against ,france1 and was   
killed  while ,i was out upon a scalping
 party4  ,but ,i died very well         
satisfied1  for my brethren were        
victorious1 and before ,i was shot ,i   
had gloriously  scalped seven men and   
five women and children4  ,in a former  
war ,i had  performed still greater     
exploits4  ,my name is the ,bloody      
,bear2 it was  given me to express my   
fierceness and valour4                  
,duellist4--,bloody ,bear1 ,i respect   
you1 and am much your humble servant4   
,my name is ,tom ,pushwell1 very well   

known at ,arthur's4  ,i am a gentleman  
by my birth1 and by profession a        
gamester and man of honour4  ,i have    
killed men in fair fighting1 in         
honourable single combat1 but don't     
understand cutting the throats of women 
and children4    ,savage4--,sir1 that is
 our way of making war4  ,every nation  
has its  customs4  ,but1 by the grimness
 of your countenance1 and that hole in  
your  breast1 ,i presume you were       
killed1 as ,i was1 in some scalping     
party4  ,how  happened it that your     
enemy did not take off your scalp8      
,duellist4--,sir1 ,i was killed in a    
duel4  ,a friend of mine had lent me a  
sum of money4  ,after two or three      
years1 being in great want himself1 he  
asked me to pay him4  ,i thought his    
demand1 which was somewhat  peremptory1 
an affront to my honour1 and sent him a 
challenge4  ,we met in  ,hyde ,park4    
,the fellow could not fence3 ,i was     
absolutely the adroitest  swordsman in  
,england1 so ,i gave him three or four  

wounds2 but at last he  ran upon me with
 such impetuosity1 that he put me out of
 my play1 and ,i  could not prevent him 
from whipping me through the lungs4  ,i 
died the  next day1 as a man of honour  
should1 without any snivelling signs of 
contrition or repentance2 and he will   
follow me soon1 for his surgeon has     
declared his wounds to be mortal4  ,it  
is said that his wife is dead of  grief1
 and that his family of seven children  
will be undone by his death4  ,so ,i am 
well revenged1 and that is a comfort4   
,for my part1 ,i had no  wife4  ,i      
always hated marriage4                  
,savage4--,mercury1 ,i won't go in a    
boat with that fellow4  ,he has         
murdered his countryman--he has murdered
 his friend3 ,i say1 positively1 ,i     
won't go in a boat with that fellow4  ,i
 will swim over the ,river1 ,i can  swim
 like a duck4    ,mercury4--,swim over  
the ,styx6 it must not be done2 it is   
against the  laws of ,pluto's ,empire4  
,you must go in the boat1 and be quiet4 

,savage4--,don't tell me of laws1 ,i am 
a savage4  ,i value no laws4  ,talk  of 
laws to the ,englishman4  ,there are    
laws in his country1 and yet you  see he
 did not regard them1 for they could    
never allow him to kill his             
fellow-subject1 in time of peace1       
because he asked him to pay a debt4  ,i 
know indeed1 that the ,english are a    
barbarous nation1 but they can't        
possibly be so brutal as to make such   
things lawful4    ,mercury4--,you reason
 well against him4  ,but how comes it   
that you are  so offended with murder2  
you1 who have frequently massacred women
 in  their sleep1 and children in the   
cradle8    ,savage4--,i killed none but 
my enemies4  ,i never killed my own     
countrymen4  ,i never killed my friend4 
,here1 take my blanket1 and let it  come
 over in the boat1 but see that the     
murderer does not sit upon it1 or  touch
 it4  ,if he does1 ,i will burn it      
instantly in the fire ,i see yonder4    
,farewell6  ,i am determined to swim    

over the water4    ,mercury4--,by this  
touch of my wand ,i deprive thee of all 
thy strength4  ,swim now if thou canst4 
,savage4--,this is a potent enchanter4  
,restore me my strength1 and ,i  promise
 to obey thee4    ,mercury4--,i restore 
it3 but be orderly1 and do as ,i bid    
you2 otherwise  worse will befall you4  
,duellist4--,mercury1 leave him to me4  
,i'll tutor him for you4  ,sirrah1      
savage1 dost thou pretend to be ashamed 
of my company8  ,dost thou know ,i  have
 kept the best company in ,england8     
,savage4--,i know thou art a scoundrel6 
,not pay thy debts6 kill thy  friend who
 lent thee money for asking thee for it6
  ,get out of my sight6  ,i will drive  
thee into ,styx6    ,mercury4--,stop6   
,i command thee4  ,no violence6  ,talk  
to him calmly4    ,savage4--,i must obey
 thee4  ,well1 sir1 let me know what    
merit you had  to introduce you into    
good company8  ,what could you do8      
,duellist4--,sir1 ,i gamed1 as ,i told  
you4  ,besides1 ,i kept a good table4   

,i eat as well as any man either in     
,england or ,france4    ,savage4--,eat6 
,did you ever eat the liver of a        
,frenchman1 or his leg1  or his         
shoulder6  ,there is fine eating6  ,i   
have eat twenty4  ,my table was  always 
well served4  ,my wife was esteemed the 
best cook for the dressing  of man's    
flesh in all ,north ,america4  ,you will
 not pretend to compare  your eating    
with mine8    ,duellist4--,i danced very
 finely4    ,savage4--,i'll dance with  
thee for thy ears3 ,i can dance all day 
long4  ,i  can dance the war-dance with 
more spirit than any man of my nation4  
,let  us see thee begin it4  ,how thou  
standest like a post6  ,has ,mercury    
struck  thee with his enfeebling rod8 or
 art thou ashamed to let us see how     
awkward thou art8  ,if he would permit  
me1 ,i would teach thee to dance in  a  
way that thou hast never yet learnt4    
,but what else canst thou do1 thou      
bragging rascal8    ,duellist4--,o      
heavens6 must ,i bear this8  ,what can  

,i do with this  fellow8  ,i have       
neither sword nor pistol4  ,and his     
shade seems to be  twice as strong as   
mine4    ,mercury4--,you must answer his
 questions4  ,it was your own desire to 
have a conversation with him4  ,he is   
not well bred2 but he will tell you     
some truths which you must necessarily  
hear1 when you come before              
,rhadamanthus4  ,he asked you what you  
could do besides eating and dancing4    
,duellist4--,i sang very agreeably4     
,savage4--,let me hear you sing your    
,death ,song or the ,war ,whoop4  ,i    
challenge you to sing4  ,come1 begin4   
,the fellow is mute4  ,mercury1 this  is
 a liar2 he has told us nothing but     
lies4  ,let me pull out his tongue4     
,duellist4--,the lie given me6 and1     
alas1 ,i dare not resent it4  ,what an  
indelible disgrace to the family of the 
,pushwells6  ,this indeed is  damnation4
    ,mercury4--,here1 ,charon1 take     
these two savages to your care4  ,how   
far  the barbarism of the ,mohawk will  

excuse his horrid acts ,i leave ,minos  
to  judge4  ,but what can be said for   
the other1 for the ,englishman8  ,the   
custom of duelling8  ,a bad excuse at   
the best6 but here it cannot avail4     
,the spirit that urged him to draw his  
sword against his friend is not  that of
 honour2 it is the spirit of the furies1
 and to them he must go4                
,savage4--,if he is to be punished for  
his wickedness1 turn him over to  me2 ,i
 perfectly understand the art of        
tormenting4  ,sirrah1 ,i begin my  work 
with this kick on your breech4          
,duellist4--,oh my honour1 my honour1 to
 what infamy art thou fallen6           
,,dialogue ,,vii4      ,,pliny ,,the    
,,elder--,,pliny ,,the ,,younger4       
,pliny the ,elder4--,the account that   
you give me1 nephew1 of your  behaviour 
amidst the tenors and perils that       
accompanied the first  eruption of      
,vesuvius does not please me much4      
,there was more of vanity  in it than of
 true magnanimity4  ,nothing is great   

that is unnatural and  affected4  ,when 
the earth was shaking beneath you1 when 
the whole heaven  was darkened with     
sulphurous clouds1 when all ,nature     
seemed falling into  its final          
destruction1 to be reading ,livy and    
making extracts was an  absurd          
affectation4  ,to meet danger with      
courage is manly1 but to be  insensible 
of it is brutal stupidity2 and to       
pretend insensibility where  it cannot  
be supposed is ridiculous falseness4    
,when you afterwards  refused to leave  
your aged mother and save yourself      
without her1 you  indeed acted nobly4   
,it was also becoming a ,roman to keep  
up her spirits  amidst all the horrors  
of that tremendous scene by showing     
yourself  undismayed2 but the real merit
 and glory of this part of your         
behaviour  is sunk by the other1 which  
gives an air of ostentation and vanity  
to the  whole4    ,pliny the            
,younger4--,that vulgar minds should    
consider my attention to  my studies in 

such a conjuncture as unnatural and     
affected1 ,i should not  much wonder2   
but that you would blame it as such ,i  
did not apprehend--you1  whom no        
business could separate from the muses2 
you1 who approached  nearer to the fiery
 storm1 and died by the suffocating heat
 of the  vapour4    ,pliny the          
,elder4--,i died in doing my duty4  ,let
 me recall to your  remembrance all the 
particulars1 and then you shall judge   
yourself on the  difference of your     
behaviour and mine4  ,i was the ,prefect
 of the ,roman  fleet1 which then lay at
 ,misenum4  ,on the first account ,i    
received of the  very unusual cloud that
 appeared in the air ,i ordered a vessel
 to carry  me out to some distance from 
the shore that ,i might the better      
observe  the phenomenon1 and endeavour  
to discover its nature and cause4  ,this
 ,i  did as a philosopher1 and it was a 
curiosity proper and natural to an      
inquisitive mind4  ,i offered to take   
you with me1 and surely you should  have

 gone2 for ,livy might have been read at
 any other time1 and such  spectacles   
are not frequent4  ,when ,i came out    
from my house1 ,i found all  the        
inhabitants of ,misenum flying to the   
sea4  ,that ,i might assist them1  and  
all others who dwelt on the coast1 ,i   
immediately commanded the whole  fleet  
to put out1 and sailed with it all round
 the ,bay of ,naples1  steering         
particularly to those parts of the shore
 where the danger was  greatest1 and    
from whence the affrighted people were  
endeavouring to  escape with the most   
trepidation4  ,thus ,i happily preserved
 some  thousands of lives1 noting at the
 same time1 with an unshaken composure  
and freedom of mind1 the several        
phenomena of the eruption4  ,towards    
night1 as we approached to the foot of  
,mount ,vesuvius1 our galleys were      
covered with ashes1 the showers of which
 grew continually hotter and  hotter2   
then pumice stones and burnt and broken 
pyrites began to fall on  our heads1 and

 we were stopped by the obstacles which 
the ruins of the  volcano had suddenly  
formed1 by falling into the sea and     
almost filling  it up1 on that part of  
the coast4  ,i then commanded my pilot  
to steer to  the villa of my friend     
,pomponianus1 which1 you know1 was      
situated in the  inmost recess of the   
bay4  ,the wind was very favourable to  
carry me  thither1 but would not allow  
him to put off from the shore1 as he was
  desirous to have done4  ,we were1     
therefore1 constrained to pass the night
  in his house4  ,the family watched1   
and ,i slept till the heaps of pumice   
stones1 which incessantly fell from the 
clouds that had by this time been       
impelled to that side of the bay1 rose  
so high in the area of the  apartment ,i
 lay in1 that if ,i had stayed any      
longer ,i could not have got  out2 and  
the earthquakes were so violent as to   
threaten every moment the  fall of the  
house4  ,we1 therefore1 thought it more 
safe to go into the  open air1 guarding 

our heads as well as we were able with  
pillows tied  upon them4  ,the wind     
continuing contrary1 and the sea very   
rough1 we all  remained on the shore1   
till the descent of a sulphurous and    
fiery vapour  suddenly oppressed my weak
 lungs and put an end to my life4  ,in  
all this  ,i hope that ,i acted as the  
duty of my station required1 and with   
true  magnanimity4  ,but on this        
occasion1 and in many other parts of    
your  conduct1 ,i must say1 my dear     
nephew1 there was a mixture of vanity   
blended with your virtue which impaired 
and disgraced it4  ,without that  you   
would have been one of the worthiest men
 whom ,rome has over produced1  for none
 excelled you in sincere integrity of   
heart and greatness of  sentiments4     
,why would you lose the substance of    
glory by seeking the  shadow8  ,your    
eloquence had1 ,i think1 the same fault 
as your manners2 it  was generally too  
affected4  ,you professed to make       
,cicero your guide and  pattern2 but    

when one reads his ,panegyric upon      
,julius ,caesar1 in his  ,oration for   
,marcellus1 and yours upon ,trajan1 the 
first seems the genuine  language of    
truth and ,nature1 raised and dignified 
with all the majesty  of the most       
sublime oratory2 the latter appears the 
harangue of a florid  rhetorician1 more 
desirous to shine and to set off his own
 wit than to  extol the great man whose 
virtues he was praising4    ,pliny the  
,younger4--,i will not question your    
judgment either of my life  or my       
writings2 they might both have been     
better if ,i had not been too           
solicitous to render them perfect4  ,it 
is1 perhaps1 some excuse for the        
affectation of my style that it was the 
fashion of the age in which ,i  wrote4  
,even the eloquence of ,tacitus1 however
 nervous and sublime1 was  not          
unaffected4  ,mine1 indeed1 was more    
diffuse1 and the ornaments of it  were  
more tawdry2 but his laboured           
conciseness1 the constant glow of his   

diction1 and pointed brilliancy of his  
sentences1 were no less unnatural4  ,one
 principal cause of this ,i suppose to  
have been that1 as we despaired  of     
excelling the two great masters of      
oratory1 ,cicero and ,livy1 in their    
own manner1 we took up another1 which to
 many appeared more shining1 and  gave  
our compositions a more original air2   
but it is mortifying to me to  say much 
on this subject4  ,permit me1 therefore1
 to resume the  contemplation of that on
 which our conversation turned before4  
,what a  direful calamity was the       
eruption of ,vesuvius1 which you have   
been  describing8  ,don't you remember  
the beauty of that fine coast1 and of   
the  mountain itself1 before it was torn
 with the violence of those internal    
fires1 that forced their way through its
 surface4  ,the foot of it was  covered 
with cornfields and rich meadows1       
interspersed with splendid  villas and  
magnificent towns2 the sides of it were 
clothed with the best  vines in ,italy4 

,how quick1 how unexpected1 how terrible
 was the change6  ,all was at once      
overwhelmed with ashes1 cinders1 broken 
rocks1 and fiery  torrents1 presenting  
to the eye the most dismal scene of     
horror and  desolation6    ,pliny the   
,elder4--,you paint it very truly4  ,but
 has it never occurred  to your         
philosophical mind that this change is a
 striking emblem of that  which must    
happen1 by the natural course of things1
 to every rich1  luxurious state8       
,while the inhabitants of it are sunk in
  voluptuousness--while all is smiling  
around them1 and they imagine that  no  
evil1 no danger is nigh--the latent     
seeds of destruction are  fermenting    
within2 till1 breaking out on a sudden1 
they lay waste all  their opulence1 all 
their boasted delights1 and leave them a
 sad monument  of the fatal effects of  
internal tempests and convulsions4      
,,dialogue ,,viii4      ,,fernando      
,,cortez--,,william ,,penn4             
,cortez4--,is it possible1 ,william     

,penn1 that you should seriously        
compare your glory with mine8  ,the     
planter of a small colony in ,north     
,america presume to vie with the        
conqueror of the great ,mexican ,empire8
    ,penn4--,friend1 ,i pretend to no   
glory--the ,lord preserve me from it4   
,all  glory is ,his2 but this ,i say1   
that ,i was ,his instrument in a more   
glorious work than that performed by    
thee--incomparably more glorious4       
,cortez4--,dost thou not know1 ,william 
,penn1 that with less than six  hundred 
,spanish foot1 eighteen horse1 and a few
 small pieces of cannon1 ,i  fought and 
defeated innumerable armies of very     
brave men2 dethroned an  emperor who had
 been raised to the throne by his       
valour1 and excelled all  his countrymen
 in the science of war1 as much as they 
excelled all the  rest of the ,west     
,indian nations8  ,that ,i made him my  
prisoner in his own  capital2 and1 after
 he had been deposed and slain by his   
subjects1  vanquished and took          

,guatimozin1 his successor1 and         
accomplished my  conquest of the whole  
empire of ,mexico1 which ,i loyally     
annexed to the  ,spanish ,crown8  ,dost 
thou not know that1 in doing these      
wonderful acts1 ,i  showed as much      
courage as ,alexander the ,great1 as    
much prudence as ,caesar8  ,that by my  
policy ,i ranged under my banners the   
powerful commonwealth of  ,tlascala1 and
 brought them to assist me in subduing  
the ,mexicans1 though  with the loss of 
their own beloved independence8 and     
that1 to consummate  my glory1 when the 
,governor of ,cuba1 ,velasquez1 would   
have taken my  command from me and      
sacrificed me to his envy and jealousy1 
,i drew from  him all his forces and    
joined them to my own1 showing myself as
 superior  to all other ,spaniards as ,i
 was to the ,indians8    ,penn4--,i know
 very well that thou wast as fierce as a
 lion and as  subtle as a serpent4  ,the
 devil perhaps may place thee as high in
 his  black list of heroes as ,alexander

 or ,caesar4  ,it is not my business to 
interfere with him in settling thy rank4
  ,but hark thee1 friend ,cortez4  ,what
 right hadst thou1 or had the ,king of  
,spain himself1 to the ,mexican         
,empire8  ,answer me that1 if thou      
canst4    ,cortez4--,the ,pope gave it  
to my master4    ,penn4--,the devil     
offered to give our ,lord all the       
kingdoms of the  earth1 and ,i suppose  
the ,pope1 as his vicar1 gave thy master
 this2 in  return for which he fell down
 and worshipped him1 like an idolater as
 he  was4  ,but suppose the high priest 
of ,mexico had taken it into his head to
  give ,spain to ,montezuma1 would his  
grant have been good8                   
,cortez4--,these are questions of       
casuistry which it is not the business  
of a soldier to decide4  ,we leave that 
to gownsmen4  ,but pray1 ,mr4 ,penn1    
what right had you to the province you  
settled8    ,penn4--,an honest right of 
fair purchase4  ,we gave the native     
savages  some things they wanted1 and   

they in return gave us lands they did   
not  want4  ,all was amicably agreed on1
 not a drop of blood shed to stain our  
acquisition4    ,cortez4--,i am afraid  
there was a little fraud in the         
purchase4  ,thy  followers1 ,william    
,penn1 are said to think cheating in a  
quiet and sober  way no mortal sin4     
,penn4--,the saints are always          
calumniated by the ungodly4  ,but it was
 a  sight which an angel might          
contemplate with delight to behold the  
colony  ,i settled6  ,to see us living  
with the ,indians like innocent lambs1  
and  taming the ferocity of their       
barbarous manners by the gentleness of  
ours6  ,to see the whole country1 which 
before was an uncultivated wilderness1  
rendered as fertile and fair as the     
garden of ,god6  ,o ,fernando ,cortez1  
,fernando ,cortez6 didst thou leave the 
great empire of ,mexico in that  state8 
,no1 thou hadst turned those delightful 
and populous regions into  a desert--a  
desert flooded with blood4  ,dost thou  

not remember that most  infernal scene  
when the noble ,emperor ,guatimozin was 
stretched out by thy  soldiers upon hot 
burning coals to make him discover into 
what part of  the lake of ,mexico he had
 thrown the royal treasures8  ,are not  
his groans  ever sounding in the ears of
 thy conscience8  ,do not they rend thy 
hard  heart1 and strike thee with more  
horror than the yells of the furies8    
,cortez4--,alas6  ,i was not present    
when that dire act was done4  ,had ,i   
been there ,i would have forbidden it4  
,my nature was mild4    ,penn4--,thou   
wast the captain of that band of robbers
 who did this  horrid deed4  ,the       
advantage they had drawn from thy       
counsels and conduct  enabled them to   
commit it2 and thy skill saved them     
afterwards from the  vengeance that was 
due to so enormous a crime4  ,the       
enraged ,mexicans  would have properly  
punished them for it1 if they had not   
had thee for  their general1 thou       
lieutenant of ,satan4    ,cortez4--,the 

saints ,i find can rail1 ,william ,penn4
  ,but how do you hope  to preserve this
 admirable colony which you have        
settled8  ,your people1  you tell me1   
live like innocent lambs4  ,are there no
 wolves in ,north  ,america to devour   
those lambs8  ,but if the ,americans    
should continue in  perpetual peace with
 all your successors there1 the ,french 
will not4  ,are  the inhabitants of     
,pennsylvania to make war against them  
with prayers and  preaching8  ,if so1   
that garden of ,god which you say you   
have planted will  undoubtedly be their 
prey1 and they will take from you your  
property1  your laws1 and your religion4
    ,penn4--,the ,lord's will be done4  
,the ,lord will defend us against the   
rage of our enemies if it be ,his good  
pleasure4    ,cortez4--,is this the     
wisdom of a great legislator8  ,i have  
heard some  of your countrymen compare  
you to ,solon4  ,did ,solon1 think you1 
give laws  to a people1 and leave those 
laws and that people at the mercy of    

every  invader8  ,the first business of 
legislature is to provide a military    
strength that may defend the whole      
system4  ,if a house is built in a land 
of robbers1 without a gate to shut or a 
bolt or bar to secure it1 what  avails  
it how well-proportioned or how         
commodious the architecture of it  may  
be8  ,is it richly furnished within8 the
 more it will tempt the hands  of       
violence and of rapine to seize its     
wealth4  ,the world1 ,william ,penn1  is
 all a land of robbers4  ,any state or  
commonwealth erected therein must  be   
well fenced and secured by good military
 institutions2 or1 the happier  it is in
 all other respects1 the greater will be
 its danger1 the more  speedy its       
destruction4  ,perhaps the neighbouring 
,english colonies may  for a while      
protect yours2 but that precarious      
security cannot always  preserve you4   
,your plan of government must be        
changed1 or your colony  will be lost4  
,what ,i have said is also applicable to

 ,great ,britain  itself4  ,if an       
increase of its wealth be not           
accompanied with an increase  of its    
force that wealth will become the prey  
of some of the neighbouring  nations1 in
 which the martial spirit is more       
prevalent than the  commercial4  ,and   
whatever praise may be due to its civil 
institutions1 if  they are not guarded  
by a wise system of military policy1    
they will be  found of no value1 being  
unable to prevent their own dissolution4
    ,penn4--,these are suggestions of   
human wisdom4  ,the doctrines ,i held   
were inspired2 they came from above4    
,cortez4--,it is blasphemy to say that  
any folly could come from the  ,fountain
 of ,wisdom4  ,whatever is inconsistent 
with the great laws of  ,nature and with
 the necessary state of human society   
cannot possibly have  been inspired by  
,god4  ,self-defence is as necessary to 
nations as to men4  ,and shall          
particulars have a right which nations  
have not8  ,true  religion1 ,william    

,penn1 is the perfection of reason2     
fanaticism is the  disgrace1 the        
destruction of reason4                  
,penn4--,though what thou sayest should 
be true1 it does not come well  from thy
 mouth4  ,a ,papist talk of reason6  ,go
 to the ,inquisition and tell  them of  
reason and the great laws of ,nature4   
,they will broil thee1 as  thy soldiers 
broiled the unhappy ,guatimozin4  ,why  
dost thou turn pale8  ,is  it the name  
of the ,inquisition1 or the name of     
,guatimozin1 that troubles  and         
affrights thee8  ,o wretched man6 who   
madest thyself a voluntary  instrument  
to carry into a new-discovered world    
that hellish tribunal8  ,tremble and    
shake when thou thinkest that every     
murder the ,inquisitors  have committed1
 every torture they have inflicted on   
the innocent  ,indians1 is originally   
owing to thee4  ,thou must answer to    
,god for all  their inhumanity1 for all 
their injustice4  ,what wouldst thou    
give to  part with the renown of thy    

conquests1 and to have a conscience as  
pure  and undisturbed as mine8          
,cortez4--,i feel the force of thy      
words2 they pierce me like daggers4  ,i 
can never1 never be happy1 while ,i     
retain any memory of the ills ,i have   
caused4  ,yet ,i thought ,i did right4  
,i thought ,i laboured to advance the   
glory of ,god and propagate1 in the     
remotest parts of the earth1 ,his holy  
religion4  ,he will be merciful to well 
designing and pious error4  ,thou  also 
wilt have need of that gracious         
indulgence1 though not1 ,i own1 so  much
 as ,i4    ,penn4--,ask thy heart       
whether ambition was not thy real motive
 and zeal  the pretence8                
,cortez4--,ask thine whether thy zeal   
had no worldly views and whether  thou  
didst believe all the nonsense of the   
sect1 at the head of which  thou wast   
pleased to become a legislator4--,adieu4
  ,self-examination  requires           
retirement4        ,,dialogue ,,ix4     
,,marcus ,,portius ,,cato--,,messalla   

,,corvinus4    ,cato4--,oh1 ,messalla6  
is it then possible that what some of   
our  countrymen tell me should be true8 
,is it possible that you could live  the
 courtier of ,octavius2 that you could  
accept of employments and  honours from 
him1 from the tyrant of your country2   
you1 the brave1 the  noble-minded1 the  
virtuous ,messalla2 you1 whom ,i        
remember1 my son-in-law  ,brutus has    
frequently extolled as the most         
promising youth in ,rome1  tutored by   
philosophy1 trained up in arms1 scorning
 all those soft1  effeminate pleasures  
that reconcile men to an easy and       
indolent  servitude1 fit for all the    
roughest tasks of honour and virtue1 fit
 to  live or to die a free man8         
,messalla4--,marcus ,cato1 ,i revere    
both your life and your death2 but the  
last1 permit me to tell you1 did no good
 to your country1 and the former  would 
have done more if you could have        
mitigated a little the sternness  of    
your virtue1 ,i will not say of your    

pride4  ,for my own part1 ,i adhered    
with constant integrity and unwearied   
zeal to the ,republic1 while the        
,republic existed4  ,i fought for her at
 ,philippi under the only commander1    
who1 if he had conquered1 would have    
conquered for her1 not for himself4     
,when he was dead ,i saw that nothing   
remained to my country but the choice   
of a master4  ,i chose the best4        
,cato4--,the best6  ,what6 a man who had
 broken all laws1 who had violated  all 
trusts1 who had led the armies of the   
,commonwealth against ,antony1  and then
 joined with him and that sottish       
traitor ,lepidus1 to set up a           
triumvirate more execrable by far than  
either of the former2 who shed the  best
 blood in ,rome by an inhuman           
proscription1 murdered even his own     
guardian1 murdered ,cicero1 to whose    
confidence1 too improvidently given1  he
 owed all his power8  ,was this the     
master you chose8  ,could you bring     
your tongue to give him the name of     

,augustus8  ,could you stoop to beg     
consulships and triumphs from him8  ,oh1
 shame to virtue6  ,oh1 degeneracy  of  
,rome6  ,to what infamy are her sons1   
her noblest sons1 fallen4  ,the  thought
 of it pains me more than the wound that
 ,i died of2 it stabs my  soul4         
,messalla4--,moderate1 ,cato1 the       
vehemence of your indignation4  ,there  
has always been too much passion mixed  
with your virtue4  ,the enthusiasm  you 
are possessed with is a noble one1 but  
it disturbs your judgment4  ,hear me    
with patience1 and with the tranquillity
 that becomes a  philosopher4  ,it is   
true that ,octavius had done all you    
have said2 but it  is no less true that1
 in our circumstances1 he was the best  
master ,rome  could choose4  ,his mind  
was fitted by nature for empire4  ,his  
understanding was clear and strong4     
,his passions were cool1 and under  the 
absolute command of his reason4  ,his   
name gave him an authority over  the    
troops and the people which no other    

,roman could possess in an equal        
degree4  ,he used that authority to     
restrain the excesses of both1 which  it
 was no longer in the power of the      
,senate to repress1 nor of any other    
general or magistrate in the state4  ,he
 restored discipline in our  armies1 the
 first means of salvation1 without which
 no legal government  could have been   
formed or supported4  ,he avoided all   
odious and invidious  names4  ,he       
maintained and respected those which    
time and long habits had  endeared to   
the ,roman people4  ,he permitted a     
generous liberty of speech4  ,he treated
 the nobles of ,pompey's party as well  
as those of his father's1  if they did  
not themselves1 for factious purposes1  
keep up the  distinction4  ,he formed a 
plan of government1 moderate1 decent1   
respectable1 which left the senate its  
majesty1 and some of its power4  ,he    
restored vigour and spirit to the laws2 
he made new and good ones for the       
reformation of manners2 he enforced     

their execution2 he governed the  empire
 with lenity1 justice1 and glory2 he    
humbled the pride of the  ,parthians2 he
 broke the fierceness of the barbarous  
nations2 he gave to  his country1       
exhausted and languishing with the great
 loss of blood which  she had sustained 
in the course of so many civil wars1 the
 blessing of  peace--a blessing which   
was become so necessary for her1 that   
without it  she could enjoy no other4   
,in doing these things ,i acknowledge he
 had my  assistance4  ,i am prouder of  
it1 and ,i think ,i can justify myself  
more  effectually to my country1 than if
 ,i had died by my own hand at          
,philippi4  ,believe me1 ,cato1 it is   
better to do some good than to project a
 great  deal4  ,a little practical      
virtue is of more use to society than   
the most  sublime theory1 or the best   
principles of government ill applied4   
,cato4--,yet ,i must think it was       
beneath the character of ,messalla to   
join in supporting a government which1  

though coloured and mitigated1 was      
still a tyranny4  ,had you not better   
have gone into a voluntary exile1  where
 you would not have seen the face of the
 tyrant1 and where you might  have      
quietly practised those private virtues 
which are all that the gods  require    
from good men in certain situations8    
,messalla4--,no2 ,i did much more good  
by continuing at ,rome4  ,had  ,augustus
 required of me anything base1 anything 
servile1 ,i would have  gone into exile1
 ,i would have died1 rather than do it4 
,but he respected  my virtue1 he        
respected my dignity2 he treated me as  
well as ,agrippa1 or  as ,maecenas1 with
 this distinction alone1 that he never  
employed my sword  but against foreign  
nations1 or the old enemies of the      
republic4    ,cato4--,it must1 ,i own1  
have been a pleasure to be employed     
against  ,antony1 that monster of vice1 
who plotted the ruin of liberty1 and the
  raising of himself to sovereign power1
 amidst the riot of bacchanals1 and  in 

the embraces of harlots1 who1 when he   
had attained to that power1  delivered  
it up to a lascivious queen1 and would  
have made an ,egyptian  strumpet the    
mistress of ,rome1 if the ,battle of    
,actium had not saved us  from that last
 of misfortunes4    ,messalla4--,in that
 battle ,i had a considerable share4    
,so ,i had in  encouraging the liberal  
arts and sciences1 which ,augustus      
protected4  ,under his judicious        
patronage the muses made ,rome their    
capital seat4  ,it  would have pleased  
you to have known ,virgil1 ,horace1     
,tibullus1 ,ovid1  ,livy1 and many more1
 whose names will be illustrious to all 
generations4    ,cato4--,i understand   
you1 ,messalla4  ,your ,augustus and    
you1 after the  ruin of our liberty1    
made ,rome a ,greek city1 an academy of 
fine wits1  another ,athens under the   
government of ,demetrius ,phalareus4  ,i
 had much  rather have seen her under   
,fabricius and ,curius1 and her other   
honest old  consuls1 who could not read4

    ,messalla4--,yet to these writers   
she will owe as much of her glory as    
she did to those heroes4  ,i could say  
more1 a great deal more1 on the         
happiness of the mild dominion of       
,augustus4  ,i might even add1 that the 
vast extent of the empire1 the factions 
of the nobility1 and the  corruption of 
the people1 which no laws under the     
ordinary magistrates of  the state were 
able to restrain1 seemed necessarily to 
require some  change in the government2 
that ,cato himself1 had he remained upon
 earth1  could have done us no good1    
unless he would have yielded to become  
our  prince4  ,but ,i see you consider  
me as a deserter from the republic1 and 
an apologist for a tyrant4  ,i1         
therefore1 leave you to the company of  
those ancient ,romans1 for whose society
 you were always much fitter than  for  
that of your contemporaries4  ,cato     
should have lived with ,fabricius  and  
,curius1 not with ,pompey and ,caesar4  
,,dialogue ,x4      ,,christina1 ,queen 

,of ,sweden--,chancellor ,,oxenstiern4  
,christina4--,you seem to avoid me1     
,oxenstiern2 and1 now we are met1 you   
don't pay me the reverence that is due  
to your queen6  ,have you forgotten     
that ,i was your sovereign8             
,oxenstiern4--,i am not your subject    
here1 madam2 but you have forgotten     
that you yourself broke that bond1 and  
freed me from my allegiance1 many  years
 before you died1 by abdicating the     
crown1 against my advice and the        
inclination of your people4  ,reverence 
here is paid only to virtue4            
,christina4--,i see you would mortify me
 if it were in your power for  acting   
against your advice4  ,but my fame does 
not depend upon your  judgment4  ,all   
,europe admired the greatness of my mind
 in resigning a  crown to dedicate      
myself entirely to the love of the      
sciences and the  fine arts2 things of  
which you had no taste in barbarous     
,sweden1 the  realm of ,goths and       
,vandals4    ,oxenstiern4--,there is    

hardly any mind too great for a crown1  
but there  are many too little4  ,are   
you sure1 madam1 it was magnanimity that
 caused  you to fly from the government 
of a kingdom which your ancestors1 and  
particularly your heroic father         
,gustavus1 had ruled with so much glory8
    ,christina4--,am ,i sure of it8     
,yes2 and to confirm my own judgment1 ,i
  have that of many learned men and     
beaux esprits of all countries1 who     
have celebrated my action as the        
perfection of heroism4                  
,oxenstiern4--,those beaux esprits      
judged according to their  predominant  
passion4  ,i have heard young ladies    
express their admiration  of ,mark      
,antony for heroically leaving his fleet
 at the ,battle of ,actium  to follow   
his mistress4  ,your passion for        
literature had the same effect  upon    
you4  ,but why did not you indulge it in
 a manner more becoming your  birth and 
rank8  ,why did not you bring the muses 
to ,sweden1 instead of  deserting that  

kingdom to seek them in ,rome8  ,for a  
prince to encourage  and protect arts   
and sciences1 and more especially to    
instruct an  illiterate people and      
inspire them with knowledge1 politeness1
 and fine  taste is indeed an act of    
true greatness4    ,christina4--,the    
,swedes were too gross to be refined by 
any culture  which ,i could have given  
to their dull1 their half-frozen souls4 
,wit and  genius require the influence  
of a more southern climate4             
,oxenstiern4--,the ,swedes too gross6   
,no1 madam1 not even the ,russians  are 
too gross to be refined if they had a   
prince to instruct them4                
,christina4--,it was too tedious a work 
for the vivacity of my temper to  polish
 bears into men4  ,i should have died of
 the spleen before ,i had  made any     
proficiency in it4  ,my desire was to   
shine among those who were  qualified to
 judge of my talents4  ,at ,paris1 at   
,rome ,i had the glory of  showing the  
,french and ,italian wits that the      

,north could produce one not  inferior  
to them4  ,they beheld me with wonder4  
,the homage ,i had received  in my      
palace at ,stockholm was paid to my     
dignity4  ,that which ,i drew from  the 
,french and ,roman academies was paid to
 my talents4  ,how much more  glorious1 
how much more delightful to an elegant  
and rational mind was  the latter than  
the former6  ,could you once have felt  
the joy1 the  transport of my heart1    
when ,i saw the greatest authors and all
 the  celebrated artists in the most    
learned and civilised countries of      
,europe  bringing their works to me and 
submitting the merit of them to my      
decisions2 when ,i saw the philosophers1
 the rhetoricians1 the poets  making my 
judgment the standard of their          
reputation1 you would not wonder  that  
,i preferred the empire of wit to any   
other empire4    ,oxenstiern4--,o great 
,gustavus6 my ever-honoured1 my adored  
master6  ,o  greatest of kings1 greatest
 in valour1 in virtue1 in wisdom1 with  

what  indignation must thy soul1        
enthroned in heaven1 have looked down on
 thy  unworthy1 thy degenerate daughter6
  ,with what shame must thou have seen  
her rambling about from court to court  
deprived of her royal dignity1  debased 
into a pedant1 a witling1 a smatterer in
 sculpture and painting1  reduced to beg
 or buy flattery from each needy        
rhetorician or hireling  poet6  ,i weep 
to think on this stain1 this            
dishonourable stain1 to thy  illustrious
 blood6  ,and yet1 would to ,god6 would 
to ,god6 this was all the  pollution it 
has suffered6    ,christina4--,darest   
thou1 ,oxenstiern1 impute any blemish to
 my honour8    ,oxenstiern4--,madam1 the
 world will scarce respect the frailties
 of  queens when they are on their      
thrones1 much less when they have       
voluntarily degraded themselves to the  
level of the vulgar4  ,and if           
scandalous tongues have unjustly        
aspersed their fame1 the way to clear it
  is not by an assassination4           

,christina4--,oh6 that ,i were alive    
again1 and restored to my throne1  that 
,i might punish the insolence of this   
hoary traitor6  ,but1 see6 he  leaves   
me1 he turns his back upon me with cool 
contempt6  ,alas6 do ,i not  deserve    
this scorn8  ,in spite of myself ,i must
 confess that ,i do4  ,o  vanity1 how   
short-lived are the pleasures thou      
bestowest6  ,i was thy  votary4  ,thou  
wast the god for whom ,i changed my     
religion4  ,for thee ,i  forsook my     
country and my throne4  ,what           
compensation have ,i gained for  all    
these sacrifices so lavishly1 so        
imprudently made8  ,some puffs of       
incense from authors who thought their  
flattery due to the rank ,i had  held1  
or hoped to advance themselves by my    
recommendation1 or1 at best1  over-rated
 my passion for literature1 and praised 
me to raise the value  of those talents 
with which they were endowed4  ,but in  
the esteem of wise  men ,i stand very   
low1 and their esteem alone is the true 

measure of  glory4  ,nothing1 ,i        
perceive1 can give the mind a lasting   
joy but the  consciousness of having    
performed our duty in that station which
 it has  pleased the ,divine ,providence
 to assign to us4  ,the glory of virtue 
is  solid and eternal4  ,all other will 
fade away like a thin vapoury cloud1  on
 which the casual glance of some faint  
beams of light has superficially        
imprinted their weak and transient      
colours4        ,,dialogue ,,xi4        
,,titus ,,vespasianus--,,publius        
,,cornelius ,,scipio ,,africanus4       
,titus4--,no1 ,scipio1 ,i can't give    
place to you in this4  ,in other        
respects ,i acknowledge myself your     
inferior1 though ,i was ,emperor of     
,rome  and you only her consul4  ,i     
think your triumph over ,carthage more  
glorious than mine over ,judaea4  ,but  
in that ,i gained over love ,i must     
esteem myself superior to you1 though   
your generosity with regard to the  fair
 ,celtiberian1 your captive1 has been   

celebrated so highly4    ,scipio4--,fame
 has been1 then1 unjust to your merit1  
for little is said  of the continence of
 ,titus1 but mine has been the favourite
 topic of  eloquence in every age and   
country4    ,titus4--,it has2 and in    
particular your great historian ,livy   
has poured  forth all the ornaments of  
his admirable rhetoric to embellish and 
dignify that part of your story4  ,i had
 a great historian too--,cornelius      
,tacitus2 but either from the brevity   
which he affected in writing1 or  from  
the severity of his nature1 which never 
having felt the passion of  love1       
thought the subduing of it too easy a   
victory to deserve great  encomiums1 he 
has bestowed but three lines upon my    
parting with ,berenice1  which cost me  
more pain and greater efforts of mind   
than the conquest of  ,jerusalem4       
,scipio4--,i wish to hear from yourself 
the history of that parting1 and  what  
could make it so hard and painful to    
you4    ,titus4--,while ,i served in    

,palestine under the auspices of my     
father1  ,vespasian1 ,i became          
acquainted with ,berenice1 sister to    
,king ,agrippa1 and  who was herself a  
queen in one of those ,eastern          
countries4  ,she was the  most beautiful
 woman in ,asia1 but she had graces more
 irresistible still  than her beauty4   
,she had all the insinuation and wit of 
,cleopatra1  without her coquetry4  ,i  
loved her1 and was beloved2 she loved my
 person1  not my greatness4  ,her       
tenderness1 her fidelity so inflamed my 
passion  for her that ,i gave her a     
promise of marriage4    ,scipio4--,what 
do ,i hear8  ,a ,roman senator promise  
to marry a queen6    ,titus4--,i        
expected1 ,scipio1 that your ears would 
be offended with the  sound of such a   
match4  ,but consider that ,rome was    
very different in my  time from ,rome in
 yours4  ,the ferocious pride of our    
ancient republican  senators had bent   
itself to the obsequious complaisance of
 a court4  ,berenice made no doubt1 and 

,i flattered myself that it would not be
  inflexible in this point alone4  ,but 
we thought it necessary to defer the    
completion of our wishes till the death 
of my father4  ,on that event the       
,roman ,empire and 7what ,i knew she    
valued more7 my hand became due to her1 
according to my engagements4            
,scipio4--,the ,roman ,empire due to a  
,syrian queen6  ,oh1 ,rome1 how art     
thou fallen6  ,accursed be the memory of
 ,octavius ,caesar1 who by  oppressing  
its liberty so lowered the majesty of   
the republic1 that a  brave and virtuous
 ,roman1 in whom was vested all the     
power of that mighty  state1 could      
entertain such a thought6  ,but did you 
find the senate and  people so servile1 
so lost to all sense of their honour and
 dignity1 as  to affront the great      
genius of imperial ,rome and the eyes of
 her tutelary  gods1 the eyes of        
,jupiter ,capitolinus1 with the sight of
 a queen--an  ,asiatic queen--on the    
throne of the ,caesars8    ,titus4--,i  

did not4  ,they judged of it as you1    
,scipio1 judge2 they  detested1 they    
disdained it4  ,in vain did ,i urge to  
some particular  friends1 who           
represented to me the sense of the      
,senate and people1 that a  ,messalina1 
a ,poppaea1 were a much greater         
dishonour to the throne of the  ,caesars
 than a virtuous foreign princess4      
,their prejudices were  unconquerable2  
,i saw it would be impossible for me to 
remove them4  ,but ,i  might have used  
my authority to silence their murmurs4  
,a liberal  donative to the soldiers1 by
 whom ,i was fondly beloved1 would have 
secured their fidelity1 and consequently
 would have forced the ,senate and      
people to yield to my inclination4      
,berenice knew this1 and with tears     
implored me not to sacrifice her        
happiness and my own to an unjust       
prepossession4  ,shall ,i own it to you1
 ,publius8  ,my heart not only pitied   
her1 but acknowledged the truth and     
solidity of her reasons4  ,yet so much  

did ,i abhor the idea of tyranny1 so    
much respect did ,i pay to the          
sentiments of my subjects1 that ,i      
determined to separate myself from her  
for ever1 rather than force either the  
laws or the prejudices of ,rome to      
submit to my will4    ,scipio4--,give me
 thy hand1 noble ,titus4  ,thou wast    
worthy of the  empire1 and ,scipio      
,africanus honours thy virtue4          
,titus4--,my virtue can have no greater 
reward from the approbation of  man4    
,but1 ,o ,scipio1 think what anguish my 
heart must have felt when ,i  took that 
resolution1 and when ,i communicated it 
to my dear1 my unhappy  ,berenice4  ,you
 saw the struggle of ,masinissa1 when   
you forced him to give  up his beloved  
,sophonisba4  ,mine was a harder        
conflict4  ,she had  abandoned him to   
marry the ,king of ,numidia4  ,he knew  
that her ruling  passion was ambition1  
not love4  ,he could not rationally     
esteem her when  she quitted a husband  
whom she had ruined1 who had lost his   

crown and his  liberty in the cause of  
her country and for her sake1 to give   
her person  to him1 the capital foe of  
that unfortunate husband4  ,he must1 in 
spite  of his passion1 have thought her 
a perfidious1 a detestable woman4  ,but 
,i  esteemed ,berenice2 she deserved my 
esteem4  ,i was certain she would not   
have accepted the empire from any other 
hand2 and had ,i been a private  man she
 would have raised me to her throne4    
,yet ,i had the fortitude--,i  ought1   
perhaps1 to say the hardness of         
heart--to bid her depart from my  sight2
 depart for ever6  ,what1 ,o ,publius1  
was your conquest over  yourself1 in    
giving back to her betrothed lover the  
,celtiberian captive  compared to this8 
,indeed1 that was no conquest4  ,i will 
not so dishonour  the virtue of ,scipio 
as to think he could feel any struggle  
with himself  on that account4  ,a woman
 engaged to another--engaged by         
affection as  well as vows1 let her have
 been ever so beautiful--could raise in 

your  heart no sentiments but compassion
 and friendship4  ,to have violated her 
would have been an act of brutality1    
which none but another ,tarquin could   
have committed4  ,to have detained her  
from her husband would have been  cruel4
  ,but where love is mutual1 where the  
object beloved suffers more  in the     
separation than you do yourself1 to part
 with her is indeed a  struggle4  ,it is
 the hardest sacrifice a good heart can 
make to its duty4    ,scipio4--,i       
acknowledge that it is1 and yield you   
the palm4  ,but ,i will  own to you1    
,titus1 ,i never knew much of the       
tenderness you describe4  ,hannibal1    
,carthage1 ,rome1 the saving of my      
country1 the subduing of its  rival1    
these filled my thoughts1 and left no   
room there for those  effeminate        
passions4  ,i do not blame your         
sensibility2 but when ,i went to  the   
capitol to talk with ,jove1 ,i never    
consulted him about love affairs4       
,titus4--,if my soul had been possessed 

by ambition alone1 ,i might  possibly   
have been a greater man than ,i was2 but
 ,i should not have been  more virtuous1
 nor have gained the title ,i preferred 
to that of conqueror  of ,judaea and    
,emperor of ,rome1 in being called the  
delight of humankind4        ,,dialogue 
,,xii      ,,henry ,,duke ,,of          
,,guise--,,machiavel4                   
,guise4--,avaunt6 thou fiend4  ,i abhor 
thy sight4  ,i look upon thee as  the   
original cause of my death1 and of all  
the calamities brought upon  the ,french
 nation1 in my father's time and my own4
    ,machiavel4--,i the cause of your   
death6  ,you surprise me6               
,guise4--,yes4  ,your pernicious maxims 
of policy1 imported from ,florence  with
 ,catherine of ,medicis1 your wicked    
disciple1 produced in ,france such  a   
government1 such dissimulation1 such    
perfidy1 such violent1 ruthless         
counsels1 as threw that whole kingdom   
into the utmost confusion1 and  ended my
 life1 even in the palace of my         

sovereign1 by the swords of  assassins4 
,machiavel4--,whoever may have a right  
to complain of my policy1 you1  sir1    
have not4  ,you owed your greatness to  
it1 and your deviating from it  was the 
real cause of your death4  ,if it had   
not been for the  assassination of      
,admiral ,coligni and the massacre of   
the ,huguenots1 the  strength and power 
which the conduct of so able a chief    
would have given  to that party1 after  
the death of your father1 its most      
dangerous enemy1  would have been fatal 
to your house2 nor could you1 even with 
all the  advantage you drew from that   
great stroke of royal policy1 have      
acquired  the authority you afterwards  
rose to in the kingdom of ,france2 but  
by  pursuing my maxims1 by availing     
yourself of the specious name of        
religion  to serve the secret purposes  
of your ambition1 and by suffering no   
restraint of fear or conscience1 not    
even the guilt of exciting a civil  war1
 to check the necessary progress of your

 well-concerted designs4  ,but  on the  
day of the barricades you most          
imprudently let the king escape out  of 
,paris1 when you might have slain or    
deposed him4  ,this was directly        
against the great rule of my politics1  
not to stop short in rebellion or       
treason till the work is fully          
completed4  ,and you were justly        
censured  for it by ,pope ,sixtus       
,quintus1 a more consummate politician1 
who said1  ,you ought to have known that
 when a subject draws his sword against 
his  king he should throw away the      
scabbard4  ,you likewise deviated from  
my  counsels1 by putting yourself in the
 power of a sovereign you had so much   
offended4  ,why would you1 against all  
the cautions ,i had given1 expose  your 
life in a loyal castle to the mercy of  
that prince8  ,you trusted to  his fear1
 but fear1 insulted and desperate1 is   
often cruel4  ,impute  therefore your   
death not to any fault in my maxims1 but
 to your own folly  in not having       

sufficiently observed them4             
,guise4--,if neither ,i nor that prince 
had ever practised your maxims in  any  
part of our conduct1 he would have      
reigned many years with honour and      
peace1 and ,i should have risen by my   
courage and talents to as high a  pitch 
of greatness as it consisted with the   
duty of a subject to desire4  ,but your 
instructions led us on into those       
crooked paths1 out of which  there was  
no retreat without great danger1 nor a  
possibility of advancing  without being 
detested by all mankind1 and whoever is 
so has everything  to fear from that    
detestation4  ,i will give you a proof  
of this in the  fate of a prince1 who   
ought to have been your hero instead of 
,caesar  ,borgia1 because he was        
incomparably a greater man1 and1 of all 
who ever  lived1 seems to have acted    
most steadily according to the rules    
laid down  by you2 ,i mean ,richard     
,,iii41 ,king of ,england4  ,he stopped 
at no crime  that could be profitable to

 him2 he was a dissembler1 a hypocrite1 
a  murderer in cool blood4  ,after the  
death of his brother he gained the      
crown by cutting off1 without pity1 all 
who stood in his way4  ,he trusted  no  
man any further than helped his own     
purposes and consisted with his  own    
safety4  ,he liberally rewarded all     
services done him1 but would not  let   
the remembrance of them atone for       
offences or save any man from           
destruction who obstructed his views4   
,nevertheless1 though his nature  shrunk
 from no wickedness which could serve   
his ambition1 he possessed  and         
exercised all those virtues which you   
recommend to the practice of  your      
prince4  ,he was bold and prudent in    
war1 just and strict in the  general    
administration of his government1 and   
particularly careful1 by a  vigorous    
execution of the laws1 to protect the   
people against injuries or  oppressions 
from the great4  ,in all his actions and
 words there  constantly appeared the   

highest concern for the honour of the   
nation4  ,he  was neither greedy of     
wealth that belonged to other men nor   
profuse of  his own1 but knew how to    
give and where to save4  ,he professed a
 most  edifying sense of religion1      
pretended great zeal for the reformation
 of  manners1 and was really an example 
of sobriety1 chastity1 and temperance   
in the whole course of his life4  ,nor  
did he shed any blood1 but of those  who
 were such obstacles in his way to      
dominion as could not possibly be       
removed by any other means4  ,this was a
 prince after your heart1 yet mark  his 
end4  ,the horror his crimes had excited
 in the minds of his subjects1  and the 
detestation it produced1 were so        
pernicious to him1 that they  enabled an
 exile1 who had no right to the crown1  
and whose abilities were  much inferior 
to his1 to invade his realm and destroy 
him4    ,machiavel4--,this example1 ,i  
own1 may seem to be of some weight      
against  the truth of my system4  ,but  

at the same time it demonstrates that   
there  was nothing so new in the        
doctrines ,i published as to make it    
reasonable  to charge me with the       
disorders and mischiefs which1 since my 
time1 any  kingdom may have happened to 
suffer from the ambition of a subject or
 the  tyranny of a prince4  ,human      
nature wants no teaching to render it   
wicked4  ,in courts more especially     
there has been1 from the first          
institution of  monarchies1 a policy    
practised1 not less repugnant than mine 
to the  narrow and vulgar laws of       
humanity and religion4  ,why should ,i  
be singled  out as worse than other     
statesmen8    ,guise4--,there have been1
 it must be owned1 in all ages and all  
states1  many wicked politicians2 but   
thou art the first that ever taught the 
science of tyranny1 reduced it to rules1
 and instructed his disciples how  to   
acquire and secure it by treachery1     
perjuries1 assassinations1              
proscriptions1 and with a particular    

caution1 not to be stopped in the       
progress of their crimes by any check of
 the conscience or feeling of the       
heart1 but to push them as far as they  
shall judge to be necessary to  their   
greatness and safety4  ,it is this which
 has given thee a  pre-eminence in guilt
 over all other statesmen4              
,machiavel4--,if you had read my book   
with candour you would have  perceived  
that ,i did not desire to render men    
either tyrants or rebels1  but only     
showed1 if they were so1 what conduct1  
in such circumstances1 it  would be     
rational and expedient for them to      
observe4    ,guise4--,when you were a   
minister of state in ,florence1 if any  
chemist  or physician had published a   
treatise1 to instruct his countrymen in 
the  art of poisoning1 and how to do it 
with the most certain destruction to    
others and security to themselves1 would
 you have allowed him to plead in  his  
justification that he did not desire men
 to poison their neighbours8  ,but1 if  

they would use such evil means of       
mending their fortunes1 there  could    
surely be no harm in letting them know  
what were the most effectual  poisons1  
and by what methods they might give them
 without being  discovered4  ,would you 
have thought it a sufficient apology for
 him that  he had dropped in his        
preface1 or here and there in his book1 
a sober  exhortation against the        
committing of murder8  ,without all     
doubt1 as a  magistrate concerned for   
the safety of the people of ,florence1  
you would  have punished the wretch with
 the utmost severity1 and taken great   
care  to destroy every copy of so       
pernicious a book4  ,yet your own       
admired work  contains a more baneful   
and more infernal art4  ,it poisons     
states and  kingdoms1 and spreads its   
malignity1 like a general pestilence1   
over the  whole world4                  
,machiavel4--,you must acknowledge at   
least that my discourses on ,livy  are  
full of wise and virtuous maxims and    

precepts of government4                 
,guise4--,this1 ,i think1 rather        
aggravates than alleviates your guilt4  
,how could you study and comment upon   
,livy with so acute and profound an     
understanding1 and afterwards write a   
book so absolutely repugnant to all  the
 lessons of policy taught by that sage  
and moral historian8  ,how could  you1  
who had seen the picture of virtue so   
amiably drawn by his hand1 and  who     
seemed yourself to be sensible of all   
its charms1 fall in love with a  fury1  
and set up her dreadful image as an     
object of worship to princes8           
,machiavel4--,i was seduced by vanity4  
,my heart was formed to love  virtue4   
,but ,i wanted to be thought a greater  
genius in politics than  ,aristotle or  
,plato4  ,vanity1 sir1 is a passion as  
strong in authors as  ambition in       
princes1 or rather it is the same       
passion exerting itself  differently4   
,i was a ,duke of ,guise in the republic
 of letters4    ,guise4--,the bad       

influences of your guilt have reached   
further than  mine1 and been more       
lasting4  ,but1 ,heaven be praised1 your
 credit is at  present much declining in
 ,europe4  ,i have been told by some    
shades who  are lately arrived here1    
that the ablest statesman of his time1 a
 king1  with whose fame the world is    
filled1 has answered your book1 and     
confuted  all the principles of it1 with
 a noble scorn and abhorrence4  ,i am   
also  assured1 that in ,england there is
 a great and good king1 whose whole life
  has been a continued opposition to    
your evil system2 who has hated all     
cruelty1 all fraud1 all falseness2 whose
 word has been sacred1 whose  honour    
inviolate2 who has made the laws of his 
kingdom the rules of his  government1   
and good faith and a regard for the     
liberty of mankind the  principles of   
his conduct with respect to foreign     
powers2 who reigns more  absolutely now 
in the hearts of his people1 and does   
greater things by  the confidence they  

place in him1 and by the efforts they   
make from the  generous zeal of         
affection1 than any monarch ever did1 or
 ever will do1  by all the arts of      
iniquity which you recommended4         
,,dialogue ,,xiii4                      
,,virgil--,,horace--,,mercury--,,scalige
r ,,the ,,elder4    ,virgil4--,my dear  
,horace1 your company is my greatest    
delight1 even in  the ,elysian ,fields4 
,no wonder it was so when we lived      
together in ,rome4  ,never had man so   
genteel1 so agreeable1 so easy a wit1 or
 a temper so  pliant to the inclinations
 of others in the intercourse of        
society4  ,and  then such integrity1    
such fidelity1 such generosity in your  
nature6  ,a  soul so free from all envy1
 so benevolent1 so sincere1 so placable 
in its  anger1 so warm and constant in  
its affections6  ,you were as necessary 
to  ,maecenas as he to ,augustus4  ,your
 conversation sweetened to him all the  
cares of his ministry2 your gaiety      
cheered his drooping spirits2 and your  

counsels assisted him when he wanted    
advice4  ,for you were capable1 my  dear
 ,horace1 of counselling statesmen4     
,your sagacity1 your discretion1  your  
secrecy1 your clear judgment in all     
affairs1 recommended you to the         
confidence1 not of ,maecenas alone1 but 
of ,augustus himself2 which you  nobly  
made use of to serve your old friends of
 the republican party1 and  to confirm  
both the minister and the prince in     
their love of mild and  moderate        
measures1 yet with a severe restraint of
 licentiousness1 the  most dangerous    
enemy to the whole commonwealth under   
any form of  government4                
,horace4--,to be so praised by ,virgil  
would have put me in ,elysium while  ,i 
was alive4  ,but ,i know your modesty   
will not suffer me1 in return for  these
 encomiums1 to speak of your character4 
,supposing it as perfect as  your poems1
 you would think1 as you did of them1   
that it wanted  correction4             
,virgil4--,don't talk of my modesty4    

,how much greater was yours1 when  you  
disclaimed the name of a poet1 you whose
 odes are so noble1 so  harmonious1 so  
sublime6    ,horace4--,i felt myself too
 inferior to the dignity of that name4  
,virgil4--,i think you did like         
,augustus1 when he refused to accept the
  title of king1 but kept all the power 
with which it was ever attended4  ,even 
in your ,epistles and ,satires1 where   
the poet was concealed1 as much  as he  
could be1 you may properly be compared  
to a prince in disguise1 or  in his     
hours of familiarity with his intimate  
friends3 the pomp and  majesty were let 
drop1 but the greatness remained4       
,horace4--,well1 ,i will not contradict 
you2 and1 to say the truth1 ,i  should  
do it with no very good grace1 because  
in some of my ,odes ,i have  not spoken 
so modestly of my own poetry as in my   
,epistles4  ,but to make  you know your 
pre-eminence over me and all writers of 
,latin verse1 ,i will  carry you to     
,quintilian1 the best of all ,roman     

critics1 who will tell you  in what rank
 you ought to be placed4    ,virgil4--,i
 fear his judgment of me was biassed by 
your commendation4  ,but who is this    
shade that ,mercury is conducting8  ,i  
never saw one that  stalked with so much
 pride1 or had such ridiculous arrogance
 expressed in  his looks6               
,horace4--,they come towards us4  ,hail1
 ,mercury6  ,what is this stranger  with
 you8    ,mercury4--,his name is ,julius
 ,caesar ,scaliger1 and he is by        
profession a  critic4                   
,horace4--,julius ,caesar ,scaliger6    
,he was1 ,i presume1 a dictator in      
criticism4    ,mercury4--,yes1 and he   
has exercised his sovereign power over  
you4    ,horace4--,i will not presume to
 oppose it4  ,i had enough of following 
,brutus at ,philippi4                   
,mercury4--,talk to him a little4       
,he'll amuse you4  ,i brought him to you
  on purpose4    ,horace4--,virgil1 do  
you accost him4  ,i can't do it with    
proper gravity4  ,i shall laugh in his  

face4    ,virgil4--,sir1 may ,i ask for 
what reason you cast your eyes so       
superciliously upon ,horace and me8  ,i 
don't remember that ,augustus ever      
looked down upon us with such an air of 
superiority when we were his  subjects4 
,scaliger4--,he was only a sovereign    
over your bodies1 and owed his power  to
 violence and usurpation4  ,but ,i have 
from ,nature an absolute dominion  over 
the wit of all authors1 who are         
subjected to me as the greatest of      
critics or hypercritics4                
,virgil4--,your jurisdiction1 great sir1
 is very extensive4  ,and what          
judgments have you been pleased to pass 
upon us8    ,scaliger4--,is it possible 
you should be ignorant of my decrees8   
,i have  placed you1 ,virgil1 above     
,homer1 whom ,i have shown to be--      
,virgil4--,hold1 sir4  ,no blasphemy    
against my master4    ,horace4--,but    
what have you said of me8               
,scaliger4--,i have said that ,i had    
rather have written the little  dialogue

 between you and ,lydia than have been  
made king of ,arragon4    ,horace4--,if 
we were in the other world you should   
give me the kingdom1  and take both the 
ode and the lady in return4  ,but did   
you always  pronounce so favourably for 
us8    ,scaliger4--,send for my works   
and read them4  ,mercury will bring them
 to  you with the first learned ghost   
that arrives here from ,europe4  ,there 
is  instruction for you in them4  ,i    
tell you of your faults4  ,but it was my
  whim to commend that little ode1 and  
,i never do things by halves4  ,when ,i 
give praise1 ,i give it liberally1 to   
show my royal bounty4  ,but ,i          
generally blame1 to exert all the vigour
 of my censorian power1 and keep  my    
subjects in awe4    ,horace4--,you did  
not confine your sovereignty to poets2  
you exercised  it1 no doubt1 over all   
other writers4    ,scaliger4--,i was a  
poet1 a philosopher1 a statesman1 an    
orator1 an  historian1 a divine without 
doing the drudgery of any of these1 but 

only  censuring those who did1 and      
showing thereby the superiority of my   
genius  over them all4    ,horace4--,a  
short way1 indeed1 to universal fame6   
,and ,i suppose you  were very          
peremptory in your decisions8           
,scaliger4--,peremptory6 ay4  ,if any   
man dared to contradict my opinions  ,i 
called him a dunce1 a rascal1 a villain1
 and frightened him out of his  wits4   
,virgil4--,but what said others to this 
method of disputation8                  
,scaliger4--,they generally believed me 
because of the confidence of my         
assertions1 and thought ,i could not be 
so insolent or so angry if ,i was  not  
absolutely sure of being in the right4  
,besides1 in my controversies1  ,i had a
 great help from the language in which  
,i wrote4  ,for one can scold  and call 
names with a much better grace in ,latin
 than in ,french or any  tame modern    
tongue4    ,horace4--,have not ,i heard 
that you pretended to derive your       
descent  from the princes of ,verona8   

,scaliger4--,pretended6  ,do you presume
 to deny it8    ,horace4--,not ,i1      
indeed4  ,genealogy is not my science4  
,if you should  claim to descend in a   
direct line from ,king ,midas ,i would  
not dispute it4    ,virgil4--,i wonder1 
,scaliger1 that you stooped to so low an
 ambition4  ,was it not greater to reign
 over all ,mount ,parnassus than over a 
petty  state in ,italy8                 
,scaliger4--,you say well4  ,i was too  
condescending to the prejudices of      
vulgar opinion4  ,the ignorant multitude
 imagine that a prince is a  greater man
 than a critic4  ,their folly made me   
desire to claim kindred  with the       
,scalas of ,verona4    ,horace4--,pray1 
,mercury1 how do you intend to dispose  
of this august  person8  ,you can't     
think it proper to let him remain with  
us4  ,he must be  placed with the       
demigods2 he must go to ,olympus4       
,mercury4--,be not afraid4  ,he shall   
not trouble you long4  ,i brought him   
hither to divert you with the sight of  

an animal you never had seen1 and       
myself with your surprise4  ,he is the  
chief of all the modern critics1  the   
most renowned captain of that numerous  
and dreadful band4  ,whatever  you may  
think of him1 ,i can seriously assure   
you that before he went mad  he had good
 parts and great learning4  ,but ,i will
 now explain to you the  original cause 
of the absurdities he has uttered4  ,his
 mind was formed in  such a manner that1
 like some perspective glasses1 it      
either diminished  or magnified all     
objects too much2 but1 above all others1
 it magnified  the good man to himself4 
,this made him so proud that it turned  
his  brain4  ,now ,i have had my sport  
with him1 ,i think it will be charity to
  restore him to his senses1 or rather  
to bestow what ,nature denied him--a    
sound judgment4  ,come hither1          
,scaliger4  ,by this touch of my        
,caduceus ,i  give thee power to see    
things as they are1 and1 among others1  
thyself4  ,look1 gentlemen1 how his     

countenance is fallen in a moment6      
,hear what he  says4  ,he is talking to 
himself4    ,scaliger4--,bless me6 with 
what persons have ,i been discoursing8  
,with  ,virgil and ,horace6  ,how could 
,i venture to open my lips in their     
presence8  ,good ,mercury1 ,i beseech   
you let me retire from a company for    
which ,i am very unfit4  ,let me go and 
hide my head in the deepest shade  of   
that grove which ,i see in the valley4  
,after ,i have performed a  penance     
there1 ,i will crawl on my knees to the 
feet of those illustrious  shades1 and  
beg them to see me burn my impertinent  
books of criticism in  the fiery billows
 of ,phlegethon with my own hands4      
,mercury4--,they will both receive thee 
into favour4  ,this mortification  of   
truly knowing thyself is a sufficient   
atonement for thy former  presumption4  
,,dialogue ,,xiv4                       
,,boileau--,,pope4    ,boileau4--,mr4   
,pope1 you have done me great honour4   
,i am told that you  made me your model 

in poetry1 and walked on ,parnassus in  
the same paths  which ,i had trod4      
,pope4--,we both followed ,horace1 but  
in our manner of imitation1 and in  the 
turn of our natural genius1 there was1  
,i believe1 much resemblance4  ,we both 
were too irritable and too easily hurt  
by offences1 even from the  lowest of   
men4  ,the keen edge of our wit was     
frequently turned against  those whom it
 was more a shame to contend with than  
an honour to  vanquish4                 
,boileau4--,yes4  ,but in general we    
were the champions of good morals1  good
 sense1 and good learning4  ,if our love
 of these was sometimes heated  into    
anger against those who offended them no
 less than us1 is that anger  to be     
blamed8    ,pope4--,it would have been  
nobler if we had not been parties in the
  quarrel4  ,our enemies observe that   
neither our censure nor our praise was  
always impartial4    ,boileau4--,it     
might perhaps have been better if in    
some instances we had  not praised or   

blamed so much4  ,but in panegyric and  
satire moderation is  insipid4          
,pope4--,moderation is a cold unpoetical
 virtue4  ,mere historical truth  is    
better written in prose4  ,and1         
therefore1 ,i think you did judiciously 
when you threw into the fire your       
history of ,louis le ,grand1 and trusted
  his fame to your poems4               
,boileau4--,when those poems were       
published that monarch was the idol of  
the ,french nation4  ,if you and ,i had 
not known1 in our occasional            
compositions1 how to speak to the       
passions1 as well as to the sober       
reason of mankind1 we should not have   
acquired that despotic authority in  the
 empire of wit which made us so         
formidable to all the inferior tribe  of
 poets in ,england and ,france4         
,besides1 sharp satirists want great    
patrons4    ,pope4--,all the praise     
which my friends received from me was   
unbought4  ,in this1 at least1 ,i may   
boast a superiority over the pensioned  

,boileau4    ,boileau4--,a pension in   
,france was an honourable distinction4  
,had you  been a ,frenchman you would   
have ambitiously sought it2 had ,i been 
an  ,englishman ,i should have proudly  
declined it4  ,if our merit in other    
respects be not unequal1 this difference
 will not set me much below you  in the 
temple of virtue or of fame4            
,pope4--,it is not for me to draw a     
comparison between our works4  ,but1  if
 ,i may believe the best critics who    
have talked to me on the subject1  my   
,rape of the ,lock is not inferior to   
your ,lutrin2 and my ,art of  ,criticism
 may well be compared with your ,art of 
,poetry2 my ,ethic  ,epistles are       
esteemed at least equal to yours2 and my
 ,satires much  better4                 
,boileau4--,hold1 ,mr4 ,pope4  ,if there
 is really such a sympathy in our       
natures as you have supposed1 there may 
be reason to fear that1 if we go  on in 
this manner comparing our works1 we     
shall not part in good  friendship4     

,pope4--,no1 no2 the mild air of the    
,elysian ,fields has mitigated my       
temper1 as ,i presume it has yours4     
,but1 in truth1 our reputations are     
nearly on a level4  ,our writings are   
admired1 almost equally 7as ,i hear7    
for energy and justness of thought4  ,we
 both of us carried the beauty of  our  
diction1 and the harmony of our numbers1
 to the highest perfection  that our    
languages would admit4  ,our poems were 
polished to the utmost  degree of       
correctness1 yet without losing their   
fire1 or the agreeable  appearance of   
freedom and ease4  ,we borrowed much    
from the ancients1  though you1 ,i      
believe1 more than ,i2 but our          
imitations 7to use an  expression of    
your own7 had still an original air4    
,boileau4--,i will confess1 sir 7to show
 you that the ,elysian climate has  had 
its effects upon me71 ,i will fairly    
confess1 without the least ill  humour1 
that in your ,eloisa to ,abelard1 your  
,verses to the ,memory of  an           

,unfortunate ,lady1 and some others you 
wrote in your youth1 there is  more fire
 of poetry than in any of mine4  ,you   
excelled in the pathetic1  which ,i     
never approached4  ,i will also allow   
that you hit the manner of  ,horace and 
the sly delicacy of his wit more exactly
 than ,i1 or than any  other man who has
 written since his time4  ,nor could ,i1
 nor did even  ,lucretius himself1 make 
philosophy so poetical1 and embellish it
 with  such charms as you have given to 
that of ,plato1 or 7to speak more       
properly7 of some of his modern         
disciples1 in your celebrated ,essay on 
,man4    ,pope4--,what do you think of  
my ,homer8    ,boileau4--,your ,homer is
 the most spirited1 the most poetical1  
the  most elegant1 and the most pleasing
 translation that ever was made of any  
ancient poem1 though not so much in the 
manner of the original1 or so  exactly  
agreeable to the sense in all places1 as
 might perhaps be  desired4  ,but when  
,i consider the years you spent in this 

work1 and how  many excellent original  
poems you might1 with less difficulty1  
have  produced in that time1 ,i can't   
but regret that your talents were thus  
employed4  ,a great poet so tied down to
 a tedious translation is a  ,columbus  
chained to an oar4  ,what new regions of
 fancy1 full of treasures  yet          
untouched1 might you have explored1 if  
you had been at liberty to  have boldly 
expanded your sails1 and steered your   
own course1 under the  conduct and      
direction of your own genius6  ,but ,i  
am still more angry with  you for your  
edition of ,shakespeare4  ,the office of
 an editor was below  you1 and your mind
 was unfit for the drudgery it requires4
  ,would anybody  think of employing a  
,raphael to clean an old picture8       
,pope4--,the principal cause of my      
undertaking that task was zeal for the  
honour of ,shakespeare2 and1 if you knew
 all his beauties as well as ,i1  you   
would not wonder at this zeal4  ,no     
other author had ever so copious1  so   

bold1 so creative an imagination1 with  
so perfect a knowledge of the  passions1
 the humours1 and sentiments of mankind4
  ,he painted all  characters1 from     
kings down to peasants1 with equal truth
 and equal  force4  ,if human nature    
were destroyed1 and no monument were    
left of it  except his works1 other     
beings might know what man was from     
those  writings4    ,boileau4--,you say 
he painted all characters1 from kings   
down to  peasants1 with equal truth and 
equal force4  ,i can't deny that he did 
so2  but ,i wish he had not jumbled     
those characters together in the        
composition of his pictures as he has   
frequently done4    ,pope4--,the strange
 mixture of tragedy1 comedy1 and farce  
in the same  play1 nay1 sometimes in the
 same scene1 ,i acknowledge to be quite 
inexcusable4  ,but this was the taste of
 the times when ,shakespeare wrote4     
,boileau4--,a great genius ought to     
guide1 not servilely follow1 the  taste 
of his contemporaries4                  

,pope4--,consider from how thick a      
darkness of barbarism the genius of     
,shakespeare broke forth6  ,what were   
the ,english1 and what1 let me ask  you1
 were the ,french dramatic performances1
 in the age when he nourished8  ,the    
advances he made towards the highest    
perfection1 both of tragedy and  comedy1
 are amazing6  ,in the principal points1
 in the power of exciting  terror and   
pity1 or raising laughter in an         
audience1 none yet has  excelled him1   
and very few have equalled4             
,boileau4--,do you think that he was    
equal in comedy to ,moliere8            
,pope4--,in comic force ,i do2 but in   
the fine and delicate strokes of        
satire1 and what is called genteel      
comedy1 he was greatly inferior to  that
 admirable writer4  ,there is nothing in
 him to compare with the  ,misanthrope1 
the ,ecole des ,femmes1 or ,tartuffe4   
,boileau4--,this1 ,mr4 ,pope1 is a great
 deal for an ,englishman to             
acknowledge4  ,a veneration for         

,shakespeare seems to be a part of your 
national religion1 and the only part in 
which even your men of sense are        
fanatics4    ,pope4--,he who can read   
,shakespeare1 and be cool enough for all
 the  accuracy of sober criticism1 has  
more of reason than taste4              
,boileau4--,i join with you in admiring 
him as a prodigy of genius1  though ,i  
find the most shocking absurdities in   
his plays--absurdities  which no critic 
of my nation can pardon4    ,pope4--,we 
will be satisfied with your feeling the 
excellence of his  beauties4  ,but you  
would admire him still more if you could
 see the chief  characters in all his   
test tragedies represented by an actor  
who appeared  on the stage a little     
before ,i left the world4  ,he has shown
 the ,english  nation more excellencies 
in ,shakespeare than the quickest wits  
could  discern1 and has imprinted them  
on the heart with a livelier feeling    
than  the most sensible natures had ever
 experienced without his help4          

,boileau4--,the variety1 spirit1 and    
force of ,mr4 ,garrick's action have    
been much praised to me by many of his  
countrymen1 whose shades ,i  converse   
with1 and who agree in speaking of him  
as we do of ,baron1 our  most natural   
and most admired actor4  ,i have also   
heard of another1 who  has now quitted  
the stage1 but who had filled1 with     
great dignity1 force1  and elevation1   
some tragic parts1 and excelled so much 
in the comic1 that  none ever has       
deserved a higher applause4             
,pope4--,mr4 ,quin was1 indeed1 a most  
perfect comedian4  ,in the part of      
,falstaff particularly1 wherein the     
utmost force of ,shakespeare's humour   
appears1 he attained to such perfection 
that he was not an actor2 he was  the   
man described by ,shakespeare2 he was   
,falstaff himself6  ,when ,i saw  him do
 it the pleasantry of the fat knight    
appeared to me so bewitching1  all his  
vices were so mirthful1 that ,i could   
not much wonder at his  having seduced a

 young prince even to rob in his        
company4    ,boileau4--,that character  
is not well understood by the ,french2  
they  suppose it belongs1 not to comedy1
 but to farce1 whereas the ,english see 
in it the finest and highest strokes of 
wit and humour4  ,perhaps these         
different judgments may be accounted for
 in some measure by the diversity  of   
manners in different countries4  ,but   
don't you allow1 ,mr4 ,pope1 that  our  
writers1 both of tragedy and comedy1    
are1 upon the whole1 more  perfect      
masters of their art than yours8  ,if   
you deny it1 ,i will appeal  to the     
,athenians1 the only judges qualified to
 decide the dispute4  ,i  will refer it 
to ,euripides1 ,sophocles1 and          
,menander4    ,pope4--,i am afraid of   
those judges1 for ,i see them           
continually walking  hand-in-hand1 and  
engaged in the most friendly            
conversation with  ,corneille1 ,racine1 
and ,moliere4  ,our dramatic writers    
seem1 in general1  not so fond of their 

company2 they sometimes shove rudely by 
them1 and  give themselves airs of      
superiority4  ,they slight their        
reprimands1 and  laugh at their         
precepts--in short1 they will be tried  
by their country  alone2 and that       
judicature is partial4    ,boileau4--,i 
will press this question no further4    
,but let me ask you to  which of our    
rival tragedians1 ,racine and           
,corneille1 do you give the  preference8
    ,pope4--,the sublimest plays of     
,corneille are1 in my judgment1 equalled
  by the ,athalia of ,racine1 and the   
tender passions are certainly touched   
by that elegant and most pathetic writer
 with a much finer hand4  ,i need  not  
add that he is infinitely more correct  
than ,corneille1 and more  harmonious   
and noble in his versification4         
,corneille formed himself  entirely upon
 ,lucan1 but the master of ,racine was  
,virgil4  ,how much  better a taste had 
the former than the latter in choosing  
his model6    ,boileau4--,my friendship 

with ,racine1 and my partiality for his 
writings1 make me hear with great       
pleasure the preference given to him    
above ,corneille by so judicious a      
critic4    ,pope4--,that he excelled his
 competitor in the particulars ,i have  
mentioned1 can't1 ,i think1 be denied4  
,but yet the spirit and the majesty  of 
ancient ,rome were never so well        
expressed as by ,corneille4  ,nor has   
any other ,french dramatic writer1 in   
the general character of his works1     
shown such a masculine strength and     
greatness of thought4  ,racine is the   
swan described by ancient poets1 which  
rises to the clouds on downy wings  and 
sings a sweet but a gentle and plaintive
 note4  ,corneille is the  eagle1 which 
soars to the skies on bold and sounding 
pinions1 and fears  not to perch on the 
sceptre of ,jupiter1 or to bear in his  
pounces the  lightning of the god4      
,boileau4--,i am glad to find1 ,mr4     
,pope1 that in praising ,corneille you  
run into poetry1 which is not the       

language of sober criticism1 though     
sometimes used by ,longinus4            
,pope4--,i caught the fire from the idea
 of ,corneille4    ,boileau4--,he has   
bright flashes1 yet ,i think that in his
 thunder there  is often more noise than
 fire4  ,don't you find him too         
declamatory1 too  turgid1 too unnatural1
 even in his best tragedies8            
,pope4--,i own ,i do2 yet the greatness 
and elevation of his sentiments1  and   
the nervous vigour of his sense1 atone1 
in my opinion1 for all his  faults4     
,but let me now1 in my turn1 desire your
 opinion of our epic  poet1 ,milton4    
,boileau4--,longinus perhaps would      
prefer him to all other writers1 for  he
 surpasses even ,homer in the sublime2  
but other critics who require  variety1 
and agreeableness1 and a correct        
regularity of thought and  judgment in  
an epic poem1 who can endure no         
absurdities1 no extravagant  fictions1  
would place him far below ,virgil4      
,pope4--,his genius was indeed so vast  

and sublime1 that his poem seems  beyond
 the limits of criticism1 as his subject
 is beyond the limits of  nature4  ,the 
bright and excessive blaze of poetical  
fire1 which shines in  so many parts of 
the ,paradise ,lost1 will hardly permit 
the dazzled eye  to see its faults4     
,boileau4--,the taste of your countrymen
 is much changed since the days  of     
,charles ,,ii41 when ,dryden was thought
 a greater poet than ,milton6           
,pope4--,the politics of ,milton at that
 time brought his poetry into  disgrace1
 for it is a rule with the ,english1    
they see no good in a man  whose        
politics they dislike2 but1 as their    
notions of government are apt  to       
change1 men of parts whom they have     
slighted become their favourite         
authors1 and others who have possessed  
their warmest admiration are in  their  
turn undervalued4  ,this revolution of  
favour was experienced by  ,dryden as   
well as ,milton2 he lived to see his    
writings1 together with his  politics1  

quite out of fashion4  ,but even in the 
days of his highest  prosperity1 when   
the generality of the people admired his
 ,almanzor1 and  thought his ,indian    
,emperor the perfection of tragedy1 the 
,duke of  ,buckingham and ,lord         
,rochester1 the two wittiest noblemen   
our country has  produced1 attacked his 
fame1 and turned the rants of his       
heroes1 the  jargon of his spirits1 and 
the absurdity of his plots into just    
ridicule4    ,boileau4--,you have made  
him good amends by the praise you have  
given  him in some of your writings4    
,pope4--,i owed him that praise as my   
master in the art of versification1  yet
 ,i subscribe to the censures which have
 been passed by other writers  on many  
of his works4  ,they are good critics1  
but he is still a great  poet4  ,you1   
sir1 ,i am sure1 must particularly      
admire him as an excellent  satirist2   
his ,absalom and ,achitophel is a       
masterpiece in that way of  writing1 and
 his ,mac ,flecno is1 ,i think1 inferior

 to it in nothing but  the meanness of  
the subject4    ,boileau4--,did not you 
take the model of your ,dunciad from the
 latter  of those very ingenious        
satires8    ,pope4--,i did2 but my work 
is more extensive than his1 and my      
imagination has taken in it a greater   
scope4    ,boileau4--,some critics may  
doubt whether the length of your poem   
was so  properly suited to the meanness 
of the subject as the brevity of his4   
,three cantos to expose a dunce crowned 
with laurel6  ,i have not given  above  
three lines to the author of the        
,pucelle4    ,pope4--,my intention was  
to expose1 not one author alone1 but all
 the  dulness and false taste of the    
,english nation in my times4  ,could    
such a  design be contracted into a     
narrower compass8    ,boileau4--,we will
 not dispute on this point1 nor whether 
the hero of  your ,dunciad was really a 
dunce4  ,but has not ,dryden been       
accused of  immorality and profaneness  
in some of his writings8    ,pope4--,he 

has1 with too much reason3 and ,i am    
sorry to say that all our  best comic   
writers after ,shakespeare and ,johnson1
 except ,addison and  ,steele1 are as   
liable as he to that heavy charge4      
,fletcher is shocking4  ,etheridge1     
,wycherley1 ,congreve1 ,vanbrugh1 and   
,farquhar have painted the  manners of  
the times in which they wrote with a    
masterly hand2 but they  are too often  
such manners that a virtuous man1 and   
much more a virtuous  woman1 must be    
greatly offended at the representation4 
,boileau4--,in this respect our stage is
 far preferable to yours4  ,it is  a    
school of morality4  ,vice is exposed to
 contempt and to hatred4  ,no  false    
colours are laid on to conceal its      
deformity1 but those with which  it     
paints itself are there taken off4      
,pope4--,it is a wonderful thing that in
 ,france the comic ,muse should be  the 
gravest lady in the nation4  ,of late   
she is so grave1 that one might  almost 
mistake her for her sister ,melpomene4  

,moliere made her indeed a  good moral  
philosopher2 but then she philosophised1
 like ,democritus1 with  a merry1       
laughing face4  ,now she weeps over vice
 instead of showing it to  mankind1 as  
,i think she generally ought to do1 in  
ridiculous lights4    ,boileau4--,her   
business is more with folly than with   
vice1 and when she  attacks the latter1 
it should be rather with ridicule than  
invective4  ,but  sometimes she may be  
allowed to raise her voice1 and change  
her usual  smile into a frown of just   
indignation4    ,pope4--,i like her best
 when she smiles4  ,but did you never   
reprove your  witty friend1 ,la         
,fontaine1 for the vicious levity that  
appears in many of  his tales8  ,he was 
as guilty of the crime of debauching the
 ,muses as any  of our comic poets4     
,boileau4--,i own he was1 and bewail the
 prostitution of his genius1 as ,i      
should that of an innocent and beautiful
 country girl4  ,he was all  nature1 all
 simplicity6 yet in that simplicity     

there was a grace1 and  unaffected      
vivacity1 with a justness of thought and
 easy elegance of  expression that can  
hardly be found in any other writer4    
,his manner is  quite original1 and     
peculiar to himself1 though all the     
matter of his  writings is borrowed from
 others4    ,pope4--,in that manner he  
has been imitated by my friend ,mr4     
,prior4    ,boileau4--,he has1 very     
successfully4  ,some of ,prior's tales  
have the  spirit of ,la ,fontaine's with
 more judgment1 but not1 ,i think1 with 
such  an amiable and graceful           
simplicity4    ,pope4--,prior's harp had
 more strings than ,la ,fontaine's4  ,he
 was a fine  poet in many different     
ways3 ,la ,fontaine but in one4  ,and1  
though in some  of his tales he imitated
 that author1 his ,alma was an original1
 and of  singular beauty4               
,boileau4--,there is a writer of heroic 
poetry1 who lived before ,milton1  and  
whom some of your countrymen place in   
the highest class of your  poets1 though

 he is little known in ,france4  ,i see 
him sometimes in  company with ,homer   
and ,virgil1 but oftener with ,tasso1   
,ariosto1 and  ,dante4    ,pope4--,i    
understand you mean ,spenser4  ,there is
 a force and beauty in  some of his     
images and descriptions1 equal to any in
 those writers you  have seen him       
converse with4  ,but he had not the art 
of properly shading  his pictures4  ,he 
brings the minute and disagreeable parts
 too much into  sight2 and mingles too  
frequently vulgar and mean ideas with   
noble and  sublime4  ,had he chosen a   
subject proper for epic poetry1 he seems
 to  have had a sufficient elevation and
 strength in his genius to make him a   
great epic poet3 but the allegory1 which
 is continued throughout the  whole     
work1 fatigues the mind1 and cannot     
interest the heart so much as  those    
poems1 the chief actors in which are    
supposed to have really  existed4  ,the 
,syrens and ,circe in the ,odyssey are  
allegorical persons2  but ,ulysses1 the 

hero of the poem1 was a man renowned in 
,greece1 which  makes the account of his
 adventures affecting and delightful4   
,to be now  and then in ,fairyland1     
among imaginary beings1 is a pleasing   
variety1 and  helps to distinguish the  
poet from the orator or historian1 but  
to be  always there is irksome4         
,boileau4--,is not ,spenser likewise    
blamable for confounding the  ,christian
 with the ,pagan theology in some parts 
of his poem8    ,pope4--,yes2 he had    
that fault in common with ,dante1 with  
,ariosto1 and  with ,camoens4           
,boileau4--,who is the poet that arrived
 soon after you in ,elysium1 whom  ,i   
saw ,spenser lead in and present to     
,virgil1 as the author of a poem        
resembling the ,georgics8  ,on his head 
was a garland of the several  kinds of  
flowers that blow in each season1 with  
evergreens intermixed4    ,pope4--,your 
description points out ,thomson4  ,he   
painted nature exactly1  and with great 
strength of pencil4  ,his imagination   

was rich1 extensive1  and sublime3 his  
diction bold and glowing1 but sometimes 
obscure and  affected4  ,nor did he     
always know when to stop1 or what to    
reject4    ,boileau4--,i should suppose 
that he wrote tragedies upon the ,greek 
model4  ,for he is often admitted into  
the grove of ,euripides4    ,pope4--,he 
enjoys that distinction both as a       
tragedian and as a  moralist4  ,for not 
only in his plays1 but all his other    
works1 there is  the purest morality1   
animated by piety1 and rendered more    
touching by the  fine and delicate      
sentiments of a most tender and         
benevolent heart4    ,boileau4--,st4    
,evremond has brought me acquainted with
 ,waller4  ,i was  surprised to find in 
his writings a politeness and gallantry 
which the  ,french suppose to be        
appropriated only to theirs4  ,his      
genius was a  composition which is      
seldom to be met with1 of the sublime   
and the  agreeable4  ,in his comparison 
between himself and ,apollo1 as the     

lover of  ,daphne1 and in that between  
,amoret and ,sacharissa1 there is a     
finesse  and delicacy of wit which the  
most elegant of our writers have never  
exceeded4  ,nor had ,sarrazin or        
,voiture the art of praising more       
genteelly  the ladies they admired4     
,but his epistle to ,cromwell1 and his  
poem on  the death of that extraordinary
 man1 are written with a force and      
greatness of manner which give him a    
rank among the poets of the first       
class4    ,pope4--,mr4 ,waller was      
unquestionably a very fine writer4  ,his
 ,muse was  as well qualified as the    
,graces themselves to dress out a       
,venus2 and he  could even adorn the    
brows of a conqueror with fragrant and  
beautiful  wreaths4  ,but he had some   
puerile and low thoughts1 which         
unaccountably  mixed with the elegant   
and the noble1 like schoolboys or a mob 
admitted  into a palace4  ,there was    
also an intemperance and a luxuriancy in
 his  wit which he did not enough       

restrain4  ,he wrote little to the      
understanding1 and less to the heart2   
but he frequently delights the          
imagination1 and sometimes strikes it   
with flashes of the highest  sublime4   
,we had another poet of the age of      
,charles ,i41 extremely admired  by all 
his contemporaries1 in whose works there
 is still more affectation  of wit1 a   
greater redundancy of imagination1 a    
worse taste1 and less  judgment2 but he 
touched the heart more1 and had finer   
feelings than  ,waller4  ,i mean        
,cowley4    ,boileau4--,i have been     
often solicited to admire his writings  
by his  learned friend1 ,dr4 ,spratt4   
,he seems to me a great wit1 and a very 
amiable man1 but not a good poet4       
,pope4--,the spirit of poetry is strong 
in some of his odes1 but in the  art of 
poetry he is always extremely deficient4
    ,boileau4--,i hear that of late his 
reputation is much lowered in the       
opinion of the ,english4  ,yet ,i cannot
 but think that1 if a moderate  portion 

of the superfluities of his wit were    
given by ,apollo to some of  their      
modern bards1 who write commonplace     
morals in very smooth verse1  without   
any absurdity1 but without a single new 
thought1 or one  enlivening spark of    
imagination1 it would be a great favour 
to them1 and  do them more service than 
all the rules laid down in my ,art of   
,poetry  and yours of ,criticism4       
,pope4--,i am much of your mind4  ,but  
,i left in ,england some poets whom     
you1 ,i know1 will admire1 not only for 
the harmony and correctness of  style1  
but the spirit and genius you will find 
in their writings4                      
,boileau4--,france1 too1 has produced   
some very excellent writers since  the  
time of my death4  ,of one particularly 
,i hear wonders4  ,fame to him  is as   
kind as if he had been dead a thousand  
years4  ,she brings his  praises to me  
from all parts of ,europe4  ,you know ,i
 speak of ,voltaire4    ,pope4--,i do2  
the ,english nation yields to none in   

admiration of his  extensive genius4    
,other writers excel in some one        
particular branch of  wit or science2   
but when the ,king of ,prussia drew     
,voltaire from ,paris to  ,berlin1 he   
had a whole academy of belles lettres in
 him alone4    ,boileau4--,that prince  
himself has such talents for poetry as  
no other  monarch in any age or country 
has ever possessed4  ,what an           
astonishing  compass must there be in   
his mind1 what an heroic tranquillity   
and  firmness in his heart1 that he can1
 in the evening1 compose an ode or      
epistle in the most elegant verse1 and  
the next morning fight a battle  with   
the conduct of ,caesar or ,gustavus     
,adolphus6    ,pope4--,i envy ,voltaire 
so noble a subject both for his verse   
and his  prose4  ,but if that prince    
will write his own commentaries1 he will
 want  no historian4  ,i hope that1 in  
writing them1 he will not restrain his  
pen1 as ,caesar has done1 to a mere     
account of his wars1 but let us see  the

 politician1 and the benignant protector
 of arts and sciences1 as well  as the  
warrior1 in that picture of himself4    
,voltaire has shown us that  the events 
of battles and sieges are not the most  
interesting parts of  good history1 but 
that all the improvements and           
embellishments of human  society ought  
to be carefully and particularly        
recorded there4    ,boileau4--,the      
progress of arts and knowledge1 and the 
great changes  that have happened in the
 manners of mankind1 are objects far    
more worthy  of a leader's attention    
than the revolutions of fortune4  ,and  
it is  chiefly to ,voltaire that we owe 
this instructive species of history4    
,pope4--,he has not only been the father
 of it among the moderns1 but has       
carried it himself to its utmost        
perfection4    ,boileau4--,is he not too
 universal8  ,can any writer be exact   
who is so  comprehensive8    ,pope4--,a 
traveller round the world cannot inspect
 every region with  such an accurate    

care as exactly to describe each single 
part4  ,if the  outlines are well       
marked1 and the observations on the     
principal points  are judicious1 it is  
all that can be required4               
,boileau4--,i would1 however1 advise and
 exhort the ,french and ,english  youth 
to take a fuller survey of some         
particular provinces1 and to  remember  
that although1 in travels of this sort1 
a lively imagination is  a very         
agreeable companion1 it is not the best 
guide4  ,to speak without a  metaphor1  
the study of history1 both sacred and   
profane1 requires a  critical and       
laborious investigation4  ,the composer 
of a set of lively  and witty remarks on
 facts ill-examined1 or incorrectly     
delivered1 is not  an historian4        
,pope4--,we cannot1 ,i think1 deny that 
name to the author of the ,life of      
,charles ,,xii41 ,king of ,sweden4      
,boileau4--,no1 certainly4  ,i esteem it
 the very best history that this  age   
has produced4  ,as full of spirit as the

 hero whose actions it  relates1 it is  
nevertheless most exact in all matters  
of importance4  ,the  style of it is    
elegant1 perspicuous1 unaffected2 the   
disposition and  method are excellent2  
the judgments given by the writer acute 
and just4    ,pope4--,are you not       
pleased with that philosophical freedom 
of thought  which discovers itself in   
all the works of ,voltaire1 but more    
particularly in those of an historical  
nature8    ,boileau4--,if it were       
properly regulated1 ,i should reckon it 
among their  highest perfections4       
,superstition1 and bigotry1 and party   
spirit are as  great enemies to the     
truth and candour of history as malice  
or adulation4  ,to think freely is      
therefore a most necessary quality in a 
perfect  historian4  ,but all liberty   
has its bounds1 which1 in some of his   
writings1 ,voltaire1 ,i fear1 has not   
observed4  ,would to ,heaven he would   
reflect1 while it is yet in his power to
 correct what is faulty1 that all  his  

works will outlive him2 that many       
nations will read them2 and that  the   
judgment pronounced here upon the writer
 himself will be according to  the scope
 and tendency of them1 and to the extent
 of their good or evil  effects on the  
great society of mankind4    ,pope4--,it
 would be well for all ,europe if some  
other wits of your  country1 who give   
the tone to this age in all polite      
literature1 had the  same serious       
thoughts you recommend to ,voltaire4    
,witty writings1 when  directed to serve
 the good ends of virtue and religion1  
are like the  lights hung out in a      
pharos1 to guide the mariners safe      
through  dangerous seas2 but the        
brightness of those that are impious or 
immoral  shines only to betray and lead 
men to destruction4    ,boileau4--,has  
,england been free from all seductions  
of this nature8    ,pope4--,no4  ,but   
the ,french have the art of rendering   
vice and impiety  more agreeable than   
the ,english4    ,boileau4--,i am not   

very proud of this superiority in the   
talents of my  countrymen4  ,but as ,i  
am told that the good sense of the      
,english is now  admired in ,france1 ,i 
hope it will soon convince both nations 
that true  wisdom is virtue1 and true   
virtue is religion4    ,pope4--,i think 
it also to be wished that a taste for   
the frivolous may  not continue too     
prevalent among the ,french4  ,there is 
a great difference  between gathering   
flowers at the foot of ,parnassus and   
ascending the  arduous heights of the   
mountain4  ,the palms and laurels grow  
there1 and  if any of your countrymen   
aspire to gain them1 they must no longer
  enervate all the vigour of their minds
 by this habit of trifling4  ,i  would  
have them be perpetual competitors with 
the ,english in manly wit  and          
substantial learning4  ,but let the     
competition be friendly4  ,there is     
nothing which so contracts and debases  
the mind as national envy4  ,true  wit1 
like true virtue1 naturally loves its   

own image in whatever place it  is      
found4        ,,dialogue ,,xv4          
,,octavia--,,portia--,,arria4           
,portia4--,how has it happened1         
,octavia1 that ,arria and ,i1 who have a
  higher rank than you in the ,temple of
 ,fame1 should have a lower here in     
,elysium8  ,we are told that the virtues
 you exerted as a wife were greater     
than ours4  ,be so good as to explain to
 us what were those virtues4  ,it  is   
the privilege of this place that one can
 bear superiority without               
mortification4  ,the jealousy of        
precedence died with the rest of our    
mortal frailties4  ,tell us1 then1 your 
own story4  ,we will sit down under  the
 shade of this myrtle grove and listen  
to it with pleasure4                    
,octavia4--,noble ladies1 the glory of  
our sex and of ,rome1 ,i will not       
refuse to comply with your desire1      
though it recalls to my mind some       
scenes my heart would wish to forget4   
,there can be only one reason why       

,minos should have given to my conjugal 
virtues a preference above yours1  which
 is that the trial assigned to them was 
harder4    ,arria4--,how1 madam6 harder 
than to die for your husband6  ,we died 
for  ours4    ,octavia4--,you did for   
husbands who loved yon1 and were the    
most  virtuous men of the ages they     
lived in--who trusted you with their    
lives1  their fame1 their honour4  ,to  
outlive such husbands is1 in my         
judgment1 a  harder effort of virtue    
than to die for them or with them4  ,but
 ,mark  ,antony1 to whom my brother     
,octavius1 for reasons of state1 gave my
 hand1  was indifferent to me1 and loved
 another4  ,yet he has told me himself  
,i  was handsomer than his mistress     
,cleopatra4  ,younger ,i certainly was1 
and  to men that is generally a charm   
sufficient to turn the scale in one's   
favour4  ,i had been loved by           
,marcellus4  ,antony said he loved me   
when he  pledged to me his faith4       
,perhaps he did for a time2 a new       

handsome woman  might1 from his natural 
inconstancy1 make him forget an old     
attachment4  ,he was but too amiable4   
,his very vices had charms beyond other 
men's  virtues4  ,such vivacity6 such   
fire6 such a towering pride6  ,he seemed
  made by nature to command1 to govern  
the world2 to govern it with such  ease 
that the business of it did not rob him 
of an hour of pleasure4  ,nevertheless1 
while his inclination for me continued1 
this haughty lord  of mankind who could 
hardly bring his high spirit to treat my
 brother1  his partner in empire1 with  
the necessary respect1 was to me as     
submissive1 as obedient to every wish of
 my heart1 as the humblest lover  that  
ever sighed in the vales of ,arcadia4   
,thus he seduced my affection  from the 
manes of ,marcellus and fixed it on     
himself4  ,he fixed it1 ladies  7,i own 
it with some confusion71 more fondly    
than it had ever been fixed  on         
,marcellus4  ,and when he had done so he
 scorned me1 he forsook me1 he  returned

 to ,cleopatra4  ,think who ,i was--the 
sister of ,caesar1 sacrificed  to a vile
 ,egyptian queen1 the harlot of ,julius1
 the disgrace of her sex6  ,every       
outrage was added that could incense me 
still more4  ,he gave her at  sundry    
times1 as public marks of his love1 many
 provinces of the ,empire  of ,rome in  
the ,east4  ,he read her love-letters   
openly in his tribunal  itself--even    
while he was hearing and judging the    
causes of kings4  ,nay1  he left his    
tribunal1 and one of the best ,roman    
orators pleading before  him1 to follow 
her litter1 in which she happened to be 
passing by at that  time4  ,but1 what   
was more grievous to me than all these  
demonstrations of  his extravagant      
passion for that infamous woman1 he had 
the assurance1 in  a letter to my       
brother1 to call her his wife4  ,which  
of you1 ladies1  could have patiently   
borne this treatment8    ,arria4--,not  
,i1 madam1 in truth4  ,had ,i been in   
your place1 the dagger  with which ,i   

pierced my own bosom to show my dear    
,paetus how easy it was  to die1 that   
dagger should ,i have plunged into      
,antony's heart1 if piety  to the gods  
and a due respect to the purity of my   
own soul had not  stopped my hand4  ,but
 ,i verily believe ,i should have killed
 myself2 not1  as ,i did1 out of        
affection to my husband1 but out of     
shame and  indignation at the wrongs ,i 
endured4    ,portia4--,i must own1      
,octavia1 that to bear such usage was   
harder to a  woman than to swallow fire4
    ,octavia4--,yet ,i did bear it1     
madam1 without even a complaint which   
could hurt or offend my husband4  ,nay1 
more1 at his return from his  ,parthian 
expedition1 which his impatience to bear
 a long absence from  ,cleopatra had    
made unfortunate and inglorious1 ,i went
 to meet him in  ,syria1 and carried    
with me rich presents of clothes and    
money for his  troops1 a great number of
 horses1 and two thousand chosen        
soldiers1  equipped and armed like my   

brother's ,praetorian bands4  ,he sent  
to stop  me at ,athens because his      
mistress was then with him4  ,i obeyed  
his  orders2 but ,i wrote to him1 by one
 of his most faithful friends1 a letter 
full of resignation1 and such a         
tenderness for him as ,i imagined might 
have power to touch his heart4  ,my     
envoy served me so well1 he set my      
fidelity in so fair a light1 and gave   
such reasons to ,antony why he ought  to
 see and receive me with kindness1 that 
,cleopatra was alarmed4  ,all her  arts 
were employed to prevent him from seeing
 me1 and to draw him again  into ,egypt4
  ,those arts prevailed4  ,he sent me   
back into ,italy1 and gave  himself up  
more absolutely than ever to the        
witchcraft of that ,circe4  ,he  added  
,africa to the ,states he had bestowed  
on her before1 and declared  ,caesario1 
her spurious son by ,julius ,caesar1    
heir to all her dominions1  except      
,phoenicia and ,cilicia1 which with the 
,upper ,syria he gave to  ,ptolemy1 his 

second son by her2 and at the same time 
declared his eldest  son by her1 whom he
 had espoused to the ,princess of       
,media1 heir to that  kingdom and ,king 
of ,armenia2 nay1 and of the whole      
,parthian ,empire which  he meant to    
conquer for him4  ,the children ,i had  
brought him he entirely  neglected as if
 they had been bastards4  ,i wept4  ,i  
lamented the wretched  captivity he was 
in2 but ,i never reproached him4  ,my   
brother1 exasperated  at so many        
indignities1 commanded me to quit the   
house of my husband at  ,rome and come  
into his4  ,i refused to obey him4  ,i  
remained in ,antony's  house2 ,i        
persisted to take care of his children  
by ,fulvia1 the same  tender care as of 
my own4  ,i gave my protection to all   
his friends at  ,rome4  ,i implored my  
brother not to make my jealousy or my   
wrongs the  cause of a civil war4  ,but 
the injuries done to ,rome by ,antony's 
conduct  could not possibly be forgiven4
  ,when he found he should draw the     

,roman  arms on himself1 he sent orders 
to me to leave his house4  ,i did so1   
but  carried with me all his children by
 ,fulvia1 except ,antyllus1 the eldest1 
who was then with him in ,egypt4  ,after
 his death and ,cleopatra's1 ,i took    
her children by him1 and bred them up   
with my own4    ,arria4--,is it         
possible1 madam8 the children of        
,cleopatra8    ,octavia4--,yes1 the     
children of my rival4  ,i married her   
daughter to  ,juba1 ,king of            
,mauritania1 the most accomplished and  
the handsomest prince  in the world4    
,arria4--,tell me1 ,octavia1 did not    
your pride and resentment entirely  cure
 you of your passion for ,antony1 as    
soon as you saw him go back to          
,cleopatra8  ,and was not your whole    
conduct afterwards the effect of cool   
reason1 undisturbed by the agitations of
 jealous and tortured love8             
,octavia4--,you probe my heart very     
deeply4  ,that ,i had some help from    
resentment and the natural pride of my  

sex1 ,i will not deny4  ,but ,i was  not
 become indifferent to my husband4  ,i  
loved the ,antony who had been my       
lover1 more than ,i was angry with the  
,antony who forsook me and loved        
another woman4  ,had he left ,cleopatra 
and returned to me again with all  his  
former affection1 ,i really believe ,i  
should have loved him as well as        
before4    ,arria4--,if the merit of a  
wife is to be measured by her           
sufferings1  your heart was             
unquestionably the most perfect model of
 conjugal virtue4  ,the wound ,i gave   
mine was but a scratch in comparison to 
many you felt4  ,yet ,i don't know      
whether it would be any benefit to the  
world that there  should be in it many  
,octavias4  ,too good subjects are apt  
to make bad  kings4    ,portia4--,true1 
,arria2 the wives of ,brutus and        
,cecinna ,paetus may be  allowed to have
 spirits a little rebellious4  ,octavia 
was educated in the  ,court of her      
brother4  ,subjection and patience were 

much better taught  there than in our   
houses1 where the ,roman liberty made   
its last abode4  ,and though ,i will not
 dispute the judgment of ,minos1 ,i     
can't help  thinking that the affection 
of a wife to her husband is more or less
  respectable in proportion to the      
character of that husband4  ,if ,i could
  have had for ,antony the same         
friendship as ,i had for ,brutus1 ,i    
should  have despised myself4           
,octavia4--,my fondness for ,antony was 
ill-placed2 but my perseverance in  the 
performance of all the duties of a wife1
 notwithstanding his  ill-usage1 a      
perseverance made more difficult by the 
very excess of my  love1 appeared to    
,minos the highest and most meritorious 
effort of female  resolution against the
 seductions of the most dangerous enemy 
to our  virtue1 offended pride4         
,,dialogue ,,xvi4      ,,louise ,,de    
,,coligni1 ,,princess ,,of              
,,orange--,,frances ,,walsingham1       
,,countess ,,of  ,,essex ,,and ,,of     

,,clanricarde2 ,,before1 ,,lady         
,,sidney4    ,princess of ,orange4--,our
 destinies1 madam1 had a great and      
surprising  conformity4  ,i was the     
daughter of ,admiral ,coligni1 you of   
,secretary  ,walsingham1 two persons who
 were the most consummate statesmen and 
ablest  supports of the ,protestant     
religion in ,france1 and in ,england4   
,i was  married to ,teligni1 the finest 
gentleman of our party1 the most admired
  for his valour1 his virtue1 and his   
learning3 you to ,sir ,philip ,sidney1  
who enjoyed the same pre-eminence among 
the ,english4  ,both these husbands     
were cut off1 in the flower of youth and
 of glory1 by violent deaths1 and  we   
both married again with still greater   
men2 ,i with ,william ,prince of        
,orange1 the founder of the ,dutch      
,commonwealth2 you with ,devereux ,earl 
of  ,essex1 the favourite of ,elizabeth 
and of the whole ,english nation4  ,but1
  alas6 to complete the resemblance of  
our fates1 we both saw those second     

husbands1 who had raised us so high1    
destroyed in the full meridian of  their
 glory and greatness3 mine by the pistol
 of an assassin2 yours still  more      
unhappily1 by the axe1 as a traitor4    
,countess of ,clanricarde4--,there was  
indeed in some principal events of  our 
lives the conformity you observe4  ,but 
your destiny1 though it raised  you     
higher than me1 was more unhappy than   
mine4  ,for my father lived  honourably1
 and died in peace3 yours was           
assassinated in his old age4  ,how1     
madam1 did you support or recover your  
spirits under so rainy  misfortunes8    
,princess of ,orange4--,the ,prince of  
,orange left an infant son to my  care4 
,the educating of him to be worthy of so
 illustrious a father1 to  be the heir  
of his virtue as well as of his         
greatness1 and the affairs of  the      
commonwealth1 in which ,i interested    
myself for his sake1 so filled my  mind1
 that they in some measure took from me 
the sense of my grief1 which  nothing   

but such a great and important scene of 
business1 such a  necessary talk of     
private and public duty1 could have ever
 relieved4  ,but  let me inquire in my  
turn1 how did your heart find a balm to 
alleviate  the anguish of the wounds it 
had suffered8  ,what employed your      
widowed  hours after the death of your  
,essex8    ,countess of                 
,clanricarde4--,madam1 ,i did not long  
continue a widow3 ,i  married again4    
,princess of ,orange4--,married again6  
,with what prince1 what king did  you   
marry8  ,the widow of ,sir ,philip      
,sidney and of my ,lord ,essex could not
  descend from them to a subject of less
 illustrious fame2 and where could  you 
find one that was comparable to either8 
,countess of ,clanricarde4--,i did not  
seek for one1 madam3 the heroism of  the
 former1 and the ambition of the latter1
 had made me very unhappy4  ,i  desired 
a quiet life and the joys of wedded     
love1 with an agreeable1  virtuous1     
well-born1 unambitious1 unenterprising  

husband4  ,all this ,i  found in the    
,earl of ,clanricarde3 and believe me1  
madam1 ,i enjoyed more  solid felicity  
in ,ireland with him1 than ,i ever had  
possessed with my two  former husbands1 
in the pride of their glory1 when       
,england and all ,europe  resounded with
 their praise4    ,princess of          
,orange4--,can it be possible that the  
daughter of  ,walsingham1 and the wife  
of ,sidney and ,essex1 should have      
sentiments so  inferior to the minds    
from which she sprang1 and to which she 
was  matched8  ,believe me1 madam1 there
 was no hour of the many years ,i lived 
after the death of the ,prince of       
,orange1 in which ,i would have         
exchanged  the pride and joy ,i         
continually had in hearing his praise1  
and seeing the  monuments of his glory  
in the free commonwealth his wisdom had 
founded1  for any other delights the    
world could give4  ,the cares that ,i   
shared  with him1 while he remained upon
 earth1 were a happiness to my mind1    

because they exalted its powers4  ,the  
remembrance of them was dear to me      
after ,i had lost him4  ,i thought his  
great soul1 though removed to a  higher 
sphere1 would look down upon mine with  
some tenderness of  affection1 as its   
fellow-labourer in the heroic and divine
 work of  delivering and freeing his    
country4  ,but to be divorced from that 
soul6  to be no longer his wife6 to be  
the comfort of an inferior1 inglorious  
husband6  ,i had much rather have died a
 thousand deaths1 than that my  heart   
should one moment have conceived such a 
thought4    ,countess of                
,clanricarde4--,your ,highness must not 
judge of all hearts by  your own4  ,the 
ruling passion of that was apparently   
ambition4  ,my  inclinations were not so
 noble as yours1 but better suited1     
perhaps1 to  the nature of woman4  ,i   
loved ,sir ,philip ,sidney1 ,i loved the
 ,earl of  ,essex1 rather as amiable men
 than as heroes and statesmen4  ,they   
were so  taken up with their wars and   

state-affairs1 that my tenderness for   
them  was too often neglected4  ,the    
,earl of ,clanricarde was constantly and
  wholly mine4  ,he was brave1 but had  
not that spirit of chivalry with  which 
,sir ,philip ,sidney was absolutely     
possessed4  ,he had1 in a high  degree1 
the esteem of ,elizabeth1 but did not   
aspire to her love2 nor did  he wish to 
be the rival of ,carr or of ,villiers in
 the affection of ,james4  ,such1 madam1
 was the man on whom my last choice     
bestowed my hand1 and  whose kindness   
compensated for all my misfortunes4     
,providence has  assigned to different  
tempers different comforts4  ,to you it 
gave the  education of a prince1 the    
government of a state1 the pride of     
being  called the wife of a hero2 to me 
a good-living husband1 quiet1 opulence1 
nobility1 and a fair reputation1 though 
not in a degree so exalted as  yours4   
,if our whole sex were to choose between
 your consolations and  mine1 your      
,highness1 ,i think1 would find very few

 of your taste4  ,but ,i  respect the   
sublimity of your ideas4  ,now that we  
have no bodies they  appear less        
unnatural than ,i should have thought   
them in the other world4    ,princess of
 ,orange4--,adieu1 madam4  ,our souls   
are of a different order1  and were not 
made to sympathise or converse with each
 other4        ,,dialogue ,,xvii4       
,,marcus ,,brutus--,,pomponius          
,,atticus4    ,brutus4--,well1 ,atticus1
 ,i find that1 notwithstanding your     
friendship  for ,cicero and for me1 you 
survived us both many years1 with the   
same  cheerful spirit you had always    
possessed1 and1 by prudently wedding    
your  daughter to ,agrippa1 secured the 
favour of ,octavius ,caesar1 and even   
contracted a close alliance with him by 
your granddaughter's marriage  with     
,tiberius ,nero4    ,atticus4--,you     
know1 ,brutus1 my philosophy was the    
,epicurean4  ,i loved  my friends1 and  
,i served them in their wants and       
distresses with great  generosity2 but  

,i did not think myself obliged to die  
when they died1 or  not to make others  
as occasions should offer4              
,brutus4--,you did1 ,i acknowledge1     
serve your friends1 as far as you       
could1 without bringing yourself1 on    
their account1 into any great danger  or
 disturbance of mind3 but that you loved
 them ,i much doubt4  ,if you  loved    
,cicero1 how could you love ,antony8    
,if you loved me1 how could you  love   
,octavius8  ,if you loved ,octavius1 how
 could you avoid taking part  against   
,antony in their last civil war8        
,affection cannot be so strangely       
divided1 and with so much equality1     
among men of such opposite  characters1 
and who were such irreconcilable enemies
 to each other4    ,atticus4--,from my  
earliest youth ,i possessed the singular
 talent of  ingratiating myself with the
 heads of different parties1 and yet not
  engaging with any of them so far as to
 disturb my own quiet4  ,my family  was 
connected with the ,marian party2 and1  

though ,i retired to ,athens that  ,i   
might not be unwillingly involved in the
 troubles which that turbulent  faction 
had begun to excite1 yet when young     
,marius was declared an enemy  by the   
,senate1 ,i sent him a sum of money to  
support him in his exile4  ,nor  did    
this hinder me from making my court so  
well to ,sylla1 upon his coming  to     
,athens1 that ,i obtained from him the  
highest marks of his favour4            
,nevertheless1 when he pressed me to go 
with him to ,rome1 ,i declined it1      
being as unwilling to fight for him     
against the ,marian party1 as for them  
against him4  ,he admired my conduct2   
and at his departure from ,athens1      
ordered all the presents made to him    
during his abode in that city to be     
carried to me4  ,i remind you of this   
only to show that moderation in all     
contentions of this kind had been always
 my principle2 and that in the          
instances you mentioned ,i did not act  
from any levity or inconstancy in  my   

nature1 but from a regular consistent   
plan of conduct1 which my reason        
convinced me was the wisest ,i could    
follow4    ,brutus4--,i remember indeed 
that you observed the same neutrality   
between ,pompey and ,julius ,caesar4    
,atticus4--,i did so--and that ,i might 
be able to do it with dignity1 and      
without the reproach of ingratitude1 ,i 
never would accept any office or  honour
 from either of those great men2 nor    
from ,cicero1 though my sister  had     
married his brother2 nor from you1      
,marcus ,brutus1 whose friendship ,i    
thought the greatest honour of my life4 
,brutus4--,are there no obligations to a
 good heart1 ,pomponius1 but  honours   
and offices8  ,or could you1 by refusing
 to encumber yourself with  these1      
dissolve all other ties8  ,but1 setting 
aside any considerations of  private    
affection or esteem1 how was you able to
 reconcile your conduct  with that which
 is the ruling principle in the heart of
 every virtuous  man1 and more          

especially a virtuous ,roman1 the love  
of the public8    ,atticus4--,the times 
,i lived in were so bad1 and the        
conflict of parties  had so little to do
 in reality with the love of the public1
 that ,i  thought my virtue much safer  
and purer by avoiding than mixing in the
  fray4    ,brutus4--,possibly1 in the  
dispute between ,marius and ,sylla1 and 
even in  that between ,pompey and       
,caesar1 a virtuous man might see so    
much to blame  on both sides1 and so    
much to fear1 whichever faction should  
overcome the  other1 as to be justified 
in not engaging with either4  ,but let  
me say1  without vanity1 in the war     
which ,i waged against ,antony and      
,octavius you  could have nothing to    
blame1 for ,i know you approved the     
principle upon  which ,i killed ,julius 
,caesar4  ,nor had you anything to fear 
if our arms  had succeeded1 for you know
 that my intentions were upright and    
pure2 nor  was it doubtful that ,cassius
 was as much determined as ,i to restore

 the  ,republic4  ,how could you1 then1 
with any sense of virtue in your heart1 
maintain an indifference and neutrality 
between the deliverers and the  tyrants 
of your country8    ,atticus4--,my      
answer to this will necessarily require 
explanations1  which my respect to the  
manes of ,brutus makes me wish to avoid4
    ,brutus4--,in the other world ,i    
loved truth1 and was desirous that all  
might speak it with freedom2 but here   
even the tender ears of a tyrant  are   
compelled to endure it4  ,if ,i         
committed any faults1 or erred in my    
judgment1 the calamities ,i have        
suffered are a punishment for it4  ,tell
  me then1 truly1 and without fear of   
offending1 what you think were my       
failings4    ,atticus4--,you said that  
the principle upon which you killed     
,julius  ,caesar had my approbation4    
,this ,i do not deny2 but did ,i ever   
declare1  or give you reason to believe1
 that ,i thought it a prudent or        
well-timed  act8  ,i had quite other    

thoughts4  ,nothing ever seemed to me   
worse judged  or worse timed2 and these1
 ,brutus1 were my reasons4  ,caesar was 
just  setting out to make war on the    
,parthians4  ,this was an enterprise of 
no  little difficulty and no little     
danger2 but his unbounded ambition1 and 
that restless spirit which never would  
suffer him to take any repose1 did  not 
intend to stop there4  ,you know very   
well 7for he hid nothing from  you7 that
 he had formed a vast plan of marching1 
after he had conquered  the whole       
,parthian ,empire1 along the coast of   
the ,caspian ,sea and the  sides of     
,mount ,caucasus into ,scythia1 in order
 to subdue all the  countries that      
border on ,germany1 and ,germany itself2
 from whence he  proposed to return to  
,rome by ,gaul4  ,consider now1 ,i      
beseech you1 how  much time the         
execution of this project required4  ,in
 some of his battles  with so many      
fierce and warlike nations1 the bravest 
of all the  barbarians1 he might have   

been slain2 but1 if he had not1 disease1
 or age  itself1 might have ended his   
life before he could have completed such
 an  immense undertaking4  ,he was1 when
 you killed him1 in his fifty-sixth     
year1 and of an infirm constitution4    
,except his bastard by ,cleopatra1 he   
had no son2 nor was his power so        
absolute or so quietly settled that he  
could have a thought of bequeathing the 
,empire1 like a private  inheritance1 to
 his sister's grandson1 ,octavius4      
,while he was absent  there was no      
reason to fear any violence or          
maladministration in ,italy or  in      
,rome4  ,cicero would have had the chief
 authority in the ,senate4  ,the        
praetorship of the city had been        
conferred upon you by the favour of     
,caesar1 and your known credit with him1
 added to the high reputation of  your  
virtues and abilities1 gave you a weight
 in all business which none  of his     
party left behind him in ,italy would   
have been able to oppose4  ,what a fair 

prospect was here of good order1 peace1 
and liberty at home1  while abroad the  
,roman name would have been rendered    
more glorious1 the  disgrace of ,crassus
 revenged1 and the ,empire extended     
beyond the utmost  ambition of our      
forefathers by the greatest general that
 ever led the  armies of ,rome1 or1     
perhaps1 of any other nation6  ,what did
 it signify  whether in ,asia1 and among
 the barbarians1 that general bore the  
name of  ,king or ,dictator8  ,nothing  
could be more puerile in you and your   
friends  than to start so much at the   
proposition of his taking that name in  
,italy  itself1 when you had suffered   
him to enjoy all the power of royalty1  
and  much more than any ,king of ,rome  
had possessed from ,romulus down to     
,tarquin4    ,brutus4--,we considered   
that name as the last insult offered to 
our  liberty and our laws2 it was an    
ensign of tyranny1 hung out with a vain 
and arrogant purpose of rendering the   
servitude of ,rome more apparent4  ,we1 

therefore1 determined to punish the     
tyrant1 and restore our country  to     
freedom4    ,atticus4--,you punished the
 tyrant1 but you did not restore your   
country  to freedom4  ,by sparing       
,antony1 against the opinion of         
,cassius1 you  suffered the tyranny to  
remain4  ,he was ,consul1 and1 from the 
moment that  ,caesar was dead1 the chief
 power of the ,state was in his hands4  
,the  soldiers adored him for his       
liberality1 valour1 and military        
frankness4  ,his eloquence was more     
persuasive from appearing unstudied4    
,the nobility  of his house1 which      
descended from ,hercules1 would         
naturally inflame his  heart with       
ambition4  ,the whole course of his life
 had evidently shown  that his thoughts 
were high and aspiring1 and that he had 
little respect  for the liberty of his  
country4  ,he had been the second man in
 ,caesar's  party2 by saving him you    
gave a new head to that party1 which    
could no  longer subsist without your   

ruin4  ,many who would have wished the  
restoration of liberty1 if ,caesar had  
died a natural death1 were so  incensed 
at his murder that1 merely for the sake 
of punishing that1 they  were willing to
 confer all power upon ,antony and make 
him absolute master  of the ,republic4  
,this was particularly true with respect
 to the veterans  who had served under  
,caesar1 and he saw it so plainly that  
he presently  availed himself of their  
dispositions4  ,you and ,cassius were   
obliged to  fly out of ,italy1 and      
,cicero1 who was unwilling to take the  
same part1  could find no expedient to  
save himself and the ,senate but the    
wretched  one of supporting and raising 
very high another ,caesar1 the adopted  
son  and heir of him you had slain1 to  
oppose ,antony and to divide the        
,caesarean party4  ,but even while he   
did this he perpetually offended that   
party and made them his enemies by      
harangues in the ,senate1 which         
breathed the very spirit of the old     

,pompeian faction1 and made him appear  
to ,octavius and all the friends of the 
dead ,dictator no less guilty of  his   
death than those who had killed him4    
,what could this end in but that  which 
you and your friends had most to fear1 a
 reunion of the whole  ,caesarean party 
and of their principal leaders1 however 
discordant the  one with the other1 to  
destroy the ,pompeians8  ,for my own    
part1 ,i foresaw  it long before the    
event1 and therefore kept myself wholly 
clear of those  proceedings4  ,you think
 ,i ought to have joined you and        
,cassius at  ,philippi1 because ,i knew 
your good intentions1 and that1 if you  
succeeded1 you designed to restore the  
commonwealth4  ,i am persuaded you  did 
both agree in that point1 but you       
differed in so many others1 there  was  
such a dissimilitude in your tempers and
 characters1 that the union  between you
 could not have lasted long1 and your   
dissension would have  had most fatal   
effects with regard both to the         

settlement and to the  administration of
 the ,republic4  ,besides1 the whole    
mass of it was in  such a fermentation1 
and so corrupted1 that ,i am convinced  
new disorders  would soon have arisen4  
,if you had applied gentle remedies1 to 
which  your nature inclined1 those      
remedies would have failed2 if ,cassius 
had  induced you to act with severity1  
your government would have been         
stigmatised with the name of a tyranny  
more detestable than that against  which
 you conspired1 and ,caesar's clemency  
would have been the perpetual  topic of 
every factious oration to the people1   
and of every seditious  discourse to the
 soldiers4  ,thus you would have soon   
been plunged in the  miseries of another
 civil war1 or perhaps assassinated in  
the ,senate1 as  ,julius was by you4    
,nothing could give the ,roman ,empire a
 lasting  tranquillity but such a       
prudent plan of a mitigated imperial    
power as was  afterwards formed by      
,octavius1 when he had ably and happily 

delivered  himself from all opposition  
and partnership in the government4      
,those  quiet times ,i lived to see1 and
 ,i must say they were the best ,i ever 
had  seen1 far better than those under  
the turbulent aristocracy for which you 
contended4  ,and let me boast a little  
of my own prudence1 which1 through  so  
many storms1 could steer me safe into   
that port4  ,had it only given me       
safety1 without reputation1 ,i should   
not think that ,i ought to value  myself
 upon it4  ,but in all these revolutions
 my honour remained as  unimpaired as my
 fortune4  ,i so conducted myself that  
,i lost no esteem in  being ,antony's   
friend after having been ,cicero's1 or  
in my alliance with  ,agrippa and       
,augustus ,caesar after my friendship   
with you4  ,nor did either  ,caesar or  
,antony blame my inaction in the        
quarrels between them2 but1 on  the     
contrary1 they both seemed to respect me
 the more for the neutrality  ,i        
observed4  ,my obligations to the one   

and alliance with the other made  it    
improper for me to act against either1  
and my constant tenor of life  had      
procured me an exemption from all civil 
wars by a kind of  prescription4        
,brutus4--,if man were born to no higher
 purpose than to wear out a long  life  
in ease and prosperity1 with the general
 esteem of the world1 your  wisdom was  
evidently as much superior to mine as my
 life was shorter and  more unhappy than
 yours4  ,nay1 ,i verily believe it     
exceeded the prudence  of any other man 
that ever existed1 considering in what  
difficult  circumstances you were       
placed1 and with how many violent shocks
 and  sudden changes of fortune you were
 obliged to contend4  ,but here the most
  virtuous and public-spirited conduct  
is found to have been the most  prudent4
  ,the motives of our actions1 not the  
success1 give us here  renown4  ,and    
could ,i return to that life from whence
 ,i am escaped1 ,i  would not change my 
character to imitate yours2 ,i would    

again be ,brutus  rather than ,atticus4 
,even without the sweet hope of an      
eternal reward in  a more perfect state1
 which is the strongest and most        
immovable support  to the good under    
every misfortune1 ,i swear by the gods  
,i would not give  up the noble feelings
 of my heart1 that elevation of mind    
which  accompanies active and suffering 
virtue1 for your seventy-seven years of 
constant tranquillity1 with all the     
praise you obtained from the learned    
men whom you patronised or the great men
 whom you courted4        ,,dialogue    
,,xviii4      ,,william ,,iii41 ,,king  
,,of ,,england--,,john ,,de ,,witt1     
,,pensioner1 ,,of ,,holland4            
,william4--,though ,i had no cause to   
love you1 yet1 believe me1 ,i  sincerely
 lament your fate4  ,who could have     
thought that ,de ,witt1 the  most       
popular ,minister that ever served a    
commonwealth1 should fall a  sacrifice  
to popular fury6  ,such admirable       
talents1 such virtues as you  were      

endowed with1 so clear1 so cool1 so     
comprehensive a head1 a heart so        
untainted with any kind of vice1        
despising money1 despising pleasure1    
despising the vain ostentation of       
greatness1 such application to          
business1 such ability in it1 such      
courage1 such firmness1 and so perfect  
a knowledge of the nation you governed1 
seemed to assure you of a fixed  and    
stable support in the public affection4 
,but nothing can be durable  that       
depends on the passions of the people4  
,de ,witt4--,it is very generous in your
 ,majesty1 not only to  compassionate   
the fate of a man whose political       
principles made him an  enemy to your   
greatness1 but to ascribe it to the     
caprice and inconstancy  of the people1 
as if there had been nothing very       
blamable in his conduct4  ,i feel the   
magnanimity of this discourse from your 
,majesty1 and it  confirms what ,i have 
heard of all your behaviour after my    
death4  ,but ,i  must frankly confess   

that1 although the rage of the populace 
was carried  much too far when they tore
 me and my unfortunate brother to       
pieces1 yet  ,i certainly had deserved  
to lose their affection by relying too  
much on  the uncertain and dangerous    
friendship of ,france1 and by weakening 
the  military strength of the ,state1 to
 serve little purposes of my own power1 
and secure to myself the interested     
affection of the burgomasters or  others
 who had credit and weight in the       
faction the favour of which ,i  courted4
  ,this had almost subjected my country 
to ,france1 if you1 great  prince1 had  
not been set at the head of the falling 
,republic1 and had not  exerted such    
extraordinary virtues and abilities to  
raise and support it1  as surpassed even
 the heroism and prudence of ,william1  
our first  ,stadtholder1 and equalled   
yon to the most illustrious patriots of 
,greece  or ,rome4    ,william4--,this  
praise from your mouth is glorious to me
 indeed6  ,what  can so much exalt the  

character of a prince as to have his    
actions  approved by a zealous          
,republican and the enemy of his house8 
,de ,witt4--,if ,i did not approve them 
,i should show myself the enemy of  the 
,republic4  ,you never sought to        
tyrannise over it2 you loved1 you       
defended1 you preserved its freedom4    
,thebes was not more indebted to        
,epaminondas or ,pelopidas for its      
independence and glory than the ,united 
,provinces were to you4  ,how wonderful 
was it to see a youth1 who had  scarce  
attained to the twenty-second year of   
his age1 whose spirit had  been         
depressed and kept down by a jealous and
 hostile faction1 rising at  once to the
 conduct of a most arduous and perilous 
war1 stopping an enemy  victorious1     
triumphant1 who had penetrated into the 
heart of his country1  driving him back 
and recovering from him all he had      
conquered3 to see  this done with an    
army in which a little before there was 
neither  discipline1 courage1 nor sense 

of honour6  ,ancient history has no     
exploit  superior to it2 and it will    
ennoble the modern whenever a ,livy or a
  ,plutarch shall arise to do justice to
 it1 and set the hero who performed  it 
in a true light4    ,william4--,say1    
rather1 when time shall have worn out   
that malignity and  rancour of party    
which in free ,states is so apt to      
oppose itself to the  sentiments of     
gratitude and esteem for their servants 
and benefactors4    ,de ,witt4--,how    
magnanimous was your reply1 how much in 
the spirit of  true ancient virtue1 when
 being asked1 in the greatest extremity 
of our  danger1 ,how you intended to    
live after ,holland was lost8 you said1 
,you  would live on the lands you had   
left in ,germany1 and had rather pass   
your  life in hunting there than sell   
your country or liberty to ,france at   
any  rate6  ,how nobly did you think    
when1 being offered your patrimonial    
lordships and lands in the county of    
,burgundy1 or the full value of them    

from ,france1 by the mediation of       
,england in the treaty of peace1 your   
answer was1 ,that to gain one good town 
more for the ,spaniards in  ,flanders   
you would be content to lose them all6  
,no wonder1 after this1  that you were  
able to combine all ,europe in a league 
against the power of  ,france2 that you 
were the centre of union1 and the       
directing soul of that  wise1 that      
generous confederacy formed by your     
labours2 that you could  steadily       
support and keep it together1 in spite  
of repeated misfortunes2  that even     
after defeats you were as formidable to 
,louis as other generals  after         
victories2 and that in the end you      
became the deliverer of ,europe1  as you
 had before been of ,holland4           
,william4--,i had1 in truth1 no other   
object1 no other passion at heart       
throughout my whole life but to maintain
 the independence and freedom of        
,europe against the ambition of ,france4
  ,it was this desire which formed  the 

whole plan of my policy1 which animated 
all my counsels1 both as  ,prince of    
,orange and ,king of ,england4    ,de   
,witt4--,this desire was the most noble 
7,i speak it with shame7 that  could    
warm the heart of a prince whose        
ancestors had opposed and in a  great   
measure destroyed the power of ,spain   
when that nation aspired to  the        
monarchy of ,europe4  ,france1 sir1 in  
your days had an equal ambition  and    
more strength to support her vast       
designs than ,spain under the           
government of ,philip ,,ii4  ,that      
ambition you restrained1 that strength  
you  resisted4  ,i1 alas6 was seduced by
 her perfidious ,court1 and by the      
necessity of affairs in that system of  
policy which ,i had adopted1 to ask  her
 assistance1 to rely on her favour1 and 
to make the commonwealth1  whose        
counsels ,i directed1 subservient to her
 greatness4  ,permit me1 sir1  to       
explain to you the motives of my        
conduct4  ,if all the ,princes of       

,orange had acted like you1 ,i should   
never have been the enemy of your       
house4  ,but ,prince ,maurice of ,nassau
 desired to oppress the liberty of  that
 ,state which his virtuous father had   
freed at the expense of his  life1 and  
which he himself had defended against   
the arms of the ,house of  ,austria with
 the highest reputation of military     
abilities4  ,under a  pretence of       
religion 7the most execrable cover of a 
wicked design7 he put  to death1 as a   
criminal1 that upright ,minister1       
,barneveldt1 his father's  best friend1 
because1 he refused to concur with him  
in treason against  the ,state4  ,he    
likewise imprisoned several other good  
men and lovers of  their country1       
confiscated their estates1 and ruined   
their families4  ,yet1  after he had    
done these cruel acts of injustice with 
a view to make  himself sovereign of the
 ,dutch ,commonwealth1 he found they had
 drawn such  a general odium upon him   
that1 not daring to accomplish his      

iniquitous  purpose1 he stopped short of
 the tyranny to which he had sacrificed 
his  honour and virtue2 a disappointment
 so mortifying and so painful to his    
mind that it probably hastened his      
death4    ,william4--,would to ,heaven  
he had died before the meeting of that  
infamous ,synod of ,dort1 by which he   
not only dishonoured himself and his    
family1 but the ,protestant religion    
itself6  ,forgive this interruption--my 
grief forced me to it--,i desire you to 
proceed4    ,de ,witt4--,the brother of 
,maurice1 ,prince ,henry1 who succeeded 
to his  dignities in the ,republic1     
acted with more moderation4  ,but the   
son of  that good prince1 your          
,majesty's father 7,i am sorry to speak 
what ,i know  you hear with pain71      
resumed1 in the pride and fire of his   
youth1 the  ambitious designs of his    
uncle4  ,he failed in his undertaking1  
and soon  afterwards died1 but left in  
the hearts of the whole ,republican     
party an  incurable jealousy and dread  

of his family4  ,full of these          
prejudices1  and zealous for liberty1 ,i
 thought it my duty as ,pensionary of   
,holland to  prevent for ever1 if ,i    
could1 your restoration to the power    
your  ancestors had enjoyed1 which ,i   
sincerely believed would be inconsistent
  with the safety and freedom of my     
country4    ,william4--,let me stop you 
a moment here4  ,when my                
great-grandfather  formed the plan of   
the ,dutch ,commonwealth1 he made the   
power of a  ,stadtholder one of the     
principal springs in his system of      
government4  ,how  could you imagine    
that it would ever go well when deprived
 of this  spring1 so necessary to adjust
 and balance its motions8  ,a           
constitution  originally formed with no 
mixture of regal power may long be      
maintained  in all its vigour and energy
 without such a power2 but if any degree
 of  monarchy was mixed from the        
beginning in the principles of it1 the  
forcing that out must necessarily       

disorder and weaken the whole fabric4   
,this was particularly the case in our  
,republic4  ,the negative voice of      
every small town in the provincial      
,states1 the tedious slowness of our    
forms and deliberations1 the facility   
with which foreign ,ministers may       
seduce or purchase the opinions of so   
many persons as have a right to  concur 
in all our resolutions1 make it         
impossible for the ,government1  even in
 the quietest times1 to be well carried 
on without the authority  and influence 
of a ,stadtholder1 which are the only   
remedy our  constitution has provided   
for those evils4    ,de ,witt4--,i      
acknowledge they are2 but ,i and my     
party thought no evil so  great as that 
remedy1 and therefore we sought for     
other more pleasing  resources4  ,one of
 these1 upon which we most confidently  
depended1 was  the friendship of        
,france4  ,i flattered myself that the  
interest of the  ,french would secure to
 me their favour1 as your relation to   

the ,crown of  ,england might naturally 
raise in them a jealousy of your power4 
,i hoped  they would encourage the trade
 and commerce of the ,dutch in          
opposition to  the ,english1 the ancient
 enemies of their ,crown1 and let us    
enjoy all the  benefits of a perpetual  
peace1 unless we made war upon ,england1
 or  ,england upon us1 in either of     
which cases it was reasonable to presume
 we  should have their assistance4  ,the
 ,french ,minister at the ,hague1 who   
served his ,court but too well1 so      
confirmed me in these notions1 that ,i  
had no apprehensions of the mine which  
was forming under my feet4              
,william4--,you found your authority    
strengthened by a plan so agreeable  to 
your party1 and this contributed more to
 deceive your sagacity than  all the art
 of ,d',estrades4    ,de ,witt4--,my    
policy seemed to me entirely suitable to
 the lasting  security of my own power1 
of the liberty of my country1 and of its
  maritime greatness2 for ,i made it my 

care to keep up a very powerful  navy1  
well commanded and officered1 for the   
defence of all these against  the       
,english2 but1 as ,i feared nothing from
 ,france1 or any ,power on the          
,continent1 ,i neglected the army1 or   
rather ,i destroyed it1 by enervating   
all its strength1 by disbanding old     
troops and veteran officers attached  to
 the ,house of ,orange1 and putting in  
their place a trading militia1          
commanded by officers who had neither   
experience nor courage1 and who  owed   
their promotions to no other merit but  
their relation to or interest  with some
 leading men in the several oligarchies 
of which the ,government  in all the    
,dutch towns is composed4               
,nevertheless1 on the invasion of       
,flanders by the ,french1 ,i was forced 
to depart from my close connection  with
 ,france1 and to concur with ,england   
and ,sweden in the ,triple  ,alliance1  
which ,sir ,william ,temple proposed1 in
 order to check her  ambition2 but as ,i

 entered into that measure from         
necessity1 not from  choice1 ,i did not 
pursue it4  ,i neglected to improve our 
union with  ,england1 or to secure that 
with ,sweden2 ,i avoided any conjunction
 of  counsels with ,spain2 ,i formed no 
alliance with the ,emperor or the       
,germans2 ,i corrupted our army more and
 more2 till a sudden1 unnatural         
confederacy1 struck up1 against all the 
maxims of policy1 by the ,court of      
,england with ,france1 for the conquest 
of the ,seven ,provinces1 brought  these
 at once to the very brink of           
destruction1 and made me a victim to    
the fury of a populace too justly       
provoked4    ,william4--,i must say that
 your plan was in reality nothing more  
than to  procure for the ,dutch a       
licence to trade under the good pleasure
 and  gracious protection of ,france4   
,but any ,state that so entirely depends
 on  another is only a province1 and its
 liberty is a servitude graced with a   
sweet but empty name4  ,you should have 

reflected that to a monarch so          
ambitious and so vain as ,louis le      
,grand the idea of a conquest which     
seemed almost certain1 and the desire of
 humbling a haughty ,republic1  were    
temptations irresistible4  ,his bigotry 
likewise would concur in  recommending  
to him an enterprise which he might     
think would put heresy  under his feet4 
,and if you knew either the character of
 ,charles ,,ii4 or  the principles of   
his government1 you ought not to have   
supposed his  union with ,france for the
 ruin of ,holland an impossible or even 
improbable event4  ,it is hardly        
excusable in a statesman to be greatly  
surprised that the inclinations of      
princes should prevail upon them to     
act1 in many particulars1 without any   
regard to the political maxims and      
interests of their kingdoms4    ,de     
,witt4--,i am ashamed of my error2 but  
the chief cause of it was that1  though 
,i thought very ill1 ,i did not think   
quite so ill of ,charles ,,ii4  and his 

,ministry as they deserved4  ,i         
imagined1 too1 that his ,parliament     
would restrain him from engaging in such
 a war1 or compel him to engage  in our 
defence if ,france should attack us4    
,these1 ,i acknowledge1 are  excuses1   
not justifications4  ,when the ,french  
marched into ,holland and  found it in a
 condition so unable to resist them1 my 
fame as a ,minister  irrecoverably sank2
 for1 not to appear a traitor1 ,i was   
obliged to  confess myself a dupe4  ,but
 what praise is sufficient for the      
wisdom and  virtue you showed in so     
firmly rejecting the offers which1 ,i   
have been  informed1 were made to you1  
both by ,england and ,france1 when first
 you  appeared in arms at the head of   
your country1 to give you the           
sovereignty  of the ,seven ,provinces by
 the assistance and under the protection
 of the  two ,crowns6  ,believe me1     
great prince1 had ,i been living in     
those times1  and had known the generous
 answers you made to those offers 7which

 were  repeated more than once during   
the course of the war71 not the most    
ancient and devoted servant to your     
family would have been more your  friend
 than ,i4  ,but who could reasonably    
hope for such moderation1 and  such a   
right sense of glory1 in the mind of a  
young man descended from  kings1 whose  
mother was daughter to ,charles ,i41 and
 whose father had left  him the seducing
 example of a very different conduct8   
,happy1 indeed1 was  the ,english nation
 to have such a prince1 so nearly allied
 to their ,crown  both in blood and by  
marriage1 whom they might call to be    
their deliverer  when bigotry and       
despotism1 the two greatest enemies to  
human society1  had almost overthrown   
their whole constitution in ,church and 
,state6    ,william4--,they might have  
been happy1 but were not4  ,as soon as  
,i had  accomplished their deliverance  
for them1 many of them became my most   
implacable enemies1 and even wished to  
restore the unforgiving prince  whom    

they had so unanimously and so justly   
expelled from his kingdom4  ,such levity
 seems incredible4  ,i could not myself 
have imagined it  possible1 in a nation 
famed for good sense1 if ,i had not had 
proofs of it  beyond contradiction4     
,they seemed as much to forget what they
 called me  over for as that they had   
called me over4  ,the security of their 
religion1 the maintenance of their      
liberty1 were no longer their care4     
,all was to yield to the                
incomprehensible doctrine of right      
divine and  passive obedience4  ,thus   
the ,tories grew ,jacobites1 after      
having  renounced both that doctrine and
 ,king ,james1 by their opposition to   
him1  by their invitation of me1 and by 
every ,act of the ,parliament which gave
  me the ,crown4  ,but the most         
troublesome of my enemies were a set of 
,republicans1 who violently opposed all 
my measures1 and joined with the        
,jacobites in disturbing my government1 
only because it was not a  commonwealth4

    ,de ,witt4--,they who were          
,republicans under your government in   
the  ,kingdom of ,england did not love  
liberty1 but aspired to dominion1 and   
wished to throw the nation into a total 
confusion1 that it might give  them a   
chance of working out from that anarchy 
a better state for  themselves4         
,william4--,your observation is just4   
,a proud man thinks himself a lover  of 
liberty when he is only impatient of a  
power in government above his  own1 and 
were he a king1 or the first ,minister  
of a king1 would be a  tyrant4          
,nevertheless ,i will own to you1 with  
the candour which becomes a  virtuous   
prince1 that there were in ,england some
 ,whigs1 and even some of  the most     
sober and moderate ,tories1 who1 with   
very honest intentions1 and  sometimes  
with good judgments1 proposed new       
securities to the liberty of  the       
nation1 against the prerogative or      
influence of the ,crown and the         
corruption of ,ministers in future      

times4  ,to some of these ,i gave way1  
being convinced they were right1 but    
others ,i resisted for fear of          
weakening too much the royal authority1 
and breaking that balance in  which     
consists the perfection of a mixed form 
of government4  ,i should  not1 perhaps1
 have resisted so many if ,i had not    
seen in the ,house of  ,commons a       
disposition to rise in their demands on 
the ,crown had they  found it more      
yielding4  ,the difficulties of my      
government1 upon the  whole1 were so    
great that ,i once had determined1 from 
mere disgust and  resentment1 to give   
back to the nation1 assembled in        
,parliament1 the  crown they had placed 
on my head1 and retire to ,holland1     
where ,i found  more affection and      
gratitude in the people4  ,but ,i was   
stopped by the  earnest supplications of
 my friends and by an unwillingness to  
undo the  great work ,i had done1       
especially as ,i knew that1 if ,england 
should  return into the hands of ,king  

,james1 it would be impossible in that  
crisis to preserve the rest of ,europe  
from the dominion of ,france4    ,de    
,witt4--,heaven be praised that your    
,majesty did not persevere in so  fatal 
a resolution6  ,the ,united ,provinces  
would have been ruined by it  together  
with ,england4  ,but ,i cannot enough   
express my astonishment that  you should
 have met with such treatment as could  
suggest such a thought4  ,the ,english  
must surely be a people incapable either
 of liberty or  subjection4             
,william4--,there were1 ,i must         
acknowledge1 some faults in my temper   
and  some in my government1 which are an
 excuse for my subjects with regard to  
the uneasiness and disquiet they gave   
me4  ,my taciturnity1 which suited  the 
genius of the ,dutch1 offended theirs4  
,they love an affable prince2  it was   
chiefly his affability that made them so
 fond of ,charles ,,ii4  ,their         
frankness and good-humour could not     
brook the reserve and coldness of my    

nature4  ,then the excess of my favour  
to some of the ,dutch1 whom ,i had      
brought over with me1 excited a national
 jealousy in the ,english and hurt      
their pride4  ,my government also       
appeared1 at last1 too unsteady1 too    
fluctuating between the ,whigs and the  
,tories1 which almost deprived me of    
the confidence and affection of both    
parties4  ,i trusted too much to the    
integrity and the purity of my          
intentions1 without using those arts    
that  are necessary to allay the ferment
 of factions and allure men to their    
duty by soothing their passions4  ,upon 
the whole ,i am sensible that ,i  better
 understood how to govern the ,dutch    
than the ,english or the ,scotch1  and  
should probably have been thought a     
greater man if ,i had not been  ,king of
 ,great ,britain4    ,de ,witt4--,it is 
a shame to the ,english that gratitude  
and affection for  such merit as yours  
were not able to overcome any little    
disgusts arising  from your temper1 and 

enthrone their deliverer in the hearts  
of his  people4  ,but will your ,majesty
 give me leave to ask you one question8 
,is  it true1 as ,i have heard1 that    
many of them disliked your alliances on 
the ,continent and spoke of your war    
with ,france as a ,dutch measure1 in    
which you sacrificed ,england to        
,holland8    ,william4--,the cry of the 
nation at first was strong for the war1 
but  before the end of it the ,tories   
began publicly to talk the language you 
mention4  ,and no wonder they did1 for1 
as they then had a desire to set  up    
again the maxims of government which had
 prevailed in the reign of  their       
beloved ,charles ,,ii41 they could not  
but represent opposition to  ,france1   
and vigorous measures taken to restrain 
her ambition1 as  unnecessary for       
,england1 because they well knew that   
the counsels of that  king had been     
utterly averse to such measures2 that   
his whole policy made  him a friend to  
,france2 that he was governed by a      

,french mistress1 and  even bribed by   
,french money to give that ,court his   
assistance1 or at  least his            
acquiescence1 in all their designs4     
,de ,witt4--,a ,king of ,england whose  
,cabinet is governed by ,france1 and    
who becomes a vile pensioner to a       
,french ,king1 degrades himself from his
  royalty1 and ought to be considered as
 an enemy to the nation4  ,indeed  the  
whole policy of ,charles ,,ii41 when he 
was not forced off from his  natural    
bias by the necessity he lay under of   
soothing his ,parliament1  was a        
constant1 designed1 systematical        
opposition to the interest of his       
people4  ,his brother1 though more      
sensible to the honour of ,england1 was 
by his ,popery and desire of arbitrary  
power constrained to lean upon  ,france1
 and do nothing to obstruct her designs 
on the ,continent or lessen  her        
greatness4  ,it was therefore necessary 
to place the ,british ,crown on  your   
head1 not only with a view to preserve  

the religious and civil  rights of the  
people from internal oppressions1 but to
 rescue the whole  ,state from that     
servile dependence on its natural enemy1
 which must  unquestionably have ended  
in its destruction4  ,what folly was it 
to  revile your measures abroad1 as     
sacrificing the interest of your        
,british  dominions to connections with 
the ,continent1 and principally with    
,holland6  ,had ,great ,britain no      
interest to hinder the ,french from     
being  masters of all the ,austrian     
,netherlands1 and forcing the ,seven    
,united  ,provinces1 her strongest      
barrier on the ,continent against the   
power of  that nation1 to submit with   
the rest to their yoke8  ,would her     
trade1  would her coasts1 would her     
capital itself have been safe after so  
mighty  an increase of shipping and     
sailors as ,france would have gained by 
those  conquests8  ,and what could have 
prevented them1 but the war which you   
waged and the alliances which you       

formed8  ,could the ,dutch and the      
,germans1 unaided by ,great ,britain1   
have attempted to make head against a   
,power which1 even with her assistance1 
strong and spirited as it was1  they    
could hardly resist8  ,and after the    
check which had been given to  the      
encroachments of ,france by the efforts 
of the first grand alliance1  did not a 
new and greater danger make it necessary
 to recur to another  such league8  ,was
 not the union of ,france and ,spain    
under one monarch1 or  even under one   
family1 the most alarming contingency   
that ever had  threatened the liberty of
 ,europe8    ,william4--,i thought so1  
and ,i am sure ,i did not err in my     
judgment4  ,but  folly is blind1 and    
faction wilfully shuts her eyes against 
the most  evident truths that cross her 
designs1 as she believes any lies1      
however  palpable and absurd1 that she  
thinks will assist them4    ,de         
,witt4--,the only objection which seems 
to have any real weight  against your   

system of policy1 with regard to the    
maintenance of a  balance of power in   
,europe1 is the enormous expense that   
must necessarily  attend it2 an expense 
which ,i am afraid neither ,england nor 
,holland will  be able to bear without  
extreme inconvenience4    ,william4--,i 
will answer that objection by asking a  
question4  ,if1 when  you were          
,pensionary of ,holland1 intelligence   
had been brought that the  dykes were   
ready to break and the sea was coming in
 to overwhelm and to  drown us1 what    
would you have said to one of the       
deputies who1 when you  were proposing  
the proper repairs to stop the          
inundation1 should have  objected to the
 charge as too heavy on the ,province8  
,this was the case  in a political sense
 with both ,england and ,holland4  ,the 
fences raised to  keep out superstition 
and tyranny were all giving way2 those  
dreadful  evils were threatening1 with  
their whole accumulated force1 to break 
in  upon us and overwhelm our           

ecclesiastical and civil constitutions4 
,in  such circumstances to object to a  
necessary expense is folly and madness4 
,de ,witt4--,it is certain1 sir1 that   
the utmost abilities of a nation can    
never be so well employed as in the     
unwearied1 pertinacious defence of      
their religion and freedom4  ,when these
 are lost1 there remains nothing  that  
is worth the concern of a good or wise  
man4  ,nor do ,i think it  consistent   
with the prudence of government not to  
guard against future  dangers1 as well  
as present2 which precaution must be    
often in some  degree expensive4  ,i    
acknowledge1 too1 that the resources of 
a commercial  country1 which supports   
its trade1 even in war1 by invincible   
fleets1 and  takes care not to hurt it  
in the methods of imposing or collecting
 its  taxes1 are immense1 and           
inconceivable till the trial is made2   
especially  where the ,government1 which
 demands the supplies1 is agreeable to  
the  people4  ,but yet an unlimited and 

continued expense will in the end be    
destructive4  ,what matters it whether a
 ,state is mortally wounded by the  hand
 of a foreign enemy1 or dies by a       
consumption of its own vital  strength8 
,such a consumption will come upon      
,holland sooner than upon  ,england1    
because the latter has a greater radical
 force2 but1 great as it  is1 that force
 at last will be so diminished and      
exhausted by perpetual  drains1 that it 
may fail all at once1 and those efforts1
 which may seem  most surprisingly      
vigorous1 will be in reality the        
convulsions of death4  ,i don't apply   
this to your ,majesty's government2 but 
,i speak with a view  to what may happen
 hereafter from the extensive ideas of  
negotiation and  war which you have     
established3 they have been salutary to 
your kingdom2  but they will1 ,i fear1  
be pernicious in future times1 if in    
pursuing  great plans great ,ministers  
do not act with a sobriety1 prudence1   
and  attention to frugality1 which very 

seldom are joined with an  extraordinary
 vigour and boldness of counsels4       
,,dialogue ,,xix4      ,m4              
,,apicius--,,darteneuf4                 
,darteneuf4--,alas6 poor ,apicius1 ,i   
pity thee from my heart for not  having 
lived in my age and in my country4  ,how
 many good dishes1 unknown  at ,rome in 
thy days1 have ,i feasted upon in       
,england6    ,apicius4--,keep your pity 
for yourself4  ,how many good dishes    
have ,i  feasted upon in ,rome which    
,england does not produce1 or of which  
the  knowledge has been lost1 with other
 treasures of antiquity1 in these       
degenerate days6  ,the fat paps of a    
sow1 the livers of scari1 the brains  of
 phoenicopters1 and the tripotanum1     
which consisted of three excellent      
sorts of fish1 for which you ,english   
have no names1 the lupus marinus1  the  
myxo1 and the muraena4                  
,darteneuf4--,i thought the muraena had 
been our lamprey4  ,we have  delicate   
ones in the ,severn4    ,apicius4--,no2 

the muraena1 so respected by the ancient
 ,roman senators1  was a salt-water     
fish1 and kept by our nobles in ponds1  
into which the  sea was admitted4       
,darteneuf4--,why1 then1 ,i dare say our
 ,severn lampreys are better4  ,did  you
 ever eat any of them stewed or potted8 
,apicius4--,i was never in ,britain4    
,your country then was too barbarous    
for me to go thither4  ,i should have   
been afraid that the ,britons would     
have eaten me4    ,darteneuf4--,i am    
sorry for you1 very sorry2 for if you   
never were in  ,britain you never ate   
the best oysters4    ,apicius4--,pardon 
me1 sir1 your ,sandwich oysters were    
brought to ,rome in  my time4           
,darteneuf4--,they could not be fresh2  
they were good for nothing there4  ,you 
should have come to ,sandwich to eat    
them4  ,it is a shame for you that  you 
did not4  ,an epicure talk of danger    
when he is in search of a dainty6  ,did 
not ,leander swim over the ,hellespont  
in a tempest to get to his  mistress8   

,and what is a wench to a barrel of     
exquisite oysters8    ,apicius4--,nay2  
,i am sure you can't blame me for any   
want of alertness  in seeking fine      
fishes4  ,i sailed to the coast of      
,africa1 from ,minturnae  in ,campania1 
only to taste of one species1 which ,i  
heard was larger there  than it was on  
our coast2 and finding that ,i had      
received a false  information1 ,i       
returned immediately1 without even      
deigning to land4    ,darteneuf4--,there
 was some sense in that4  ,but why did  
not you also  make a voyage to          
,sandwich8  ,had you once tasted those  
oysters in their  highest perfection1   
you would never have come back2 you     
would have eaten  till you burst4       
,apicius4--,i wish ,i had4  ,it would   
have been better than poisoning  myself1
 as ,i did at ,rome1 because ,i found1  
upon the balance of my  accounts1 ,i had
 only the pitiful sum of fourscore      
thousand pounds left1  which would not  
afford me a table to keep me from       

starving4    ,darteneuf4--,a sum of     
fourscore thousand pounds not keep you  
from  starving6  ,would ,i had had it6  
,i should have been twenty years in     
spending it1 with the best table in     
,london4    ,apicius4--,alas1 poor man6 
,this shows that you ,english have no   
idea of  the luxury that reigned in our 
tables4  ,before ,i died ,i had spent in
 my  kitchen #hjg1bia pounds #acs4 #d;d4
    ,darteneuf4--,i don't believe a word
 of it4  ,there is certainly an error   
in the account4    ,apicius4--,why1 the 
establishment of ,lucullus for his      
suppers in the  ,apollo--,i mean for    
every supper he sat down to in the room 
which he  called by that name--was      
#e1jjj drachms1 which is in your money  
#a1fad  pounds #aas4 #h;d4              
,darteneuf4--,would ,i had supped with  
him there6  ,but are you sure there  is 
no blunder in these calculations8       
,apicius4--,ask your learned men that4  
,i reckon as they tell me4  ,but  you   
may think that these feasts were made   

only by great men1 by  triumphant       
generals1 like ,lucullus1 who had       
plundered all ,asia to help  him in his 
housekeeping4  ,what will you say when  
,i tell you that the  player ,a,esopus  
had one dish that cost him #f1jjj       
sestertia--that is1 #d1hdc  pounds #ajs4
 ,english8    ,darteneuf4--,what will ,i
 say8  ,why1 that ,i pity my worthy     
friend ,mr4  ,gibber1 and that1 if ,i   
had known this when alive1 ,i should    
have hanged  myself for vexation that ,i
 did not live in those days4            
,apicius4--,well you might1 well you    
might4  ,you don't know what eating  is4
  ,you never could know it4  ,nothing   
less than the wealth of the ,roman      
,empire is sufficient to enable a man of
 taste to keep a good table4  ,our      
players were infinitely richer than your
 princes4    ,darteneuf4--,oh that ,i   
had but lived in the blessed reign of   
,caligula1  or of ,vitellius1 or of     
,heliogabalus1 and had been admitted to 
the honour  of dining with their slaves6

    ,apicius4--,ay1 there you touch me4 
,i am miserable that ,i died before     
their good times4  ,they carried the    
glories of their table much farther     
than the best eaters of the age in which
 ,i lived4  ,vitellius spent in         
feasting1 within the compass of one     
year1 what would amount in your money   
to above #g1bjj1jjj pounds4  ,he told me
 so himself in a conversation ,i had    
with him not long ago4  ,and the two    
others you mentioned did not fall  very 
short of his royal magnificence4        
,darteneuf4--,these1 indeed1 were great 
princes4  ,but what most affects  me is 
the luxury of that upstart fellow       
,a,esopus4  ,pray1 of what  ingredients 
might the dish he paid so much for      
consist8    ,apicius4--,chiefly of      
singing birds4  ,it was that which so   
greatly  enhanced the price4            
,darteneuf4--,of singing birds6  ,choke 
him6  ,i never ate but one1 which ,i    
stole out of its cage from a lady of my 
acquaintance1 and all ,london was  in an

 uproar1 as if ,i had stolen and roasted
 an only child4  ,but1 upon             
recollection1 ,i doubt whether ,i have  
really so much cause to envy ,a,esopus4 
,for the singing bird which ,i ate was  
not so good as a wheat-ear or           
becafigue4  ,and therefore ,i suspect   
that all the luxury you have bragged  of
 was nothing but vanity4  ,it was like  
the foolish extravagance of the  son of 
,a,esopus1 who dissolved pearls in      
vinegar and drank them at supper4  ,i   
will stake my credit that a haunch of   
good buck venison and my  favourite ham 
pie were much better dishes than any at 
the table of  ,vitellius himself4  ,it  
does not appear that you ancients ever  
had any  good soups1 without which a man
 of taste cannot possibly dine4  ,the   
rabbits in ,italy are detestable4  ,but 
what is better than the wing of one  of 
our ,english wild rabbits8  ,i have been
 told you had no turkeys4  ,the  mutton 
in ,italy is ill-flavoured4  ,and as for
 your boars roasted whole1  they were   

only fit to be served up at a           
corporation feast or election  dinner4  
,a small barbecued hog is worth a       
hundred of them4  ,and a good  collar of
 ,canterbury or ,shrewsbury brawn is a  
much better dish4    ,apicius4--,if you 
had some meats that we wanted1 yet our  
cookery must  have been greatly superior
 to yours4  ,our cooks were so excellent
 that  they could give to hog's flesh   
the taste of all other meats4           
,darteneuf4--,i should never have       
endured their imitations4  ,you might as
  easily have imposed on a good         
connoisseur in painting the copy of a   
fine  picture for the original4  ,our   
cooks1 on the contrary1 give to all     
other  meats1 and even to some kinds of 
fish1 a rich flavour of bacon without   
destroying that which makes the         
distinction of one from another4  ,it   
does  not appear to me that essence of  
hams was ever known to the ancients4    
,we  have a hundred ragouts1 the        
composition of which surpasses all      

description4  ,had yours been as good1  
you could not have lain indolently      
lolling upon couches while you were     
eating4  ,they would have made you sit  
up and mind your business4  ,then you   
had a strange custom of hearing  things 
read to you while you were at supper4   
,this demonstrates that you  were not so
 well entertained as we are with our    
meat4  ,when ,i was at  table1 ,i       
neither heard1 nor saw1 nor spoke2 ,i   
only tasted4  ,but the worst  of all is 
that1 in the utmost perfection of your  
luxury1 you had no wine  to be named    
with claret1 ,burgundy1 champagne1 old  
hock1 or ,tokay4  ,you  boasted much of 
your ,falernum1 but ,i have tasted the  
,lachrymae ,christi  and other wines of 
that coast1 not one of which would ,i   
have drunk above  a glass or two of if  
you would have given me the ,kingdom of 
,naples4  ,i  have read that you boiled 
your wines and mixed water with them1   
which is  sufficient evidence that in   
themselves they were not fit to drink4  

,apicius4--,i am afraid you do really   
excel us in wines2 not to mention  your 
beer1 your cider1 and your perry1 of all
 which ,i have heard great  fame from   
your countrymen1 and their report has   
been confirmed by the  testimony of     
their neighbours who have travelled into
 ,england4  ,wonderful  things have been
 also said to me of an ,english liquor  
called punch4    ,darteneuf4--,ay1 to   
have died without tasting that is       
miserable indeed6  ,there is rum punch  
and arrack punch6  ,it is difficult to  
say which is  best1 but ,jupiter would  
have given his nectar for either of     
them1 upon my  word and honour4         
,apicius4--,the thought of them puts me 
into a fever with thirst4               
,darteneuf4--,those incomparable liquors
 are brought to us from the ,east  and  
,west ,indies1 of the first of which you
 knew little1 and of the latter         
nothing4  ,this alone is sufficient to  
determine the dispute4  ,what a new     
world of good things for eating and     

drinking has ,columbus opened to us6    
,think of that1 and despair4            
,apicius4--,i cannot indeed but         
exceedingly lament my ill fate that     
,america was not discovered before ,i   
was born4  ,it tortures me when ,i hear 
of chocolate1 pineapples1 and a number  
of other fine fruits1 or delicious      
meats1 produced there which ,i have     
never tasted4    ,darteneuf4--,the      
single advantage of having sugar to     
sweeten everything  with1 instead of    
honey1 which you1 for want of the other1
 were obliged to  make use of1 is       
inestimable4    ,apicius4--,i confess   
your superiority in that important      
article4  ,but  what grieves me most is 
that ,i never ate a turtle4  ,they tell 
me that it  is absolutely the best of   
all foods4    ,darteneuf4--,yes1 ,i have
 heard the ,americans say so1 but ,i    
never ate  any2 for in my time they were
 not brought over to ,england4          
,apicius4--,never ate any turtle6  ,how 
couldst thou dare to accuse me of  not  

going to ,sandwich to eat oysters1 and  
didst not thyself take a trip  to       
,america to riot on turtles8  ,but know1
 wretched man1 ,i am credibly  informed 
that they are now as plentiful in       
,england as sturgeons4  ,there  are     
turtle-boats that go regularly to       
,london and ,bristol from the ,west     
,indies4  ,i have just received this    
information from a fat alderman1 who    
died in ,london last week of a surfeit  
he got at a turtle feast in that  city4 
,darteneuf4--,what does he say8  ,does  
he affirm to you that turtle is  better 
than venison8    ,apicius4--,he says1   
there was a haunch of the fattest       
venison untouched1  while every mouth   
was employed on the turtle alone4       
,darteneuf4--,alas6 how imperfect is    
human felicity6  ,i lived in an age     
when the noble science of eating was    
supposed to have been carried to its    
highest perfection in ,england and      
,france4  ,and yet a turtle feast is a  
novelty to me6  ,would it be impossible1

 do you think1 to obtain leave  from    
,pluto of going back for one day to my  
own table at ,london just to  taste of  
that food8  ,i would promise to kill    
myself by the quantity of it  ,i would  
eat before the next morning4            
,apicius4--,you have forgot you have no 
body4  ,that which you had has  long    
been rotten1 and you can never return to
 the earth with another1  unless        
,pythagoras should send you thither to  
animate a hog4  ,but comfort  yourself  
that1 as you have eaten dainties which  
,i never tasted1 so the  next age will  
eat some unknown to this4  ,new         
discoveries will be made1  and new      
delicacies brought from other parts of  
the world4  ,but see2 who  comes hither8
  ,i think it is ,mercury4              
,mercury4--,gentlemen1 ,i must tell you 
that ,i have stood near you  invisible1 
and heard your discourse--a privilege   
which1 you know1 we  deities use as     
often as we please4  ,attend1 therefore1
 to what ,i shall  communicate to you1  

relating to the subject upon which you  
have been  talking4  ,i know two men1   
one of whom lived in ancient1 and the   
other in  modern times1 who had much    
more pleasure in eating than either of  
you  through the whole course of your   
lives4    ,apicius4--,one of these happy
 epicures1 ,i presume1 was a ,sybarite1 
and  the other a ,french gentleman      
settled in the ,west ,indies4           
,mercury4--,no2 one was a ,spartan      
soldier1 and the other an ,english      
farmer4  ,i see you both look           
astonished4  ,but what ,i tell you is   
truth4  ,labour and hunger gave a relish
 to the black broth of the former1 and  
the  salt beef of the latter1 beyond    
what you ever found in the tripotanums  
or  ham pies1 that vainly stimulated    
your forced and languid appetites1 which
  perpetual indolence weakened1 and     
constant luxury overcharged4            
,darteneuf4--,this1 ,apicius1 is more   
mortifying than not to have shared a    
turtle feast4    ,apicius4--,i wish1    

,mercury1 you had taught me your art of 
cookery in my  lifetime2 but it is a sad
 thing not to know what good living is  
till  after one is dead4                
,,dialogue ,,xx4      ,,alexander ,,the 
,,great--,,charles ,,xii41 ,,king ,,of  
,,sweden4    ,alexander4--,your ,majesty
 seems in great wrath6  ,who has        
offended you8    ,charles4--,the offence
 is to you as much as me4  ,here is a   
fellow  admitted into ,elysium who has  
affronted us both--an ,english poet1 one
  ,pope4  ,he has called us two madmen6 
,alexander4--,i have been unlucky in    
poets4  ,no prince ever was fonder of   
the ,muses than ,i1 or has received from
 them a more ungrateful return4  ,when  
,i was alive1 ,i declared that ,i envied
 ,achilles because he had a  ,homer to  
celebrate his exploits2 and ,i most     
bountifully rewarded  ,choerilus1 a     
pretender to poetry1 for writing verses 
on mine4  ,but my  liberality1 instead  
of doing me honour1 has since drawn upon
 me the  ridicule of ,horace1 a witty   

,roman poet2 and ,lucan1 another        
versifier of  the same nation1 has      
loaded my memory with the harshest      
invectives4    ,charles4--,i know       
nothing of these2 but ,i know that in my
 time a pert  ,french satirist1 one     
,boileau1 made so free with your        
character1 that ,i  tore his book for   
having abused my favourite hero4  ,and  
now this saucy  ,englishman has libelled
 us both4  ,but ,i have a proposal to   
make to you  for the reparation of our  
honour4  ,if you will join with me1 we  
will turn  all these insolent scribblers
 out of ,elysium1 and throw them down   
headlong to the bottom of ,tartarus1 in 
spite of ,pluto and all his guards4     
,alexander4--,this is just such a scheme
 as that you formed at ,bender1 to      
maintain yourself there1 with the aid of
 three hundred ,swedes1 against  the    
whole force of the ,ottoman ,empire4    
,and ,i must say that such follies  gave
 the ,english poet too much cause to    
call you a madman4    ,charles4--,if my 

heroism was madness1 yours1 ,i presume1 
was not wisdom4    ,alexander4--,there  
was a vast difference between your      
conduct and mine4  ,let poets or        
declaimers say what they will1 history  
shows that ,i was not  only the bravest 
soldier1 but one of the ablest          
commanders the world has  ever seen4    
,whereas you1 by imprudently leading    
your army into vast and  barren deserts 
at the approach of the winter1 exposed  
it to perish in its  march for want of  
subsistence1 lost your artillery1 lost a
 great number  of your soldiers1 and was
 forced to fight with the ,muscovites   
under such  disadvantages as made it    
almost impossible for you to conquer4   
,charles4--,i will not dispute your     
superiority as a general4  ,it is not   
for me1 a mere mortal1 to contend with  
the son of ,jupiter ,ammon4             
,alexander4--,i suppose you think my    
pretending that ,jupiter was my  father 
as much entitles me to the name of a    
madman as your extravagant  behaviour at

 ,bender does you4  ,but you are greatly
 mistaken4  ,it was not  my vanity1 but 
my policy1 which set up that pretension4
  ,when ,i proposed  to undertake the   
conquest of ,asia1 it was necessary for 
me to appear to  the people something   
more than a man4  ,they had been used to
 the idea of  demi-god heroes4  ,i      
therefore claimed an equal descent with 
,osiris and  ,sesostris1 with ,bacchus  
and ,hercules1 the former conquerors of 
the ,east4  ,the opinion of my divinity 
assisted my arms and subdued all nations
  before me1 from the ,granicus to the  
,ganges4  ,but though ,i called myself  
the son of ,jupiter1 and kept up the    
veneration that name inspired1 by a     
courage which seemed more than human1   
and by the sublime magnanimity of  all  
my behaviour1 ,i did not forget that ,i 
was the son of ,philip4  ,i used  the   
policy of my father and the wise lessons
 of ,aristotle1 whom he had  made my    
preceptor1 in the conduct of all my     
great designs4  ,it was the  son of     

,philip who planted ,greek colonies in  
,asia as far as the ,indies2  who formed
 projects of trade more extensive than  
his empire itself2 who  laid the        
foundations of them in the midst of his 
wars2 who built  ,alexandria1 to be the 
centre and staple of commerce between   
,europe1 ,asia1  and ,africa1 who sent  
,nearchus to navigate the unknown       
,indian seas1 and  intended to have gone
 himself from those seas to the ,pillars
 of  ,hercules--that is1 to have        
explored the passage round ,africa1 the 
discovery of which has since been so    
glorious to ,vasco de ,gama4  ,it was   
the son of ,philip who1 after subduing  
the ,persians1 governed them with  such 
lenity1 such justice1 and such wisdom1  
that they loved him even more  than ever
 they had loved their natural kings2 and
 who1 by intermarriages  and all methods
 that could best establish a coalition  
between the  conquerors and the         
conquered1 united them into one people4 
,but what1  sir1 did you do to advance  

the trade of your subjects1 to procure  
any  benefit to those you had           
vanquished1 or to convert any enemy into
 a  friend8    ,charles4--,when ,i might
 easily have made myself ,king of       
,poland1 and was  advised to do so by   
,count ,piper1 my favourite ,minister1  
,i generously gave  that kingdom to     
,stanislas1 as you had given a great    
part of you conquests  in ,india to     
,porus1 besides his own dominions1 which
 you restored to him  entire after you  
had beaten his army and taken him       
captive4    ,alexander4--,i gave him the
 government of those countries under me 
and  as my lieutenant1 which was the    
best method of preserving my power in   
conquests where ,i could not leave      
garrisons sufficient to maintain them4  
,the same policy was afterwards         
practised by the ,romans1 who of all    
conquerors1 except me1 were the greatest
 politicians4  ,but neither was ,i  nor 
were they so extravagant as to conquer  
only for others1 or dethrone  kings with

 no view but merely to have the pleasure
 of bestowing their  crowns on some of  
their subjects without any advantage to 
ourselves4  ,nevertheless1 ,i will own  
that my expedition to ,india was an     
exploit of  the son of ,jupiter1 not of 
the son of ,philip4  ,i had done better 
if ,i had  stayed to give more          
consistency to my ,persian and ,grecian 
,empires1  instead of attempting new    
conquests and at such a distance so     
soon4  ,yet  even this war was of use to
 hinder my troops from being corrupted  
by the  effeminacy of ,asia1 and to keep
 up that universal awe of my name which 
in  those countries was the great       
support of my power4    ,charles4--,in  
the unwearied activity with which ,i    
proceeded from one  enterprise to       
another1 ,i dare call myself your equal4
  ,nay1 ,i may pretend  to a higher     
glory than you1 because you only went on
 from victory to  victory2 but the      
greatest losses were not able to        
diminish my ardour or  stop the efforts 

of my daring and invincible spirit4     
,alexander4--,you showed in adversity   
much more magnanimity than you did  in  
prosperity4  ,how unworthy of a prince  
who imitated me was your  behaviour to  
the king your arms had vanquished6  ,the
 compelling ,augustus  to write himself 
a letter of congratulation to one of his
 vassals whom  you had placed in his    
throne1 was the very reverse of my      
treatment of  ,porus and ,darius4  ,it  
was an ungenerous insult upon his       
ill-fortune4  ,it  was the triumph of a 
little and a low mind4  ,the visit you  
made him  immediately after that insult 
was a further contempt1 offensive to    
him1  and both useless and dangerous to 
yourself4    ,charles4--,i feared no    
danger from it4  ,i knew he durst not   
use the  power ,i gave him to hurt me4  
,alexander4--,if his resentment in that 
instant had prevailed over his  fear1 as
 it was likely to do1 you would have    
perished deservedly by your  insolence  
and presumption4  ,for my part1 intrepid

 as ,i was in all dangers  which ,i     
thought it was necessary or proper for  
me to meet1 ,i never put  myself one    
moment in the power of an enemy whom ,i 
had offended4  ,but you  had the        
rashness of folly as well as of heroism4
  ,a false opinion  conceived of your   
enemy's weakness proved at last your    
undoing4  ,when1 in  answer to some     
reasonable propositions of peace sent to
 you by the ,czar1  you said1 ,you would
 come and treat with him at ,moscow1 he 
replied very  justly1 ,that you affected
 to act like ,alexander1 but should not 
find in  him a ,darius4  ,and1          
doubtless1 you ought to have been better
 acquainted  with the character of that 
prince4  ,had ,persia been governed by a
 ,peter  ,alexowitz when ,i made war    
against it1 ,i should have acted more   
cautiously1 and not have counted so much
 on the superiority of my troops  in    
valour and discipline over an army      
commanded by a king who was so  capable 
of instructing them in all they wanted4 

,charles4--,the battle of ,narva1 won by
 eight thousand ,swedes against         
fourscore thousand ,muscovites1 seemed  
to authorise my contempt of the  nation 
and their prince4    ,alexander4--,it   
happened that their prince was not      
present in that  battle4  ,but he had   
not as yet had the time which was       
necessary to  instruct his barbarous    
soldiers4  ,you gave him that time1 and 
he made so  good a use of it that you   
found at ,pultowa the ,muscovites become
 a  different nation4  ,if you had      
followed the blow you gave them at      
,narva1  and marched directly to        
,moscow1 you might have destroyed their 
,hercules  in his cradle4  ,but you     
suffered him to grow till his strength  
was  mature1 and then acted as if he had
 been still in his childhood4           
,charles4--,i must confess you excelled 
me in conduct1 in policy1 and in  true  
magnanimity4  ,but my liberality was not
 inferior to yours2 and  neither you nor
 any mortal ever surpassed me in the    

enthusiasm of  courage4  ,i was also    
free from those vices which sullied your
 character4  ,i never was drunk2 ,i     
killed no friend in the riot of a feast2
 ,i fired no  palace at the instigation 
of a harlot4    ,alexander4--,it may    
perhaps be admitted1 as some excuse for 
my  drunkenness1 that the ,persians     
esteemed it an excellence in their kings
  to be able to drink a great quantity  
of wine1 and the ,macedonians were  far 
from thinking it a dishonour4  ,but you 
were as frantic and as cruel  when sober
 as ,i was when drunk4  ,you were sober 
when you resolved to  continue in       
,turkey against the will of your host1  
the ,grand ,signor4  ,you  were sober   
when you commanded the unfortunate      
,patkull1 whose only crime  was his     
having maintained the liberties of his  
country1 and who bore the  sacred       
character of an ambassador1 to be broken
 alive on the wheel1  against the laws  
of nations1 and those of humanity1 more 
inviolable still  to a generous mind4   

,you were likewise sober when you wrote 
to the ,senate  of ,sweden1 who1 upon a 
report of your death1 endeavoured to    
take some  care of your kingdom1 that   
you would send them one of your boots1  
and  from that they should receive their
 orders if they pretended to meddle in  
government--an insult much worse than   
any the ,macedonians complained of  from
 me when ,i was most heated with wine   
and with adulation4  ,as for my         
chastity1 it was not so perfect as      
yours1 though on some occasions ,i      
obtained great praise for my continence2
 but1 perhaps1 if you had been  not     
quite so insensible to the charms of the
 fair sex1 it would have  mitigated and 
softened the fierceness1 the pride1 and 
the obstinacy of  your nature4          
,charles4--,it would have softened me   
into a woman1 or1 what ,i think  still  
more contemptible1 the slave of a woman4
  ,but you seem to insinuate  that you  
never were cruel or frantic unless when 
you were drunk4  ,this ,i  absolutely   

deny4  ,you were not drunk when you     
crucified ,hephaestion's  physician for 
not curing a man who killed himself by  
his intemperance in  his sickness1 nor  
when you sacrificed to the manes of that
 favourite  officer the whole nation of 
the ,cusseans--men1 women1 and          
children--who  were entirely innocent of
 his death--because you had read in     
,homer that  ,achilles had immolated    
some ,trojan captives on the tomb of    
,patroclus4  ,i  could mention other    
proofs that your passions inflamed you  
as much as  wine1 but these are         
sufficient4    ,alexander4--,i can't    
deny that my passions were sometimes so 
violent as  to deprive me for a while of
 the use of my reason2 especially when  
the  pride of such amazing successes1   
the servitude of the ,persians1 and     
barbarian flattery had intoxicated my   
mind4  ,to bear at my age1 with         
continual moderation1 such fortune as   
mine1 was hardly in human nature4  ,as  
for you1 there was an excess and        

intemperance in your virtues which      
turned them all into vices4  ,and one   
virtue you wanted1 which in a prince  is
 very commendable and beneficial to the 
public--,i mean1 the love of  science   
and of the elegant arts4  ,under my care
 and patronage they were  carried in    
,greece to their utmost perfection4     
,aristotle1 ,apelles1 and  ,lysippus    
were among the glories of my reign4     
,yours was illustrated only  by battles4
  ,upon the whole1 though1 from some    
resemblance between us ,i  should       
naturally be inclined to decide in your 
favour1 yet ,i must give  the priority  
in renown to your enemy1 ,peter         
,alexowitz4  ,that great  monarch raised
 his country2 you ruined yours4  ,he was
 a legislator2 you  were a tyrant4      
,,dialogue ,,xxi4      ,,cardinal       
,,ximenes--,,cardinal ,,wolsey4         
,wolsey4--,you seem to look on me1      
,ximenes1 with an air of superiority1   
as if ,i was not your equal4  ,have you 
forgotten that ,i was the favourite  and

 first ,minister of a great ,king of    
,england8 that ,i was at once ,lord     
,high ,chancellor1 ,bishop of ,durham1  
,bishop of ,winchester1 ,archbishop of  
,york1 and ,cardinal ,legate8  ,on what 
other subject were ever accumulated  so 
many dignities1 such honours1 such      
power8    ,ximenes4--,in order to prove 
yourself my equal1 you are pleased to   
tell  me what you had1 not what you did4
  ,but it is not the having great       
offices1 it is the doing great things1  
that makes a great ,minister4  ,i  know 
that for some years you governed the    
mind of ,king ,henry ,,viii41 and       
consequently his kingdom1 with the most 
absolute sway4  ,let me ask you1  then1 
,what were the acts of your reign8      
,wolsey4--,my acts were those of a very 
skilful courtier and able  politician4  
,i managed a temper which nature had    
made the most difficult  to manage of   
any perhaps that ever existed1 with such
 consummate address  that all its       
passions were rendered entirely         

subservient to my  inclinations4  ,in   
foreign affairs ,i turned the arms of my
 master or  disposed of his friendship1 
whichever way my own interest happened  
to  direct4  ,it was not with him1 but  
with me1 that treaties were made by the 
,emperor or by ,france2 and none were   
concluded during my ,ministry that did  
not contain some ,article in my favour1 
besides secret assurances of  aiding my 
ambition or resentment1 which were the  
real springs of all my  negotiations4   
,at home ,i brought the pride of the    
,english nobility1 which  had resisted  
the greatest of the ,plantagenets1 to   
bow submissively to the  son of a       
butcher of ,ipswich4  ,and1 as my power 
was royal1 my state and  magnificence   
were suitable to it2 my buildings1 my   
furniture1 my  household1 my equipage1  
my liberalities1 and my charities were  
above the  rank of a subject4           
,ximenes4--,from all you have said ,i   
understand that you gained great        
advantages for yourself in the course of

 your ,ministry--too great1  indeed1 for
 a good man to desire1 or a wise man to 
accept4  ,but what did  you do for your 
sovereign and for the ,state8  ,you make
 me no answer4  ,what  ,i did is well   
known4  ,i was not content with forcing 
the arrogance of the  ,spanish nobility 
to stoop to my power1 but used that     
power to free the  people from their    
oppressions4  ,in you they respected the
 royal  authority2 ,i made them respect 
the majesty of the laws4  ,i also       
relieved  my countrymen1 the commons of 
,castile1 from a most grievous burden1  
by an  alteration in the method of      
collecting their taxes4  ,after the     
death of  ,isabella ,i preserved the    
tranquillity of ,aragon and ,castile by 
procuring  the regency of the latter for
 ,ferdinand1 a wise and valiant prince1 
though he had not been my friend during 
the life of the queen4  ,and when  after
 his decease ,i was raised to the       
regency by the general esteem and       
affection of the ,castilians1 ,i        

administered the government with great  
courage1 firmness1 and prudence2 with   
the most perfect disinterestedness  in  
regard to myself1 and most zealous      
concern for the public4  ,i  suppressed 
all the factions which threatened to    
disturb the peace of that  kingdom in   
the minority and the absence of the     
young king2 and prevented  the          
discontents of the commons of ,castile1 
too justly incensed against  the        
,flemish ,ministers1 who governed their 
prince and rapaciously pillaged  their  
country1 from breaking out during my    
life into open rebellion1 as  they did1 
most unhappily1 soon after my death4    
,these were my civil acts2  but1 to     
complete the renown of my               
administration1 ,i added to it the palm 
of military glory4  ,at my own charges1 
and myself commanding the army1 ,i      
conquered ,oran from the ,moors1 and    
annexed it1 with its territory1 to the  
,spanish dominions4    ,wolsey4--,my    
soul was as elevated and noble as yours1

 my understanding  as strong1 and more  
refined2 but the difference of our      
conduct arose from  the difference of   
our objects4  ,to raise your reputation 
and secure your  power in ,castile1 by  
making that kingdom as happy and as     
great as you  could1 was your object4   
,mine was to procure the ,triple ,crown 
for myself  by the assistance of my     
sovereign and of the greatest foreign   
,powers4  ,each of us took the means    
that were evidently most proper to the  
accomplishment of his ends4             
,ximenes4--,can you confess such a      
principle of your conduct without a     
blush8  ,but you will at least be       
ashamed that you failed in your purpose1
  and were the dupe of the ,powers with 
whom you negotiated1 after having       
dishonoured the character of your master
 in order to serve your own  ambition4  
,i accomplished my desire with glory to 
my sovereign and  advantage to my       
country4  ,besides this difference1     
there was a great one  in the methods by

 which we acquired our power4  ,we both 
owed it1 indeed1  to the favour of      
princes2 but ,i gained ,isabella's by   
the opinion she had  of my piety and    
integrity4  ,you gained ,henry's by a   
complaisance and  course of life which  
were a reproach to your character and   
sacred orders4    ,wolsey4--,i did not1 
as you1 ,ximenes1 did1 carry with me to 
,court the  austerity of a monk2 nor1 if
 ,i had done so1 could ,i possibly have 
gained  any influence there4  ,isabella 
and ,henry were different characters1   
and  their favour was to be sought in   
different ways4  ,by making myself      
agreeable to the latter1 ,i so governed 
his passions1 unruly as they were1  that
 while ,i lived they did not produce any
 of those dreadful effects  which after 
my death were caused by them in his     
family and kingdom4    ,ximenes4--,if   
,henry ,,viii41 your master1 had been   
,king of ,castile1 ,i  would never have 
been drawn by him out of my cloister4   
,a man of virtue  and spirit will not be

 prevailed with to go into a ,court     
where he cannot  rise without baseness4 
,wolsey4--,the inflexibility of your    
mind had like to have ruined you in     
some of your measures2 and the bigotry  
which you had derived from your  long   
abode in a cloister1 and retained when a
 ,minister1 was very near  depriving the
 ,crown of ,castile of the new-conquered
 kingdom of ,granada by  the revolt of  
the ,moors in that city1 whom you had   
prematurely forced to  change their     
religion4  ,do you not remember how     
angry ,king ,ferdinand was  with you on 
that account8    ,ximenes4--,i do1 and  
must acknowledge that my zeal was too   
intemperate  in all that proceeding4    
,wolsey4--,my worst complaisances to    
,king ,henry ,,viii4 were far less      
hurtful to ,england than the unjust and 
inhuman ,court of ,inquisition1  which  
you established in ,granada to watch    
over the faith of your  unwilling       
converts1 has been to ,spain4           
,ximenes4--,i only revived and settled  

in ,granada an ancient tribunal1        
instituted first by one of our saints   
against the ,albigenses1 and gave it    
greater powers4  ,the mischiefs which   
have attended it cannot be denied2  but 
if any force may be used for the        
maintenance of religion 7and the        
,church of ,rome has1 you know1 declared
 authoritatively that it may7 none      
could be so effectual to answer the     
purpose4    ,wolsey4--,this is an       
argument rather against the opinion of  
the ,church  than for the ,inquisition4 
,i will only say ,i think myself very   
happy that  my administration was       
stained with no action of cruelty1 not  
even cruelty  sanctified by the name of 
religion4  ,my temper indeed1 which     
influenced  my conduct more than my     
principles1 was much milder than yours4 
,to the  proud ,i was proud1 but to my  
friends and inferiors benevolent and    
humane4  ,had ,i succeeded in the great 
object of my ambition1 had ,i acquired  
the  ,popedom1 ,i should have governed  

the ,church with more moderation and    
better sense than probably you would    
have done if you had exchanged the  ,see
 of ,toledo for that of ,rome4  ,my     
good-nature1 my policy1 my taste for    
magnificence1 my love of the fine arts1 
of wit1 and of learning1 would  have    
made me the delight of all the          
,italians1 and have given me a rank     
among the greatest princes4  ,whereas in
 you the sour bigot and rigid monk      
would too much have prevailed over the  
prince and the statesman4               
,ximenes4--,what either of us would have
 been in that situation does not        
appear2 but1 if you are compared to me  
as a ,minister1 you are vastly          
inferior4  ,the only circumstance in    
which you can justly pretend to any     
equality is the encouragement you gave  
to learning and your munificence  in    
promoting it1 which was indeed very     
great4  ,your two colleges founded  at  
,ipswich and ,oxford may vie with my    
,university at ,alcala de ,henara4  ,but

  in our generosity there was this      
difference--all my revenues were spent  
in well-placed liberalities1 in acts of 
charity1 piety1 and virtue2  whereas a  
great part of your enormous wealth was  
squandered away in  luxury and vain     
ostentation4  ,with regard to all other 
points1 my  superiority is apparent4    
,you were only a favourite2 ,i was the  
friend and  the father of the people4   
,you served yourself2 ,i served the     
,state4  ,the  conclusion of our lives  
was also much more honourable to me than
 you4    ,wolsey4--,did not you die1 as 
,i did1 in disgrace with your master8   
,ximenes4--,that disgrace was brought   
upon me by a faction of foreigners1  to 
whose power1 as a good ,spaniard1 ,i    
would not submit4  ,a ,minister who     
falls a victim to such an opposition    
rises by his fall4  ,yours was not      
graced by any public cause1 any merit to
 the nation4  ,your spirit1  therefore1 
sank under it2 you bore it with         
meanness4  ,mine was unbroken1  superior

 to my enemies1 superior to fortune1 and
 ,i died1 as ,i had lived1  with        
undiminished dignity and greatness of   
mind4        ,,dialogue ,,xxii4         
,,lucian--,,rabelais4                   
,lucian4--,friend ,rabelais1 well       
met--our souls are very good company for
  one another2 we both were great wits  
and most audacious freethinkers4  ,we   
laughed often at folly1 and sometimes at
 wisdom4  ,i was1 indeed1 more  correct 
and more elegant in my style2 but then1 
in return1 you had a  greater fertility 
of imagination4  ,my ,true ,history is  
much inferior1 in  fancy and invention1 
in force of wit and keenness of satire1 
to your  ,history of the ,acts of       
,gargantua and ,pantagruel4             
,rabelais4--,you do me great honour2 but
 ,i may say1 without vanity1 that  both 
those compositions entitle the authors  
of them to a very  distinguished place  
among memoir-writers1 travellers1 and   
even  historians1 ancient and modern4   
,lucian4--,doubtless they do2 but will  

you pardon me if ,i ask you one         
question8  ,why did you choose to write 
such absolute nonsense as you have  in  
some places of your illustrious work8   
,rabelais4--,i was forced to compound my
 physic for the mind with a large  dose 
of nonsense in order to make it go down4
  ,to own the truth to you1  if ,i had  
not so frequently put on the fool's-cap1
 the freedoms ,i took in  other places  
with cowls1 with ,red ,hats1 and the    
,triple ,crown itself1  would have      
brought me into great danger4  ,not only
 my book1 but ,i myself1  should1 in all
 probability1 have been condemned to the
 flames2 and  martyrdom was an honour to
 which ,i never aspired4  ,i therefore  
counterfeited folly1 like ,junius       
,brutus1 from the wisest of all         
principles--that of self-preservation4  
,you1 ,lucian1 had no need to use  so   
much caution4  ,your heathen priests    
desired only a sacrifice now and  then  
from an ,epicurean as a mark of         
conformity1 and kindly allowed him to   

make as free as he pleased1 in          
conversation or writings1 with the whole
  tribe of gods and goddesses--from the 
thundering ,jupiter and the scolding    
,juno1 down to the dog ,anubis and the  
fragrant dame ,cloacina4                
,lucian4--,say rather that our          
,government allowed us that liberty2 for
 ,i  assure you our priests were by no  
means pleased with it--at least1 they   
were not in my time4    ,rabelais4--,the
 wiser men they2 for1 in spite of the   
conformity required  by the laws and    
enforced by the magistrate1 that        
ridicule brought the  system of pagan   
theology into contempt1 not only with   
the philosophical  part of mankind1 but 
even with the vulgar4    ,lucian4--,it  
did so1 and the ablest defenders of     
paganism were forced to  give up the    
poetical fables and allegorise the      
whole4    ,rabelais4--,an excellent way 
of drawing sense out of absurdity1 and  
grave instructions from lewdness4       
,there is a great modern wit1 ,sir      

,francis ,bacon1 ,lord ,verulam1 who in 
his treatise entitled ,the ,wisdom of   
the ,ancients has done more for you that
 way than all your own priests4         
,lucian4--,he has indeed shown himself  
an admirable chemist1 and made a  fine  
transmutation of folly into wisdom4     
,but all the later ,platonists  took the
 same method of defending our faith when
 it was attacked by the  ,christians2   
and certainly a more judicious one could
 not be found4  ,our  fables say that in
 one of their wars with the ,titans the 
gods were  defeated1 and forced to turn 
themselves into beasts in order to      
escape  from the conquerors4  ,just the 
reverse happened here1 for by this happy
  art our beastly divinities were turned
 again into rational beings4            
,rabelais4--,give me a good commentator1
 with a subtle1 refining1  philosophical
 head1 and you shall have the           
edification of seeing him draw  the most
 sublime allegories and the most        
venerable mystic truths from my  history

 of the noble ,gargantua and            
,pantagruel4  ,i don't despair of being 
proved1 to the entire satisfaction of   
some future ape1 to have been1  without 
exception1 the profoundest divine and   
metaphysician that ever yet  held a pen4
    ,lucian4--,i shall rejoice to see   
you advanced to that honour4  ,but in   
the meantime ,i may take the liberty to 
consider you as one of our class4       
,there you sit very high4               
,rabelais4--,i am afraid there is       
another1 and a modern author too1 whom  
you would bid to sit above me1 and but  
just below yourself--,i mean ,dr4       
,swift4    ,lucian4--,it was not        
necessary for him to throw so much      
nonsense into  his history of ,lemuel   
,gulliver as you did into that of your  
two  illustrious heroes2 and his style  
is far more correct than yours4  ,his   
wit never descended1 as yours frequently
 did1 into the lowest of taverns1  nor  
ever wore the meanest garb of the       
vulgar4    ,rabelais4--,if the garb     

which it wore was not as mean1 ,i am    
certain it  was sometimes as dirty as   
mine4    ,lucian4--,it was not always   
nicely clean2 yet1 in comparison with   
you1  he was decent and elegant4  ,but  
whether there was not in your           
compositions more fire1 and a more comic
 spirit1 ,i will not determine4         
,rabelais4--,if you will not determine  
it1 e'en let it remain a matter in      
dispute1 as ,i have left the great      
question1 ,whether ,panurge should marry
  or not8  ,i would as soon undertake to
 measure the difference between the     
height and bulk of the giant ,gargantua 
and his ,brobdignagian ,majesty1 as  the
 difference of merit between my writings
 and ,swift's4  ,if any man  takes a    
fancy to like my book1 let him freely   
enjoy the entertainment it  gives him1  
and drink to my memory in a bumper4  ,if
 another likes  ,gulliver1 let him toast
 ,dr4 ,swift4  ,were ,i upon earth ,i   
would pledge him  in a bumper1 supposing
 the wine to be good4  ,if a third likes

 neither of  us1 let him silently pass  
the bottle and be quiet4                
,lucian4--,but what if he will not be   
quiet8  ,a critic is an unquiet         
creature4    ,rabelais4--,why1 then he  
will disturb himself1 not me4           
,lucian4--,you are a greater philosopher
 than ,i thought you4  ,i knew you  paid
 no respect to ,popes or kings1 but to  
pay none to critics is1 in an  author1 a
 magnanimity beyond all example4        
,rabelais4--,my life was a farce2 my    
death was a farce2 and would you  have  
me make my book a serious affair8  ,as  
for you1 though in general you  are only
 a joker1 yet sometimes you must be     
ranked among grave authors4  ,you have  
written sage and learned dissertations  
on history and other  weighty matters4  
,the critics have therefore an undoubted
 right to maul  you2 they find you in   
their province4  ,but if any of them    
dare to come  into mine1 ,i will order  
,gargantua to swallow them up1 as he did
 the six  pilgrims1 in the next salad he

 eats4    ,lucian4--,have ,i not heard  
that you wrote a very good serious book 
on  the aphorisms of ,hippocrates8      
,rabelais4--,upon my faith ,i had forgot
 it4  ,i am so used to my fool's  coat  
that ,i don't know myself in my solemn  
doctor's gown4  ,but your  information  
was right2 that book was indeed a very  
respectable work4  ,yet  nobody reads   
it2 and if ,i had writ nothing else1 ,i 
should have been  reckoned1 at best1 a  
lackey to ,hippocrates1 whereas the     
historian of  ,panurge is an eminent    
writer4  ,plain good sense1 like a dish 
of solid  beef or mutton1 is proper only
 for peasants2 but a ragout of folly1   
well  dressed with a sharp sauce of wit1
 is fit to be served up at an emperor's 
table4    ,lucian4--,you are an         
admirable pleasant fellow4  ,let me     
embrace you4  ,how  ,apollo and the     
,muses may rank you on ,parnassus ,i am 
not very certain2  but1 if ,i were      
,master of the ,ceremonies on ,mount    
,olympus1 you should be  placed1 with a 

full bowl of nectar before you1 at the  
right hand of  ,momus4    ,rabelais4--,i
 wish you were2 but ,i fear the         
inhabitants of those sublime  regions   
will like your company no better than   
mine4  ,indeed1 how ,momus  himself     
could get a seat at that table ,i can't 
well comprehend4  ,it has  been usual1  
,i confess1 in some of our ,courts upon 
earth1 to have a  privileged jester1    
called the king's fool4  ,but in the    
,court of ,heaven  one should not have  
supposed such an officer as ,jupiter's  
fool4  ,your  allegorical theology in   
this point is very abstruse4            
,lucian4--,i think our priests admitted 
,momus into our heaven1 as the  ,indians
 are said to worship the devil1 through 
fear4  ,they had a mind to  keep fair   
with him4  ,for we may talk of the      
giants as much as we please1  but to our
 gods there is no enemy so formidable as
 he4  ,ridicule is the  terror of all   
false religion4  ,nothing but truth can 
stand its lash4    ,rabelais4--,truth1  

advantageously set in a good and fair   
light1 can  stand any attacks2 but those
 of ,ridicule are so teasing and so     
fallacious  that ,i have seen them put  
her ladyship very much out of humour4   
,lucian4--,ay1 friend ,rabelais1 and    
sometimes out of countenance too4  ,but 
,truth and ,wit in confederacy will     
strike ,momus dumb4  ,united they are   
invincible1 and such a union is         
necessary upon certain occasions4       
,false  ,reasoning is most effectually  
exposed by ,plain ,sense2 but ,wit is   
the best  opponent to ,false ,ridicule1 
as ,just ,ridicule is to all the        
absurdities  which dare to assume the   
venerable names of ,philosophy or       
,religion4  ,had  we made such a proper 
use of our agreeable talents2 had we    
employed our  ridicule to strip the     
foolish faces of ,superstition1         
,fanaticism1 and  ,dogmatical ,pride of 
the serious and solemn masks with which 
they are  covered1 at the same time     
exerting all the sharpness of our wit to

 combat  the flippancy and pertness of  
those who argue only by jests against   
reason and evidence in points of the    
highest and most serious concern1 we    
should have much better merited the     
esteem of mankind4        ,,dialogue    
,,xxiii4      ,,pericles--,,cosmo ,,de  
,,medicis1 ,,the ,,first ,,of ,,that    
,,name4    ,pericles4--,in what ,i have 
heard of your character and your        
fortune1  illustrious ,cosmo1 ,i find a 
most remarkable resemblance with mine4  
,we  both lived in republics where the  
sovereign power was in the people2 and  
by mere civil arts1 but more especially 
by our eloquence1 attained1  without any
 force1 to such a degree of authority   
that we ruled those  tumultuous and     
stormy democracies with an absolute     
sway1 turned the  tempests which        
agitated them upon the heads of our     
enemies1 and after  having long and     
prosperously conducted the greatest     
affairs in war and  peace1 died revered 
and lamented by all our fellow-citizens4

    ,cosmo4--,we have indeed an equal   
right to value ourselves on that        
noblest of empires1 the empire we gained
 over the minds of our  countrymen4     
,force or caprice may give power1 but   
nothing can give a  lasting authority   
except wisdom and virtue4  ,by these we 
obtained1 by  these we preserved1 in our
 respective countries1 a dominion       
unstained by  usurpation or blood--a    
dominion conferred on us by the public  
esteem and  the public affection4  ,we  
were in reality sovereigns1 while we    
lived with  the simplicity of private   
men2 and ,athens and ,florence believed 
themselves to be free1 though they      
obeyed all our dictates4  ,this is more 
than was done by ,philip of ,macedon1 or
 ,sylla1 or ,caesar4  ,it is the        
perfection of policy to tame the fierce 
spirit of popular liberty1 not by  blows
 or by chains1 but by soothing it into a
 voluntary obedience1 and  bringing it  
to lick the hand that restrains it4     
,pericles4--,the task can never be easy1

 but the difficulty was still  greater  
to me than to you4  ,for ,i had a lion  
to tame1 from whose  intractable fury   
the greatest men of my country1 and of  
the whole world1  with all their wisdom 
and virtue1 could not save themselves4  
,themistocles  and ,aristides were      
examples of terror that might well have 
deterred me  from the administration of 
public affairs at ,athens4  ,another    
impediment  in my way was the power of  
,cimon1 who for his goodness1 his       
liberality1  and the lustre of his      
victories over the ,persians was much   
beloved by the  people1 and at the same 
time1 by being thought to favour        
aristocracy1 had  all the noble and rich
 citizens devoted to his party4  ,it    
seemed  impossible to shake so well     
established a greatness4  ,yet by the   
charms  and force of my eloquence1 which
 exceeded that of all orators           
contemporary with me2 by the integrity  
of my life1 my moderation1 and my       
prudence2 but1 above all1 by my artful  

management of the people1 whose  power  
,i increased that ,i might render it the
 basis and support of my own1  ,i gained
 such an ascendant over all my opponents
 that1 having first  procured the       
banishment of ,cimon by ostracism1 and  
then of ,thucydides1  another formidable
 antagonist set up by the nobles against
 my authority1  ,i became the unrivalled
 chief1 or rather the monarch1 of the   
,athenian  ,republic1 without ever      
putting to death1 in above forty years  
that my  administration continued1 one  
of my fellow-citizens2 a circumstance   
which  ,i declared1 when ,i lay on my   
death-bed1 to be1 in my own judgment1   
more  honourable to me than all my      
prosperity in the government of the     
,state1  or the nine trophies erected   
for so many victories obtained by my    
conduct4    ,cosmo4--,i had also the    
same happiness to boast of at my death4 
,and  some additions were made to the   
territories of ,florence under my       
government2 but ,i myself was no        

soldier1 and the ,commonwealth ,i       
directed  was never either so warlike or
 so powerful as ,athens4  ,i must1      
therefore1  not pretend to vie with you 
in the lustre of military glory2 and ,i 
will  moreover acknowledge that1 to     
govern a people whose spirit and pride  
were  exalted by the wonderful victories
 of ,marathon1 ,mycale1 ,salamis1 and   
,plataea1 was much more difficult than  
to rule the ,florentines and the        
,tuscans4  ,the liberty of the          
,athenians was in your time more        
imperious1  more haughty1 more insolent1
 than the despotism of the ,king of     
,persia4  ,how great1 then1 must have   
been your ability and address that could
 so  absolutely reduce it under your    
power6  ,yet the temper of my countrymen
  was not easy to govern1 for it was    
exceedingly factious4  ,the history of  
,florence is little else1 for several   
ages1 than an account of  conspiracies  
against the ,state4  ,in my youth ,i    
myself suffered much by  the dissensions

 which then embroiled the ,republic4  ,i
 was imprisoned and  banished1 but after
 the course of some years my enemies1 in
 their turn1  were driven into exile4   
,i was brought back in triumph1 and from
 that  time till my death1 which was    
above thirty years1 ,i governed the     
,florentines1 not by arms or evil arts  
of tyrannical power1 but with a  legal  
authority1 which ,i exercised so        
discreetly as to gain the esteem of  all
 the neighbouring potentates1 and such a
 constant affection of all my           
fellow-citizens that an inscription1    
which gave me the title of ,father of   
my ,country1 was engraved on my monument
 by an unanimous decree of the  whole   
,commonwealth4    ,pericles4--,your end 
was incomparably more happy than mine4  
,for you  died rather of age than any   
violent illness1 and left the           
,florentines in  a state of peace and   
prosperity procured for them by your    
counsels4  ,but  ,i died of the plague1 
after having seen it almost depopulate  

,athens1 and  left my country engaged in
 a most dangerous war1 to which my      
advice and  the power of my eloquence   
had excited the people4  ,the misfortune
 of the  pestilence1 with the           
inconveniences they suffered on account 
of the war1  so irritated their minds1  
that not long before my death they      
condemned me  to a fine4    ,cosmo4--,it
 is wonderful that1 when once their     
anger was raised1 it went  no further   
against you6  ,a favourite of the       
people1 when disgraced1 is in  still    
greater danger than a favourite of a    
king4    ,pericles4--,your surprise will
 increase at hearing that very soon     
afterwards they chose me their general1 
and conferred on me again the  principal
 direction of all their affairs4  ,had  
,i lived ,i should have so  conducted   
the war as to have ended it with        
advantage and honour to my  country4    
,for1 having secured to her the         
sovereignty of the sea by the  defeat of
 the ,samians1 before ,i let her engage 

with the power of ,sparta1  ,i knew that
 our enemies would be at length wearied 
out and compelled to  sue for a peace1  
because the city1 from the strength of  
its  fortifications and the great army  
within it1 being on the land side       
impregnable to the ,spartans1 and       
drawing continual supplies from the sea1
  suffered not much by their ravages of 
the country about it1 from whence ,i    
had before removed all the inhabitants2 
whereas their allies were undone  by the
 descents we made on their coasts4      
,cosmo4--,you seem to have understood   
beyond all other men what  advantages   
are to be drawn from a maritime power1  
and how to make it the  surest          
foundation of empire4    ,pennies4--,i  
followed the plan1 traced out by        
,themistocles1 the ablest  politician   
that ,greece had ever produced4  ,nor   
did ,i begin the  ,peloponnesian ,war   
7as some have supposed7 only to make    
myself necessary1  and stop an inquiry  
into my public accounts4  ,i really     

thought that the  ,republic of ,athens  
could no longer defer a contest with    
,sparta1 without  giving up to that     
,state the precedence in the direction  
of ,greece and her  own independence4   
,to keep off for some time even a       
necessary war1 with a  probable hope of 
making it more advantageously at a      
favourable  opportunity1 is an act of   
true wisdom2 but not to make it1 when   
you see  that your enemy will be        
strengthened1 and your own advantages   
lost or  considerably lessened1 by the  
delay1 is a most pernicious imprudence4 
,with relation to my accounts1 ,i had   
nothing to fear4  ,i had not embezzled  
one drachma of public money1 nor added  
one to my own paternal estate2 and  the 
people had placed so entire a confidence
 in me that they had allowed  me1       
against the usual forms of their        
government1 to dispose of large sums    
for secret service1 without account4    
,when1 therefore1 ,i advised the        
,peloponnesian ,war1 ,i neither acted   

from private views1 nor with the        
inconsiderate temerity of a restless    
ambition1 but as became a wise          
statesman1 who1 having weighed all the  
dangers that may attend a great         
enterprise1 and seeing a reasonable hope
 of good success1 makes it his  option  
to fight for dominion and glory1 rather 
than sacrifice both to the  uncertain   
possession of an insecure peace4        
,cosmo4--,how were you sure of inducing 
so volatile a people to persevere  in so
 steady a system of conduct as that     
which you had laid down--a  system      
attended with much inconvenience and    
loss to particulars1 while it  presented
 but little to strike or inflame the    
imagination of the public8  ,bold and   
arduous enterprises1 great battles1 much
 bloodshed1 and a speedy  decision1 are 
what the multitude desire in every war2 
but your plan of  operation was the     
reverse of all this1 and the execution  
of it required  the temper of the       
,thebans rather than of the ,athenians4 

,pericles4--,i found1 indeed1 many      
symptoms of their impatience1 but ,i    
was able to restrain it by the authority
 ,i had gained2 for during my  whole    
,ministry ,i never had stooped to court 
their favour by any unworthy  means1    
never flattered them in their follies1  
nor complied with their  passions       
against their true interests and my own 
better judgment2 but  used the power of 
my eloquence to keep them in the bounds 
of a wise  moderation1 to raise their   
spirits when too low1 and show them     
their  danger when they grew too        
presumptuous1 the good effects of which 
conduct  they had happily experienced in
 all their affairs4  ,whereas those who 
succeeded to me in the government1 by   
their incapacity1 their corruption1  and
 their servile complaisance to the      
humour of the people1 presently  lost   
all the fruits of my virtue and         
prudence4  ,xerxes himself1 ,i am       
convinced1 did not suffer more by the   
flattery of his courtiers than the      

,athenians1 after my decease1 by that of
 their orators and ,ministers of        
,state4    ,cosmo4--,those orators could
 not gain the favour of the people by   
any  other methods4  ,your arts were    
more noble--they were the arts of a     
statesman and of a prince4  ,your       
magnificent buildings 7which in beauty  
of architecture surpassed any the world 
had ever seen71 the statues of          
,phidias1 the paintings of ,zeuxis1 the 
protection you gave to knowledge1       
genius1 and abilities of every kind1    
added as much to the glory of ,athens   
as to your popularity4  ,and in this ,i 
may boast of an equal merit to          
,florence4  ,for ,i embellished that    
city and the whole country about it     
with excellent buildings2 ,i protected  
all arts2 and1 though ,i was not  myself
 so eloquent or so learned as you1 ,i no
 less encouraged those who  were eminent
 in my time for their eloquence or their
 learning4  ,marcilius  ,ficinus1 the   
second father of the ,platonic          

philosophy1 lived in my house1  and     
conversed with me as intimately as      
,anaxagoras with you4  ,nor did ,i  ever
 forget and suffer him so to want the   
necessaries of life as you did          
,anaxagoras1 who had like to have       
perished by that unfriendly neglect2 but
  to secure him at all times from any   
distress in his circumstances1 and      
enable him to pursue his sublime        
speculations unmolested by low cares1 ,i
  gave him an estate adjacent to one of 
my favourite villas4  ,i also drew  to  
,florence ,argiropolo1 the most learned 
,greek of those times1 that1  under my  
patronage1 he might teach the           
,florentine youth the language and      
sciences of his country4  ,but with     
regard to our buildings1 there is this  
remarkable difference--yours were all   
raised at the expense of the  public1   
mine at my own4    ,pericles4--,my      
estate would bear no profuseness1 nor   
allow me to exert  the generosity of my 
nature4  ,your wealth exceeded that of  

any  particular1 or indeed of any prince
 who lived in your days4  ,the vast     
commerce which1 after the example of    
your ancestors1 you continued to  carry 
on in all parts of the world1 even while
 you presided at the helm  of the       
,state1 enabled you to do those splendid
 acts which rendered your  name so      
illustrious4  ,but ,i was constrained to
 make the public treasure  the fund of  
my bounties2 and ,i thought ,i could not
 possibly dispose of it  better in time 
of peace than in finding employment for 
that part of the  people which must else
 have been idle and useless to the      
community1  introducing into ,greece all
 the elegant arts1 and adorning my      
country  with works that are an honour  
to human nature2 for1 while ,i attended 
the  most to these civil and peaceful   
occupations1 ,i did not neglect to      
provide1 with timely care1 against war1 
nor suffer the nation to sink  into     
luxury and effeminate softness4  ,i kept
 our fleets in continual  exercise1     

maintained a great number of seamen in  
constant pay1 and  disciplined well our 
land forces4  ,nor did ,i ever cease to 
recommend to  all the ,athenians1 both  
by precepts and example1 frugality1     
temperance1  magnanimity1 fortitude1 and
 whatever could most effectually        
contribute to  strengthen their bodies  
and minds4    ,cosmo4--,yet ,i have     
heard you condemned for rendering the   
people less  sober and modest1 by giving
 them a share of the conquered lands1   
and  paying them wages for their        
necessary attendance in the public      
assemblies  and other civil functions2  
but more especially for the vast and    
superfluous expense you entailed on the 
,state in the theatrical  spectacles    
with which you entertained them at the  
cost of the public4                     
,pericles4--,perhaps ,i may have been   
too lavish in some of those  bounties4  
,yet in a popular ,state it is necessary
 that the people should  be amused1 and 
should so far partake of the opulence of

 the public as not  to suffer any want1 
which would render their minds too low  
and sordid for  their political duties4 
,in my time the revenues of ,athens were
  sufficient to bear this charge2 but   
afterwards1 when we had lost the        
greatest part of our empire1 it became1 
,i must confess1 too heavy a  burden1   
and the continuance of it proved one    
cause of our ruin4    ,cosmo4--,it is a 
most dangerous thing to load the ,state 
with largesses  of that nature1 or      
indeed with any unnecessary but popular 
charges1  because to reduce them is     
almost impossible1 though the           
circumstances of  the public should     
necessarily demand a reduction4  ,but   
did not you  likewise1 in order to      
advance your own greatness1 throw into  
the hands of  the people of ,athens more
 power than the institutions of ,solon  
had  entrusted them with1 and more than 
was consistent with the good of the     
,state8    ,pericles4--,we are now in   
the regions where ,truth presides1 and  

,i dare  not offend her by playing the  
orator in defence of my conduct4  ,i    
must  therefore acknowledge that1 by    
weakening the power of the court of     
,areopagus1 ,i tore up that anchor which
 ,solon had wisely fixed to keep his    
,republic firm against the storms and   
fluctuations of popular factions4  ,this
 alteration1 which fundamentally injured
 the whole ,state1 ,i made with  a view 
to serve my own ambition1 the only      
passion in my nature which ,i  could not
 contain within the limits of virtue4   
,for ,i knew that my  eloquence would   
subject the people to me1 and make them 
the willing  instruments of all my      
desires2 whereas the ,areopagus had in  
it an  authority and a dignity which ,i 
could not control4  ,thus by diminishing
  the counterpoise our ,constitution had
 settled to moderate the excess of      
popular power1 ,i augmented my own4     
,but since my death ,i have been often  
reproached by the ,shades of some of the
 most virtuous and wisest  ,athenians1  

who have fallen victims to the caprice  
or fury of the people1  with having been
 the first cause of the injustice they  
suffered1 and of  all the mischiefs     
perpetually brought on my country by    
rash undertakings1  bad conduct1 and    
fluctuating councils4  ,they say1 ,i    
delivered up the  ,state to the         
government of indiscreet or venal       
orators1 and to the  passions of a      
misguided1 infatuated multitude1 who    
thought their freedom  consisted in     
encouraging calumnies against the best  
servants of the  ,commonwealth1 and     
conferring power upon those who had no  
other merit than  falling in with and   
soothing a popular folly4  ,it is       
useless for me to  plead that1 during my
 life1 none of these mischiefs were     
felt2 that ,i  employed my rhetoric to  
promote none but good and wise measures2
 that ,i  was as free from any taint of 
avarice or corruption as ,aristides     
himself4  ,they reply that ,i am        
answerable for all the great evils      

occasioned  afterwards by the want of   
that salutary restraint on the natural  
levity  and extravagance of a democracy1
 which ,i had taken away4  ,socrates    
calls  me the patron of ,anytus1 and    
,solon himself frowns upon me whenever  
we  meet4    ,cosmo4--,solon has reason 
to do so2 for tell me1 ,pericles1 what  
opinion  would you have of the architect
 you employed in your buildings if he   
had  made them to last no longer than   
during the term of your life8           
,pericles4--,the answer to your question
 will turn to your own  condemnation4   
,your excessive liberalities to the     
indigent citizens1 and  the great sums  
you lent to all the noble families1 did 
in reality buy the  ,republic of        
,florence1 and gave your family such a  
power as enabled them  to convert it    
from a popular ,state into an absolute  
monarchy4    ,cosmo4--,the ,florentines 
were so infested with discord and       
faction1 and  their commonwealth was so 
void of military virtue1 that they could

 not  have long been exempt from a more 
ignominious subjection to some foreign  
,power if those internal dissensions1   
with the confusion and anarchy they     
produced1 had continued4  ,but the      
,athenians had performed very glorious  
exploits1 had obtained a great empire1  
and were become one of the noblest      
,states in the world1 before you altered
 the balance of their government4  ,and 
after that alteration they declined very
 fast1 till they lost all  their        
greatness4    ,pericles4--,their        
constitution had originally a foul      
blemish in it--,i  mean1 the ban of     
ostracism1 which alone would have been  
sufficient to  undo any ,state4  ,for   
there is nothing of such important use  
to a nation  as that men who most excel 
in wisdom and virtue should be          
encouraged to  undertake the business of
 government4  ,but this detestable      
custom  deterred such men from serving  
the public1 or1 if they ventured to do  
so1  turned even their own wisdom and   

virtue against them2 so that in ,athens 
it was safer to be infamous than        
renowned4  ,we are told indeed1 by the  
advocates for this strange institution1 
that it was not a punishment1 but  meant
 as a guard to the equality and liberty 
of the ,state2 for which  reason they   
deem it an honour done to the persons   
against whom it was  used2 as if words  
could change the real nature of things1 
and make a  banishment of ten years1    
inflicted on a good citizen by the      
suffrages of  his countrymen1 no evil to
 him1 or no offence against justice and 
the  natural right every freeman may    
claim--that he shall not be expelled    
from  any society of which he is a      
member without having first been proved 
guilty of some criminal action4         
,cosmo4--,the ostracism was indeed a    
most unpardonable fault in the          
,athenian constitution4  ,it placed envy
 in the seat of justice1 and gave  to   
private malice and public ingratitude a 
legal right to do wrong4  ,other        

nations are blamed for tolerating vice1 
but the ,athenians alone would not      
tolerate virtue4    ,pericles4--,the    
friends to the ostracism say that too   
eminent virtue  destroys that equality  
which is the safeguard of freedom4      
,cosmo4--,no ,state is well modelled if 
it cannot preserve itself from the      
danger of tyranny without a grievous    
violation of natural justice2 nor  would
 a friend to true freedom1 which        
consists in being governed not by  men  
but by laws1 desire to live in a country
 where a ,cleon bore rule1 and  where an
 ,aristides was not suffered to remain4 
,but1 instead of remedying  this evil1  
you made it worse4  ,you rendered the   
people more intractable1  more adverse  
to virtue1 less subject to the laws1 and
 more to impressions  from mischievous  
demagogues1 than they had been before   
your time4    ,pericles4--,in truth1 ,i 
did so2 and therefore my place in       
,elysium1  notwithstanding the integrity
 of my whole public conduct1 and the    

great  virtues ,i excited1 is much below
 the rank of those who have governed    
commonwealths or limited monarchies1 not
 merely with a concern for their        
present advantage1 but also with a      
prudent regard to that balance of  power
 on which their permanent happiness must
 necessarily depend4        ,,dialogue  
,,xxiv4      ,,locke--,,bayle4          
,bayle4--,yes1 we both were             
philosophers2 but my philosophy was the 
deepest4  ,you dogmatised2 ,i doubted4  
,locke4--,do you make doubting a proof  
of depth in philosophy8  ,it may be  a  
good beginning of it1 but it is a bad   
end4    ,bayle4--,no2 the more profound 
our searches are into the nature of     
things1 the more uncertainty we shall   
find2 and the most subtle minds see     
objections and difficulties in every    
system which are overlooked or          
undiscoverable by ordinary              
understandings4    ,locke4--,it would be
 better1 then1 to be no philosopher1 and
 to continue  in the vulgar herd of     

mankind1 that one may have the          
convenience of  thinking that one knows 
something4  ,i find that the eyes which 
,nature has  given me see many things   
very clearly1 though some are out of    
their  reach1 or discerned but dimly4   
,what opinion ought ,i to have of a     
physician who should offer me an        
eye-water1 the use of which would at    
first so sharpen my sight as to carry it
 farther than ordinary vision1  but     
would in the end put them out8  ,your   
philosophy1 ,monsieur ,bayle1 is  to the
 eyes of the mind what ,i have supposed 
the doctor's nostrum to be  to those of 
the body4  ,it actually brought your own
 excellent  understanding1 which was by 
nature quick-sighted1 and rendered more 
so by  art and a subtlety of logic      
peculiar to yourself--it brought1 ,i    
say1 your  very acute understanding to  
see nothing clearly1 and enveloped all  
the  great truths of reason and religion
 in mists of doubt4    ,bayle4--,i own  
it did2 but your comparison is not just4

  ,i did not see  well before ,i used my
 philosophic eye-water4  ,i only        
supposed ,i saw well2  but ,i was in an 
error1 with all the rest of mankind4    
,the blindness was  real2 the           
perceptions were imaginary4  ,i cured   
myself first of those  false            
imaginations1 and then ,i laudably      
endeavoured to cure other men4          
,locke4--,a great cure1 indeed6 and     
don't you think that1 in return for  the
 service you did them1 they ought to    
erect you a statue8    ,bayle4--,yes2 it
 is good for human nature to know its   
own weakness4  ,when  we arrogantly     
presume on a strength we have not1 we   
are always in great  danger of hurting  
ourselves--or1 at least1 of deserving   
ridicule and  contempt by vain and idle 
efforts4    ,locke4--,i agree with you  
that human nature should know its own   
weakness2 but it should also feel its   
strength1 and try to improve it4  ,this 
was my employment as a philosopher4  ,i 
endeavoured to discover the  real powers

 of the mind2 to see what it could do1  
and what it could not2  to restrain it  
from efforts beyond its ability1 but to 
teach it how to  advance as far as the  
faculties given to it by ,nature1 with  
the utmost  exertion and most proper    
culture of them1 would allow it to go4  
,in the  vast ocean of philosophy ,i had
 the line and the plummet always in my  
hands4  ,many of its depths ,i found    
myself unable to fathom2 but by  caution
 in sounding1 and the careful           
observations ,i made in the course of   
my voyage1 ,i found out some truths of  
so much use to mankind that they        
acknowledge me to have been their       
benefactor4    ,bayle4--,their ignorance
 makes them think so4  ,some other      
philosopher  will come hereafter1 and   
show those truths to be falsehoods4  ,he
 will  pretend to discover other truths 
of equal importance4  ,a later sage will
  arise1 perhaps among men now barbarous
 and unlearned1 whose sagacious         
discoveries will discredit the opinions 

of his admired predecessor4  ,in        
philosophy1 as in ,nature1 all changes  
its form1 and one thing exists by  the  
destruction of another4                 
,locke4--,opinions taken up without a   
patient investigation1 depending on     
terms not accurately defined1 and       
principles begged without proof1 like   
theories to explain the phenomena of    
,nature built on suppositions instead   
of experiments1 must perpetually change 
and destroy one another4  ,but  some    
opinions there are1 even in matters not 
obvious to the common sense  of mankind1
 which the mind has received on such    
rational grounds of  assent that they   
are as immovable as the pillars of      
heaven1 or 7to speak  philosophically7  
as the great laws of ,nature1 by which1 
under ,god1 the  universe is sustained4 
,can you seriously think that because   
the  hypothesis of your countryman      
,descartes1 which was nothing but an    
ingenious1 well-imagined romance1 has   
been lately exploded1 the system of     

,newton1 which is built on experiments  
and geometry--the two most certain      
methods of discovering truth--will ever 
fail8  ,or that1 because the whims  of  
fanatics and the divinity of the        
schoolmen cannot now be supported1  the 
doctrines of that religion which ,i1 the
 declared enemy of all  enthusiasm and  
false reasoning1 firmly believed and    
maintained1 will ever  be shaken8       
,bayle4--,if you had asked ,descartes1  
while he was in the height of his       
vogue1 whether his system would be ever 
confuted by any other  philosopher's1 as
 that of ,aristotle had been by his1    
what answer do you  suppose he would    
have returned8    ,locke4--,come1 come1 
,monsieur ,bayle1 you yourself know the 
difference  between the foundations on  
which the credit of those systems and   
that of  ,newton is placed4  ,your      
scepticism is more affected than real4  
,you found  it a shorter way to a great 
reputation 7the only wish of your heart7
 to  object than to defend1 to pull down

 than to set up4  ,and your talents     
were admirable for that kind of work4   
,then your huddling together in a       
critical dictionary a pleasant tale1 or 
obscene jest1 and a grave  argument     
against the ,christian religion1 a witty
 confutation of some  absurd author1 and
 an artful sophism to impeach some      
respectable truth1  was particularly    
commodious to all our young smarts and  
smatterers in  freethinking4  ,but what 
mischief have you not done to human     
society6  ,you  have endeavoured1 and   
with some degree of success1 to shake   
those  foundations on which the whole   
moral world and the great fabric of     
social  happiness entirely rest4  ,how  
could you1 as a philosopher1 in the     
sober  hours of reflection1 answer for  
this to your conscience1 even supposing 
you had doubts of the truth of a system 
which gives to virtue its  sweetest     
hopes1 to impenitent vice its greatest  
fears1 and to true  penitence its best  
consolations2 which restrains even the  

least  approaches to guilt1 and yet     
makes those allowances for the          
infirmities  of our nature which the    
stoic pride denied to it1 but which its 
real  imperfection and the goodness of  
its infinitely benevolent ,creator so   
evidently require8    ,bayle4--,the mind
 is free1 and it loves to exert its     
freedom4  ,any  restraint upon it is a  
violence done to its nature1 and a      
tyranny against  which it has a right to
 rebel4    ,locke4--,the mind1 though   
free1 has a governor within itself1     
which may  and ought to limit the       
exercise of its freedom4  ,that governor
 is reason4    ,bayle4--,yes2 but       
reason1 like other governors1 has a     
policy more  dependent upon uncertain   
caprice than upon any fixed laws4  ,and 
if that  reason which rules my mind or  
yours has happened to set up a favourite
  notion1 it not only submits implicitly
 to it1 but desires that the same       
respect should be paid to it by all the 
rest of mankind4  ,now ,i hold that  any

 man may lawfully oppose this desire in 
another2 and that if he is  wise1 he    
will do his utmost endeavours to check  
it in himself4    ,locke4--,is there not
 also a weakness of a contrary nature to
 this you  are now ridiculing8  ,do we  
not often take a pleasure to show our   
own  power and gratify our own pride by 
degrading notions set up by other men   
and generally respected8    ,bayle4--,i 
believe we do2 and by this means it     
often happens that if one  man builds   
and consecrates a temple to folly1      
another pulls it down4    ,locke4--,do  
you think it beneficial to human society
 to have all temples  pulled down8      
,bayle4--,i cannot say that ,i do4      
,locke4--,yet ,i find not in your       
writings any mark of distinction to show
  us which you mean to save4            
,bayle4--,a true philosopher1 like an   
impartial historian1 must be of no      
sect4    ,locke4--,is there no medium   
between the blind zeal of a sectary and 
a  total indifference to all religion8  

,bayle4--,with regard to morality ,i was
 not indifferent4    ,locke4--,how could
 you1 then1 be indifferent with regard  
to the  sanctions religion gives to     
morality8  ,how could you publish what  
tends  so directly and apparently to    
weaken in mankind the belief of those   
sanctions8  ,was not this sacrificing   
the great interests of virtue to the    
little motives of vanity8    ,bayle4--,a
 man may act indiscreetly1 but he cannot
 do wrong1 by  declaring that which1 on 
a full discussion of the question1 he   
sincerely  thinks to be true4           
,locke4--,an enthusiast who advances    
doctrines prejudicial to society1 or    
opposes any that are useful to it1 has  
the strength of opinion and the  heat of
 a disturbed imagination to plead in    
alleviation of his fault2 but  your cool
 head and sound judgment can have no    
such excuse4  ,i know very  well there  
are passages in all your works1 and     
those not a few1 where you  talk like a 
rigid moralist4  ,i have also heard that

 your character was  irreproachably     
good2 but when1 in the most laboured    
parts of your  writings1 you sap the    
surest foundations of all moral duties1 
what avails  it that in others1 or in   
the conduct of your life1 you have      
appeared to  respect them8  ,how many   
who have stronger passions than you had1
 and are  desirous to get rid of the    
curb that restrains them1 will lay hold 
of  your scepticism to set themselves   
loose from all obligations of virtue6   
,what a misfortune is it to have made   
such a use of such talents6  ,it  would 
have been better for you and for mankind
 if you had been one of the  dullest of 
,dutch theologians1 or the most         
credulous monk in a ,portuguese         
convent4  ,the riches of the mind1 like 
those of ,fortune1 may be employed  so  
perversely as to become a nuisance and  
pest instead of an ornament and  support
 to society4    ,bayle4--,you are very  
severe upon me4  ,but do you count it no
 merit1 no  service to mankind1 to      

deliver them from the frauds and fetters
 of  priestcraft1 from the deliriums of 
fanaticism1 and from the terrors and    
follies of superstition8  ,consider how 
much mischief these have done to  the   
world6  ,even in the last age what      
massacres1 what civil wars1 what        
convulsions of government1 what         
confusion in society1 did they produce6 
,nay1 in that we both lived in1 though  
much more enlightened than the  former1 
did ,i not see them occasion a violent  
persecution in my own  country8  ,and   
can you blame me for striking at the    
root of these evils4    ,locke4--,the   
root of these evils1 you well know1 was 
false religion2 but  you struck at the  
true4  ,heaven and hell are not more    
different than the  system of faith ,i  
defended and that which produced the    
horrors of which  you speak4  ,why would
 you so fallaciously confound them      
together in some  of your writings1 that
 it requires much more judgment1 and a  
more  diligent attention than ordinary  

readers have1 to separate them again1   
and to make the proper distinctions8    
,this1 indeed1 is the great art of  the 
most celebrated freethinkers4  ,they    
recommend themselves to warm and        
ingenuous minds by lively strokes of    
wit1 and by arguments really strong1    
against superstition1 enthusiasm1 and   
priestcraft2 but at the same time  they 
insidiously throw the colours of these  
upon the fair face of true  religion1   
and dress her out in their garb1 with a 
malignant intention to  render her      
odious or despicable to those who have  
not penetration enough  to discern the  
impious fraud4  ,some of them may have  
thus deceived  themselves as well as    
others4  ,yet it is certain no book that
 ever was  written by the most acute of 
these gentlemen is so repugnant to      
priestcraft1 to spiritual tyranny1 to   
all absurd superstitions1 to all  that  
can tend to disturb or injure society1  
as that ,gospel they so much  affect to 
despise4    ,bayle4--,mankind is so made

 that1 when they have been over-heated1 
they  cannot be brought to a proper     
temper again till they have been        
over-cooled4  ,my scepticism might be   
necessary to abate the fever and  frenzy
 of false religion4    ,locke4--,a wise 
prescription1 indeed1 to bring on a     
paralytical state of  the mind 7for such
 a scepticism as yours is a palsy which 
deprives the  mind of all vigour1 and   
deadens its natural and vital powers7 in
 order to  take off a fever which       
temperance and the milk of the          
,evangelical  doctrines would probably  
cure4    ,bayle4--,i acknowledge that   
those medicines have a great power4     
,but few  doctors apply them untainted  
with the mixture of some harsher drugs  
or  some unsafe and ridiculous nostrums 
of their own4    ,locke4--,what you now 
say is too true4  ,god has given us a   
most  excellent physic for the soul in  
all its diseases1 but bad and interested
  physicians1 or ignorant and conceited 
quacks1 administer it so ill to the     

rest of mankind that much of the benefit
 of it is unhappily lost4               
,,dialogue ,,xxv4      ,,archibald1     
,,earl ,,of ,,douglas1 ,,duke ,,of      
,,touraine--,,john1 ,,duke ,,of ,,argyle
 ,,and  ,,greenwich1 ,,field-,,marshal  
,,of ,,his ,,britannic ,,majesty',s     
,,forces4    ,argyle4--,yes1 noble      
,douglas1 it grieves me that you and    
your son1  together with the brave ,earl
 of ,buchan1 should have employed so    
much  valour and have thrown away your  
lives in fighting the battles of that   
,state which1 from its situation and    
interests1 is the perpetual and most    
dangerous enemy to ,great ,britain4  ,a 
,british nobleman serving ,france       
appears to me as unfortunate and as much
 out of his proper sphere as a  ,grecian
 commander engaged in the service of    
,persia would have appeared to          
,aristides or ,agesilaus4               
,douglas4--,in serving ,france ,i served
 ,scotland4  ,the ,french were the      
natural allies to the ,scotch1 and by   

supporting their ,crown ,i enabled my   
countrymen to maintain their            
independence against the ,english4      
,argyle4--,the ,french1 indeed1 from the
 unhappy state of our country1  were    
ancient allies to the ,scotch1 but that 
they ever were our natural  allies ,i   
deny4  ,their alliance was proper and   
necessary for us1 because  we were then 
in an unnatural state1 disunited from   
,england4  ,while that  disunion        
continued1 our monarchy was compelled to
 lean upon ,france for  assistance and  
support4  ,the ,french power and policy 
kept us1 ,i  acknowledge1 independent of
 the ,english1 but dependent on them2   
and this  dependence exposed us to many 
grievous calamities by drawing on our   
country the formidable arms of the      
,english whenever it happened that the  
,french and they had a quarrel4  ,the   
succours they afforded us were  distant 
and uncertain4  ,our enemy was at hand1 
superior to us in  strength1 though not 
in valour4  ,our borders were ravaged2  

our kings were  slain or led captive2 we
 lost all the advantage of being the    
inhabitants  of a great island2 we had  
no commerce1 no peace1 no security1 no  
degree  of maritime power4  ,scotland   
was a back-door through which the       
,french1  with our help1 made their     
inroads into ,england2 if they          
conquered1 we  obtained little benefit  
from it2 but if they were defeated1 we  
were  always the devoted victims on whom
 the conquerors severely wreaked their  
resentment4    ,douglas4--,the ,english 
suffered as much in those wars as we4   
,how  terribly were their borders laid  
waste and depopulated by our sharp      
incursions6  ,how often have the swords 
of my ancestors been stained with  the  
best blood of that nation6  ,were not   
our victories at ,bannockburn and  at   
,otterburn as glorious as any that1 with
 all the advantage of numbers1  they    
have ever obtained over us8             
,argyle4--,they were2 but yet they did  
us no lasting good4  ,they left us      

still dependent on the protection of    
,france4  ,they left us a poor1 a       
feeble1 a distressed1 though a most     
valiant nation4  ,they irritated        
,england1 but could not subdue it1 nor  
hinder our feeling such effects of  its 
enmity as gave us no reason to rejoice  
in our triumphs4  ,how much  more       
happily1 in the auspicious reign of that
 queen who formed the ,union1  was my   
sword employed in humbling the foes of  
,great ,britain6  ,with how  superior a 
dignity did ,i appear in the combined   
,british senate1  maintaining the       
interests of the whole united people of 
,england and  ,scotland against all     
foreign powers who attempted to disturb 
our general  happiness or to invade our 
common rights6    ,douglas4--,your      
eloquence and your valour had           
unquestionably a much  nobler and more  
spacious field to exercise themselves in
 than any of  those who defended the    
interests of only a part of the island4 
,argyle4--,whenever ,i read any account 

of the wars between the ,scotch and  the
 ,english1 ,i think ,i am reading a     
melancholy history of civil             
dissensions4  ,whichever side is        
defeated1 their loss appears to me a    
loss  to the whole and an advantage to  
some foreign enemy of ,great ,britain4  
,but  the strength of that island is    
made complete by the ,union1 and what a 
great ,english poet has justly said in  
one instance is now true in all3--      
,the ,hotspur and the ,douglas1 both    
together1     ,are confident against the
 world in arms4    ,who can resist the  
,english and ,scotch valour combined8   
,when separated  and opposed1 they      
balanced each other2 united1 they will  
hold the balance  of ,europe4  ,if all  
the ,scotch blood that has been shed for
 the ,french in  unnatural wars against 
,england had been poured out to oppose  
the ambition  of ,france1 in conjunction
 with the ,english--if all the ,english 
blood that  has been spilt as           
unfortunately in useless wars against   

,scotland had been  preserved1 ,france  
would long ago have been rendered       
incapable of  disturbing our peace1 and 
,great ,britain would have been the most
 powerful  of nations4                  
,douglas4--,there is truth in all you   
have said4  ,but yet when ,i reflect  on
 the insidious ambition of ,king ,edward
 ,i41 on the ungenerous arts he so      
treacherously employed to gain1 or      
rather to steal1 the sovereignty of  our
 kingdom1 and the detestable cruelty he 
showed to ,wallace1 our brave  champion 
and martyr1 my soul is up in arms       
against the insolence of the  ,english1 
and ,i adore the memory of those        
patriots who died in asserting  the     
independence of our ,crown and the      
liberty of our nation4    ,argyle4--,had
 ,i lived in those days ,i should have  
joined with those  patriots1 and been   
the foremost to maintain so noble a     
cause4  ,the ,scotch  were not made to  
be subject to the ,english4  ,their     
souls are too great  for such a timid   

submission4  ,but they may unite and    
incorporate with a  nation they would   
not obey4  ,their scorn of a foreign    
yoke1 their strong  and generous love of
 independence and freedom1 make their   
union with  ,england more natural and   
more proper4  ,had the spirit of the    
,scotch been  servile or base1 it could 
never have coalesced with that of the   
,english4    ,douglas4--,it is true that
 the minds of both nations are congenial
 and  filled with the same noble        
virtues1 the same impatience of         
servitude1 the  same magnanimity1       
courage1 and prudence1 the same genius  
for policy1 for  navigation and         
commerce1 for sciences and arts4  ,yet1 
notwithstanding  this happy conformity1 
when ,i consider how long they were     
enemies to each  other1 what an         
hereditary hatred and jealousy had      
subsisted for many ages  between them1  
what private passions1 what prejudices1 
what contrary  interests must have      
necessarily obstructed every step of the

 treaty1 and  how hard it was to        
overcome the strong opposition of       
national pride1 ,i  stand astonished    
that it was possible to unite the two   
kingdoms upon any  conditions1 and much 
more that it could be done with such    
equal regard  and amicable fairness to  
both4    ,argyle4--,it was indeed a most
 arduous and difficult undertaking4     
,the  success of it must1 ,i think1 be  
thankfully ascribed1 not only to the    
great firmness and prudence of those who
 had the management of it1 but to  the  
gracious assistance of ,providence for  
the preservation of the  reformed       
religion amongst us1 which1 in that     
conjuncture1 if the union  had not been 
made1 would have been ruined in         
,scotland and much endangered  in       
,england4  ,the same good ,providence   
has watched over and protected it       
since1 in a most signal manner1 against 
the attempts of an infatuated  party in 
,scotland and the arts of ,france1 who  
by her emissaries laboured  to destroy  

it as soon as formed2 because she justly
 foresaw that the  continuance of it    
would be destructive to all her vast    
designs against  the liberty of ,europe4
  ,i myself had the honour to have a    
principal share  in subduing one        
rebellion designed to subvert it1 and   
since my death it  has been1 ,i hope1   
established for ever1 not only by the   
defeat of another  rebellion1 which came
 upon us in the midst of a dangerous war
 with  ,france1 but by measures         
prudently taken in order to prevent such
  disturbances for the future4  ,the    
ministers of the ,crown have proposed   
and the ,british legislature has enacted
 a wise system of laws1 the object  of  
which is to reform and to civilise the  
,highlands of ,scotland2 to  deliver the
 people there from the arbitrary power  
and oppression of their  chieftains2 to 
carry the royal justice and royal       
protection into the  wildest parts of   
their mountains2 to hinder their natural
 valour from  being abused and perverted

 to the detriment of their country2 and 
to  introduce among them arts1          
agriculture1 commerce1 tranquillity1    
with all  the improvements of social and
 polished life4    ,douglas4--,by what  
you now tell me you give me the highest 
idea of the  great prince1 your master1 
who1 after having been provoked by such 
a  wicked rebellion1 instead of         
enslaving the people of the ,highlands1 
or  laying the hand of power more       
heavily upon them 7which is the usual   
consequence of unsuccessful revolts71   
has conferred on them the  inestimable  
blessings of liberty1 justice1 and good 
order4  ,to act thus  is indeed to      
perfect the union and make all the      
inhabitants of ,great  ,britain         
acknowledge1 with gratitude and with    
joy1 that they are subjects  of the same
 well-regulated kingdom1 and governed   
with the same impartial  affection by   
the sovereign and father of the whole   
commonwealth4    ,argyle4--,the laws ,i 
have mentioned and the humane benevolent

 policy of  ,his ,majesty's ,government 
have already produced very salutary     
effects in  that part of the kingdom1   
and1 if steadily pursued1 will produce  
many  more4  ,but no words can recount  
to you the infinite benefits which have 
attended the union in the northern      
counties of ,england and the southern   
of ,scotland4    ,douglas4--,the fruits 
of it must be1 doubtless1 most sensible 
there1  where the perpetual enmity      
between the two nations had occasioned  
the  greatest disorder and desolation4  
,argyle4--,oh1 ,douglas1 could you      
revive and return into ,scotland what a 
delightful alteration would you see in  
that country4  ,all those great  tracts 
of land1 which in your time lay untilled
 on account of the inroads  of the      
bordering ,english1 or the feuds and    
discords that raged with  perpetual     
violence within our own distracted      
kingdom1 you would now  behold          
cultivated and smiling with plenty4     
,instead of the castles1 which  every   

baron was compelled to erect for the    
defence of his family1 and  where he    
lived in the barbarism of ,gothic pride1
 among miserable vassals  oppressed by  
the abuse of his feudal powers1 your    
eyes would be charmed  with elegant     
country houses1 adorned with fine       
plantations and beautiful  gardens1     
while happy villages or gay towns are   
rising about them and  enlivening the   
prospect with every image of rural      
wealth4  ,on our coasts  trading cities1
 full of new manufactures1 and          
continually increasing the  extent of   
their commerce4  ,in our ports and      
harbours innumerable merchant  ships1   
richly loaded1 and protected from all   
enemies by the matchless  fleet of      
,great ,britain4  ,but of all           
improvements the greatest is in the     
minds of the ,scotch4  ,these have      
profited1 even more than their lands1 by
  the culture which the settled peace   
and tranquillity produced by the  union 
have happily given to them1 and they    

have discovered such talents  in all    
branches of literature as might render  
the ,english jealous of  being excelled 
by their genius1 if there could remain a
 competition1 when  there remains no    
distinction between the two nations4    
,douglas4--,there may be emulation      
without jealousy1 and the efforts1      
which that emulation will excite1 may   
render our island superior in the  fame 
of wit and good learning to ,italy or to
 ,greece2 a superiority1 which  ,i have 
learnt in the ,elysian fields to prefer 
even to that which is  acquired by arms4
  ,but one doubt still remains with me  
concerning the  union4  ,i have been    
informed that no more than sixteen of   
our peers1  except those who have       
,english peerages 7which some of the    
noblest have  not71 now sit in the      
,house of ,lords as representatives of  
the rest4  ,does  not this in a great   
measure diminish those peers who are not
 elected8  ,and  have you not found the 
election of the sixteen too dependent on

 the  favour of a court8                
,argyle4--,it was impossible that the   
,english could ever consent in the      
,treaty of ,union1 to admit a greater   
number to have places and votes in  the 
,upper ,house of ,parliament1 but all   
the ,scotch peerage is virtually  there 
by representation4  ,and those who are  
not elected have every  dignity and     
right of the peerage1 except the        
privilege of sitting in the  ,house of  
,lords and some others depending        
thereon4    ,douglas4--,they have so2   
but when parliaments enjoy such a share 
in the  government of a country as ours 
do at this time1 to be personally there 
is a privilege and a dignity of the     
highest importance4    ,argyle4--,i wish
 it had been possible to impart it to   
all4  ,but your  reason will tell you it
 was not4  ,and consider1 my lord1 that1
 till the  ,revolution in #afhh1 the    
power vested by our ,government in the  
,lords of  the ,articles had made our   
parliaments much more subject to the    

influence  of the ,crown than our       
elections are now4  ,as1 by the manner  
in which they  were constituted1 those  
lords were no less devoted to the king  
than his  own privy council1 and as no  
proposition could then be presented in  
,parliament if rejected by them1 they   
gave him a negative before debate4      
,this1 indeed1 was abolished upon the   
accession of ,king ,william ,,iii41 with
  many other oppressive and despotical  
powers1 which had rendered our  nobles  
abject slaves to the ,crown1 while they 
were allowed to be tyrants  over the    
people4  ,but if ,king ,james or his son
 had been restored1 the  government he  
had exercised would have been           
re-established1 and nothing  but the    
union of the two kingdoms could have    
effectually prevented that  restoration4
  ,we likewise owe to the union the     
subsequent abolition of  the ,scotch    
privy council1 which had been the most  
grievous engine of  tyranny1 and that   
salutary law which declared that no     

crimes should be  high treason or       
misprision of treason in ,scotland but  
such as were so in  ,england1 and gave  
us the ,english methods of trial in     
cases of that  nature2 whereas before   
there were so many species of treasons1 
the  construction of them was so        
uncertain1 and the trials were so       
arbitrary1  that no man could be safe   
from suffering as a traitor4  ,by the   
same ,act  of ,parliament we also       
received a communication of that noble  
privilege of  the ,english1 exemption   
from torture--a privilege which1 though 
essential  both to humanity and to      
justice1 no other nation in ,europe1 not
 even the  freest republics1 can boast  
of possessing4  ,shall we1 then1 take   
offence  at some inevitable             
circumstances1 which may be objected to1
 on our part1  in the ,treaty of ,union1
 when it has delivered us from slavery1 
and all  the worst evils that a state   
can suffer8  ,it might be easily shown  
that1  in his political and civil       

condition1 every baron in ,scotland is  
much  happier now1 and much more        
independent1 than the highest was under 
that  constitution of government which  
continued in ,scotland even after the   
expulsion of ,king ,james ,,ii4  ,the   
greatest enemies to the union are the   
friends of that king in whose reign1 and
 in his brother's1 the kingdom of       
,scotland was subjected to a despotism  
as arbitrary as that of ,france1 and    
more tyrannically administered4         
,douglas4--,all ,i have heard of those  
reigns makes me blush with  indignation 
at the servility of our nobles1 who     
could endure them so  long4  ,what1     
then1 was become of that undaunted      
,scotch spirit1 which had  dared to     
resist the ,plantagenets in the height  
of their power and pride8  ,could the   
descendants of those who had disdained  
to be subjects of ,edward  ,i4 submit to
 be slaves of ,charles ,,ii4 or ,james8 
,argyle4--,they seemed in general to    
have lost every characteristic of  their

 natural temper1 except a desire to     
abuse the royal authority for  the      
gratification of their private          
resentments in family quarrels4         
,douglas4--,your grandfather1 my lord1  
has the glory of not deserving  this    
censure4    ,argyle4--,i am proud that  
his spirit1 and the principles he       
professed1  drew upon him the injustice 
and fury of those times4  ,but there    
needs no  other proof than the nature   
and the manner of his condemnation to   
show  what a wretched state our nobility
 then were in1 and what an inestimable  
advantage it is to them that they are   
now to be tried as peers of ,great      
,britain1 and have the benefit of those 
laws which imparted to us the  equity   
and the freedom of the ,english         
,constitution4    ,upon the whole1 as   
much as wealth is preferable to poverty1
 liberty to  oppression1 and national   
strength to national weakness1 so much  
has  ,scotland incontestably gained by  
the union4  ,england1 too1 has secured  

by  it every public blessing which was  
before enjoyed by her1 and has greatly  
augmented her strength4  ,the martial   
spirit of the ,scotch1 their hardy      
bodies1 their acute and vigorous minds1 
their industry1 their activity1  are now
 employed to the benefit of the whole   
island4  ,he is now a bad  ,scotchman   
who is not a good ,englishman1 and he is
 a bad ,englishman who is  not a good   
,scotchman4  ,mutual intercourse1 mutual
 interests1 mutual  benefits1 must      
naturally be productive of mutual       
affection4  ,and when  that is          
established1 when our hearts are        
sincerely united1 many great  things1   
which some remains of jealousy and      
distrust1 or narrow local  partialities1
 may hitherto have obstructed1 will be  
done for the good of  the whole ,united 
,kingdom4  ,how much may the revenues of
 ,great ,britain be  increased by the   
further increase of population1 of      
industry1 and of  commerce in ,scotland6
  ,what a mighty addition to the stock  

of national  wealth will arise from the 
improvement of our most northern        
counties1  which are infinitely capable 
of being improved6  ,the briars and     
thorns  are in a great measure grubbed  
up2 the flowers and fruits may soon be  
planted4  ,and what more pleasing1 or   
what more glorious employment can  any  
government have1 than to attend to the  
cultivating of such a  plantation8      
,douglas4--,the prospect you open to me 
of happiness to my country  appears so  
fair1 that it makes me amends for the   
pain with which ,i  reflect on the times
 wherein ,i lived1 and indeed on our    
whole history for  several ages4        
,argyle4--,that history does1 in truth1 
present to the mind a long series  of   
the most direful objects1               
assassinations1 rebellions1 anarchy1    
tyranny1 and religion itself1 either    
cruel1 or gloomy and unsocial4  ,an     
historian who would paint it in its true
 colours must take the pencil of        
,guercino or ,salvator ,rosa4  ,but the 

most agreeable imagination can hardly   
figure to itself a more pleasing scene  
of private and public felicity  than    
will naturally result from the union1 if
 all the prejudices against  it1 and all
 distinctions that may tend on either   
side to keep up an idea  of separate    
interests1 or to revive a sharp         
remembrance of national  animosities1   
can be removed4    ,douglas4--,if they  
can be removed6  ,i think it impossible 
they can be  retained4  ,to resist the  
union is indeed to rebel against        
,nature4  ,she  has joined the two      
countries1 has fenced them both with the
 sea against  the invasion of all other 
nations1 but has laid them entirely open
 the  one to the other4  ,accursed be he
 who endeavours to divide them4  ,what  
,god has joined let no man put asunder4 
,,dialogue ,,xxvi4                      
,,cadmus--,,hercules4    ,hercules4--,do
 you pretend to sit as high on ,olympus 
as ,hercules8  ,did  you kill the       
,nemean lion1 the ,erymanthian boar1 the

 ,lernean serpent1 and  ,stymphalian    
birds8  ,did you destroy tyrants and    
robbers8  ,you value  yourself greatly  
on subduing one serpent2 ,i did as much 
as that while ,i  lay in my cradle4     
,cadmus4--,it is not on account of the  
serpent ,i boast myself a greater       
benefactor to ,greece than you4         
,actions should be valued by their      
utility  rather than their eclat4  ,i   
taught ,greece the art of writing1 to   
which  laws owe their precision and     
permanency4  ,you subdued monsters2 ,i  
civilised men4  ,it is from untamed     
passions1 not from wild beasts1 that    
the greatest evils arise to human       
society4  ,by wisdom1 by art1 by the    
united strength of civil community1 men 
have been enabled to subdue the  whole  
race of lions1 bears1 and serpents1 and 
what is more1 to bind in  laws and      
wholesome regulations the ferocious     
violence and dangerous  treachery of the
 human disposition4  ,had lions been    
destroyed only in  single combat1 men   

had had but a bad time of it2 and what  
but laws could  awe the men who killed  
the lions8  ,the genuine glory1 the     
proper  distinction of the rational     
species1 arises from the perfection of  
the  mental powers4  ,courage is apt to 
be fierce1 and strength is often        
exerted in acts of oppression4  ,but    
wisdom is the associate of justice4  ,it
 assists her to form equal laws1 to     
pursue right measures1 to correct       
power1 protect weakness1 and to unite   
individuals in a common interest  and   
general welfare4  ,heroes may kill      
tyrants1 but it is wisdom and laws  that
 prevent tyranny and oppression4  ,the  
operations of policy far  surpass the   
labours of ,hercules1 preventing many   
evils which valour and  might cannot    
even redress4  ,you heroes consider     
nothing but glory1 and  hardly regard   
whether the conquests which raise your  
fame are really  beneficial to your     
country4  ,unhappy are the people who   
are governed by  valour not directed by 

prudence1 and not mitigated by the      
gentle arts6    ,hercules4--,i do not   
expect to find an admirer of my         
strenuous life in  the man who taught   
his countrymen to sit still and read1   
and to lose the  hours of youth and     
action in idle speculation and the sport
 of words4    ,cadmus4--,an ambition to 
have a place in the registers of fame is
 the  ,eurystheus which imposes heroic  
labours on mankind4  ,the muses incite  
to  action as well as entertain the     
hours of repose2 and ,i think you should
  honour them for presenting to heroes  
such a noble recreation as may  prevent 
their taking up the distaff when they   
lay down the club4    ,hercules4--,wits 
as well as heroes can take up the       
distaff4  ,what think  you of their     
thin-spun systems of philosophy1 or     
lascivious poems1 or  ,milesian fables8 
,nay1 what is still worse1 are there not
 panegyrics on  tyrants1 and books that 
blaspheme the gods and perplex the      
natural sense  of right and wrong8  ,i  

believe if ,eurystheus was to set me to 
work again  he would find me a worse    
task than any he imposed2 he would make 
me read  through a great library2 and ,i
 would serve it as ,i did the hydra1 ,i 
would  burn as ,i went on1 that one     
chimera might not rise from another to  
plague  mankind4  ,i should have valued 
myself more on clearing the library than
  on cleansing the ,augean stables4     
,cadmus4--,it is in those libraries only
 that the memory of your labours        
exists4  ,the heroes of ,marathon1 the  
patriots of ,thermopylae1 owe their     
immortality to me4  ,all the wise       
institutions of lawgivers and all the   
doctrines of sages had perished in the  
ear1 like a dream related1 if  letters  
had not preserved them4  ,oh ,hercules6 
it is not for the man who  preferred    
virtue to pleasure to be an enemy to the
 muses4  ,let  ,sardanapalus and the    
silken sons of luxury1 who have wasted  
life in  inglorious ease1 despise the   
records of action which bear no         

honourable  testimony to their lives4   
,but true merit1 heroic virtue1 each    
genuine  offspring of immortal ,jove1   
should honour the sacred source of      
lasting  fame4    ,hercules4--,indeed1  
if writers employed themselves only in  
recording the  acts of great men1 much  
might be said in their favour4  ,but why
 do they  trouble people with their     
meditations8  ,can it signify to the    
world what  an idle man has been        
thinking8    ,cadmus4--,yes1 it may4    
,the most important and extensive       
advantages  mankind enjoy are greatly   
owing to men who have never quitted     
their  closets4  ,to them mankind is    
obliged for the facility and security of
  navigation4  ,the invention of the    
compass has opened to them new worlds4  
,the knowledge of the mechanical powers 
has enabled them to construct such      
wonderful machines as perform what the  
united labour of millions by the        
severest drudgery could not accomplish4 
,agriculture1 too1 the most  useful of  

arts1 has received its share of         
improvement from the same  source4      
,poetry likewise is of excellent use to 
enable the memory to  retain with more  
ease1 and to imprint with more energy   
upon the heart1  precepts of virtue and 
virtuous actions4  ,since we left the   
world1 from  the little root of a few   
letters1 science has spread its branches
 over  all nature1 and raised its head  
to the heavens4  ,some philosophers have
  entered so far into the counsels of   
divine wisdom as to explain much of  the
 great operations of nature4  ,the      
dimensions and distances of the         
planets1 the causes of their            
revolutions1 the path of comets1 and the
  ebbing and flowing of tides are       
understood and explained4  ,can anything
  raise the glory of the human species  
more than to see a little creature1     
inhabiting a small spot1 amidst         
innumerable worlds1 taking a survey of  
the universe1 comprehending its         
arrangement1 and entering into the      

scheme  of that wonderful connection and
 correspondence of things so remote1 and
  which it seems the utmost exertion of 
,omnipotence to have established8  ,what
 a volume of wisdom1 what a noble       
theology do these discoveries open  to  
us6  ,while some superior geniuses have 
soared to these sublime  subjects1 other
 sagacious and diligent minds have been 
inquiring into the  most minute works of
 the ,infinite ,artificer2 the same     
care1 the same  providence is exerted   
through the whole1 and we should learn  
from it that  to true wisdom utility and
 fitness appear perfection1 and whatever
 is  beneficial is noble4               
,hercules4--,i approve of science as far
 as it is assistant to action4  ,i  like
 the improvement of navigation and the  
discovery of the greater part  of the   
globe1 because it opens a wider field   
for the master spirits of  the world to 
bustle in4    ,cadmus4--,there spoke the
 soul of ,hercules4  ,but if learned men
 are to  be esteemed for the assistance 

they give to active minds in their      
schemes1 they are not less to be valued 
for their endeavours to give them  a    
right direction and moderate their too  
great ardour4  ,the study of  history   
will teach the warrior and the          
legislator by what means armies  have   
been victorious and states have become  
powerful2 and in the private  citizen   
they will inculcate the love of liberty 
and order4  ,the writings  of sages     
point out a private path of virtue1 and 
show that the best  empire is           
self-government1 and subduing our       
passions the noblest of  conquests4     
,hercules4--,the true spirit of heroism 
acts by a sort of inspiration1  and     
wants neither the experience of history 
nor the doctrines of  philosophers to   
direct it4  ,but do not arts and        
sciences render men  effeminate1        
luxurious1 and inactive8 and can you    
deny that wit and  learning are often   
made subservient to very bad purposes8  
,cadmus4--,i will own that there are    

some natures so happily formed they     
hardly want the assistance of a master1 
and the rules of art1 to give  them     
force or grace in everything they do4   
,but these heaven-inspired  geniuses are
 few4  ,as learning flourishes only     
where ease1 plenty1 and  mild government
 subsist1 in so rich a soil1 and under  
so soft a climate1  the weeds of luxury 
will spring up among the flowers of art2
 but the  spontaneous weeds would grow  
more rank1 if they were allowed the     
undisturbed possession of the field4    
,letters keep a frugal1 temperate       
nation from growing ferocious1 a rich   
one from becoming entirely sensual  and 
debauched4  ,every gift of the gods is  
sometimes abused2 but wit and  fine     
talents by a natural law gravitate      
towards virtue2 accidents may  drive    
them out of their proper direction2 but 
such accidents are a sort  of prodigies1
 and1 like other prodigies1 it is an    
alarming omen1 and of  dire portent to  
the times4  ,for if virtue cannot keep  

to her allegiance  those men1 who in    
their hearts confess her divine right1  
and know the  value of her laws1 on     
whose fidelity and obedience can she    
depend8  ,may  such geniuses never      
descend to flatter vice1 encourage      
folly1 or  propagate irreligion2 but    
exert all their powers in the service of
  virtue1 and celebrate the noble choice
 of those1 who1 like you1 preferred  her
 to pleasure4        ,,dialogue ,,xxvii4
      ,,mercury--,,and ,a ,,modern      
,,fine ,,lady4    ,mrs4                 
,modish4--,indeed1 ,mr4 ,mercury1 ,i    
cannot have the pleasure of  waiting    
upon you now4  ,i am engaged1 absolutely
 engaged4    ,mercury4--,i know you have
 an amiable1 affectionate husband1 and  
several  fine children2 but you need not
 be told1 that neither conjugal         
attachments1 maternal affections1 nor   
even the care of a kingdom's  welfare or
 a nation's glory1 can excuse a person  
who has received a  summons to the      
realms of death4  ,if the grim messenger

 was not as  peremptory as unwelcome1   
,charon would not get a passenger       
7except now and  then a hypochondriacal 
,englishman7 once in a century4  ,you   
must be  content to leave your husband  
and family1 and pass the ,styx4    ,mrs4
 ,modish4--,i did not mean to insist on 
any engagement with my  husband and     
children2 ,i never thought myself       
engaged to them4  ,i had no  engagements
 but such as were common to women of my 
rank4  ,look on my  chimney-piece1 and  
you will see ,i was engaged to the play 
on ,mondays1  balls on ,tuesdays1 the   
opera on ,saturdays1 and to card        
assemblies the  rest of the week1 for   
two months to come2 and it would be the 
rudest  thing in the world not to keep  
my appointments4  ,if you will stay for 
me  till the summer season1 ,i will wait
 on you with all my heart4  ,perhaps    
the ,elysian fields may be less         
detestable than the country in our      
world4  ,pray have you a fine ,vauxhall 
and ,ranelagh8  ,i think ,i should not  

dislike  drinking the ,lethe waters when
 you have a full season4                
,mercury4--,surely you could not like to
 drink the waters of oblivion1  who have
 made pleasure the business1 end1 and   
aim of your life6  ,it is  good to drown
 cares1 but who would wash away the     
remembrance of a life of  gaiety and    
pleasure4    ,mrs4 ,modish4--,diversion 
was indeed the business of my life1 but 
as to  pleasure1 ,i have enjoyed none   
since the novelty of my amusements was  
gone  off4  ,can one be pleased with    
seeing the same thing over and over     
again8  ,late hours and fatigue gave me 
the vapours1 spoiled the natural        
cheerfulness of my temper1 and even in  
youth wore away my youthful  vivacity4  
,mercury4--,if this way of life did not 
give you pleasure1 why did you  continue
 in it8  ,i suppose you did not think it
 was very meritorious8    ,mrs4         
,modish4--,i was too much engaged to    
think at all3 so far indeed my  manner  
of life was agreeable enough4  ,my      

friends always told me  diversions were 
necessary1 and my doctor assured me     
dissipation was good  for my spirits2 my
 husband insisted that it was not1 and  
you know that  one loves to oblige one's
 friends1 comply with one's doctor1 and 
contradict one's husband2 and besides ,i
 was ambitious to be thought du  bon    
ton4    ,mercury4--,bon ton6 what is    
that1 madam8  ,pray define it4    ,mrs4 
,modish4--,oh sir1 excuse me1 it is one 
of the privileges of the  bon ton never 
to define1 or be defined4  ,it is the   
child and the parent  of jargon4  ,it   
is--,i can never tell you what it is3   
but ,i will try to  tell you what it is 
not4  ,in conversation it is not wit2 in
 manners it is  not politeness2 in      
behaviour it is not address2 but it is a
 little like  them all4  ,it can only   
belong to people of a certain rank1 who 
live in a  certain manner1 with certain 
persons1 who have not certain virtues1  
and  who have certain vices1 and who    
inhabit a certain part of the town4     

,like  a place by courtesy1 it gets a   
higher rank than the person can claim1  
but  which those who have a legal title 
to precedency dare not dispute1 for     
fear of being thought not to understand 
the rules of politeness4  ,now1  sir1 ,i
 have told you as much as ,i know of it1
 though ,i have admired and  aimed at it
 all my life4    ,mercury4--,then1      
madam1 you have wasted your time1 faded 
your beauty1  and destroyed your health1
 for the laudable purposes of           
contradicting  your husband1 and being  
this something and this nothing called  
the bon  ton4    ,mrs4 ,modish4--,what  
would you have had me do8               
,mercury4--,i will follow your mode of  
instructing4  ,i will tell you what  ,i 
would not have had you do4  ,i would not
 have had you sacrifice your  time1 your
 reason1 and your duties1 to fashion and
 folly4  ,i would not  have had you     
neglect your husband's happiness and    
your children's  education4    ,mrs4    
,modish4--,as to the education of my    

daughters1 ,i spared no expense2  they  
had a dancing-master1 music-master1 and 
drawing-mister1 and a ,french  governess
 to teach them behaviour and the ,french
 language4    ,mercury4--,so their      
religion1 sentiments1 and manners were  
to be learnt  from a dancing-master1    
music-master1 and a chambermaid6        
,perhaps they  might prepare them to    
catch the bon ton4  ,your daughters must
 have been  so educated as to fit them  
to be wives without conjugal affection1 
and  mothers without maternal care4  ,i 
am sorry for the sort of life they are  
commencing1 and for that which you have 
just concluded4  ,minos is a sour  old  
gentleman1 without the least smattering 
of the bon ton1 and ,i am in  a fright  
for you4  ,the best thing ,i can advise 
you is to do in this world  as you did  
in the other1 keep happiness in your    
view1 but never take the  road that     
leads to it4  ,remain on this side      
,styx1 wander about without  end or aim1
 look into the ,elysian fields1 but     

never attempt to enter into  them1 lest 
,minos should push you into ,tartarus2  
for duties neglected may  bring on a    
sentence not much less severe than      
crimes committed4        ,,dialogue     
,,xxviii4                               
,,plutarch--,,charon--,,and ,a ,,modern 
,,bookseller4    ,charon4--,here is a   
fellow who is very unwilling to land in 
our  territories4  ,he says he is rich1 
has a great deal of business in the     
other world1 and must needs return to   
it2 he is so troublesome and            
obstreperous ,i know not what to do with
 him4  ,take him under your care1       
therefore1 good ,plutarch2 you will     
easily awe him into order and decency   
by the superiority an author has over a 
bookseller4    ,bookseller4--,am ,i got 
into a world so absolutely the reverse  
of that ,i  left1 that here authors     
domineer over booksellers8  ,dear       
,charon1 let me  go back1 and ,i will   
pay any price for my passage2 but1 if ,i
 must stay1  leave me not with any of   

those who are styled classical authors4 
,as to  you1 ,plutarch1 ,i have a       
particular animosity against you for    
having  almost occasioned my ruin4      
,when ,i first set up shop1             
understanding but  little of business1  
,i unadvisedly bought an edition of your
 ,lives1 a  pack of old ,greeks and     
,romans1 which cost me a great sum of   
money4  ,i  could never get off above   
twenty sets of them4  ,i sold a few to  
the  ,universities1 and some to ,eton   
and ,westminster1 for it is reckoned a  
pretty book for boys and undergraduates2
 but1 unless a man has the luck  to     
light on a pedant1 he shall not sell a  
set of them in twenty years4            
,plutarch4--,from the merit of the      
subjects1 ,i had hoped another          
reception for my works4  ,i will own1   
indeed1 that ,i am not always  perfectly
 accurate in every circumstance1 nor do 
,i give so exact and  circumstantial a  
detail of the actions of my heroes as   
may be expected  from a biographer who  

has confined himself to one or two      
characters4  ,a  zeal to preserve the   
memory of great men1 and to extend the  
influence of  such noble examples1 made 
me undertake more than ,i could         
accomplish in  the first degree of      
perfection2 but surely the characters of
 my  illustrious men are not so         
imperfectly sketched that they will not 
stand  forth to all ages as patterns of 
virtue and incitements to glory4  ,my   
reflections are allowed to be deep and  
sagacious2 and what can be more  useful 
to a reader than a wise man's judgment  
on a great man's conduct8  ,in my       
writings you will find no rash censures1
 no undeserved encomiums1  no mean      
compliance with popular opinions1 no    
vain ostentation of critical  skill1 nor
 any affected finesse4  ,in my          
,parallels1 which used to be  admired as
 pieces of excellent judgment1 ,i       
compare with perfect  impartiality one  
great man with another1 and each with   
the rule of  justice4  ,if1 indeed1     

latter ages have produced greater men   
and better  writers1 my heroes and my   
works ought to give place to them4  ,as 
the  world has now the advantage of much
 better rules of morality than the      
unassisted reason of poor ,pagans could 
form1 ,i do not wonder that those       
vices1 which appeared to us as mere     
blemishes in great characters1 should   
seem most horrid deformities in the     
purer eyes of the present age--a        
delicacy ,i do not blame1 but admire and
 commend4  ,and ,i must censure you  for
 endeavouring1 if you could publish     
better examples1 to obtrude on  your    
countrymen such as were defective4  ,i  
rejoice at the preference  which they   
give to perfect and unalloyed virtue2   
and as ,i shall ever  retain a high     
veneration for the illustrious men of   
every age1 ,i should  be glad if you    
would give me some account of those     
persons who in wisdom1  justice1 valour1
 patriotism1 have eclipsed my ,solon1   
,numa1 ,camillus1 and  other boasts of  

,greece or ,rome4    ,bookseller4--,why1
 ,master ,plutarch1 you are talking     
,greek indeed4  ,that  work which       
repaired the loss ,i sustained by the   
costly edition of your  books was ,the  
,lives of the ,highwaymen2 but ,i should
 never have grown  rich if it had not   
been by publishing ,the ,lives of ,men  
that ,never  ,lived4  ,you must know    
that1 though in all times it was        
possible to have  a great deal of       
learning and very little wisdom1 yet it 
is only by a  modern improvement in the 
art of writing that a man may read all  
his life  and have no learning or       
knowledge at all1 which begins to be an 
advantage  of the greatest importance4  
,there is as natural a war between your 
men  of science and fools as between the
 cranes and the pigmies of old4  ,most  
of our young men having deserted to the 
fools1 the party of the learned  is near
 being beaten out of the field2 and ,i  
hope in a little while they  will not   
dare to peep out of their forts and     

fastnesses at ,oxford and  ,cambridge4  
,there let them stay and study old musty
 moralists till one  falls in love with 
the ,greek1 another with the ,roman     
virtue2 but our men  of the world should
 read our new books1 which teach them to
 have no  virtue at all4  ,no book is   
fit for a gentleman's reading which is  
not  void of facts and of doctrines1    
that he may not grow a pedant in his    
morals or conversation4  ,i look upon   
history 7,i mean real history7 to be    
one of the worst kinds of study4        
,whatever has happened may happen again1
  and a well-bred man may unwarily      
mention a parallel instance he had met  
with in history and be betrayed into the
 awkwardness of introducing into  his   
discourse a ,greek1 a ,roman1 or even a 
,gothic name2 but when a  gentleman has 
spent his time in reading adventures    
that never occurred1  exploits that     
never were achieved1 and events that not
 only never did1  but never can happen1 
it is impossible that in life or in     

discourse he  should ever apply them4   
,a secret history1 in which there is no 
secret  and no history1 cannot tempt    
indiscretion to blab or vanity to quote2
 and  by this means modern conversation 
flows gentle and easy1 unencumbered     
with matter and unburdened of           
instruction4  ,as the present studies   
throw  no weight or gravity into        
discourse and manners1 the women are not
 afraid  to read our books1 which not   
only dispose to gallantry and coquetry1 
but  give rules for them4  ,caesar's    
,commentaries1 and the ,account of      
,xenophon's ,expedition1 are not more   
studied by military commanders than  our
 novels are by the fair--to a different 
purpose1 indeed2 for their  military    
maxims teach to conquer1 ours to yield4 
,those inflame the vain  and idle love  
of glory3 these inculcate a noble       
contempt of reputation4  ,the women have
 greater obligations to our writers than
 the men4  ,by the  commerce of the     
world men might learn much of what they 

get from books2  but the poor women1 who
 in their early youth are confined and  
restrained1  if it were not for the     
friendly assistance of books1 would     
remain long in  an insipid purity of    
mind1 with a discouraging reserve of    
behaviour4    ,plutarch4--,as to your   
men who have quitted the study of virtue
 for the  study of vice1 useful truth   
for absurd fancy1 and real history for  
monstrous fiction1 ,i have neither      
regard nor compassion for them2 but ,i  
am concerned for the women who are      
betrayed into these dangerous studies2  
and ,i wish for their sakes ,i had      
expatiated more on the character of     
,lucretia and some other heroines4      
,bookseller4--,i tell you1 our women do 
not read in order to live or to  die    
like ,lucretia4  ,if you would inform us
 that a billet-doux was found  in her   
cabinet after her death1 or give a hint 
as if ,tarquin really saw  her in the   
arms of a slave1 and that she killed    
herself not to suffer the  shame of a   

discovery1 such anecdotes would sell    
very well4  ,or if1 even  by tradition1 
but better still1 if by papers in the   
,portian family1 you  could show some   
probability that ,portia died of dram   
drinking1 you would  oblige the world   
very much2 for you must know1 that next 
to new-invented  characters1 we are fond
 of new lights upon ancient characters2 
,i mean  such lights as show a reputed  
honest man to have been a concealed     
knave1  an illustrious hero a pitiful   
coward1 c4  ,nay1 we are so fond of     
these  kinds of information as to be    
pleased sometimes to see a character    
cleared from a vice or crime it has been
 charged with1 provided the  person     
concerned be actually dead4  ,but in    
this case the evidence must be          
authentic1 and amount to a              
demonstration2 in the other1 a detection
 is  not necessary2 a slight suspicion  
will do1 if it concerns a really good   
and great character4    ,plutarch4--,i  
am the more surprised at what you say of

 the taste of your  contemporaries1 as  
,i met with a ,frenchman who assured me 
that less than a  century ago he had    
written a much admired ,life of ,cyrus1 
under the name  of ,artamenes1 in which 
he ascribed to him far greater actions  
than those  recorded of him by ,xenophon
 and ,herodotus2 and that many of the   
great  heroes of history had been       
treated in the same manner2 that empires
 were  gained and battles decided by the
 valour of a single man1 imagination    
bestowing what nature has denied1 and   
the system of human affairs  rendered   
impossible4    ,bookseller4--,i assure  
you those books were very useful to the 
authors  and their booksellers2 and for 
whose benefit besides should a man      
write8  ,these romances were very       
fashionable and had a great sale3 they  
fell in  luckily with the humour of the 
age4    ,plutarch4--,monsieur ,scuderi  
tells me they were written in the times 
of  vigour and spirit1 in the evening of
 the gallant days of chivalry1 which1   

though then declining1 had left in the  
hearts of men a warm glow of  courage   
and heroism2 and they were to be called 
to books as to battle1 by  the sound of 
the trumpet4  ,he says1 too1 that if    
writers had not  accommodated themselves
 to the prejudices of the age1 and      
written of  bloody battles and desperate
 encounters1 their works would have been
  esteemed too effeminate an amusement  
for gentlemen4  ,histories of  chivalry1
 instead of enervating1 tend to         
invigorate the mind1 and  endeavour to  
raise human nature above the condition  
which is naturally  prescribed to it2   
but as strict justice1 patriotic        
motives1 prudent  counsels1 and a       
dispassionate choice of what upon the   
whole is fittest  and best1 do not      
direct these heroes of romance1 they    
cannot serve for  instruction and       
example1 like the great characters of   
true history4  ,it  has ever been my    
opinion1 that only the clear and steady 
light of truth  can guide men to virtue1

 and that the lesson which is           
impracticable must  be unuseful4        
,whoever shall design to regulate his   
conduct by these  visionary characters  
will be in the condition of             
superstitious people1  who choose rather
 to act by intimations they receive in  
the dreams of the  night1 than by the   
sober counsels of morning meditation4   
,yet ,i confess  it has been the        
practice of many nations to incite men  
to virtue by  relating the deeds of     
fabulous heroes3 but surely it is the   
custom only  of yours to incite them to 
vice by the history of fabulous         
scoundrels4  ,men of fine imagination   
have soared into the regions of fancy to
 bring  back ,astrea2 you go thither in 
search of ,pandora4  ,oh disgrace to    
letters6  ,oh shame to the muses6       
,bookseller4--,you express great        
indignation at our present race of      
writers2 but believe me the fault lies  
chiefly on the side of the  readers4    
,as ,monsieur ,scuderi observed to you1 

authors must comply with  the manners   
and disposition of those who are to read
 them4  ,there must be  a certain       
sympathy between the book and the reader
 to create a good  liking4  ,would you  
present a modern fine gentleman1 who is 
negligently  lolling in an easy chair1  
with the labours of ,hercules for his   
recreation8 or make him climb the ,alps 
with ,hannibal when he is expiring  with
 the fatigue of last night's ball8  ,our
 readers must be amused1  flattered1    
soothed2 such adventures must be offered
 to them as they would  like to have a  
share in4    ,plutarch4--,it should be  
the first object of writers to correct  
the  vices and follies of the age4  ,i  
will allow as much compliance with the  
mode of the times as will make truth and
 good morals agreeable4  ,your  love of 
fictitious characters might be turned to
 good purpose if those  presented to the
 public were to be formed on the rules  
of religion and  morality4  ,it must be 
confessed that history1 being employed  

only about  illustrious persons1 public 
events1 and celebrated actions1 does not
  supply us with such instances of      
domestic merit as one could wish4  ,our 
heroes are great in the field and the   
senate1 and act well in great  scenes on
 the theatre of the world2 but the idea 
of a man1 who in the  silent retired    
path of life never deviates into vice1  
who considers no  spectator but the     
,omniscient ,being1 and solicits no     
applause but ,his  approbation1 is the  
noblest model that can be exhibited to  
mankind1 and  would be of the most      
general use4  ,examples of domestic     
virtue would be  more particularly      
useful to women than those of great     
heroines4  ,the  virtues of women are   
blasted by the breath of public fame1 as
 flowers  that grow on an eminence are  
faded by the sun and wind which expand  
them4  ,but true female praise1 like the
 music of the spheres1 arises from a    
gentle1 a constant1 and an equal        
progress in the path marked out for them

  by their great ,creator2 and1 like the
 heavenly harmony1 it is not adapted  to
 the gross ear of mortals1 but is       
reserved for the delight of higher      
beings1 by whose wise laws they were    
ordained to give a silent light and     
shed a mild1 benignant influence on the 
world4    ,bookseller4--,we have had    
some ,english and ,french writers who   
aimed at  what you suggest4  ,in the    
supposed character of ,clarissa 7said a 
clergyman to me a few days before ,i    
left the world7 one finds the dignity   
of heroism tempered by the meekness and 
humility of religion1 a perfect  purity 
of mind1 and sanctity of manners4  ,in  
that of ,sir ,charles  ,grandison1 a    
noble pattern of every private virtue1  
with sentiments so  exalted as to render
 him equal to every public duty4        
,plutarch4--,are both these characters  
by the same author8                     
,bookseller4--,ay1 ,master ,plutarch1   
and what will surprise you more1 this   
author has printed for me4              

,plutarch4--,by what you say1 it is pity
 he should print any work but his  own4 
,are there no other authors who write in
 this manner8    ,bookseller4--,yes1 we 
have another writer of these imaginary  
histories2  one who has not long since  
descended to these regions4  ,his name  
is  ,fielding1 and his works1 as ,i have
 heard the best judges say1 have a true 
spirit of comedy and an exact           
representation of nature1 with fine     
moral  touches4  ,he has not1 indeed1   
given lessons of pure and consummate    
virtue1 but he has exposed vice and     
meanness with all the powers of         
ridicule2 and we have some other good   
wits who have exerted their talents  to 
the purposes you approve4  ,monsieur de 
,marivaux1 and some other ,french       
writers1 have also proceeded much upon  
the same plan with a spirit and         
elegance which give their works no mean 
rank among the belles lettres4  ,i will 
own that1 when there is wit and         
entertainment enough in a book to  make 

it sell1 it is not the worse for good   
morals4    ,charon4--,i think1          
,plutarch1 you have made this gentleman 
a little more  humble1 and now ,i will  
carry him the rest of his journey4  ,but
 he is too  frivolous an animal to      
present to wise ,minos4  ,i wish        
,mercury were here2  he would damn him  
for his dulness4  ,i have a good mind to
 carry him to  the ,danaides1 and leave 
him to pour water into their vessels    
which1 like  his late readers1 are      
destined to eternal emptiness4  ,or     
shall ,i chain  him to the rock1 side to
 side by ,prometheus1 not for having    
attempted to  steal celestial fire1 in  
order to animate human forms1 but for   
having  endeavoured to extinguish that  
which ,jupiter had imparted8  ,or shall 
we  constitute him friseur to           
,tisiphone1 and make him curl up her    
locks  with his satires and libels8     
,plutarch4--,minos does not esteem      
anything frivolous that affects the     
morals of mankind4  ,he punishes authors

 as guilty of every fault they  have    
countenanced and every crime they have  
encouraged1 and denounces  heavy        
vengeance for the injuries which virtue 
or the virtuous have  suffered in       
consequence of their writings4          
,,dialogue ,,xxix4      ,,publius       
,,cornelius ,,scipio                    
,,africanus--,,caius ,,julius ,,caesar4 
,scipio4--,alas1 ,caesar6 how unhappily 
did you end a life made  illustrious by 
the greatest exploits in war and most   
various civil  talents6                 
,caesar4--,can ,scipio wonder at the    
ingratitude of ,rome to her generals8   
,did not he reproach her with it in the 
epitaph he ordered to be inscribed  upon
 his tomb at ,liternum1 that mean       
village in ,campania1 to which she  had 
driven the conqueror of ,hannibal and of
 ,carthage8  ,i also1 after  subduing   
her most dangerous enemies1 the         
,helvetians1 the ,gauls1 and the        
,germans1 after raising her name to the 
highest pitch of glory1 should  have    

been deprived of my province1 reduced to
 live as a private man under  the power 
of my enemies and the enviers of my     
greatness2 nay1 brought to  a trial and 
condemned by the judgment of a faction1 
if ,i had not led my  victorious troops 
to ,rome1 and by their assistance1 after
 all my offers  of peace had been       
iniquitously rejected1 made myself      
master of a ,state  which knew so ill   
how to recompense superior merit4       
,resentment of this1  together with the 
secret machinations of envy1 produced   
not long  afterwards a conspiracy of    
senators1 and even of some whom ,i had  
most  obliged and loved1 against my     
life1 which they basely took away by    
assassination4    ,scipio4--,you say you
 led your victorious troops to ,rome4   
,how were they  your troops8  ,i thought
 the ,roman armies had belonged to the  
,republic1  not to their generals4      
,caesar4--,they did so in your time4    
,but before ,i came to command them1    
,marius and ,sylla had taught them that 

they belonged to their generals4  ,and  
,i taught the senate that a veteran     
army1 affectionately attached to  its   
leader1 could give him all the treasures
 and honours of the ,state  without     
asking their leave4    ,scipio4--,just  
gods6 did ,i then deliver my country    
from the invading  ,carthaginian1 did ,i
 exalt it by my victories above all     
other nations1  that it might become a  
richer prey to its own rebel soldiers   
and their  ambitious commanders8        
,caesar4--,how could it be otherwise8   
,was it possible that the  conquerors of
 ,europe1 ,asia1 and ,africa could      
tamely submit to descend  from their    
triumphal chariots and become subject to
 the authority of  praetors and consuls 
elected by a populace corrupted by      
bribes1 or  enslaved to a confederacy of
 factious nobles1 who1 without regard to
  merit1 considered all the offices and 
dignities of the ,state as  hereditary  
possessions belonging to their families8
    ,scipio4--,if ,i thought it no      

dishonour1 after triumphing over        
,hannibal1  to lay down my fasces and   
obey1 as all my ancestors had done      
before me1  the magistrates of the      
republic1 such a conduct would not have 
dishonoured either ,marius1 or ,sylla1  
or ,caesar4  ,but you all dishonoured   
yourselves when1 instead of virtuous    
,romans1 superior to your               
fellow-citizens in merit and glory1 but 
equal to them in a due subjection  to   
the laws1 you became the enemies1 the   
invaders1 and the tyrants of  your      
country4    ,caesar4--,was ,i the enemy 
of my country in giving it a ruler fit  
to  support all the majesty and weight  
of its empire8  ,did ,i invade it when  
,i  marched to deliver the people from  
the usurped dominion and insolence of  a
 few senators8  ,was ,i a tyrant because
 ,i would not crouch under ,pompey1  and
 let him be thought my superior when ,i 
felt he was not my equal8               
,scipio4--,pompey had given you a noble 
example of moderation in twice          

dismissing the armies1 at the head of   
which he had performed such  illustrious
 actions1 and returning a private       
citizen into the bosom of  his country4 
,caesar4--,his moderation was a cheat4  
,he believed that the authority  his    
victories had gained him would make him 
effectually master of the  commonwealth 
without the help of those armies4  ,but 
finding it difficult  to subdue the     
united opposition of ,crassus and me1 he
 leagued himself  with us1 and in       
consequence of that league we three     
governed the empire4  ,but1 after the   
death of ,crassus1 my glorious          
achievements in subduing the  ,gauls    
raised such a jealousy in him that he   
could no longer endure me as  a partner 
in his power1 nor could ,i submit to    
degrade myself into his  subject4       
,scipio4--,am ,i then to understand that
 the civil war you engaged in was       
really a mere contest whether you or    
,pompey should remain sole lord of      
,rome8    ,caesar4--,not so1 for ,i     

offered1 in my letters to the senate1 to
 lay  down my arms if ,pompey at the    
same time would lay down his1 and leave 
the  republic in freedom4  ,nor did ,i  
resolve to draw the sword till not only 
the senate1 overpowered by the fear of  
,pompey and his troops1 had  rejected   
these offers1 but two tribunes of the   
people1 for legally and  justly         
interposing their authority in my       
behalf1 had been forced to fly  from    
,rome disguised in the habit of slaves1 
and take refuge in my camp  for the     
safety of their persons4  ,my camp was  
therefore the asylum of  persecuted     
liberty1 and my army fought to avenge   
the violation of the  rights and majesty
 of the people as much as to defend the 
dignity of  their general unjustly      
oppressed4    ,scipio4--,you would      
therefore have me think that you        
contended for the  equality and liberty 
of the ,romans against the tyranny of   
,pompey and his  lawless adherents4  ,in
 such a war ,i1 myself1 if ,i had lived 

in your  times1 would have willingly    
been your lieutenant4  ,tell me then1 on
 the  issue of this honourable          
enterprise1 when you had subdued all    
your foes  and had no opposition        
remaining to obstruct your intentions1  
did you  establish that liberty for     
which you fought8  ,did you restore the 
republic to what it was in my time8     
,caesar4--,i took the necessary measures
 to secure to myself the fruits  of my  
victories1 and gave a head to the       
empire1 which could neither  subsist    
without one nor find another so well    
suited to the greatness of  the body4   
,scipio4--,there the true character of  
,caesar was seen unmasked4  ,you had    
managed so skilfully in the measures    
which preceded the civil war1 your      
offers were so specious1 and there      
appeared so much violence in the        
conduct of your enemies that1 if you had
 fallen in that war1 posterity  might   
have doubted whether you were not a     
victim to the interests of your         

country4  ,but your success1 and the    
despotism you afterwards exorcised1     
took off those disguises and showed     
clearly that the aim of all your        
actions was tyranny4    ,caesar4--,let  
us not deceive ourselves with sounds and
 names4  ,that  great minds should      
aspire to sovereign power is a fixed law
 of ,nature4  ,it  is an injury to      
mankind if the highest abilities are not
 placed in the  highest stations4  ,had 
you1 ,scipio1 been kept down by the     
republican  jealousy of ,cato1 the      
censor ,hannibal would have never been  
recalled out  of ,italy nor defeated in 
,africa4  ,and if ,i had not been       
treacherously  murdered by the daggers  
of ,brutus and ,cassius1 my sword would 
have  avenged the defeat of ,crassus and
 added the empire of ,parthia to that of
  ,rome4  ,nor was my government        
tyrannical4  ,it was mild1 humane1 and  
bounteous4  ,the world would have been  
happy under it and wished its           
continuance1 but my death broke the     

pillars of the public tranquillity  and 
brought upon the whole empire a direful 
scene of calamity and  confusion4       
,scipio4--,you say that great minds will
 naturally aspire to sovereign  power4  
,but1 if they are good as well as great1
 they will regulate their  ambition by  
the laws of their country4  ,the laws of
 ,rome permitted me to  aspire to the   
conduct of the war against ,carthage2   
but they did not  permit you to turn her
 arms against herself1 and subject her  
to your  will4  ,the breach of one law  
of liberty is a greater evil to a nation
  than the loss of a province2 and1 in  
my opinion1 the conquest of the  whole  
world would not be enough to compensate 
for the total loss of their  freedom4   
,caesar4--,you talk finely1 ,africanus2 
but ask yourself1 whether the  height   
and dignity of your mind--that noble    
pride which accompanies the  magnanimity
 of a hero--could always stoop to a nice
 conformity with the  laws of your      
country8  ,is there a law of liberty    

more essential1 more  sacred1 than that 
which obliges every member of a free    
community to  submit himself to a trial1
 upon a legal charge brought against him
 for a  public misdemeanour8  ,in what  
manner did you answer a regular         
accusation  from a tribune of the       
people1 who charged you with embezzling 
the money  of the ,state8  ,you told    
your judges that on that day you had    
vanquished  ,hannibal and ,carthage1 and
 bade them follow you to the temples to 
give  thanks to the gods4  ,nor could   
you ever be brought to stand a legal    
trial1 or justify those accounts1 which 
you had torn in the senate when  they   
were questioned there by two magistrates
 in the name of the ,roman  people4     
,was this acting like the subject of a  
free ,state8  ,had your  victory        
procured you an exemption from justice8 
,had it given into your  hands the money
 of the republic without account8  ,if  
it had1 you were  king of ,rome4        
,pharsalia1 ,thapsus1 and ,munda could  

do no more for me4    ,scipio4--,i did  
not question the right of bringing me to
 a trial1 but ,i  disdained to plead in 
vindication of a character so unspotted 
as mine4  ,my  whole life had been an   
answer to that infamous charge4         
,caesar4--,it may be so2 and1 for my    
part1 ,i admire the magnanimity of  your
 behaviour4  ,but ,i should condemn it  
as repugnant and destructive to         
liberty1 if ,i did not pay more respect 
to the dignity of a great general1  than
 to the forms of a democracy or the     
rights of a tribune4    ,scipio4--,you  
are endeavouring to confound my cause   
with yours2 but they  are exceedingly   
different4  ,you apprehended a sentence 
of condemnation  against you for some   
part of your conduct1 and1 to prevent   
it1 made an  impious war on your        
country1 and reduced her to servitude4  
,i trusted the  justification of my     
affronted innocence to the opinion of my
 judges1  scorning to plead for myself  
against a charge unsupported by any     

other  proof than bare suspicions and   
surmises4  ,but ,i made no resistance2  
,i  kindled no civil war2 ,i left ,rome 
undisturbed in the enjoyment of her     
liberty4  ,had the malice of my accusers
 been ever so violent1 had it           
threatened my destruction1 ,i should    
have chosen much rather to turn my      
sword against my own bosom than against 
that of my country4    ,caesar4--,you   
beg the question in supposing that ,i   
really hurt my  country by giving her a 
master4  ,when ,cato advised the senate 
to make  ,pompey sole consul1 he did it 
upon this principle1 that any kind of   
government is preferable to anarchy4    
,the truth of this1 ,i presume1 no  man 
of sense will contest2 and the anarchy1 
which that zealous defender  of liberty 
so much apprehended1 would have         
continued in ,rome1 if that  power1     
which the urgent necessity of the ,state
 conferred upon me1 had not  removed it4
    ,scipio4--,pompey and you had       
brought that anarchy on the ,state in   

order  to serve your own ends4  ,it was 
owing to the corruption1 the factions1  
and the violence which you had          
encouraged from an opinion that the     
senate  would be forced to submit to an 
absolute power in your hands1 as a      
remedy  against those intolerable evils4
  ,but ,cato judged well in thinking it 
eligible to make ,pompey sole consul    
rather than you dictator1 because       
experience had shown that ,pompey       
respected the forms of the ,roman       
constitution2 and though he sought1 by  
bad means as well as good1 to  obtain   
the highest magistracies and the most   
honourable commands1 yet he  laid them  
down again1 and contented himself with  
remaining superior in  credit to any    
other citizen4    ,caesar4--,if all the 
difference between my ambition and      
,pompey's was  only1 as you represent   
it1 in a greater or less respect for the
 forms of  the constitution1 ,i think it
 was hardly becoming such a patriot as  
,cato  to take part in our quarrel1 much

 less to kill himself rather than yield 
to my power4    ,scipio4--,it is easier 
to revive the spirit of liberty in a    
government  where the forms of it remain
 unchanged1 than where they have been   
totally  disregarded and abolished4     
,but ,i readily own that the balance of 
the  ,roman constitution had been       
destroyed by the excessive and illegal  
authority which the people were induced 
to confer upon ,pompey1 before any      
extraordinary honours or commands had   
been demanded by you4  ,and that is1  ,i
 think1 your best excuse4               
,caesar4--,yes1 surely4  ,the favourers 
of the ,manilian law had an ill  grace  
in desiring to limit the commissions ,i 
obtained from the people1  according to 
the rigour of certain absolute          
republican laws1 no more  regarded in my
 time than the ,sybilline oracles or the
 pious institutions  of ,numa4          
,scipio4--,it was the misfortune of your
 time that they were not  regarded4  ,a 
virtuous man would not take from a      

deluded people such  favours as they    
ought not to bestow4  ,i have a right to
 say this because  ,i chid the ,roman   
people1 when1 overheated by gratitude   
for the services ,i  had done them1 they
 desired to make me perpetual consul and
 dictator4  ,hear this1 and blush4      
,what ,i refused to accept1 you snatched
 by force4    ,caesar4--,tiberius       
,gracchus reproached you with the       
inconsistency of  your conduct1 when1   
after refusing these offers1 you so     
little respected  the tribunitian       
authority4  ,but thus it must happen4   
,we are naturally  fond of the idea of  
liberty till we come to suffer by it1 or
 find it an  impediment to some         
predominant passion2 and then we wish to
 control it1  as you did most           
despotically1 by refusing to submit to  
the justice of the  ,state4             
,scipio4--,i have answered before to    
that charge4  ,tiberius ,gracchus       
himself1 though my personal enemy1      
thought it became him to stop the       

proceedings against me1 not for my sake1
 but for the honour of my  country1     
whose dignity suffered with mine4       
,nevertheless ,i acknowledge my  conduct
 in that business was not absolutely    
blameless4  ,the generous  pride of     
virtue was too strong in my mind4  ,it  
made me forget ,i was  creating a       
dangerous precedent in declining to     
plead to a legal  accusation brought    
against me by a magistrate invested with
 the majesty  of the whole ,roman       
people4  ,it made me unjustly accuse my 
country of  ingratitude when she had    
shown herself grateful1 even beyond the 
true  bounds of policy and justice1 by  
not inflicting upon me any penalty for  
so irregular a proceeding4  ,but1 at the
 same time1 what a proof did ,i  give of
 moderation and respect for her liberty1
 when my utmost resentment  could impel 
me to nothing more violent than a       
voluntary retreat and quiet  banishment 
of myself from the city of ,rome6       
,scipio ,africanus offended1  and living

 a private man in a country-house at    
,liternum1 was an example  of more use  
to secure the equality of the ,roman    
commonwealth than all the  power of its 
tribunes4    ,caesar4--,i had rather    
have been thrown down the ,tarpeian     
,rock than have  retired1 as you did1 to
 the obscurity of a village1 after      
acting the  first part on the greatest  
theatre of the world4    ,scipio4--,a   
usurper exalted on the highest throne of
 the universe is not  so glorious as ,i 
was in that obscure retirement4  ,i     
hear1 indeed1 that  you1 ,caesar1 have  
been deified by the flattery of some of 
your  successors4  ,but the impartial   
judgment of history has consecrated my  
name1 and ranks me in the first class of
 heroes and patriots2 whereas1  the     
highest praise her records1 even under  
the dominion usurped by your  family1   
have given to you1 is1 that your courage
 and talents were equal  to the object  
your ambition aspired to1 the empire of 
the world2 and that  you exercised a    

sovereignty unjustly acquired with a    
magnanimous  clemency4  ,but it would   
have been better for your country1 and  
better for  mankind1 if you had never   
existed4        ,,dialogue ,,xxx4       
,,plato--,,diogenes4                    
,diogenes4--,plato1 stand off4  ,a true 
philosopher as ,i was1 is no  company   
for a courtier of the tyrant of         
,syracuse4  ,i would avoid you as  one  
infected with the most noisome of       
plagues--the plague of slavery4         
,plato4--,he who can mistake a brutal   
pride and savage indecency of  manners  
for freedom may naturally think that the
 being in a court  7however virtuous    
one's conduct1 however free one's       
language there7 is  slavery4  ,but ,i   
was taught by my great master1 the      
incomparable ,socrates1  that the       
business of true philosophy is to       
consult and promote the  happiness of   
society4  ,she must not1 therefore1 be  
confined to a tub or a  cell4  ,her     
sphere is in senates or the cabinets of 

kings4  ,while your  sect is employed in
 snarling at the great or buffooning    
with the vulgar1  she is counselling    
those who govern nations1 infusing into 
their minds  humanity1 justice1         
temperance1 and the love of true glory1 
resisting  their passions when they     
transport them beyond the bounds of     
virtue1 and  fortifying their reason by 
the antidotes she administers against   
the  poison of flattery4                
,diogenes4--,you mean to have me        
understand that you went to the court of
  the ,younger ,dionysius to give him   
antidotes against the poison of         
flattery4  ,but ,i say he sent for you  
only to sweeten the cup1 by mixing  it  
more agreeably1 and rendering the       
flavour more delicate4  ,his vanity  was
 too nice for the nauseous common       
draught2 but your seasoning gave it  a  
relish which made it go down most       
delightfully1 and intoxicated him  more 
than ever4  ,oh1 there is no flatterer  
half so dangerous to a prince  as a     

fawning philosopher6    ,plato4--,if you
 call it fawning that ,i did not treat  
him with such  unmannerly rudeness as   
you did ,alexander the ,great when he   
visited you at  ,athens1 ,i have nothing
 to say4  ,but1 in truth1 ,i made my    
company  agreeable to him1 not for any  
mean ends which regarded only myself1   
but  that ,i might be useful both to him
 and to his people4  ,i endeavoured to  
give a right turn to his vanity2 and    
know1 ,diogenes1 that whosoever will    
serve mankind1 but more especially      
princes1 must compound with their       
weaknesses1 and take as much pains to   
gain them over to virtue1 by an  honest 
and prudent complaisance1 as others do  
to seduce them from it by a  criminal   
adulation4    ,diogenes4--,a little of  
my sagacity would have shown you that if
 this  was your purpose your labour was 
lost in that court4  ,why did not you go
  and preach chastity to ,lais8  ,a     
philosopher in a brothel1 reading       
lectures on the beauty of continence and

 decency1 is not a more  ridiculous     
animal than a philosopher in the        
cabinet1 or at the table of a  tyrant1  
descanting on liberty and public spirit6
  ,what effect had the  lessons of your 
famous disciple ,aristotle upon         
,alexander the ,great1 a  prince far    
more capable of receiving instruction   
than the ,younger  ,dionysius8  ,did    
they hinder him from killing his best   
friend1 ,clitus1 for  speaking to him   
with freedom1 or from fancying himself a
 god because he  was adored by the      
wretched slaves he had vanquished8      
,when ,i desired him  not to stand      
between me and the sun1 ,i humbled his  
pride more1 and  consequently did him   
more good1 than ,aristotle had done by  
all his formal  precepts4               
,plato4--,yet he owed to those precepts 
that1 notwithstanding his  excesses1 he 
appeared not unworthy of the empire of  
the world4  ,had the  tutor of his youth
 gone with him into ,asia and continued 
always at his  ear1 the authority of    

that wise and virtuous man might have   
been able to  stop him1 even in the riot
 of conquest1 from giving way to those  
passions  which dishonoured his         
character4    ,diogenes4--,if he had    
gone into ,asia1 and had not flattered  
the king as  obsequiously as            
,haephestion1 he would1 like            
,callisthenes1 whom he sent  thither as 
his deputy1 have been put to death for  
high treason4  ,the man  who will not   
flatter must live independent1 as ,i    
did1 and prefer a tub to  a palace4     
,plato4--,do you pretend1 ,diogenes1    
that because you were never in a  court1
 you never flattered8  ,how did you gain
 the affection of the people  of ,athens
 but by soothing their ruling           
passion--the desire of hearing  their   
superiors abused8  ,your cynic railing  
was to them the most  acceptable        
flattery4  ,this you well understood1   
and made your court to  the vulgar1     
always envious and malignant1 by trying 
to lower all dignity  and confound all  

order4  ,you made your court1 ,i say1 as
 servilely1 and  with as much offence to
 virtue1 as the basest flatterer ever   
did to the  most corrupted prince4  ,but
 true philosophy will disdain to act    
either of  these parts4  ,neither in the
 assemblies of the people1 nor in the   
cabinets of kings1 will she obtain      
favour by fomenting any bad             
dispositions4  ,if her endeavours to do 
good prove unsuccessful1 she will       
retire with honour1 as an honest        
physician departs from the house of a   
patient whose distemper he finds        
incurable1 or who refuses to take the   
remedies he prescribes4  ,but if she    
succeeds--if1 like the music of         
,orpheus1 her sweet persuasions can     
mitigate the ferocity of the multitude  
and tame their minds to a due obedience 
of laws and reverence of  magistrates2  
or if she can form a ,timoleon or a     
,numa ,pompilius to the  government of a
 state--how meritorious is the work6    
,one king--nay1 one  minister or        

counsellor of state--imbued with her    
precepts is of more  value than all the 
speculative1 retired philosophers or    
cynical revilers  of princes and        
magistrates that ever lived upon earth4 
,diogenes4--,don't tell me of the music 
of ,orpheus1 and of his taming  wild    
beasts4  ,a wild beast brought to crouch
 and lick the hand of a  master1 is a   
much viler animal than he was in his    
natural state of  ferocity4  ,you seem  
to think that the business of philosophy
 is to polish  men into slaves2 but ,i  
say1 it is to teach them to assert1 with
 an  untamed and generous spirit1 their 
independence and freedom4  ,you profess 
to instruct those who want to ride their
 fellow-creatures1 how to do it  with an
 easy and gentle rein2 but ,i would have
 them thrown off1 and  trampled under   
the feet of all their deluded or        
insulted equals1 on whose  backs they   
have mounted4  ,which of us two is the  
truest friend to  mankind8              
,plato4--,according to your notions all 

government is destructive to  liberty2  
but ,i think that no liberty can subsist
 without government4  ,a  state of      
society is the natural state of mankind4
  ,they are impelled to  it by their    
wants1 their infirmities1 their         
affections4  ,the laws of  society are  
rules of life and action necessary to   
secure their happiness  in that state4  
,government is the due enforcing of     
those laws4  ,that  government is the   
best which does this post effectually1  
and most  equally2 and that people is   
the freest which is most submissively   
obedient to such a government4          
,diogenes4--,show me the government     
which makes no other use of its power   
than duly to enforce the laws of        
society1 and ,i will own it is entitled 
to the most absolute submission from all
 its subjects4    ,plato4--,i cannot    
show you perfection in human            
institutions4  ,it is far  more easy to 
blame them than it is to amend them1    
much may be wrong in  the best3 but a   

good man respects the laws and the      
magistrates of his  country4            
,diogenes4--,as for the laws of my      
country1 ,i did so far respect them as  
not to philosophise to the prejudice of 
the first and greatest principle  of    
nature and of wisdom1 self-preservation4
  ,though ,i loved to prate  about high 
matters as well as ,socrates1 ,i did not
 choose to drink hemlock  after his     
example4  ,but you might as well have   
bid me love an ugly woman1  because she 
was dressed up in the gown of ,lais1 as 
respect a fool or a  knave1 because he  
was attired in the robe of a magistrate4
    ,plato4--,all ,i desired of you was1
 not to amuse yourself and the  populace
 by throwing dirt upon the robe of a    
magistrate1 merely because  he wore that
 robe1 and you did not4                 
,diogenes4--,a philosopher cannot better
 display his wisdom than by  throwing   
contempt on that pageantry which the    
ignorant multitude gaze at  with a      
senseless veneration4    ,plato4--,he   

who tries to make the multitude venerate
 nothing is more  senseless than they4  
,wise men have endeavoured to excite an 
awful  reverence in the minds of the    
vulgar for external ceremonies and      
forms1  in order to secure their        
obedience to religion and government1 of
 which  these are the symbols4  ,can a  
philosopher desire to defeat that good  
purpose8    ,diogenes4--,yes1 if he sees
 it abused to support the evil purposes 
of  superstition and tyranny4           
,plato4--,may not the abuse be corrected
 without losing the benefit8  ,is  there
 no difference between reformation and  
destruction4                            
,diogenes4--,half-measures do nothing4  
,he who desires to reform must not  be  
afraid to pull down4    ,plato4--,i know
 that you and your sect are for pulling 
down everything  that is above your own 
level4  ,pride and envy are the motives 
that set  you all to work4  ,nor can one
 wonder that passions1 the influence of 
which is so general1 should give you    

many disciples and many admirers4       
,diogenes4--,when you have established  
your ,republic1 if you will admit  me   
into it ,i promise you to be there a    
most respectful subject4    ,plato4--,i 
am conscious1 ,diogenes1 that my        
,republic was imaginary1 and  could     
never be established4  ,but they show as
 little knowledge of what is            
practicable in politics as ,i did in    
that book1 who suppose that the  liberty
 of any civil society can be maintained 
by the destruction of  order and decency
 or promoted by the petulance of        
unbridled defamation4    ,diogenes4--,i 
never knew any government angry at      
defamation1 when it  fell on those who  
disliked or obstructed its measures4    
,but ,i well  remember that the thirty  
tyrants at ,athens called opposition to 
them the  destruction of order and      
decency4    ,plato4--,things are not    
altered by names4    ,diogenes4--,no1   
but names have a strange power to impose
 on weak  understandings4  ,if1 when you

 were in ,egypt1 you had laughed at the 
worship of an onion1 the priests would  
have called you an atheist1 and  the    
people would have stoned you4  ,but ,i  
presume that1 to have the honour  of    
being initiated into the mysteries of   
that reverend hierarchy1 you  bowed as  
low to it as any of their devout        
disciples4  ,unfortunately my  neck was 
not so pliant1 and therefore ,i was     
never initiated into the  mysteries     
either of religion or government1 but   
was feared or hated by  all who thought 
it their interest to make them be       
respected4    ,plato4--,your vanity     
found its account in that fear and that 
hatred4  ,the  high priest of a deity or
 the ruler of a state is much less      
distinguished  from the vulgar herd of  
mankind than the scoffer at all religion
 and the  despiser of all dominion4     
,but let us end our dispute4  ,i feel my
 folly  in continuing to argue with one 
who in reasoning does not seek to come  
at  truth1 but merely to show his wit4  

,adieu1 ,diogenes2 ,i am going to       
converse with the shades of ,pythagoras1
 ,solon1 and ,bias4  ,you may jest  with
 ,aristophanes or rail with ,thersites4 
,,dialogue ,,xxxi4                      
,,aristides--,,phocion--,,demosthenes4  
,aristides4--,how could it happen that  
,athens1 after having recovered an      
equality with ,sparta1 should be forced 
to submit to the dominion of  ,macedon  
when she had two such great men as      
,phocion and ,demosthenes at the  head  
of her ,state8    ,phocion4--,it        
happened because our opinions of her    
interests in foreign  affairs were      
totally different2 which made us act    
with a constant and  pernicious         
opposition the one to the other4        
,aristides4--,i wish to hear from you   
both 7if you will indulge my  curiosity7
 on what principles you could form such 
contrary judgments  concerning points of
 such moment to the safety of your      
country1 which you  equally loved4      
,demosthenes4--,my principles were the  

same with yours1 ,aristides4  ,i        
laboured to maintain the independence of
 ,athens against the encroaching        
ambition of ,macedon1 as you had        
maintained it against that of ,persia4  
,i  saw that our own strength was       
unequal to the enterprise2 but what we  
could not do alone ,i thought might be  
done by a union of the principal  states
 of ,greece--such a union as had been   
formed by you and ,themistocles  in     
opposition to the ,persians4  ,to effect
 this was the great1 the  constant aim  
of my policy2 and1 though traversed in  
it by many whom the  gold of ,macedon   
had corrupted1 and by ,phocion1 whom    
alone1 of all the  enemies to my system1
 ,i must acquit of corruption1 ,i so far
 succeeded1  that ,i brought into the   
field of ,chaeronea an army equal to    
,philip's4  ,the  event was unfortunate2
 but ,aristides will not judge of the   
merits of a  statesman by the accidents 
of war4    ,phocion4--,do not imagine1  
,aristides1 that ,i was less desirous   

than  ,demosthenes to preserve the      
independence and liberty of my country4 
,but1  before ,i engaged the ,athenians 
in a war not absolutely necessary1 ,i   
thought it proper to consider what the  
event of a battle would probably  be4   
,that which ,i feared came to pass3 the 
,macedonians were victorious1  and      
,athens was ruined4                     
,demosthenes4--,would ,athens not have  
been ruined if no battle had been       
fought8  ,could you1 ,phocion1 think it 
safety to have our freedom depend  on   
the moderation of ,philip8  ,and what   
had we else to protect us1 if no        
confederacy had been formed to resist   
his ambition8    ,phocion4--,i saw no   
wisdom in accelerating the downfall of  
my country by  a rash activity in       
provoking the resentment of an enemy1   
whose arms1 ,i  foretold1 would in the  
issue prove superior1 not only to ours1 
but to  those of any confederacy we were
 able to form4  ,my maxim was1 that a   
state which cannot make itself stronger 

than any of its neighbours1  should live
 in friendship with that power which is 
the strongest4  ,but  the more apparent 
it was that our strength was inferior to
 that of  ,macedon1 the more you        
laboured to induce us1 by all the       
vehemence of your  oratory1 to take such
 measures as tended to render ,philip   
our enemy1 and  exasperate him more     
against us than any other nation4  ,this
 ,i thought a  rash conduct4  ,it was   
not by orations that the dangerous war  
you had  kindled could finally be       
determined2 nor did your triumphs over  
me in an  assembly of the people        
intimidate any ,macedonian in the field 
of  ,chaeronea1 or stop you yourself    
from flying out of that field4          
,demosthenes4--,my flight from thence1  
,i must own1 was ignominious to me2  but
 it affects not the question we are     
agitating now1 whether the  counsels ,i 
gave to the people of ,athens1 as a     
statesman and a public  minister1 were  
right or wrong4  ,when first ,i excited 

them to make war  against ,philip1 the  
victories gained by ,chabrias1 in which 
you1 ,phocion1  had a share             
7particularly that of ,naxos1 which     
completely restored to us  the empire of
 the sea71 had enabled us to maintain1  
not only our own  liberty1 but that of  
all ,greece1 in the defence of which we 
had formerly  acquired so much glory1   
and which our ancestors thought so      
important to  the safety and            
independence of ,athens4  ,philip's     
power was but beginning1  and supported 
itself more by craft than force4  ,i    
saw1 and ,i warned my  countrymen in due
 time1 how impolitic it would be to     
suffer his  machinations to be carried  
on with success1 and his strength to    
increase  by continual acquisitions1    
without resistance4  ,i exposed the     
weakness of  that narrow1 that          
short-sighted policy1 which looked no   
farther than to  our own immediate      
borders1 and imagined that whatsoever   
lay out of those  bounds was foreign to 

our interests1 and unworthy of our care4
  ,the force  of my remonstrances roused
 the ,athenians to a more vigilant      
conduct4  ,then  it was that the orators
 whom ,philip had corrupted loudly      
inveighed  against me1 as alarming the  
people with imaginary dangers1 and      
drawing  them into quarrels in which    
they had really no concern4  ,this      
language1  and the fair professions of  
,philip1 who was perfectly skilled in   
the  royal art of dissembling1 were     
often so prevalent1 that many favourable
  opportunities of defeating his designs
 were unhappily lost4  ,yet  sometimes1 
by the spirit with which ,i animated the
 ,athenians and other  neighbouring     
states1 ,i stopped the progress of his  
arms1 and opposed to  him such obstacles
 as cost him much time and much labour  
to remove4  ,you  yourself1 ,phocion1 at
 the head of fleets and armies sent     
against him by  decrees which ,i had    
proposed1 vanquished his troops in      
,eubaea1 and saved  from him ,byzantium1

 with other cities of our allies on the 
coasts of the  ,hellespont1 from which  
you drove him with shame4               
,phocion4--,the proper use of those     
advantages was to secure a peace to     
,athens1 which they inclined him to     
keep4  ,his ambition was checked1 but   
his forces were not so much diminished  
as to render it safe to provoke  him to 
further hostilities4                    
,demosthenes4--,his courage and policy  
were indeed so superior to ours  that1  
notwithstanding his defeats1 he was soon
 in a condition to pursue  the great    
plan of conquest and dominion which he  
had formed long before1  and from which 
he never desisted4  ,thus1 through      
indolence on our side  and activity on  
his1 things were brought to such a      
crisis that ,i saw no  hope of          
delivering all ,greece from his yoke1   
but by confederating against  him the   
,athenians and the ,thebans1 which      
league ,i effected4  ,was it not  better
 to fight for the independence of our   

country in conjunction with  ,thebes    
than alone8  ,would a battle lost in    
,boeotia be so fatal to ,athens  as one 
lost in our own territory and under our 
own walls8    ,phocion4--,you may       
remember that when you were eagerly     
urging this  argument ,i desired you to 
consider1 not where we should fight1 but
 how we  should be conquerors2 for1 if  
we were vanquished1 all sorts of evils  
and  dangers would be instantly at our  
gates4    ,aristides4--,did not you tell
 me1 ,demosthenes1 when you began to    
speak  upon this subject1 that you      
brought into the field of ,chaeronea an 
army  equal to ,philip's8               
,demosthenes4--,i did1 and believe that 
,phocion will not contradict me4        
,aristides4--,but1 though equal in      
number1 it was1 perhaps1 much inferior  
to the ,macedonians in valour and       
military discipline4                    
,demosthenes4--,the courage shown by our
 army excited the admiration of  ,philip
 himself1 and their discipline was      

inferior to none in ,greece4            
,aristides4--,what then occasioned their
 defeat8    ,demosthenes4--,the bad     
conduct of their generals4              
,aristides4--,why was the command not   
given to ,phocion1 whose abilities  had 
been proved on so many other occasions8 
,was it offered to him1 and  did he     
refuse to accept it8  ,you are silent1  
,demosthenes4  ,i understand  your      
silence4  ,you are unwilling to tell me 
that1 having the power1 by  your        
influence over the people1 to confer the
 command on what ,athenian  you pleased1
 you were induced1 by the spirit of     
party1 to lay aside a  great general who
 had been always successful1 who had the
 chief  confidence of your troops and of
 your allies1 in order to give it to men
  zealous indeed for your measures and  
full of military ardour1 but of  little 
capacity or experience in the conduct of
 a war4  ,you cannot plead  that1 if    
,phocion had led your troops against    
,philip1 there was any danger  of his   

basely betraying his trust4  ,phocion   
could not be a traitor4  ,you  had seen 
him serve the ,republic and conquer for 
it in wars1 the  undertaking of which he
 had strenuously opposed1 in wars with  
,philip4  ,how  could you then be so    
negligent of the safety of your country 
as not to  employ him in this1 the most 
dangerous of all she ever had waged8    
,if  ,chares and ,lysicles1 the two     
generals you chose to conduct it1 had   
commanded the ,grecian forces at        
,marathon and ,plataea we should have   
lost  those battles4  ,all the men whom 
you sent to fight the ,macedonians under
  such leaders were victims to the      
animosity between you and ,phocion1     
which  made you deprive them of the     
necessary benefit of his wise direction4
  ,this ,i think the worst blemish of   
your administration4  ,in other parts of
  your conduct ,i not only acquit but   
greatly applaud and admire you4  ,with  
the sagacity of a most consummate       
statesman you penetrated the deepest    

designs of ,philip1 you saw all the     
dangers which threatened ,greece from   
that quarter while they were yet at a   
distance1 you exhorted your  countrymen 
to make a timely provision for their    
future security1 you  spread the alarm  
through all the neighbouring states1 you
 combined the  most powerful in a       
confederacy with ,athens1 you carried   
the war out of  ,attica1 which 7let     
,phocion say what he will7 was safer    
than meeting it  there1 you brought it1 
after all that had been done by the     
enemy to  strengthen himself and weaken 
us1 after the loss of ,amphipolis1      
,olynthus1  and ,potidaea1 the outguards
 of ,athens1 you brought it1 ,i say1 to 
the  decision of a battle with equal    
forces4  ,when this could be effected   
there was evidently nothing so desperate
 in our circumstances as to  justify an 
inaction which might probably make them 
worse1 but could not  make them better4 
,phocion thinks that a state which      
cannot itself be the  strongest should  

live in friendship with that power which
 is the  strongest4  ,but in my opinion 
such friendship is no better than       
servitude4  ,it is more advisable to    
endeavour to supply what is wanting  in 
our own strength by a conjunction with  
others who are equally in  danger4      
,this method of preventing the ruin of  
our country was tried by  ,demosthenes4 
,nor yet did he neglect1 by all         
practicable means1 to  augment at the   
same time our internal resources4  ,i   
have heard that when  he found the      
,public ,treasure exhausted he          
replenished it1 with very great  peril  
to himself1 by bringing into it money   
appropriated before to the              
entertainment of the people1 against the
 express prohibition of a popular  law1 
which made it death to propose the      
application thereof to any other  use4  
,this was virtue1 this was true and     
genuine patriotism4  ,he owed all  his  
importance and power in the ,state to   
the favour of the people2 yet1  in order

 to serve the ,state1 he did not fear1  
at the evident hazard of  his life1 to  
offend their darling passion and appeal 
against it to their  reason4            
,phocion4--,for this action ,i praise   
him4  ,it was1 indeed1 far more         
dangerous for a minister at ,athens to  
violate that absurd and extravagant  law
 than any of those of ,solon4  ,but     
though he restored our finances1 he     
could not restore our lost virtue2 he   
could not give that firm health1  that  
vigour to the ,state1 which is the      
result of pure morals1 of strict  order 
and civil discipline1 of integrity in   
the old1 and obedience in the  young4   
,i therefore dreaded a conflict with the
 solid strength of  ,macedon1 where     
corruption had yet made but a very small
 progress1 and was  happy that          
,demosthenes did not oblige me1 against 
my own inclination1 to  be the general  
of such a people in such war4           
,aristides4--,i fear that your just     
contempt of the greater number of  those

 who composed the democracy so disgusted
 you with this mode and form  of        
government1 that you were as averse to  
serve under it as others with  less     
ability and virtue than you were        
desirous of obtruding themselves  into  
its service4  ,but though such a        
reluctance proceeds from a very  noble  
cause1 and seems agreeable to the       
dignity of a great mind in bad  times1  
yet it is a fault against the highest of
 moral obligations--the  love of our    
country4  ,for1 how unworthy soever     
individuals may be1 the  public is      
always respectable1 always dear to the  
virtuous4    ,phocion4--,true2 but no   
obligation can lie upon a citizen to    
seek a  public charge when he foresees  
that his obtaining of it will be useless
  to his country4  ,would you have had  
me solicit the command of an army  which
 ,i believed would be beaten8           
,aristides4--,it is not permitted to a  
,state to despair of its safety  till   
its utmost efforts have been made       

without success4  ,if you had  commanded
 the army at ,chaeronea you might       
possibly have changed the event  of the 
day2 but1 if you had not1 you would have
 died more honourably  there than in a  
prison at ,athens1 betrayed by a vain   
confidence in the  insecure friendship  
of a perfidious ,macedonian4            
,,dialogue ,,xxxii4      ,,marcus       
,,aurelius ,,philosophus--,,servius     
,,tullius4    ,servius ,tullius4--,yes1 
,marcus1 though ,i own you to have been 
the first  of mankind in virtue and     
goodness--though1 while you governed1   
,philosophy  sat on the throne and      
diffused the benign influences of her   
administration over the whole ,roman    
,empire--yet as a king ,i might1        
perhaps1 pretend to a merit even        
superior to yours4    ,marcus           
,aurelius4--,that philosophy you ascribe
 to me has taught me to  feel my own    
defects1 and to venerate the virtues of 
other men4  ,tell me1  therefore1 in    
what consisted the superiority of your  

merit as a king4    ,servius            
,tullius4--,it consisted in this--that  
,i gave my people freedom4  ,i          
diminished1 ,i limited the kingly power1
 when it was placed in my hands4  ,i    
need not tell you that the plan of      
government instituted by me was  adopted
 by the ,romans when they had driven out
 ,tarquin1 the destroyer of  their      
liberty2 and gave its form to that      
republic1 composed of a due  mixture of 
the regal1 aristocratical1 and          
democratical powers1 the  strength and  
wisdom of which subdued the world4      
,thus all the glory of  that great      
people1 who for many ages excelled the  
rest of mankind in the  arts of war and 
of policy1 belongs originally to me4    
,marcus ,aurelius4--,there is much truth
 in what you say4  ,but would not  the  
,romans have done better if1 after the  
expulsion of ,tarquin1 they had  vested 
the regal power in a limited monarch1   
instead of placing it in two  annual    
elective magistrates with the title of  

consuls8  ,this was a great  deviation  
from your plan of government1 and1 ,i   
think1 an unwise one4  ,for  a divided  
royalty is a solecism--an absurdity in  
politics4  ,nor was the  regal power    
committed to the administration of      
consuls continued in their  hands long  
enough to enable them to finish any     
difficult war or other act  of great    
moment4  ,from hence arose a necessity  
of prolonging their  commands beyond the
 legal term2 of shortening the interval 
prescribed by  the laws between the     
elections to those offices2 and of      
granting  extraordinary commissions and 
powers1 by all which the ,republic was  
in  the end destroyed4    ,servius      
,tullius4--,the revolution which ensued 
upon the death of  ,lucretia was made   
with so much anger that it is no wonder 
the ,romans  abolished in their fury the
 name of king1 and desired to weaken a  
power  the exercise of which had been so
 grievous1 though the doing this was    
attended with all the inconveniences you

 have justly observed4  ,but1 if  anger 
acted too violently in reforming abuses1
 philosophy might have  wisely corrected
 that error4  ,marcus ,aurelius might   
have new-modelled the  constitution of  
,rome4  ,he might have made it a limited
 monarchy1 leaving  to the emperors all 
the power that was necessary to govern a
  wide-extended empire1 and to the      
,senate and people all the liberty that 
could be consistent with order and      
obedience to government--a liberty      
purged of faction and guarded against   
anarchy4    ,marcus ,aurelius4--,i      
should have been happy indeed if it had 
been in my  power to do such good to my 
country4  ,but the gods themselves      
cannot  force their blessings on men who
 by their vices are become incapable to 
receive them4  ,liberty1 like power1 is 
only good for those who possess it  when
 it is under the constant direction of  
virtue4  ,no laws can have  force enough
 to hinder it from degenerating into    
faction and anarchy1  where the morals  

of a nation are depraved2 and continued 
habits of vice  will eradicate the very 
love of it out of the hearts of a       
people4  ,a  ,marcus ,brutus in my time 
could not have drawn to his standard a  
single  legion of ,romans4  ,but1       
further1 it is certain that the spirit  
of liberty  is absolutely incompatible  
with the spirit of conquest4  ,to keep  
great  conquered nations in subjection  
and obedience1 great standing armies are
  necessary4  ,the generals of those    
armies will not long remain subjects2   
and whoever acquires dominion by the    
sword must rule by the sword4  ,if he   
does not destroy liberty1 liberty will  
destroy him4    ,servius ,tullius4--,do 
you then justify ,augustus for the      
change he made  in the ,roman           
government8    ,marcus ,aurelius4--,i do
 not1 for ,augustus had no lawful       
authority to  make that change4  ,his   
power was usurpation and breach of      
trust4  ,but the  government which he   
seized with a violent hand came to me by

 a lawful and  established rule of      
succession4    ,servius ,tullius4--,can 
any length of establishment make        
despotism  lawful8  ,is not liberty an  
inherent1 inalienable right of mankind8 
,marcus ,aurelius4--,they have an       
inherent right to be governed by laws1  
not by arbitrary will4  ,but forms of   
government may1 and must1 be            
occasionally changed1 with the consent  
of the people4  ,when ,i reigned  over  
them the ,romans were governed by laws4 
,servius ,tullius4--,yes1 because your  
moderation and the precepts of that     
philosophy in which your youth had been 
tutored inclined you to make the  laws  
the rules of your government and the    
bounds of your power4  ,but if  you had 
desired to govern otherwise1 had they   
power to restrain you8    ,marcus       
,aurelius4--,they had not4  ,the        
imperial authority in my time had  no   
limitations4    ,servius                
,tullius4--,rome therefore was in       
reality as much enslaved under  you as  

under your son2 and you left him the    
power of tyrannising over it  by        
hereditary right8    ,marcus            
,aurelius4--,i did2 and the conclusion  
of that tyranny was his  murder4        
,servius ,tullius4--,unhappy father6    
unhappy king6 what a detestable thing   
is absolute monarchy when even the      
virtues of ,marcus ,aurelius could not  
hinder it from being destructive to his 
family and pernicious to his  country   
any longer than the period of his own   
life4  ,but how happy is  that kingdom  
in which a limited monarch presides over
 a state so justly  poised that it      
guards itself from such evils1 and has  
no need to take  refuge in arbitrary    
power against the dangers of anarchy1   
which is almost  as bad a resource as it
 would be for a ship to run itself on a 
rock in  order to escape from the       
agitation of a tempest4