,,essays ,,of ,,michel ,,de ,,montaigne 
,translated by ,charles ,cotton  ,edited
 by ,william ,carew ,hazilitt  #ahgg    
,,contents ,,of ,,volume #d4  ,,xxii4   
,of custom1 and that we should not      
easily change a law received ,,xxiii4   
,various events from the same counsel4  
,,xxiv4     ,of pedantry4    ,,chapter  
,,xxii  ,,of ,,custom1 ,,and ,,that ,,we
 ,,should ,,not ,,easily ,,change ,a    
,,law ,,received  ,he seems to me to    
have had a right and true apprehension  
of the power of custom1 who first       
invented the story of a country-woman   
who1 having accustomed herself to play  
with and carry a young calf in her arms1
 and daily continuing to do so as it    
grew up1 obtained this by custom1 that1 
when grown to be a great ox1 she was    
still able to bear it4  ,for1 in truth1 
custom is a violent and treacherous     
schoolmistress4  ,she1 by little and    
little1 slily and unperceived1 slips in 
the foot of her authority1 but having by
 this gentle and humble beginning1 with 

the benefit of time1 fixed and          
established it1 she then unmasks a      
furious and tyrannic countenance1       
against which we have no more the       
courage or the power so much as to lift 
up our eyes4  ,we see her1 at every     
turn1 forcing and violating the rules of
 nature3            ,usus efficacissimus
 rerum omnium magister4                 
,custom is the best master of all       
things4           --,pliny1 ,nat4       
,hist41xxvi4 #b4  ,i refer to her       
,plato's cave in his ,republic1 and the 
physicians1 who so often submit the     
reasons of their art to her authority2  
as the story of that king1 who by custom
 brought his stomach to that pass1 as to
 live by poison1 and the maid that      
,albertus reports to have lived upon    
spiders4 ,in that new world of the      
,indies1 there were found great nations1
 and in very differing climates1 who    
were of the same diet1 made provision of
 them1 and fed them for their tables2 as
 also1 they did grasshoppers1 mice1     

lizards1 and bats2 and in a time of     
scarcity of such delicacies1 a toad was 
sold for six crowns1 all which they     
cook1 and dish up with several sauces4  
,there were also others found1 to whom  
our diet1 and the flesh we eat1 were    
venomous and mortal3                    
,consuetudinis magna vis est3 pernoctant
 venatores in nive3           in        
montibus uri se patiuntur3 pugiles1     
caestibus contusi1           ne         
ingemiscunt quidem4       ,the power of 
custom is very great3 huntsmen will lie 
out all      night in the snow1 or      
suffer themselves to be burned up by the
 sun      on the mountains2 boxers1 hurt
 by the caestus1 never utter a          
groan4--,cicero1 ,tusc41 ii4 #ag  ,these
 strange examples will not appear so    
strange if we consider what we have     
ordinary experience of1 how much custom 
stupefies our senses4  ,we need not go  
to what is reported of the people about 
the cataracts of the ,nile2 and what    
philosophers believe of the music of the

 spheres1 that the bodies of those      
circles being solid and smooth1 and     
coming to touch and rub upon one        
another1 cannot fail of creating a      
marvellous harmony1 the changes and     
cadences of which cause the revolutions 
and dances of the stars2 but that the   
hearing sense of all creatures here     
below1 being universally1 like that of  
the ,egyptians1 deafened1 and stupefied 
with the continual noise1 cannot1 how   
great soever1 perceive it--,this passage
 is taken from ,cicero1 ,dream of       
,scipio2 see his ,de ,republica1 vi4    
,,ii4  ,the ,egyptians were said to be  
stunned by the noise of the             
,cataracts4-- ,smiths1 millers1         
pewterers1 forgemen1 and armourers could
 never be able to live in the perpetual 
noise of their own trades1 did it strike
 their ears with the same violence that 
it does ours4  ,my perfumed doublet     
gratifies my own scent at first2 but    
after ,i have worn it three days        
together1 'tis only pleasing to the     

bystanders4  ,this is yet more strange1 
that custom1 notwithstanding long       
intermissions and intervals1 should yet 
have the power to unite and establish   
the effect of its impressions upon our  
senses1 as is manifest in such as live  
near unto steeples and the frequent     
noise of the bells4  ,i myself lie at   
home in a tower1 where every morning and
 evening a very great bell rings out the
 ,ave ,maria3 the noise shakes my very  
tower1 and at first seemed insupportable
 to me2 but ,i am so used to it1 that ,i
 hear it without any manner of offence1 
and often without awaking at it4        
,plato--,diogenes ,laertius1 iii4 #ch4  
,but he whom ,plato censured was not a  
boy playing at nuts1 but a man throwing 
dice4--reprehending a boy for playing at
 nuts1 ,thou reprovest me1 says the boy1
 for a very little thing4  ,custom1     
replied ,plato1 is no little thing4  ,i 
find that our greatest vices derive     
their first propensity from our most    
tender infancy1 and that our principal  

education depends upon the nurse4       
,mothers are mightily pleased to see a  
child writhe off the neck of a chicken1 
or to please itself with hurting a dog  
or a cat2 and such wise fathers there   
are in the world1 who look upon it as a 
notable mark of a martial spirit1 when  
they hear a son miscall1 or see him     
domineer over a poor peasant1 or a      
lackey1 that dares not reply1 nor turn  
again2 and a great sign of wit1 when    
they see him cheat and overreach his    
playfellow by some malicious treachery  
and deceit4  ,yet these are the true    
seeds and roots of cruelty1 tyranny1 and
 treason2 they bud and put out there1   
and afterwards shoot up vigorously1 and 
grow to prodigious bulk1 cultivated by  
custom4  ,and it is a very dangerous    
mistake to excuse these vile            
inclinations upon the tenderness of     
their age1 and the triviality of the    
subject3 first1 it is nature that       
speaks1 whose declaration is then more  
sincere1 and inward thoughts more       

undisguised1 as it is more weak and     
young2 secondly1 the deformity of       
cozenage does not consist nor depend    
upon the difference betwixt crowns and  
pins2 but ,i rather hold it more just to
 conclude thus3 why should he not cozen 
in crowns since he does it in pins1 than
 as they do1 who say they only play for 
pins1 they would not do it if it were   
for money8  ,children should carefully  
be instructed to abhor vices for their  
own contexture2 and the natural         
deformity of those vices ought so to be 
represented to them1 that they may not  
only avoid them in their actions1 but   
especially so to abominate them in their
 hearts1 that the very thought should be
 hateful to them1 with what mask soever 
they may be disguised4  ,i know very    
well1 for what concerns myself1 that    
from having been brought up in my       
childhood to a plain and straightforward
 way of dealing1 and from having had an 
aversion to all manner of juggling and  
foul play in my childish sports and     

recreations 7and1 indeed1 it is to be   
noted1 that the plays of children are   
not performed in play1 but are to be    
judged in them as their most serious    
actions71 there is no game so small     
wherein from my own bosom naturally1 and
 without study or endeavour1 ,i have not
 an extreme aversion from deceit4  ,i   
shuffle and cut and make as much clatter
 with the cards1 and keep as strict     
account for farthings1 as it were for   
double pistoles2 when winning or losing 
against my wife and daughter1 'tis      
indifferent to me1 as when ,i play in   
good earnest with others1 for round     
sums4  ,at all times1 and in all places1
 my own eyes are sufficient to look to  
my fingers2 ,i am not so narrowly       
watched by any other1 neither is there  
any ,i have more respect to4  ,i saw the
 other day1 at my own house1 a little   
fellow1 a native of ,nantes1 born       
without arms1 who has so well taught his
 feet to perform the services his hands 
should have done him1 that truly these  

have half forgotten their natural       
office2 and1 indeed1 the fellow calls   
them his hands2 with them he cuts       
anything1 charges and discharges a      
pistol1 threads a needle1 sews1 writes1 
puts off his hat1 combs his head1 plays 
at cards and dice1 and all this with as 
much dexterity as any other could do who
 had more1 and more proper limbs to     
assist him4  ,the money ,i gave him--for
 he gains his living by shewing these   
feats--he took in his foot1 as we do in 
our hand4  ,i have seen another who1    
being yet a boy1 flourished a two-handed
 sword1 and1 if ,i may so say1 handled a
 halberd with the mere motions of his   
neck and shoulders for want of hands2   
tossed them into the air1 and caught    
them again1 darted a dagger1 and cracked
 a whip as well as any coachman in      
,france4  ,but the effects of custom are
 much more manifest in the strange      
impressions she imprints in our minds1  
where she meets with less resistance4   
,what has she not the power to impose   

upon our judgments and beliefs8  ,is    
there any so fantastic opinion 7omitting
 the gross impostures of religions1 with
 which we see so many great nations1 and
 so many understanding men1 so strangely
 besotted2 for this being beyond the    
reach of human reason1 any error is more
 excusable in such as are not endued1   
through the divine bounty1 with an      
extraordinary illumination from above71 
but1 of other opinions1 are there any so
 extravagant1 that she has not planted  
and established for laws in those parts 
of the world upon which she has been    
pleased to exercise her power8  ,and    
therefore that ancient exclamation was  
exceeding just3         ,non pudet      
physicum1 id est speculatorem           
venatoremque naturae1         ab animis 
consuetudine imbutis petere testimonium 
veritatis8       ,is it not a shame for 
a natural philosopher1 that is1 for an  
observer and hunter of nature1 to seek  
testimony of the truth from      minds  
prepossessed by custom8--,cicero1 ,de   

,natura ,deor41 i4 #cj4  ,i do believe1 
that no so absurd or ridiculous fancy   
can enter into human imagination1 that  
does not meet with some example of      
public practice1 and that1 consequently1
 our reason does not ground and back up4
  ,there are people1 amongst whom it is 
the fashion to turn their backs upon him
 they salute1 and never look upon the   
man they intend to honour4  ,there is a 
place1 where1 whenever the king spits1  
the greatest ladies of his court put out
 their hands to receive it2 and another 
nation1 where the most eminent persons  
about him stoop to take up his ordure in
 a linen cloth4 ,let us here steal room 
to insert a story4  ,a ,french gentleman
 was always wont to blow his nose with  
his fingers 7a thing very much against  
our fashion71 and he justifying himself 
for so doing1 and he was a man famous   
for pleasant repartees1 he asked me1    
what privilege this filthy excrement    
had1 that we must carry about us a fine 
handkerchief to receive it1 and1 which  

was more1 afterwards to lap it carefully
 up1 and carry it all day about in our  
pockets1 which1 he said1 could not but  
be much more nauseous and offensive1    
than to see it thrown away1 as we did   
all other evacuations4  ,i found that   
what he said was not altogether without 
reason1 and by being frequently in his  
company1 that slovenly action of his was
 at last grown familiar to me2 which    
nevertheless we make a face at1 when we 
hear it reported of another country4    
,miracles appear to be so1 according to 
our ignorance of nature1 and not        
according to the essence of nature the  
continually being accustomed to         
anything1 blinds the eye of our         
judgment4  ,barbarians are no more a    
wonder to us1 than we are to them2 nor  
with any more reason1 as every one would
 confess1 if after having travelled over
 those remote examples1 men could settle
 themselves to reflect upon1 and rightly
 to confer them1 with their own4  ,human
 reason is a tincture almost equally    

infused into all our opinions and       
manners1 of what form soever they are2  
infinite in matter1 infinite in         
diversity4  ,but ,i return to my        
subject4  ,there are peoples1 where1 his
 wife and children excepted1 no one     
speaks to the king but through a tube4  
,in one and the same nation1 the virgins
 discover those parts that modesty      
should persuade them to hide1 and the   
married women carefully cover and       
conceal them4  ,to which1 this custom1  
in another place1 has some relation1    
where chastity1 but in marriage1 is of  
no esteem1 for unmarried women may      
prostitute themselves to as many as they
 please1 and being got with child1 may  
lawfully take physic1 in the sight of   
every one1 to destroy their fruit4      
,and1 in another place1 if a tradesman  
marry1 all of the same condition1 who   
are invited to the wedding1 lie with the
 bride before him2 and the greater      
number of them there is1 the greater is 
her honour1 and the opinion of her      

ability and strength3 if an officer     
marry1 'tis the same1 the same with a   
labourer1 or one of mean condition2 but 
then it belongs to the lord of the place
 to perform that office2 and yet a      
severe loyalty during marriage is       
afterward strictly enjoined4  ,there are
 places where brothels of young men are 
kept for the pleasure of women2 where   
the wives go to war as well as the      
husbands1 and not only share in the     
dangers of battle1 but1 moreover1 in the
 honours of command4  ,others1 where    
they wear rings not only through their  
noses1 lips1 cheeks1 and on their toes1 
but also weighty gimmals of gold thrust 
through their paps and buttocks2 where1 
in eating1 they wipe their fingers upon 
their thighs1 genitories1 and the soles 
of their feet3 where children are       
excluded1 and brothers and nephews only 
inherit2 and elsewhere1 nephews only1   
saving in the succession of the prince3 
where1 for the regulation of community  
in goods and estates1 observed in the   

country1 certain sovereign magistrates  
have committed to them the universal    
charge and overseeing of the            
agriculture1 and distribution of the    
fruits1 according to the necessity of   
every one where they lament the death of
 children1 and feast at the decease of  
old men3 where they lie ten or twelve in
 a bed1 men and their wives together3   
where women1 whose husbands come to     
violent ends1 may marry again1 and      
others not3 where the condition of women
 is looked upon with such contempt1 that
 they kill all the native females1 and  
buy wives of their neighbours to supply 
their use2 where husbands may repudiate 
their wives1 without showing any cause1 
but wives cannot part from their        
husbands1 for what cause soever2 where  
husbands may sell their wives in case of
 sterility2 where they boil the bodies  
of their dead1 and afterward pound them 
to a pulp1 which they mix with their    
wine1 and drink it2 where the most      
coveted sepulture is to be eaten by     

dogs1 and elsewhere by birds2 where they
 believe the souls of the blessed live  
in all manner of liberty1 in delightful 
fields1 furnished with all sorts of     
delicacies1 and that it is these souls1 
repeating the words we utter1 which we  
call ,echo2 where they fight in the     
water1 and shoot their arrows with the  
most mortal aim1 swimming2 where1 for a 
sign of subjection1 they lift up their  
shoulders1 and hang down their heads2   
where they put off their shoes when they
 enter the king's palace2 where the     
eunuchs1 who take charge of the sacred  
women1 have1 moreover1 their lips and   
noses cut off1 that they may not be     
loved2 where the priests put out their  
own eyes1 to be better acquainted with  
their demons1 and the better to receive 
their oracles2 where every one makes to 
himself a deity of what he likes best2  
the hunter of a lion or a fox1 the      
fisher of some fish2 idols of every     
human action or passion2 in which place1
 the sun1 the moon1 and the earth are   

the 'principal deities1 and the form of 
taking an oath is1 to touch the earth1  
looking up to heaven2 where both flesh  
and fish is eaten raw2 where the        
greatest oath they take is1 to swear by 
the name of some dead person of         
reputation1 laying their hand upon his  
tomb2 where the newyear's gift the king 
sends every year to the princes1 his    
vassals1 is fire1 which being brought1  
all the old fire is put out1 and the    
neighbouring people are bound to fetch  
of the new1 every one for themselves1   
upon pain of high treason2 where1 when  
the king1 to betake himself wholly to   
devotion1 retires from his              
administration 7which often falls out71 
his next successor is obliged to do the 
same1 and the right of the kingdom      
devolves to the third in succession3    
where they vary the form of government1 
according to the seeming necessity of   
affairs3 depose the king when they think
 good1 substituting certain elders to   
govern in his stead1 and sometimes      

transferring it into the hands of the   
commonality3 where men and women are    
both circumcised and also baptized3     
where the soldier1 who in one or several
 engagements1 has been so fortunate as  
to present seven of the enemies' heads  
to the king1 is made noble3 where they  
live in that rare and unsociable opinion
 of the mortality of the soul3 where the
 women are delivered without pain or    
fear3 where the women wear copper       
leggings upon both legs1 and if a louse 
bite them1 are bound in magnanimity to  
bite them again1 and dare not marry1    
till first they have made their king a  
tender of their virginity1 if he please 
to accept it3 where the ordinary way of 
salutation is by putting a finger down  
to the earth1 and then pointing it up   
toward heaven3 where men carry burdens  
upon their heads1 and women on their    
shoulders2 where the women make water   
standing1 and the men squatting3 where  
they send their blood in token of       
friendship1 and offer incense to the men

 they would honour1 like gods3 where1   
not only to the fourth1 but in any other
 remote degree1 kindred are not         
permitted to marry3 where the children  
are four years at nurse1 and often      
twelve2 in which place1 also1 it is     
accounted mortal to give the child suck 
the first day after it is born3 where   
the correction of the male children is  
peculiarly designed to the fathers1 and 
to the mothers of the girls2 the        
punishment being to hang them by the    
heels in the smoke3 where they          
circumcise the women3 where they eat all
 sorts of herbs1 without other scruple  
than of the badness of the smell3 where 
all things are open the finest houses1  
furnished in the richest manner1 without
 doors1 windows1 trunks1 or chests to   
lock1 a thief being there punished      
double what they are in other places3   
where they crack lice with their teeth  
like monkeys1 and abhor to see them     
killed with one's nails3 where in all   
their lives they neither cut their hair 

nor pare their nails2 and1 in another   
place1 pare those of the right hand     
only1 letting the left grow for ornament
 and bravery3 where they suffer the hair
 on the right side to grow as long as it
 will1 and shave the other2 and in the  
neighbouring provinces1 some let their  
hair grow long before1 and some behind1 
shaving close the rest3 where parents   
let out their children1 and husbands    
their wives1 to their guests to hire3   
where a man may get his own mother with 
child1 and fathers make use of their own
 daughters or sons1 without scandal3    
where1 at their solemn feasts1 they     
interchangeably lend their children to  
one another1 without any consideration  
of nearness of blood4  ,in one place1   
men feed upon human flesh2 in another1  
'tis reputed a pious office for a man to
 kill his father at a certain age2      
elsewhere1 the fathers dispose of their 
children1 whilst yet in their mothers'  
wombs1 some to be preserved and         
carefully brought up1 and others to be  

abandoned or made away4  ,elsewhere the 
old husbands lend their wives to young  
men2 and in another place they are in   
common without offence2 in one place    
particularly1 the women take it for a   
mark of honour to have as many gay      
fringed tassels at the bottom of their  
garment1 as they have lain with several 
men4  ,moreover1 has not custom made a  
republic of women separately by         
themselves8 has it not put arms into    
their hands1 and made them raise armies 
and fight battles8  ,and does she not1  
by her own precept1 instruct the most   
ignorant vulgar1 and make them perfect  
in things which all the philosophy in   
the world could never beat into the     
heads of the wisest men8  ,for we know  
entire nations1 where death was not only
 despised1 but entertained with the     
greatest triumph2 where children of     
seven years old suffered themselves to  
be whipped to death1 without changing   
countenance2 where riches were in such  
contempt1 that the meanest citizen would

 not have deigned to stoop to take up a 
purse of crowns4  ,and we know regions1 
very fruitful in all manner of          
provisions1 where1 notwithstanding1 the 
most ordinary diet1 and that they are   
most pleased with1 is only bread1       
cresses1 and water4  ,did not custom1   
moreover1 work that miracle in ,chios   
that1 in seven hundred years1 it was    
never known that ever maid or wife      
committed any act to the prejudice of   
her honour8  ,to conclude2 there is     
nothing1 in my opinion1 that she does   
not1 or may not do2 and therefore1 with 
very good reason it is that ,pindar     
calls her the ruler of the world4  ,he  
that was seen to beat his father1 and   
reproved for so doing1 made answer1 that
 it was the custom of their family2     
that1 in like manner1 his father had    
beaten his grandfather1 his grandfather 
his great-grandfather1 ,and this1 says  
he1 pointing to his son1 when he comes  
to my age1 shall beat me4  ,and the     
father1 whom the son dragged and hauled 

along the streets1 commanded him to stop
 at a certain door1 for he himself1 he  
said1 had dragged his father no farther1
 that being the utmost limit of the     
hereditary outrage the sons used to     
practise upon the fathers in their      
family4  ,it is as much by custom as    
infirmity1 says ,aristotle1 that women  
tear their hair1 bite their nails1 and  
eat coals and earth1 and more by custom 
than nature that men abuse themselves   
with one another4  ,the laws of         
conscience1 which we pretend to be      
derived from nature1 proceed from       
custom2 every one1 having an inward     
veneration for the opinions and manners 
approved and received amongst his own   
people1 cannot1 without very great      
reluctance1 depart from them1 nor apply 
himself to them without applause4  ,in  
times past1 when those of ,crete would  
curse any one1 they prayed the gods to  
engage him in some ill custom4  ,but the
 principal effect of its power is1 so to
 seize and ensnare us1 that it is hardly

 in us to disengage ourselves from its  
gripe1 or so to come to ourselves1 as to
 consider of and to weigh the things it 
enjoins4  ,to say the truth1 by reason  
that we suck it in with our milk1 and   
that the face of the world presents     
itself in this posture to our first     
sight1 it seems as if we were born upon 
condition to follow on this track2 and  
the common fancies that we find in      
repute everywhere about us1 and infused 
into our minds with the seed of our     
fathers1 appear to be the most universal
 and genuine2 from whence it comes to   
pass1 that whatever is off the hinges of
 custom1 is believed to be also off the 
hinges of reason2 how unreasonably for  
the most part1 ,god knows4  ,if1 as we  
who study ourselves have learned to do1 
every one who hears a good sentence1    
would immediately consider how it does  
in any way touch his own private        
concern1 every one would find1 that it  
was not so much a good saying1 as a     
severe lash to the ordinary stupidity of

 his own judgment3 but men receive the  
precepts and admonitions of truth1 as   
directed to the common sort1 and never  
to themselves2 and instead of applying  
them to their own manners1 do only very 
ignorantly and unprofitably commit them 
to memory4  ,but let us return to the   
empire of custom4  ,such people as have 
been bred up to liberty1 and subject to 
no other dominion but the authority of  
their own will1 look upon all other form
 of government as monstrous and contrary
 to nature4  ,those who are inured to   
monarchy do the same2 and what          
opportunity soever fortune presents them
 with to change1 even then1 when with   
the greatest difficulties they have     
disengaged themselves from one master1  
that was troublesome and grievous to    
them1 they presently run1 with the same 
difficulties1 to create another2 being  
unable to take into hatred subjection   
itself4  ',tis by the mediation of      
custom1 that every one is content with  
the place where he is planted by nature2

 and the ,highlanders of ,scotland no   
more pant after ,touraine2 than the     
,scythians after ,thessaly4  ,darius    
asking certain ,greeks what they would  
take to assume the custom of the        
,indians1 of eating the dead bodies of  
their fathers 7for that was their use1  
believing they could not give them a    
better nor more noble sepulture than to 
bury them in their own bodies71 they    
made answer1 that nothing in the world  
should hire them to do it2 but having   
also tried to persuade the ,indians to  
leave their custom1 and1 after the      
,greek manner1 to burn the bodies of    
their fathers1 they conceived a still   
greater horror at the                   
motion4--,herodotus1 iii4 #ch4--;,every 
one does the same1 for use veils from us
 the true aspect of things4             
,nil adeo magnum1 nec tam mirabile      
quidquam           ,principio1 quod non 
minuant mirarier omnes ,paullatim4      
,there is nothing at first so grand1 so 
admirable1 which by degrees      people 

do not regard with less                 
admiration4--,lucretius1 ii4 #ajbg      
,taking upon me once to justify         
something in use amongst us1 and that   
was received with absolute authority for
 a great many leagues round about us1   
and not content1 as men commonly do1 to 
establish it only by force of law and   
example1 but inquiring still further    
into its origin1 ,i found the foundation
 so weak1 that ,i who made it my        
business to confirm others1 was very    
near being dissatisfied myself4  ',tis  
by this receipt that ,plato --,laws1    
viii4  #f4--undertakes to cure the      
unnatural and preposterous loves of his 
time1 as one which he esteems of        
sovereign virtue1 namely1 that the      
public opinion condemns them2 that the  
poets1 and all other sorts of writers1  
relate horrible stories of them2 a      
recipe1 by virtue of which the most     
beautiful daughters no more allure their
 fathers' lust2 nor brothers1 of the    
finest shape and fashion1 their sisters'

 desire2 the very fables of ,thyestes1  
,o,edipus1 and ,macareus1 having with   
the harmony of their song1 infused this 
wholesome opinion and belief into the   
tender brains of children4  ,chastity   
is1 in truth1 a great and shining       
virtue1 and of which the utility is     
sufficiently known2 but to treat of it1 
and to set it off in its true value1    
according to nature1 is as hard as 'tis 
easy to do so according to custom1 laws1
 and precepts4  ,the fundamental and    
universal reasons are of very obscure   
and difficult research1 and our masters 
either lightly pass them over1 or not   
daring so much as to touch them1        
precipitate themselves into the liberty 
and protection of custom1 there puffing 
themselves out and triumphing to their  
heart's content3 such as will not suffer
 themselves to be withdrawn from this   
original source1 do yet commit a greater
 error1 and subject themselves to wild  
opinions2 witness ,chrysippus1--,sextus 
,empiricus1 ,pyyrhon4  ,hypotyp41 i4    

#ad4--who1 in so many of his writings1  
has strewed the little account he made  
of incestuous conjunctions1 committed   
with how near relations soever4         
,whoever would disengage himself from   
this violent prejudice of custom1 would 
find several things received with       
absolute and undoubting opinion1 that   
have no other support than the hoary    
head and rivelled face of ancient usage4
  ,but the mask taken off1 and things   
being referred to the decision of truth 
and reason1 he will find his judgment as
 it were altogether overthrown1 and yet 
restored to a much more sure estate4    
,for example1 ,i shall ask him1 what can
 be more strange than to see a people   
obliged to obey laws they never         
understood2 bound in all their domestic 
affairs1 as marriages1 donations1 wills1
 sales1 and purchases1 to rules they    
cannot possibly know1 being neither     
written nor published in their own      
language1 and of which they are of      
necessity to purchase both the          

interpretation and the use8  ,not       
according to the ingenious opinion of   
,isocrates1--,discourse to              
,nicocles4--who counselled his king to  
make the traffics and negotiations of   
his subjects1 free1 frank1 and of profit
 to them1 and their quarrels and        
disputes burdensome1 and laden with     
heavy impositions and penalties2 but1 by
 a prodigious opinion1 to make sale of  
reason itself1 and to give to laws a    
course of merchandise4  ,i think myself 
obliged to fortune that1 as our         
historians report1 it was a ,gascon     
gentleman1 a countryman of mine1 who    
first opposed ,charlemagne1 when he     
attempted to impose upon us ,latin and  
imperial laws4  ,what can be more       
savage1 than to see a nation where1 by  
lawful custom1 the office of a judge is 
bought and sold1 where judgments are    
paid for with ready money1 and where    
justice may legitimately be denied to   
him that has not wherewithal to pay2 a  
merchandise in so great repute1 as in a 

government to create a fourth estate of 
wrangling lawyers1 to add to the three  
ancient ones of the church1 nobility1   
and people2 which fourth estate1 having 
the laws in their own hands1 and        
sovereign power over men's lives and    
fortunes1 makes another body separate   
from nobility3 whence it comes to pass1 
that there are double laws1 those of    
honour and those of justice1 in many    
things altogether opposite one to       
another2 the nobles as rigorously       
condemning a lie taken1 as the other do 
a lie revenged3 by the law of arms1 he  
shall be degraded from all nobility and 
honour who puts up with an affront2 and 
by the civil law1 he who vindicates his 
reputation by revenge incurs a capital  
punishment3 he who applies himself to   
the law for reparation of an offence    
done to his honour1 disgraces himself2  
and he who does not1 is censured and    
punished by the law4  ,yet of these two 
so different things1 both of them       
referring to one head1 the one has the  

charge of peace1 the other of war2 those
 have the profit1 these the honour2     
those the wisdom1 these the virtue2     
those the word1 these the action2 those 
justice1 these valour2 those reason1    
these force2 those the long robe1 these 
the short2--divided betwixt them4  ,for 
what concerns indifferent things1 as    
clothes1 who is there seeking to bring  
them back to their true use1 which is   
the body's service and convenience1 and 
upon which their original grace and     
fitness depend2 for the most fantastic1 
in my opinion1 that can be imagined1 ,i 
will instance amongst others1 our flat  
caps1 that long tail of velvet that     
hangs down from our women's heads1 with 
its party-coloured trappings2 and that  
vain and futile model of a member we    
cannot in modesty so much as name1      
which1 nevertheless1 we make show and   
parade of in public4  ,these            
considerations1 notwithstanding1 will   
not prevail upon any understanding man  
to decline the common mode2 but1 on the 

contrary1 methinks1 all singular and    
particular fashions are rather marks of 
folly and vain affectation than of sound
 reason1 and that a wise man1 within1   
ought to withdraw and retire his soul   
from the crowd1 and there keep it at    
liberty and in power to judge freely of 
things2 but as to externals1 absolutely 
to follow and conform himself to the    
fashion of the time4  ,public society   
has nothing to do with our thoughts1 but
 the rest1 as our actions1 our labours1 
our fortunes1 and our lives1 we are to  
lend and abandon them to its service and
 to the common opinion1 as did that good
 and great ,socrates who refused to     
preserve his life by a disobedience to  
the magistrate1 though a very wicked and
 unjust one for it is the rule of rules1
 the general law of laws1 that every one
 observe those of the place wherein he  
lives4            ,it is good to obey   
the laws of one's country4              
--,excerpta ex ,trag4 ,gyaecis1 ,grotio 
interp41 #afbf1 p4 #icg4  ,and now to   

another point4  ,it is a very great     
doubt1 whether any so manifest benefit  
can accrue from the alteration of a law 
received1 let it be what it will1 as    
there is danger and inconvenience in    
altering it2 forasmuch as government is 
a structure composed of divers parts and
 members joined and united together1    
with so strict connection1 that it is   
impossible to stir so much as one brick 
or stone1 but the whole body will be    
sensible of it4  ,the legislator of the 
,thurians--,charondas2 ,diod4 ,sic41    
xii4  #bd4--ordained1 that whosoever    
would go about either to abolish an old 
law1 or to establish a new1 should      
present himself with a halter about his 
neck to the people1 to the end1 that if 
the innovation he would introduce should
 not be approved by every one1 he might 
immediately be hanged2 and he of the    
,lacedaemonians employed his life to    
obtain from his citizens a faithful     
promise that none of his laws should be 
violated4--,lycurgus2 ,plutarch1 in     

,vita1 c4  #bb4--,the ,ephoros who so   
rudely cut the two strings that ,phrynis
 had added to music never stood to      
examine whether that addition made      
better harmony1 or that by its means the
 instrument was more full and complete2 
it was enough for him to condemn the    
invention1 that it was a novelty1 and an
 alteration of the old fashion4  ,which 
also is the meaning of the old rusty    
sword carried before the magistracy of  
,marseilles4  ,for my own part1 ,i have 
a great aversion from a novelty1 what   
face or what pretence soever it may     
carry along with it1 and have reason1   
having been an eyewitness of the great  
evils it has produced4  ,for those which
 for so many years have lain so heavy   
upon us1 it is not wholly accountable2  
but one may say1 with colour enough1    
that it has accidentally produced and   
begotten the mischiefs and ruin that    
have since happened1 both without and   
against it2 it1 principally1 we are to  
accuse for these disorders3             

,heu6 patior telis vulnera facta meis4  
,alas6  ,the wounds were made by my own 
weapons4           --,ovid1 ,ep4 ,phyll4
 ,demophoonti1 vers4 #dh4  ,they who    
give the first shock to a state1 are    
almost naturally the first overwhelmed  
in its ruin the fruits of public        
commotion are seldom enjoyed by him who 
was the first motor2 he beats and       
disturbs the water for another's net4   
,the unity and contexture of this       
monarchy1 of this grand edifice1 having 
been ripped and torn in her old age1 by 
this thing called innovation1 has since 
laid open a rent1 and given sufficient  
admittance to such injuries3 the royal  
majesty with greater difficulty declines
 from the summit to the middle1 then it 
falls and tumbles headlong from the     
middle to the bottom4  ,but if the      
inventors do the greater mischief1 the  
imitators are more vicious to follow    
examples of which they have felt and    
punished both the horror and the        
offence4  ,and if there can be any      

degree of honour in ill-doing1 these    
last must yield to the others the glory 
of contriving1 and the courage of making
 the first attempt4  ,all sorts of new  
disorders easily draw1 from this        
primitive and ever-flowing fountain1    
examples and precedents to trouble and  
discompose our government3 we read in   
our very laws1 made for the remedy of   
this first evil1 the beginning and      
pretences of all sorts of wicked        
enterprises2 and that befalls us1 which 
,thucydides said of the civil wars of   
his time1 that1 in favour of public     
vices1 they gave them new and more      
plausible names for their excuse1       
sweetening and disguising their true    
titles2 which must be done1 forsooth1 to
 reform our conscience and belief3      
,honesta oratio est2            ,fine   
words truly4--,ter4  ,and41 i4 ,i1 #aad4
  but the best pretence for innovation  
is of very dangerous consequence3       
,aden nihil motum ex antiquo probabile  
est4       ,we are ever wrong in        

changing ancient ways4--,livy1 xxxiv4   
#ed  ,and freely to speak my thoughts1  
it argues a strange self-love and great 
presumption to be so fond of one's own  
opinions1 that a public peace must be   
overthrown to establish them1 and to    
introduce so many inevitable mischiefs1 
and so dreadful a corruption of manners1
 as a civil war and the mutations of    
state consequent to it1 always bring in 
their train1 and to introduce them1 in a
 thing of so high concern1 into the     
bowels of one's own country4  ,can there
 be worse husbandry than to set up so   
many certain and knowing vices against  
errors that are only contested and      
disputable8  ,and are there any worse   
sorts of vices than those committed     
against a man's own conscience1 and the 
natural light of his own reason8 ,the   
,senate1 upon the dispute betwixt it and
 the people about the administration of 
their religion1 was bold enough to      
return this evasion for current pay3    
,ad deos id magis1 quam ad se1          

pertinere3 ipsos visuros1           ne  
sacra sua polluantur2       ,those      
things belong to the gods to determine  
than to them2 let the      gods1        
therefore1 take care that their sacred  
mysteries were not                      
profaned4--,livy1 x4 #f4  according to  
what the oracle answered to those of    
,delphos who1 fearing to be invaded by  
the ,persians in the ,median war1       
inquired of ,apollo1 how they should    
dispose of the holy treasure of his     
temple2 whether they should hide1 or    
remove it to some other place8  ,he     
returned them answer1 that they should  
stir nothing from thence1 and only take 
care of themselves1 for he was          
sufficient to look to what belonged to  
him4 --,herodotus1 viii4 #cf44--  ,the  
,christian religion has all the marks of
 the utmost utility and justice3 but    
none more manifest than the severe      
injunction it lays indifferently upon   
all to yield absolute obedience to the  
civil magistrate1 and to maintain and   

defend the laws4  ,of which1 what a     
wonderful example has the divine wisdom 
left us1 that1 to establish the         
salvation of mankind1 and to conduct    
,his glorious victory over death and    
sin1 would do it after no other way1 but
 at the mercy of our ordinary forms of  
justice subjecting the progress and     
issue of so high and so salutiferous an 
effect1 to the blindness and injustice  
of our customs and observances2         
sacrificing the innocent blood of so    
many of ,his elect1 and so long a loss  
of so many years1 to the maturing of    
this inestimable fruit8  ,there is a    
vast difference betwixt the case of one 
who follows the forms and laws of his   
country1 and of another who will        
undertake to regulate and change them2  
of whom the first pleads simplicity1    
obedience1 and example for his excuse1  
who1 whatever he shall do1 it cannot be 
imputed to malice2 'tis at the worst but
 misfortune3            ,quis est enim1 
quem non moveat clarissimis monumentis  

testata consignataque antiquitas8       
,for who is there that antiquity1       
attested and confirmed by the           
fairest monuments1 cannot               
move8--,cicero1 ,de ,divin41 i4 #dj4    
besides what ,isocrates says1 that      
defect is nearer allied to moderation   
than excess3 the other is a much more   
ruffling gamester2 for whosoever shall  
take upon him to choose and alter1      
usurps the authority of judging1 and    
should look well about him1 and make it 
his business to discern clearly the     
defect of what he would abolish1 and the
 virtue of what he is about to          
introduce4  ,this so vulgar             
consideration is that which settled me  
in my station1 and kept even my most    
extravagant and ungoverned youth under  
the rein1 so as not to burden my        
shoulders with so great a weight1 as to 
render myself responsible for a science 
of that importance1 and in this to dare1
 what in my better and more mature      
judgment1 ,i durst not do in the most   

easy and indifferent things ,i had been 
instructed in1 and wherein the temerity 
of judging is of no consequence at all2 
it seeming to me very unjust to go about
 to subject public and established      
customs and institutions1 to the        
weakness and instability of a private   
and particular fancy 7for private reason
 has but a private jurisdiction71 and to
 attempt that upon the divine1 which no 
government will endure a man should do1 
upon the civil laws2 with which1 though 
human reason has much more commerce than
 with the other1 yet are they           
sovereignly judged by their own proper  
judges1 and the extreme sufficiency     
serves only to expound and set forth the
 law and custom received1 and neither to
 wrest it1 nor to introduce anything1 of
 innovation4  ,if1 sometimes1 the divine
 providence has gone beyond the rules to
 which it has necessarily bound and     
obliged us men1 it is not to give us any
 dispensation to do the same2 those are 
masterstrokes of the divine hand1 which 

we are not to imitate1 but to admire1   
and extraordinary examples1 marks of    
express and particular purposes1 of the 
nature of miracles1 presented before us 
for manifestations of its almightiness1 
equally above both our rules and force1 
which it would be folly and impiety to  
attempt to represent and imitate2 and   
that we ought not to follow1 but to     
contemplate with the greatest reverence3
 acts of ,his personage1 and not for us4
  ,cotta very opportunely declares3     
,quum de religione agitur1 ,ti4         
,coruncanium1 ,p4 ,scipionem1      ,p4  
,scaevolam1 pontifices maximos1 non     
,zenonem1 aut ,cleanthem1      aut      
,chrysippum1 sequor4       ,when matter 
of religion is in question1 ,i follow   
the high priests      ,t4 ,coruncanius1 
,p4 ,scipio1 ,p4 ,scaevola1 and not     
,zeno1 ,cleanthes1 or                   
,chrysippus4--,cicero1 ,de ,natura      
,deor41 iii4 #b4  ,god knows1 in the    
present quarrel of our civil war1 where 
there are a hundred articles to dash out

 and to put in1 great and very          
considerable1 how many there are who can
 truly boast1 they have exactly and     
perfectly weighed and understood the    
grounds and reasons of the one and the  
other party2 'tis a number1 if they make
 any number1 that would be able to give 
us very little disturbance4  ,but what  
becomes of all the rest1 under what     
ensigns do they march1 in what quarter  
do they lie8  ,theirs have the same     
effect with other weak and ill-applied  
medicines2 they have only set the       
humours they would purge more violently 
in work1 stirred and exasperated by the 
conflict1 and left them still behind4   
,the potion was too weak to purge1 but  
strong enough to weaken us2 so that it  
does not work1 but we keep it still in  
our bodies1 and reap nothing from the   
operation but intestine gripes and      
dolours4  ,so it is1 nevertheless1 that 
,fortune still reserving her authority  
in defiance of whatever we are able to  
do or say1 sometimes presents us with a 

necessity so urgent1 that 'tis requisite
 the laws should a little yield and give
 way2 and when one opposes the increase 
of an innovation that thus intrudes     
itself by violence1 to keep a man's self
 in so doing1 in all places and in all  
things within bounds and rules against  
those who have the power1 and to whom   
all things are lawful that may in any   
way serve to advance their design1 who  
have no other law nor rule but what     
serves best to their own purpose1 'tis a
 dangerous obligation and an intolerable
 inequality3                 ,aditum    
nocendi perfido praestat fides1         
,putting faith in a treacherous person1 
opens the door to                       
harm4--,seneca1 ,o,edip41 act iii41     
verse #fhf4  forasmuch as the ordinary  
discipline of a healthful state does not
 provide against these extraordinary    
accidents2 it presupposes a body that   
supports itself in its principal members
 and offices1 and a common consent to   
its obedience and observation4  ,a      

legitimate proceeding is cold1 heavy1   
and constrained1 and not fit to make    
head against a headstrong and unbridled 
proceeding4  ',tis known to be to this  
day cast in the dish of those two great 
men1 ,octavius and ,cato1 in the two    
civil wars of ,sylla and ,caesar1 that  
they would rather suffer their country  
to undergo the last extremities1 than   
relieve their fellow-citizens at the    
expense of its laws1 or be guilty of any
 innovation2 for in truth1 in these last
 necessities1 where there is no other   
remedy1 it would1 peradventure1 be more 
discreetly done1 to stoop and yield a   
little to receive the blow1 than1 by    
opposing without possibility of doing   
good1 to give occasion to violence to   
trample all under foot2 and better to   
make the laws do what they can1 when    
they cannot do what they would4 ,after  
this manner did he--,agesilaus4--who    
suspended them for four-and-twenty      
hours1 and he who1 for once shifted a   
day in the calendar1 and that           

other--,alexander the ,great4--who of   
the month of ,june made a second of     
,may4  ,the ,lacedaemonians themselves1 
who were so religious observers of the  
laws of their country1 being straitened 
by one of their own edicts1 by which it 
was expressly forbidden to choose the   
same man twice to be admiral2 and on the
 other side1 their affairs necessarily  
requiring1 that ,lysander should again  
take upon him that command1 they made   
one ,aratus admiral2 'tis true1 but     
withal1 ,lysander went general of the   
navy2 and1 by the same subtlety1 one of 
their ambassadors being sent to the     
,athenians to obtain the revocation of  
some decree1 and ,pericles remonstrating
 to him1 that it was forbidden to take  
away the tablet wherein a law had once  
been engrossed1 he advised him to turn  
it only1 that being not forbidden2 and  
,plutarch commends ,philopoemen1 that   
being born to command1 he knew how to do
 it1 not only according to the laws1 but
 also to overrule even the laws         

themselves1 when the public necessity so
 required4     ,,chapter ,,xxiii        
,,various ,,events ,,from ,,the ,,same  
,,counsel  ,jacques ,amiot1 grand       
almoner of ,france1 one day related to  
me this story1 much to the honour of a  
prince of ours 7and ours he was upon    
several very good accounts1 though      
originally of foreign extraction71--,the
 ,duc de ,guise1 surnamed ,le           
,balafre4--that in the time of our first
 commotions1 at the siege of            
,rouen1--,in #aefb--this prince1 having 
been advertised by the queen-mother of a
 conspiracy against his life1 and in her
 letters particular notice being given  
him of the person who was to execute the
 business 7who was a gentleman of ,anjou
 or of ,maine1 and who to this effect   
ordinarily frequented this prince's     
house71 discovered not a syllable of    
this intelligence to any one whatever2  
but going the next day to the ,st4      
,catherine's ,mount1--,an eminence      
outside ,rouen overlooking the ,seine4  

,d4,w4--from which our battery played   
against the town 7for it was during the 
time of the siege71 and having in       
company with him the said lord almoner1 
and another bishop1 he saw this         
gentleman1 who had been denoted to him1 
and presently sent for him2 to whom1    
being come before him1 seeing him       
already pale and trembling with the     
conscience of his guilt1 he thus said1  
,monsieur1 such an one1 you guess what  
,i have to say to you2 your countenance 
discovers it2 'tis in vain to disguise  
your practice1 for ,i am so well        
informed of your business1 that it will 
but make worse for you1 to go about to  
conceal or deny it3 you know very well  
such and such passages 7which were the  
most secret circumstances of his        
conspiracy71 and therefore be sure1 as  
you tender your own life1 to confess to 
me the whole truth of the design4  ,the 
poor man seeing himself thus trapped and
 convicted 7for the whole business had  
been discovered to the queen by one of  

the accomplices71 was in such a taking1 
he knew not what to do2 but1 folding his
 hands1 to beg and sue for mercy1 he    
threw himself at his prince's feet1 who 
taking him up1 proceeded to say1 ,come1 
sir2 tell me1 have ,i at any time done  
you offence8  or have ,i1 through       
private hatred or malice1 offended any  
kinsman or friend of yours8  ,it is not 
above three weeks that ,i have known    
you2 what inducement1 then1 could move  
you to attempt my death8  ,to which the 
gentleman with a trembling voice        
replied1 ,that it was no particular     
grudge he had to his person1 but the    
general interest and concern of his     
party1 and that he had been put upon it 
by some who had persuaded him it would  
be a meritorious act1 by any means1 to  
extirpate so great and so powerful an   
enemy of their religion4  ,well1 said   
the prince1 ,i will now let you see1 how
 much more charitable the religion is   
that ,i maintain1 than that which you   
profess3 yours has counselled you to    

kill me1 without hearing me speak1 and  
without ever having given you any cause 
of offence2 and mine commands me to     
forgive you1 convict as you are1 by your
 own confession1 of a design to kill me 
without reason4--,imitated by ,voltaire4
  ,see ,nodier1 ,questions1 p4          
#afe4--;,get you gone2 let me see you no
 more2 and1 if you are wise1 choose     
henceforward honester men for your      
counsellors in your                     
designs4--,dampmartin1 ,la ,fortune de  
la ,coup1 liv4 ii41 p4 #aci  ,the       
,emperor ,augustus1--,this story is     
taken from ,seneca1 ,de ,clementia1 i4  
#i4--;being in ,gaul1 had certain       
information of a conspiracy ,l4 ,cinna  
was contriving against him2 he therefore
 resolved to make him an example2 and1  
to that end1 sent to summon his friends 
to meet the next morning in counsel4    
,but the night between he passed in     
great unquietness of mind1 considering  
that he was about to put to death a     
young man1 of an illustrious family1 and

 nephew to the great ,pompey1 and this  
made him break out into several         
passionate complainings4  ,what then1   
said he1 is it possible that ,i am to   
live in perpetual anxiety and alarm1 and
 suffer my would-be assassin1 meantime1 
to walk abroad at liberty8  ,shall he go
 unpunished1 after having conspired     
against my life1 a life that ,i have    
hitherto defended in so many civil wars1
 in so many battles by land and by sea8 
,and after having settled the universal 
peace of the whole world1 shall this man
 be pardoned1 who has conspired not only
 to murder1 but to sacrifice me8--for   
the conspiracy was to kill him at       
sacrifice4 ,after which1 remaining for  
some time silent1 he began again1 in    
louder tones1 and exclaimed against     
himself1 saying3  ,why livest thou1 if  
it be for the good of so many that thou 
shouldst die8 must there be no end of   
thy revenges and cruelties8  ,is thy    
life of so great value1 that so many    
mischiefs must be done to preserve it8  

,his wife ,livia1 seeing him in this    
perplexity3 ,will you take a woman's    
counsel8  said she4  ,do as the         
physicians do1 who1 when the ordinary   
recipes will do no good1 make trial of  
the contrary4  ,by severity you have    
hitherto prevailed nothing2 ,lepidus has
 followed ,salvidienus2 ,murena1        
,lepidus2 ,caepio1 ,murena2 ,egnatius1  
,caepio4  ,begin now1 and try how       
sweetness and clemency will succeed4    
,cinna is convict2 forgive him1 he will 
never henceforth have the heart to hurt 
thee1 and it will be an act to thy      
glory4  ,augustus was well pleased that 
he had met with an advocate of his own  
humour2 wherefore1 having thanked his   
wife1 and1 in the morning1 countermanded
 his friends he had before summoned to  
council1 he commanded ,cinna all alone  
to be brought to him2 who being         
accordingly come1 and a chair by his    
appointment set him1 having ordered all 
the rest out of the room1 he spake to   
him after this manner3 ,in the first    

place1 ,cinna1 ,i demand of thee patient
 audience2 do not interrupt me in what  
,i am about to say1 and ,i will         
afterwards give thee time and leisure to
 answer4  ,thou knowest1 ,cinna1--,this 
passage1 borrowed from ,seneca1 has been
 paraphrased in verse by ,corneille4    
,see ,nodier1 ,questions de la          
,literature llgale1 #ahbh1 pp4 #g1 #afj4
  ,the monologue of ,augustus in this   
chapter is also from ,seneca4  ,ibid41  
#afd4--that having taken thee prisoner  
in the enemy's camp1 and thou an enemy1 
not only so become1 but born so1 ,i gave
 thee thy life1 restored to thee all thy
 goods1 and1 finally1 put thee in so    
good a posture1 by my bounty1 of living 
well and at thy ease1 that the          
victorious envied the conquered4 ,the   
sacerdotal office which thou madest suit
 to me for1 ,i conferred upon thee1     
after having denied it to others1 whose 
fathers have ever borne arms in my      
service4  ,after so many obligations1   
thou hast undertaken to kill me4  ,at   

which ,cinna crying out that he was very
 far from entertaining any so wicked a  
thought3 ,thou dost not keep thy        
promise1 ,cinna1 continued ,augustus1   
that thou wouldst not interrupt me4     
,yes1 thou hast undertaken to murder me 
in such a place1 on such a day1 in such 
and such company1 and in such a manner4 
,at which words1 seeing ,cinna astounded
 and silent1 not upon the account of his
 promise so to be1 but interdict with   
the weight of his conscience3 ,why1     
proceeded ,augustus1 to what end wouldst
 thou do it8  ,is it to be emperor8     
,believe me1 the ,republic is in very   
ill condition1 if ,i am the only man    
betwixt thee and the empire4  ,thou art 
not able so much as to defend thy own   
house1 and but t'other day was baffled  
in a suit1 by the opposed interest of a 
mere manumitted slave4  ,what1 hast thou
 neither means nor power in any other   
thing1 but only to undertake ,caesar8   
,i quit the throne1 if there be no other
 than ,i to obstruct thy hopes4  ,canst 

thou believe that ,paulus1 that ,fabius1
 that the ,cossii and the ,servilii1 and
 so many noble ,romans1 not only so in  
title1 but who by their virtue honour   
their nobility1 would suffer or endure  
thee8  ,after this1 and a great deal    
more that he said to him 7for he was two
 long hours in speaking71 ,now go1      
,cinna1 go thy way3 ,i give thee that   
life as traitor and parricide1 which ,i 
before gave thee in the quality of an   
enemy4  ,let friendship from this time  
forward begin betwixt us1 and let us    
show whether ,i have given1 or thou hast
 received thy life with the better      
faith2 and so departed from him4  ,some 
time after1 he preferred him to the     
consular dignity1 complaining that he   
had not the confidence to demand it2 had
 him ever after for his very great      
friend1 and was1 at last1 made by him   
sole heir to all his estate4  ,now1 from
 the time of this accident which befell 
,augustus in the fortieth year of his   
age1 he never had any conspiracy or     

attempt against him1 and so reaped the  
due reward of this his so generous      
clemency4  ,but it did not so happen    
with our prince1 his moderation and     
mercy not so securing him1 but that he  
afterwards fell into the toils of the   
like treason1--,the ,duc de ,guise was  
assassinated in #aefc by ,poltrot4--so  
vain and futile a thing is human        
prudence2 throughout all our projects1  
counsels and precautions1 ,fortune will 
still be mistress of events4  ,we repute
 physicians fortunate when they hit upon
 a lucky cure1 as if there was no other 
art but theirs that could not stand upon
 its own legs1 and whose foundations are
 too weak to support itself upon its own
 basis2 as if no other art stood in need
 of ,fortune's hand to help it4  ,for my
 part1 ,i think of physic as much good  
or ill as any one would have me3 for1   
thanks be to ,god1 we have no traffic   
together4  ,i am of a quite contrary    
humour to other men1 for ,i always      
despise it2 but when ,i am sick1 instead

 of recanting1 or entering into         
composition with it1 ,i begin1 moreover1
 to hate and fear it1 telling them who  
importune me to take physic1 that at all
 events they must give me time to       
recover my strength and health1 that ,i 
may be the better able to support and   
encounter the violence and danger of    
their potions4  ,i let nature work1     
supposing her to be sufficiently armed  
with teeth and claws to defend herself  
from the assaults of infirmity1 and to  
uphold that contexture1 the dissolution 
of which she flies and abhors4  ,i am   
afraid1 lest1 instead of assisting her  
when close grappled and struggling with 
disease1 ,i should assist her adversary1
 and burden her still more with work to 
do4  ,now1 ,i say1 that not in physic   
only1 but in other more certain arts1   
fortune has a very great part4  ,the    
poetic raptures1 the flights of fancy1  
that ravish and transport the author out
 of himself1 why should we not attribute
 them to his good fortune1 since he     

himself confesses that they exceed his  
sufficiency and force1 and acknowledges 
them to proceed from something else than
 himself1 and that he has them no more  
in his power than the orators say they  
have those extraordinary motions and    
agitations that sometimes push them     
beyond their design4  ,it is the same in
 painting1 where touches shall sometimes
 slip from the hand of the painter1 so  
surpassing both his conception and his  
art1 as to beget his own admiration and 
astonishment4 ,but ,fortune does yet    
more evidently manifest the share she   
has in all things of this kind1 by the  
graces and elegances we find in them1   
not only beyond the intention1 but even 
without the knowledge of the workman3 a 
competent reader often discovers in     
other men's writings other perfections  
than the author himself either intended 
or perceived1 a richer sense and more   
quaint expression4  ,as to military     
enterprises1 every one sees how great a 
hand ,fortune has in them4  ,even in our

 counsels and deliberations there must1 
certainly1 be something of chance and   
good-luck mixed with human prudence2 for
 all that our wisdom can do alone is no 
great matter2 the more piercing1 quick1 
and apprehensive it is1 the weaker it   
finds itself1 and is by so much more apt
 to mistrust itself4  ,i am of ,sylla's 
opinion2--,who freed his great deeds    
from envy by ever attributing them to   
his good fortune1 and finally by        
surnaming himself ,faustus1 the         
,lucky4--,plutarch1 ,how far a ,man may 
praise ,himself1 c4 #i4--;and when ,i   
closely examine the most glorious       
exploits of war1 ,i perceive1 methinks1 
that those who carry them on make use of
 counsel and debate only for custom's   
sake1 and leave the best part of the    
enterprise to ,fortune1 and relying upon
 her aid1 transgress1 at every turn1 the
 bounds of military conduct and the     
rules of war4  ,there happen1 sometimes1
 fortuitous alacrities and strange      
furies in their deliberations1 that for 

the most part prompt them to follow the 
worst grounded counsels1 and swell their
 courage beyond the limits of reason4   
,whence it happened that several of the 
great captains of old1 to justify those 
rash resolutions1 have been fain to tell
 their soldiers that they were invited  
to such attempts by some inspiration1   
some sign and prognostic4  ,wherefore1  
in this doubt and uncertainty1 that the 
shortsightedness of human wisdom to see 
and choose the best 7by reason of the   
difficulties that the various accidents 
and circumstances of things bring along 
with them7 perplexes us withal1 the     
surest way1 in my opinion1 did no other 
consideration invite us to it1 is to    
pitch upon that wherein is the greatest 
appearance of honesty and justice2 and  
not1 being certain of the shortest1 to  
keep the straightest and most direct    
way2 as in the two examples ,i have just
 given1 there is no question but it was 
more noble and generous in him who had  
received the offence1 to pardon it1 than

 to do otherwise4  ,if the former--,the 
,duc de ,guise4--miscarried in it1 he is
 not1 nevertheless1 to be blamed for his
 good intention2 neither does any one   
know if he had proceeded otherwise1     
whether by that means he had avoided the
 end his destiny had appointed for him2 
and he had1 moreover1 lost the glory of 
so humane an act4  ,you will read in    
history1 of many who have been in such  
apprehension1 that the most part have   
taken the course to meet and anticipate 
conspiracies against them by punishment 
and revenge2 but ,i find very few who   
have reaped any advantage by this       
proceeding2 witness so many ,roman      
emperors4  ,whoever finds himself in    
this danger1 ought not to expect much   
either from his vigilance or power2 for 
how hard a thing is it for a man to     
secure himself from an enemy1 who lies  
concealed under the countenance of the  
most assiduous friend we have1 and to   
discover and know the wills and inward  
thoughts of those who are in our        

personal service4  ',tis to much purpose
 to have a guard of foreigners about    
one1 and to be always fenced about with 
a pale of armed men2 whosoever despises 
his own life1 is always master of that  
of another man4--,seneca1 ,ep41         
#d4--;,and moreover1 this continual     
suspicion1 that makes a prince jealous  
of all the world1 must of necessity be a
 strange torment to him4  ,therefore it 
was1 that ,dion1 being advertised that  
,callippus watched all opportunities to 
take away his life1 had never the heart 
to inquire more particularly into it1   
saying1 that he had rather die than live
 in that misery1 that he must           
continually stand upon his guard1 not   
only against his enemies1 but his       
friends also2--,plutarch1               
,apothegms4--which ,alexander much more 
vividly and more roundly manifested in  
effect1 when1 having notice by a letter 
from ,parmenio1 that ,philip1 his most  
beloved physician1 was by ,darius' money
 corrupted to poison him1 at the same   

time he gave the letter to ,philip to   
read1 drank off the potion he had       
brought him4  ,was not this to express a
 resolution1 that if his friends had a  
mind to despatch him out of the world1  
he was willing to give them opportunity 
to do it8  ,this prince is1 indeed1 the 
sovereign pattern of hazardous actions2 
but ,i do not know whether there be     
another passage in his life wherein     
there is so much firm courage as in     
this1 nor so illustrious an image of the
 beauty and greatness of his mind4      
,those who preach to princes so         
circumspect and vigilant a jealousy and 
distrust1 under colour of security1     
preach to them ruin and dishonour3      
nothing noble can be performed without  
danger4  ,i know a person1 naturally of 
a very great daring and enterprising    
courage1 whose good fortune is          
continually marred by such persuasions1 
that he keep himself close surrounded by
 his friends1 that he must not hearken  
to any reconciliation with his ancient  

enemies1 that he must stand aloof1 and  
not trust his person in hands stronger  
than his own1 what promises or offers   
soever they may make him1 or what       
advantages soever he may see before him4
  ,and ,i know another1 who has         
unexpectedly advanced his fortunes by   
following a clear contrary advice4      
,courage1 the reputation and glory of   
which men seek with so greedy an        
appetite1 presents itself1 when need    
requires1 as magnificently in cuerpo1 as
 in full armour2 in a closet1 as in a   
camp2 with arms pendant1 as with arms   
raised4  ,this over-circumspect and wary
 prudence is a mortal enemy to all high 
and generous exploits4  ,scipio1 to     
sound ,syphax's intention1 leaving his  
army1 abandoning ,spain1 not yet secure 
nor well settled in his new conquest1   
could pass over into ,africa in two     
small ships1 to commit himself1 in an   
enemy's country1 to the power of a      
barbarian king1 to a faith untried and  
unknown1 without obligation1 without    

hostage1 under the sole security of the 
grandeur of his own courage1 his good   
fortune1 and the promise of his high    
hopes4-- ,livy1 xxviii4 #ag4            
,habita fides ipsam plerumque fidem     
obligat4            ,trust often obliges
 fidelity4--,livy1 xxii4 #bb4  ,in a    
life of ambition and glory1 it is       
necessary to hold a stiff rein upon     
suspicion3 fear and distrust invite and 
draw on offence4  ,the most mistrustful 
of our kings-- ,louis ,,xi4--established
 his affairs principally by voluntarily 
committing his life and liberty into his
 enemies' hands1 by that action         
manifesting that he had absolute        
confidence in them1 to the end they     
might repose as great an assurance in   
him4  ,caesar only opposed the authority
 of his countenance and the haughty     
sharpness of his rebukes to his mutinous
 legions in arms against him3           
,stetit aggere fulti                    
,cespitis1 intrepidus vultu3 meruitque  
timeri1                ,nil metuens4    

,he stood on a mound1 his countenance   
intrepid1 and merited to be      feared1
 he fearing nothing4--,lucan1 v4 #caf4  
,but it is true1 withal1 that this      
undaunted assurance is not to be        
represented in its simple and entire    
form1 but by such whom the apprehension 
of death1 and the worst that can happen1
 does not terrify and affright2 for to  
represent a pretended resolution with a 
pale and doubtful countenance and       
trembling limbs1 for the service of an  
important reconciliation1 will effect   
nothing to purpose4  ',tis an excellent 
way to gain the heart and will of       
another1 to submit and intrust one's    
self to him1 provided it appear to be   
freely done1 and without the constraint 
of necessity1 and in such a condition1  
that a man manifestly does it out of a  
pure and entire confidence in the party1
 at least1 with a countenance clear from
 any cloud of suspicion4  ,i saw1 when  
,i was a boy1 a gentleman1 who was      
governor of a great city1 upon occasion 

of a popular commotion and fury1 not    
knowing what other course to take1 go   
out of a place of very great strength   
and security1 and commit himself to the 
mercy of the seditious rabble1 in hopes 
by that means to appease the tumult     
before it grew to a more formidable     
head2 but it was ill for him that he did
 so1 for he was there miserably slain4  
,but ,i am not1 nevertheless1 of        
opinion1 that he committed so great an  
error in going out1 as men commonly     
reproach his memory withal1 as he did in
 choosing a gentle and submissive way   
for the effecting his purpose1 and in   
endeavouring to quiet this storm1 rather
 by obeying than commanding1 and by     
entreaty rather than remonstrance2 and  
,i am inclined to believe1 that a       
gracious severity1 with a soldierlike   
way of commanding1 full of security and 
confidence1 suitable to the quality of  
his person1 and the dignity of his      
command1 would have succeeded better    
with him2 at least1 he had perished with

 greater decency and1 reputation4       
,there is nothing so little to be       
expected or hoped for from this         
many-headed monster1 in its fury1 as    
humanity and good nature2 it is much    
more capable of reverence and fear4 ,i  
should also reproach him1 that having   
taken a resolution 7in my judgment      
rather brave than rash7 to expose       
himself1 weak and naked1 in this        
tempestuous sea of enraged madmen1 he   
ought to have stuck to his text1 and not
 for an instant to have abandoned the   
high part he had undertaken2 whereas1   
coming to discover his danger nearer    
hand1 and his nose happening to bleed1  
he again changed that demiss and fawning
 countenance he had at first put on1    
into another of fear and amazement1     
filling his voice with entreaties and   
his eyes with tears1 and1 endeavouring  
so to withdraw and secure his person1   
that carriage more inflamed their fury1 
and soon brought the effects of it upon 
him4  ,it was upon a time intended that 

there should be a general muster of     
several troops in arms 7and that is the 
most proper occasion of secret revenges1
 and there is no place where they can be
 executed with greater safety71 and     
there were public and manifest          
appearances1 that there was no safe     
coming for some1 whose principal and    
necessary office it was to review them4 
,whereupon a consultation was held1 and 
several counsels were proposed1 as in a 
case that was very nice and of great    
difficulty2 and moreover of grave       
consequence4  ,mine1 amongst the rest1  
was1 that they should by all means avoid
 giving any sign of suspicion1 but that 
the officers who were most in danger    
should boldly go1 and with cheerful and 
erect countenances ride boldly and      
confidently through the ranks1 and that 
instead of sparing fire 7which the      
counsels of the major part tended to7   
they should entreat the captains to     
command the soldiers to give round and  
full volleys in honour of the           

spectators1 and not to spare their      
powder4  ,this was accordingly done1 and
 served so good use1 as to please and   
gratify the suspected troops1 and       
thenceforward to beget a mutual and     
wholesome confidence and intelligence   
amongst them4  ,i look upon ,julius     
,caesar's way of winning men to him as  
the best and finest that can be put in  
practice4  ,first1 he tried by clemency 
to make himself beloved even by his very
 enemies1 contenting himself1 in        
detected conspiracies1 only publicly to 
declare1 that he was pre-acquainted with
 them2 which being done1 he took a noble
 resolution to await without solicitude 
or fear1 whatever might be the event1   
wholly resigning himself to the         
protection of the gods and fortune3 for1
 questionless1 in this state he was at  
the time when he was killed4  ,a        
stranger having publicly said1 that he  
could teach ,dionysius1 the tyrant of   
,syracuse1 an infallible way to find out
 and discover all the conspiracies his  

subjects could contrive against him1 if 
he would give him a good sum of money   
for his pains1 ,dionysius hearing of it1
 caused the man to be brought to him1   
that he might learn an art so necessary 
to his preservation4  ,the man made     
answer1 that all the art he knew1 was1  
that he should give him a talent1 and   
afterwards boast that he had obtained a 
singular secret from him4  ,dionysius   
liked the invention1 and accordingly    
caused six hundred crowns to be counted 
out to him4 --,plutarch1                
,apothegms4--,it was not likely he      
should give so great a sum to a person  
unknown1 but upon the account of some   
extraordinary discovery1 and the belief 
of this served to keep his enemies in   
awe4 ,princes1 however1 do wisely to    
publish the informations they receive of
 all the practices against their lives1 
to possess men with an opinion they have
 so good intelligence that nothing can  
be plotted against them1 but they have  
present notice of it4  ,the ,duke of    

,athens did a great many foolish things 
in the establishment of his new tyranny 
over ,florence3 but this especially was 
most notable1 that having received the  
first intimation of the conspiracies the
 people were hatching against him1 from 
,matteo di ,morozzo1 one of the         
conspirators1 he presently put him to   
death1 to suppress that rumour1 that it 
might not be thought any of the city    
disliked his government4  ,i remember ,i
 have formerly read a story--,in        
,appian's ,civil ,wars1 book iv44--of   
some ,roman of great quality who1 flying
 the tyranny of the ,triumvirate1 had a 
thousand times by the subtlety of as    
many inventions escaped from falling    
into the hands of those that pursued    
him4  ,it happened one day that a troop 
of horse1 which was sent out to take    
him1 passed close by a brake where he   
was squat1 and missed very narrowly of  
spying him3 but he considering1 at this 
point1 the pains and difficulties       
wherein he had so long continued to     

evade the strict and incessant searches 
that were every day made for him1 the   
little pleasure he could hope for in    
such a kind of life1 and how much better
 it was for him to die once for all1    
than to be perpetually at this pass1 he 
started from his seat1 called them back1
 showed them his form1--as of a         
squatting hare4--and voluntarily        
delivered himself up to their cruelty1  
by that means to free both himself and  
them from further trouble4  ,to invite a
 man's enemies to come and cut his      
throat1 seems a resolution a little     
extravagant and odd2 and yet ,i think he
 did better to take that course1 than to
 live in continual feverish fear of an  
accident for which there was no cure4   
,but seeing all the remedies a man can  
apply to such a disease1 are full of    
unquietness and uncertainty1 'tis better
 with a manly courage to prepare one's  
self for the worst that can happen1 and 
to extract some consolation from this1  
that we are not certain the thing we    

fear will ever come to pass4            
,,chapter ,,xxiv  ,,of ,,pedantry  ,i   
was often1 when a boy1 wonderfully      
concerned to see1 in the ,italian       
farces1 a pedant always brought in for  
the fool of the play1 and that the title
 of ,magister was in no greater         
reverence amongst us3 for being         
delivered up to their tuition1 what     
could ,i do less than be jealous of     
their honour and reputation8  ,i sought 
indeed to excuse them by the natural    
incompatibility betwixt the vulgar sort 
and men of a finer thread1 both in      
judgment and knowledge1 forasmuch as    
they go a quite contrary way to one     
another3 but in this1 the thing ,i most 
stumbled at was1 that the finest        
gentlemen were those who most despised  
them2 witness our famous poet ,du       
,bellay--            ,mais je hay par   
sur tout un scavoir pedantesque4        
,of all things ,i hate pedantic         
learning4--,du ,bellay  ,and 'twas so in
 former times2 for ,plutarch says that  

,greek and ,scholar were terms of       
reproach and contempt amongst the       
,romans4  ,but since1 with the better   
experience of age1 ,i find they had very
 great reason so to do1 and that--      
,magis magnos clericos non sunt magis   
magnos sapientes4       ,the greatest   
clerks are not the wisest men4  ,a      
proverb given in      ,rabelais'        
,gargantua1 i4 #ci4  ,but whence it     
should come to pass1 that a mind        
enriched with the knowledge of so many  
things should not become more quick and 
sprightly1 and that a gross and vulgar  
understanding should lodge within it1   
without correcting and improving itself1
 all the discourses and judgments of the
 greatest minds the world ever had1 ,i  
am yet to seek4  ,to admit so many      
foreign conceptions1 so great1 and so   
high fancies1 it is necessary 7as a     
young lady1 one of the greatest         
princesses of the kingdom1 said to me   
once1 speaking of a certain person7 that
 a man's own brain must be crowded and  

squeezed together into a less compass1  
to make room for the others2 ,i should  
be apt to conclude1 that as plants are  
suffocated and drowned with too much    
nourishment1 and lamps with too much    
oil1 so with too much study and matter  
is the active part of the understanding 
which1 being embarrassed1 and confounded
 with a great diversity of things1 loses
 the force and power to disengage       
itself1 and by the pressure of this     
weight1 is bowed1 subjected1 and doubled
 up4  ,but it is quite otherwise2 for   
our soul stretches and dilates itself   
proportionably as it fills2 and in the  
examples of elder times1 we see1 quite  
contrary1 men very proper for public    
business1 great captains1 and great     
statesmen very learned withal4  ,and1 as
 to the philosophers1 a sort of men     
remote from all public affairs1 they    
have been sometimes also despised by the
 comic liberty of their times2 their    
opinions and manners making them appear1
 to men of another sort1 ridiculous4    

,would you make them judges of a        
lawsuit1 of the actions of men8 they are
 ready to take it upon them1 and        
straight begin to examine if there be   
life1 if there be motion1 if man be any 
other than an ox2--,if ,montaigne has   
copied all this from ,plato's           
,theatetes1 p4#abg1 ,f4  as it is plain 
by all which he has added immediately   
after1 that he has taken it from that   
dialogue1 he has grossly mistaken       
,plato's sentiment1 who says here no    
more than this1 that the philosopher is 
so ignorant of what his neighbour does1 
that he scarce knows whether he is a    
man1 or some other                      
animal3--,coste4--what it is to do and  
to suffer8  what animals law and justice
 are8  ,do they speak of the            
magistrates1 or to him1 'tis with a     
rude1 irreverent1 and indecent liberty4 
,do they hear their prince1 or a king   
commended8  they make no more of him1   
than of a shepherd1 goatherd1 or        
neatherd3 a lazy ,coridon1 occupied in  

milking and shearing his herds and      
flocks1 but more rudely and harshly than
 the herd or shepherd himself4  ,do you 
repute any man the greater for being    
lord of two thousand acres of land8 they
 laugh at such a pitiful pittance1 as   
laying claim themselves to the whole    
world for their possession4  ,do you    
boast of your nobility1 as being        
descended from seven rich successive    
ancestors8 they look upon you with an   
eye of contempt1 as men who have not a  
right idea of the universal image of    
nature1 and that do not consider how    
many predecessors every one of us has   
had1 rich1 poor1 kings1 slaves1 ,greeks1
 and barbarians2 and though you were the
 fiftieth descendant from ,hercules1    
they look upon it as a great vanity1 so 
highly to value this1 which is only a   
gift of fortune4 ,and 'twas so the      
vulgar sort contemned them1 as men      
ignorant of the most elementary and     
ordinary things2 as presumptuous and    
insolent4  ,but this ,platonic picture  

is far different from that these pedants
 are presented by4  ,those were envied  
for raising themselves above the common 
sort1 for despising the ordinary actions
 and offices of life1 for having assumed
 a particular and inimitable way of     
living1 and for using a certain method  
of high-flight and obsolete language1   
quite different from the ordinary way of
 speaking3 but these are contemned as   
being as much below the usual form1 as  
incapable of public employment1 as      
leading a life and conforming themselves
 to the mean and vile manners of the    
vulgar3            ,odi ignava opera1   
philosopha sententia4       ,i hate men 
who jabber about philosophy1 but do     
nothing4      --,pacuvius1 ap ,gellium1 
xiii4 #h4   ,for what concerns the      
philosophers1 as ,i have said1 if they  
were in science1 they were yet much     
greater in action4  ,and1 as it is said 
of the geometrician of                  
,syracuse1--,archimedes4--who having    
been disturbed from his contemplation1  

to put some of his skill in practice for
 the defence of his country1 that he    
suddenly set on foot dreadful and       
prodigious engines1 that wrought effects
 beyond all human expectation2 himself1 
notwithstanding1 disdaining all his     
handiwork1 and thinking in this he had  
played the mere mechanic1 and violated  
the dignity of his art1 of which these  
performances of his he accounted but    
trivial experiments and playthings so   
they1 whenever they have been put upon  
the proof of action1 have been seen to  
fly to so high a pitch1 as made it very 
well appear1 their souls were           
marvellously elevated1 and enriched by  
the knowledge of things4  ,but some of  
them1 seeing the reins of government in 
the hands of incapable men1 have avoided
 all management of political affairs2   
and he who demanded of ,crates1 how long
 it was necessary to philosophise1      
received this answer3 ,till our armies  
are no more commanded by fools4         
--,diogenes ,laertius1 vi4              

#ib4--;,heraclitus resigned the royalty 
to his brother2 and1 to the ,ephesians1 
who reproached him that he spent his    
time in playing with children before the
 temple3 ,is it not better1 said he1 to 
do so1 than to sit at the helm of       
affairs in your company8  ,others having
 their imagination advanced above the   
world and fortune1 have looked upon the 
tribunals of justice1 and even the      
thrones of kings1 as paltry and         
contemptible2 insomuch1 that ,empedocles
 refused the royalty that the           
,agrigentines offered to him4  ,thales1 
once inveighing in discourse against the
 pains and care men put themselves to to
 become rich1 was answered by one in the
 company1 that he did like the fox1 who 
found fault with what he could not      
obtain4  ,whereupon1 he had a mind1 for 
the jest's sake1 to show them to the    
contrary2 and having1 for this occasion1
 made a muster of all his wits1 wholly  
to employ them in the service of profit 
and gain1 he set a traffic on foot1     

which in one year brought him in so     
great riches1 that the most experienced 
in that trade could hardly in their     
whole lives1 with all their industry1   
have raked so much together4--,diogenes 
,laertius1 ,life of ,thales1 i4  #bf2   
,cicero1 ,de ,divin41 i4  #di4--,that   
which ,aristotle reports of some who    
called both him and ,anaxagoras1 and    
others of their profession1 wise but not
 prudent1 in not applying their study to
 more profitable things--though ,i do   
not well digest this verbal             
distinction--that will not1 however1    
serve to excuse my pedants1 for to see  
the low and necessitous fortune         
wherewith they are content1 we have     
rather reason to pronounce that they are
 neither wise nor prudent4  ,but letting
 this first reason alone1 ,i think it   
better to say1 that this evil proceeds  
from their applying themselves the wrong
 way to the study of the sciences2 and  
that1 after the manner we are           
instructed1 it is no wonder if neither  

the scholars nor the masters become1    
though more learned1 ever the wiser1 or 
more able4  ,in plain truth1 the cares  
and expense our parents are at in our   
education1 point at nothing1 but to     
furnish our heads with knowledge2 but   
not a word of judgment and virtue4 ,cry 
out1 of one that passes by1 to the      
people3 ,o1 what a learned man6 and of  
another1 ,o1 what a good                
man6--,translated from ,seneca1 ,ep41   
#hh4--they will not fail to turn their  
eyes1 and address their respect to the  
former4  ,there should then be a third  
crier1 ,o1 the blockheads6 ,men are apt 
presently to inquire1 does such a one   
understand ,greek or ,latin8  ,is he a  
poet8  or does he write in prose8  ,but 
whether he be grown better or more      
discreet1 which are qualities of        
principal concern1 these are never      
thought of4  ,we should rather examine1 
who is better learned1 than who is more 
learned4  ,we only labour to stuff the  
memory1 and leave the conscience and the

 understanding unfurnished and void4    
,like birds who fly abroad to forage for
 grain1 and bring it home in the beak1  
without tasting it themselves1 to feed  
their young2 so our pedants go picking  
knowledge here and there1 out of books1 
and hold it at the tongue's end1 only to
 spit it out and distribute it abroad4  
,and here ,i cannot but smile to think  
how ,i have paid myself in showing the  
foppery of this kind of learning1 who   
myself am so manifest an example2 for1  
do ,i not the same thing throughout     
almost this whole composition8  ,i go   
here and there1 culling out of several  
books the sentences that best please me1
 not to keep them 7for ,i have no memory
 to retain them in71 but to transplant  
them into this2 where1 to say the truth1
 they are no more mine than in their    
first places4  ,we are1 ,i conceive1    
knowing only in present knowledge1 and  
not at all in what is past1 or more than
 is that which is to come4  ,but the    
worst on't is1 their scholars and pupils

 are no better nourished by this kind of
 inspiration2 and it makes no deeper    
impression upon them1 but passes from   
hand to hand1 only to make a show to be 
tolerable company1 and to tell pretty   
stories1 like a counterfeit coin in     
counters1 of no other use or value1 but 
to reckon with1 or to set up at cards3  
,apud alios loqui didicerunt non ipsi   
secum4       ,they have learned to speak
 from others1 not from themselves4      
--,cicero1 ,tusc4 ,quaes1 v4 #cf4       
,non est loquendum1 sed gubernandum4    
,speaking is not so necessary as        
governing4--,seneca1 ,ep41 #ajh4        
,nature1 to shew that there is nothing  
barbarous where she has the sole        
conduct1 oftentimes1 in nations where   
art has the least to do1 causes         
productions of wit1 such as may rival   
the greatest effect of art whatever4    
,in relation to what ,i am now speaking 
of1 the ,gascon proverb1 derived from a 
cornpipe1 is very quaint and subtle3    
,bouha prou bouha1 mas a remuda lous    

dits quem4       ,you may blow till your
 eyes start out2 but if once you offer  
to      stir your fingers1 it is all    
over4  ,we can say1 ,cicero says thus2  
these were the manners of ,plato2 these 
are the very words of ,aristotle3 but   
what do we say ourselves8  ,what do we  
judge8  ,a parrot would say as much as  
that4  ,and this puts me in mind of that
 rich gentleman of ,rome1--,calvisius   
,sabinus4  ,seneca1 ,ep41 #bg4--who had 
been solicitous1 with very great        
expense1 to procure men that were       
excellent in all sorts of science1 whom 
he had always attending his person1 to  
the end1 that when amongst his friends  
any occasion fell out of speaking of any
 subject whatsoever1 they might supply  
his place1 and be ready to prompt him1  
one with a sentence of ,seneca1 another 
with a verse of ,homer1 and so forth1   
every one according to his talent2 and  
he fancied this knowledge to be his own1
 because it was in the heads of those   
who lived upon his bounty2 as they also 

do1 whose learning consists in having   
noble libraries4  ,i know one1 who1 when
 ,i question him what he knows1 he      
presently calls for a book to shew me1  
and dares not venture to tell me so     
much1 as that he has piles in his       
posteriors1 till first he has consulted 
his dictionary1 what piles and what     
posteriors are4  ,we take other men's   
knowledge and opinions upon trust2 which
 is an idle and superficial learning4   
,we must make it our own4  ,we are in   
this very like him1 who having need of  
fire1 went to a neighbour's house to    
fetch it1 and finding a very good one   
there1 sat down to warm himself without 
remembering to carry any with him       
home4--,plutarch1 ,how a ,man should    
,listen4--,what good does it do us to   
have the stomach full of meat1 if it do 
not digest1 if it be not incorporated   
with us1 if it does not nourish and     
support us8  ,can we imagine that       
,lucullus1 whom letters1 without any    
manner of experience1 made so great a   

captain1 learned to be so after this    
perfunctory manner8--,cicero1 ,acad41   
ii4 ,i4--,we suffer ourselves to lean   
and rely so strongly upon the arm of    
another1 that we destroy our own        
strength and vigour4  ,would ,i fortify 
myself against the fear of death1 it    
must be at the expense of ,seneca3 would
 ,i extract consolation for myself or my
 friend1 ,i borrow it from ,cicero4  ,i 
might have found it in myself1 had ,i   
been trained to make use of my own      
reason4 ,i do not like this relative and
 mendicant understanding2 for though we 
could become learned by other men's     
learning1 a man can never be wise but by
 his own wisdom3       ,i hate the wise 
man1 who in his own concern is not wise4
      --,euripides1 ap4 ,cicero1 ,ep4   
,fam41 xiii4 #ae4  ,whence ,ennius3     
,nequidquam sapere sapientem1 qui ipse  
sibi prodesse non quiret4       ,that   
wise man knows nothing1 who cannot      
profit himself by his                   
wisdom4--,cicero1 ,de ,offic41 iii4 #ae4

                                ,si     
cupidus1 si                ,vanus1 et   
,euganea quantumvis mollior agna4       
,if he be grasping1 or a boaster1 and   
something softer than an      ,euganean 
lamb4--,juvenal1 ,sat41 viii4 #ad4      
,non enim paranda nobis solum1 sed      
fruenda sapientia est4       ,for wisdom
 is not only to be acquired1 but to be  
utilised4      --,cicero1 ,de ,finib41  
i4 ,i4  ,dionysius--,it was not         
,dionysius1 but ,diogenes the cynic4    
,diogenes ,laertius1 vi4 #bg4--laughed  
at the grammarians1 who set themselves  
to inquire into the miseries of         
,ulysses1 and were ignorant of their    
own2 at musicians1 who were so exact in 
tuning their instruments1 and never     
tuned their manners2 at orators1 who    
made it a study to declare what is      
justice1 but never took care to do it4  
,if the mind be not better disposed1 if 
the judgment be no better settled1 ,i   
had much rather my scholar had spent his
 time at tennis1 for1 at least1 his body

 would by that means be in better       
exercise and breath4  ,do but observe   
him when he comes back from school1     
after fifteen or sixteen years that he  
has been there2 there is nothing so     
unfit for employment2 all you shall find
 he has got1 is1 that his ,latin and    
,greek have only made him a greater     
coxcomb than when he went from home4    
,he should bring back his soul replete  
with good literature1 and he brings it  
only swelled and puffed up with vain and
 empty shreds and patches of learning2  
and has really nothing more in him than 
he had before4--,plato's ,dialogues3    
,protagoras4  ,these pedants of ours1 as
 ,plato says of the ,sophists1 their    
cousin-germans1 are1 of all men1 they   
who most pretend to be useful to        
mankind1 and who alone1 of all men1 not 
only do not better and improve that     
which is committed to them1 as a        
carpenter or a mason would do1 but make 
them much worse1 and make us pay them   
for making them worse1 to boot4  ,if the

 rule which ,protagoras proposed to his 
pupils were followed --either that they 
should give him his own demand1 or make 
affidavit upon oath in the temple how   
much they valued the profit they had    
received under his tuition1 and satisfy 
him accordingly--my pedagogues would    
find themselves sorely gravelled1 if    
they were to be judged by the affidavits
 of my experience4  ,my ,perigordin     
patois very pleasantly calls these      
pretenders to learning1 'lettre-ferits'1
 as a man should say1 letter-marked--men
 on whom letters have been stamped by   
the blow of a mallet4 ,and1 in truth1   
for the most part1 they appear to be    
deprived even of common sense2 for you  
see the husbandman and the cobbler go   
simply and fairly about their business1 
speaking only of what they know and     
understand2 whereas these fellows1 to   
make parade and to get opinion1         
mustering this ridiculous knowledge of  
theirs1 that floats on the superficies  
of the brain1 are perpetually           

perplexing1 and entangling themselves in
 their own nonsense4 ,they speak fine   
words sometimes1 'tis true1 but let     
somebody that is wiser apply them4      
,they are wonderfully well acquainted   
with ,galen1 but not at all with the    
disease of the patient2 they have       
already deafened you with a long        
ribble-row of laws1 but understand      
nothing of the case in hand2 they have  
the theory of all things1 let who will  
put it in practice4  ,i have sat by1    
when a friend of mine1 in my own house1 
for sport-sake1 has with one of these   
fellows counterfeited a jargon of       
,galimatias1 patched up of phrases      
without head or tail1 saving that he    
interlarded here and there some terms   
that had relation to their dispute1 and 
held the coxcomb in play a whole        
afternoon together1 who all the while   
thought he had answered pertinently and 
learnedly to all his objections2 and yet
 this was a man of letters1 and         
reputation1 and a fine gentleman of the 

long robe3           ,vos1 ,o patricius 
sanguis1 quos vivere par est            
,occipiti caeco1 posticae occurrite     
sannae4       ,o you1 of patrician      
blood1 to whom it is permitted to live  
with7out7 eyes in the back of your head1
 beware of grimaces at you      from    
behind4--,persius1 ,sat41 i4 #fa4       
,whosoever shall narrowly pry into and  
thoroughly sift this sort of people1    
wherewith the world is so pestered1     
will1 as ,i have done1 find1 that for   
the most part1 they neither understand  
others1 nor themselves2 and that their  
memories are full enough1 but the       
judgment totally void and empty2 some   
excepted1 whose own nature has of itself
 formed them into better fashion4  ,as  
,i have observed1 for example1 in       
,adrian ,turnebus1 who having never made
 other profession than that of mere     
learning only1 and in that1 in my       
opinion1 he was the greatest man that   
has been these thousand years1 had      
nothing at all in him of the pedant1 but

 the wearing of his gown1 and a little  
exterior fashion1 that could not be     
civilised to courtier ways1 which in    
themselves are nothing4  ,i hate our    
people1 who can worse endure an         
ill-contrived robe than an ill-contrived
 mind1 and take their measure by the leg
 a man makes1 by his behaviour1 and so  
much as the very fashion of his boots1  
what kind of man he is4  ,for within    
there was not a more polished soul upon 
earth4  ,i have often purposely put him 
upon arguments quite wide of his        
profession1 wherein ,i found he had so  
clear an insight1 so quick an           
apprehension1 so solid a judgment1 that 
a man would have thought he had never   
practised any other thing but arms1 and 
been all his life employed in affairs of
 ,state4 ,these are great and vigorous  
natures1                                
,queis arte benigna           ,et       
meliore luto finxit praecordia ,titan4  
,whom benign ,titan 7,prometheus7 has   
framed of better clay4      --,juvenal1 

xiv4 #cd4  that can keep themselves     
upright in despite of a pedantic        
education4  ,but it is not enough that  
our education does not spoil us2 it     
must1 moreover1 alter us for the better4
  ,some of our ,parliaments1 when they  
are to admit officers1 examine only     
their learning2 to which some of the    
others also add the trial of            
understanding1 by asking their judgment 
of some case in law2 of these the       
latter1 methinks1 proceed with the      
better method2 for although both are    
necessary1 and that it is very requisite
 they should be defective in neither1   
yet1 in truth1 knowledge is not so      
absolutely necessary as judgment2 the   
last may make shift without the other1  
but the other never without this4  ,for 
as the ,greek verse says--       ,to    
what use serves learning1 if            
understanding be away4      --,apud     
,stobaeus1 tit4 iii41 p4 #cg 7#afji74   
,would to ,god that1 for the good of our
 judicature1 these societies were as    

well furnished with understanding and   
conscience as they are with knowledge4  
,non vita1 sed scolae discimus4         
,we do not study for life1 but only for 
the school4      --,seneca1 ,ep41 #ajf4 
,we are not to tie learning to the soul1
 but to work and incorporate them       
together3 not to tincture it only1 but  
to give it a thorough and perfect dye2  
which1 if it will not take colour1 and  
meliorate its imperfect state1 it were  
without question better to let it alone4
  ',tis a dangerous weapon1 that will   
hinder and wound its master1 if put into
 an awkward and unskilful hand3         
,ut fuerit melius non didicisse4        
,so that it were better not to have     
learned4           --,cicero1 ,tusc4    
,quaes41 ii4 #d4  ,and this1            
peradventure1 is the reason why neither 
we nor theology require much learning in
 women2 and that ,francis1 ,duke of     
,brittany1 son of ,john ,v41 one talking
 with him about his marriage with       
,isabella the daughter of ,scotland1 and

 adding that she was homely bred1 and   
without any manner of learning1 made    
answer1 that he liked her the better1   
and that a woman was wise enough1 if she
 could distinguish her husband's shirt  
from his doublet4  ,so that it is no so 
great wonder1 as they make of it1 that  
our ancestors had letters in no greater 
esteem1 and that even to this day they  
are but rarely met with in the principal
 councils of princes2 and if the end and
 design of acquiring riches1 which is   
the only thing we propose to ourselves1 
by the means of law1 physic1 pedantry1  
and even divinity itself1 did not uphold
 and keep them in credit1 you would1    
with doubt1 see them in as pitiful a    
condition as ever4  ,and what loss would
 this be1 if they neither instruct us to
 think well nor to do well8             
,postquam docti prodierunt1 boni desunt4
       ,seneca1 ,ep41 #ie4  ,since the  
'savans' have made their appearance     
among us1 the good people have become   
eclipsed4      --,rousseau1 ,discours   

sur les ,lettres4  ,all other knowledge 
is hurtful to him who has not the       
science of goodness4  ,but the reason ,i
 glanced upon but now1 may it not also  
hence proceed1 that1 our studies in     
,france having almost no other aim but  
profit1 except as to those who1 by      
nature born to offices and employments  
rather of glory than gain1 addict       
themselves to letters1 if at all1 only  
for so short a time 7being taken from   
their studies before they can come to   
have any taste of them1 to a profession 
that has nothing to do with books71     
there ordinarily remain no others to    
apply themselves wholly to learning1 but
 people of mean condition1 who in that  
only seek the means to live2 and by such
 people1 whose souls are1 both by nature
 and by domestic education and example1 
of the basest alloy the fruits of       
knowledge are immaturely gathered and   
ill digested1 and delivered to their    
recipients quite another thing4  ,for it
 is not for knowledge to enlighten a    

soul that is dark of itself1 nor to make
 a blind man see4  ,her business is not 
to find a man's eyes1 but to guide1     
govern1 and direct them1 provided he    
have sound feet and straight legs to go 
upon4  ,knowledge is an excellent drug1 
but no drug has virtue enough to        
preserve itself from corruption and     
decay1 if the vessel be tainted and     
impure wherein it is put to keep4 ,such 
a one may have a sight clear enough who 
looks asquint1 and consequently sees    
what is good1 but does not follow it1   
and sees knowledge1 but makes no use of 
it4  ,plato's principal institution in  
his ,republic is to fit his citizens    
with employments suitable to their      
nature4  ,nature can do all1 and does   
all4  ,cripples are very unfit for      
exercises of the body1 and lame souls   
for exercises of the mind4 ,degenerate  
and vulgar souls are unworthy of        
philosophy4  ,if we see a shoemaker with
 his shoes out at the toes1 we say1 'tis
 no wonder2 for1 commonly1 none go worse

 shod than they4  ,in like manner1      
experience often presents us a physician
 worse physicked1 a divine less         
reformed1 and 7constantly7 a scholar of 
less sufficiency1 than other people4    
,old ,aristo of ,chios had reason to say
 that philosophers did their auditors   
harm1 forasmuch as most of the souls of 
those that heard them were not capable  
of deriving benefit from instruction1   
which1 if not applied to good1 would    
certainly be applied to ill3       ,they
 proceeded effeminate debauchees from   
the school of      ,aristippus1 cynics  
from that of ,zeno4      --,cicero1 ,de 
,natura ,deor41 iii41 #ca4  ,in that    
excellent institution that ,xenophon    
attributes to the ,persians1 we find    
that they taught their children virtue1 
as other nations do letters4  ,plato    
tells us that the eldest son in their   
royal succession was thus brought up2   
after his birth he was delivered1 not to
 women1 but to eunuchs of the greatest  
authority about their kings for their   

virtue1 whose charge it was to keep his 
body healthful and in good plight2 and  
after he came to seven years of age1 to 
teach him to ride and to go a-hunting4  
,when he arrived at fourteen he was     
transferred into the hands of four1 the 
wisest1 the most just1 the most         
temperate1 and most valiant of the      
nation2 of whom the first was to        
instruct him in religion1 the second to 
be always upright and sincere1 the third
 to conquer his appetites and desires1  
and the fourth to despise all danger4   
,it is a thing worthy of very great     
consideration1 that in that excellent1  
and1 in truth1 for its perfection1      
prodigious form of civil regimen set    
down by ,lycurgus1 though so solicitous 
of the education of children1 as a thing
 of the greatest concern1 and even in   
the very seat of the ,muses1 he should  
make so little mention of learning2 as  
if that generous youth1 disdaining all  
other subjection but that of virtue1    
ought to be supplied1 instead of tutors 

to read to them arts and sciences1 with 
such masters as should only instruct    
them in valour1 prudence1 and justice2  
an example that ,plato has followed in  
his laws4  ,the manner of their         
discipline was to propound to them      
questions in judgment upon men and their
 actions2 and if they commended or      
condemned this or that person or fact1  
they were to give a reason for so doing2
 by which means they at once sharpened  
their understanding1 and learned what   
was right4 ,astyages1 in ,xenophon1 asks
 ,cyrus to give an account of his last  
lesson2 and thus it was1 ,a great boy in
 our school1 having a little short      
cassock1 by force took a longer from    
another that was not so tall as he1 and 
gave him his own in exchange3 whereupon 
,i1 being appointed judge of the        
controversy1 gave judgment1 that ,i     
thought it best each should keep the    
coat he had1 for that they both of them 
were better fitted with that of one     
another than with their own3 upon which 

my master told me1 ,i had done ill1 in  
that ,i had only considered the fitness 
of the garments1 whereas ,i ought to    
have considered the justice of the      
thing1 which required that no one should
 have anything forcibly taken from him  
that is his own4  ,and ,cyrus adds that 
he was whipped for his pains1 as we are 
in our villages for forgetting the first
 aorist of------4       ,cotton's       
version of this story commences         
differently1 and includes      a passage
 which is not in any of the editions of 
the original before      me3            
,mandane1 in ,xenophon1 asking ,cyrus   
how he would do to learn      justice1  
and the other virtues amongst the       
,medes1 having left all      his masters
 behind him in ,persia8  ,he made       
answer1 that he had      learned those  
things long since2 that his master had  
often made him      a judge of the      
differences amongst his schoolfellows1  
and had one      day whipped him for    
giving a wrong sentence4--,w4,c4,h4  ,my

 pedant must make me a very learned     
oration1 'in genere demonstrativo'1     
before he can persuade me that his      
school is like unto that4  ,they knew   
how to go the readiest way to work2 and 
seeing that science1 when most rightly  
applied and best understood1 can do no  
more but teach us prudence1 moral       
honesty1 and resolution1 they thought   
fit1 at first hand1 to initiate their   
children with the knowledge of effects1 
and to instruct them1 not by hearsay and
 rote1 but by the experiment of action1 
in lively forming and moulding them2 not
 only by words and precepts1 but chiefly
 by works and examples2 to the end it   
might not be a knowledge in the mind    
only1 but its complexion and habit3 not 
an acquisition1 but a natural           
possession4  ,one asking to this        
purpose1 ,agesilaus1 what he thought    
most proper for boys to learn8  ,what   
they ought to do when they come to be   
men1 said he4--,plutarch1 ,apothegms of 
the ,lacedamonians4  ,rousseau adopts   

the expression in his ,diswuys sur tes  
,lettres4--,it is no wonder1 if such an 
institution produced so admirable       
effects4  ,they used to go1 it is said1 
to the other cities of ,greece1 to      
inquire out rhetoricians1 painters1 and 
musicians2 but to ,lacedaemon for       
legislators1 magistrates1 and generals  
of armies2 at ,athens they learned to   
speak well3 here to do well2 there to   
disengage themselves from a sophistical 
argument1 and to unravel the imposture  
of captious syllogisms2 here to evade   
the baits and allurements of pleasure1  
and with a noble courage and resolution 
to conquer the menaces of fortune and   
death2 those cudgelled their brains     
about words1 these made it their        
business to inquire into things2 there  
was an eternal babble of the tongue1    
here a continual exercise of the soul4  
,and therefore it is nothing strange if1
 when ,antipater demanded of them fifty 
children for hostages1 they made answer1
 quite contrary to what we should do1   

that they would rather give him twice as
 many full-grown men1 so much did they  
value the loss of their country's       
education4  ,when ,agesilaus courted    
,xenophon to send his children to       
,sparta to be bred1 it is not1 said he1 
there to learn logic or rhetoric1 but to
 be instructed in the noblest of all    
sciences1 namely1 the science to obey   
and to command4--,plutarch1 ,life of    
,agesilaus1 c4 #g4  ,it is very pleasant
 to see ,socrates1 after his manner1    
rallying ,hippias1 --,plato's           
,dialogues3 ,hippias ,major4--who       
recounts to him what a world of money he
 has got1 especially in certain little  
villages of ,sicily1 by teaching school1
 and that he made never a penny at      
,sparta3 ,what a sottish and stupid     
people1 said ,socrates1 are they1       
without sense or understanding1 that    
make no account either of grammar or    
poetry1 and only busy themselves in     
studying the genealogies and successions
 of their kings1 the foundations1 rises1

 and declensions of states1 and such    
tales of a tub6  ,after which1 having   
made ,hippias from one step to another  
acknowledge the excellency of their form
 of public administration1 and the      
felicity and virtue of their private    
life1 he leaves him to guess at the     
conclusion he makes of the inutilities  
of his pedantic arts4  ,examples have   
demonstrated to us that in military     
affairs1 and all others of the like     
active nature1 the study of sciences    
more softens and untempers the courages 
of men than it in any way fortifies and 
excites them4  ,the most potent empire  
that at this day appears to be in the   
whole world is that of the ,turks1 a    
people equally inured to the estimation 
of arms and the contempt of letters4  ,i
 find ,rome was more valiant before she 
grew so learned4  ,the most warlike     
nations at this time in being are the   
most rude and ignorant3 the ,scythians1 
the ,parthians1 ,tamerlane1 serve for   
sufficient proof of this4  ,when the    

,goths overran ,greece1 the only thing  
that preserved all the libraries from   
the fire was1 that some one possessed   
them with an opinion that they were to  
leave this kind of furniture entire to  
the enemy1 as being most proper to      
divert them from the exercise of arms1  
and to fix them to a lazy and sedentary 
life4 ,when our ,king ,charles ,,viii41 
almost without striking a blow1 saw     
himself possessed of the kingdom of     
,naples and a considerable part of      
,tuscany1 the nobles about him          
attributed this unexpected facility of  
conquest to this1 that the princes and  
nobles of ,italy1 more studied to render
 themselves ingenious and learned1 than 
vigorous and warlike4          ,,etext  
,,editor',s ,,bookmarks3       ,a parrot
 would say as much as that              
,agesilaus1 what he thought most proper 
for boys to learn8      ,but it is not  
enough that our education does not spoil
 us      ,conscience1 which we pretend  
to be derived from nature      ,culling 

out of several books the sentences that 
best please me      ,custom1 replied    
,plato1 is no little thing              
,education      ,examine1 who is better 
learned1 than who is more learned       
,fear and distrust invite and draw on   
offence      ,fortune will still be     
mistress of events      ,fox1 who found 
fault with what he could not obtain     
,fruits of public commotion are seldom  
enjoyed      ,gave them new and more    
plausible names for their excuse        
,give me time to recover my strength and
 health      ,great presumption to be so
 fond of one's own opinions      ,gross 
impostures of religions      ,hoary head
 and rivelled face of ancient usage     
,hold a stiff rein upon suspicion       
,i have a great aversion from a novelty 
,knowledge is not so absolutely         
necessary as judgment      ,laws do what
 they can1 when they cannot do what they
 would      ,man can never be wise but  
by his own wisdom      ,memories are    
full enough1 but the judgment totally   

void      ,miracles appear to be so1    
according to our ignorance of nature    
,nothing noble can be performed without 
danger      ,only set the humours they  
would purge more violently in work      
,ought not to expect much either from   
his vigilance or power      ,ought to   
withdraw and retire his soul from the   
crowd      ,over-circumspect and wary   
prudence is a mortal enemy      ,physic 
,physician worse physicked      ,plays  
of children are not performed in play   
,present himself with a halter about his
 neck to the people      ,rome was more 
valiant before she grew so learned      
,study to declare what is justice1 but  
never took care to do it4               
,testimony of the truth from minds      
prepossessed by custom8      ,they      
neither instruct us to think well nor to
 do well      ,think of physic as much  
good or ill as any one would have me    
,use veils from us the true aspect of   
things      ,victorious envied the      
conquered      ,we only labour to stuff 

the memory      ,we take other men's    
knowledge and opinions upon trust       
,weakness and instability of a private  
and particular fancy      ,what they    
ought to do when they come to be men    
,whosoever despises his own life1 is    
always master      ,worse endure an     
ill-contrived robe than an ill-contrived
 mind