,transcriber's ,note3 ,characters preceded by a caret77 are in superscript1 and are enclosed in curly brackets1 i4 e4 th4 ,italicized text delimited by underscores4 ,this project uses utf-#h encoded characters4 ,if some characters are not readable1 check your settings of your browser to ensure you have a default font installed that can display utf-#h characters4 ,,the ,,works ,,of ,,richard ,,hurd1 ,d4 ,d4 ,,lord ,,bishop ,,of ,,worcester4 ,,vol4 ,,iv4 ,printed by ,j4 ,nichols and ,son1 ,red ,lion ,passage1 ,fleet-,street1 ,london4 ,,the ,,works ,,of ,,richard ,,hurd1 ,d4 ,d4 ,,lord ,,bishop ,,of ,,worcester4 ,,in ,,eight ,,volumes4 ,,vol4 ,,iv4 ,illustration ,,london3 ,,printed ,,for ,t4 ,,cadell ,,and ,w4 ,,davies1 ,,strand4 #ahaa4 ,,moral ,,and ,,political ,,dialogues4 ,,vol4 ,,ii4 ,,moral ,,and ,,political ,,dialogues1 ,,with ,,letters ,,on ,,chivalry ,,and ,,romance4 ,,contents ,,of ,,the ,,fourth ,,volume4 ,page ,,dialogue ,,vi4 ,on the ,constitution of the ,english ,government4 ,,sir ,j4 ,,maynard1 ,,mr4 ,,somers1 ,,bp4 ,,burnet4 #i ,,dialogues ,,vii1 ,,viii4 ,on the ,uses of ,foreign ,travel4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury1 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 #he ,,xii ,,letters ,on ,chivalry and ,romance4 #bca ,,dialogue ,,vi4 ,,on ,,the ,,constitution ,,of ,,the ,,english ,,government4 ,,between ,,sir ,,john ,,maynard1 ,,mr4 ,,somers1 ,,and ,,bishop ,,burnet4 ,,dialogue ,,vi4 ,,on ,,the ,,constitution ,,of ,,the ,,english ,,government4 ,,sir ,,john ,,maynard1 ,,mr4 ,,somers1 ,,bishop ,,burnet4 ,,to ,,dr4 ,,tillotson4 ,our next meeting at ,sir ,,john ,,maynard',s was on the evening of that day1 when the war was proclaimed against ,france#a4 ,what the event of it will be1 is a secret in the counsels of ,providence4 ,but if the goodness of our cause1 his ,majesty's known wisdom and ability1 and1 above all1 the apparent zeal and firmness of all orders amongst us in support of this great undertaking1 may give a prospect of success1 we cannot1 ,i persuade myself1 but indulge in the most reasonable hopes and expectations4 ,perhaps1 the time is approaching1 my dear friend1 which the divine goodness hath decreed for putting a stop to that outrageous power1 which hath been permitted for so long a course of years to afflict the neighbouring nations4 ,it may be1 the season is now at hand1 when ,god will vouchsafe to plead the cause of his servants1 and let this mighty persecutor of the faithful know that he may not be suffered any longer to trample on the sacred rights of conscience4 ,he may be taught to feel1 that the ravages he hath committed in the fairest provinces1 and the cruelties he hath exercised on the best subjects1 of his own kingdom1 have at length awakened the divine displeasure against him4 ,and he may live to find in our great prince 7raised up1 as ,i verily believe1 to this eminence of place and power to be the scourge of tyrants1 and the vindicator of oppressed nations7 an insurmountable bulwark against that encroaching dominion1 which threatens to deform and lay waste the rest of ,europe4 ,i have already lived to see those providences1 which may encourage a serious and good mind to believe that some great work is preparing in our days4 ,i was very early in my life a witness to the high measures which were taken and carried on by an intolerant hierarchy1 acting in subserviency to an arbitrary court1 in mine own country of ,scotland4 ,and ,i have lamented the oppression in which good men were held for conscience sake in all the three kingdoms4 ,how far this tyranny was carried1 and how near we were brought to the destruction of all our civil and religious rights1 need not be told1 and the occurrences of the two last reigns will not suffer to be forgotten4 ,it is sufficient to observe1 that when the danger was now brought to a crisis1 and the minds of all men were filled with the most alarming apprehensions1 it pleased ,god to rescue us1 in a moment and by the most astonishing display of his goodness1 from the impending ruin4 ,our chains fell off at once1 as by a miracle of mercy4 ,our civil rights have been restored4 ,and the legal toleration#b1 we have just now obtained in consequence of the new settlement1 hath put us into possession of that religious liberty1 which1 as men1 as ,christians1 and as ,protestants1 we cannot but esteem the first of all public blessings4 ,and who knows but that1 in the gracious designs of ,heaven1 the same hand which hath redeemed these nations from the yoke of slavery and of ,rome1 may be now employed to shake it off from the necks of our ,protestant brethren on the continent#c8 ,the world hath seen how long and how severely they have groaned under that intolerant power1 with which we are now at war4 ,when the violences of the late reign had driven me into a sort of voluntary exile1 and in the course of it ,i traversed some of those unhappy provinces of ,france1 which were most exposed to the rigours of persecution#d1 how have these eyes wept over the distresses of the poor sufferers1 and how hath my heart bled for the merciless cruelties which ,i every where saw exercised upon them6 ,the fury which appeared on that occasion1 was so general and so contagious1 that not only priests and court sycophants1 but men of virtuous minds and generous tempers1 were transported1 as it were1 out of their proper nature1 and seemed to divest themselves of the common notices and principles of humanity4 ,in this fiery trial it hath pleased ,god to exercise the faith and virtues1 and1 as we may charitably hope1 to correct the failings and vices1 of his poor servants4 ,his mercy may now1 in due time1 be opening a way for them to escape4 ,and from the prosperous beginning of this great work1 what comfortable presages may we not1 in all humility1 form to ourselves of still further successes8 ,we have a prince on the throne exactly qualified for the execution of this noble enterprise2 of the clearest courage and magnanimity1 and a wisdom tried and perfected in that best school1 of ,adversity2 of dispositions the most enlarged to the service of mankind2 and even quickened by his own personal resentment of former injuries to retaliate against their common oppressor4 ,nor can we doubt of the concurrence of his faithful subjects1 who1 with one voice1 have demanded the commencement of this war2 and whose late deliverance1 from like circumstances of distress1 may be expected to animate their zeal in the support of it4 ,and oh6 that ,i might see the day1 when our deliverer shall become1 what a bold usurper nobly figured to himself in the middle of this century#e1 the soul and conductor of the ,protestant cause through all ,europe6 and1 that1 as ,rome hath hitherto been the centre of slavish impositions and anti-christian politics1 the court of ,england may henceforth be the constant refuge and asylum of fainting liberty and religion6 ,but to turn from these flattering views1 my good friend1 to the recital of our late conversation2 which ,i proceed to lay before you with the same exactness and punctuality that ,i did the former4 ,you will see the reason why ,i cannot promise you the same entertainment from it4 ,we had no sooner come together1 than ,sir ,,john ,,maynard began with his usual vivacity4 ,i have been thinking1 my lord1 how dexterous a game ,i have played with you1 in this inquiry of ours into the ,english government4 ,what was obvious enough in itself1 and had indeed been undertaken by many persons1 ,i mean the vindication of our common liberties as founded in the ancient feudal constitution1 is the part ,i assumed to myself in this debate2 and have left it to your lordship to reconcile the ,,fact to the ,,right3 which is not only the most material point of inquiry1 but the most difficult1 and that which the patrons of liberty have either less meddled with1 or have less succeeded in explaining4 ,for1 to own an unwelcome truth1 however specious our claim may be to civil liberty1 the administration of government from the time of ,,henry ,,vii's accession to the crown1 that is1 for two entire centuries1 has very little agreed to this system4 ,the regal power1 throughout this period1 has been uniformly exercised in so high and arbitrary a manner1 that we can hardly believe there could be any certain foundation for the people's claim to a limited monarchy4 ,add to this1 that the language of parliaments1 the decrees of lawyers1 and the doctrines of divines1 have generally run in favour of the highest exertions of prerogative4 ,so that ,i cannot but be in some pain for the success of your undertaking1 and am at a loss to conjecture in what way your lordship will go about to extricate yourself from these difficulties4 ,,bp4 ,,burnet4 ,i understand1 ,sir ,john1 that your intention in setting forth the difficulties of this attempt is only1 in your polite way1 to enhance the merit of it4 ,i must not however assume too much to myself4 ,the way is clear and easy before me4 ,you have conducted us very agreeably through the rough and thorny part of our journey4 ,you have opened the genius of our ancient constitution4 ,you have explained the principles on which it was raised4 ,all that remains for me is1 only to solve doubts1 and rectify appearances2 a matter of no great difficulty1 when1 instead of groping in the dark1 we are now got into open daylight1 and are treading in the paths of known and authentic history4 ,,mr4 ,,somers4 ,and yet1 my lord1 ,i shall very readily acknowledge1 with my ,lord ,commissioner1 the importance of the service4 ,for1 unless appearances be strangely deceitful indeed1 there is but too great reason to conclude1 from the recent parts of our history1 either that there never was a rightful claim in the people to civil liberty1 or that they1 as well as their princes1 had lost all sense of it4 ,i doubt1 the most your lordship can make appear1 is1 that as our kings1 from the coming of the ,tudor line1 had usurped on the ancient privileges of the subject2 so the subject1 at length1 in our days1 has1 in its turn1 usurped on the undisputed and long-acknowledged prerogative of the sovereign4 ,in short1 ,i doubt there is no forming a connected system on these subjects2 but that in our country1 as well as in others1 liberty and prerogative have prevailed and taken the ascendant at different times1 according as either was checked or favoured by contingent circumstances4 ,,bp4 ,,burnet4 ,still ,mr4 ,somers1 ,i see1 is on the desponding side3 and with better reason than before2 since1 if the difficulty be half so great as is pretended1 this change of the speaker is little favourable to the removal of it4 ,however1 ,i do not despair1 whether these surmises of difficulty be real or dissembled1 to clear up the whole matter to both your satisfactions4 ,the stress of it lies here3 ,that1 whereas a mixed and limited government is supposed to have been the ancient constitution in this country1 the appearances1 in fact1 for a couple of centuries1 have been so repugnant to this notion1 that either the supposition must be given up as too hastily formed1 or sufficient reasons must be assigned for these contradictory appearances4 ,i embrace the latter part of this alternative without hesitation or reserve2 and pretend to lay before you such unanswerable arguments for the cause ,i have undertaken1 as1 in better hands1 might amount to a perfect vindication of ,,english ,,liberty4 ,i take my rise from the period which my ,lord ,commissioner has prescribed to me2 that is1 from the accession of the ,,tudor family4 ,we have henceforth1 indeed1 a succession of high despotic princes1 who were politic and daring enough to improve every advantage against the people's liberties4 ,and their peculiar characters were well suited to the places in which we find them4 ,,henry ,,vii4 was wise and provident2 jealous of his authority as well as title2 and fruitful in expedients to secure both4 ,his son and successor1 who had a spirit of the largest size1 and1 as one says#f1 feared nothing but the falling of the heavens1 was admirably formed to sustain and establish that power1 which the other had assumed4 ,and after two short reigns1 which afforded the people no opportunity of recovering their lost ground1 the crown settled on the head of a princess1 who1 with the united qualifications of her father and grandfather1 surpassed them both in the arts of a winning and gracious popularity4 ,and thus1 in the compass of a century1 the prerogative was now wound up to a height1 that was very flattering to the views and inclinations of the ,,stuart family4 ,it may be further observed1 that the condition of the times was such as wonderfully conspired with the designs and dispositions of these princes4 ,a long and bloody war1 that had well nigh exhausted the strength and vitals of this country1 was1 at length1 composed by the fortunate successes of ,bosworth-field4 ,all men were desirous to breathe a little from the rage of civil wars4 ,and the enormous tyranny of the prince1 whose death had made way for the exaltation of the earl of ,,richmond1 was a sort of foil to the new government1 and made the rigours of it appear but moderate when set against the cruelties of the preceding reign4 ,the great change that followed1 in the deliverance of the nation from papal tyranny1 and the suppression of religious houses1 was a new pretence for the extension of the royal prerogative2 and the people submitted to it with pleasure1 as they saw no other way to support and accomplish that important enterprise4 ,and1 lastly1 the regal power1 which had gained so immensely by the rejection of the papal dominion1 was carried still higher by the great work of reformation2 which being conducted by a wise and able princess1 was easily improved1 on every occasion1 to the advantage of the crown4 ,and thus1 whether we consider the characters of the persons1 or the circumstances of the times1 every thing concurred to exalt the princes of the house of ,,tudor to a height of power and prerogative1 which had hitherto been unknown in ,england1 and became1 in the end1 so dangerous to the constitution itself4 ,but you expect me1 ,i suppose1 to point to the very examples of usurpation1 ,i have in view1 and the means by which it took effect in the hands of these and the succeeding princes4 ,,sir ,j4 ,,maynard4 ,we do indeed expect that from your lordship4 ,for otherwise it will be thought that what you treat as an usurpation1 was but the genuine exercise of the regal authority2 only favoured by fortunate conjunctures1 and1 as you say1 by great ability in the princes themselves4 ,,mr4 ,,somers4 ,perhaps1 still more will be expected4 ,for it may not be enough to tell us1 what usurpations there were1 or even by what means they became successful4 ,it should further appear1 methinks1 that these usurpations1 though they suspended the exercise of the people's liberties1 did not destroy them2 did not1 at least1 annihilate the ,constitution from which those liberties were derived4 ,,bp4 ,,burnet4 ,all this will naturally come in our way1 as we go along4 ,and1 since you will have me usurp the chair on this occasion1 and1 like the princes ,i am speaking of1 take to myself an authority to which ,i have no right1 let me presume a little on my new dignity2 and1 in what follows1 discourse to you1 as our manner is1 without interruption or reply4 ,,sir ,j4 ,,maynard4 ,this1 it must be owned1 is carrying the prerogative of the chair to its utmost height4 ,but1 if we submit to it in other places1 is it reasonable you should require us to do so here8 ,besides1 your lordship forgets that ,i am too old to be a patient hearer4 ,and ,mr4 ,,somers too-- ,,mr4 ,,somers4 ,i can engage1 in this instance1 for passive obedience4 ,and my lord1 perhaps1 does not insist on the full extent of his prerogative4 ,it is fit1 however1 we attend with reverence1 while such an advocate is pleading in such a cause4 ,,bp4 ,,burnet4 ,i was saying1 that all your demands would be satisfied1 as ,i went along in this discourse4 ,it is true1 an attentive reader of our history1 who considers what is said of the mixed frame of our government1 and the struggles that were occasioned by it1 is surprised to find that these contentions at once subsided on the accession of the house of ,,tudor2 and that the tenour of the government thenceforth for many successions is as calm1 and the popular influence as small1 as in the most absolute and despotic forms4 ,this appearance tempts him to conclude1 that the crown had at length redeemed itself from a forced1 unconstitutional servitude2 and that1 far from usurping on the people1 it only returned to the exercise of its old and acknowledged rights4 ,for otherwise it will be said1 how could the people at once become so insensible1 and their representatives in parliament so tame1 as to bear with the most imperious of their princes without reluctance2 they1 who had resented much smaller matters from the gentlest and the best8 ,but those1 who talk in this strain1 have not considered1 that there were some circumstances in the state of things1 from the time we are speaking of1 that ,,disabled the nation from insisting1 and many more that ,,indisposed them to insist1 on their ancient and undoubted rights4 ,i took notice1 that the ruinous contentions of the two houses of ,,york and ,,lancaster1 from which the nation was at last delivered by the accession of ,,henry ,,vii4 disposed all men to submit with satisfaction to the new government4 ,such a conjuncture was favourable1 of itself1 to the increase of the regal power4 ,but the truth is1 there was little danger of any successful opposition to the crown1 if the nation had been ever so ill inclined towards it4 ,the great lords or barons were1 in former days1 both by the feudal constitution1 and by the vast property they had in their hands1 the proper and only check on the sovereign4 ,these had been either cut off1 or so far weakened at least by the preceding civil wars1 that the danger seemed entirely over from that quarter4 ,the politic king was aware of his advantage1 and improved it to admiration4 ,one may even affirm1 that this was the sole object of his government4 ,for the greater security1 and majesty of his person1 he began with the institution of his ,,lifeguard4 ,and having thus set out with enlarging his own train1 his next care was to diminish that of his nobles4 ,hence the law1 or rather laws 7for1 as ,lord ,,bacon observes1 there was scarcely a parliament through his whole reign which passed without an act to that purpose7 against ,,retainers4 ,and with how jealous a severity he put those laws into execution1 is sufficiently known from his treatment of one of his principal friends and servants1 the earl of ,,oxford#g4 ,it was also with a view to this depression of the nobility1 that the court ,of ,,star-,,chamber was considered so much1 and confirmed by act of parliament in his reign3 8,that which was principally aimed at by it being1 as his historian frankly owns1 ,,force1 and the two chief supports of ,force1 ,,combination ,,of ,,multitudes1 and maintenance of ,,headship ,,of ,,great ,,persons40 ,to put them still lower in the public estimation1 he affected to fill the great offices with churchmen only4 ,and it was perhaps1 as much to awe the nation by the terror of his prerogative as to fill his coffers1 that he executed the penal laws with so merciless a rigour on the very greatest of his subjects4 ,still further to prevent the possibility of a return1 in any future period1 of the patrician power1 this politic prince provided with great care for the encouragement of trade1 and the distribution of property4 ,both which ends were effected at once by that famous act1 which was made to secure and facilitate the alienation of estates by fine and proclamation4 ,all these measures1 we see1 were evidently taken by the king to diminish the credit and suppress the influence of his nobles2 and of consequence1 as he thought1 to exalt the power of the crown above control1 if not in his own1 yet in succeeding ages4 ,and his policy had this effect for some time2 though in the end it served1 beside his expectation1 to advance another and more formidable power1 at that time little suspected or even thought of1 the ,,power ,,of ,,the ,,people#h4 ,the truth is1 ,,henry's policy was every way much assisted by the genius of the time4 ,trade was getting up3 and ,lollardism had secretly made its way into the hearts of the people4 ,and1 though liberty was in the end to reap the benefit of each1 prerogative was the immediate gainer4 ,commerce1 in proportion to its growth1 brought on the decline of the feudal1 that is1 aristocratic power of the barons3 and the authority of the church1 that other check on the sovereign1 was gradually weakened by the prevailing spirit of reformation4 ,under these circumstances1 ,,henry found it no difficulty to depress his great lords2 and he did it so effectually1 that his son had little else left him to do1 but to keep them down in that weak and disabled state1 to which his father had reduced them4 #8,tis true1 both he and his successors went further4 ,they never thought themselves secure enough from the resistance of their old enemies1 the barons#i2 and so continued1 by every method of artifice and rapine1 to sink them much lower than even the safety of their own state required4 ,but the effects of this management did not appear till long afterwards4 ,for the present1 the crown received a manifest advantage by this conduct4 ,there was1 besides1 another circumstance of great moment attending the government of the younger ,,henry4 ,he was the first heir of the white and red roses3 so that there was now an end of all dispute and disaffection in the people4 ,and they had so long and so violently contended about the title to the crown1 that1 when that mighty point was once settled1 they did not readily apprehend that any other consideration deserved1 or could justify1 resistance to their sovereign4 ,with these advantages of situation1 ,,henry ,,viii4 brought with him to the throne a spirit of that firm and steady temper as was exactly fitted to break the edge of any rising opposition4 ,besides the confidence of youth1 he was of a nature so elate and imperious1 so resolved and fearless#aj1 that no resistance could succeed1 hardly any thought of it could be entertained against him4 ,the commons1 who had hitherto been unused to treat with their kings but by the mediation of the great lords1 being now pushed into the presence1 were half discountenanced in the eye of majesty2 and durst scarcely look up to the throne1 much less dispute the prerogatives with which so awful a prince was thought to be invested4 ,and when the glaring abuse of his power1 as in the exaltation of that great instrument of his tyranny1 ,,wolsey1 seemed afterwards to provoke the people to some more vigorous resolutions1 a singular event happened1 which not only preserved his greatness1 but brought a further increase to it4 ,this was the famous rupture with the court of ,rome3 in consequence of which1 the yoke of papal usurpations1 that yoke under which our kings had groaned for so many ages1 was in a moment broken off1 and the crown restored to its full and perfect independency4 ,nor was this all4 ,the throne did not only stand by itself1 as having no longer a dependence on the papal chair4 ,it rose still higher1 and was1 in effect1 erected upon it4 ,for the ecclesiastical jurisdiction was not annihilated1 but transferred2 and all the powers of the ,roman pontiff now centered in the king's person4 ,henceforth then we are to regard him in a more awful point of view2 as armed with both swords at once2 and1 as ,,nat4 ,,bacon expresses it in his way1 as a strange kind of monster1 8,a king with a pope in his belly#aa40 ,the remainder of his reign shews that he was politic enough to make the best use of what his passions had brought on1 and thus far accomplished4 ,for though the nation wished1 and1 without doubt1 hoped to go much further1 the king's quarrel was rather with the court1 than the church of ,rome4 ,and the high authority in spirituals1 which he had gained1 enabled him to hold all men1 who either feared or desired a further reformation1 in the most entire dependence4 ,in the mean time1 the nation rejoiced with great reason at its deliverance from a foreign tyranny3 and the lavish distribution of that wealth1 which flowed into the king's coffers from the suppressed monasteries1 procured a ready submission1 from the great and powerful1 to the king's domestic tyranny4 ,in a word1 every thing contributed to the advancement of the regal power2 and1 in that1 to the completion of the great designs of ,providence4 ,the amazing revolution1 which had just happened1 was1 at all events1 to be supported3 and thus1 partly by fear1 and partly by interest1 the parliament went along with the king1 in all his projects2 and1 beyond the example of former times1 was constantly obsequious to him1 even in the most capricious and inconsistent measures of his government4 ,and thus matters1 in a good degree1 continued till the accession of ,queen ,,elizabeth4 ,it is true1 the weak administration of a minor king1 and a disputed title at his death1 occasioned some disorders4 ,but the majesty of the crown itself was little impaired by these bustles2 and it even acquired fresh glory on the head of our renowned ,protestant princess4 ,for that astonishing work of reformation1 so happily entered upon by ,,henry1 and carried on by his son1 was after a short interruption 7which only served to prove and animate the zeal of good men7 brought at length by her to its final establishment4 ,the intolerable abuses and shameless corruptions of popery were now so notorious to all the world1 and the spirit of reformation1 which had been secretly working since the days of ,,wickliff1 had now spread itself so generally through the nation1 that nothing but an entire renunciation of the doctrine and discipline of the church of ,rome could be expected4 ,and1 by the happiest providence1 the queen was as much obliged by the interest of her government and the security of her title1 as by her own unshaken principles1 to concur with the dispositions of her subjects4 ,thus1 in the end1 ,protestantism prevailed1 and obtained a legal and fixed settlement4 ,but to maintain it1 when made1 against the combined powers that threatened its destruction1 the crown on which so much depended1 was to be held up in all its splendor to the eyes of our own and foreign nations4 ,hence the height of prerogative in ,,elizabeth's days1 the submission of parliaments1 and1 ,i may almost say1 the prostration of the people4 ,and when this magnanimous princess1 as well by her vast spirit and personal virtues1 as the constant successes of her long reign1 had derived the highest dignity and authority on the ,english sceptre1 it passed into the hands of the elder ,,james2 who brought something more with him than a good will1 the accession of a great kingdom1 and the opinion of deep wisdom1 to enable him to wield it4 ,what followed in his and the succeeding reigns1 ,i need not be at the pains to recount to you4 ,these things are too recent for me to dwell upon3 and you1 my ,lord ,commissioner1 do not only remember them perfectly1 but have yourself acted a great part in most of them4 ,allow me only to say1 that from this brief history of the regal authority1 and the means by which it arrived at so unusual a greatness1 it is no wonder that the ,,stuart family were somewhat dazzled by the height to which they were raised1 and that more than half a century was required to correct1 if it ever did correct1 the high but false notions they had entertained of the imperial dignity4 ,,sir ,j4 ,,maynard4 ,if you permit me1 at last1 to break in at the opening which this conclusion of your discourse seems to give me2 ,i would say1 ,that1 on your principles1 the house of ,,stuart had great reason for the high notions you ascribe to them4 ,for what other conclusion could they make1 but that a power1 which had domineered for so long a time1 and that by the full allowance of parliament and people1 was1 both in fact and right1 absolute and uncontrolable8 ,,bp4 ,,burnet4 ,it is certain1 the ,,stuart family did draw that conclusion4 ,but a great deal too hastily2 as may appear from your own observation1 that the exercise of this extraordinary power was committed1 or more properly indulged to them1 by the people4 ,this is so strictly true1 that from the first to the last of the ,,tudor line1 imperious and despotic as they were of their own nature1 no extraordinary stretch of power was ventured upon by any of them1 but under the countenance and protection of an act of parliament4 ,hence it was1 that the ,,star-,,chamber1 though the jurisdiction of this court had the authority of the common law1 was confirmed by statute2 that the proceedings of ,,empson and ,,dudley had the sanction of parliament2 that ,,henry the ,v,i,i,ith's supremacy1 and all acts of power dependent upon it1 had the same foundation3 in a word1 that every thing1 which wore the face of an absolute authority in the king1 was not in virtue of any supposed inherent prerogative in the crown1 but the special grant of the subject4 ,no doubt1 this compliance1 and particularly if we consider the lengths to which it was carried1 may be brought to prove the obsequious and even abject dispositions of the times2 though we allow a great deal1 as ,i think we should1 to prudence and good policy4 ,but then the parliaments1 by taking care to make every addition to the crown their ,,own ,,proper ,,act1 left their kings no pretence to consider themselves as absolute and independent4 ,,mr4 ,,somers4 ,i doubt1 considering the slavish disposition of the times1 that1 if the people still possessed a shew of liberty1 this advantage was owing to the pure condescension of the crown1 and not to their own policy4 ,a king that could obtain of his parliament to have his proclamations pass for laws#ab1 might have ventured on this step without the concurrence of parliament4 ,,bp4 ,,burnet4 ,i acknowledge the act you glance at was of an extraordinary kind2 and might seem1 by implication at least1 to deliver up the entire legislative authority into the hands of the sovereign4 ,but there is a wide difference between the crown's usurping this strange power1 and the parliament's bestowing it4 ,the case was 7and nothing could be more fortunate for the nation7 that at the time when the people were least able to controul their prince1 their prince's affairs constrained him to court his people4 ,for the rejection of the papal power and the reformation of religion were things of that high nature1 and so full of hazard1 that no expedient was to be overlooked1 which tended to make the execution of these projects safe or easy4 ,hence it was1 that no steps were taken by the crown but with the consent and approbation of the two houses4 ,and if these were compelled by the circumstances of their situation to favour their prince's interest or caprice by absurd and inconsistent compliances1 this benefit at least they drew to themselves1 that their power by that means would appear the greater and more unquestionable4 ,for what indeed could display the omnipotency of parliaments more than their being called in to make and unmake the measures of government1 and give a sanction1 as it were1 to contradictions8 ,of which there cannot be a stronger instance than the changes they made from time to time1 as ,,henry ,,viii's passions swayed him1 in the rule of succession4 ,thus we see that1 through the entire reigns of the house of ,,tudor1 that is1 the most despotic and arbitrary of our princes1 the forms of liberty were still kept up1 and the constitution maintained1 even amidst the advantages of all sorts which offered for the destruction of both4 ,the parliament indeed was obsequious1 was servile1 was directed1 if you will2 but every proceeding was authorised and confirmed by parliament4 ,the king in the mean time found himself at his ease2 perhaps believed himself absolute1 and considered his application to parliaments as an act of mere grace and popular condescension4 ,at least1 after so long experience of their submission1 the elder ,,james certainly thought himself at liberty to entertain this belief of them4 ,but he was the first of our princes that durst avow this belief plainly and openly4 ,he was stimulated1 no doubt1 to this usurpation of power in ,england1 by the memory of his former subjection1 of servitude rather1 to the imperious church of ,scotland4 ,but this was not all4 ,succeeding to so fair a patrimony as that of a mighty kingdom1 where little or no opposition had been made for some reigns to the will of the sovereign2 to a kingdom too1 securely settled in the possession of its favoured religion1 which had occasioned all the dangers1 and produced all the condescension1 of the preceding princes2 bringing1 besides1 with him to the succession1 an undisputed title and the additional splendor of another crown2 all these advantages meeting in his person at that point of time1 he ventured to give way to his natural love of dominion1 and told the people to their face1 that the pretended rights of their parliaments were but the free gifts and graces of their kings3 that every high point of government1 that is1 every point which he chose to call by that name1 was wrapt up in the awful mystery of his prerogative3 and1 in a word1 that 8it was sedition for them to dispute what a king may do in the height of his power#ac40 ,such1 you know1 was the language1 the public language to his parliaments1 of ,,james ,,the ,,first4 ,but these pretences1 which might have been suffered perhaps1 or could not have been opposed1 under the ,,tudor line1 were unluckily out of season1 and would not pass on a people who knew their own rights1 had saved to themselves the exercise of them1 and came now at length to feel and understand their importance4 ,for1 as ,i before observed1 the principal cause that had lifted the crown so high1 was the depression of the barons4 ,the great property which had made them so formidable1 was dispersed into other hands4 ,the nobility were therefore too low to give any umbrage to the crown4 ,but the commons were rising apace2 and in a century had grown to that height1 that on the accession of the ,scotch family1 the point of time when the new king dreamed of nothing but absolute sovereignty#ad1 they were now in a condition to assert the public liberty1 and1 as the event shewed but too soon1 to snatch the sceptre itself out of their king's hands4 ,however1 in that interval of the dormant power of the commons it was1 that the prerogative made the largest shoots1 till in the end it threatened to overshadow law and liberty4 ,and1 though the general reason is to be sought in the humiliation of the church1 the low estate of the barons1 and the unexerted1 because as yet unfelt1 greatness of the commons1 the solution will be defective if we stop here4 ,for the regal authority1 so limited by the ancient constitution1 and by the continued use of parliaments1 could never in this short space have advanced itself beyond all bounds1 if other reasons had not co-operated with the state of the people2 if some more powerful and special causes had not conspired to throw round the person of the sovereign those rays of sacred opinion1 which are the real strength as well as gilding of a crown4 ,of these ,i have occasionally mentioned several2 such as 8the personal character and virtues of the princes themselves2 the high adventurous designs in which they were engaged2 the interest1 the people found or promised to themselves in supporting their power2 the constant successes of their administration2 and the unremitting spirit and vigour with which it was carried on and maintained40 ,all these considerations could not but dispose the people to look up with reverence to a crown1 which presented nothing to their view but what was fitted to take their admiration1 or imprint esteem4 ,yet all these had failed of procuring to majesty that profound submission which was paid to it1 or of elevating the prince to that high conceit of independency which so thoroughly possessed the imagination of ,king ,,james1 if an event of a very singular nature1 and big with important consequences1 had not given the proper occasion to both4 ,,sir ,j4 ,,maynard4 ,i understand you to mean the overthrow of the papal dominion1 which had so long eclipsed the majesty of our kings2 and held them in a state of vassalage1 not only to the triple crown1 but1 which was more disgraceful1 to the mitre of their own subjects4 ,,bp4 ,,burnet4 ,rather understand me to mean1 what was indeed the consequence of that event1 ,,the ,,translation ,,of ,,the ,,pope',s ,,supremacy ,,to ,,the ,,king4 ,this1 as ,i take it1 was the circumstance of all others which most favoured the sudden growth of the imperial power in this nation4 ,and because ,i do not remember to have seen it enlarged upon as it deserves1 give me leave to open to you1 somewhat copiously1 the nature of this newly-acquired headship1 and the numerous advantages which the prerogative received from it4 ,the ,,papal ,,supremacy1 as it had been claimed and exercised in this kingdom1 was a power of the highest nature4 ,it controlled every rank and order in the state1 and1 in effect1 laid the prince and people together at the mercy of the ,roman pontiff4 ,there is no need to recount the several branches of this usurped authority4 ,it is enough to say1 that it was transcendant in all respects that could in any sense be taken to concern religion4 ,and who1 that has looked into the papal story1 needs be told that1 by a latitude of interpretation1 every thing was construed to be a religious concern1 by which the pope's power or interest could be affected8 ,under the acknowledgment then of this super-eminent dominion1 no steps could possibly be taken towards the reformation of religion1 or even the assertion of the just rights and privileges of the crown4 ,but the people were grown to have as great a zeal for the former of these considerations1 as the king for the latter4 ,and in this juncture it was1 that ,,henry1 in a sudden heat1 threw off the supremacy2 which the parliament1 to prevent its return to the pope1 very readily invested in the king4 ,there was something so daring1 and1 according to the prejudices of that time1 so presumptuous and even prophane1 in this attempt to transfer the spiritual headship to a secular power1 that the pope himself little apprehended1 and nothing but the king's dauntless temper could have assured1 the success of it4 ,the repugnancy which the parliament themselves found in their own notions betwixt the exercise of the spiritual and temporal power1 was the reason perhaps for inserting in the act of supremacy those qualifying clauses1 we find in it#ae4 ,,mr4 ,,somers4 ,it is possible1 as you say1 that the parliament might be at a loss to adjust in their own minds the precise bounds of the spiritual jurisdiction1 as united to the civil1 in the king's person4 ,yet1 in virtue of these clauses1 the regal supremacy was1 in fact1 restrained and limited by act of parliament3 and the import of them was clearly to assert the independency of the crown on any foreign judicature1 and not to confer it in the extent in which it was claimed and exercised by the see of ,rome4 ,,bp4 ,,burnet4 ,it is true1 that no more was expressed1 or perhaps intended1 in this act4 ,but the question is1 how the matter was understood by the people at large1 and in particular by the king himself and his flatterers4 ,now it seems to me that this transfer of the supremacy would be taken for a solemn acknowledgment1 not only of the ancient encroachments and usurpations of the papacy1 but of the king's right to succeed to all the powers of it4 ,and ,i conclude this from the nature of the thing itself1 from the current notions of the time1 and from the sequel of the king's government4 ,if we attend to the nature of the complaints which the kingdom was perpetually making1 in the days of popery1 of the ,roman usurpations1 we shall find that they did not so much respect these usurpations themselves1 as the person claiming and enjoying them4 ,the grievance was1 that appeals should be made to ,rome2 that provisions should come from thence2 in a word1 that all causes should be carried to a foreign tribunal1 and that such powers should be exercised over the subjects of this realm by a foreign jurisdiction4 ,the complaint was1 that the pope exercised these powers2 and not that the powers themselves were exercised4 ,so1 on the abolition of this supremacy1 the act that placed it in the person of the king1 would naturally be taken to transfer upon him all the privileges and pre-eminencies1 which had formerly belonged to it4 ,and thus1 though the act was so properly drawn as to make a difference in the two cases1 yet the people at large1 and much more the king himself1 would infer from the concession1 8that the pope had usurped his powers on the crown20 that therefore the crown had now a right to those powers4 ,and the circumstance of this translation's passing by act of parliament1 does not alter the matter much1 with regard to the king's notion of it4 ,for in that time of danger1 and for the greater security of his new power1 he would chuse to have that ratified and confirmed by statute1 which he firmly believed inherent in his person and dignity4 ,then1 to see how far the current opinions of that time were favourable to the extension of the regal authority1 on this alliance with the papal1 we are to reflect1 that1 however odious the administration of the pope's supremacy was become1 most men had very high notions of the plenitude of his power1 and the sacredness of his person4 8,,christ',s vicar upon earth0 was an awful title1 and had sunk deep into the astonished minds of the people4 ,and though ,,henry's pretensions went no further than to assume that vicarial authority within his own kingdom1 yet this limitation would not hinder them from conceiving of him1 much in the same way as of the pope himself4 ,they1 perhaps1 had seen no difference1 but for his want of the pope's sacerdotal capacity4 ,yet even this defect was1 in some measure#af1 made up to him by his regal4 ,so that between the majesty of the kingly character1 and the consecration of his person by this mysterious endowment of the spiritual1 it is easy to see how well prepared the minds of men were1 to allow him the exercise of any authority to which he pretended4 ,and to what degree this spiritual character of head of the church operated in the minds of the people1 we may understand from the language of men in still later times1 and even from the articles of our church1 where the prerogative of the crown is said to be that which ,,godly ,,kings have always exercised3 intimating that this plenitude of power was inherent in the king1 on account of that spiritual and religious character1 with which1 as head of the church1 he was necessarily invested4 ,the illusion1 as gross as we may now think it1 was but the same as that which blinded the eyes of the greatest and wisest people in the old world4 ,for was it not just in the same manner1 that by the policy of the ,roman emperors in assuming the office of pontifex maximus1 that is1 incorporating the religious with their civil character1 not only their authority became the more awful1 but their persons sacred8 ,we see then1 as ,i said1 how conveniently the minds of men were prepared to acquiesce in ,,henry's usurped prerogative4 ,and it is well known that this prince was not of a temper to balk their expectations4 ,the sequel of his reign shews that he took himself to be invested with the whole ecclesiastical power1 legislative as well as executive2 nay1 that he was willing to extend his acknowledged right of supremacy even to the ancient papal infallibility1 as appears from his sovereign decisions in all matters of faith and doctrine4 ,it is true the parliament was ready enough to go before1 or at least to follow1 the head of the church in all these decisions4 ,but the reason is obvious4 ,and ,i need not repeat to you in what light the king regarded their compliance with him4 ,,mr4 ,,somers4 ,it is very likely1 for these reasons1 that the king would draw to himself much authority and reverence1 at least1 from his new title of supremacy4 ,but it does not1 ,i think1 appear that the supremacy had all that effect on the people's rights and the ancient constitution1 which your lordship's argument requires you to ascribe to it4 ,,bp4 ,,burnet4 ,i brought these general considerations only to shew the reverend opinion which of course would be entertained of this mixt person1 ,,the ,,supreme ,,head ,,of ,,the ,,church1 compounded of a king and a pope2 and how natural a foundation it was for the superstructure of despotic power in all its branches4 ,but ,i now hasten to the particulars which demonstrate that this use was actually made of that title4 ,and1 first1 let me observe1 that it gave birth to that great and formidable court of the ,,high-,,commission2 which brought so mighty an accession of power to the crown1 that1 as experience afterwards shewed1 no security could be had for the people's liberties1 till it was totally abolished4 ,the necessity of the times was a good plea for the first institution of so dangerous a tribunal4 ,the restless endeavours of papists and puritans against the ecclesiastical establishment gave a colour for the continuance of it4 ,but1 as all matters that regarded religion or conscience were subjected to its sole cognizance and inspection1 it was presently seen how wide an entrance it gave to the most tyrannical usurpations4 ,it was1 further1 natural that the king's power in civil causes should keep pace with his authority in spiritual4 ,and1 fortunately for the advancement of his prerogative1 there was already erected within the kingdom another court of the like dangerous nature1 of ancient date1 and venerable estimation1 under the name of the court of ,,star-,,chamber2 which brought every thing under the direction of the crown that could not so properly be determined in the high-commission4 ,these were the two arms of absolute dominion2 which1 at different times1 and under different pretences1 were stretched forth to the oppression of every man that presumed to oppose himself to the royal will or pleasure4 ,the star-chamber had been kept1 in former times1 within some tolerable bounds2 but the high and arbitrary proceedings of the other court1 which were found convenient for the further purpose of reformation1 and were therefore constantly exercised1 and as constantly connived at by the parliament1 gave an easy pretence for advancing the star-chamber's jurisdiction so far1 that in the end its tyranny was equally intolerable as that of the high-commission4 ,thus the king's authority in all cases1 spiritual and temporal1 was fully established1 and in the highest sense of which the words are capable4 ,our kings themselves so understood it2 and when afterwards their parliaments shewed a disposition to interfere in any thing relating either to church or state1 they were presently reprimanded2 and sternly required not to meddle with what concerned their prerogative royal and their high points of government4 ,instances of this sort were very frequent in ,,elizabeth',s reign1 when the commons were getting up1 and the spirit of liberty began to exert itself in that assembly4 ,the meaning of all this mysterious language was1 that the royal pleasure was subject to no control1 but was to be left to take its free course under the sanction of these two supreme courts1 to which the cognizance of all great matters was committed4 ,this1 one would think1 were sufficient to satisfy the ambition of our kings4 ,but they went further1 and still under the wing of their beloved supremacy4 ,the parliament were not so tame1 or the king's grace did not require it of them1 to divest themselves entirely1 though it was much checked and restrained by these courts1 of their legislative capacity4 ,but the crown found a way to ease itself of this curb1 if at any time it should prove troublesome to it4 ,this was by means of the ,,dispensing ,,power2 which1 in effect1 vacated all laws at once1 further than it pleased the king to countenance and allow them4 ,and for so enormous a stretch of power 7which1 being rarely exercised1 was the less minded7 there was a ready pretence from the papal privileges and pre-eminencies to which the crown had succeeded4 ,for this most invidious of all the claims of prerogative had been indisputable in the church2 and it had been nibbled at by some of our kings1 in former times1 from the contagious authority of the pope's example1 even without the pretence which the supremacy in spirituals now gave for it4 ,the exercise of this power1 in the popes themselves1 was thought so monstrous1 that ,,matthew ,,paris honestly complains of it in his time1 as extinguishing all justice--,,extinguit ,,omnem ,,justiciam#ag4 ,and on another occasion1 ,i remember1 he goes so far1 in a spirit of prophecy1 almost1 as to tell us the ill use that hereafter kings themselves might be tempted to make of it#ah4 ,his prediction was verified very soon3 for ,,henry ,,iii4 learned this lesson of tyranny1 and put it in practice4 ,on which occasion one of his upright judges could not help exclaiming1 ,,civilis ,,curia ,,exemplo ,,ecclesiastic ,,conquinatur#ai4 ,and afterwards1 we know1 ,,henry ,,vii4 claimed and exercised this dispensing power in the case of sheriffs1 contrary to act of parliament#bj4 ,it was early indeed in his reign1 and when the state of his affairs was thought to give a colour to it4 ,i mention these things to shew1 that since the pope's example had been so infectious in former times1 it would now be followed very resolutely1 when the translation of the very supremacy1 from which it had sprung1 seemed to justify it4 ,and we have a remarkable instance in ,,elizabeth',s reign1 by which it may appear that this prerogative was publickly and solemnly avowed4 ,for upon some scandal taken by the popish party upon pretence that the book of consecration of bishops was not established by law1 the queen made no scruple to declare by her letters-patent1 that she had1 by her supreme authority1 dispensed with all causes or doubts of any imperfection or disability in the persons of the bishops4 ,my learned friend1 ,dr4 ,,stillingfleet1 in commenting this case1 acknowledges the very truth4 8,it was customary10 says he1 8in the pope's bulls1 to put in such kind of clauses2 and therefore she would omit no power in that case to which the pope had pretended#ba40 ,and it is in this dispensing spirit that ,,james ,i1 having delivered it for a maxim of state1 8that the king is above law10 goes on to affirm1 in one of his favourite works1 that general laws1 made publickly in parliament1 may1 upon known respects to the king1 by his authority be mitigated and ,,suspended upon causes only known to him#bb4 ,we perceive the ground of that claim1 which was carried so high by the princes of the house of ,,stuart1 and1 as we have just seen1 brought on the ruin of the last of them4 ,and to how great a degree this prerogative of the dispensing power had at length possessed the minds even of the common lawyers1 7partly from some scattered examples of it in former times1 and partly from reasons of expediency in certain junctures1 but principally from the inveteracy of this notion of the papal supremacy7 we had an alarming proof in ,,hale',s case1 when eleven out of the twelve judges declared for it4 ,,sir ,j4 ,,maynard4 ,your lordship has indeed shewn that the poison of the papal supremacy began to work very fatally4 ,if this blessed revolution had not happened1 what could have been expected but that the next step would be1 to set the crown above all divine as well as human law8 ,and methinks1 after such a judgment in ,westminster-,hall1 it could not be surprising if another set of men had served the king1 in the office of the pope's janissaries1 and maintained his right of dispensing with the gospel itself#bc1 as well as the statute-book4 ,,mr4 ,,somers4 ,i must needs think1 ,sir ,,john1 you are a little severe1 not to say unjust1 in this insinuation2 for which the churchmen of our days have surely given you no reason4 ,and as for the reverend judges1 methinks my lord of ,salisbury might be allowed to expose their determination1 at the same time that he so candidly accounts for it4 ,,bp4 ,,burnet4 ,i perceive1 my ,lord ,commissioner1 with all his goodness and moderation1 is a little apt to surmise the worst of our order4 ,but ,i will try to reconcile him to it2 and it shall be in the way he most likes1 by making a frank confession of our infirmities4 ,for another source of the regal dominion in latter times1 and still springing from out of the rock of supremacy 7which followed and succoured the court-prerogative1 wherever it went1 just as the rock of ,,moses1 the ,rabbins say1 journeyed with the ,jewish camp1 and refreshed it in all its stations7 was the opinion taken up and propagated by churchmen1 from the earliest ra of the ,reformation1 concerning the irresistible power of kings1 and the ,,passive ,,obedience that is due to it4 ,,sir4 ,j4 ,,maynard4 ,aye1 there it is1 ,i am afraid1 that we are principally to look for the origin of the high pretences of our kings to absolute government4 ,,bp4 ,,burnet4 ,i shall dissemble no part of the clergy's blame on this occasion2 and there is the less need1 if ,i were ever so tender of their reputation1 as their inducements to preach up this doctrine were neither slight in themselves1 nor unfriendly to the public interest4 ,it cannot be doubted that the churchmen especially1 both by interest and principle1 would be closely connected with the new head of the church4 ,their former subjection in spirituals to the papal authority would of itself create a prejudice in favour of it1 as now residing in the king's person4 ,and the disposal of bishopricks and other great preferments being now entirely in the crown1 they would of course1 you will say1 be much addicted to his service4 ,but these were not the sole1 or even the principal1 reasons that induced so wise and so disinterested persons1 as our first reformers1 to exalt the royal prerogative4 ,they were led into this pernicious practice by the most excusable of all motives1 in their situation1 an immoderate zeal against popery4 ,it is true1 a very natural prejudice mixed itself with their other reasonings4 8,the crown had been declared supreme1 and to have chief government of all estates of this realm1 and in all causes40 ,and1 though this declaration was levelled only against the pretensions of every foreign1 and particularly the papal power1 yet1 the clergy were given to conceive of it as a general proposition4 ,the reason was1 that the people1 from whom the just right of supremacy is derived1 having1 at this juncture1 not yet attained the consideration1 which the nobles had lost1 they forwardly concluded1 that if the royal estate were independent of the pope1 it was unquestionably so of every other power4 ,they could not1 on the sudden1 be brought to think so reverendly of the poor people1 even in their representatives1 as to allow that they had any pretension to restrain their sovereign4 ,,sir ,j4 ,,maynard4 ,i could swear to the truth of this account4 ,one of the popes1 ,i forget which1 is said to have called the deputies of the third estate in ,france1 on a certain occasion1 ,,nebulones ,,ex ,f,,ce ,,plebis#bd4 ,and though that might not be the language of churchmen in ,england1 at this time1 it was not far1 perhaps1 from expressing their sentiments4 ,it is certain1 they soon taught their princes1 who put themselves to school to the hierarchy#be1 to talk in this strain2 as appears from many of ,,elizabeth',s and ,,james',s speeches to the commons4 ,,bp4 ,,burnet4 ,something of this sort1 ,i grant you1 but not in the degree you put it1 might have an influence on the political reasonings of the clergy4 ,but their zeal for reformation was what prevailed with them most1 and carried them furthest into these notions4 ,it is something curious to see how this happened4 ,,henry',s usurpation of the supremacy1 as it was called at ,rome1 appeared so prodigious a crime to all good ,catholics1 that no severities were great enough to inflict upon him for it4 ,their writers proceeded to strange lengths4 ,even our cardinal ,,pole so far forgot the greatness of his quality1 and the natural mildness of his temper1 as to exceed the bounds of decency1 in his invectives against him4 ,and when afterwards1 in right of this assumed headship1 the crown went so far as to reject the authority of the church as well as court of ,rome1 all the thunders of the ,vatican were employed against this invader of the church's prerogative4 ,the pope1 in his extreme indignation1 threatened to depose ,,edward4 ,he did put his threat in execution against ,,elizabeth4 ,yet1 in spite of religious prejudices1 this was esteemed so monstrous a stretch of power1 and so odious to all ,christian princes1 that the jesuits thought it expedient1 by all means1 to soften the appearance of it4 ,one of their contrivances was1 by searching into the origin of civil power2 which they brought rightly1 though for this wicked purpose1 from the people4 ,for they concluded1 that1 if the regal power could be shewn to have no divine right1 but to be of human and even popular institution1 the liberty1 which the pope took in deposing kings1 would be less invidious4 ,thus the jesuits reasoned on the matter4 ,the argument was pushed with great vigour by ,,harding and his brethren in ,,elizabeth',s reign1 but afterwards with more learning and address by ,,bellarmine1 ,,mariana1 and others#bf4 ,to combat this dangerous position1 so prejudicial to the power of kings1 and which was meant to justify all attempts of violence on the lives of heretical princes1 the ,protestant divines went into the other extreme2 and1 to save the person of their sovereign1 preached up the doctrine of ,,divine ,,right4 ,,hooker1 superior to every prejudice1 followed the truth4 ,but the rest of our reforming and reformed divines stuck to the other opinion2 which1 as appears from the ,,homilies1 the ,,institution ,,of ,a ,,christian ,,man1 and the general stream of writings in those days1 became the opinion of the church1 and was indeed the received ,protestant doctrine4 ,and thus unhappily arose in the church of ,england that pernicious system of divine indefeasible right of kings3 broached indeed by the clergy1 but not from those corrupt and temporizing views to which it has been imputed4 ,the authority of those venerable men1 from whom it was derived1 gave it a firm and lasting hold on the minds of the clergy3 ,and being thought to receive a countenance from the general terms1 in which obedience to the civil magistrate is ordained in scripture1 it has continued to our days1 and may1 it is feared1 still continue1 to perplex and mislead the judgments of too many amongst us4 ,yet it could hardly have kept its ground against so much light and evidence as has been thrown at different times on this subject#bg1 but for an unlucky circumstance attending the days of reformation4 ,this was1 the growth of puritanism and the republican spirit2 which1 in order to justify its attack on the legal constitutional rights of the crown1 adopted the very same principles with the jesuited party4 ,and under these circumstances it is not to be thought strange that a principle1 however true1 which was disgraced by coming through such hands1 should be generally condemned and execrated4 ,the crown and mitre had reason to look upon both these sorts of men as their mortal enemies4 ,what wonder then they should unite in reprobating the political tenets1 on which their common enmity was justified and supported8 ,this ,i take to be the true account of what the friends of liberty so often object to us1 8,that the despotism of our later princes has been owing to the slavish doctrines of the clergy40 ,the charge1 so far as there is any colour for it1 is not denied3 and yet ,i should hope to see it urged against us with less acrimony1 if it were once understood on what grounds these doctrines were taken up1 and for what purposes they were maintained by the clergy4 ,,mr4 ,,somers4 ,besides the candour of this acknowledgment1 the part1 which our clergy have lately acted1 is1 methinks1 enough to abate and correct those hard sentiments1 which1 as you say1 have been entertained against them4 ,,sir ,j4 ,,maynard4 ,this apology seems indeed the best that can be made for them4 ,but when one considers the baleful tendency of those doctrines1 which were calculated to enslave the very souls and consciences of men1 and by advancing princes into the rank of gods1 to abet and justify their tyranny1 one cannot help feeling a strong resentment against the teachers of them1 however they might themselves be imposed upon by several colourable pretences4 ,your lordship knows1 ,i might proceed to further and still harder reflexions4 ,but ,i have no pretence to indulge in them at this time1 when a bishop is pleading so warmly in the cause of liberty4 ,,bp4 ,,burnet4 ,this tenderness to your friends1 ,sir ,,john1 is very obliging4 ,but ,i would willingly engage your candour1 in behalf of our order4 ,let me presume1 for such a purpose1 to second ,mr4 ,,somers',s observation1 8,that the ,english clergy have at length atoned1 in some measure1 for former miscarriages40 ,,sir ,j4 ,,maynard4 ,by their behaviour in a late critical conjuncture3 and yet1 to speak my mind frankly1 the merit of their services1 even on that occasion1 is a little equivocal1 when one reflects how unwilling they seemed to take the alarm1 till they were roused1 at length1 by their own immediate object1 the church's danger6 ,,bp4 ,,burnet4 ,and can you wonder that what concerned them most1 what they best understood1 and was their proper and peculiar charge1 should engage their principal attention8 ,besides1 they went on principle1 and with reason too1 in supposing that no slight or partial breaches of law were sufficient to authorise resistance to the magistrate#bh4 ,but when a general attack was made upon it1 and the dispensing power was set up in defiance of all law1 and to manifest the subversion of the constitution1 the clergy were then as forward as any others to signalize themselves in the common cause of liberty4 ,,sir ,j4 ,,maynard4 ,their old favourite doctrine of non-resistance was1 ,i doubt1 at the bottom of this cautious proceeding4 ,but it was high time for them to lay it aside1 when they saw it employed as the ready way for the introduction of that popery1 which1 as you say1 it was its first intention to keep out4 ,,bp4 ,,burnet4 ,it certainly was4--,but1 not to pursue this argument any further1 let me return to the main point ,i had in view1 which was1 8to account for the growth of the regal power from the influence of the transferred supremacy40 ,there is still another instance behind1 which shews how well our princes understood the advantage they had gained1 and how dextrously they improved it4 ,it seems prodigious1 at first sight1 that when the yoke of ,rome was thrown off1 the new church1 erected in opposition to it1 should still continue to be governed by the laws of the old4 ,the pretence was1 that this was only by way of interim1 till a body of ecclesiastical laws could be formed2 and1 to cover this pretence the better1 some steps were1 in fact1 taken towards the execution of such a design4 ,but the meaning of the crown certainly was1 to uphold its darling supremacy1 even on the old footing of the ,,canon ,,laws4 ,this conclusion seems probable1 if one considers that those canons proceeded from an absolute spiritual monarch1 and had a perpetual reference to his dominion2 that they were formed upon the very genius1 and did acknowledge the authority of the civil laws1 the proper issue1 as my ,lord ,commissioner has shewn us1 of civil despotism4 ,whoever1 ,i say1 considers all this1 will be inclined to think that the crown contrived this interim from the use the canon law was of to the extension of the prerogative4 ,accordingly it is certain1 that the succeeding monarchs1 ,,elizabeth1 ,,james1 and ,,charles1 would never suffer us to have a body of ecclesiastical laws1 from a sense of this utility in the old ones2 and a consciousness1 if ever they should submit a body of new laws to the legislature1 that the parliament would form them altogether in the genius of a free church and state#bi2 and perhaps would be for assuming a share in their darling supremacy itself4 ,with those canon laws1 and for the same purpose1 as was observed to us1 these princes retained a great affection for the interpreters of them1 the canon and civil lawyers2 till the genius of liberty rising and prevailing in the end1 over all the attempts of civil despotism1 both the one and the other fell into gradual desuetude and contempt3 and as the canonists were little regarded1 so their law is now considered no further than as it is countenanced and supported by the law of ,england4 ,but to see how convenient the doctrine of the canon law was for the maintenance of an absolute supremacy1 it needs only be observed to you1 that one of these canons is1 8,that it is not lawful for any man to dispute of the pope's power40 ,and to see how exactly our kings were disposed to act upon it1 one needs only recollect that immortal apophthegm of the elder ,,james1 already taken notice of1 8,that it is sedition for the subject to dispute what a king may do in the height of his power40 ,and as the canon laws are the pope's laws1 so we are told1 on the same supreme authority1 that the ,english laws are the king's4 ,for thus on another occasion his majesty expresses himself4--8,although a just prince0 7,i believe ,i repeat his very words7 8will not take the life of any of his subjects without a clear law3 yet the same laws1 whereby he taketh them1 are made by himself1 or his predecessors2 and so the power flows always from himself40--,and again1 8,although a good king will frame all his actions to be according to the law1 yet is he not bound thereto but of his good will1 and for good example giving to his subjects#cj40 ,thus decreed that great school-master of the whole land 7to give his majesty no harder a title than he was pleased to give himself72 and it is difficult to say whence his supremacy extracted this golden rule of free monarchies1 if not from the pope's own code of imperial canons4 ,thus it appears what misconceptions arose1 and what strange conclusions were drawn1 from the king's supremacy in spirituals4 ,one might proceed further in contemplation of this subject2 but ,i have wearied you too much already4 ,you will see from these several particulars how it came to pass that the ,,reformation1 which was founded on the principles of liberty and supported by them1 was yet for some time the cause of strengthening the power of the crown4 ,for though the exercise of private judgment1 which was essential to ,protestantism1 could not but tend to produce right notions of civil liberty1 as well as of religious faith and discipline1 and so in the end was fated to bring about a just form of free government 7as after some struggles and commotions1 we see1 it has happened71 yet the translation of supremacy from the pope to the civil magistrate brought with it a mighty accession of authority1 which had very sensible effects for several reigns afterwards4 ,the mysterious sacredness and almost divinity which had lodged in the pope's person1 was now inshrined in the king's2 and it is not wonderful that the people should find their imaginations strongly affected by this notion4 ,and with this general preparation1 it followed very naturally1 that1 in the several ways here recounted1 the crown should be disposed and enabled to extend its prerogative1 till another change in the government was required to limit and circumscribe it1 almost as great as that of the ,reformation4 ,,mr4 ,,somers4 ,i have listened with much pleasure to this deduction which your lordship has made from that important circumstance of the crown's supremacy in spirituals4 ,i think it throws great light on the subject under consideration1 and accounts in a clear manner for that appearance of despotism which the ,english government has worn from the times of reformation4 ,i have only one difficulty remaining with me3 but it is such an one as seems to bear hard on the great hypothesis itself1 so learnedly maintained by my ,lord ,commissioner in our late conversation1 of the original free constitution of the ,english government4 ,for1 allowing all you say to be true1 does not the very translation of the pope's supremacy to the king1 considered in itself1 demonstrate that we had then1 at least1 no free constitution at all1 to be invaded by the high claims of that prerogative8 ,if we admit the existence of any such1 the supremacy of the church should1 naturally1 ,i think1 have devolved upon the supreme civil power2 which with us1 according to the present supposition1 is in the three estates of the legislature4 ,but this devolution1 it seems1 was on the king alone2 a public acknowledgment1 as ,i take it1 that the constitution of the government was at that time conceived to be1 in the highest sense of the word1 absolutely ,,monarchical4 ,,bp4 ,,burnet4 ,i was not1 ,i confess1 aware of this objection to our theory1 which is very specious4 ,yet it may be sufficient1 as ,i suppose1 to reply to it1 that the work of reformation was carried on and established by the whole legislature2 and that the supremacy1 in particular1 though it of right belonged to the three estates1 was by free consent surrendered and given up into the hands of the king4 ,it is certain this power1 though talked of as the ancient right of the crown1 was solemnly invested in it by act of parliament4 ,,sir ,j4 ,,maynard4 ,there may be something in this4 ,yet your lordship1 ,i think1 does not carry the matter quite far enough2 and1 with your leave1 ,i will presume to give another1 and perhaps the truer1 answer to ,mr4 ,,somers',s difficulty4 ,the subject is a little nice1 but ,i have not those scruples which may reasonably be conceived to restrain your lordship from enlarging upon it4 ,i reply then directly1 and without softening matters1 that this irregular translation of the supremacy is no proof that there was not then a ,,free ,,constitution1 with a legitimate power in it1 to which the supremacy belonged4 ,and my reason1 without offence to my lord of ,salisbury1 is this4 ,when the papal authority was abolished1 and the question came into parliament1 8who now became the head of the church20 the search after him was not carried1 where it should have been1 into the constitution of the kingdom2 but1 as it was a matter of religion1 they mistook that1 which was only an affair of church discipline1 to be a doctrine of theology2 and so searched1 for a solution of the question1 in the ,new ,testament1 and ,ecclesiastical ,history4 ,in the ,new ,testament1 obedience is pressed to the person of ,csar1 because an absolute monarchy was the only government in being3 and1 for the same reason1 when afterwards the empire became ,christian1 the supremacy1 as we know from ecclesiastical story1 was assumed by the emperor3 just as it would have been by the consul and senate1 had the republic existed4 ,hence our ,reformers1 going altogether by spiritual and ecclesiastical example1 and hoping thereby to preserve their credit against the reproaches of ,rome1 which1 as your lordship knows1 was perpetually charging them with novelties and innovations in both respects1 recurred to early antiquity for that rule4 ,this attention to ecclesiastical example was1 ,i suppose1 a consideration of convenience with the wise fathers of our church3 the other appeal to the ,gospel1 might be a matter of conscience with them4 ,and thus by force of one text1 ill-understood1 render unto ,c,,sar the things which are ,c,,sar',s1 they put the spiritual sword into the king's hands2 just as by another1 he beareth not the sword in vain 7for ,i know of no better authority71 the temporal sword had also been committed to his care4 ,,mr4 ,,somers4 ,this last intimation1 ,i am apprehensive1 would bear a further debate#ca4 ,but ,i acquiesce in your answer to my particular question2 ,i mean1 unless the bishop of ,salisbury warns me against submitting to so heretical a doctor4 ,,bp4 ,,burnet4 ,my ,lord ,commissioner chuses to let slip no opportunity of exposing what he takes to be an error in ecclesiastical management4 ,either way1 however1 ,i am not displeased to find that his main thesis keeps its ground2 and that1 even according to his own account of the matter1 the nation1 when it gave up the supremacy to the king1 was in possession of a free and legal constitution4 ,on the whole1 you give me leave then to presume that the considerations1 now offered to you1 afford a reasonable account of that despotic form under which the ,english government has appeared1 from the union of the two roses down to the subversion of the constitution in ,,charles the ,first's time4 ,other causes concurred2 but the ,reformation was the chief prop and pillar of the imperial dignity1 while the constitution itself remained the same1 or rather was continually gaining strength even by the necessary operation of those principles on which the ,reformation was founded4 ,religious liberty made way for the entertainment of civil1 in all its branches4 ,it could not be otherwise4 ,it disposed the minds of men to throw off that sluggishness1 in which they had slumbered for many ages4 ,a spirit of inquiry prevailed4 ,inveterate errors were seen through2 and prejudices of all sorts fell off1 in proportion to the growth of letters1 and the progress of reason4 ,the increasing trade and wealth of the nation concurred with the temper of the times4 ,the circulation of property brought on a natural relaxation of the feudal system4 ,the plan of liberty was extended and enlarged2 and the balance of power soon fell into the hands of the people4 ,this appeared very plainly from the influence of parliaments1 and the daring attacks of many particular members on the highest and most favoured claims of prerogative4 ,our kings were sensible of the alteration3 but1 instead of prudently giving way to it1 they flew into the opposite extreme1 and provoked the spirit of the times by the very reluctance they shewed on all occasions to comply with it4 ,every dormant privilege of the crown1 every phantom of prerogative1 which had kept the simpler ages in awe1 was now very unseasonably conjured up1 to terrify all that durst oppose themselves to encroaching royalty4 ,lawyers and church-men were employed in this service4 ,and in their fierce endeavour to uphold a tottering throne by false supports1 they entirely overthrew it4 ,the nation was out of all patience to hear the one decree the empire of the kings of ,england to be absolute and uncontrolable by human law3 and the other gave more offence1 than they found credit1 by pretending that the right of kings to such empire was divine#cb4 ,every artifice indeed of chicane and sophistry was called in to the support of these maxims of law and theology4 ,but the season for religious and civil liberty to prevail over the impotent attempts of each1 was at hand4 ,the near approach of the divine form created an enthusiasm1 which nothing could resist4 ,it frustrated the generous views even of her first and sincerest worshipers4 ,in the career of those ecstatic orgies1 the unhappy king could not prevent his ministers1 first1 and afterwards the constitution itself1 from falling a victim to that fury1 which1 in the end1 forced off his own head4 ,such was the issue of this desperate conflict between prerogative and liberty4 ,the wonder was1 that this fatal experience should not have rectified all mistakes1 and have settled the government on a sure and lasting basis at the ,restoration4 ,the people were convinced1 that nothing more was requisite to their happiness1 than the secure possession of their ancient legal constitution4 ,the re-called family were not so wise4 ,and in their attempts to revive those old exploded claims1 which had succeeded so ill with their predecessors1 they once more fell from the throne1 and left it to the possession of that glorious prince whom the greatly-injured nation has now called to it4 ,this then will be considered by grateful posterity as the true ra of ,english liberty4 ,it was interwoven indeed with the very principles of the constitution4 ,it was inclosed in the ancient trunk of the feudal law1 and was propagated from it#cc4 ,but its operation was weak and partial in that state of its infancy4 ,it acquired fresh force and vigour with age1 and has now at length extended its influence to every part of the political system4 ,henceforward1 may we not indulge in the expectation that both prince and people will be too wise to violate this glorious constitution3 the only one in the records of time1 which hath ever attained to the perfection of civil government8 ,all the blessings of freedom which can consist with kingly rule1 the people have3 all the prerogatives of royalty1 which can consist with civil freedom1 are indulged to the king4 ,from this just intermixture of the popular and regal forms1 planted together in the earliest days1 but grown up at length to full maturity1 there arises a reasonable hope that the ,english constitution will flourish to the latest ages2 and continue1 through them all1 the boast and glory of our country1 and the envy and admiration of the rest of the world4 ,,mr4 ,,somers4 ,how generous in your lordship is this patriot augury of immortality to the ,english constitution6 ,yet ,i dare not be so sanguine in my expectations#ce4 ,and ,sir ,,john ,,maynard1 ,i suspect1 who has seen the madness of kings and people1 in their turns1 will hardly expect it from me4 ,it may be sufficient that we put up our ardent vows to ,heaven1 for the long continuance of it4 ,less than this cannot be dispensed with in an honest man4 ,every blessing of civil policy is secured to us by this new but constitutional settlement4 ,and may our happy country enjoy it1 at least as long as they have the sense to value1 and the virtue to deserve it6 ,,sir ,j4 ,,maynard4 ,when these fail1 our wishes1 and even prayers themselves1 will hardly preserve us4 ,vice and folly1 as you say1 may do much towards defeating the purposes of the best government4 ,what effect these may have1 in time1 on the ,english liberty1 ,i would not1 for the omen's sake1 undertake to say4 ,you1 my lord1 and ,mr4 ,,somers 7who are so much younger men7 may be able1 hereafter1 to conjecture with more certainty of its duration4 ,it is enough for me that ,i have lived to see my country in possession of it4 ,,dialogues ,,vii4 ,,and ,,viii4 ,,on ,,the ,,uses ,,of ,,foreign ,,travel4 ,,between ,,lord ,,shaftesbury ,,and ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,,dialogue ,,vii4 ,,on ,,the ,,uses ,,of ,,foreign ,,travel4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury--,,mr4 ,,locke2 ,,to ,,robert ,,molesworth1 ,,esq4 ,i could not but be much surprised1 my dear friend1 to receive your commands on a subject1 of which ,you1 of all men1 are the greatest master4 ,for who could so well advise the party1 you speak of1 or resolve the general question concerning ,the ,uses of ,foreign ,travel1 considered as a part of modern breeding and education1 as ,,he1 who has himself profited so much by this practice1 and1 in a late excellent treatise#cf1 has given so convincing a proof of its utility8 ,besides1 your application to me is a little suspicious2 and looks as if you wanted to draw from me a confirmation of your own sentiments1 rather than a candid examination of them4 ,for how was it possible for you not to foresee the difficulty ,i must be under1 in debating this point with you8 ,when have ,i been able to dissent from you in any question of morals or policy8 and especially what chance for my doing it in this instance1 when you know the bias which my own education1 conducted in this way1 must have left upon me8 ,i am therefore at a loss1 as ,i said1 to account for your fancy in making me of your council on this occasion4 ,but1 whatever your purpose might be1 since you have thought fit to honour me so far1 ,i must own your ,letter of ,inquiry could not possibly have found me in a fitter season4 ,i happened just then to amuse myself with recollecting a conversation1 which1 not many days before1 had passed between me and a certain ,philosopher of great note1 on that very subject4 ,you know the esteem ,i have of this ,philosopher2 ,i mean1 for such of his writings1 as are most popular1 and deserve to be so2 such as his pieces on ,government1 ,trade1 ,liberty1 and ,education4 ,no man understands the world better2 or reasons more clearly on those subjects1 in which that world takes itself to be most of all1 and is1 in truth1 very nearly concerned4 ,his ,philosophy1 properly so called1 is not1 ,i doubt1 of so good a taste2 at least1 his notion of morals is too modern for my relish3 ,i had put myself to school to other masters1 and had learnt1 you know1 from his betters what to think of ,life and ,manners2 which they treat in a style quite out of the way of these subverters of ideal worlds#cg1 and architects on material principles#ch4 ,but on this head1 my dear ,sir1 you have heard me speak often1 and may hear from me more at large on some other occasion4 ,with exception to this one article 7an important one1 however71 no man is more able1 than ,mr4 ,,locke1 or more privileged by his long experience1 to give us ,lectures on the good old chapter of ,education2 which many others indeed have discussed2 but none with so much good sense and with so constant an eye to the use and business of the world as this writer4 ,the purpose of your inquiry1 then1 cannot1 as ,i suppose1 be any other way so well answered1 as by putting into your hands a faithful account of his sentiments on the conduct and use of ,travelling3 especially1 as you will perceive at the same time what my notions are 7if that be of any importance to you7 on the same subject4 ,if ,i were composing a ,dialogue in the old mimetical1 or poetic form1 ,i should tell you1 perhaps1 the occasion that led us into this track of conversation4 ,nay1 ,i should tell you what accident had brought us together2 and should even omit no circumstance of time or place1 which might be proper to let you into the scene1 and make you1 as it were1 one of us4 ,but these punctilios of decorum are thought too constraining1 and1 as such1 are wisely laid aside1 by the easy moderns4 ,nay the very notion of ,dialogue1 such as it was in the politest ages of antiquity1 is so little comprehended in our days1 that ,i question much1 if these papers were to fall into other hands than your own1 whether they would not appear in a high degree fantastic and visionary4 ,it would never be imagined that a point of morals or philosophy could be regularly treated in what is called a conversation-piece2 or that any thing so unlike the commerce of our world could have taken place between men1 that had any use or knowledge of it4 ,this1 ,i say1 might be the opinion of men of better breeding2 of those1 who are acquainted with the fashion1 and are themselves practised in the conversations1 of the polite world4 ,the formalists1 on the other hand1 would be out of patience1 ,i can suppose1 at this sceptical manner of debate1 which ends in nothing2 and after the waste of much breath1 leaves the matter at last undecided1 and just as it was taken up4 ,all this1 it must be owned1 is very true4 ,but as it is not my intention to submit the following draught to such critics1 you1 who know me1 will accept this recital1 made in my own way1 and pretty much as it passed4 ,you may well be trusted to make your own conclusions from what is offered on either side of the argument1 and will need no officious monitor to instruct you on which side the truth lies4 ,not to detain you1 by further preliminaries1 from the entertainment 7such as it is7 which ,i have promised you2 you may suppose1 if you please1 ,mr4 ,,locke and me1 in company with some other of our common friends1 sitting together in my library1 and entering on the subject in the following manner4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,and is not ,,travelling then1 in your opinion1 one of the best of those methods1 which can be taken to polish and form the manners of our liberal youth1 and to fit them for the business and conversation of the world8 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,i think not4 ,i see but little good1 in proportion to the time it takes up1 that can be drawn from it1 under any management2 but1 in the way in which it commonly is and must be conducted1 so long as travel is considered as a part of early education1 ,i see nothing but mischiefs spring from it4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,what6 necessarily spring from it8 ,and is there no way to stop their growth2 or at least prevent their choking the good plants1 which that soil is capable of producing8 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,this indeed ,i must not absolutely affirm3 your ,lordship's example1 ,i confess1 stands in my way4 ,but if your own education1 which was conducted in this form1 and creates a prejudice for it1 be pleaded against me1 ,i may still say1 that the argument extends no further than to qualify the assertion2 and that1 as in other cases1 the rule is general1 though with some exceptions4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,it was not my meaning to put your politeness to this proof4 ,i would even take no advantage of the exception which you might consent to make in the case of many other travellers1 who have1 doubtless1 a better claim1 than myself1 to this indulgence4 ,what ,i would gladly know of you1 is1 ,whether1 in general1 ,travel be not an excellent school for our ingenuous and noble youth2 and whether it may not1 on the whole1 deserve the countenance of a philosopher1 who understands the world1 and has himself been formed by it8 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,your ,lordship1 ,i think1 will do well to put philosophy out of the question4 ,there is so much to be said against ,travel in that view1 that the matter would clearly be determined against you4 ,it is by other rules1 and what are called the maxims of the world 7which your ,lordship understands too well1 to join them with philosophy71 that the advocate for travelling must demand to have his cause tried1 if he would hope to come off1 in the dispute1 with any advantage4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,yet philosophy was not always of this mind4 ,you know1 when the best proficients in that science gave a countenance to this practice1 by their own example3 a good part of their life was spent in foreign countries2 and they did not presume to set up for masters of wisdom1 till experience and much insight into the manners of men had qualified them for that great office4 ,hence they became the ablest and wisest men of the whole world2 and their wisdom was not in those days of the less account for the politeness1 that was mixed with it4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,those wise men might have their reasons for this different practice4 ,they most of them1 ,i think1 set up for ,politicians and ,legislators1 as well as ,philosophers2 and in that infancy of arts and commerce1 when distant nations had small intercourse with each other1 it might be of real advantage to them1 at least it might serve their reputation with the people1 to spend some years in voyages to such countries as were in the highest fame for their wisdom or good government4 ,besides1 the ,sages of those times made a wondrous mystery of their wisdom3 a sure sign1 perhaps1 that they were not over-stocked with it4 ,it was confined to certain schools and fraternities2 or was locked up still more closely in the breasts of particular persons4 ,knowledge was not then diffused in books and general conversation1 as amongst us2 but was to be obtained by frequenting the academies or houses of those privileged men1 who1 by a thousand ambitious arts1 had drawn to themselves the applause and veneration of the rest of the world4 ,all this might be said in favour of your ,lordship's old ,sages4 ,yet one of them1 who deserved that name the best1 was no great ,traveller4 ,i remember to have read1 that ,,socrates had never stirred out of ,athens2 and that1 when his admirers would sometimes ask him why he affected this singularity1 he was used to say1 ,that ,stones and ,trees did not edify him3 intimating1 ,i suppose1 that the sight of fine towns and fine countries1 which the voyagers of those days1 as of ours1 made a matter of much vanity1 was the principal fruit they had reaped to themselves from their fashionable labours4 ,however1 allowing your lordship to make the most of these respectable authorities for the use of travelling1 it must still be remembered1 that they are wide of our present purpose4 ,they were ,sages1 that travelled3 and we are now inquiring1 whether this be the way for young men to become ,sages4 ,,plato might pick up more learning in his ,voyages1 than any body since has been able to understand2 and yet a youth of eighteen be little the wiser for staring away two or three years in mysterious ,egypt4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,why1 truly1 if he carried nothing abroad with him but the use of his eye-sight1 ,i should be much of your mind with regard to the improvements he might be expected to bring back with him4 ,but let him hear and observe a little1 as well as see2 and methinks a youth of eighteen might pick up something of value1 though he should not return laden with the mysteries of ,egypt4 ,as to the gaiety on the ancient ,sages1 ,i could be much entertained with it1 if ,i did not recollect that the more enlightened moderns have1 also1 been of their mind in this instance4 ,to say nothing of other countries1 which yet have risen in reputation for knowledge and civility in proportion to their acquaintance with the neighbouring nations1 surely it must be allowed of our own1 that all its valuable acquisitions in both have been forwarded at least1 if not occasioned1 by this reasonable practice4 ,we are now1 without doubt1 arrived at the summit of politeness1 and may subsist at length upon our own proper stock4 ,but was this always the case8 ,and must it not be acknowledged1 that the brightest periods of our story are those1 in which our noble youth were fashioned in the school of foreign ,travel8 ,you will hardly pretend that the ornaments of the second ,,charles' and ,,elizabeth',s courts were cast in the coarse mould of this home-breeding4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,i shall perhaps carry my pretensions still further1 and affirm it had been much better if they had been so4 ,i know what is to be said for the voyagers in ,,elizabeth',s time4 ,we were just then emerging from ignorance and barbarity4 ,learning and the ,arts were but then getting up2 and were best acquired1 we will say1 in foreign schools1 and the commerce of other nations1 which might have the start of us in such improvements4 ,the state of ,europe at that time was not unlike what ,i observed of the old world1 when knowledge was in few hands1 and the exclusive property1 as it were1 of particular persons4 ,so that it was to be travelled for1 and fetched home1 by such as would have it4 ,italy1 in particular1 was in those days1 as it had long been1 the theatre of politeness1 and without doubt could furnish us with very much of the learning we most wanted4 ,this then was the fashionable route of our curious and courtly youth3 and many accomplished persons1 ,i can readily admit1 were to be found in the number of our ,italian ,travellers4 ,yet1 methinks1 they had done better to stay at home1 and at least import the arts of ,italy1 if they were necessary to them1 in sager heads than their own4 ,i say this1 because it is no secret that the civility1 we thus acquired1 was dearly paid for2 and that irreligion1 and even ,atheism1 were packed up among their choicest gleanings1 and shewn about1 at their return1 as curiosities1 which could not but very much enhance the consideration of those who had been to gather them beyond the mountains#ci4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,or1 shall we say1 that this impiety of the time was only employed to correct its superstition8 ,and that the philosophic spirits of that age trafficked in these wares1 as thinking them a proper antidote to such as another set of missionaries largely dealt in3 ,i mean1 the agnus ,dei's1 holy beads1 and consecrated medals8 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,take it which way you will1 the conclusion1 ,i believe1 will scarcely be much in favour of our ,italian ,travellers4--,as to the worthies of ,,charles',s court1 your ,lordship1 without doubt1 is disposed to divert yourself with them4 ,for1 if they brought any thing with them from ,france1 besides the dress of its follies and vices 7excepting always the sacred babble of their language71 it is a secret which it has not been my fortune to be apprized of4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,and so1 because ,travelling may1 by accident1 be attended with some ill effects1 you roundly determine against the thing itself2 as if the national improvement in arts and civility1 which unquestionably arose from it1 were to go for nothing6 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,i would have it go for no more than it is honestly worth2 which surely is something less than the price paid for it1 our principles and our morals4 ,and ,i doubt the truth is1 that this degeneracy in both was the usual acquisition of our travelled youth1 and the improvement1 your ,lordship speaks of1 only the accidental benefit4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,without doubt1 there is no extending our acquaintance with the world1 but we run the risk of catching its vices1 as well as virtues4 ,yet1 push this conclusion as far as it will go1 and you shut up mankind in absolute and incurable barbarism4 ,such is the unhappy condition of human nature1 that in striving to cultivate its powers1 you furnish the opportunities1 at least1 of its corruption4 ,yet to leave it in that sordid state1 for fear of those abuses1 is methinks but acting with the weak apprehension of fond mothers2 who deny their children the liberty of stirring from the fire-side1 for fear of the dirt or damp air1 which1 in their field-exercises1 may chance to incommode them4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,the allusion would be apt1 if the health of the mind1 as of the body1 depended on the use of such liberty2 or if it were true1 that one could as little help breathing the air of vice1 as that of the heavens4 ,but1 though ,i have heard much of the dangers to which ,virtue is exposed in this bad world1 ,i have never understood that ,vice is its proper element4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,yet methinks1 ,sir1 it will be hard to keep clear of it in any part of the world1 that ,i am acquainted with3 unless perhaps you take this happy ,island of ours to be as free from ,vice1 as a ,neighbouring one1 they say1 is from ,venom4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,there are1 however1 degrees in ,vice1 as well as varieties of it2 and ,i cannot think it necessary for us to be greater proficients than we are1 or to import new species of it2 by rambling into countries where it may chance to rage with greater virulence1 or where such modes of it1 at least1 prevail1 as are luckily unknown to us4 ,and such1 ,i doubt1 were the fruits of our ,italian and ,french travels4 ,but allowing that ,vice were of every clime1 the same every where1 and equally malignant1 ,i should still imagine our youth to be safer from the infection at home1 under the eye and wing of their own parents or families1 than wandering at large in foreign countries1 with as little care of others1 as prudence of their own1 to guard them from this danger4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,yes1 if they were turned loose into this wicked world1 and left to their own devices4 ,but1 what if some sage ,philosopher-- ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,some ,god1 you would say1 in the shape of a ,tutor2 for a mere mortal ,guide of that stamp is not easily met with4 ,or1 if ,he were1 his wisdom1 ,i doubt1 would hardly give him the authority1 he stands in need of1 for the discharge of his function4 ,but ,i take your ,lordship's raillery1 and could say in my turn1 ,but what if some inquisitive and well-disposed young ,nobleman-- ,after all1 we may let these two voyagers1 so well matched and fitted to each other1 proceed on their journey4 ,the question at present is of no such rarities2 but of raw1 ignorant1 ungovernable boys1 on the one hand1 and of shallow1 servile1 and interested governors1 on the other4 ,and if any good can arise from such worthies as these1 sauntering within the circle of the grand ,tour1 the magic of travelling can call up more than ,i have ever yet seen4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,it may be true1 perhaps1 that the advantages of travelling are not so great1 or so general1 as is sometimes pretended4 ,yet1 on the other hand1 that there are advantages1 and considerable ones too1 can hardly be denied4 ,and to come at length more closely to the point 7for what has hitherto passed is but a sort of prelude to the main argument7 let me have leave to state those advantages clearly and distinctly to you1 and then to request your own proper sense 7,i mean as a man of the world1 according to the advice you just now gave me1 and not as a ,philosopher7 of this practice4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,is this fair dealing in your ,lordship8 ,i supposed that by starting this question you had meant only1 as on other occasions1 to engage an old man in a little conversation2 whereas your purpose1 ,i now find1 is to make a formal debate of it4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,not a formal debate1 but a free conference2 for which we seem to have leisure enough2 and the subject is1 besides1 of real importance4 ,i may presume to answer for our friends here1 that they will not be displeased to assist at it4 ,i am aware1 as you said1 that the practice may be sometimes inconvenient1 as it is commonly managed1 on the side of morals2 and ,i would not be thought to have benefited so little by yours1 and the instructions of my other masters1 as not to lay the greatest stress on that consideration4 ,but1 after all1 these inconveniences may be pretty well avoided1 by the choice of an honest and able governor4 ,such an one it will not be impossible to find1 if the persons concerned be in earnest to look out for him3 ,i do not say in ,cells1 for a ,pedant without manners2 and still less1 you will say1 in ,camps1 for a mannered man1 without principles or letters2 but1 in the world at large1 for some learned and well-accomplished person1 who1 yet1 may not disdain to be engaged in this noblest office of conducting a young gentleman's education4 ,under such a ,governor1 as this1 the danger1 to which a young man's morals may be exposed by early travel1 will be tolerably guarded against2 and to make amends for the hazard he runs in this respect1 ,i see1 on the other hand1 so many reasons for breeding young men in this way1 so many benefits arising from it at all times1 and such peculiar inducements with regard to the present state of our own country1 that1 ,i think1 we shall hardly be of two minds1 when you have attended to them4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,we shall see that in due time4 ,for the present1 the serious air1 you assume1 so different from your wonted manner1 secures my attention4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,i cannot tell what may be the opinion of others2 but ignorance and barbarity seem to me to be the parents of the most and the worst vices4 ,conceit1 pride1 bigotry1 insolence1 ferocity1 cruelty1 are the native product of the human mind1 kept uncultivated4 ,self-love1 which makes so predominant a part in the constitution of man1 that some sufferers by its excesses have mistaken it for the sole spring of all his actions1 naturally engenders these vices1 when no care is taken to controul its operations by another principle4 ,on this account1 wise men have had recourse to various expedients2 such as the provision of ,laws2 the culture of ,arts and ,letters2 and1 in general1 all that discipline which comes under the notion of early tutorage and education4 ,but none of these has been found so effectual to the end in view1 or is so immediately directed to the purpose of enlarging the mind1 and curing it1 at once1 of all its obstinate and malignant prejudices1 as a knowledge of the world acquired in the way of society1 and general conversation4 ,to say nothing of the solitary sequestered life1 which all men agree to term ,savage1 look only on those smaller knots and fraternities of men1 which meet together in our provincial towns and cities1 and1 without any larger commerce1 are confined within the narrow enclosure of their own walls or districts4 ,in as much as this condition is more social than the other1 it is1 without doubt1 more eligible4 ,yet see how many weak views are entertained by these separate clans1 how many fond conceits1 and over-weening fancies6 ,the world seems to them shrunk up into their own private circle2 just as the heavens appear to children to be contained within the limits of their own horizon4 ,extend this prospect of mankind to still greater combinations1 to states1 kingdoms1 nations1 and what we call a whole people4 ,by this freer intercourse1 indeed1 their thoughts take a larger range1 and their minds open to more generous and manly conceptions4 ,yet their native barbarism sticks close to them1 and requires to be loosened and worn off by a more social habit1 by the experience of a still wider and more thorough communication4 ,tribes of men1 although very numerous1 yet1 if shut up within one territory1 and held closely together under the influence of the same political constitution1 easily assimilate1 as it were2 run into the same common sentiments and opinions2 and presently take1 in the whole extent of their community1 one uniform prevailing character4 ,hence the necessity of their still looking beyond their own1 into other combinations and societies2 that so1 as the mind strengthens by this exercise1 they may be enabled to shake off their local1 as we may say1 and territorial prejudices4 ,those other societies may not be without their defects1 which it will be equally proper to keep clear of4 ,but1 by this free prospect of the differences subsisting between different nations1 each naturally gets quit of his own peculiar and characteristic vices2 and those of others1 presenting themselves to our unbiassed observation1 are not so readily entertained1 or do not cling so fast to us1 as what have grown up with us1 and1 by long unquestioned use1 are become1 as we well express it1 a second nature4 ,thus1 by this near approach and attrition1 as it were1 of each other1 our rude parts give way2 our rough corners are insensibly worn off2 and we are polished by degrees into a general and universal humanity4 ,,externi nequid valeat per lve morari1 to use the poet's words1 though with some small difference1 ,i believe in their application4 ,what says my friend to these principles8 are they just and reasonable8 or1 am ,i going to build on precarious and insecure foundations8 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,whatever defect there may be in this foundation1 your ,lordship1 as a wise architect1 is for sparing no cost or pains in providing for its stability4 ,yet1 methinks1 you go deeper for it1 than you need4 ,at least1 ,i did not expect your defence of ,travelling would require you to make these profound researches into human nature4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,i take your meaning4 ,these researches1 you would say1 are so little profound1 that ,i might have spared myself the trouble of making them at all1 at least in conversation with a philosopher4 ,be that as it will2 provided the principles themselves1 ,i am contending for1 be well founded4 ,for the conclusion necessarily follows1 8,that therefore ,,foreign ,,travel is1 of all others1 the most important and essential part of ,education40 ,the youth of the most accomplished people in ,europe would have much to correct in themselves1 and something1 perhaps1 to learn1 in their voyages into the neighbouring nations2 however inferior to their own1 in the general state of knowledge and politeness4 ,what then must be the case of our ,english youth1 confined in this remote corner among themselves1 and indulged in their own rustic and licentious habits8 ,our country has never been famous for the civility of its inhabitants4 ,we have1 rather1 been stigmatized in all ages1 and are still considered by the rest of ,europe1 as proud1 churlish1 and unsocial4 ,the very circumstance of our ,island-situation seems to expose us to the just reproach of inhospitality4 ,and if1 with this disadvantage1 we should cherish1 and not correct1 those vices which so naturally spring from it1 what less could we expect than to be distinguished by such names1 as our ill-manners would well deserve1 though our pride might suffer from the application of them8 ,it seems then to be an inevitable consequence of what has been said1 that we of this country have a more than ordinary occasion for the benefits of foreign travel4 ,and the reason of the thing shews1 they cannot be obtained too soon4 ,young minds are the fittest to take the ply of civility and good manners4 ,the task is less easy1 and the success more uncertain1 when we enter upon this business late in life2 when intractable humours have gathered strength1 and the unsocial manner is become habitual to us4 ,whatever may be objected to the incapacity of this age in other respects1 youth is out of question the time for acquiring right propensities and virtuous habits4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,your ,lordship has so many good words at command upon all occasions1 that one cannot but be entertained1 at least1 with your rhetoric1 if not convinced by it4 ,but my present concern is1 to have a clear conception of your argument1 which in plain terms1 as ,i apprehend it1 stands thus2 8,that every nation has many vices and follies to correct in itself2 that this is perhaps more especially the case of our own2 and that early ,travel is the only1 at least the most proper1 cure for them40 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,that1 ,sir1 is my meaning2 and1 though expressed in more words than may be necessary1 it is surely not coloured by any rhetorical exaggerations4 ,but you must allow me to proceed in my own way1 and enforce the general argument1 ,i have delivered1 by applying it to the particular exigencies and necessities of our ,english youth4 ,you1 who have been abroad in the world1 and have so just a knowledge of other states and countries1 tell me1 if there can be any thing more ridiculous than the idiot ,,prejudices of our home-bred gentlemen2 which shew themselves1 whenever their own dear ,island comes1 in any respect1 to be the topic of conversation4 ,what wondrous conceits of their own prowess1 wisdom1 nay of their manners and politeness6 ,with what disdain is a foreigner mentioned by them1 and with what apparent signs of aversion is his very person treated6 ,they scarcely give you leave to suppose that any virtuous quality can thrive out of their own air1 or that good sense can be expressed in any foreign language4 ,nay1 their foolish prepossession extends to their very soil and climate4 ,such warm patriots are they1 such furious lovers of their country1 that they will have it to be the theatre of all convenience1 delight1 and beauty4 8,to hear their discourse among themselves1 one would imagine that the finest lands near the ,euphrates1 the ,babylonian or ,persian ,paradises1 the rich plains of ,egypt1 the ,grcian ,tempe1 the ,roman ,campania1 ,lombardy1 ,provence1 the ,spanish ,andalusia1 or the most delicious tracts in the ,eastern or ,western ,indies1 were contemptible countries in respect of what they dote upon under the name of ,old ,england#dj40 ,now1 if it were only for the sake of truth and decency1 if it were but to avoid the ridicule to which these palpable absurdities and childish fancies expose them1 one cannot but wish that our countrymen would open their eyes1 and extend their prospect beyond their own foggy air1 and dirty acres4 ,but this is the least inconvenience of their home breeding4 ,how many low ,,habits and sordid practices grow upon our youth of fortune1 and even of quality1 from the influence of their family1 or at best provincial1 education6 ,they retain so much of their ,saxon or ,norman character1 that their noblest passion is that of the ,chace2 unless a horse-race may1 haply1 contend with it4 ,their ideas are all taken from the stable or kennel2 and they have hardly words for any other sort of conversation4 ,in conjunction with this habit1 or in direct consequence of it1 they plunge themselves into the brutalities of the bottle and table4 ,having little use of the faculty of thinking or discoursing on any reasonable subject1 they care not how soon they disable themselves for either4 ,to this end1 their surloins are of sovereign effect2 and if any spark of the divine particle be still unsubdued1 they quench it forthwith in the strongest wines1 or1 which suits their taste and design best1 in their own country liquor4 ,this sottish debauch leads to others4 ,my young master will be denied no animal gratification4 ,and thus low intrigues and vulgar amours follow of course1 in which the sum of his refined pleasures is1 at length1 completed4 ,the rest of his life runs on in this drowzy tenour2 unless perhaps you except those intervals1 which can hardly be called lucid1 when his half-closed understanding seems stunned1 rather than awakened1 by party-rage1 election bustle1 and the noise of faction4 ,admirable patriots these6 and usefuller citizens by far1 than if they had acquired some relish of temperance1 decency1 and reason1 in foreign courts1 and the more improved societies of ,europe4 ,but suppose our young gentleman to have escaped this sordid taste1 and by better luck than ordinary to have finished his home education without much injury to his morals4 ,nay1 suppose him to be inured1 in good time1 to better discipline1 and to have had the advantage of what is called amongst us1 by a violent figure of speech1 a liberal education4 ,to put the case at the best1 suppose him to have been well whipped through one of our public schools1 and to come full fraught1 at length1 with ,latin and ,greek1 from his college4 ,you see him1 now1 on the verge of the world1 and just ready to step into it4 ,but1 good heavens1 with what ,,principles and ,,manners8 ,his spirit broken by the servile awe of pedants1 and his body unfashioned by the genteeler exercises6 ,timid at the same time1 and rude2 illiberal and ungraceful6 ,an absurd compound of abject sentiments1 and bigoted notions1 on the one hand2 and of clownish1 coarse1 ungainly demeanor1 on the other6 ,in a word1 both in mind and person1 the furthest in the world from any thing that is handsome1 gentlemanlike1 or of use and acceptation in good company6 ,bring but one of these grown boys into a circle of well-bred people1 such as his rank and fortune entitle him1 and in a manner oblige him1 to live with3 and see how forbidding his air1 how embarrassed all his looks and motions6 ,his awkward attempts at civility would provoke laughter1 if1 again1 his rustic painful bashfulness did not excite one's pity4 ,what wonder if the young man1 under these circumstances1 is glad to shrink away1 as soon as possible1 from so constraining a situation2 and to seek the low society of his inferiors1 at least of such as himself among his equals1 where he can be at ease1 and give a loose to his unformed and disorderly behaviour6 ,but now1 on the other hand1 let a young gentleman1 who has been trained abroad2 who has been accustomed to the sight and conversation of men2 who has learnt his exercises1 has some use of the languages1 and has read his ,,horace or ,,homer in good company2 let such an one1 at his return1 make his appearance in the best societies2 and see with what ease and address he sustains his part in them6 how liberal his air and manner6 how managed and decorous his delivery of himself6 ,in short1 how welcome to every body1 and how prepared to acquit himself in the ordinary commerce of the world1 and in conversation6 ,i should think1 if there were no other advantage of early travel1 beside this of manners1 it were well worth setting against all the other inconveniences1 whatever they be1 of this sort of ,education4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,good my ,lord---- ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,i know what you would say3 that manners1 in the proper acceptation of the word1 at least in the sense of wise men1 implies much more than the ease1 assurance1 civility1 7call it what you will7 which a young ,traveller is supposed to acquire in his intercourse with the politer nations4 ,without doubt1 it does4 ,but give me this foundation of good breeding to work upon2 and if ,i had the tutorage of a noble youth1 ,i durst be answerable for all the rest1 which even a philosopher includes in his sublime notion of manners3 whereas1 without it1 his improvements of other sorts would be almost thrown away2 nay1 his virtues themselves would be offensive and unlovely4 ,but do not imagine ,i confine myself to manners in the obvious meaning of that term4 ,i further understand by it an ability for ingenuous1 useful1 and manly conversation4 ,for a traveller1 that makes the proper use of his opportunities1 will be all of a piece1 and return as polished in his mind and understanding1 as in his person4 ,and here1 again1 how deficient is the turn and course of our ordinary education6 ,whither would you send our young pupil1 to accomplish himself in the necessary art of speaking handsomely and thinking justly8 ,what companions have you provided for him1 or what instructors in this man-science will you direct him to8 shall he court the acquaintance of some lettered pedagogue in the schools1 or solicit the precious communication of some famed professor in the occult sciences8 ,wonderful models of correct wit1 sublime sense1 and elegant expression6 ,i have read of an ancient ,rhetorician1 that took upon him to teach others the art of speaking2 but in such a way1 says my author1 that if a man had a mind to learn the art of not speaking1 he could not have been directed to an abler master4 ,i forbear the application of my little tale1 out of pure respect to the modern disciples and ornaments of this ancient school2 and1 without pushing matters so far1 it will be owned1 that whatever advantage of this sort may be left at home1 the loss will be amply made up to an inquisitive traveller1 on the ,continent4 ,france1 and even ,italy1 abounds in men of distinguished literature and politeness4 ,nay1 a ,german ,professor may supply the place of an ,university ,doctor4 ,think1 what illustrious persons may be sometimes met with even in a ,dutch town3 and how many instructive hours you and ,i have passed in conversation with such knowing1 candid1 and accomplished scholars1 as ,,le ,,clerc and ,,limborch4 ,philosophy1 and even ,divinity1 could take a liberal air1 under their management2 and eloquence itself might be learned1 on almost every subject1 in their company4 ,i consider then the acquaintance and familiarity of men of eminent parts and genius1 as another considerable benefit resulting from this way of foreign education4 ,still there are higher things in view 7for1 now ,i have ventured thus far in the dogmatic tone1 ,i find myself1 like our authorized teachers1 a little impatient of control1 and in a humour to run myself out without lett or interruption72 still1 ,i say1 there are higher advantages in view from travelled culture and education4 ,you may think as slightly as you please1 of the exterior polish of manners1 or may even treat as superficial the information that can be acquired in good company4 ,but what say you to that supreme accomplishment1 a ,,knowledge ,,of ,,the ,,world2 a science so useful1 as to supersede or disgrace all the rest2 and so profound1 as to merit all the honours1 and to fill up all the measures of the best philosophy8 ,for1 by a knowledge of the world1 ,i mean that which results from the observation of men and things2 from an acquaintance with the customs and usages of other nations2 from some insight into their policies1 government1 religion2 in a word1 from the study and contemplation of men2 as they present themselves on the great stage of the world1 in various forms1 and under different appearances4 ,this is that master-science1 which a gentleman should comprehend1 and which our schools and colleges never heard of4 ,i know this science is too difficult to be perfectly acquired1 but by long habit and mature reflection4 ,i know it is not to be expected from a slight survey of mankind2 from a hasty passage through the different countries1 or a short residence in the great towns1 of ,europe4 ,all this ,i am not to be told2 but it must be allowed me at the same time1 that so important a study cannot be entered upon too soon1 and that the rudiments at least of this science cannot be laid in too early4 ,the proper business of men1 especially those of rank and quality1 lies among men4 ,the first and last object of a ,gentleman should be an intimate study and knowledge of his species4 ,say1 that some chapters of this great book1 the world1 are above his reach1 and too hard for his decyphering4 ,yet others are easier and more manageable4 ,initiate a young man betimes in these pursuits2 and his progress1 as in other things1 must be the more sure and successful4 ,above all1 let him be taught to give an early attention to the manners of men1 to observe their dispositions1 to inspect and analyze their characters4 ,what a field is here for an intelligent young man1 assisted by the superior lights and experience of an able governor6 ,and what a harvest of true knowledge and learning must he gather and bring home with him1 from the numberless varied scenes he has passed through in his voyages6 ,with what lustre must such a person appear in the court or senate of his own country6 ,how secure against the attempts of artifice and design6 the plots of insidious enemies1 or the pretences of false friends6 how apt for the business of life1 and for bearing his part in public debates and cabinet-consultations6 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,your ,lordship declaims so handsomely on this theme1 that ,i am something loth to spoil your panegyric by asking a plain question1 8,how this knowledge of the public affairs of his own country is to be come at1 by foreign politics80 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,as if the objects of that knowledge were not every where much the same6 ,bigotry or ,fanaticism in religion1 selfish or factious intrigues in government1 neglected or ill-improved agriculture or commerce1 insolence and want of discipline in fleets and armies1 a bad-constituted police under venal magistrates1 and a corrupt administration2 are not these the principal mischiefs to be guarded against by our young citizen1 or perhaps senator8 ,and where is the country1 which does not afford opportunities of laying in useful lessons on all these subjects8 ,to say the least1 a little home-practice will go a great way1 when entered upon with so true a preparation of general knowledge4 ,on the other hand1 it hardly needs to be observed1 the disadvantage1 with which our young ,islander must come into this scene2 a novice to the affairs of the world2 a stranger to men and characters2 and who has never perhaps stretched his observation beyond the narrow circle of his companions1 or even his own family4 ,my panegyric1 as you call this plain representation of facts and things1 would never have an end1 if ,i were to take to myself all the advantages1 which this topic of an early knowledge of the world in a young traveller affords me4 ,but ,i leave the rest to be supplied out of these hints2 and pass on to other considerations1 which seem of moment to the credit and reputation of our country1 and to the accomplishment1 at least1 of our ingenuous youth2 however they may rank in the estimation of some1 who in modern times have assumed to themselves the name and office of ,philosophers4 ,you1 who have so much a nobler way of thinking than these nominal sages1 will allow me1 ,i hope1 to lay some stress on the ,,liberal ,,arts2 which adorn and embellish human life2 and1 where they prevail to some degree of perfection1 are among the surest marks of the civility and politeness of any people4 ,it is notorious enough how backward we have been1 and still are1 in all these elegant and muse-like applications4 ,there is little or nothing in the way of picture1 sculpture1 and the arts of design among us1 that can stand the test of a knowing and judicious eye4 ,it is but of late we have begun to form to ourselves any thing like an ear in harmony and the proportions of just music4 ,and whatever magisterial airs our fashionable workmen in the dramatic and poetical kinds may give themselves in their prologues and prefaces1 it is no secret to such as have looked into the ancient masters1 or have made an acquaintance with the style and manner of the politer moderns1 that we are far from possessing a right taste in these things1 and that the ,muses have hitherto shewn themselves but little indulgent to us4 ,the courtship1 we have paid to them1 has been pressing and ardent1 if you will2 but this circumstance1 though it may do much1 nay is thought to do every thing with the sex1 seems not to have succeeded with these coy ,ladies4 ,passion and assiduity are not the only things3 somewhat of an address and management is looked for in our advances4 ,wherever the defect lies1 and whatever be the cure for it1 certain it is1 there is much of the ,gothic manner in the performances of our best artists3 there is neither chasteness of design1 nor elegance of hand1 in our manual operations3 nothing like correctness of thought1 simplicity of style1 or the grace of numbers1 in our literate productions4 ',tis true1 the strength and vigour of our genius has been exerted in other things4 ,we have been solicitous to procure a just taste in policy and government1 and have at length succeeded in this first and highest emulation4 ,it may now be proper to apply the liberty1 we have so happily gained1 to other improvements4 ,there is something1 ,i have ever observed1 congenial to the liberal arts in the reigning spirit of a free people4 ,it must then be our own fault1 if our progress in every elegant pursuit do not keep pace with our excellent constitution4 ,but the likeliest way to quicken the growth of these studies1 is to turn our attention from the bad models of our own country1 and enter into a free commerce and generous struggle1 as it were1 with our more advanced neighbours4 ,and it is here again1 as in the manners and arts of life1 the seeds of good taste cannot be committed to the mind too soon4 ,it were then to be wished1 that our young men had right impressions of art in their tender years2 and that1 forming their relish among the ablest proficients in ,europe1 they might afterwards communicate their improvements to their own country4 ,thus1 it might be hoped1 in some convenient time1 we should have something of our own to oppose to the wit1 learning1 and elegance of ,france2 and that1 in the mechanic execution of the fine arts1 we should come at length to vye with the ,italian masters4 ,nor think1 that such an emulation as this would be without its use1 even in a moral and political view4 ,beauty and virtue are nearer of kin1 than every one is perhaps aware of3 and the mind that is taken with the charm of what is true and becoming in the representation of sensible things1 cannot be inattentive to those qualities in the higher species and moral forms4 ,it is thither indeed the virtuoso passion naturally tends2 and there1 it finally acquiesces4 ,quid ,,verum atque ,,decens curo et rogo1 et omnis in hoc sum4 ,but ,i see what you think of this language4 ,let me add then1 that policy1 as well as philosophy1 is on the side of these studies4 ,who can doubt their virtue in softening and refining the manners of a people8 or1 to take policy in its vulgar sense1 where would be the hurt1 if ,britain were the seat of arts and letters1 as well as of trade and liberty8 ,then might we be travelled to1 in our turn1 as our neighbours are at present3 and our country1 amidst its other acquisitions1 be also enriched 7,i use the word in its proper1 not metaphorical sense7 with a new species of commerce4 ,not to insist1 that the ascendant which one nation takes over another in all public concerns1 is very much owing to this pre-eminence of taste and politeness1 to its acknowledged superiority1 ,i may say1 in the literate and virtuoso character2 of which ,france is an instance in our days2 as ,italy is well known to have been in the days of our forefathers4 ,and1 if there be use and value in such things1 how shall our ingenuous youth be tinctured with a right sense of them1 but by early and well-conducted travel8 ,for what discipline1 what examples1 what encouragements1 have we at home8 what academies for the genteel exercises8 what conferences for the improvement of art or language8 what societies for the cultivation of the liberal character8 ,the contemplation of these defects carries me still further2 to the source and fountain of them all1 which ,i make no scruple to lay open to you4 8,time was1 ,sir1 when philosophy herself could appear with grace even in courts1 when the great and noble1 nay and princes themselves1 were not ashamed to be of her train1 but frequented her studious schools and walks1 and were even ambitious of her company in their hours of leisure and recreation4 ,see now to what unpractised cells and ignoble societies she is degraded6 her graceful form faded and shrunk2 her ingenuous sprightly air deadened into ,i know not what gloom and austerity of the cloyster4 ,you1 who have done more than any other1 to retrieve her credit and bring her back to the world1 can best tell her present degenerate condition4 ,you know where she lies1 unapproached by her former suitors2 her liberal manner soured into disdain and hate2 her persuasive voice1 which spoke the language of the ,gods1 broken into untuned numbers and discordant harshness2 and her very sense corrupted into empty sophisms and unintelligible jargon4 ,the ,graces1 those companions of her better days1 are all fled3 and in their room1 a riotous band of fauns and satyrs dance around her4 ,yet still she assumes a sort of mock-sovereignty2 and1 under the new name of ,genius of the ,schools1 presides1 in sullen majesty1 over her numerous1 servile1 awe-struck votaries40 ,in some such way as this1 were ,i at liberty to pursue the figured speech1 and to adopt the higher tone of the ancient masters1 would ,i presume to represent the present state of ,erudition1 as we see it managed in certain sublime seats and authorized nurseries amongst us4 ,and would you invite our liberal and noble youth to resort thither8 could you expect that their free spirits would stoop to be lectured by bearded boys2 or that their minds could ever be formed and tutored by such pedants1 in a way that fits them for the real practice of the world and of mankind8 ,have we not long enough submitted to the inconveniencies of this monkish education8 ,look on the generality of those persons who have had their breeding in those seminaries4 ,what principles in morals1 in government1 in religion1 have sprouted thence6 what dispositions have we known corrupted by their discipline6 what understandings perverted by their servile and false systems6 ,has truth1 or liberty1 or reason1 fair play from that quarter8 ,nay1 has not truth1 and liberty1 and reason1 though speaking by ,,one of their own sons1 been calumniated and rejected6 ,in a word1 have they not always set themselves to obstruct the progress of true knowledge1 and the cause of freedom8 ,if such then be the state of our own seats of literature and education1 what more needs be alleged in the behalf of ,,foreign ,,travel2 which is the only means left to remedy these mischiefs1 or at least to palliate and correct them8 ,,dialogue ,,viii4 ,,on ,,the ,,uses ,,of ,,foreign ,,travel4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury--,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,,to ,,robert ,,molesworth1 ,,esq4 ,here ,i concluded my defence3 when ,mr4 ,,locke1 perceiving1 by the attention we all paid to him1 that we were now prepared to receive his answer1 raised himself in his chair1 and1 with a firmer tone and look than ,i expected1 addressed himself to me in the following manner4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,were the subject before us a matter of indifference or curiosity1 such as idle men are used to discourse of1 ,i could allow your lordship to pursue it in this way of ,socratic raillery and declamation4 ,but1 if ever there was a question1 that deserved the examination of a philosopher1 properly so called1 it is1 surely1 this of ,,education2 and1 among the various parts of it1 none is more strictly to be inquired into1 as none is1 perhaps1 so big with important consequences1 as that which comes recommended to us under the specious name of ,,foreign ,,travel4 ,i could not1 therefore1 but wonder to hear your lordship enlarge so much1 and so long1 on ,i know not what varnish of manners and good breeding2 of the knowledge of men and the world2 of arts1 languages1 and other trappings and shewy appendages of education3 just as if an architect should entertain you with a discourse on ,festoons and ,foliage1 or the finishing of his ,frize and ,capitals1 when you expected him to instruct you in what way to erect a solid edifice on firm walls and durable foundations4 ,what a reasonable man wants to know1 is1 the proper method of building up men3 whereas your lordship seems solicitous for little more than tricking out a set of fine gentlemen4 ,it seemed1 indeed1 as if your lordship had calculated your defence of travelling for a knot of ,virtuosi1 or a still more fashionable circle 7where1 doubtless1 it would pass with much ease and without contradiction72 and had1 somehow1 forgotten that your hearers are all plain men2 one of them1 an old one2 and he too1 as your ,lordship loves to qualify him1 a philosopher4 ,to speak my mind frankly1 my ,lord1 your defence of foreign travel1 as lively and plausible as it seemed1 has no solid basis to rest upon4 ,you tell us of many defects in the breeding of our ,english youth1 and you would willingly redress them3 but in what way this is best done1 can never be known from vague and general declamation4 ,to make this inquiry to purpose1 some certain principles must be laid down2 some scheme of life and manners must be formed2 some idea or model of the character1 you would imprint on young minds1 must be described2 to which we may constantly refer1 as we go along2 and by which1 as a rule1 we may estimate the fitness and propriety of that sort of breeding1 you would recommend to us4 ,since your ,lordship then will needs have me dictate to you on the subject of ,education1 ,i must have leave to do it in another way1 and after a more solemn manner1 than you perhaps expect from me in this freedom of conversation4 ,i begin with this certain principle3 ,that the business of education is to form the ,,understanding1 and regulate the ,,heart4 ,if man be a compound of ,reason and ,passion1 the only proper discipline of his nature is that which accomplishes these two purposes4 ,so far we are1 doubtless1 agreed4 ,but the subject requires a more particular application of this principle4 ,you have laboured with much plausibility to persuade us1 ,that the only reasonable education is that which prepares and fits a man for the commerce of the world3 and ,i readily admit the notion1 provided we first agree about the meaning of this big word1 the ,,world4 ,your ,lordship1 it may be1 in your sublime view of things1 is projecting to make of your ,pupil1 what is called1 in the widest sense of the term1 a ,citizen of the ,world4 ,a great and awful character1 my ,lord6 ,but let us advance by just degrees4 ,first1 if you please1 let us provide that he be a worthy citizen of ,england2 and1 by your favour1 let me ennoble this small island of ours with the pompous appellation of the world4 ,it is that world1 at least1 in which our adventurer is to play his part2 and for the commerce of which it concerns him most immediately to be prepared4 ,now1 as your ,lordship's chief care is directed1 very properly1 towards its chief subjects2 ,i mean1 the men of rank and fortune1 whose ample property and noble birth give their country the greatest concern in their education2 let me ask in what manner they are likely to qualify themselves best for the important parts1 they are to act in it8 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,certainly1 by acquiring that knowledge1 and those accomplishments1 that are most proper for the discharge of them4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,undoubtedly1 my ,lord3 there cannot be two answers to so plain a question4 ,as that education is1 in general1 the best which forms the man1 in the best manner2 so1 in this confined view1 that education must be thought the best1 which forms the ,englishman1 in the best manner4 ,to proceed then on this reasonable concession4 ,an ,english citizen1 or1 if you will1 ,senator1 7for this is the station to which our greater citizens do1 and our best should aspire7 can never acquit himself of the duties he owes his country1 under this character1 but by furnishing himself with all those qualities of the head and heart1 which his superior rank and pretensions demand4 ,this last chapter is an important one2 and would be very long1 if justice were done to it4 ,but a summary of the main articles1 of which it consists1 may be given in few words4 ,i require then in our young aspirant to the name and honours of an ,english ,senator1 that his mind be early and thoroughly seasoned with the principles of virtue and religion3 that he be trained1 by a strict discipline1 to the command of his temper and passions3 that his ambition be awakened1 or rather directed1 to its right object1 the public good2 and to that end1 that his soul be fired with the love of excellence and true honour3 above all1 that he have a reverence for the legal constitution of his country1 and a fervent affection for the great community to which he belongs4 ,your ,lordship has a due respect for these virtuous qualities of the ,,heart1 which will give this consideration its full weight with you4 ,but were they of no more account1 than many institutors of youth seem disposed to reckon them1 still there are other qualities1 those of the ,,head1 in every man's account essentially requisite to the discharge of those offices1 which our greater citizens are destined to sustain4 ,i require1 therefore1 in the next place1 that our young ,senator have a ready and familiar use1 at least1 of the ,latin tongue 7your ,lordship1 ,i know1 will add1 and of the ,greek2 but in this ,i am not so peremptory73 that he be competently instructed in the elements of science1 as well as what are called polite letters3 that1 especially1 he be well grounded in the principles of morals1 public and private2 that he have made a thorough acquaintance with the history of his own country1 and with its constitution1 ,civil and ,ecclesiastical3 that he have a general insight into the history of the world1 ancient and modern3 above all1 that he have a well-exercised understanding2 ,i mean1 that he be taught to reason clearly and consequentially upon any subject3 and1 further1 to put all these abilities to use1 that he have a ready command of his own language1 and the power of expressing himself1 whether in writing or speaking1 with ease and perspicuity1 at least1 if not with elegance4 ,other ornamental qualities ,i omit for the present1 which will almost come of themselves1 if his education be rightly conducted2 or may be acquired with little pains1 and in the way of diversion only4 ,but these solid accomplishments ,i hold it necessary for our youth of quality to possess1 by the time in which they usually pass out of the hands of their ,tutors and ,governors1 ,i mean the age of twenty-one4 ,am ,i unreasonable in these demands8 or can any thing less be dispensed with in a gentleman1 who1 by established custom1 is to enter into the world at those years1 and to bear a part in the public business and legislature of his country8 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,without doubt1 these accomplishments are no more than may be reasonably required in our young gentleman1 or ,senator4 ,but how they are to be come at in our vulgar way of ,education1 ,i do not easily apprehend4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,of that1 in due time4 ,at present1 you accept this as a reasonable idea or sketch of an ,english gentleman's character2 such as the course of his education ought to imprint upon him3 and ,i shall now shew you very clearly that it is not possible to be attained in the way of foreign ,travel4 ,consider1 first of all1 the unavoidable ,,waste ,,of ,,time2 of that time which is so precious in every view2 not only as being the most proper for making the acquisitions1 ,i speak of2 but as being the only period of his life1 which he will be at liberty to employ in that manner4 ,early youth is flexible and docile3 apt to take the impressions of virtue1 and ready to admit the principles of knowledge4 ,the faculties of the mind are then vigorous and alert3 the conception quick1 and the memory retentive4 ,the humble drudgery of acquiring the elements of literature and science is to young minds an easy and a flattering employment4 ,a submissive reverence for their teachers disposes them to proceed without reluctance in any path that is prescribed to them2 and a springing emulation1 joined to a conscious sense of gradual improvement1 gives force and constancy to their pursuits4 ,the objects of their application seem important2 not only from the novelty of them1 and the authority of those who have the direction of their studies1 but chiefly perhaps from a confused sense of their value1 much above what they would entertain1 were they able to form a true and distinct judgment of them4 ,this1 then1 is the season for laying the foundations of knowledge and ability of every kind2 and if you let it slip1 without applying it carefully to those purposes1 you will in vain lament the omission in riper years1 when the cares or amusements of life afford little leisure for such pursuits1 and less inclination4 ,there may have been some few examples of those1 whose superior industry in advanced age has atoned for the defects of their education4 ,but in general the man depends intirely on the boy2 and he is all his life long1 what the impressions1 he received in his early years1 have made him#da4 ,if therefore any considerable part of this precious season be wasted in foreign travel1 ,i mean if it be actually not employed in the pursuits proper to it1 this circumstance must needs be considered as an objection of great weight to that sort of education4 ,your ,lordship may consider1 next1 the ,,dissipation ,,of ,,mind attending on this itinerant education2 while the scene is constantly changing2 and new objects perpetually springing up before him1 to solicit the admiration of our young traveller4 ,one of the greatest secrets in education is1 to fix the attention of youth3 a painful operation6 which requires long use and a steady unremitting discipline2 the very reverse of that roving1 desultory habit1 which is inseparable from the sort of life you would recommend4 ,the young mind is naturally impatient of constraint3 it hates to be confined for any time in the same track2 and is flying out1 at every turn1 from the proper subject of its meditation4 ,instead of counteracting this native infirmity1 you indulge and flatter it2 till1 by degrees1 the mind loses its tone and vigour1 and is utterly incapable of paying a due attention to any thing4 ,i insist the more on this consideration1 because in acquiring the elements of learning it is of great importance that the learner proceed uniformly in the course on which he has entered4 ,it may now and then be the privilege of a genius1 to seize the principles of knowledge at once1 and to grow wise1 as we may say1 by intuition4 ,but the common sort of minds are of another make4 ,it is by slow steps only that they arrive at knowledge2 and1 if you stop or divert their progress1 their labour is all thrown away1 or yields at best a shallow1 superficial1 and ill-digested learning4 ,but were no account to be had of the loss of time1 or of this dissipated turn of mind1 which is still more pernicious1 ,i should nevertheless object to this travelled education1 on account of the very objects to which our traveller's ,,application is directed4 ,instead of those necessary and fundamental parts of knowledge1 which ,i require him to have laid in1 his attention1 so much of it as can be spared for any thing that looks like information1 is wasted on things either frivolous or unimportant4 ,his first business is1 to make himself perfect in the forms of breeding1 which he finds in use among those he lives with1 or perhaps in their forms of dress only4 ,his next concern is1 to acquire a readiness in the languages of ,europe2 or1 to shorten his labour as much as possible1 at least in the ,french language4 ,the pretence is1 that he may fit himself for conversation with his foreign acquaintance2 which takes up much time to little purpose1 as the use ceases1 in a good degree1 with his return home3 and1 that he may qualify himself for perusing their best books2 which takes him off from the study of those which are still better2 in the learned languages1 and ,i will venture to say1 in his own4 ,if any thing further employ his attention1 it is perhaps a little virtuosoship4 ,he inquires after fine pictures1 fine statues1 fine buildings4 ,he visits the shops of artificers2 gets admission to libraries1 cabinets of medals1 and repositories of curiosities2 and1 for some relaxation from these arduous toils1 is frequent at ,churches1 ,theatres1 and ,courts of ,judicature1 and stares at processions1 ceremonies1 and other solemn shews4 ,and1 now1 when these three points have been duly attended to1 ,i leave your ,lordship to guess what leisure he is likely to have for accomplishing himself in those other studies1 which you allow me to suppose are of much greater importance4 ,in one word1 my ,lord1 if he acquires any knowledge1 it is only1 or chiefly1 of such things as he may very well do without1 or1 at best1 are of an inferior and subordinate consideration3 while the branches of learning1 he must neglect for these1 are of the most constant use and necessity to him in the commerce of his whole life4 ,till then your ,lordship can find a way to reconcile these different pursuits1 ,i must be of opinion that the boasted way of travel is the worst that can be contrived for the proper instruction of our young countrymen4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,without doubt1 if these less important points engross all their attention4 ,but can there be a difficulty in carrying on the two designs together2 especially1 if a good and attentive tutor be at hand to direct his pupil's pursuit and quicken his application8 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,your ,lordship1 like the friends and parents of a young traveller1 is for exacting wonders at the hands of this important personage1 a tutor4 ,but the truth is1 so many1 and so different things cannot be well learned1 even with the advantage of the best parts under the very best direction4 ,besides1 your ,lordship forgets that what we now inquire into1 is1 whether the generality of our ,english youth of quality should be educated in this form2 not1 whether two or three young men1 of the most uncommon genius and application1 may not possibly succeed in it4 ,i demand an education1 which may ordinarily produce useful and able men3 your ,lordship is providing only for1 what comes of itself1 a prodigy4 ,and now1 my ,lord1 with this preparation1 ,i think myself enabled to reply distinctly to the several arguments you alleged for the expediency of foreign travel4 ,it is very clear1 that the most solid advantages are lost by it4 ,but perhaps we shall find a recompense for this loss1 in the shewy and ornamental accomplishments1 which travel promises2 and which your ,lordship supposes the world will readily1 and with reason1 accept instead of them4 ,these accomplishments are summed up in the ,,benefits of an enlarged society and conversation2 which1 again1 branch out into many heads2 and under different names1 furnished1 ,i think1 the substance1 as well as governed the method1 of your vindication4 ,this was the polite and popular theme1 which you chose to dress out in all the colours of your eloquence4 ,to make way for these1 and to lay them on with more effect1 your ,lordship was pleased to tell us a very melancholy story4 ,england1 it seems1 is over-run with barbarism and ignorance2 its inhabitants are rude and uncivilized2 and nothing can be learnt among them1 which is fit to appear in good company4 ,if this had been said of our forefathers in ,c,,sar',s time1 or even in good ,king ,,edgar',s1 when the land1 they say1 was over-run with wolves 7by which1 ,i suppose1 the monkish mythology means men1 as savage72 ,i could have found but little1 it may be1 to oppose to the accusation4 ,but at this time of the day1 when arts and letters have at least made some progress among us2 when commerce has extended our acquaintance with the rudest parts of the globe1 and policy strengthened our connexions with the most civilized2 when our country is filled with large flourishing towns1 and even prides itself in a vast1 opulent1 and splendid metropolis2 ,i could not but think the charge was a little aggravated1 or that your ,lordship had forgotten to speak of ,england1 as it now subsists1 in the close of the seventeenth century4 ,it seemed to me as if the ,english might now1 at least1 deserve to be considered as men2 and that in our courts and camps1 if not in our colleges1 we might stand a chance of finding what your ,lordship would not disdain to qualify with the name of gentlemen4 ,but the other representation was more favourable to your ,lordship's cause3 and out of that representation arose the several ,,barbarities1 with which you thought fit to mortify and alarm us4 ,the first fire of your zeal is spent on that swarm of ,,prejudices1 with which our ,english1 or at least provincial1 youth are commonly over-run4 ,,prejudices1 my ,lord1 is an equivocal term2 and may as well mean right opinions taken upon trust1 and deeply rooted in the mind1 as false and absurd opinions1 so derived and grown into it4 ,the former of these will do no hurt2 on the contrary1 perhaps1 the very best part of education is employed in the culture of them4 ,but admit1 they are of the latter sort3 still they may be only the excesses of right principles and notions4 ,and in that case1 ,i should doubt whether the evil be of consequence enough to deserve your indignation4 ,perhaps no man has enough of certain virtues1 that does not carry them something too far4 ,the just degree1 the precise mean1 is a nice point to hit4 ,the condition of our common nature is such1 that we either overshoot the mark1 or fall short of it2 and your ,lordship easily apprehends which is the more convenient as well as more generous part1 in this moral archery4 ,besides1 reflexion and experience will come in1 soon enough to moderate these excesses4 ,so that1 for my part1 though our young patriot should happen to entertain the extravagant conceit1 you diverted yourself with1 of the soil and climate of ,old ,england1 ,i should take that for no great objection to his home-breeding1 and should1 possibly1 not be over-forward to disabuse him of such honest errors4 ,surely1 my ,lord1 there are certain associations of ideas1 which1 however oddly formed1 your ,lordship would be something loth to undo4 ,to take your own instance3 ,what if the ideas of liberty chanced to be closely connected with those of ,old ,england2 so as1 by the magic of this union1 to convert her rude heaths and barren mountains into pleasurable landskips2 would you be forward1 if you had it in your power1 to dissolve this charm1 and1 by setting those objects in their true and proper light1 disenchant the mind1 at the same time1 from the idea1 or warm love at least1 of ,english liberty8 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,you know well1 ,i perceive1 how to chuse your instances4 ,the force of this1 you suppose1 will hardly be lost on him1 who professes himself an adorer of that liberty4 ,but1 under favour1 ,i see no such inconvenience1 as you suggest1 in putting asunder two things which truth and nature had no hand in bringing together4 ,,liberty has charms enough to attach the mind1 wherever the place of her abode be2 and ,i have never heard that the loveliness of her form is impaired1 or even disgraced1 by the homeliness of her habitation4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,it may be so2 and the reason1 as in the case of the more selfish affections1 is1 ,that the habitation of our idol1 whatever be our worship1 is rarely thought homely4 ,but convince us that our country is scarce worth contending for1 and1 as lovely as its ,goddess ,liberty may appear to enamoured eyes1 the generality of her votaries will1 ,i doubt1 be something slack in her defence4 ,but1 after all1 an illustration must not be questioned at this rate4 ,it is enough1 that your ,lordship sees ,i am not for discarding ,principles1 under the opprobrious name of ,prejudices4 ,the tender minds of youth are to be treated with indulgence4 ,if they put forth too fast1 and too luxuriantly1 let the ordinary methods of culture be applied to them4 ,a little dressing and pruning1 at fit seasons1 may do more good1 than transplanting3 a fatal experiment1 in many cases2 which1 in checking the immoderate vigour of its growth1 kills the tree1 or1 at best1 brings on a languishing and dwarfish imbecillity4 ,if1 indeed1 by ,prejudices you mean vicious principles1 properly so called2 that is1 vicious in themselves1 as well as in the degree3 these1 it is certain1 must be rooted up2 and the sooner1 the better3 but then there is no need of crossing the seas for the benefit of such an operation4 ,for the proper cure of such prejudices1 as ,i take it1 is to be made by the application of those truths that are common to all climes2 not by the partial manners or opinions which arise out of them in this or that more polished society4 ,but your ,lordship1 ,i observed1 as though you had taken up this charge of ,prejudices purely to introduce the satire on ,old ,england1 was content to drop it1 as soon as it had served your turn4 ,you exchanged it1 however1 for another of more importance1 ,,the ,,low1 ,,sordid1 ,,and ,,immoral ,,habits2 which strike into the lives and manners of our youth1 and are1 as you conceive1 epidemical and incurable in this ,island4 ,it may be true1 that too much of the complaint is well-founded4 ,the taste of our provincial gentry may be something coarse2 and their houses1 none of the best schools of civility and politeness3 so that low and even immoral habits may be1 and1 ,i doubt1 too often are1 the fruit of an ordinary domestic education4 ,but then what remedy does your ,lordship prescribe for the removal of them8 ,why1 you send them abroad with all their imperfections upon their heads2 to get rid of their bad habits1 as they can1 and to pick up better1 as they will3 or1 do you perhaps imagine that the ill qualities1 they take out with them1 will drop off1 of themselves8 and that the good ones they stand in need of1 like new leaves in the spring1 will immediately put forth and take their places8 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,i do but imagine1 that bad habits are only to be expelled by better2 and that therefore the readiest way for our countrymen to get quit of their ill manners1 is1 to force them into good company4 ,and1 with your leave1 ,i see nothing very absurd or unreasonable in this imagination4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,certainly not1 in prescribing good habits as a cure for bad ones4 ,but your ,lordship had done well to shew what there is in a foreign air1 that is so propitious to good habits1 as that none but such can thrive in it2 or1 if there be a mixture of good and bad1 as with us1 how your traveller shall be secured against an ill choice4 ,otherwise our young spark may pick up new habits indeed2 but they may only be different from what he took from home1 not better or more reasonable4 ,i doubt1 my ,lord1 that1 when such rude and untutored boys find themselves removed from that restraint which the eye of a parent1 though but little accustomed to civility himself1 imposed upon them1 they will rather give way to a freer indulgence of their own froward humours1 than be in any disposition to check and reform them4 ,what inclination will such persons have to benefit by good company8 or how indeed will they gain admittance into it8 ,i appeal to your own observation1 whether1 when this sort of ill-educated people get abroad1 and settle for a time in some frequented city1 their usual way be not to keep at distance from the better company of the place1 and to flock together into little knots and clubs of their own countrymen1 or of such others as are most resembling in taste and manners to themselves2 where all their low humours are freely indulged1 and even inflamed1 by the mutual society and countenance of one another4 ,this1 your ,lordship knows1 is most frequently the case2 while the obsequious tutor is at length more likely to be swayed by the importunity1 and perverted by the ill example1 of his disciples1 than they are to be restrained by his advice and authority4 ,but1 though foreign travel should be indeed a remedy for the mischiefs1 complained of1 ,i still question whether it would be a proper one4 ,suppose our young gentleman to be of so pliant a make1 as to lay aside his rustic and illiberal habits in complaisance to the better company1 he is obliged to live with3 does it immediately follow1 that he will adopt none but what are fit for him to assume2 and1 with so raw and undiscerning a judgment as he carried out with him1 that he will have the skill to select only and assume such manners as are most becoming and ornamental8 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,as if one needs be in any pain1 on that head2 when the habits1 ,i spoke of1 are not only different from those he must assume abroad1 but the very reverse of them6 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,alas1 your ,lordship is not to be told1 that the reverse of wrong is not always right4 ,even in the instance your ,lordship puts1 a young man may be polished indeed out of his rusticity2 yet1 if he have no better rule to go by1 than the fashion of the place where he lives1 he may easily wear himself into the contrary defect1 an effeminate and unmanly foppery4 ,and1 for the probability of such miscarriage1 your ,lordship is again referred to your own experience and observation4 ,as to what ,i take to be the proper remedy for these barbarities1 that is another question1 which ,i may afterwards find occasion to explain to you more at large4 ,for the present1 ,i must take leave to conclude1 that1 under the circumstances here supposed1 foreign travel is generally an insufficient1 always an improper1 cure for them4 ,your ,lordship indeed goes further4 ,you contend1 that1 if these sordid and dirty habits could by any means be expelled1 still our ,english education is so essentially bad1 that no liberal or graceful manners could be derived from it4 ,and here your ,lordship's rhetoric expatiates in full security4 ,you seem confident that1 though a method might be found out for making reasonable men1 yet our home-breeding is absolutely incapable of furnishing fine gentlemen4 ,on this occasion it was1 that the servile discipline of our schools1 and the pedant tutorage of our colleges1 afforded ample scope to your resentment4 ,from an over-charged picture of both these1 your ,lordship finds means to dress up such a prodigy of ill manners1 as must be the scorn1 or pity1 of all good company3 which1 to move our pity1 or our scorn the more1 your ,lordship1 ,i remember1 took care to contrast to the easy1 the assured1 the all-sufficient air of a finished traveller4 ,to this triumphant part of your harangue1 ,i have only to oppose some plain and simple truths4 ,the awkward bashfulness of a young man is a sin which1 ,i know1 admits of no expiation1 in good company4 ,however1 what good company will not pardon1 it will soon remove4 ,and1 till that blessed time comes1 let it first be considered that the modesty of ingenuous youth1 though a terrible vice in itself1 is yet favourable to some virtues4 ,it is full of deference and respect2 it preserves innocence2 nourishes emulation2 and1 till reason be of age to take the rein into her hands1 suspends and controuls all the passions4 ,nay1 if it did nothing more than dispose a young man to observe much and talk little2 even this advantage might be some recompence for the ill figure it gives him in the eyes of your ,lordship's good company4 ,have a care1 my ,lord1 lest by taking off this restraint too soon1 you emancipate your favoured youth from every principle of honour1 and let him run headlong into worthlessness1 dissolution1 and ruin6 ,i know what the world is ready to think of this talk4 ,but a truce with the world4 ,i am a ,philosopher1 your ,lordship knows3 nay1 your ,lordship1 too1 is a ,philosopher4 ,let us for once then hazard an unfashionable truth1 that modesty in a young man is his grace and ornament2 and that a confident young booby1 not a bashful one1 is the prodigy that needs the expiation4 ,consider1 further1 my ,lord1 that bashfulness is not so much the effect of an ill education1 as the proper gift and provision of wise nature4 ,every stage of life has its own set of manners1 that is suited to it1 and best becomes it4 ,each is beautiful in its season2 and you might as well quarrel with the child's rattle1 and advance him directly to the boy's top and span-farthing1 as expect from diffident youth the manly confidence of riper age4 ,lamentable in the mean time1 ,i am sensible1 is the condition of my good ,lady2 who1 especially if she be a mighty well-bred one1 is perfectly shocked at the boy's awkwardness1 and calls out on the taylor1 the dancing-master1 the player1 the travelled tutor1 any body and every body1 to relieve her from the pain of so disgraceful an object4 ,she should however be told1 if a proper season and words soft enough could be found to convey the information1 that the odious thing1 which disturbs her so much1 is one of nature's signatures impressed on that age2 that bashfulness is but the passage from one season of life to another2 and that as the body is then the least graceful1 when the limbs are making their last efforts and hastening to their just proportion1 so the manners are the least easy and disengaged1 when the mind1 conscious and impatient of its imperfections1 is stretching all its faculties to their full growth4 ,if ,i had the honour of her ,ladyship's ear1 ,i might further add1 for her comfort1 that as to this over-whelming modesty1 which muffles merit1 the boy1 if she have but patience1 will presently outgrow it1 as he does his cloaths2 that when this cloak of shame has done its work of warming and invigorating his young virtue1 it may safely be laid aside1 or rather will drop off of itself2 and that1 as poor and sheepish a thing as master now is1 he may turn out1 in the end1 as forward a spark as the best of them4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,fye1 ,mr4 ,,locke2 what1 my philosopher give into this gaiety6 he1 who reproached me just now for the way of raillery and declamation6 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,your ,lordship does well to upbraid me for treating in so light a manner what deserves1 indeed1 the most indignant reproof4 ,for1 what is this endeavour to quench ingenuous shame1 but a blasphemous attempt to counteract the designs of ,providence1 and obliterate1 by main force1 one of the most natural1 as well as most precious1 distinctions of early youth8 ,modesty is the blush of budding reason and virtue3 and if art could succeed in the preposterous project of forcing the fruit without the bud1 not only this prime grace of the year would be lost1 but the production itself1 though it might be wondered at as a rarity1 could never pretend to the flavour and ripeness of that which is of nature's own growth4 ,in plain words1 my ,lord1 modesty is the ornament of youth3 and the earnest or rather the proper cause1 of all that is excellent in riper age4 ,it graces the boy1 and1 in due time1 forms the man3 whereas in suppressing this young virtue1 you precipitate1 indeed1 a sort of manhood2 which1 yet1 in effect1 is only a perpetual boyism1 or rather a portentous mixture of both states1 without the virtues of either4 ,i am far from meaning by all this1 and your ,lordship will be as far from suspecting me to mean1 that an easy unconstrained manner is not an amiable and agreeable thing4 ,i am only for waiting the proper time of its appearance2 which nature makes a little later than our impatient fancies are ready to prescribe to her4 ,consider too this polite accomplishment1 this supreme finishing of a well-formed character1 can only be acquired1 except in some extraordinary instances1 by long incessant use and habit in conversation2 which1 besides the unfitness of the thing in other respects1 would dissipate the young mind too much1 and take it off from those other more important pursuits1 which are proper to that age4 ,nay1 ,i might further say1 and with much truth1 that politeness1 in your ,lordship's1 at least the court-sense of the word1 is not to be attained by the ablest men2 and when it is attainable1 would generally do hurt1 ,i mean beyond a certain degree1 to its possessors4 ,no very great man was ever what the world calls1 perfectly polite4 ,men of that stamp cannot afford such attention to little things1 as is necessary to form and complete that character4 ,and even to men of a common make1 that excessive sedulity about grace and manner1 which constitutes the essence of good-breeding1 would be injurious2 as it tends to cramp their faculties1 effeminate the temper1 and break that force and vigour of mind which is requisite in a man of business for the discharge of his duty1 in this free country4 ,so that1 for any thing ,i see1 this exquisite ease of good breeding should be left to the ambition of still inferior spirits1 of such indeed as are conscious to themselves of an incapacity for any other4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,the concession is gracious2 and the danger1 no doubt1 alarming1 lest our senators and men of business should be disabled for their high functions by an excess of good manners4 ,yet 'tis some consolation1 that at present ,i see no symptoms of that enfeebling politeness among such of the ornaments of either house1 as ,i have the honour to be acquainted with4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,your ,lordship may divert yourself as you think fit1 with an old man's fears4 ,but if this mode of travelling1 which has taken so much with us since the peace#db1 should continue for any time1 the day may come but too soon1 when these fancies of mine will be realized3 when politeness shall be fatal to ability of every kind2 and1 at least in the higher ranks of life1 when our countrymen shall be too well bred to be good for any thing4 ,and now1 having ventured so far1 shall ,i proceed one step further1 and take to myself the privilege of an old man1 to express my sense of this whole matter1 a little unfashionably8 ,the mighty value1 that is set upon manners1 comes1 as ,i have already hinted1 from a quarter1 which1 though it may imprint respect on a person of your ,lordship's age and gallantry1 must not pretend to be so much considered by grey hairs4 ,if you can forgive the liberty1 ,i will then1 at length1 speak out1 and say1 ,they are the ladies1 only1 or chiefly1 that have affixed such an idea of merit to this envied quality of good-breeding2 and that1 as appearances are thought to sway full enough with that delicate sex1 they may perhaps have advanced the credit of it something higher than such an accomplishment deserves4 ,and when ,i further consider the mighty influence which these fair dispensers of reputation must needs have on our gallant and courtly youth1 ,i cannot wonder that the mode of foreign travel is become so fashionable4 ,nay1 ,i am half inclined to suppose1 that1 in this debate between us1 ,i have rather your politeness to contend with1 than your judgment3 and that1 if your ,lordship would deal roundly with me1 your answer on this occasion would be the same with ,,his1 who1 7as ,i have heard you tell the story7 being questioned by his friends why a person of his acknowledged sense and bravery would accept the challenge of a coxcomb1 thought it vindication enough of himself to reply1 8that1 for the men1 he could safely trust their judgment2 but how should he appear1 at night1 before the maids of honour#dc80 ,whether ,i presume too much in this fancy1 is not material4 ,it is enough to say1 that what there is of use or beauty in polite carriage will come of itself1 with a little experience of the world and good company2 and shall not1 with my consent1 be purchased at the expence of far better things4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,nor with mine3 for1 with all the courtliness and gallantry you make me master of1 ,i never intended by the good company1 ,i mentioned with so much respect1 either those foolish men1 or women1 who prefer the forward assurance of their boys to every other consideration4 ,i only think that a reasonable attention to the manners of our noble youth is a matter of much consequence2 as early impressions of this sort are necessary to fit them for the commerce of the world1 from which alone they can hope to derive their best and most solid instruction3 and your gaiety on the fair sex must not restrain me from agreeing with them1 in this instance1 that ,i see not how that world can be read and studied1 as it ought to be1 without travelling4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,yes2 now your ,lordship comes to an important point indeed4 ,from the polish of manners1 the least considerable1 and the easiest to be attained of all the parts of good breeding1 your ,lordship1 as ,i now remember1 rose at once to a subject of real consequence1 ,i mean1 ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,the ,,world2 a science1 as you well termed it1 the most profound and useful4 ,and if this ,,master-,,science were to be acquired by means of early travel1 our young gentleman should have my consent to shut up his books1 and set forth on his adventures1 directly4 ,but1 good my ,lord1 consider with yourself the difficulty of this study2 the ripeness of age and judgment necessary for entering upon it2 much more1 for making a real progress in it4 ,and why1 as ,i before hinted1 will your ,lordship be so impatient to come at the end1 without the means8 ,why1 in such haste to build up men1 when nature has allotted a season for their being boys8 ,without doubt1 if our youth could start up men1 at once1 armed at all points1 as the fable has it1 and thoroughly furnished for the business of life1 we should gladly accept this benefit1 and might then be content to overlook or suppress all the cares of education4 ,but this is not the condition of humanity4 ,its improvements of every kind are slow and gradual4 ,time and attention form each2 and it is only through the right application of preceding states1 that we arrive1 at length1 at the maturity of human wisdom4 ,let the child and boy be allowed to perfect themselves in what belongs to those conditions1 and it will then be time enough to provide for the manly character4 ,reflect with yourself1 my ,lord4 ,when the young unfurnished traveller is carried out into the world1 with no principles to poize his conduct1 no maxims to direct his judgment1 what can be expected from this untimely enterprize8 what1 but fluctuating morals1 and fortuitous deliberations8 ,he has not so much as the idea of what constitutes man4 ,how then should he obtain any real and useful knowledge of the human character8 ,if by a knowledge of the world1 be only meant a knowledge of the external modes and customs of it1 this1 no doubt1 were best acquired by surveying them as they present themselves in the various tribes and societies of mankind4 ,but your ,lordship means more than this3 you understand a knowledge of a higher kind2 such as respects the creature man1 considered in his essential parts1 his reason and his passions4 ,this is a different kind of study1 my ,lord1 from that other4 ,any one that has eyes1 is qualified to observe the shapes and masks of men2 but to penetrate their interior frame1 to inspect their proper dispositions and characters1 is the business of a well-informed and well-disciplined understanding4 ,can your ,lordship seriously expect that a young boy should comprehend the effect1 which government1 policy1 institution1 and other circumstances of life1 have on the pliant reason of mankind8 or that he should have the skill to disentangle the various folds and intricacies1 in which their real characters lie involved1 through the insidious and discordant working of the passions8 ,he should surely know what truth and reason is1 before he can derive any benefit to himself from the discourse of men3 and he should have carefully watched the movements of his own heart1 before he presume to analyze1 as your ,lordship expressed it1 the characters of others4 ,you see1 then1 the unseasonableness and inutility of foreign travel1 as to the case in hand1 even on the supposition that our traveller were admitted into what is called1 the best company4 ,but how shall this privilege be obtained8 ,in what country can it be thought that the politeness of eminent men will condescend to a free and intimate communication with boys1 of whatever promising hopes1 or illustrious quality8 ,certain slight and formal civilities1 your ,lordship knows1 are the utmost that can be looked for2 and are indeed the whole of what our ill-prepared traveller is capable4 ,your ,lordship did well to remind me of such societies as those in which you and ,i have1 at times1 been engaged4 ,the recollection is1 of course1 flattering and agreeable4 ,but let us presume upon ourselves1 my ,lord2 the ,,limborchs and ,,le ,,clercs are not so obvious to every body1 as they were to us2 or1 if they were1 every body would not profit so well by them4 ,and if private scholars be thus inaccessible1 how shall we think to intrude on the business and occupations of experienced magistrates and ministers8 ,and1 putting both these out of the question1 who remain for the tutorage and instruction of these travelled boys1 but such raw1 unaccomplished companions1 as they left at home1 and may find every where in abundance8 ,still my objections go further4 ,what if1 by uncommon sagacity and good luck1 some acquaintance be made with superior persons1 and some little insight at length be gained into their real characters8 ,of what mighty advantage will this be in life1 when their business lies amongst other men2 and when the same industry and attention had brought them acquainted with the characters of those1 they must act and live with8 ,foreigners are neither an easier study than our own countrymen1 nor a more useful one4 ,the very modes and forms of external breeding catch the attention of unexperienced youth2 and are so many obstacles to their real progress in this science4 ,and1 when all is done1 the modifications of the human character1 as existing at home1 and exhibited in the lives and actions of their fellow-citizens1 are1 as ,i said1 the proper objects of their curiosity4 ,in short1 the utmost ,i can allow to this discipline of foreign travel1 under the idea of its furnishing a knowledge of the world1 is1 ,that it may possibly wear a young man into some studied and apish resemblance of the models1 he copies from1 in his deportment and manners2 or that the various scenes1 he has passed through1 may furnish matter1 at his return1 for much unprofitable babble in conversation3 but1 that he should come back fraught with any solid information concerning men and things1 such as1 in your ,lordship's sublime phrase1 may fit him to appear with lustre in the court or senate of his own country1 is what ,i can never promise myself from this fashionable mode of education4 ,i am even disposed to promise myself the less from it1 for an observation1 ,i have sometimes had the opportunity of making4 ,an old man has so little about him to provoke envy1 that he may be allowed to make the best of his former successes4 ,and though ,i pride myself in one1 of a very delicate nature1 the boast of it will not be ill taken even there1 where your ,lordship1 with all your pretensions1 would be heard with no patience4 ,in short1 ,i indulge myself in the vanity of saying that ,i have1 in my time1 been well with the fair sex1 and have even been countenanced so far as to be admitted into a degree of acquaintance and familiarity with some ladies of the highest quality and distinction4 ,and of these1 ,i have constantly observed1 that1 though bred up at home1 they had a manifest advantage over their travelled brothers1 ,i was going to say1 in learning and science1 but certainly in true politeness1 good sense1 and even a knowledge of the world4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,i understand this civility to the ladies1 as a decent atonement for your late freedoms with them4 ,in this light ,i should be unwilling to cavil at it3 and yet ,i see not1 how your high encomiums on the superior good sense and politeness of these home-bred ladies can consist with the passion1 you before censured in them1 for foreign travel1 as favourable1 in their opinion1 to the production of such virtues4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,my consistency in this representation1 ,i doubt1 is less questionable1 than my civility4 ,for the ladies1 on whom ,i bestowed those high1 but just encomiums1 were chiefly such as ,i had known in my younger days1 before the passion for travel had got among them4 ,now indeed the case is altering apace1 and the effects are answerable4 ,the virtues of the ,english ladies1 when they staid at home1 were more conspicuous than those of our travelled gentlemen4 ,now that they1 too1 begin to travel1 their follies are1 also1 more glaring3 in either case1 ,i am willing to own1 for the credit of my civility1 from the same reason1 that both good and ill qualities strike us most1 when set in the precious metal of that sex4 ,however1 from the whole of my experience1 ,i must needs conclude1 that this finishing of a travelled education only serves to corrupt good qualities1 or inflame bad ones4 ,but the ladies are not in my province4 ,if they were1 a knowledge of the world is not the leading virtue ,i might wish to see them possessed of4 ,in the men1 ,i confess1 this accomplishment is of more importance2 and ,i am therefore solicitous1 that no well-meaning youth1 whom it so much concerns to gain a knowledge of the world1 should be misled in his search of it4 ,seriously1 my ,lord1 the ,,world1 which ,i am forced to repeat so often1 is a solemn word1 and the study of it has an air of something plausible and imposing4 ,but those1 who know what the world is1 will think it best that a young man begin with what is the first and last concern of every man1 the study of himself2 and if1 in due time1 he come to understand1 and1 still more1 to value as they deserve1 the characters of the great and good men of his own country1 the opprobrious name of home-bred will not hinder him from acquiring the best fruit1 with which a knowledge of the world1 rightly understood1 can furnish him4 ,for1 my ,lord1 ,i must not1 on so inviting an occasion as this1 conceal an odd fancy of mine from your ,lordship4 ,the affair of knowing the world1 about which weak and fantastic people make so much noise1 and which one hears them perpetually insisting upon with so much sufficiency1 is of all others the nicest and most momentous step that is made in education4 ,and1 though volumes have been written to teach us how we may best become scholars1 orators1 courtiers1 what not2 yet not one leaf do ,i ever remember to have seen1 composed by any capable man1 that instructs us in the proper way of getting into this great secret4 ,it is not a matter to be entered upon1 if ,i were vain enough to think myself capable of it1 in this casual conversation2 but thus much ,i may presume to say1 that whoever designs to let a young man into a safe and useful knowledge of the world1 must do it in a way very remote from that which has hitherto been taken4 ,a young man1 they tell us1 must know the world2 therefore1 say they1 push him into it at once1 that he may acquire that knowledge1 which his own experience1 and not another's1 must procure for him4 ,i1 on the other hand1 take upon me to say1 ,therefore keep him out of that world1 as long as you can2 and when you commit him to it1 let the ablest friend or tutor lend him his best experience1 to conduct him gradually1 cautiously1 imperceptibly1 into an acquaintance with it4 ,you ask the reason of this mysterious procedure2 yet methinks it should be obvious enough4 ,from sixteen to one and twenty 7a period1 in which the cares of an ordinary education cease1 or are much relaxed7 is that precise season of life1 which requires all the attention of the most vigilant1 and all the address of the wisest1 governor4 ,the passions are then opening2 curiosity awake2 and the young mind ready to take its ply from the seducements of fashion1 and creditable example4 ,nor is this the worst4 ,an education1 that deserves the name1 has inculcated maxims of honour and probity2 has inspired the noblest sentiments of moral duty2 has impressed on the mind a veneration for all the virtues1 and an equal horror for all the vices1 of humanity4 ,full of these sublime ideas1 which his parents1 his tutors1 his books1 and even his own ingenuous heart has rendered familiar to him1 the fatal time is at hand1 when our well-instructed youth is now to make his entrance into the world3 but1 good ,god1 what a world6 not that which he has so long read1 or dreamt of2 but a world1 new1 strange1 and inconsistent with all his former notions and expectations4 ,he enters this scene with awe2 and contemplates it with astonishment4 ,vice1 he sees assured1 prosperous1 and triumphant2 virtue discountenanced1 unsuccessful1 and degraded4 ,he joins the first croud1 that presents itself to him3 a loud laugh arises2 and the edge of their ridicule is turned on sobriety1 industry1 honesty1 generosity1 or some other of those qualities1 he has hitherto been most fond of4 ,he quits this clamorous set with disdain2 and is glad to unite himself with another1 better dressed1 better mannered1 in all respects more specious and attractive4 ,his simplicity makes him for some time the dupe of this plausible society3 but their occasional hints1 their negligent sarcasms1 their sallies of wit1 and polite raillery on all that he has been accustomed to hold sacred1 shew him at last that he has only changed his company1 not mended it4 ,this discovery leads him to another4 ,he attends to the lives of these well-bred people1 and finds them of a piece with their manners and conversation2 shewy indeed1 and1 on first view1 decorous2 but1 in effect1 deformed by every impotent and selfish passion2 wasted in sloth and luxury2 in ruinous play2 criminal intrigues2 or1 at best1 unprofitable amusements4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,this painting1 methinks1 is a little strong4 ,besides1 you might surely have provided better company for your young inspector of the world1 than that shameless crew1 or this corrupt one4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,i take up1 as he must do1 with such company as the world is most apt to throw in our way2 and the colouring1 your ,lordship knows1 is modest enough for the occasion4 ,but ,i attend our boy-adventurer no further in his progress into the world1 and return now to ask you1 what effect your ,lordship thinks these strange unexpected scenes must naturally have upon him8 ,certainly one or the other of these two2 either that the scorn of virtue1 he every where observes1 will by degrees abate his reverence of it1 and at length obliterate all the better impressions of his education2 or1 if these should still keep their hold of his young ingenuous breast1 that he will entertain the most indignant sentiments of mankind1 and suffer himself to be carried by them into a sour and sullen misanthropy1 at least2 perhaps into a sceptical and prophane impiety4 ,i have seldom known a young man of sense and parts1 educated in this way1 escape from one or other of these mischiefs4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,but why then bring him up with those high notions of mankind1 of which the world must presently disabuse him1 at the expence either of his innocence1 or good nature8 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,that question had been natural enough from most men4 ,but your ,lordship knows very well1 that1 in this moral discipline1 as in every other1 ideas of excellence are to be imprinted on the young mind1 and the most consummate models proposed for imitation3 on this certain principle1 ,that1 whoever would be moderately accomplished in any art1 and most of all in this supreme art of life1 must take his aim high1 and aspire to absolute perfection4 ,a painter or statuary of the lowest form1 your ,lordship knows1 is taught to work after a ,,madonna of ,,raphael1 or a ,,venus of ,,medicis2 yet is not likely to meet with either1 among his acquaintance4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,the observation is surely just2 and ,i could only mean that those high fancies should be checked and moderated in due time1 before our entrance into that world1 which1 it is foreseen1 will so little correspond to them4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,and what is that due time1 your ,lordship sets apart for this delicate operation8 ,is it1 before the young boy commences his travels8 ,but that1 according to your ,lordship's scheme1 is so early1 that the regimen1 you would now abate1 has not taken its full effect1 and his weak unconfirmed virtue would die under the experiment4 ,is it then1 when his travels are already begun8 ,and is the sage tutor1 your ,lordship anxiously flies to1 as to some god1 on every occasion of distress1 to charge himself with the solution of this difficulty8 ,alas6 now it is too late4 ,you have brought the boy into the scene4 ,he will see and judge for himself4 ,the torrent bears him away3 the instant impression is too strong to be counteracted by the feeble and1 now1 disgusting admonitions of a tutor4 ,see then1 if the proper way1 to secure him from these inconveniences1 be not1 ,to keep him yet at a distance from the world2 and1 when you let him into some knowledge of it1 to do it seasonably1 gradually1 and circumspectly3 to take the veil off from some parts1 and leave it still upon others2 to paint what he does not see1 and to hint at more than you paint3 to confine him1 at first1 to the best company1 and prepare him to make allowances even for the best3 to preserve in his breast the love of excellence1 and encourage in him the generous sentiments1 he has so largely imbibed1 and so perfectly relishes3 yet temper1 if you can1 his zeal with candour2 insinuate to him the prerogative of such a virtue1 as his1 so early formed1 and so happily cultivated2 and bend his reluctant spirit to some aptness of pity towards the ill-instructed and the vicious3 by degrees to open to him the real condition of that world1 to which he is approaching2 yet so as to present to him1 at the same time1 the certain inevitable misery of conforming to it3 last of all1 to shew him some examples of that vice1 which he must learn to bear in others1 though detest in himself2 to watch the effect these examples have upon him2 and1 as you find his dispositions incline1 to fortify his abhorrence of vice1 or excite his commiseration of the vicious3 in a word 7for ,i am not now directing a tutor1 but suggesting1 in very general terms1 my ideas of his office7 to inform the minds of youth with such gradual intelligence1 as may prepare them to see the world without surprize1 and live in it without danger4 ,this is that important chapter1 which ,i presumed to say no institutor of youth had yet composed1 or so much as touched upon1 in a treatise of education4 ,you will learn from this brief summary of its contents1 what1 in my opinion1 should be the employment of those precious years1 which are usually thrown away upon foreign travel4 ,in earnest1 my ,lord1 there is a fatal mistake in this matter4 ,people speak of a knowledge of the world1 as what may be acquired at any time1 and1 for its importance1 cannot be acquired too soon4 ,alas6 they forget1 that a long and careful preparation is necessary1 before we are qualified so much as to enter on this task2 and that they1 who are latest in setting out1 will arrive the soonest1 certainly the safest1 at their journey's end4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,but where shall this mighty work of preparation be carried on8 ,and in what privileged sanctuary shall our good young man be kept from the sight and contagion of this wicked world1 and yet be gradually forming for the use and practice of it8 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,where1 does your ,lordship ask8 ,why1 in his college2 in a friend's1 or his father's house2 any where1 in short1 rather than in a foreign country1 where every wholesome restraint is taken off1 and the young mind left a prey to every ill impression4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,and are there no inconveniences1 on the other hand1 which a provident parent may be supposed to foresee1 and may be willing to guard against8 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,i understand your ,lordship4 ,i know1 that1 for want of better arguments in support of this foreign breeding1 weak or unworthy parents are ready to take up with such as these3 ,they tell us1 especially if of rank and quality1 that their children have suffered more than enough already1 in their passage through our public and vulgar schools2 that1 together with many illiberal habits1 they have contracted many low and illiberal friendships1 which are1 in all reason1 to be shaken off2 that these unworthy companions follow them to the ,university1 and are1 if not the bane1 yet the dishonour and incumbrance of their future lives2 that an absence of some years abroad loosens these hasty and ill-timed connexions2 and leaves them1 on their return1 at full liberty to contract others1 more suitable to their birth and quality1 and more conducive to their views of fortune1 as well as of reputation1 in the world2 that indeed they might remove the young man immediately from his school into their own house2 but that much of their time is necessarily spent in the metropolis1 the licence of which is not to be guarded against by any care of their own1 or of the best governor2 that his low illiberal acquaintance would haunt him even there2 at least1 that the youth of his own age and rank would naturally flock about him1 and1 under a thousand pretences of civility or amusement1 engage him in all the follies1 and perhaps the vices1 of this great town2 that1 on the whole1 his only refuge from these mischiefs is in the way of foreign travel2 whence1 at length1 he may return in riper age and with better judgment to take his station in the world4 ,to this popular talk 7which your ,lordship1 ,i suppose1 glanced at1 but would not condescend to enforce directly7 it is enough to reply1 that part of the inconveniences1 here enumerated1 are feigned at pleasure1 and the rest exaggerated2 that the authority of a father1 if he deserve that name1 in concurrence with honest friends and an ordinary governor1 will prevent them all1 or at least palliate them2 and that1 to take matters at the worst1 his son will be exposed to still greater inconveniences any where else4 ,but in truth ,i cannot see1 if a college be excepted against1 and the business be to see the world1 as it is called1 why ,london should not be esteemed as fit a scene for the purpose1 as any other great town in ,europe4 ,i think it contains as much good company as any other2 and ,i doubt whether it be more licentious2 or1 if it be1 there are three restraints upon it1 which1 ,i am sure1 will not be found abroad3 ,i mean1 8the parental authority20 8domestic government20 and 8a regard to reputation1 under the eye and notice of his friends40 ,so that1 in every view1 whether on your ,lordship's plan1 of entering directly on the great study of the world1 or on mine1 of only preparing for it1 our young man cannot possibly do better1 at his years1 than stay at home2 where1 if your ,lordship please1 we will then leave him2 at least1 till we have tried the force of your next1 and1 as ,i remember1 ,,last argument in behalf of foreign travel1 8which arose out of the mighty benefits1 supposed to attend the study and cultivation of what are called the ,,fine ,,arts2 in short1 from the lustre and importance of the virtuoso character40 ,your ,lordship1 who has so acknowledged a taste in these things1 and of course has so exquisite a sense of their value1 may be excused for enlarging so particularly on this head4 ,but to me1 who am of a plainer make and cooler disposition1 they appear1 if not frivolous1 yet of little importance1 when compared with those other things1 which are the proper and more immediate objects of education4 ,it would1 ,i doubt1 disgust your ,lordship1 should ,i speak my mind freely of them2 or even insinuate1 that ,i take these studies1 when entered upon in early youth1 and proposed as matters of serious pursuit and application1 to have indeed the most pernicious tendency2 as breaking the nerves and force of the mind1 and inspiring ,i know not what of a trifling and superfluous vanity4 ,to render these pursuits serviceable in any degree1 or even harmless1 they should in all reason be postponed to riper years1 when the confirmed judgment will of course take them but for what they are1 for nothing more than elegant and polite amusements4 ,not to insist1 that to excel in this species of taste1 as in all others1 a previous foundation is required1 of reflexion and good sense3 for ,i agree with your favourite poet2 of every polite study and indulgence even of the imagination1 ,,sapere1 est et principium et fons4 ,these and still stronger objections might be made to your partiality for the fine arts4 ,but ,i am contented to wave them all2 as indeed they would come with an ill grace from one1 who must acknowledge himself to have no particular skill or discernment in them1 and who should not therefore presume to enter the lists with so consummate a master of them as your ,lordship4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,and so1 under the cover of a civil speech1 you escape from the most specious1 at least1 of those arguments1 which are alleged in favour of an early travelled education4 ,for1 whether it be true1 or no1 that other accomplishments may be as well acquired at home1 it is past a doubt that the polite and liberal arts can only be learnt abroad4 ,and of their use and ornament to our noble youth-- ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,your ,lordship1 ,i know1 can say more1 and finer things1 than you expect ,i should seriously dispute with you1 on this occasion4 ,i have now1 my ,lord1 7at least if my old memory has not betrayed me7 gone over the several heads and topics of your defence2 and said enough1 ,i believe1 on each1 to shew that foreign travel is not1 on whatever side we view it1 the most proper method of a young gentleman's education4 ,the benefits1 you propose by it1 are either of small account in themselves1 at least of much less account than those you must sacrifice to them2 or1 when their importance is real and confessed1 may be attained more conveniently in some other way1 and at some other season4 ,for1 after all ,i have said1 your ,lordship is not to conclude that ,i am wholly bent against the practice of foreign travel4 ,i am as sensible1 as any man1 of its important use1 when undertaken at a proper time and by fit persons4 ,for1 though ,i esteem it idleness1 and something worse1 for a young boy to waste his prime and most precious years in sauntering round ,europe1 yet ,i know what ends of wisdom and of virtue may be answered by a capable man's survey of it4 ,but then1 my ,lord1 ,i reckon that capacity at no vulgar rate4 ,he must be of worth and consideration enough to be received into the wisest1 nay the greatest company4 ,his natural insight into men and things must be quick and penetrating4 ,his faculties must all be at their height2 his studies matured2 and his reading and observation extensive4 ,with these accomplishments1 if a man of rank and fortune can find leisure to employ a few years among the neighbouring nations1 ,i readily agree1 his voyage may turn out to his own benefit1 and to that of his country4 ,in this way it may be true1 as your ,lordship insisted1 that our island prejudices will be usefully worn off1 and much real civility and politeness be imported among us4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,i thank you for this concession4 ,although ,i cannot yet be convinced of the total impropriety of an earlier voyage1 ,i am pleased to find you do not interdict the thing itself4 ,many wise persons among us have even talked at that rate4 ,but you are more reasonable2 and indeed that extravagance was not to be apprehended from your true sense and superior knowledge of human nature4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,i have that esteem of your ,lordship's kind opinion1 as to be very unwilling to forfeit any share of it4 ,yet what ,i have now to advance will1 ,i readily foresee1 expose me to some risk1 in that particular4 ,for now your ,lordship has expressed your regard for a superior knowledge of human nature1 it emboldens me to add that such knowledge 7which ,i have small right to claim to myself7 is not to be acquired but by the largest and most extensive observation of the human species3 so that ,i may be found at last even a warmer advocate for the uses of foreign travel1 than your ,lordship4 ,i hold then that the knowledge of human nature 7the only knowledge1 in the largest sense of the expression1 deserving a wise man's regard7 can never be well attained but by seeing it under all its appearances2 ,i mean1 not merely1 or chiefly1 in that fair and well-dressed form it wears amid the arts and embellishments of our western world2 but in its naked simplicity1 and even deformities2 nay1 under all its disguises and distortions1 arising from absurd governments and monstrous religions1 in every distant region and quarter of the globe4 ,the subject appears to me of that importance1 that it almost warms me1 an old philosopher as ,i am1 into some emulation of your ,lordship's enthusiasm4 ,i would say then1 8that1 to study ,,human ,,nature to purpose1 a traveller must enlarge his circuit beyond the bounds of ,europe4 ,he must go1 and catch her undressed1 nay quite naked1 in ,north-,america1 and at the ,cape of ,good ,hope4 ,he may then examine how she appears crampt1 contracted1 and buttoned up close in the strait tunic of law and custom1 as in ,china and ,japan3 or1 spread out and enlarged above her common size1 in the loose and flowing robe of enthusiasm1 among the ,arabs and ,saracens3 or1 lastly1 as she flutters in the old rags of worn-out policy and civil government1 and almost ready to run back naked to the deserts1 as on the ,mediterranean coast of ,africa40 ,these1 my ,lord1 are the proper scenes for the philosopher1 for the citizen of the world1 to expatiate in4 ,the tour of ,europe is a paltry thing3 a tame1 uniform1 unvaried prospect3 which affords nothing but the same polished manners and artificial policies1 scarcely diversified enough to take1 or merit1 our attention4 ,it is from a wider and more extensive view of mankind that a just estimate is to be made of the powers of human nature4 ,hence we collect what its genuine faculties are3 what ideas and principles1 or if any1 are truly innate and essential to it2 and what changes and modification it is susceptible of from law and custom4 ,if you think ,i impose too great a task on our inquisitive traveller1 my next advice is1 ,that he stay at home3 read ,europe in the mirror of his own country1 which but too eagerly reflects and flatters every state that dances before its surface2 and1 for the rest1 take up with the best information he can get from the books and narratives of the best voyagers4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,that is1 you discourage him from looking abroad into the world of reason and civility1 the most natural state of mankind2 and require him to waste his time and observation on slaves1 madmen1 or savages2 states1 in which reason and civility have no place1 and where humanity itself1 almost1 disappears4 ,admirable advice this1 to come from a philosopher6 and still better1 to send your disciple to take his information of this unnatural disordered scene from the lying accounts of ignorant1 ill-instructed1 and gaping tale-tellers6 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,i was afraid1 ,i should not be able to secure to myself the good opinion1 which your ,lordship was pleased to express of my knowledge of human nature4 ,this mortifying experience puts an end to my adventurous flights1 at once2 and forces me back again into the narrower walk1 which your ,lordship seems willing to prescribe to me4 ,be it then1 as you insist1 that an ,english gentleman's care should be1 to accomplish himself in the school of reason and civility2 to fit himself1 in short1 for that state which your ,lordship dignifies with the name of natural4 ,still ,i declare against his ,european travels4 ,the manners of each state are peculiar to itself1 and best adapted to it4 ,the civility1 that prevails in some places on the continent1 may be more studied and exquisite than ours2 but not therefore to be preferred before it4 ,those refinements have had their birth from correspondent policies2 to which they are well suited1 and from which they receive their whole value4 ,in the more absolute monarchies of ,europe1 all are courtiers4 ,in our freer monarchy1 all should be citizens4 ,let then the arts of address and insinuation flourish in ,france4 ,without them1 what merit can pretend to success1 what talents open the way to favour and distinction8 ,but let a manlier character prevail here4 ,we have a prince to serve1 not to flatter3 we have a country to embrace1 not a court to adore3 we have1 in a word1 objects to pursue1 and interests to promote1 from the care of which our finer neighbours are happily disburthened4 ,let our countrymen then be indulged in the plainness1 nay1 the roughness of their manners3 but let them atone for this defect1 by their useful sense1 their superior knowledge1 their public spirit1 and1 above all1 by their unpolished integrity4 ,would your ,lordship's favourite ,athens have done wisely 7or rather did it do so87 to exchange the simplicity and manly freedom of its ancient character1 for the fopperies and prostrations of the ,asiatic courts8 ,nay1 would the softer accomplishments of ,athens1 in its best state1 have done well in a citizen of ,sparta8 ,your ,lordship sees what to conclude from these hints4 ,for my own part1 my ,lord1 ,i esteem politeness1 in the reasonable sense of the word1 as the ornament1 nay more1 as the duty of humanity4 ,but1 under colour of making this valuable acquisition1 let no culture of the human mind1 no instruction in letters and business1 no discipline of the passions1 no improvements of the head and heart1 be neglected4 ,let the foundation of these essential virtues be laid deep in the usual forms of our public1 if you will1 or 7as you know ,i had rather7 in the way of a more attentive and moral1 because private1 education4 ,let the commerce of the world1 in due time and under due regulation1 succeed to this care2 and your ,lordship will find your young gentleman as fully accomplished in all respects as1 in reason1 you should wish to see him4 ,and for proof of it1 if ,i were not restrained1 by a common and perhaps false delicacy1 from bringing the names of our friends and acquaintance into example in conversation1 how many instances of this sort could ,i point to1 in such men as your ,lordship has known in your own country1 and is most disposed to reverence2 and some of them1 possibly1 in your own family6 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,rather tell me1 how we may reasonably expect to see such models produced1 according to the vulgar way of our home-breeding3 that one or two such may1 perhaps1 after strict search1 be found among ourselves1 ,i shall not dispute with you4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,the search would cost me small pains4 ,but ,i press the matter no further4 ,it is enough that your ,lordship sees ,i have my eye on some1 the most estimable1 nay the most accomplished characters1 that have been formed among ourselves3 and that even so envied a thing1 as a fine gentleman1 has been fashioned on this side the water4 ,but the rarity of the production1 you think1 makes against me1 and shews there is no trusting to the stubborn soil and unfriendly climate of our country4 ,you conclude1 upon the whole1 for the expediency of foreign travel1 from the acknowledged defects of our authorized seats of learning2 which1 according to your ,lordship's idea and representation of them1 are so degenerate and depraved1 that nothing of worth and value can be reasonably expected from that quarter4 ,this1 after all1 is your main reason for advising a foreign education4 ,your spite is to our ,universities2 and1 to bribe1 or rather provoke me into the same quarrel1 your ,lordship did not forget to remind me of the little obligation1 which ,i myself1 who was trained in their discipline1 have had to them4 ,i could assent1 perhaps1 to some part of this charge4 ,it is certain1 at least1 that the prejudices1 the bigotry1 the false learning1 and narrow principles1 which have prevailed too much1 and still prevail1 in those famous seminaries1 create an unfavourable opinion of them in the minds of many liberal and discerning persons4 ,nay1 ,i will not disown to you1 that ,i have at times been tempted myself to entertain1 perhaps to express1 some resentment against them4 ,but we are always severe1 generally unfair1 judges in our own case4 ,and1 to say the truth1 when the matter comes to be considered impartially and coolly1 their faults1 of whatever kind1 will admit of much alleviation4 ,the ,,universities ,,of ,,england1 your ,lordship knows1 had their rise in the barbarous ages4 ,the views of their institutors were1 accordingly1 such as might be expected from men of their stamp1 and in their circumstances4 ,these seminaries were more immediately consecrated to the service of the church2 which is the less to be wondered at1 as our statesmen1 you know1 were1 at that time1 churchmen4 ,hence the plan of studies1 prescribed to the youth1 would be such as was best adapted to the occasions of that class of men1 in whose instruction the public was more directly interested4 ,besides1 the learning of that time was rude and barbarous2 and1 had their views been more enlarged1 the founders of our colleges had it not in their power to provide for the encouragement of any other4 ,the supreme accomplishment even of our men of business was little more than a readiness in the forms1 and a dexterity in the quirks1 of the canon law3 and the pride of the most profound scholars lay in applying the subtleties of the ,aristotelian philosophy to theologic and metaphysical questions2 whence too much stress was evidently laid on logical exercises and scholastic disputations4 ',tis true1 some few of our colleges were erected at a time1 when something more light and knowledge had broke in upon us2 ,i mean1 during the progress of the ,reformation4 ,but the great object that filled all men's minds being the dispute with the see of ,rome1 the principal circumstance that distinguishes these later foundations from the other is1 that their statutes provide more especially for the management of that controversy4 ,so that1 even in these societies1 the scholastic disputative genius still prevailed1 to the exclusion of that more liberal plan of studies1 which is fitted to all times1 and would have suited better to the general purpose of these established seats of education4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,this account of the institution and genius of our ,english ,universities may be easily credited1 even from what we now see of them4 ,but1 though some causes may be assigned for the introduction of these barbarous plans of education1 what reason can be given why they should be cherished in our days1 or that men of sense should submit to them8 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,the reason is not far to seek4 ,these barbarous plans of education had1 we have seen1 in former times1 both their reason and their use4 ,bodies of men retain the character of their first institution very long2 and1 all things considered1 ,i am inclined to think it not amiss that they do so4 ,universities and schools of learning1 in particular1 should not be in haste to exchange established principles and practices1 which the best sense of former ages had introduced1 for novel and untried pretensions4 ,the reason is plain3 their instructions would have small weight1 and their discipline no stability1 amid such easy and perpetual changes4 ,they are1 indeed1 the depositaries of the public wisdom and virtue2 and their business is1 to inculcate both on the rising generation1 upon the footing on which they are received and understood in the several countries where they are erected4 ,even if their local statutes laid them under no restraint1 an easiness in departing from established rules were a levity not to be commended2 and would1 in the end1 be unfavourable to truth itself1 when at any time it should come1 in its turn1 to be entertained among them4 ,the truth is1 my ,lord1 we are ready to consider these seminaries as schools of philosophy1 strictly so called3 whereas their proper character is that of schools of learning and education4 ,under this last idea1 much of that bigotry and prejudice is to be looked for1 and should be excused1 which would rightly be objected to them under that other denomination4 ,hence then1 ,i conceive1 a just apology may be made for the present condition of our ,universities4 ,if they have not1 in all respects1 corrected the vices of their original institution1 let the influence and authority of such institution be pleaded in their excuse2 and if certain inveterate errors in speculation 7for ,i know your ,lordship's chief quarrel to them7 not immediately connected with their institution1 happen still to maintain their credit in those places1 let it be considered that the general sense of the public should in all reason be expected to go before their profession and propagation even of right principles4 ,believe it1 my ,lord1 as reason and sound philosophy make a progress among us1 these bodies will gradually1 though reluctantly indeed1 reform themselves3 and the service they will then render to truth will be the greater for the opposition they now make to it4 ,i have ventured to say1 that this reformation will1 in due time1 come of itself4 ,i think1 it certainly will2 as well in regard to the general plan of their studies1 as their particular principles and opinions4 ,yet1 in respect of the former at least1 it might perhaps be something quickened by external application4 ,i know the attempt is delicate and difficult2 but it might possibly succeed1 if carried on under cover of some still greater reformation2 which seizes the mind with much force1 turns it to a new bias1 and makes it propitious to every thing that tends to the attainment of its principal object4 ,such occasions do not present themselves every day4 ,one such we have seen2 but we missed the season4 ,whatever was fundamentally wrong in the constitution of the ,universities1 should have been set right in that great ra1 when the church was reformed4 ,the undertaking had been of a piece with the rest of that extraordinary work2 and the opportunity was inviting4 ,but whether the minds of men were then ripe for this other reformation1 or whether there was indeed light enough in the nation at that time fully and properly to effect it1 may not unreasonably1 ,i know1 be made a question with your ,lordship4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,it is no question at all with me1 whether any service of that kind was to be expected from those great dealers in church-work4 ,perhaps another and later ra may be pointed out1 when the same office might1 and should1 have been undertaken by our political craftsmen4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,your ,lordship means at the ,revolution2 and1 as the generous principles of liberty1 on which the ,revolution was founded1 had received but little countenance from the ,universities1 this consideration1 you will say1 afforded the best pretence for attempting their reformation4 ,but wise men saw1 that the credit which those learned bodies had drawn to themselves1 and indeed deservedly1 by their late conduct1 notwithstanding their speculative systems and conclusions1 was at that time too high1 to suffer a rigorous inspection to be made into their statutes and constitutions3 they saw1 in that convulsion of the state1 it would be impossible to carry on a design of this nature1 without endangering the new settlement1 or exposing it at least to many odious and inconvenient imputations3 and they saw1 besides1 that the spirit of liberty1 which had prevailed so far as to reform the state itself1 would insensibly extend its influence to all subordinate societies4 ,in a word1 the close and immediate connexion1 which the ,universities have with the church1 made it natural and highly reasonable to expect that both should have shared the same fate at the ,reformation3 but the necessity was not so urgent1 or so visible at least1 that the ,universities should be new-modelled1 at the ,revolution4 ,however1 my ,lord1 what the wisdom of either age omitted1 or was unable to do1 time1 and that desuetude which attends upon it1 will gradually bring about2 not to say1 has in some measure accomplished4 ,and1 to take matters as they now are1 the studies and discipline of the ,universities are not without their use1 and should not be too violently declaimed against and degraded4 ,the elements of literature are reasonably well taught in those places4 ,at least1 the familiarity1 which men have with the learned languages 7the proper foundation1 as ,i dare say your ,lordship holds1 of all real learning and politeness7 is very much owing to the lectures of our colleges4 ,and1 though ,i am sensible what exceptions are to be made in other respects1 yet1 on the whole1 religion1 and good morals1 receive an advantage from their institutions1 and the regularity of their discipline4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,yes2 their religion is intolerance2 and their morals1 servility4 ,for1 as to any freedom of manly thought1 or the dignity of virtue-- ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,you are ready to look for them any where else than in our ,english ,universities4 ,come on then1 my ,lord3 have the goodness to point out to us those happier seminaries1 where these and all other virtues are more successfully propagated4 ,but which way will your ,lordship direct us to take1 in this search8 ,shall we turn to the ,north of this country for those advantages1 which we despair of finding in the ,south8 ,or1 because the grossness of our island air may infect all parts alike1 shall we shape our course to the ,continent8 ,and does your ,lordship encourage us to look for some ,athens amidst the ,protestant states of ,germany1 in the ,netherlands1 or the ,swiss ,cantons8 ,these1 ,i take it1 are the only scenes which your ,lordship can have in view2 for1 as high as their reputation may be in this respect1 you would hardly advise the breeding of our ,english youth in the colleges of the ,jesuits4 ,one word then1 if you please1 on these ,protestant ,universities on the ,continent4 ,your ,lordship and ,i have had some experience of the state of literature and education in those places4 ,eminent and excellent men they surely have amongst them4 ,but so1 your ,lordship will confess1 have the ,universities of ,england4 ,if we do not readily find those who1 at this day1 may be opposed to a ,,limborch or a ,,le ,,clerc2 yet it is not long since we had to boast of a ,,chillingworth1 a ,,cudworth1 and a ,,whichcot2 all1 men of manly thought1 generous minds1 and incomparable learning4 ,but the question is not1 you know1 of particular men1 which such great bodies rarely want2 but1 of the general frame and constitution of learned societies1 fit for the purposes of polite and liberal education4 ,shall we say then1 that the scattered tribes of students in a ,dutch or ,swiss town are likely to be better instructed1 or better governed1 than the young scholars in our colleges2 or1 that the good order1 discipline1 and sobriety of these places1 is to be compared with the anarchy and licence of those other8 ,your ,lordship1 ,i know1 takes a pleasure to conceive of certain foreign academies1 as of that ,,ancient one1 where the students visited1 without constraint1 the schools of philosophers1 and even bore a part in their free conferences and disputations3 you even love to paint the noble youth to yourself1 as of old1 spatiating1 at their leisure1 in shady walks and porticos1 and imbibing the principles of science as they drop upon them in the dews of ,attic eloquence and politeness4 ,all this1 my ,lord1 is very well3 yet1 setting aside a certain colouring of expression which takes and amuses the imagination1 ,i see but little to admire in this picture2 certainly not enough to make one regret the want of the original1 and seriously to prefer this easy manner of breeding1 to that stricter form which prevails in our own ,universities3 where the day begins and ends with religious offices3 where the diligence of the youth is quickened and relieved1 in turn1 by stated hours of study and recreation3 where temperance and sobriety are even convivial virtues2 and the two extremes of a festive jollity and unsocial gloom are happily tempered by the decencies of a common table2 where1 in a word1 the discipline of ,spartan ,,halls and the civility of ,athenian ,,banquets are1 or may be1 united4 ,surely1 my ,lord1 these wholesome regulations1 with many others that might be mentioned1 could we but strip them of the opprobrious name of collegiate and monastic1 are of another use and value in education1 than the lax unrestrained indulgence of foreign seminaries4 ,but1 were there even no difference in this respect1 as there is surely a great deal1 are we to reckon for nothing the disparity of civil and religious constitutions8 ,your ,lordship1 ,i dare say1 will not suspect me of a bigoted adherence to any mere mode of civil or ecclesiastical regimen4 ,but is it all one1 whether a young boy1 who is destined to be a subject to the crown1 and a member of the church of ,england1 be inured to the equality of republican governments1 and of calvinistical churches8 ,it may be well for men of confirmed age and ability to look into both2 but would you train up your son in a way that is likely to indispose him1 right or wrong1 to the institutions of his own country8 ,besides1 are there fewer prejudices1 think ye1 in the men of other churches and governments1 than our own8 or1 are their professors and institutors of youth more free from popular errors and blind attachments1 though of a different sort1 than the tutors and masters of education in our country8 ,nay1 consider with yourself1 my ,lord2 is there not as much tyranny in the administration of some they call free states2 and as much restraint and persecution in the principles of some they call free churches1 as can fairly be charged on the monarchy or church of ,england8 ,so that what you could expect to gain by preferring these foreign schools of learning to your own1 ,i cannot easily imagine4 ,all that is worth acquiring in either1 you have1 at least1 an equal chance to meet with at home3 and what should be avoided1 may1 nay must1 with more probability1 be encountered abroad4 ,but your ,lordship1 perhaps1 would confine your young traveller to no one seat of learning2 and have it only in view to convey him hastily1 under the wing of a tutor1 through many a famous academy1 without settling him in any4 ,this1 ,i must confess1 is the way to keep clear of prejudices2 but1 whether any solid instruction1 or just science either of men or things1 is to be gathered from so cursory an education1 your ,lordship will do well to consider4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,you have done me the favour to imagine many projects and designs for me1 which ,i was too dull to entertain in my own thoughts4 ,but1 if the education of a young man of rank and quality cannot be carried on without the assistance of academical instructors1 ,i would much sooner trust him to the care of such as the more free and liberal genius of certain foreign ,universities has formed1 than submit him to the tutorage of those priestly guides1 to whom our narrow and slavish institutions have consigned the province of education1 in our own country4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,your ,lordship now indeed speaks out very plainly4 ,your objection1 then1 is to ,,clergy-,,tutors2 and you think it absurd and even pernicious to commit our noble and liberal youth to the care of churchmen4 ,you would rather see them in lay-hands2 in the hands of philosophers1 properly so called2 who1 indifferent to every thing but pure truth and reason1 are in no danger of imbibing wrong principles themselves1 and are therefore under no temptation of instilling any such into the minds of their followers4 ,the thought is happy1 my ,lord2 and1 if a number of these philosophers could any where be found1 ,i might be induced to fall into the project of employing such only in the province of education4 ,but1 the condition1 in which truth and reason are now left1 and seem likely to continue1 in this world of ours1 affords little room for such flattering expectations4 ,an unprejudiced instructor1 ,i doubt1 is a rarity not to be met with1 ,i do not say in our ,universities1 but even out of them3 and1 prejudices for prejudices1 some persons may be apt to think those of a churchman as tolerable as of any other4 ,but1 my ,lord1 having no particular bias on my own mind in favour of that order1 and having something perhaps to resent from several individuals of it1 it will not misbecome me to hazard a word or two1 in its vindication4 ,you will permit me then to say1 that ,i see no peculiar unfitness in the clergy for the office1 they are called to1 in this country1 of superintending the business of education4 ,the leisure they enjoy2 the various learning and general studies1 which that leisure enables them1 and their profession obliges them1 to pursue2 and1 lastly1 the strictness of life and manners1 or1 if you will1 the very decorum1 which their character imposes upon them2 these circumstances seem generally to have marked them out1 as the properest persons to form the manners and cultivate the minds of youth1 in all countries4 ,in our own1 that propriety strikes one the more1 since their prejudices1 of whatever kind1 are but in common to them with other speculative and studious men2 and since even their interest1 rightly understood1 and as seen by the best and wisest of themselves1 7whatever may have been warmly and passionately said by some persons7 is in no degree separate from that of the great community1 to which they belong4 ,yes1 your ,lordship will say1 their hopes and views of preferment-- ,yet1 in this respect1 they are but on a level with other men of most other professions2 nay1 with all men out of them1 that aspire to rise1 by their merits or the favour of their superiors1 to any distinction in the world4 ,and though we commonly say1 that the clergy should be only animated by purer motives1 yet you cannot expect1 nay would not seriously wish1 that they should be altogether insensible to such as these4 ,it is true1 in countries where the clergy have a dependance on some foreign power1 or where they have usurped an independent power to themselves1 or where1 lastly1 the civil constitution is so ill defined that the privileges of the subject lie at the mercy of the prince2 in each of these cases1 the ambition of the clergy may be1 and in fact has been1 productive of many public mischiefs4 ,but our ,protestant clergy1 who are in no foreign subjection1 claim no independency1 and fill their place in a system all whose parts are1 now at least1 exactly regulated by known laws1 cannot1 by their private ambition1 disturb the general interest1 and have no peculiar inducements to attempt it4 ,and though particulars may sometimes1 by their follies and indiscretions1 dishonour themselves1 yet the effect cannot be considerable1 and certainly affords no good reason for taking the province of education1 for which on so many accounts they are well qualified1 out of their hands4 ,your ,lordship's candour and equity will then1 upon the whole1 permit an obvious distinction to be made between the ,,men and their ,,profession4 ,too many of the sacred order1 ,i confess1 and am sorry for it1 seem now to have their minds perverted by those principles1 and heated by those passions1 which do little credit to their function1 or themselves2 and are equally inconsistent with the genius of that religion they profess to teach1 as they are unfriendly to that legal constitution both of church and state1 which they have bound themselves to support4 ,but their profession is little concerned in all this2 and in a succession or two of these men 7if the present set be1 many of them1 incorrigible7 you may surely reckon upon all those prejudices and passions being worked off1 which now administer the occasion of so much dislike to it4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,well1 but clergy-manners2 will they1 too1 be worked off1 with their other infirmities8 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,perhaps1 they may2 if not1 forgive them this one defect2 at least1 if it be their only one4 ,but you do not mean1 that the manners of the clergy1 as such1 are more offensive than those of other people4 ,they are suited to their profession and way of life1 from which they naturally result2 and if the clergy have not that gloss upon them1 which sets off the manners of finer men1 they rarely disgust you with the affectation of it4 ,but1 after all1 if persons of your ,lordship's quality and breeding would condescend to countenance them a little1 they would1 doubtless1 brighten under your eye2 and might come in time to reflect somewhat of that high polish1 which glistens so much in the address and conversation of their betters4 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,what transmutations they may undergo hereafter1 and by what means1 ,i am not curious to enquire4 ,on this head1 their candid apologist is at liberty to be as much in jest1 or in earnest1 as he thinks fit4 ,but from what appears at present1 ,i must take leave1 in my turn1 to think less reverendly1 than ,he would have me1 of our sacred instructors2 and though ,i value some particular persons of the order1 as much as any man1 yet1 till ,i see a greater change in the principles1 temper1 and manners of that body1 than1 ,i fear1 is likely to come to pass in our days1 ,i can have no very favourable sentiments of those rude1 illiberal1 and monkish seminaries1 where such worthies preside4 ,,mr4 ,,locke4 ,let us have patience1 my ,lord4 ,i have not scrupled to confess to you1 that much is1 at present1 amiss in those seminaries1 and wants to be set right4 ,but so1 ,god knows1 there is every where else4 ,as our factions and parties both in religion and government die away1 the ,universities will become more reasonable2 and as the general manners refine1 they too will1 of course1 take a better air and polish4 ,in a word1 they may not lead the public taste or judgment2 but1 as ,i said1 they will be sure to follow it4 ,and the happy period is not1 perhaps1 far off4 ,for1 now ,i have taken upon me to divine so much of the future condition of our ,universities1 let me paint to you more particularly what ,i conceive of their growing improvements2 and1 in a kind of prophetic strain1 such as old age1 they say1 pretends to1 and may be indulged in1 delineate to you a faint prospect of those brighter days1 which ,i see rising upon us4 8,the ,,time will come1 my ,lord1 and ,i even assure myself it is at no great distance1 when the ,universities of ,england shall be as respectable1 for the learning they teach1 the principles they instil1 and the morals they inculcate1 as they are now contemptible1 in your ,lordship's eye at least1 on these several accounts4 8,i see the day1 when a scholastic theology shall give place to a rational divinity1 conducted on the principles of sound criticism and well interpreted scripture3 when their sums and systems shall fly before enlightened reason and sober speculation3 when a fanciful1 precarious1 and hypothetic philosophy1 shall desert their schools2 and be replaced by real science1 supporting itself on the sure grounds of experiment and cautious observation3 when their physics shall be fact2 their metaphysics1 common sense2 and their ethics1 human nature4 8,do ,i flatter myself with fond imaginations1 my ,lord8 ,or is not the time at hand1 when ,st4 ,,paul shall lecture our divines1 and not ,,calvin2 our ,,bacons and ,,boyles expel ,,aristotle2 ,mr4 ,,newton fill the chair of ,,des ,,cartes2 and even your friend 7if your ,lordship can forgive the arrogance of placing himself by the side of such men7 take the lead of ,,burgersdicius8 8,still1 my ,lord1 my prophetic eye penetrates further4 ,amidst these improvements in real science1 the languages shall be learnt for use1 and not pedantry3 ,your ,lordship's admired ancients shall be respected1 and not idolized3 the forms of classic composition be emulated3 and a set of men arise1 even beneath the shade of our academic cloysters1 that shall polish the taste1 as well as advance the knowledge1 of their country4 8,yet1 ,i am but half way in the portraiture of my vision4 ,the appointed lecturers of our youth1 whom your ,lordship loves to qualify with the name of bearded boys1 shall adopt the manners of men2 shall instruct with knowledge1 and persuade with reason2 shall be the first to explode slavish doctrines and narrow principles2 shall draw respect to themselves1 rather from the authority of their characters1 than of their places2 and1 which is the first and last part of a good education1 set the noble and ingenuous youth intrusted to their care1 the brightest examples of diligence1 sobriety1 and virtue4 8,perhaps in those days1 a freer commerce shall be opened with the world3 the students of our colleges be ambitious of appearing in good company3 and a general civility prevail1 where your ,lordship sees nothing1 at present1 but barbarism and rudeness4 8,nay1 who knows but1 in this different state of things1 the arts themselves may gain admission into these seminaries2 and even the exercises be taught there1 which our noble youth are now sent to acquire on the ,continent8 8,such1 ,i persuade myself1 if the presage of old experience may pass for any thing1 is the happier scene which a little time shall disclose to your view1 in our ,english ,universities4 ,what its duration may be1 ,i cannot discover4 ,much will depend on the general manners1 and the public encouragement4 ,in the mean time1 if any cloud rest upon it1 it will not1 ,i assure myself1 arise immediately from within1 but from the little1 or1 which is worse1 the ill-directed favour1 which the ,great shall vouchsafe to shew to places1 so qualified1 and so deserving their protection4 8,yet1 after all ,i have seen1 or perhaps dreamt1 as your ,lordship may rather object to me1 of the future flourishing estate of our ,universities1 and of their extreme fitness in all respects to answer the ends of their institution1 ,i cannot be mistaken in one prediction1 8that the mode of early ,travel will still continue2 perhaps its fury will increase2 and our youth of quality be still sent abroad for their education1 when every reason shall cease which your ,lordship has now alleged in favour of that practice40 ,,lord ,,shaftesbury4 ,this last prediction may1 perhaps1 be true2 ,i mean1 if those others should ever be accomplished4 ,but as ,i have no great faith in modern prophecy1 and see at present no symptoms of this coming age of gold1 which your fancy has now presented to us1 you must excuse me if these prophetic strains1 as you termed them1 have no great weight with me before their completion4 ,should that ever happen1 ,i shall respect your foresight1 at least2 and rejoice extremely at an event1 which1 ,i shall then freely own1 will leave my countrymen no excuse for their folly4 ,this1 ,sir1 was the substance of what passed between us on the subject in question4 ,our other friends interposed1 indeed1 at times2 but rarely1 and in few words2 and ,i have rather chosen to mix their occasional observations with our own1 than perplex and lengthen this recital by a more punctilious exactness4 ,besides1 ,i could not think it civil to introduce my friends upon the scene1 only to shew them1 as it were1 for mutes2 their politeness to us1 who were principals in the debate1 being such1 as to restrain them from bearing any considerable part in it4 ,yet this way of relation would1 no doubt1 have given something more of life to the sketch ,i here send you2 as their presence1 you may believe1 certainly did to the original conversation4 ,it is enough to say1 that nothing more material1 than what ,i have now related to you1 passed on the occasion4 ,for by this time the day was pretty well spent1 and it was necessary for us to withdraw to our several engagements4 ,for myself1 ,i leave you to guess the effect which our philosopher's grave remonstrance left upon me4 ,one thing you will think remarkable2 that the part of arraigning the present state of things should fall to my share2 while he1 at an age that is naturally querulous and dissatisfied1 was employed in defending it4 ,whether this be a proof of his wisdom1 or good spirits1 ,i pretend not to say4 ,but it gave me a pleasure to hear the old man indulging himself in the prospect of better days1 of which1 as young as we are1 and as warmly as we wish for them1 you and ,i had always despaired4 ,,letters ,,on ,,chivalry ,,and ,,romance4 ,,letters ,,on ,,chivalry ,,and ,,romance3 ,,serving ,,to ,,illustrate ,,some ,,passages ,,in ,,the ,,third ,,dialogue4 ,guarda1 che mal fato ,o giovenil vaghezza non ti meni ,al magazino de le ciancie1 ab fuggi1 ,fuggi quell incantato alloggiamento4 ,quivi habitan le maghe1 che incantande ,fan traveder1 e traudir ciascuno4 ,,tasso4 ,,contents ,,of ,,the ,,letters4 ,letter ,i4 ,the ,subject proposed4 ,,ii4 ,origin of ,chivalry4 ,,iii4 ,characteristics of1 accounted for4 ,,iv4 ,heroic and ,gothic manners1 compared4 ,v4 ,their differences1 noted4 ,,vi4 ,gothic manners more poetical1 than the ,heroic4 ,,vii4 ,their effect on ,,spenser1 ,,milton1 ,,shakespear4 ,,viii4 ,fairy ,queen criticized--the method of that poem explained and justified4 ,,ix4 ,,tasso',s ,gier4 ,lib4 considered--history of the ,italian poetry4 ,x4 ,fairy way of writing--vindicated4 ,,xi4 ,gothic poetry1 whence fallen into disrepute4 ,,xii4 ,steps of its decline1 traced4 ,,letters ,,on ,,chivalry ,,and ,,romance4 ,,letter ,i4 ,the ages1 we call barbarous1 present us with many a subject of curious speculation4 ,what1 for instance1 is more remarkable than the ,gothic ,,chivalry8 or than the spirit of ,,romance1 which took its rise from that singular institution8 ,nothing in human nature1 my dear friend1 is without its reasons4 ,the modes and fashions of different times may appear1 at first sight1 fantastic and unaccountable4 ,but they1 who look nearly into them1 discover some latent cause of their production4 8,nature once known1 no prodigies remain10 as sings our philosophical bard2 but to come at this knowledge1 is the difficulty4 ,sometimes a close attention to the workings of the human mind is sufficient to lead us to it3 sometimes more than that1 the diligent observation of what passes without us1 is necessary4 ,this last ,i take to be the case here4 ,the prodigies we are now contemplating1 had their origin in the barbarous ages4 ,why then1 says the fastidious modern1 look any further for the reason8 ,why not resolve them at once into the usual caprice and absurdity of barbarians8 ,this1 you see1 is a short and commodious philosophy4 ,yet barbarians have their own1 such as it is1 if they are not enlightened by our reason4 ,shall we then condemn them unheard1 or will it not be fair to let them have the telling of their own story8 ,would we know from what causes the institution of ,chivalry was derived8 ,the time of its birth1 the situation of the barbarians amongst whom it arose1 must be considered3 their wants1 designs1 and policies1 must be explored3 we must inquire when1 and where1 and how1 it came to pass that the ,western world became familiarized to this prodigy1 which we now start at4 ,another thing is full as remarkable1 and concerns us more nearly4 ,the spirit of ,chivalry was a fire which soon spent itself3 but that of ,romance1 which was kindled at it1 burnt long1 and continued its light and heat even to the politer ages4 ,the greatest geniuses of our own and foreign countries1 such as ,,ariosto and ,,tasso in ,italy1 and ,,spenser and ,,milton in ,england1 were seduced by these barbarities of their forefathers2 were even charmed by the ,gothic ,romances4 ,was this caprice and absurdity in them8 ,or1 may there not be something in the ,gothic ,romance peculiarly suited to the views of a genius1 and to the ends of poetry8 ,and may not the philosophic moderns have gone too far in their perpetual ridicule and contempt of it8 ,to form a judgment in the case1 the rise1 progress1 and genius of ,gothic ,chivalry must be explained4 ,the circumstances in the ,gothic fictions and manners1 which are proper to the ends of poetry 7if any such there be7 must be pointed out4 ,reasons1 for the decline and rejection of the ,gothic taste in later times1 must be given4 ,you have in these particulars both the ,subject and the ,,plan of the following ,letters4 ,,letter ,,ii4 ,i look upon ,chivalry1 as on some mighty river1 which the fablings of the poets have made immortal4 ,it may have sprung up amidst rude rocks1 and blind deserts4 ,but the noise and rapidity of its course1 the extent of country it adorns1 and the towns and palaces it ennobles1 may lead a traveller out of his way1 and invite him to take a view of those dark caverns1 unde supern ,plurimus ,eridani per sylvam volvitur amnis4 ,i enter1 without more words1 on the subject ,i began to open to you in my last letter4 ,the old inhabitants of these ,north-,west parts of ,europe were extremely given to the love and exercise of arms4 ,the feats of ,,charlemagne and our ,,arthur1 in particular1 were so famous as in later times1 when books of ,chivalry were composed1 to afford a principal subject to the writers of them#dd4 ,but ,,chivalry1 properly so called1 and under the idea of 8a distinct military order1 conferred in the way of investiture1 and accompanied with the solemnity of an oath and other ceremonies1 as described in the old historians and romancers10 was of later date1 and seems to have sprung immediately out of the ,,feudal ,,constitution4 ,the first and most sensible effect of this constitution1 which brought about so mighty a change in the policies of ,europe1 was the erection of a prodigious number of petty tyrannies4 ,for1 though the great barons were closely tied to the service of their ,prince by the conditions of their tenure1 yet the power which was given them by it over their own numerous vassals was so great1 that1 in effect1 they all set up for themselves2 affected an independency2 and were1 in truth1 a sort of absolute ,sovereigns1 at least with regard to one another4 ,hence1 their mutual aims and interests often interfering1 the feudal state was1 in a good degree1 a state of war3 the feudal chiefs were in frequent enmity with each other3 the several combinations of feudal tenants were so many separate armies under their head or chief3 and their castles were so many fortresses1 as well as palaces1 of these puny princes4 ,in this state of things one sees1 that all imaginable encouragement was to be given to the use of arms1 under every different form of attack and defence1 according as the safety of these different communities1 or the ambition of their leaders1 might require4 ,and this condition of the times1 ,i suppose1 gave rise to that military institution1 which we know by the name of ,,chivalry4 ,further1 there being little or no security to be had amidst so many restless spirits and the clashing views of a neighbouring numerous and independent nobility1 the military discipline of their followers1 even in the intervals of peace1 was not to be relaxed1 and their ardour suffered to grow cool1 by a total disuse of martial exercises4 ,and hence the proper origin of ,,justs and ,,turnaments2 those images of war1 which were kept up in the castles of the barons1 and1 by an useful policy1 converted into the amusement of the knights1 when their arms were employed on no serious occasion4 ,i call this the proper origin of ,justs and ,turnaments2 for the date of them is carried no higher1 as far as ,i can find1 even in ,france 7where unquestionably they made their first appearance7 than the year #ajff2 which was not till after the introduction of the feudal government into that country4 ,soon after1 indeed1 we find them in ,england and in ,germany2 but not till the feudal policy had spread itself in those parts1 and had prepared the way for them4 ,you see1 then1 my notion is1 that ,chivalry was no absurd and freakish institution1 but the natural and even sober effect of the feudal policy2 whose turbulent genius breathed nothing but war1 and was fierce and military even in its amusements4 ,i leave you to revolve this idea in your own mind4 ,you will find1 ,i believe1 a reasonable foundation for it in the history of the feudal times1 and in the spirit of the feudal government4 ,,letter ,,iii4 ,if the conjecture1 ,i advanced1 of the rise of ,chivalry1 from the circumstances of the feudal government1 be thought reasonable1 it will not be difficult to account for the several ,,characteristics of this singular profession4 ,i4 8,the passion for arms2 the spirit of enterprize2 the honour of knighthood2 the rewards of valour2 the splendour of equipages20 in short1 every thing that raises our ideas of the prowess1 gallantry1 and magnificence of these sons of ,,mars1 is naturally and easily explained on this supposition4 ,ambition1 interest1 glory1 all concurred1 under such circumstances1 to produce these effects4 ,the feudal principles could terminate in nothing else4 ,and when1 by the necessary operation of that policy1 this turn was given to the thoughts and passions of men1 use and fashion would do the rest2 and carry them to all the excesses of military fanaticism1 which are painted so strongly1 but scarcely exaggerated1 in the old ,romances4 ,,ii4 8,their romantic ideas of justice2 their passion for adventures2 their eagerness to run to the succour of the distressed2 and the pride they took in redressing wrongs1 and removing grievances20 all these distinguishing characters of genuine ,chivalry are explained on the same principle4 ,for1 the feudal state being a state of war1 or rather of almost perpetual violence1 rapine1 and plunder1 it was unavoidable that1 in their constant skirmishes1 stratagems1 and surprizes1 numbers of the tenants or followers of one ,baron should be seized upon and carried away by the followers of another3 and the interest1 each had to protect his own1 would of course introduce the point of honour1 in attempting by all means to retaliate on the enemy1 and especially to rescue the captive sufferers out of the hands of their oppressors4 ,it would be meritorious1 in the highest degree1 to fly to their assistance1 when they knew where they were to be come at2 or to seek them out with diligence1 when they did not4 ,this last feudal service soon introduced1 what may be truly called romantic1 the going in quest of adventures2 which at first1 no doubt1 was confined to those of their own party1 but afterwards1 by the habit of acting on this principle1 would be extended much further4 ,so that in process of time1 we find the ,knights errant1 as they were now properly styled1 wandering the world over in search of occasions on which to exercise their generous and disinterested valour1 indifferently to friends and enemies in distress2 ,ecco quei1 che le charte empion di sogni1 ,,lancilotto1 ,,tristano1 e gli altri erranti4 ,,iii4 8,the courtesy1 affability1 and gallantry1 for which these adventurers were so famous1 are but the natural effects and consequences of their situation40 ,for the castles of the ,barons were1 as ,i said1 the courts of these little sovereigns1 as well as their fortresses2 and the resort of their vassals thither in honour of their chiefs1 and for their own proper security1 would make that civility and politeness1 which is seen in courts and insensibly prevails there1 a predominant part in the character of these assemblies4 ,this is the poet's own account of ----court and royal citadel1 ,the great school-maistresse of all ,courtesy4 ,b4 ,,iii4 ,c4 vi4 s4 #a4 ,and again1 more largely in ,b4 ,,vi4 ,c4 i4 s4 #a4 ,of ,court it seems men ,courtesie do call1 ,for that it there most useth to abound2 ,and well beseemeth that in ,princes hall ,that ,virtue should be plentifully found1 ,which of all goodly manners is the ground ,and root of civil conversation3 ,right so in faery court it did resound1 ,where courteous knights and ladies most did won ,of all on earth1 and made a matchless paragon4 ,for ,faery ,court means the reign of ,chivalry2 which1 it seems1 had undergone a fatal revolution before the age of ,,milton1 who tells us that ,courtesy ----is sooner found in lonely sheds ,with smoaky rafters1 than in tap'stry halls ,and courts of princes1 where it first was nam'd1 ,and yet is most pretended4 ,,mask4 ,further1 the free commerce of the ladies1 in those knots and circles of the great1 would operate so far on the sturdiest knights1 as to give birth to the attentions of gallantry4 ,but this gallantry would take a refined turn1 not only from the necessity there was of maintaining the strict form of decorum1 amidst a promiscuous conversation under the eye of the ,prince and in his own family2 but also from the inflamed sense they must needs have of the frequent outrages committed1 by their neighbouring clans of adversaries1 on the honour of the sex1 when by chance of war they had fallen into their hands4 ,violations of chastity being the most atrocious crimes they had to charge on their enemies1 they would pride themselves in the merit of being its protectors3 and as this virtue was1 of all others1 the fairest and strongest claim of the sex itself to such protection1 it is no wonder that the notions of it were1 in time1 carried to so platonic an elevation4 ,thus1 again1 the great master of ,chivalry himself1 on this subject1 ,it hath been thro' all ages ever seen1 ,that1 with the praise of arms and chivalry1 ,the prize of beauty still hath joined been2 ,and that for reason's special privity3 ,for either doth on other much rely2 ,for ,,he mee seems most fit the fair to serve1 ,that can her best defend from villainy2 ,and ,,she most fit his service doth deserve1 ,that fairest is1 and from her faith will never swerve4 ,,spenser1 ,b4 ,,iv4 ,c4 v4 ,not but the foundation of this refined gallantry was laid in the ancient manners of the ,german nations4 ,c,,sar tells us how far they carried their practice of chastity1 which he seems willing to account for on political principles4 ,however that be1 their consideration of the sex was prodigious1 as we see in the history of their irruptions into the ,empire2 where among all their ravages and devastations of other sorts1 we find they generally abstained from offering any violence to the honour of the women4 ,,iv4 ,it only remains to account for that 8character of ,religion10 which was so deeply imprinted on the minds of all knights1 and was essential to their institution4 ,we are even told1 that the love of ,god and of the ladies went hand in hand1 in the duties and ritual of ,chivalry4 ,two reasons may be assigned for this singularity3 ,first1 the superstition of the times1 in which ,chivalry arose2 which was so great1 that no institution of a public nature could have found credit in the world1 that was not consecrated by the churchmen1 and closely interwoven with religion4 ,secondly1 the condition of the ,christian states2 which had been harassed by long wars1 and had but just recovered a breathing-time from the brutal ravages of the ,saracen armies4 ,the remembrance of what they had lately suffered from these grand enemies of the faith1 made it natural1 and even necessary1 to engage a new military order on the side of religion4 ,and how warmly this principle1 a zeal for the faith1 was acted upon by the professors of ,chivalry1 and how deeply it entered into their ideas of the military character1 we see from the term so constantly used by the old ,romancers1 of ,,recreant i4 e4 ,apostate ,knight2 by which they meant to express1 with the utmost force1 their disdain of a dastard or vanquished knight4 ,for1 many of this order falling into the hands of the ,saracens1 such of them as had not imbibed the full spirit of their profession1 were induced to renounce their faith1 in order to regain their liberty4 ,these men1 as sinning against the great fundamental laws of ,chivalry1 they branded with this name2 a name of complicated reproach1 which implied a want of the two most essential qualities of a ,knight1 ,,courage and ,,faith4 ,hence too1 the reason appears why the ,spaniards1 of all the ,europeans1 were furthest gone in every characteristic madness of true chivalry4 ,to all the other considerations1 here mentioned1 their fanaticism in every way was especially instigated and kept alive by the memory and neighbourhood of their old infidel invaders4 ,and thus we seem to have a fair account of that ,,prowess1 ,,generosity1 ,,gallantry1 and ,,religion1 which were the peculiar and vaunted characteristics of the purer ages of ,chivalry4 ,such was the state of things in the ,western world1 when the ,crusades to the ,holy ,land were set on foot4 ,whence we see how well prepared the minds of men were for engaging in that enterprize4 ,every object1 that had entered into the views of the institutors of ,chivalry1 and had been followed by its professors1 was now at hand1 to inflame the military and religious ardor of the knights1 to the utmost4 ,and here1 in fact1 we find the strongest and boldest features of their genuine character3 daring to madness1 in enterprises of hazard3 burning with zeal for the delivery of the oppressed2 and1 which was deemed the height of religious merit1 for the rescue of the holy city out of the hands of infidels2 and1 lastly1 exalting their honour of chastity so high as to profess celibacy2 as they constantly did1 in the several orders of knighthood created on that extravagant occasion4 ,,letter ,,iv4 ,what think you1 my good friend1 of this learned deduction8 ,do not you begin to favour my conjecture1 as whimsical as it might seem1 of the rise and genius of ,knight-errantry4 ,and yet 7so slippery is the ground1 on which we system-makers stand7 from what ,i observed of the spirit1 with which the ,crusades were carried on1 a hint may be taken1 which threatens to overturn my whole system4 ,it is1 8,that1 whereas ,i derive the ,crusades from the spirit of ,chivalry1 the circumstances attending the progress of the ,crusades1 and even as pointed out by myself1 seem to favour the opposite opinion of ,chivalry's taking its rise from that enterprize40 ,for thus the argument is drawn out by a learned person#de1 to whom ,i communicated the substance of my last ,letter4 8,on the crumbling of the ,western empire into small states1 with regular subordinations of vassals and their chiefs1 who looked up to a common sovereign1 it was soon found that those chiefs had it in their power to make themselves very formidable to their masters2 and1 just in that crisis of ,european manners and empire1 the ,saracens having expelled ,christianity from the ,east1 the ,western ,princes seized the opportunity1 and with great craft turned the warlike genius of their feudataries1 which would otherwise have preyed upon themselves1 into the spirit of ,crusades against the common enemy4 ,but when1 now1 the ardour of the ,crusades was abated in some sort1 though not extinguished1 the ,gothic princes and their families had settled into established monarchies4 ,then it was1 that the restless spirit of their vassals1 having little employment abroad1 and being restrained in a good degree from exerting itself with success in domestic quarrels1 broke out in all the extravagances of ,,knight-,,errantry4 ,military fame1 acquired in the ,holy land1 had entitled the adventurers to the insignia of arms1 the source of ,heraldry2 and inspired them with the love of war and the passion of enterprize4 ,their late expeditions had given them a turn for roving in quest of adventures2 and their religious zeal had infused high notions of piety1 justice1 and chastity4 ,the scene of action being now more confined1 they turned themselves1 from the world's debate1 to private and personal animosities4 ,chivalry was employed in rescuing humble and faithful vassals1 from the oppression of petty lords2 their women1 from savage lust2 and the hoary heads of hermits 7a species of ,eastern monks1 much reverenced in the ,holy land71 from rapine and outrage4 ,in the mean time the courts of the feudal sovereigns grew magnificent and polite2 and1 as the military constitution still subsisted1 military merit was to be upheld2 but1 wanting its old objects1 it naturally softened into the fictitious images and courtly exercises of war1 in justs and tournaments3 where the honour of the ladies supplied the place of zeal for the holy ,sepulchre2 and thus the courtesy of elegant love1 but of a wild and fanatic species1 as being engrafted on spiritual enthusiasm1 came to mix itself with the other characters of the ,knights-errant40 ,in this way1 you see1 all the characteristics of ,chivalry1 which ,i had derived from the essential properties of the feudal government1 are made to result from the spirit of ,crusades1 which with me was only an accidental effect of it3 and this deduction may be thought to agree best with the representation of the old ,romancers4 ,this hypothesis1 so plausible in itself1 is very ingeniously supported4 ,yet ,i have something to object to it2 or rather1 which flatters me more1 ,i think ,i can turn it to the advantage of my own system4 ,for what if ,i allow 7as indeed ,i needs must7 that ,chivalry1 such as we have it represented in books of ,romance1 so much posterior to the date of that military institution1 took its colour and character from the impressions made on the minds of men by the spirit of crusading into the ,holy land8 ,still it may be true1 that ,chivalry itself had1 properly1 another and an earlier origin4 ,and ,i must think it certainly had1 if for no other1 yet1 for this reason3 that1 unless the seeds of that spirit1 which appeared in the ,crusades1 had been plentifully sown and indeed grown up into some maturity in the feudal times preceding that event1 ,i see not how it could have been possible for the ,western princes to give that politic diversion to their turbulent vassals1 which the new hypothesis supposes4 ,in short1 there are ,,two ,,distinct ,,periods to be carefully observed1 in a deduction of the rise and progress of ,chivalry4 ,the ,,first is that in which the empire was overturned1 and the feudal governments were every where introduced on its ruins1 by the ,northern nations4 ,in this ra1 that new policy settled itself in the ,west1 and operated so powerfully as to lay the first foundations1 and to furnish the remote causes1 of what we know by the name of ,chivalry4 ,the ,,other period is1 when these causes had taken a fuller effect1 and shewed themselves in that signal enterprize of the ,crusades2 which not only concurred with the spirit of ,chivalry1 already pullulating in the minds of men1 but brought a prodigious encrease1 and gave a singular force and vigour1 to all its operations4 ,in this ra1 ,chivalry took deep root1 and at the same time shot up to its full height and size4 ,so that now it was in the state of ,,virgil',s ,tree-- --,qu quantum vertice ad auras thereas1 tantum radice in ,tartara tendit4 ,ergo non hiemes illam1 non flabra1 neque imbres ,convellunt3 immota manet1 multosque per annos ,multa virm volvens durando scula vincit4 ,from this last period1 the ,romancers1 whether in prose or verse1 derive all their ideas of ,chivalry4 ,it was natural for them to do so2 for they were best acquainted with that period3 and1 besides1 it suited their design best2 for the manners1 they were to paint1 were then full formed1 and so distinctly marked as fitted them for the use of description4 ,but that the former period1 notwithstanding1 really gave birth to this institution may be gathered1 not only from the reason of the thing1 but from the surer information of authentic history4 ,for there are traces of ,chivalry1 in its most peculiar and characteristic forms1 to be found in the age preceding the ,crusades2 and even justs and tournaments1 the image of serious ,knight-errantry1 were certainly of earlier date than that event1 as ,i had before occasion to observe to you4 ,though ,i think1 then1 my notion of the rise of ,chivalry stands unimpaired1 or rather is somewhat illustrated and confirmed1 by what the excellent person has opposed to it1 yet ,i could not hold it fair to conceal so specious and well supported an objection from you4 ,you are too generous to take advantage of the arms ,i put into your hands2 and are1 besides1 so far from any thoughts of combating my system itself1 that your concern1 it seems1 is only to know1 where ,i learned the several particulars1 on which ,i have formed it4 ,you are willing1 you say1 to advance on sure grounds2 and therefore call upon me to point out to you the authorities1 from which ,i pretend to have collected the several marks and characteristics of true ,chivalry4 ,your request is reasonable2 and ,i acknowledge the omission1 in not acquainting you that my information was taken from its proper source1 the old ,romances4 ,not that ,i shall make a merit with you in having perused these barbarous volumes myself2 much less would ,i impose the ungrateful task upon you4 ,thanks to the curiosity of certain painful collectors1 this knowledge may be obtained at a cheaper rate4 ,and ,i think it sufficient to refer you to a learned and very elaborate memoir of a ,french writer1 who has put together all that is requisite to be known on this subject4 ,materials are first laid in1 before the architect goes to work2 and if the structure1 ,i am here raising out of them1 be to your mind1 you will not think the worse of it because ,i pretend not1 myself1 to have worked in the quarry4 ,in a word1 and to drop this magnificent allusion1 if ,i account to you for the rise and genius of ,chivalry1 it is all you are to expect2 for an idea of what ,chivalry was in itself1 you may have recourse to tom4 xx4 of the ,memoirs of the ,academy of ,inscriptions and ,belles ,lettres4 ,and with this explanation ,i return1 at length1 to my proper business4 ,supposing my idea of ,chivalry to be fairly given1 the conjecture ,i advance on the origin and nature of it1 you incline to think1 may deserve to be admitted4 ,but you will1 perhaps1 admit it the more readily1 if you reflect1 8,that there is a remarkable correspondency between the manners of the old heroic times1 as painted by their great romancer1 ,,homer1 and those which are represented to us in books of modern knight-errantry40 ,a fact1 of which no good account1 ,i believe1 can be given but by the assistance of another1 not less certain1 8,that the political state of ,greece1 in the earlier periods of its story1 was similar in many respects to that of ,europe1 as broken by the feudal system into an infinite number of petty independent governments40 ,it is not my design to encroach on the province of the learned person#df1 to whom ,i owe this hint1 and who hath undertaken1 at his leisure1 to enlarge upon it4 ,but some few circumstances of agreement between the ,heroic and ,gothic manners1 such as are most obvious and occur to my memory1 while ,i am writing1 may be worth putting down1 by way of specimen only of what may be expected from a professed inquiry into this curious subject4 ,and1 ,,first1 8the military enthusiasm of the ,barons is but of a piece with the fanaticism of the ,heroes40 ,hence the same particularity of description1 in the account of battles1 wounds1 deaths1 in the ,greek poet1 as in the ,gothic romancers3 hence that perpetual succession of combats and deeds of arms1 even to satiety1 in the ,iliad3 and hence that minute curiosity1 in the display of the dresses1 arms1 accoutrements of the combatants1 which we find so strange1 in that poem4 ,the minds of all men being occupied and in a manner possessed with warlike images and ideas1 were much gratified by the poet's dwelling on the very slightest circumstances of these things1 which now1 for want of their prejudices1 appear cold and unaffecting to modern readers4 ,but the correspondency holds in more particular considerations4 ,for1 #b4 8,we hear much of ,knights-errant encountering ,giants1 and quelling ,savages1 in books of ,chivalry40 ,these ,giants were oppressive feudal ,lords2 and every ,lord was to be met with1 like the ,giant1 in his strong hold1 or castle4 ,their dependants of a lower form1 who imitated the violence of their superiors1 and had not their castles1 but their lurking-places1 were the ,savages of ,romance4 ,the greater ,lord was called a ,giant1 for his power2 the less a ,savage1 for his brutality4 ,all this is shadowed out in the ,gothic tales1 and sometimes expressed in plain words4 ,the objects of the ,knight's vengeance go indeed by the various names of ,giants1 ,paynims1 ,saracens1 and ,savages4 ,but of what family they all are1 is clearly seen from the poet's description3 ,what ,mister wight1 quoth he1 and how far hence ,is he1 that doth to travellers such harms8 ,he is1 said he1 a man of great defence1 ,expert in battle1 and in deeds of arms2 ,and more embolden'd by the wicked charms ,with which his daughter doth him still support2 ,having great ,lordships got and goodly farms ,thro' strong oppression of his power extort2 ,by which he still them holds and keeps with strong effort4 ,and daily he his wrong encreaseth more3 ,for never wight he lets to pass that way ,over his bridge1 albee he rich or poor1 ,but he him makes his passage penny pay4 ,else he doth hold him back or beat away4 ,thereto he hath a ,groom of evil guise1 ,whose scalp is bare1 that bondage doth bewray1 ,which polls and pills the poor in piteous wise1 ,but he himself upon the rich doth tyrannize4 ,,spenser1 ,b4 ,v4 ,c4 ii4 ,here we have the great oppressive ,baron very graphically set forth3 and the ,groom of evil guise is as plainly the ,baron's vassal4 ,the ,romancers1 we see1 took no great liberty with these respectable personages1 when they called the one a ,giant1 and the other a ,savage4 8,another terror of the ,gothic ages was1 ,monsters1 ,dragons1 and ,serpents40 ,these stories were received in those days for several reasons3 #a4 ,from the vulgar belief of enchantments3 #b4 ,from their being reported1 on the faith of ,eastern tradition1 by the adventurers into the ,holy ,land3 #c4 ,in still later times1 from the strange things told and believed1 on the discovery of the new world4 ,this last consideration we find employed by ,,spenser to give an air of probability to his ,fairy ,tales1 in the preface to his second book4 ,now in all these respects ,greek antiquity very much resembles the ,gothic4 ,for what are ,,homer',s ,lstrigons and ,cyclops1 but bands of lawless savages1 with1 each of them1 a ,giant of enormous size at their head8 ,and what are the ,grecian ,,bacchus and ,,hercules1 but ,knights-errant1 the exact counter-parts of ,sir ,,launcelot and ,,amadis ,,de ,,gaule8 ,for this interpretation we have the authority of our great poet3 ,such first was ,,bacchus1 that with furious might ,all th' ,east1 before untam'd1 did overcome1 ,and wrong repressed and establish'd right1 ,which lawless men had formerly fordonne4 ,next ,,hercules his like ensample shew'd1 ,who all the ,west with equal conquest wonne1 ,and monstrous tyrants with his club subdu'd1 ,the club of justice drad1 with kingly pow'r endu'd4 ,b4 ,v4 ,c4 i4 ,even ,,plutarch',s life of ,,theseus reads1 throughout1 like a modern ,romance3 and ,sir ,,arthegal himself is hardly his fellow1 for righting wrongs and redressing grievances4 ,so that ,,euripides might well make him say of himself1 that he had chosen the profession and calling of a ,knight-errant3 for this is the sense1 and almost the literal construction1 of the following verses3 ' 4 1 ver4 #cdj4 ,accordingly1 ,,theseus is a favourite ,hero 7witness the ,knight's ,tale in ,,chaucer7 even with the ,romance-writers4 ,nay1 could the very castle of a ,gothic giant be better described than in the words of ,,homer1 ,high walls and battlements the courts inclose1 ,and the strong gates defy a host of foes4 ,od4 ,b4 ,,xvii4 ver4 #cah4 ,and do not you remember that the ,grecian ,worthies were1 in their day1 as famous for encountering ,dragons and quelling ,monsters of all sorts1 as for suppressing ,giants8 ----per hos cecidere just ,morte ,centauri1 cecidit tremend ,flamma ,chimr4 #c4 8,the oppressions1 which it was the glory of the ,knight to avenge1 were frequently carried on1 as we are told1 by the charms and enchantments of women40 ,,these charms1 we may suppose1 are often metaphorical2 as expressing only the blandishments of the sex1 by which they either seconded the designs of their ,lords1 or were enabled to carry on designs for themselves4 ,sometimes they are taken to be real2 the ignorance of those ages acquiescing in such conceits4 ,and are not these stories matched by those of ,calypso and ,circe1 the enchantresses of the ,greek poet8 ,still there are conformities more directly to our purpose4 #d4 8,robbery and piracy were honourable in both2 so far were they from reflecting any discredit on the ancient or modern redressers of wrongs40 ,what account can be given of this odd circumstance1 but that1 in the feudal times and in the early days of ,greece1 when government was weak1 and unable to redress the frequent injuries of petty sovereigns1 it would be glorious for private adventurers to undertake this work2 and1 if they could accomplish it in no other way1 to pay them in kind by downright plunder and rapine8 ,this1 in effect1 is the account given us1 of the same disposition of the old ,germans1 by ,c,,sar3 8,latrocinia10 says he1 8nullam habent infamiam1 qu extra fines cujusque civitatis fiunt40 ,and the reason appears from what he had just told us--8in pace1 nullus est communis magistratus2 sed principes regionum atque pagorum inter suos jus dicunt1 controversiasque minuunt40 ,de ,bello ,gall4 l4 vi4 #ba4 #e4 ,their manners1 in another respect1 were the same4 8,bastardy was in credit with both40 ,they were extremely watchful over the chastity of their own women2 but such as they could seize upon in the enemy's quarter were lawful prize4 ,or1 if at any time they transgressed in this sort at home1 the heroic ages were complaisant enough to cover the fault by an ingenious fiction4 ,the offspring was reputed divine4 ,nay1 so far did they carry their indulgence to this commerce1 that their greatest ,heroes were the fruit of ,goddesses approached by mortals2 just as we hear of the doughtiest ,knights being born of ,fairies4 #f4 ,is it not strange1 that1 together with the greatest fierceness and savageness of character1 8the utmost generosity1 hospitality1 and courtesy1 should be imputed to the heroic ages80 ,,achilles was at once the most relentless1 vindictive1 implacable1 and the friendliest of men4 ,we have the very same representation in the ,gothic ,romances1 where it is almost true what ,,butler says humorously of these benign heroes1 that ,they did in fight but cut work out ,t' employ their courtesies about4 ,how are these contradictions1 in the characters of the ancient and modern men of arms1 to be reconciled1 but by observing that1 as in those lawless times dangers and distresses of all sorts abounded1 there would be the same demand for compassion1 gentleness1 and generous attachments to the unfortunate1 those especially of their own clan1 as of resentment1 rage1 and animosity against their enemies8 #g4 ,again3 consider the martial ,games1 which ancient ,greece delighted to celebrate on great and solemn occasions3 and see if they had not the same origin1 and the same purpose1 as the ,tournaments of the ,gothic warriors4 #h4 ,lastly1 8the passion for adventures1 so natural in their situation1 would be as naturally attended with the love of praise and glory40 ,hence the same encouragement1 in the old ,greek and ,gothic times1 to panegyrists and poets2 the ,,bards being as welcome to the tables of the feudal ,lords1 as the of old1 to those of the ,grecian ,heroes4 ,and1 as the same causes ever produce the same effects1 we find that1 even so late as ,,elizabeth',s reign1 the savage ,irish 7who were much in the state of the ancient ,greeks1 living under the anarchy1 rather than government1 of their numberless puny chiefs7 had their ,rhymers in principal estimation4 ,it was for the reason just given1 for the honour of their panegyrics on their fierce adventures and successes4 ,and thus it was in ,greece3 ,for chief to ,poets such respect belongs1 ,by rival nations courted for their ,songs2 ,these1 states invite1 and mighty kings admire1 ,wide as the ,sun displays his vital fire4 ,od4 ,b4 ,,xvii4 ,,letter ,v4 ,the purpose of the casual hints1 suggested in my last letter1 was only to shew that the resemblance between the ,heroic and ,gothic ages is great3 so great that the observation of it did not escape the old ,romancers themselves1 with whom1 as an ingenious critic observes1 the siege of ,,thebes and ,,trojan ,,war were favourite stories2 the characters and incidents of which they were mixing perpetually with their ,romances#dg4 ,and to this persuasion and practice of the ,romance-writers ,,cervantes plainly alludes1 when he makes ,don ,,quixote say----,if the stories of ,chivalry be lies1 so must it also be1 that there ever was a ,,hector1 or an ,,achilles1 or a ,,trojan ,,war#dh--;a sly stroke of satire1 by which this mortal foe of ,chivalry would1 ,i suppose1 insinuate that the ,grecian ,romances were just as extravagant and as little credible1 as the ,gothic4 ,or1 whatever his purpose might be1 the resemblance between them1 you see1 is confessed1 and hath now been shewn in so many instances that there will hardly be any doubt of it4 ,and though you say true1 that ignorance and barbarity itself might account for some circumstances of this resemblance2 yet the parallel would hardly have held so long1 and run so closely1 if the civil condition of both had not been much the same4 ,so that when we see a sort of ,chivalry1 springing up among the ,greeks1 who were confessedly in a state resembling that of the feudal barons1 and attended by the like symptoms and effects1 is it not fair to conclude that the ,chivalry of the ,gothic times was owing to that common corresponding state1 and received its character from it8 ,and this circumstance1 by the way1 accounts for the constant mixture1 which the modern critic esteems so monstrous1 of ,pagan fable with the fairy tales of ,romance4 ,the passion for ancient learning1 just then revived1 might seduce the classic poets1 such as ,,spenser and ,,tasso for instance1 into this practice2 but the similar turn and genius of ancient manners1 and of the fictions founded upon them1 would make it appear easy and natural in all4 ,i am aware1 as you object to me1 that1 in the affair of religion and gallantry1 the resemblance between the ,hero and ,knight is not so striking4 ,but the religious character of the ,knight was an accident of the times1 and no proper effect of his civil condition4 ,and that his devotion for the sex should so far surpass that of the ,hero1 is a fresh confirmation of my system4 ,for1 though much1 no doubt1 might be owing to the different humour and genius of the ,east and ,west1 antecedent to any customs and forms of government1 and independent of them2 yet the consideration had of the females in the feudal constitution will1 of itself1 account for this difference4 ,it made them capable of succeeding to fiefs as well as the men4 ,and does not one see1 on the instant1 what respect and dependence this privilege would draw upon them8 ,it was of mighty consequence who should obtain the grace of a rich heiress4 ,and though1 in the strict feudal times1 she was supposed to be in the power and disposal of her superior ,lord1 yet this rigid state of things did not last long2 and1 while it did last1 could not abate much of the homage that would be paid to the fair feudatary4 ,thus1 when interest had begun the habit1 the language of love and flattery would soon do the rest4 ,and to what that language tended1 you may see by the constant strain of the ,romances themselves4 ,some distressed damsel was the spring and mover of every ,knight's adventure4 ,she was to be rescued by his arms1 or won by the fame and admiration of his prowess4 ,the plain meaning of all which was this3 that1 as in those turbulent feudal times a protector was necessary to the weakness of the sex1 so the courteous and valorous knight was to approve himself fully qualified for that office4 ,and we find1 he had other motives to set him on work than the mere charms and graces1 though ever so bewitching1 of the person addressed4 ,hence then1 as ,i suppose1 the custom was introduced3 and1 when introduced1 you will hardly wonder it should operate much longer and further than the reason may seem to require1 on which it was founded4 ,if you still insist that ,i carry this matter too far1 and that1 in fact1 the introduction of the female succession into fiefs was too late to justify me in accounting for the rise of feudal gallantry from that circumstance2 you will only teach me to frame my answer in a more accurate manner4 ,first then1 ,i shall confess that the way to avoid all confusion on this subject would be1 to distinguish carefully between the state of things in the early feudal times1 and that in the later1 when the genius of the feudal law was much changed and corrupted2 and that1 whoever would go to the bottom of this affair1 should keep a constant eye on this reasonable distinction4 ,but then1 secondly1 ,i may observe that this distinction is the less necessary to be attended to in the present case1 because the law of female succession1 whenever it was introduced1 had certainly taken place long before the ,romancers wrote1 from whom we derive all our ideas of the feudal gallantry4 ,so that1 if you take their word for the gallantry of those times1 you may very consistently1 if you please1 accept my account of it4 ,for it is but supposing that the feudal gallantry1 such as they paint it1 was the offspring of that privilege1 such as they saw the ladies then possess1 of feudal succession4 ,and the connexion between these two things is so close and so natural1 that we cannot be much mistaken in deducing the one from the other4 ,in conclusion of this topic1 ,i must just observe to you1 that the two poems of ,,homer express in the liveliest manner1 and were intended to expose1 the capital mischiefs and inconveniencies arising from the political state of old ,greece2 the ,iliad1 the dissensions that naturally spring up amongst a number of independent chiefs2 and the ,odyssey1 the insolence of their greater subjects1 more especially when unrestrained by the presence of their sovereign4 ,these were the subjects of his pen4 ,and can any thing more exactly resemble the condition of the feudal times1 when1 on occasion of any great enterprise1 as that of the ,crusades1 the designs of the confederate ,christian states were perpetually frustrated1 or interrupted at least1 by the dissensions of their leaders2 and their affairs at home as perpetually distressed and disordered by domestic licence1 and the rebellious usurpations of their greater vassals8 ,it is true1 as to the charge of domestic licence1 so exactly does the parallel run between old ,greece and old ,england1 ,i find one exception to it1 in each country3 and that one1 a ,romance-critic would shew himself very uncourteous1 if he did not take a pleasure to celebrate4 ,,guy1 the renowned earl of ,warwick1 old stories say1 returned from the holy wars to his lady in the disguise of a pilgrim or beggar1 as ,,ulysses did to ,,penelope4 ,what the suspicions were of the ,knight and the ,hero1 the contrivance itself but too plainly declares4 ,but their fears were groundless in both cases4 ,only the ,knight seems to have had the advantage of the ,prince of ,,ithaca3 for1 instead of rioting suitors to drive out of his castle1 he had only to contemplate his good lady in the peaceful and pious office of distributing daily alms to ,,xiii poor men4 ,no conclusion1 however1 is to be drawn from a single instance2 and1 in general1 it is said1 the adventurers into the ,holy ,land could no more depend on the fidelity of their spouses1 than of their vassals4 ,so that1 in all respects1 ,jerusalem was to the ,european1 what ,troy had been to the ,grecian heroes4 ,and1 though the ,odyssey found no rival among the ,gothic poems1 you will think it natural enough from these corresponding circumstances1 that ,,tasso',s immortal work should be planned upon the model of the ,iliad4 ,,letter ,,vi4 ,let it be no surprise to you that1 in the close of my last ,letter1 ,i presumed to bring the ,gierusalemme liberata into competition with the ,iliad4 ,so far as the heroic and ,gothic manners are the same1 the pictures of each1 if well taken1 must be equally entertaining4 ,but ,i go further1 and maintain that the circumstances1 in which they differ1 are clearly to the advantage of the ,gothic designers4 ,you see1 my purpose is to lead you from this forgotten ,chivalry to a more amusing subject2 ,i mean1 the ,poetry we still read1 though it was founded upon it4 ,much has been said1 and with great truth1 of the felicity of ,,homer',s age1 for poetical manners4 ,but1 as ,,homer was a citizen of the world1 when he had seen in ,greece1 on the one hand1 the manners he has described1 could he1 on the other hand1 have seen in the ,west the manners of the feudal ages1 ,i make no doubt but he would certainly have preferred the latter4 ,and the grounds of this preference would1 ,i suppose1 have been1 8the improved gallantry of the ,gothic knights2 and the superior solemnity of their superstitions40 ,if any great poet1 like ,,homer1 had flourished in these times1 and given the feudal manners from the life 7for1 after all1 ,,spenser and ,,tasso came too late1 and it was impossible for them to paint truly and perfectly what was no longer seen or believed72 this preference1 ,i persuade myself1 had been very sensible4 ,but their fortune was not so happy3 ----omnes illacrymabiles ,urgentur1 ignotique long ,nocte1 carent quia vate sacro4 ,as it is1 we may take a guess of what the subject was capable of affording to real genius1 from the rude sketches we have of it in the old ,romancers4 ,and it is but looking into any of them to be convinced1 that the ,,gallantry1 which inspired the feudal times1 was of a nature to furnish the poet with finer scenes and subjects of description in every view1 than the simple and uncontrolled barbarity of the ,grecian4 ,the principal entertainment arising from the delineation of these consists in the exercise of the boisterous passions1 which are provoked and kept alive1 from one end of the ,iliad to the other1 by every imaginable scene of rage1 revenge1 and slaughter4 ,in the other1 together with these1 the gentler and more humane affections are awakened in us by the most interesting displays of love and friendship2 of love1 elevated to its noblest heights2 and of friendship1 operating on the purest motives4 ,the mere variety of these paintings is a relief to the reader1 as well as writer4 ,but their beauty1 novelty1 and pathos1 give them a vast advantage1 on the comparison4 ,so that1 on the whole1 though the spirit1 passions1 rapine1 and violence1 of the two sets of manners were equal1 yet there was an elegance1 a variety1 a dignity in the feudal1 which the other wanted4 ,as to ,,religious ,,machinery1 perhaps the popular system of each was equally remote from reason2 yet the latter had something in it more amusing1 as well as more awakening to the imagination4 ,the current popular tales of ,elves and ,fairies were even fitter to take the credulous mind1 and charm it into a willing admiration of the specious miracles which wayward fancy delights in1 than those of the old traditionary rabble of ,pagan divinities4 ,and then1 for the more solemn fancies of witchcraft and incantation1 the ,gothic are above measure striking and terrible4 ,you will tell me1 perhaps1 that these fancies1 as terrible as they were1 are but of a piece with those of ,pagan superstition2 and that nothing can exceed what the classic writers have related or feigned of its magic and necromantic horrors4 ,to spare you the trouble of mustering up against me all that your extensive knowledge of antiquity would furnish1 let me confess to you that many of the ancient poets have occasionally adorned this theme4 ,if1 among twenty others1 ,i select only the names of ,,ovid1 ,,seneca1 and ,,lucan1 it is1 because these writers1 by the character of their genius1 were best qualified for the task1 and have1 besides1 exerted their whole strength upon it4 ,,lucan1 especially1 has drawn out all the pomp of his eloquence in celebrating those ,,thessalian ,,charms1 ficti quas nulla licentia monstri ,transierat1 quarum1 quicquid non creditur1 ars est4 ,yet ,,still ,i pretend to shew you that all his prodigies1 fall short of the ,gothic3 and you will come the less reluctantly into my sentiments1 if you reflect1 8,,that the thick and troubled stream of superstition1 which flowed so plentifully in the classic ages1 has been constantly deepening and darkening by the confluence of those supplies1 which ignorance and corrupted religion have poured in upon it40 ,first1 you will call to mind that all the gloomy visions of dmons and spirits1 which sprung out of the ,alexandrian or ,platonic philosophy1 were in the later ages of ,paganism engrafted on the old stock of classic superstition4 ,these portentous dreams1 new hatched to the woful time1 as ,,shakespear speaks1 enabled ,,apuleius to outdo ,,lucan himself1 in some of his magic scenes and exhibitions4 ,next1 you will observe that a fresh and exhaustless swarm of the direst superstitions took their birth in the frozen regions of the ,north1 and were naturally enough conceived in the imaginations of a people involved in tenfold darkness2 ,i mean1 in the thickest shades of ignorance1 as well as in the gloom of their comfortless woods and forests4 ,i call these the direst superstitions2 for though the ,south and ,east may have produced some that shew more wild and fantastic1 yet those of the ,north have ever been of a more sombrous and horrid aspect1 agreeably to the singular circumstances and situation of that savage and benighted people4 ,these dismal fancies1 which the barbarians carried out with them in their migrations into the ,north-west1 took the readier and the faster hold of men's minds1 from the kindred darkness into which the ,western world was then fallen1 and from the desolation 7so apt to engender all fearful conceits and apprehensions7 which every where attended the incursions of those ravagers4 ,lastly1 before the ,romancers applied themselves to dress up these dreadful stories1 ,christian superstition had grown to its height1 and had transferred on the magic system all its additional and supernumerary horrors4 ,taking1 now1 the whole together1 you will clearly see what we are to conclude of the ,gothic system of prodigy and enchantment2 which was not so properly a single system1 as the aggregate1 --of all that nature breeds ,perverse2 all monstrous1 all prodigious things1 ,which fables yet had feign'd or fear conceiv'd4 ,for1 to the frightful forms of ancient necromancy 7which easily travelled down to us1 when the fairer offspring of pagan invention lost its way1 or was swallowed up in the general darkness of the barbarous ages7 were now joined the hideous phantasms which had terrified the ,northern nations2 and1 to complete the horrid groupe1 with these were incorporated the still more tremendous spectres of ,christian superstition4 ,in this state of things1 as ,i said1 the ,romancers went to work2 and with these multiplied images of terror on their minds1 you will conclude1 without being at the pains to form particular comparisons1 that they must manage ill indeed1 not to surpass1 in this walk of magical incantation1 the original classic fablers4 ,but1 if you require a comparison1 ,i can tell you where it is to be made1 with much ease1 and to great advantage3 ,i mean1 in ,,shakespear',s ,macbeth1 where you will find 7as his best critic observes7 8the ,danish or ,northern1 intermixed with the ,greek and ,roman enchantments2 and all these worked up together with a sufficient quantity of our own country superstitions4 ,so that ,,shakespear',s ,witch-,scenes 7as the same writer adds7 are like the charms they prepare in one of them3 where the ingredients are gathered from every thing shocking in the natural world2 as here1 from every thing absurd in the moral40 ,or1 if you suspect this instance1 as deriving somewhat of its force and plausibility from the magic hand of this critic1 you may turn to another in a great poet of that time2 who has been at the pains to make the comparison himself1 and whose word1 as he gives it in honest prose1 may surely be taken4 ,in a work of ,b4 ,,jonson1 which he calls ,,the ,,masque ,,of ,,queens1 there are some ,witch-scenes2 written with singular care1 and in emulation1 as it may seem1 of ,,shakespear',s2 but certainly with the view 7for so he tells us himself7 of reconciling the practice of antiquity to the neoteric1 and making it familiar with our popular witchcraft4 ,this ,masque is accompanied with notes of the learned author1 who had rifled all the stores of ancient and modern ,dmonomagy1 to furnish out his entertainment2 and who takes care to inform us1 under each head1 whence he had fetched the ingredients1 out of which it is compounded4 ,in this elaborate work of ,,jonson you have1 then1 an easy opportunity of comparing the ancient with the modern magic4 ,and though1 as he was an idolater of the ancients1 you will expect him to draw freely from that source1 yet from the large use he makes1 too1 of his other more recent authorities1 you will perceive that some of the darkest shades of his picture are owing to hints and circumstances which he had catched1 and could only catch1 from the ,gothic enchantments4 ,even such of these circumstances1 as1 taken by themselves1 seem of less moment1 should not be overlooked1 since 7as the poet well observes of them7 though they be but minutes in ceremony1 yet they make the act more dark and full of horror4 ,thus ,,much1 then1 may serve for a cast of ,,shakespear',s and ,,jonson',s magic3 abundantly sufficient1 ,i must think1 to convince you of the superiority of the ,gothic charms and incantations1 to the classic4 ,though1 after all1 the conclusion is not to be drawn so much from particular passages1 as from the general impression left on our minds1 in reading the ancient and modern poets4 ,and this is so much in favour of the latter1 that ,mr4 ,,addison scruples not to say1 8,the ancients have not much of this poetry among them2 for indeed 7continues he7 almost the whole substance of it owes its original to the darkness and superstition of later ages--,our forefathers looked upon nature with more reverence and horror1 before the world was enlightened by learning and philosophy2 and loved to astonish themselves with the apprehensions of witchcraft1 prodigies1 charms1 and inchantments4 ,there was not a village in ,england1 that had not a ghost in it2 the church-yards were all haunted2 every large common had a circle of fairies belonging to it2 and there was scarce a shepherd to be met with1 who had not seen a spirit40 ,we are upon enchanted ground1 my friend2 and you are to think yourself well used1 that ,i detain you no longer in this fearful circle4 ,the glympse1 you have had of it1 will help your imagination to conceive the rest4 ,and without more words you will readily apprehend that the fancies of our modern bards are not only more gallant1 but1 on a change of the scene1 more sublime1 more terrible1 more alarming1 than those of the classic fablers4 ,in a word1 you will find that the manners they paint1 and the superstitions they adopt1 are the more poetical for being ,gothic4 ,,letter ,,vii4 ,but nothing shews the difference of the two systems under consideration more plainly1 than the effect they really had on the ,two greatest of our ,poets2 at least the two which an ,english reader is most fond to compare with ,,homer2 ,i mean1 ,,spenser and ,,milton4 ,it is not to be doubted but that each of these bards had kindled his poetic fire from classic fables4 ,so that1 of course1 their prejudices would lie that way4 ,yet they both appear1 when most inflamed1 to have been more particularly rapt with the ,gothic fables of ,chivalry4 ,,spenser1 though he had been long nourished with the spirit and substance of ,,homer and ,,virgil1 chose the times of ,chivalry for his theme1 and ,fairy ,land for the scene of his fictions4 ,he could have planned1 no doubt1 an heroic design on the exact classic model3 or1 he might have trimmed between the ,gothic and classic1 as his contemporary ,,tasso did4 ,but the charms of fairy prevailed4 ,and if any think1 he was seduced by ,,ariosto into this choice1 they should consider that it could be only for the sake of his subject2 for the genius and character of these poets was widely different4 ,under this idea then of a ,gothic1 not classical poem1 the ,fairy ,queen is to be read and criticized4 ,and on these principles it would not be difficult to unfold its merit in another way than has been hitherto attempted4 ,,milton1 it is true1 preferred the classic model to the ,gothic4 ,but it was after long hesitation2 and his favourite subject was ,,arthur and his ,knights of the round table4 ,on this he had fixed for the greater part of his life4 ,what led him to change his mind was1 partly1 as ,i suppose1 his growing fondness for religious subjects2 partly1 his ambition to take a different rout from ,,spenser2 but chiefly perhaps1 the discredit into which the stories of ,chivalry had now fallen by the immortal satire of ,,cervantes4 ,yet we see through all his poetry1 where his enthusiasm flames out most1 a certain predilection for the legends of ,chivalry before the fables of ,greece4 ,this circumstance1 you know1 has given offence to the austerer and more mechanical critics4 ,they are ready to censure his judgment1 as juvenile and unformed1 when they see him so delighted1 on all occasions1 with the ,gothic romances4 ,but do these censors imagine that ,,milton did not perceive the defects of these works1 as well as they8 ,no3 it was not the composition of books of ,chivalry1 but the manners described in them1 that took his fancy2 as appears from his ,allegro-- ,towred cities please us then ,and the busy hum of men1 ,where throngs of knights and barons bold ,in weeds of peace high triumphs hold1 ,with store of ladies1 whose bright eyes ,rain influence1 and judge the prize ,of wit1 or arms1 while both contend ,to win her grace1 whom all commend4 ,and when in the ,penseroso he draws1 by a fine contrivance1 the same kind of image to sooth melancholy which he had before given to excite mirth1 he indeed extols an author1 or two1 of these romances1 as he had before1 in general1 extolled the subject of them3 but they are authors worthy of his praise2 not the writers of ,amadis1 and ,sir ,launcelot of the ,lake2 but ,fairy ,,spenser1 and ,,chaucer himself1 who has left an unfinished story on the ,gothic or feudal model4 ,or1 call up him that left half-told ,the story of ,,cambuscan bold1 ,of ,,camball and of ,,algarsiff1 ,and who had ,,canace to wife1 ,that own'd the virtuous ring and glass1 ,and of the wondrous horse of brass1 ,on which the ,tartar king did ride2 ,and if aught else great bards beside ,in sage and solemn tunes have sung ,of turneys and of trophies hung1 ,of forests and inchantments drear1 ,where more is meant than meets the ear4 ,the conduct then of these two poets may incline us to think with more respect1 than is commonly done1 of the ,gothic manners2 ,i mean1 as adapted to the uses of the greater poetry4 ,i shall add nothing to what ,i before observed of ,,shakespear1 because the sublimity 7the divinity1 let it be1 if nothing else will serve7 of his genius kept no certain rout1 but rambled at hazard into all the regions of human life and manners4 ,so that we can hardly say what he preferred1 or what he rejected1 on full deliberation4 ,yet one thing is clear1 that even he is greater when he uses ,gothic manners and machinery1 than when he employs classical3 which brings us again to the same point1 that the former have1 by their nature and genius1 the advantage of the latter in producing the sublime4 ,,letter ,,viii4 ,i spoke 8of criticizing ,,spenser',s poem under the idea1 not of a classical1 but ,gothic composition40 ,it is certain1 much light might be thrown on that singular work1 were an able critic to consider it in this view4 ,for instance1 he might go some way towards explaining1 perhaps justifying1 the general plan and conduct of the ,fairy ,queen1 which1 to classical readers1 has appeared indefensible4 ,i have taken the fancy1 with your leave1 to try my hand on this curious subject4 ,when an architect examines a ,gothic structure by ,grecian rules1 he finds nothing but deformity4 ,but the ,gothic architecture has its own rules1 by which when it comes to be examined1 it is seen to have its merit1 as well as the ,grecian4 ,the question is not1 which of the two is conducted in the simplest or truest taste3 but whether there be not sense and design in both1 when scrutinized by the laws on which each is projected4 ,the same observation holds of the two sorts of poetry4 ,judge of the ,fairy ,queen by the classic models1 and you are shocked with its disorder3 consider it with an eye to its ,gothic original1 and you find it regular4 ,the unity and simplicity of the former are more complete3 but the latter has that sort of unity and simplicity1 which results from its nature4 ,the ,fairy ,queen then1 as a ,gothic poem1 derives its ,,method1 as well as the other characters of its composition1 from the established modes and ideas of ,chivalry4 ,it was usual1 in the days of knight-errantry1 at the holding of any great feast1 for knights to appear before the prince1 who presided at it1 and claim the privilege of being sent on any adventure to which the solemnity might give occasion4 ,for it was supposed that1 when such a throng of knights and barons bold1 as ,,milton speaks of1 were got together1 the distressed would flock in from all quarters1 as to a place where they knew they might find and claim redress for all their grievances4 ,this was the real practice1 in the days of pure and ancient ,chivalry4 ,and an image of this practice was afterwards kept up in the castles of the great1 on any extraordinary festival or solemnity3 of which1 if you want an instance1 ,i refer you to the description of a feast made at ,lisle in #adec1 in the court of ,,philip the good1 duke of ,burgundy1 for a ,crusade against the ,turks3 as you may find it given at large in the memoirs of ,,matthieu ,,de ,,conci1 ,,olivier ,,de ,,la ,,marche1 and ,,monstrelet4 ,that feast was held for twelve days3 and each day was distinguished by the claim and allowance of some adventure4 ,now1 laying down this practice as a foundation for the poet's design1 you will see how properly the ,fairy ,queen is conducted4 ----8,i ,,devise10 says the poet himself in his letter to ,sir ,w4 ,,raleigh1 8that the ,fairy ,queen kept her annual feaste xii days3 upon which xii several days1 the occasions of the xii several adventures happened2 which being undertaken by xii several knights1 are in these xii books severally handled40 ,here you have the poet delivering his own method1 and the reason of it4 ,it arose out of the order of his subject4 ,and would you desire a better reason for his choice8 ,yes2 you will say1 a poet's method is not that of his subject4 ,i grant you1 as to the order of time1 in which the recital is made2 for here1 as ,,spenser observes 7and his own practice agrees to the rule71 lies the main difference between the poet historical1 and the historiographer3 the reason of which is drawn from the nature of ,epic composition itself1 and holds equally let the subject be what it will1 and whatever the system of manners be1 on which it is conducted4 ,gothic or ,classic makes no difference in this respect4 ,but the case is not the same with regard to the general plan of a work1 or what may be called the order of distribution1 which is and must be governed by the subject-matter itself4 ,it was as requisite for the ,fairy ,queen to consist of the adventures of twelve ,knights1 as for the ,odyssey to be confined to the adventures of one ,hero3 justice had otherwise not been done to his subject4 ,so that if you will say any thing against the poet's method1 you must say that he should not have chosen this subject4 ,but this objection arises from your classic ideas of ,unity1 which have no place here2 and are in every view foreign to the purpose1 if the poet has found means to give his work1 though consisting of many parts1 the advantage of ,unity4 ,for in some reasonable sense or other1 it is agreed1 every work of art must be one1 the very idea of a work requiring it4 ,if you ask then1 what is this ,unity of ,,spenser',s ,poem8 ,i say1 ,it consists in the relation of its several adventures to one common original1 the appointment of the ,fairy ,queen2 and to one common end1 the completion of the ,fairy ,queen's injunctions4 ,the knights issued forth on their adventures on the breaking up of this annual feast3 and the next annual feast1 we are to suppose1 is to bring them together again from the atchievement of their several charges4 ,this1 it is true1 is not the classic ,unity1 which consists in the representation of one entire action3 but it is an ,unity of another sort1 an unity resulting from the respect which a number of related actions have to one common purpose4 ,in other words1 it is an unity of design1 and not of action4 ,this ,gothic method of design in poetry may be1 in some sort1 illustrated by what is called the ,gothic method of design in gardening4 ,a wood or grove cut out into many separate avenues or glades was among the most favourite of the works of art1 which our fathers attempted in this species of cultivation4 ,these walks were distinct from each other1 had each their several destination1 and terminated on their own proper objects4 ,yet the whole was brought together and considered under one view1 by the relation which these various openings had1 not to each other1 but to their common and concurrent center4 ,you and ,i are1 perhaps1 agreed that this sort of gardening is not of so true a taste as that which ,kent and ,nature have brought us acquainted with2 where the supreme art of the designer consists in disposing his ground and objects into an entire landskip2 and grouping them1 if ,i may use the term1 in so easy a manner1 that the careless observer1 though he be taken with the symmetry of the whole1 discovers no art in the combination3 ,in lieto aspetto il bel giardin s'aperse1 ,acque stagnanti1 mobili cristalli1 ,fior vari1 e varie piante1 herbe diverse1 ,apriche collinette1 ombrose valli1 ,selve1 e spelunche in ,,una ,,vista offerse3 ,e quel1 che'l bello1 e'l caro accresce l'opre1 ,l'arte1 che tutto s1 nulla si scopre4 ,,tasso1 ,c4 ,,xvi4 s4 ix4 ,this1 ,i say1 may be the truest taste in gardening1 because the simplest3 yet there is a manifest regard to unity in the other method2 which has had its admirers1 as it may have again1 and is certainly not without its design and beauty4 ,but to return to our poet4 ,thus far he drew from ,gothic ideas2 and these ideas1 ,i think1 would lead him no further4 ,but1 as ,,spenser knew what belonged to classic composition1 he was tempted to tie his subject still closer together by one expedient of his own1 and by another taken from his classic models4 ,his own was1 to interrupt the proper story of each book1 by dispersing it into several2 involving by this means1 and as it were intertwisting the several actions together1 in order to give something like the appearance of one action to his twelve adventures4 ,and for this conduct1 as absurd as it seems1 he had some great examples in the ,italian poets1 though1 ,i believe1 they were led into it by different motives4 ,the other expedient1 which he borrowed from the classics1 was1 by adopting one superior character1 which should be seen throughout4 ,prince ,,arthur1 who had a separate adventure of his own1 was to have his part in each of the other2 and thus several actions were to be embodied by the interest which one principal ,hero had in them all4 ,it is even observable1 that ,,spenser gives this adventure of ,prince ,,arthur1 in quest of ,,gloriana1 as the proper subject of his poem4 ,and upon this idea the late learned editor of the ,fairy ,queen has attempted1 but1 ,i think1 without success1 to defend the unity and simplicity of its fable4 ,the truth was1 the violence of classic prejudices forced the poet to affect this appearance of unity1 though in contradiction to his ,gothic system4 ,and1 as far as we can judge of the tenour of the whole work from the finished half of it1 the adventure of ,prince ,,arthur1 whatever the author pretended1 and his critic too easily believed1 was but an after-thought2 and1 at least1 with regard to the historical fable1 which we are now considering1 was only one of the expedients by which he would conceal the disorder of his ,gothic plan4 ,and if this was his design1 ,i will venture to say that both his expedients were injudicious4 ,their purpose was1 to ally two things1 in nature incompatible1 the ,gothic1 and the classic unity2 the effect of which misalliance was to discover and expose the nakedness of the ,gothic4 ,i am of opinion then1 considering the ,fairy ,queen as an epic or narrative poem constructed on ,gothic ideas1 that the poet had done well to affect no other unity than that of design1 by which his subject was connected4 ,but his poem is not simply narrative2 it is throughout allegorical3 he calls it a perpetual allegory or dark conceit3 and this character1 for reasons ,i may have occasion to observe hereafter1 was even predominant in the ,fairy ,queen4 ,his narration is subservient to his moral1 and but serves to colour it4 ,this he tells us himself at setting out1 ,fierce wars and faithful loves shall moralize my song2 that is1 shall serve for a vehicle1 or instrument to convey the moral4 ,now under this idea1 the ,unity of the ,fairy ,queen is more apparent4 ,his twelve knights are to exemplify as many virtues1 out of which one illustrious character is to be composed4 ,and in this view the part of ,prince ,,arthur in each book becomes essential1 and yet not principal2 exactly1 as the poet has contrived it4 ,they who rest in the literal story1 that is1 who criticize it on the footing of a narrative poem1 have constantly objected to this management4 ,they say1 it necessarily breaks the unity of design4 ,prince ,,arthur1 they affirm1 should either have had no part in the other adventures1 or he should have had the chief part4 ,he should either have done nothing1 or more4 ,this objection ,i find insisted upon by ,,spenser',s best critic#di2 and1 ,i think1 the objection is unanswerable2 at least1 ,i know of nothing that can be said to remove it1 but what ,i have supposed above might be the purpose of the poet1 and which ,i myself have rejected as insufficient4 ,but how faulty soever this conduct be in the literal story1 it is perfectly right in the moral3 and that for an obvious reason1 though his critics seem not to have been aware of it4 ,his chief hero was not to have the twelve virtues in the degree in which the knights had1 each of them1 their own 7such a character would be a monster27 but he was to have so much of each as was requisite to form his superior character4 ,each virtue1 in its perfection1 is exemplified in its own knight2 they are all1 in a due degree1 concentrated in ,prince ,,arthur4 ,this was the poet's moral3 and what way of expressing this moral in the history1 but by making ,prince ,,arthur appear in each adventure1 and in a manner subordinate to its proper hero8 ,thus1 though inferior to each in his own specific virtue1 he is superior to all by uniting the whole circle of their virtues in himself3 and thus he arrives1 at length1 at the possession of that bright form of ,glory1 whose ravishing beauty1 as seen in a dream or vision1 had led him out into these miraculous adventures in the land of ,fairy4 ,the conclusion is1 that1 as an allegorical poem1 the method of the ,fairy ,queen is governed by the justness of the moral3 as a narrative poem1 it is conducted on the ideas and usages of ,chivalry4 ,in either view1 if taken by itself1 the plan is defensible4 ,but from the union of the two designs there arises a perplexity and confusion1 which is the proper1 and only considerable1 defect of this extraordinary poem4 ,,letter ,,ix4 ,no doubt1 ,,spenser might have taken one single adventure1 of the ,,twelve1 for the subject of his ,poem2 or he might have given the principal part in every adventure to ,prince ,,arthur4 ,by this means his fable had been of the classic kind1 and its unity as strict as that of ,,homer and ,,virgil4 ,all this the poet knew very well2 but his purpose was not to write a classic poem4 ,he chose to adorn a ,gothic story2 and1 to be consistent throughout1 he chose that the form of his work should be of a piece with his subject4 ,did the poet do right in this8 ,i cannot tell3 but1 comparing his work with that of another great poet1 who followed the system you seem to recommend1 ,i see no reason to be peremptory in condemning his judgment4 ,the example of this poet deserves to be considered4 ,it will afford1 at least1 a fresh confirmation of the point1 ,i principally insist upon1 the pre-eminence of the ,,gothic manners and fictions1 as adapted to the ends of poetry1 above the classic4 ,i observed of the famous ,,torquato ,,tasso1 that1 coming into the world a little of the latest for the success of the pure ,gothic manner1 he thought fit to trim between that and the classic model4 ,it was lucky for his fame1 that he did so4 ,for the ,gothic fables falling every day more and more into contempt1 and the learning of the times1 throughout all ,europe1 taking a classic turn1 the reputation of his work has been chiefly founded on the strong resemblance it has to the ancient ,epic poems4 ,his fable is conducted in the spirit of the ,iliad2 and with a strict regard to that unity of action which we admire in ,,homer and ,,virgil4 ,but this is not all2 we find a studied and close imitation of those poets1 in many of the smaller parts1 in the minuter incidents1 and even in the descriptions and similes of his poem4 ,the classic reader was pleased with this deference to the public taste3 he saw with delight the favourite beauties of ,,homer and ,,virgil reflected in the ,italian poet2 and was almost ready to excuse1 for the sake of these1 his magic tales and fairy enchantments4 ,i said1 was almost ready2 for the offence given by these tales to the more fashionable sort of critics was so great1 that nothing1 ,i believe1 could make full amends1 in their judgment1 for such extravagancies4 ,however1 by this means1 the ,gierusalemme ,liberata made its fortune amongst the ,french wits1 who have constantly cried it up above the ,orlando ,furioso1 and principally for this reason1 that ,,tasso was more classical in his fable1 and more sparing in the wonders of ,gothic fiction1 than his predecessor4 ,the ,italians have indeed a predilection for their elder bard2 whether from their prejudice for his subject2 their admiration of his language2 the richness of his invention2 the comic air of his style and manner2 or from whatever other reason4 ,be this as it will1 the ,french criticism has carried it before the ,italian1 with the rest of ,europe4 ,this dextrous people have found means to lead the taste1 as well as set the fashions1 of their neighbours3 and ,,ariosto ranks but little higher than the rudest ,romancer in the opinion of those who take their notions of these things from their writers4 ,but the same principle1 which made them give ,,tasso the preference to ,,ariosto1 has led them by degrees to think very unfavourably of ,,tasso himself4 ,the mixture of the ,gothic manner in his work has not been forgiven4 ,it has sunk the credit of all the rest2 and some instances of false taste in the expression of his sentiments1 detected by their nicer critics1 have brought matters to that pass1 that1 with their good will1 ,,tasso himself should now follow the fate of ,,ariosto4 ,i will not say1 that a little national envy did not perhaps mix itself with their other reasons for undervaluing this great poet4 ,they aspired to a sort of supremacy in letters2 and finding the ,italian language and its best writers standing in their way1 they have spared no pains to lower the estimation of both4 ,whatever their inducements were1 they succeeded but too well in their attempt4 ,our obsequious and over-modest critics were run down by their authority4 ,their taste of letters1 with some worse things1 was brought among us at the ,restoration4 ,their language1 their manners1 nay their very prejudices1 were adopted by our polite king and his royalists4 ,and the more fashionable wits1 of course1 set their fancies1 as my ,lord ,,molesworth tells us the people of ,copenhagen in his time did their clocks1 by the court-standard4 ,sir ,w4 ,,davenant opened the way to this new sort of criticism in a very elaborate preface to ,,gondibert2 and his philosophic friend1 ,mr4 ,,hobbes1 lent his best assistance towards establishing the credit of it4 ,these two fine letters contain1 indeed1 the substance of whatever has been since written on the subject4 ,succeeding wits and critics did no more than echo their language4 ,it grew into a sort of cant1 with which ,,rymer1 and the rest of that school1 filled their flimsy essays and rambling prefaces4 ,our noble critic himself#ej condescended to take up this trite theme3 and it is not to be told with what alacrity and self-complacency he flourishes upon it4 ,the ,gothic manner1 as he calls it1 is the favourite object of his raillery2 which is never more lively or pointed1 than when it exposes that 8bad taste which makes us prefer an ,,ariosto to a ,,virgil1 and a ,romance 7without doubt he meant1 of ,,tasso7 to an ,iliad40 ,truly1 this critical sin requires an expiation2 which yet is easily made by subscribing to his sentence1 8,that the ,french indeed may boast of legitimate authors of a just relish2 but that the ,italian are good for nothing but to corrupt the taste of those who have had no familiarity with the noble antients#ea40 ,this ingenious nobleman is1 himself1 one of the gallant votaries he sometimes makes himself so merry with4 ,he is perfectly enamoured of his noble ancients2 and will fight with any man who contends1 not that his ,lordship's mistress is not fair1 but that his own is fair also4 ,it is certain the ,french wits benefited by this foible4 ,for pretending1 in great modesty1 to have formed themselves on the pure taste of his noble ancients1 they easily drew his ,lordship over to their party3 while the ,italians1 more stubbornly pretending to a taste of their own1 and chusing to lye for themselves1 instead of adopting the authorised lyes of ,greece1 were justly exposed to his resentment4 ,such was the address of the ,french writers1 and such their triumphs over the poor ,italians4 ,it must be owned1 indeed1 they had every advantage on their side1 in this contest with their masters4 ,the taste and learning of ,italy had been long on the decline2 and the fine writers under ,,louis ,,xiv4 were every day advancing the ,french language1 such as it is 7simple1 clear1 exact1 that is1 fit for business and conversation2 but for that reason1 besides its total want of numbers1 absolutely unsuited to the genius of the greater poetry71 towards its last perfection4 ,the purity of the ancient manner became well understood1 and it was the pride of their best critics to expose every instance of false taste in the modern writers4 ,the ,italian1 it is certain1 could not stand so severe a scrutiny4 ,but they had escaped better1 if the most fashionable of the ,french poets had not1 at the same time1 been their best critic4 ,a lucky word in a verse1 which sounds well and every body gets by heart1 goes further than a volume of just criticism4 ,in short1 the exact1 but cold ,,boileau happened to say something of the clinquant of ,,tasso2 and the magic of this word1 like the report of ,,astolfo',s horn in ,,ariosto1 overturned at once the solid and well-built reputation of the ,italian poetry4 ,it is not perhaps strange that this potent word should do its business in ,france4 ,what was less to be expected1 it put us into a fright on this side the water4 ,mr4 ,,addison1 who gave the law in taste here1 took it up1 and sent it about the kingdom in his polite and popular essays#eb4 ,it became a sort of watchword among the critics2 and1 on the sudden1 nothing was heard1 on all sides1 but the clinquant of ,,tasso4 ,after all1 these two respectable writers might not intend the mischief they were doing4 ,the observation was just2 but was extended much further than they meant1 by their witless followers and admirers4 ,the effect was1 as ,i said1 that the ,italian poetry was rejected in the gross1 by virtue of this censure2 though the authors of it had said no more than this1 8that their best poet had some false thoughts1 and dealt1 as they supposed1 too much in incredible fiction40 ,i leave you to make your own reflexions on this short history of the ,italian poetry4 ,it is not my design to be its apologist in all respects4 ,however1 with regard to the first of these charges1 ,i presume to say1 that1 as just as it is in the sense in which ,i persuade myself it was intended1 there are more instances of natural sentiment1 and of that divine simplicity we admire in the ancients1 even in ,,guarini',s ,pastor ,fido1 than in the best of the ,french poets4 ,and as to the last charge1 ,i pretend to shew you1 in my next ,letter1 that it implies no fault at all in the ,italian poets4 ,,letter ,x4 ,chi non sa che cosa sia ,italia8--,if this question could ever be reasonably asked on any occasion1 it must surely be when the wit and poetry of that people were under consideration4 ,the enchanting sweetness of their tongue1 the richness of their invention1 the fire and elevation of their genius1 the splendour of their expression on great subjects1 and the native simplicity of their sentiments on affecting ones2 all these are such manifest advantages on the side of the ,italian poets1 as should seem to command our highest admiration of their great and capital works4 ,yet a different language has been held by our finer critics4 ,and1 in particular1 you hear it commonly said of the tales of ,fairy1 which they first and principally adorned1 8that they are extravagant and absurd2 that they surpass all bounds1 not of truth only1 but of probability2 and look more like the dreams of children1 than the manly inventions of poets40 ,all this1 and more1 has been said2 and1 if truly said1 who would not lament ,l'arte del potar troppo infelice8 ,for they are not the cold fancies of plebeian poets1 but the golden dreams of ,,ariosto1 the celestial visions of ,,tasso1 that are thus derided4 ,but now1 as to the extravagance of these fictions1 it is frequently1 ,i believe1 much less than these laughers apprehend4 ,to give an instance or two1 of this sort4 ,one of the strangest circumstances in those books1 is that of the women-warriors1 with which they all abound4 ,,butler1 in his ,hudibras1 who saw it only in the light of a poetical invention1 ridicules it1 as a most unnatural idea1 with great spirit4 ,yet in this representation1 they did but copy from the manners of the times4 ,,anna ,,comnena tells us1 in the life of her father1 that the wife of ,,robert the ,norman fought side by side with her husband1 in his battles2 that she would rally the flying soldiers1 and lead them back to the charge3 and ,,nicetas observes1 that1 in the time of ,,manuel ,,comnena1 there were in one ,crusade many women1 armed like men1 on horseback4 ,what think you now of ,,tasso',s ,clarinda1 whose prodigies of valour ,i dare say you have often laughed at8 ,or1 rather1 what think you of that constant pair1 8,,gildippe et ,,odoardo amanti e sposi1 ,in valor d'arme1 e in lealt famosi80 ,c4 ,,iii4 s4 #dj4 ,again3 what can be more absurd and incredible1 it is often said1 than the vast armies we read of in ,romance8 a circumstance1 to which ,,milton scruples not to allude in those lines of his ,paradise ,regained-- ,such forces met not1 nor so wide a camp1 ,when ,,agrican with all his northern powers ,besieg'd ,albracca1 as ,romances tell1 ,the city of ,,gallaphrone1 from thence to win ,the fairest of her sex1 ,,angelica4 ,b4 ,,iii4 ver4 #ccg4 ,the classical reader is much scandalized on these occasions1 and never fails to cry out on the impudence of these lying fablers4 ,yet if he did but reflect on the prodigious swarms which ,europe sent out in the ,crusades1 and that the transactions of those days furnished the ,romance-writers with their ideas and images1 he would see that the marvellous in such stories was modest enough1 and did not very much exceed the strict bounds of historical representation4 ,the first army1 for instance1 that marched for the ,holy ,land1 even after all the losses it had sustained by the way1 amounted1 we are told1 when it came to be mustered in the plains of ,asia1 to no less than seven hundred thousand fighting men3 a number1 which would almost have satisfied the ,romancer's keenest appetite for wonder and amplification4 ,a third instance may be thought still more remarkable4 8,we read perpetually of walls of fire raised by magical art to stop the progress of knights-errant4 ,in ,,tasso1 the wizard ,,ismeno guards the inchanted forest with walls of fire4 ,in the ,orlando ,inamorato1 ,l4 ,,iii4 c4 i4 ,,mandricardo is endeavoured to be stopped by enchanted flames2 but he makes his way through all40 ,thus far the learned editor of the ,fairy ,queen ,notes on ,b4 ,,iii4 c4 xi4 s4 #be4 who contents himself1 like a good ,romance-critic1 with observing the fact1 without the irreverence of presuming to account for it4 ,but if the profane will not be kept within this decent reserve1 we may give them to understand1 that this fancy1 as wild as it appears1 had some foundation in truth4 ,for ,i make no question but these fires1 raised by magical art1 to stop the progress of assailants1 were only the flames of ,,feugregeois1 as it was called1 that is of ,,wildfire1 which appeared so strange1 on its first invention and application1 in the barbarous ages4 ,we hear much of its wonders in the history of the ,crusades2 and even so late as ,,spenser',s own time they were not forgotten4 ,,davila1 speaking of the siege of ,poitiers in #aefi1 tells us----,abbondavano nella citta le provisioni da guerra2 tra le quali1 quantita inestimabile di ,,fuochi ,,artificiati1 lavorati in diverse maniere1 ne'quali avenano i defensori posta grandissima speranza di respingere gli assalti de'nemici4 ,lib4 v4 ,hence1 without doubt1 the magical flames and fiery walls1 of the ,gothic ,romancers#ec2 and who will say1 that the specious miracles of ,,homer himself had a better foundation8 ,but1 after all1 this is not the sort of defence ,i mean chiefly to insist upon4 ,let others explain away these wonders1 so offensive to certain philosophical critics4 ,they are welcome to me in their own proper form1 and with all the extravagance commonly imputed to them4 ,it is true1 the only criticism1 worth regarding1 is that which these critics lay claim to1 the philosophical4 ,but there is a sort which looks like philosophy1 and is not4 ,may not that be the case here8 ,this criticism1 whatever name it deserves1 supposes that the poets1 who are lyars by profession1 expect to have their lyes believed4 ,surely they are not so unreasonable4 ,they think it enough1 if they can but bring you to imagine the possibility of them4 ,and how small a matter will serve for this8 ,a legend1 a tale1 a tradition1 a rumour1 a superstition2 in short1 any thing is enough to be the basis of their air-formed visions4 ,does any capable reader trouble himself about the truth1 or even the credibility of their fancies8 ,alas1 no2 he is best pleased when he is made to conceive 7he minds not by what magic7 the existence of such things as his reason tells him did not1 and were never likely to1 exist4 ,but here1 to prevent mistakes1 an explanation will be necessary4 ,we must distinguish between the popular belief1 and that of the reader4 ,the fictions of poetry do1 in some degree at least1 require the first 7they would1 otherwise1 deservedly pass for dreams indeed73 but when the poet has this advantage on his side1 and his fancies have1 or may be supposed to have1 a countenance from the current superstitions of the age in which he writes1 he dispenses with the last1 and gives his reader leave to be as sceptical1 and as incredulous1 as he pleases4 ,a fashionable ,french critic diverts himself with imagining 8what a person1 who comes fresh from reading ,mr4 ,,addison and ,mr4 ,,locke1 would be apt to think of ,,tasso',s ,enchantments#ed40 ,the ,english reader will1 perhaps1 smile at seeing these two writers so coupled together3 and1 with the critic's leave1 we will put ,mr4 ,,locke out of the question4 ,but if he be desirous to know what a reader of ,mr4 ,,addison would pronounce in the case1 ,i can undertake to give him satisfaction4 ,speaking of what ,mr4 ,,dryden calls1 the ,fairy way of writing1 8,men of cold fancies and philosophical dispositions1 says he1 object to this kind of poetry1 that it has not probability enough to affect the imagination4 ,but--many are prepossest with such false opinions1 as dispose them to believe these particular delusions3 at least1 we have all heard so many pleasing relations in favour of them1 that we do not care for seeing through the falsehood1 and willingly give ourselves up to so agreeable an imposture40 ,spect4 ,no #dai4 ,apply1 now1 this sage judgment of ,mr4 ,,addison to ,,tasso',s ,enchantments2 and you see that a falsehood convict is not to be pleaded against a supposed belief1 or even the slightest hear-say4 ,so little account does this wicked poetry make of philosophical or historical truth3 all she allows us to look for1 is poetical truth2 a very slender thing indeed1 and which the poet's eye1 when rolling in a fine frenzy1 can but just lay hold of4 ,to speak in the philosophic language of ,mr4 ,,hobbes1 it is something much beyond the actual bounds1 and only within the conceived possibility of nature4 ,but the source of bad criticism1 as universally of bad philosophy1 is the abuse of terms4 ,a poet1 they say1 must follow nature2 and by nature we are to suppose can only be meant the known and experienced course of affairs in this world4 ,whereas the poet has a world of his own1 where experience has less to do1 than consistent imagination4 ,he has1 besides1 a supernatural world to range in4 ,he has ,gods1 and ,fairies1 and ,witches1 at his command3 and1 -- -- -- --,o6 who can tell ,the hidden pow'r of herbes1 and might of magic spell8 ,,spenser1 ,b4 ,v4 ,c4 ii4 ,thus1 in the poet's world1 all is marvellous and extraordinary2 yet not unnatural in one sense1 as it agrees to the conceptions that are readily entertained of these magical and wonder-working natures4 ,this trite maxim of following ,nature is further mistaken1 in applying it indiscriminately to all sorts of poetry4 ,in those species which have men and manners professedly for their theme1 a strict conformity with human nature is reasonably demanded4 ,non hic ,centauros1 non ,gorgonas1 ,harpyiasque ,invenies3 hominem pagina nostra sapit2 is a proper motto to a book of epigrams2 but would make a poor figure at the head of an epic poem4 ,still further in those species that address themselves to the heart1 and would obtain their end1 not through the imagination1 but through the passions1 there the liberty of transgressing nature1 ,i mean the real powers and properties of human nature1 is infinitely restrained2 and poetical truth is1 under these circumstances1 almost as severe a thing as historical4 ,the reason is1 we must first believe before we can be affected4 ,but the case is different with the more sublime and creative poetry4 ,this species1 addressing itself solely or principally to the ,imagination2 a young and credulous faculty1 which loves to admire and to be deceived2 has no need to observe those cautious rules of credibility1 so necessary to be followed by him who would touch the affections and interest the heart4 ,this difference1 you will say1 is obvious enough3 ,how came it then to be overlooked8 ,from another mistake1 in extending a particular precept of the drama into a general maxim4 ,the incredulus odi of ,,horace ran in the heads of these critics1 though his own words confine the observation singly to the stage3 ,segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem ,quam qu sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus1 et qu ,ipse sibi tradit ,spectator---- ,that1 which passes in representation1 and challenges1 as it were1 the scrutiny of the eye1 must be truth itself1 or something very nearly approaching to it4 ,but what passes in narration1 even on the stage1 is admitted without much difficulty-- multaque tolles ,ex oculis1 qu mox narret facundia presens4 ,in the epic narration1 which may be called absens facundia1 the reason of the thing shews this indulgence to be still greater4 ,it appeals neither to the eye nor the ear1 but simply to the imagination1 and so allows the poet a liberty of multiplying and enlarging his impostures at pleasure1 in proportion to the easiness and comprehension of that faculty#ee4 ,these general reflexions hardly require an application to the present subject4 ,the tales of ,fairy are exploded1 as fantastic and incredible4 ,they would merit this contempt1 if presented on the stage2 ,i mean1 if they were given as the proper subject of dramatic imitation1 and the interest of the poet's plot were to be wrought out of the adventures of these marvellous persons4 ,but the epic muse runs no risque in giving way to such fanciful exhibitions4 ,you may call them1 as one does1 8extraordinary dreams1 such as excellent poets and painters1 by being over-studious1 may have in the beginning of fevers#ef40 ,the epic poet would acknowledge the charge1 and even value himself upon it4 ,he would say1 8,i leave to the sage dramatist the merit of being always broad awake1 and always in his senses4 ,the divine dream#eg1 and delirious fancy1 are among the noblest of my prerogatives40 ,but the injustice done the ,italian poets does not stop here4 ,the cry is1 8,magic and enchantments are senseless things4 ,therefore the ,italian poets are not worth the reading40 ,as if1 because the superstitions of ,,homer and ,,virgil are no longer believed1 their poems1 which abound in them1 are good for nothing4 ,yes1 you will say1 their fine pictures of life and manners-- ,and may not ,i say the same1 in behalf of ,,ariosto and ,,tasso8 ,for it is not true that all is unnatural and monstrous in their poems1 because of this mixture of the wonderful4 ,admit1 for example1 ,,armida',s marvellous conveyance to the happy ,island2 and all the rest of the love-story is as natural1 that is1 as suitable to our common notions of that passion1 as any thing in ,,virgil or 7if you will7 ,,voltaire4 ,thus1 you see1 the apology of the ,italian poets is easily made on every supposition4 ,but ,i stick to my point1 and maintain that the ,fairy tales of ,,tasso do him more honour than what are called the more natural1 that is1 the classical parts of his poem4 ,his imitations of the ancients have indeed their merit2 for he was a genius in every thing4 ,but they are faint and cold1 and almost insipid1 when compared with his ,gothic fictions4 ,we make a shift to run over the passages he has copied from ,,virgil4 ,we are all on fire amidst the magical feats of ,,ismen1 and the enchantments of ,,armida4 ,magnanima mensogna1 hor quando il vero ,si bello1 che si possa te preporre8 ,i speak at least for myself2 and must freely own1 if it were not for these lyes of ,gothic invention1 ,i should scarcely be disposed to give the ,gierusalem ,liberata a second reading4 ,i readily agree to the lively observation1 8,that impenetrable armour1 inchanted castles1 invulnerable bodies1 iron men1 flying horses1 and other such things1 are easily feigned by them that dare#eh40 ,but1 with the observer's leave1 not so feigned as we find them in the ,italian poets1 unless the writer have another quality1 besides that of courage4 ,one thing is true1 that the success of these fictions will not be great1 when they have no longer any footing in the popular belief3 and the reason is1 that readers do not usually do as they ought1 put themselves in the circumstances of the poet1 or rather of those of whom the poet writes4 ,but this only shews1 that some ages are not so fit to write epic poems in1 as others2 not1 that they should be otherwise written4 ,it is also true1 that writers do not succeed so well in painting what they have heard1 as what they believe1 themselves1 or at least observe in others a facility of believing4 ,and on this account ,i would advise no modern poet to revive these ,fairy tales in an epic poem4 ,but still this is nothing to the case in hand1 where we are considering the merit of epic poems1 written under other circumstances4 ,the ,pagan ,gods and ,gothic ,fairies were equally out of credit when ,,milton wrote4 ,he did well therefore to supply their room with ,angels and ,devils4 ,if these too should wear out of the popular creed 7and they seem in a hopeful way1 from the liberty some late critics have taken with them7 ,i know not what other expedients the epic poet might have recourse to2 but this ,i know1 the pomp of verse1 the energy of description1 and even the finest moral paintings1 would stand him in no stead4 ,without admiration 7which cannot be affected but by the marvellous of celestial intervention1 ,i mean1 the agency of superior natures really existing1 or by the illusion of the fancy taken to be so7 no epic poem can be long-lived4 ,i am not afraid to instance in the ,henriade itself2 which1 notwithstanding the elegance of the composition1 will in a short time be no more read than the ,gondibert of ,sir ,w4 ,,davenant1 and for the same reason4 ,critics may talk what they will of ,truth and ,nature1 and abuse the ,italian poets as they will1 for transgressing both in their incredible fictions4 ,but1 believe it1 my friend1 these fictions with which they have studied to delude the world1 are of that kind of creditable deceits1 of which a wise ancient pronounces with assurance1 8,that they1 who deceive1 are honester than they who do not deceive2 and they1 who are deceived1 wiser than they who are not deceived40 ,,letter ,,xi4 ,but you are weary of hearing so much of these exploded fancies2 and are ready to ask1 if there be any truth in this representation1 8,whence it has come to pass1 that the classical manners are still admired and imitated by the poets1 when the ,gothic have long since fallen into disuse80 ,the answer to this question will furnish all that is now wanting to a proper discussion of the present subject4 ,one great reason of this difference certainly was1 that the ablest writers of ,greece ennobled the system of heroic manners1 while it was fresh and flourishing2 and their works1 being master-pieces of composition1 so fixed the credit of it in the opinion of the world1 that no revolutions of time and taste could afterwards shake it4 ,whereas the ,gothic having been disgraced in their infancy by bad writers1 and a new set of manners springing up before there were any better to do them justice1 they could never be brought into vogue by the attempts of later poets2 who yet1 in spite of prejudice1 and for the genuine charm of these highly poetical manners1 did their utmost to recommend them4 ,but1 ,,further1 the ,gothic system was not only forced to wait long for real genius to do it honour2 real genius was even very early employed against it4 ,there were two causes of this mishap4 ,the old ,romancers had even outraged the truth in their extravagant pictures of ,chivalry2 and ,chivalry itself1 such as it once had been1 was greatly abated4 ,so that men of sense were doubly disgusted to find a representation of things unlike to what they observed in real life1 and beyond what it was ever possible should have existed4 ,however1 with these disadvantages1 there was still so much of the old spirit left1 and the fascination of these wondrous tales was so prevalent1 that a more than common degree of sagacity and good sense was required to penetrate the illusion4 ,it was one of this character1 ,i suppose1 that put the famous question to ,,ariosto1 which has been so often repeated that ,i shall spare you the disgust of hearing it4 ,yet long before his time an immortal genius of our own 7so superior is the sense of some men to the age they live in7 saw as far into this matter1 as ,,ariosto',s examiner4 ,you will1 perhaps1 be as much surprised1 as ,i was 7when1 many years ago1 the observation was1 first1 made to me7 to understand1 that this sagacious person was ,,dan ,,chaucer2 who in a reign that almost realized the wonders of ,romantic ,chivalry1 not only discerned the absurdity of the old ,romances1 but has even ridiculed them with incomparable spirit4 8,,his ,,rime ,,of ,,sir ,,topaz in the ,canterbury ,tales 7said the curious observer1 on whose authority ,i am now building7 is a manifest banter on these books1 and may be considered as a sort of prelude to the adventures of ,don ,,quixote4 ,i call it a manifest banter3 for we are to observe that this was ,,chaucer',s own tale2 and that1 when in the progress of it the good sense of the ,host is made to break in upon him1 and interrupt him1 ,,chaucer approves his disgust1 and1 changing his note1 tells the simple instructive tale of ,,meliboeus2 a moral tale virtuous1 as he terms it2 to shew1 what sort of fictions were most expressive of real life1 and most proper to be put into the hands of the people4 ,it is1 further1 to be noted1 that the tale of the ,giant ,,olyphant and ,chylde ,,topaz was not a fiction of his own1 but a story of antique fame1 and very celebrated in the days of ,chivalry3 so that nothing could better suit the poet's design of discrediting the old ,romances1 than the choice of this venerable legend for the vehicle of his ridicule upon them4 ,but what puts the satyric purpose of the ,rime of ,sir ,,topaz out of all question1 is1 that this short poem is so managed as1 with infinite humour1 to expose the leading impertinencies of books of ,chivalry2 the very same1 which ,,cervantes afterwards drew out1 and exposed at large1 in his famous history4 ,indeed ,sir ,,topaz is all ,don ,,quixote in little2 as you will easily see from comparing the two knights together2 who are drawn with the same features1 are characterized by the same strokes1 and differ from each other but as a sketch in miniature from a finished and full-sized picture4 #a4 ,,cervantes is very particular in describing the person and habit of his ,hero1 agreeably to the known practice of the old ,romancers4 ,,chaucer does the same by his knight1 and in a manner that almost equals the arch-gravity of the ,spanish author3 ,sir ,,topaz was a doughty swaine1 ,white was his face as paine maine1 ,his lippes red as rose1 ,his rudde is like scarlet in graine1 ,and ,i you tell in good certaine1 ,he had a seemely nose4 ,his haire1 his berde1 was like safroune1 ,that to his girdle raught adowne1 ,his shoone of cordewaine1 ,of ,bruges were his hosen broun4 ,his robe was of chekelatoun1 ,that cost many a jane4 #b4 ,,cervantes tells us how ,don ,,quixote passed his time in the country1 before he turned ,knight-errant4 ,,chaucer1 in the same spirit1 celebrates his knight's country diversions of hunting1 hawking1 shooting1 and wrestling1 those known prolusions to feats of arms3 ,he couth hunt at the wilde dere1 ,and ride an hauking for by the rivere ,with grey ,,goshauke on honde1 ,thereto he was a good archere1 ,of wrastling was there none his pere ,there any ,ram should stonde4 #c4 ,the ,knights of ,romance were used to dedicate their services to some paragon of beauty1 such as was only conceived to exist in the land of ,fairy1 and could no where be found in this vulgar disenchanted world4 ,hence one of the strongest features in ,don ,,quixote',s character is the sublime passion he had conceived for an imaginary or fairy mistress4 ,sir ,,topaz is not behind him in this extravagance3 ,an ,elfe-queene woll ,i love1 ,i wis1 ,for in this world no woman is ,to be my make in towne1 ,all other women ,i forsake ,and to an ,elfe-queene ,i me take ,by dale and eke by downe4 #d4 ,don ,,quixote',s passion for this idol of his fancy was so violent1 that1 after all the bangs and bruises of the day1 instead of suffering his weary limbs to take any rest1 it occupied him all night with incessant dreams and reveries of his mistress4 ,sir ,,topaz is in the same woful plight3 ,sir ,,topaz eke so weary was-- ,that down he laid him in that place-- ,oh1 ,saint ,,mary1 benedicite ,what aileth this love at me ,to blind me so sore8 ,me dreamed all this night parde ,an ,elfe-queen shall my leman be ,and sleepe under my gore4 #e4 ,as the chastity of the hero of ,,la ,,mancha is well known1 from a variety of trying temptations1 so ,sir ,,topaz distinguishes himself by this knightly virtue3 ,full many a maide bright in boure ,they mourne for him their paramoure4 ,whan hem were bet to sleepe1 ,but he was chaste and no lechoure1 ,and sweet as is the bramble floure ,that bereth the red hipe4 #f4 ,the fight of ,sir ,,topaz with the ,giant of three heads1 in honour of his mistress1 ,for needes must he fight ,with a giant with heads thre1 ,for paramours and jolitie ,of one that shone full bright-- together with his arming1 and the whole ridiculous preparation for the combat1 described at large in several stanzas1 is exactly in the style and taste of ,,cervantes1 on similar occasions4 #g4 ,,cervantes gives us to understand that it was familiar with his knight to sleep in the open air1 to endure all hardships that befell1 and to let his horse graze by him4 ,,chaucer1 in like manner1 of his knight1 with much humour3 ,and for he was a knight auntrous1 ,he nolde slepen in none house ,but liggen in his hood1 ,his bright helme was his wanger ,and by him fed his destrer ,of herbes fine and good4 #h4 ,and1 lastly1 as ,,cervantes1 after the example of the ,romance-writers1 will have it1 that his knight surpasses all others of ancient fame1 so ,,dan ,,chaucer is careful to vindicate this high prerogative1 to his hero3 ,men speaken of ,romances of pris ,of ,,hornechild and of ,,ipotis1 ,of ,,bevis and ,sir ,,gie1 ,of ,sir ,,libeaux and ,,blandamoure2 ,but ,sir ,,topaz1 he beareth the floure ,of rial chivalrie40 ,thus far1 at least to this effect1 the concealed author 7for the dispensers of these fairy favours would not be inquired after7 of this new interpretation of the ,rime of ,sir ,,topaz4 ,other circumstances of resemblance might be added 7for when a well-grounded hint of this sort is once given1 and opened in some instances1 it is not difficult to pursue it71 but one needs go no further to be certain that the general scope of this poem is1 ,burlesque4 ,only1 ,i would observe1 that though1 in this ridiculous ballad1 the poet clearly intended to expose the ,romances of the time1 as they were commonly written1 he did not mean1 absolutely and under every form1 to condemn the kind of writing itself3 as1 ,i think1 we must conclude from the serious air1 and very different conduct1 of the ,,squire',s ,,tale2 which ,,spenser and ,,milton were so particularly pleased with4 ,we learn too1 from the same tale1 that1 though ,,chaucer could be as pleasant on the other fooleries of ,romance1 as any modern critic1 he let the marvellous of it escape his ridicule1 or rather esteemed this character of the ,gothic ,romance1 no foolery4 ,for the tale of ,,cambuscan is all over ,,marvellous2 and ,,milton1 by specifying the virtuous ring and glass1 and the wondrous horse of brass1 as the circumstances that charmed him most1 shews very plainly1 that1 in his opinion1 these amusing fictions were well placed1 and of principal consideration1 as they surely are1 in this ,fairy way of writing4 ,but1 whatever our old ,bard would insinuate by his management of this enchanting tale1 and whatever conclusions have1 in fact1 been drawn from it by such superior and congenial spirits as our two epic poets1 the half-told story of ,,cambuscan could never atone for the mischiefs done to the cause of ,romance1 by the pointed ridicule of the ,rime of ,sir ,,topaz4 ,common readers would be naturally induced by it to reject the old ,romances1 in the gross3 and thus it happened1 according to the observation ,i set out with1 8that these phantoms of ,chivalry had the misfortune to be laughed out of countenance by men of sense1 before the substance of it had been fairly and truly represented by any capable writer40 ,still1 the principal cause of all1 which brought disgrace on the ,gothic manners of ,chivalry1 no doubt1 was1 ,that these manners1 which sprang out of the feudal system1 were as singular1 as that system itself3 so that when that political constitution vanished out of ,europe1 the manners1 that belonged to it1 were no longer seen or understood4 ,there was no example of any such manners remaining on the face of the earth3 and as they never did subsist but once1 and are never likely to subsist again1 people would be led of course to think and speak of them1 as romantic1 and unnatural4 ,the consequence of which was a total contempt and rejection of them2 while the classic manners1 as arising out of the customary and usual situations of humanity1 would have many archetypes1 and appear natural even to those who saw nothing similar to them actually subsisting before their eyes4 ,thus1 though the manners of ,,homer are perhaps as different from ours1 as those of ,chivalry itself1 yet as we know that such manners always belong to rude and simple ages1 such as ,,homer paints2 and actually subsist at this day in countries that are under the like circumstances of barbarity2 we readily agree to call them natural1 and even take a fond pleasure in the survey of them4 ,your question then is easily answered1 without any obligation upon me to give up the ,gothic manners as visionary and fantastic4 ,and the reason appears1 why the ,fairy ,queen1 one of the noblest productions of modern poetry1 is fallen into so general a neglect1 that all the zeal of its commentators is esteemed officious and impertinent1 and will never restore it to those honours which it has1 once for all1 irrecoverably lost4 ,in effect1 what way of persuading the generality of readers that the romantic manners are to be accounted natural1 when not one in ten-thousand knows enough of the barbarous ages1 in which they arose1 to believe they ever really existed8 ,poor ,,spenser then1 ---- ----8in whose gentle spright ,the pure well-head of ,poesie did dwell10 must1 for aught ,i can see1 be left to the admiration of a few lettered and curious men3 while the many are sworn together to give no quarter to the marvellous1 or1 which may seem still harder1 to the moral of his song4 ,however1 this great revolution in modern taste was brought about by degrees2 and the steps1 that led to it1 may be worth the tracing in a distinct ,letter4 ,,letter ,,xii4 ,the wonders of ,chivalry were still in the memory of men1 were still existing1 in some measure1 in real life1 when ,,chaucer undertook to expose the barbarous relaters of them4 ,this ridicule1 we may suppose1 hastened the fall both of ,chivalry and ,romance4 ,at least from that time the spirit of both declined very fast1 and at length fell into such discredit1 that when now ,,spenser arose1 and with a genius singularly fitted to immortalize the land of ,fairy1 he met with every difficulty and disadvantage to obstruct his design4 ,the age would no longer bear the naked letter of these amusing stories2 and the poet was so sensible of the misfortune1 that we find him apologizing for it on a hundred occasions4 ,but apologies1 in such circumstances1 rarely do any good4 ,perhaps1 they only served to betray the weakness of the poet's cause1 and to confirm the prejudices of his reader4 ,however1 he did more than this4 ,he gave an air of mystery to his subject1 and pretended that his stories of knights and giants were but the cover to abundance of profound wisdom4 ,in short1 to keep off the eyes of the prophane from prying too nearly into his subject1 he threw about it the mist of allegory3 he moralized his song3 and the virtues and vices lay hid under his warriors and enchanters4 ,a contrivance which he had learned indeed from his ,italian masters3 for ,,tasso had condescended to allegorise his own work2 and the commentators of ,,ariosto had even converted the extravagances of the ,orlando ,furioso1 into moral lessons4 ,and this1 it must be owned1 was a sober attempt in comparison of some projects that were made about the same time to serve the cause of the old1 and now-expiring ,romances4 ,for it is to be observed1 that the idolizers of those ,romances did by them1 what the votaries of ,,homer had done by him4 ,as the times improved and would less bear his strange tales1 they moralized what they could1 and turned the rest into mysteries of natural science4 ,and as this last contrivance was principally designed to cover the monstrous stories of the ,pagan ,gods1 so it served the lovers of ,romance to palliate the no less monstrous stories of magic enchantments4 ,the editor or translator of the #bdth book of ,,amadis ,,de ,,gaule1 printed at ,lyons in #aegg1 has a preface explaining the whole secret1 which concludes with these words1 8,voyla1 lecteur1 le ,,fruit1 qui se peut recueiller du sens mystique des ,romans antiques par les ,,esprits ,,esleus1 le commun peuple soy contentant de la ,,simple ,,fleur ,,de ,,la ,,lecture ,,literale40 ,but to return to ,,spenser2 who1 as we have seen1 had no better way to take in his distress1 than to hide his fairy fancies under the mystic cover of moral allegory4 ,the only favourable circumstance that attended him 7and this no doubt encouraged1 if it did not produce1 his untimely project7 was1 that he was somewhat befriended in these fictions1 even when interpreted according to the ,letter1 by the ,romantic ,spirit of his age2 much countenanced1 and for a time brought into fresh credit1 by the ,romantic ,,elizabeth4 ,her inclination for the fancies of ,chivalry is well known2 and obsequious wits and courtiers would not be wanting1 to feed and flatter it4 ,in short1 tilts and tournaments were in vogue3 the ,arcadia and the ,fairy ,queen were written4 ,with these helps the new spirit of ,chivalry made a shift to support itself for a time1 when reason was but dawning1 as we may say1 and just about to gain the ascendant over the portentous spectres of the imagination4 ,its growing splendour1 in the end1 put them all to flight1 and allowed them no quarter even among the poets4 ,so that ,,milton1 as fond as we have seen he was of the ,gothic fictions1 durst only admit them on the bye1 and in the way of simile and illustration only4 ,and this1 no doubt1 was the main reason of his relinquishing his long-projected design of ,prince ,,arthur1 at last1 for that of the ,paradise ,lost2 where1 instead of ,giants and ,magicians1 he had ,angels and ,devils to supply him with the marvellous1 with greater probability4 ,yet1 though he dropped the tales1 he still kept to the allegories of ,,spenser4 ,and even this liberty was thought too much1 as appears from the censure passed on his ,sin and ,death by the severer critics4 ,thus at length the magic of the old ,romances was perfectly dissolved4 ,they began with reflecting an image indeed of the feudal manners1 but an image magnified and distorted by unskilful designers4 ,common sense being offended with these perversions of truth and nature 7still accounted the more monstrous1 as the antient manners1 they pretended to copy after1 were now disused1 and of most men forgotten71 the next step was to have recourse to allegories4 ,under this disguise they walked the world a while2 the excellence of the moral and the ingenuity of the contrivance making some amends1 and being accepted as a sort of apology1 for the absurdity of the literal story4 ,under this form the tales of ,fairy kept their ground1 and even made their fortune at court2 where they became1 for two or three reigns1 the ordinary entertainment of our princes4 ,but reason1 in the end 7assisted however by party1 and religious prejudices71 drove them off the scene1 and would endure these lying wonders1 neither in their own proper shape1 nor as masked in figures4 ,henceforth1 the taste of wit and poetry took a new turn3 and the ,muse1 who had wantoned it so long in the world of fiction1 was now constrained1 against her will1 8,to stoop with disenchanted wings to truth10 as ,sir ,,john ,,denham somewhere expresses her present enforced state1 not unhappily4 ,what we have gotten by this revolution1 you will say1 is a great deal of good sense4 ,what we have lost1 is a world of fine fabling2 the illusion of which is so grateful to the charmed ,spirit1 that1 in spite of philosophy and fashion1 ,fairy ,,spenser still ranks highest among the poets2 ,i mean1 with all those who are either come of that house1 or have any kindness for it4 ,earth-born critics1 my friend1 may blaspheme3 8,but all the ,,gods are ravish'd with delight ,of his celestial song1 and music's wondrous might40 ,,the ,,end ,,of ,,the ,,fourth ,,volume4 ,,nichols and ,,son1 ,printers1 ,red ,lion ,passage1 ,fleet ,street1 ,london4 ,,index ,,to ,,volumes ,,iii4 ,,and ,,iv4 ,a4 ,,academy1 the ancient1 compared with a modern university1 iv4 #bad4 ,,accommodation1 of one's-self1 a great art1 in public life1 iii4 #hb4 ,,addison1 ,mr4 his contemplation in the ruins of ,kenelworth ,castle1 iii4 #agb4 his political character exhibited in his ,whig ,examiner1 #agg4 n4 calls in question the praises bestowed on ,queen ,elizabeth1 #agh4 his strictures on the manners of that age1 #ahf4 character of his treatise on medals1 #bd4 his remark on the use of popular superstitions in poetry1 iv4 #bhi4 his observation on the fairy way of writing1 #cbc4 ,,admiralty ,,court1 the imperial law still obtains there1 iii4 #cge4 ,,allodial estates1 in ,france1 what1 iii4 #cah4 ,,amadis ,,de ,,gaule1 remarkable passage in a preface to1 iv4 #cdg4 ,,arbuthnot1 ,dr4 discourses with ,mr4 ,addison and ,mr4 ,digby on the age of ,queen ,elizabeth1 iii4 #afh4 his veneration for the manners of those times1 #ahj4 his opinion on the influence of the nobility1 #ahd4 on the pageants at ,kenelworth1 #bjc4 ,see ,elizabeth4 ,,ariosto1 why considered inferior to ,tasso by the ,french critics1 iv4 #caj4 his work admirable for its pictures of life and manners1 #cbh4 ,,arthur1 a subject to the writers of romance1 iv4 #bda4 the superior character in the ,fairy ,queen1 #cjc4 ,,ascham1 his remark on the pernicious tendency of books of chivalry1 iii4 #aib4 n4 ,,atheism1 imported by our travelling gentry1 iv4 #ii4 ,,athens1 its manly character corrupted by ,asiatic manners1 iv4 #bja4 ,b4 ,,bacchus1 a knight errant1 iv4 #bff4 ,,bacon1 ,lord1 his remark on retirement1 iii4 #acg4 why he was neglected by ,queen ,elizabeth1 iii4 #bdc4 n4 his excuse for bribery1 #bfi4 his remark on depression of nobility1 iv4 #bg4 n4 ,,bacon1 ,,nat4 character of his discourses on government1 iii4 #cjg4 his observation on the state of the law in ,henry ,v's reign1 #cgh4 his character of ,henry ,,viii4 iv4 #bi4 n4 ,,barons1 their contests with the king1 whence arising1 iii4 #ccb4 how reduced by ,henry ,,vii4 #ccd4 they originally formed the great council of the kingdom1 ib4 their opposition to a law for legitimating bastards1 #cfc4 their castles courts1 as well as fortresses1 iv4 #bdg4 described in romances as giants1 #bfd4 ,,bashfulness in young persons1 whence arising1 iv4 #afa4 a wise provision of nature1 #afb4 ,,bastards1 how legitimated by the imperial and canon laws1 iii4 #cfb4 ,,bear-,,baiting practised in the reign of ,elizabeth1 iii4 #ahf4 n4 ,,beneficiary ,,estates1 in ,france1 what1 iii4 #cah4 ,,berkeley1 ,bishop1 his 8,minute ,philosopher0 excellent as a specimen of modern dialogue1 iii4 #bd4 ,,boileau1 a word of his overturned the reputation of the ,italian poetry1 iv4 #cad4 ,,bracton1 his notion of a free government1 iii4 #cgj4 ,,breeding1 forms of1 a primary concern in foreign travel1 iv4 #adg4 ,,bribery1 common in ,elizabeth's reign1 iii4 #bfg4 ,,burghley1 ,lord1 practised on the fears of ,queen ,elizabeth1 iii4 #beg4 ,,burnet1 ,bishop1 his notion of the danger to be apprehended from the ,pretender1 iii4 #bic4 ,augurs favourably of the ,revolution1 iv4 #i1 #aj4 his inquiry into the increase of ,prerogative under the ,tudors1 #ai4 and after the ecclesiastical supremacy was transferred1 #df4 his apology for the clergy1 #eh to #fd4 his opinion on resistance1 #ff4 n4 ,,butler1 ridicules the circumstance of women warriors in romance1 iv4 #cag4 ,c4 ,c,,sar1 tribute to1 misapplication of that precept by our reformers1 iv4 #gd4 ,,camden1 ,mr4 his opinion of the ,irish rebellion in the reign of ,elizabeth1 iii4 #bcb4 n4 ,,canon ,,law1 introduction of1 discountenanced by our ,kings1 iii4 #cee1 #ceh4 retained in the church after the ,reformation1 iv4 #fg4 its doctrine convenient for the maintenance of absolute supremacy1 #fi4 ,,capet1 ,,hugh1 the nobles had become independent on his accession1 iii4 #cba4 ,,cervantes1 his ridicule destroyed the remains of ,spanish prowess1 iii4 #aii4 keenly satirizes the ,grecian epics1 iv4 #bgb4 ,,chace1 the favourite passion of our home-bred gentry1 iv4 #aaf4 ,,challenge1 accepted1 through deference to the opinion of the ladies1 iv4 #afh4 ,,charlemagne1 a subject to the writers of romance1 iv4 #bda4 ,,charles ,i4 arguments of the lawyers in his time1 for divine right1 iv4 #gh4 n4 ,,charles ,,ii4 how far his court benefited by foreign travel1 iv4 #ajj4 his restoration introduced the ,french manners and prejudices among us1 #caa4 ,,charms1 in romance1 often metaphorical1 iv4 #bfh4 ,,charters1 ,,great1 by some considered as usurpations on the ,prince1 iii4 #bih4 ,,chaucer1 has left an unfinished story on the ,gothic model1 iv4 #bid4 his ,rime of ,sir ,topaz a banter on books of romances1 #cce4 compared with the work of ,cervantes1 #ccf4 his tale of ,cambuscan a proof that he did not intend to ridicule the marvellous1 #cdb4 ,,chivalry1 its tendency to refine the manners1 iii4 #ahi4 its ill effects1 #aib4 n4 contributed to the revival of letters1 #aie4 had its origin in a barbarous age1 iv4 #bch4 sprung out of the feudal constitution1 #bdb4 its characteristics accounted for1 #bde4 passion for arms1 ib4 romantic ideas of justice1 #bdf4 courtesy and gallantry1 #bdg4 love of ,god and of the ,ladies1 #bej4 its genuine character displayed in the ,crusades1 #beb1 #bed4 two distinct periods in deducing its rise and progress1 #beh4 agreement between heroic and ,gothic manners1 #bfb4 their differences noted1 #bgb4 custom which prevailed at festivals1 #big4 women-warriors1 #cag4 ,greek fire1 #cbj4 ,,church1 its revenues dilapidated by queen ,elizabeth1 iii4 #bgc4 more immediately subjected to the feudal system than the civil power1 iii4 #cbf4 struggles between the ecclesiastics and the monarchs1 thence arising1 #cca4 distinction between ecclesiastical and temporal courts by ,william ,i4 #ceb4 canon law discountenanced by our ,kings1 #cei4 ,,cicero1 introduced the writing of ,dialogue among the ,romans1 iii4 #bj4 his remark on the advantage of applying it to real personages1 #bf4 his rule respecting the appropriate style and expression1 #cf4 character of his dialogue defined1 #dj4 ,,citizens and ,,burgesses1 whence originating1 iii4 #cch4 ,,clarendon1 ,lord1 his character of ,lord ,falkland1 iii4 #fg4 n4 of ,waller1 #fi4 n4 his eulogium on ,ben ,jonson and ,cowley1 #adj4 n4 ,,clergy1 justified in attending the courts of princes1 iii4 #ade4 in the reign of the ,conqueror1 turned common lawyers1 #ceb4 the ,imperial law their favourite study1 #cfa4 opposed by the barons1 #cfc4 supported by the judges and great officers of the realm1 #cff4 at the ,reformation propagated the doctrine of passive obedience1 iv4 #eg4 and of divine right1 #fb4 apology for them1 #fc1 #fd4 ,,combat1 a mode of deciding questions of right and property1 iii4 #bjj4 ,,comnena1 ,,manuel1 a crusade in his time attended by women-warriors1 iv4 #cag4 ,,constitution1 ,english1 enquiry into1 iii4 #bhd4 hath at all times been free1 #bhf4 many have but crude notions of it1 #big4 summary of erroneous doctrines respecting it1 #bih4 question proposed1 #cje4 its origin in the ,saxon institutions1 #cji4 ra of the ,conquest1 #caj4 contest for liberty throughout the ,norman and ,plantagenet lines1 #cac4 council of the ,kingdom originally consisting of such as held in capite of the crown1 by barony1 or knight's service1 #ccd4 origin of knights of shires1 #ccg4 of citizens and burgesses1 #cch4 formation of a ,house of ,commons1 #cdj1 #cdf4 its freedom shewn in the perpetual opposition of the people to the civil and canon laws1 #cdi to #ceh4 proofs of it1 #cfc1 #cfg4 ,imperial law still prevails in certain of our ,courts1 and in the ,universities1 #cge4 fate and fortunes of the ,civil law down to the present time1 #cgh4 contrasted with the free principles of the ,english law1 #chd to #chf4 increase of prerogative under the ,tudor line1 #cib4 iv4 #af4 state of the nation at the accession of ,henry ,,vii4 #bd1 #bg4 ,henry ,,viii4 #bh4 ,rupture with the ,court of ,rome1 #bi4 high prerogative1 #cg4 ,commons house rising in importance1 #ci4 causes of the increase of ,royal authority1 #dj4 translation of the ,pope's supremacy to the king1 #da4 use made of the title1 ,supreme head of the ,church1 #di4 high commission court and star-chamber1 #ej4 dispensing power1 #eb4 instances of its exercise1 #ec1 #ed4 passive obedience1 #eg4 why inculcated by the clergy1 #eh4 doctrine of divine right whence originating1 #fb4 growth of ,puritanism1 #fc4 ,canon laws retained after the yoke of ,rome was thrown off1 #fg4 influence of the crown1 after the ,reformation1 required to be limited by another change in the government1 #ga4 translation of the supremacy no argument against the freedom of the constitution1 #gc4 causes concurring with the ,reformation to favour liberty1 in the time of ,charles ,i4 #gf1 #gg4 issue of the conflict between prerogative and liberty1 #gi1 #hj4 what is meant by the free constitution of the ,english monarchy1 #ha4 n4 ,,court1 but two sorts of men that should live in one1 iii4 #abd4 the clergy justified in attending1 #ade4 ,,cowley1 ,mr4 his motives for retiring from the world1 iii4 #aja4 expatiates on the benefit of solitude1 #ajd4 grounds of his apology for seclusion1 #aaj4 his early habits1 #aab4 his residence at ,oxford1 and friendship with ,lord ,falkland1 #aaf4 his peculiar disposition1 #abj4 his invective against courts1 #abd4 his pursuits in retirement1 #abg4 uses of applying experiment and observation to natural science1 #abi4 his cynical severity against courts1 #ace4 eulogium on him by ,lord ,clarendon1 #adj4 n4 remonstrance of his friend on his seclusion1 #adg4 his reply in the words of ,spenser1 #adh4 his resolution unshaken1 #aej4 his purposed apology to ,lord ,st4 ,alban's begun in his ,essays1 #aeb4 his poem1 called 8,the ,complaint10 #aeg4 ,,craig1 his opinion of the feudal law1 iii4 #cbh4 ,,criticism1 bad1 arises from abuse of terms1 iv4 #cbd4 ,,cromwell1 his design for setting up a ,protestant ,council1 iv4 #ad4 ,,crusades1 state of things when they were set on foot1 iv4 #beb4 considered as the origin of knight errantry1 #bee4 domestic disorders resulting from them1 #bgg4 vast armies which were sent out1 #cah4 ,,cutter ,,of ,,coleman ,,street1 origin and purpose of that comedy1 iii4 #abb4 n4 ,d4 ,,davenant1 ,sir ,w4 a new sort of criticism in his preface to ,gondibert1 iv4 #caa4 ,,declaration ,,of ,,rights1 a barrier against future encroachments of the crown1 iii4 #bic4 ,,decretals1 of the popes1 against the civil law1 iii4 #cee4 ,,dialogue1 a favourite form of instruction with the ancients1 iii4 #ai4 its advantages1 #ba4 only three in the ,english language worthy of mention1 #bd4 real persons only to be introduced in it1 #bg4 a new species1 created by ,lucian1 #bh4 the serious and philosophic1 the best1 #cb4 its requisites1 #cd4 rule for restraining the characteristic peculiarities of style1 #ci4 modern writers cannot aspire to the elegance of the ancient1 #dc4 remedies for their difficulties1 ib4 #df4 the ancient notion of1 very little comprehended in our days1 iv4 #ij4 ,,disparity1 a passage from a tract so called1 iii4 #bce4 n4 another1 illustrative of ,queen ,elizabeth's policy1 #beh4 n4 ,,dispensing ,,power of the ,crown1 iv4 #eb4 exercised by various sovereigns1 #ec1 #ed4 eleven out of twelve judges declared for it1 #ee4 ,,dissipation ,,of ,,mind1 caused by travel1 iv4 #ade4 ,,divine ,,right1 doctrine of1 why preached up1 iv4 #fb4 arguments for it used by the lawyers in the time of ,charles ,i4 #gh4 n4 ,,drama1 a particular precept for1 mistaken for a general maxim1 iv4 #cbf4 ,,dutch ,,towns1 accomplished scholars sometimes met within them1 iv4 #aba4 ,e4 ,,education1 that commonly called liberal1 wherein defective1 iv4 #aag1 #aah4 its proper objects pointed out1 #ach4 one of its great secrets1 to fix the attention of youth1 #ade4 private1 why preferable to public1 #baj4 ,,edward ,,the ,,confessor1 formed a digest of the ,saxon laws1 iii4 #cdi4 ,,edward ,i4 dispute concerning the succession to the crown of ,scotland in his reign1 iii4 #cfg4 ,,edward ,,iii4 a house of commons originating in his reign1 iii4 #cdj1 #cdd4 1 a ,latin panegyric on ,queen ,elizabeth taught in schools1 iii4 #bci4 n4 ,,elizabeth1 ,queen1 dialogue on the age of1 iii4 #afg4 humour of magnifying her character1 whence arising1 #agg4 her romantic spirit1 #aif4 examples of it1 ib4 n4 honours paid her at ,kenelworth1 #bjc4 superiority of poets in her reign1 to what owing1 #bji4 language of that age1 favourable to poetry1 #baj4 inquiry into the merits of her government1 #bai4 sketch of its history1 #bba1 #bbb4 splendour of her reign how far owing to fortunate circumstances1 #bbc4 her enthusiasm for her ,protestant subjects1 #bbe4 contending factions of ,papists and ,puritans1 #bbf4 condition of the ,continental powers1 #bcj4 of ,ireland1 #bca4 of ,scotland1 #bcc4 her prerogative uncontrouled1 #bcd4 passion for letters in her reign1 #bcf4 a ,latin panegyric on her1 taught in grammar-schools1 #bci4 n4 spirit and genius of the nation roused by the dangers of the time1 #bda4 manners of her subjects debased by servility and insolence1 #bdb4 her choice of ministers1 ib4 her personal qualities1 #bde4 her love for her people called in question1 #bej4 her foreign and domestic policy glanced at1 #beb4 her popularity in part ascribed to her vices1 #bee4 her cowardice1 #bef4 her avarice1 #bfa4 her fondness for shew1 #bfe4 sale of offices1 #bff4 reason why she did not marry1 #bga4 n4 her government oppressive1 #bgb4 two great events which cast an uncommon lustre over her reign1 #bgd4 causes of her domestic successes1 #bge4 her character1 #bgf4 vindicated1 #bgi4 established the ,reformation1 iv4 #ca1 #cb4 exercised the dispensing power1 #ed4 her inclination for the fancies of chivalry1 iv4 #cdg4 ,,empson and ,,dudley1 how enabled to violate the constitution1 iii4 #cgi4 their proceedings sanctioned by ,parliament1 iv4 #cd4 ,,england1 a constitutional history of1 highly desirable1 iii4 #bhf1 #bhh4 its monarchy by some declared to be absolute1 #bih1 #bii4 its lands were allodial in the ,saxon times1 #cbd4 how possessed1 ib4 introduction of feudal tenures at the conquest1 why popular1 #cbe4 origin of the struggles between the ,church and the ,king1 #cca4 between the ,king and his ,barons1 #ccb4 never famous for the civility of its inhabitants1 iv4 #aab4 early travel recommended as a cure for this defect1 #aac4 prejudices and low habits of our youth1 #aae4 liberal arts not much advanced1 #abg4 foreign nations to be emulated1 #abi4 qualifications for a ,senator1 #adj4 another view of the state of the country1 #aea4 ideas of liberty connected with it1 #aec4 ,,epic ,,narration1 less restricted to truth than the drama1 iv4 #cbg4 ,,erasmus1 improved on the dialogue of ,lucian1 iii4 #bh4 ,,erudition1 present state of1 iv4 #acb4 ,,esprit1 ,,de ,l'1 remark on a work so called1 iv4 #hi4 n4 ,,europe1 why not fit for an ,englishman to travel in1 iv4 #bjj4 view of the ,protestant ,universities of1 #bab1 #bac4 ,f4 ,,faery ,,court1 means the reign of chivalry1 iv4 #bdh4 ,,fairies1 more engaging than the rabble of ,pagan divinities1 iv4 #bhc4 ,,fairy ,,queen of ,spenser1 to be criticized as a ,gothic1 and not a classical poem1 #bib1 #bif4 derives its method from the established modes of chivalry1 #big4 in what its unity consists1 #cjj4 expedients of the poet in connecting the subject1 #cjb4 allegorical character of the poem1 #cjd4 conduct of the story justified by its moral1 #cje4 principal defect arising from the union of two designs1 #cjf4 ,,fairy ,,way ,,of ,,writing1 vindicated1 iv4 #caf4 allegory its last resource1 #cdi4 ,,falkland1 ,lord1 his scruples on accepting the office of ,secretary of ,state1 iii4 #fg4 ,,feugregeois1 wonders told of it in the history of the crusades1 iv4 #cbj4 ,,feudal ,,law1 instituted by ,william the ,conqueror1 iii4 #cac4 or rather new-modelled by him1 #cag4 previously adopted in ,france1 #cai1 #cbj4 its fruits1 #cba4 favourable to the cause of liberty1 #cbc4 definition of the feudal system1 #cbi4 its defects1 #ccc1 #ccd4 fitted itself to the varying situations of society1 #cde4 ,,feudal ,,constitution1 the origin of chivalry1 iv4 #bdb4 consideration had of females under it1 #bgd4 distinction between the early and later feudal times1 #bgf4 dissensions of leaders1 domestic disorders1 and usurpations1 #bgg1 #bgh4 ,,foreigners1 their disputes with ,british subjects1 by what laws decided1 iii4 #cgf4 ,,fortescue1 his distinction between regal and political forms of government1 iii4 #chh4 n4 ,,fortune1 the making of one1 an indefinite expression1 iii4 #aca4 ,,franc-,,almoign1 a particular tenure in the ,saxon times1 iii4 #cbg4 ,,france1 its lands1 under the ,carlovingian line1 of two kinds1 iii4 #cah4 changes introduced1 ib4 #cai1 #cbj4 most of its lands were beneficiary1 #cbd4 her pre-eminence in taste and politeness1 iv4 #acj4 ,,freedom1 ,english1 best supported by the ancient nobility1 iii4 #ahd4 ,,free ,,men1 persons holding allodial estates in ,france1 so called1 iii4 #cah4 ,,french ,,critics1 preferred the ,gierusalemme ,liberata to the ,orlando ,furioso1 iv4 #cji4 ,,fynes ,,moryson1 his remark on the condition of the ,english people1 iii4 #ahc4 n4 ,g4 ,,gardening1 ,gothic method of design in1 iv4 #cja4 ,,genius1 men of1 infelicities attending the sensibility of their gratitude1 iii4 #adj4 ,,gentleman1 what his chief object1 iv4 #abc4 ,,german ,,nations1 foundation of gallantry in their ancient manners1 iv4 #bej4 their predatory disposition1 #bfi4 ,,giants of ,romance1 were oppressive feudal lords1 iv4 #bfc4 ,,gothic ,,romance1 incorporated with pagan fable1 in a pageant given to ,queen ,elizabeth at ,kenelworth1 iii4 #bjc4 whence fallen into disrepute1 iv4 #ccc4 steps of its decline traced1 #cde4 ---- ,,manners1 in some circumstances agree with the heroic1 iv4 #bfb4 military enthusiasm1 ib4 giants and savages1 #bfc4 monsters1 dragons1 and serpents1 #bfe4 robbery and piracy1 #bfh4 bastardy1 #bfi4 hospitality and courtesy1 #bgj4 martial exercises1 ib4 passion for adventures1 #bga4 wherein they differed from the heroic1 #bgb4 in the affair of religion and gallantry1 #bgd4 more poetical than the heroic1 #bhj4 in the displays of love and friendship1 #bhb4 in religious machinery1 #bhc4 their effect on ,spenser1 #bia4 on ,milton1 #bib4 on ,shakespear1 #bid4 method of design in poetry1 #cjj4 ,,greeks1 a sort of chivalry prevailed among them1 iv4 #bgc4 ,,grotius1 his character of the ,english in ,elizabeth's reign1 iii4 #bdb4 n4 his remark on the foreign policy of that ,queen1 #bei4 n4 ,,guarini1 his ,pastor ,fido1 for what admirable1 iv4 #cae4 ,,guy1 ,,earl ,,of ,,warwick1 his return from the wars1 compared with that of ,ulysses1 iv4 #bgh4 ,h4 ,,habits1 low and immoral1 how far likely to be corrected by foreign travel1 iv4 #aeg4 ,,hale',s ,,case1 afforded an alarming proof of the influence of the dispensing power1 iv4 #ee4 ,,hampden1 ,mr4 his allegation in the great cause of ship-money1 #gh4 n4 ,,harrington1 ,sir ,james1 his opinion on the statutes against retainers1 in ,henry ,,vii4's reign1 #ahd4 n4 ,,harrison1 his account of the progress of learning in ,queen ,elizabeth's reign1 iii4 #bcg4 n4 ,,helmet1 used as a signal of hospitality in the ages of chivalry1 iii4 #ahb4 ,,henriade1 why not long-lived1 iv4 #cca4 ,,henry ,,iii4 issued a prohibition against the teachers of the ,roman law in ,london1 iii4 #ceg1 #ceh4 ,,henry ,,vii4 his character1 iv4 #ai4 increased his own authority and diminished that of his nobles1 #be4 filled the great offices with churchmen only1 #bf4 exercised the dispensing power1 contrary to act of parliament1 #ec4 ,,henry ,,viii4 favoured the study of the civil law1 though constrained to abolish it1 iii4 #chj4 his character1 iv4 #ai4 advantageous circumstances on his accession1 #bi4 his rupture with the court of ,rome1 ib4 obtained of his parliament to have his proclamations pass for laws1 #cd4 ,,helvidius1 ,,priscus1 a fine trait in his character1 as given by ,tacitus1 iii4 #adb4 ,,hentznerus1 ,,paulus1 praises ,queen ,elizabeth's skill in languages1 iii4 #beg4 n4 ,,herbert1 ,mr4 ,,george1 commended king ,james as a greater orator than any of the ancients1 iii4 #bdj4 n4 ,,hercules1 a knight errant1 iv4 #bff4 ,,heroic ,,poetry1 why it has survived the ,gothic1 iv4 #ccc4 ,,high ,,commission ,,court1 iii4 #cha4 in what originating1 iv4 #di4 ,,history1 ,,english1 study of it essential to a young senator1 iv4 #adb4 ,,hobbes1 ,mr4 assisted in establishing a new sort of criticism1 iv4 #caa4 his notion of poetical truth1 #cbd4 ,,homer1 correspondence of his descriptions with those of ,gothic romance1 iv4 #bff4 his two poems intended to expose the evils arising from the political state of old ,greece1 #bgg4 felicity of his age1 for poetical manners1 #bhj4 ,,hospitality1 much practised by the great1 in former times1 iii4 #aha4 species of it peculiar to the purer ages of chivalry1 #ahb4 n4 ,,house ,,of ,,commons1 its origin1 iii4 #cdj4 generated by the constitution1 #cdf4 ,,human ,,nature1 how to be studied1 iv4 #aig4 ,,hume1 ground of his apology for the ,house of ,stuart1 iii4 #cia4 n4 his account of the feudal times the best part of his history of ,england1 iv4 #hj4 n4 his zeal for the house of ,stuart a disgrace to his work1 #hb4 ,i ,j4 ,,james ,i4 favoured the study of the civil law1 iii4 #cha4 advantages under which he succeeded to the crown1 iv4 #cc4 believed himself absolute1 #cg4 his bold language to his parliaments1 #ch4 asserts the right of the ,king to suspend the laws1 #ed4 considered a most able judge of church work1 #ei1 #fj4 n4 styles himself the great schoolmaster of the land1 #fi4 n4 ,,jesuits1 their expedient to justify the pope in deposing kings1 iv4 #fa4 ,,ignorance1 the parent of many vices1 iv4 #ajh4 ,,interest1 of men in office1 how connected with duty1 iii4 #aci4 ,,jonson1 ,,ben1 praised by ,lord ,clarendon1 iii4 #adj4 n4 his encomium on legends of ancient chivalry1 #aid4 contrasts them with real life and manners1 #aih4 design of the witch-scenes in his ,masque of ,queens1 iv4 #bhg4 ,,ireland1 distractions in1 during the reign of ,elizabeth1 iii4 #bca4 ,,irish1 savage1 in the reign of ,elizabeth1 held their rhymers in principal estimation1 iv4 #bga4 ,,italian ,,poetry1 a short history of1 #cji to #cae4 vindicated1 #caf1 #cbh4 its fictions ingenious as well as bold1 #ccj4 ,,italy1 the theatre of politeness in the age of ,elizabeth1 iv4 #ii4 abounding with literary men1 #aba4 ,,jury1 trial by1 when disgraced and rejected1 iii4 #cgi1 #chb4 ,,justices ,,of ,,peace1 in ,queen ,elizabeth's reign1 notoriously corrupt1 iii4 #bgj4 ,,justinian ,,law1 when introduced into ,england1 iii4 #ced4 ,why the chief study of the clergy1 #cfa4 opposed by the barons1 #cfc4 allows legitimation by subsequent marriage1 #cfe4 in what courts it obtains to this day1 #cge4 its fate and fortunes down to the present time1 #cgh4 ,,justs ,,and ,,turnaments1 their origin1 iv4 #bdc4 ,k4 ,,kenelworth ,,castle1 contemplations in the ruins of1 iii4 #agj4 behaviour of ,lord ,leicester's porter on ,queen ,elizabeth's visit1 #agd4 pageants in honour of her1 #bjc4 ,,knights ,,of ,,shire1 whence originating1 iii4 #ccg1 #cch4 ,,knights ,,errant1 iv4 #bdg4 their devotion to the fair sex1 #bdh4 their most essential qualities1 courage and faith1 #bea4 origin ascribed to the crusades1 #bee4 objection to that hypothesis1 #beg4 what the principal mover of their adventures1 #bge4 ,,knowledge of the world1 necessary for enlarging the mind1 iv4 #ajh4 what is meant by it1 #abb1 #abc4 not attainable by early travel1 #agj4 to be acquired by degrees1 #ahj4 ,l4 ,,ladies1 attach a high degree of merit to good breeding1 iv4 #afh4 though bred at home1 have a manifest advantage over their travelled brothers in liberal acquirements1 #agf4 virtues and faults more conspicuous in them than in the other sex1 #agg1 #agh4 8,,lady ,,of ,,the ,,lake10 a pageant at ,kenelworth ,castle1 iii4 #bjc4 ,,laga1 or ,,leaga1 the ,saxon word for law1 its extensive import1 iii4 #cjh4 ,,language1 ,,english1 at what period most favourable to poetry1 iii4 #baj4 ,,languages1 time sometimes wasted in studying1 iv4 #adg4 ,,laws1 how rendered necessary1 iv4 #ajh4 ,,learning1 revival of1 began first by poetry1 iii4 #bjf4 ,,legislators1 ancient1 why required to travel for instruction1 iv4 #ie4 ,,legislature1 their right to settle the government1 unquestionable1 iii4 #cjb4 ,,leicester1 ,earl of1 his splendid monument in the great church of ,warwick1 iii4 #afh4 ,strictures on his conduct1 #agf4 ,,letters1 the cultivation of1 its own reward1 iii4 #acj4 ,,liberal ,,arts1 of late growth in ,england1 iv4 #abg4 study of them less important than other branches of education1 #aib4 ,,liberty1 a right understanding of its principles necessary to the security of the ,british government1 iii4 #bie4 religious1 made way for the entertainment of civil1 in all its branches1 iv4 #gf4 ,,life-,,guard1 instituted by ,henry ,,vii4 iv4 #be4 ,,livy1 his dialogues1 if preserved1 would have suffered by comparison with those of ,cicero1 iii4 #da4 ,,locke1 ,mr4 ,lord ,shaftesbury's opinion of him as a philosopher1 iv4 #hh4 his notion of education1 opposed to that of his lordship1 #acf1 #ach4 denies that its objects can be attained by foreign travel1 #adc4 his remarks on ,england1 #aea4 on national prejudices1 #aeb1 #aed4 on evil habits1 #aef4 on bashfulness in youth1 #afa4 on knowledge of the world1 #agj4 on the means of instilling it into the minds of youth1 #ahj4 his objections to the study of the fine arts1 #aia1 #aic4 of the fine arts1 #aia1 #aic4 ,declares against ,european travels1 #bjj4 his remarks on the universities1 #bjd4 on clergy tutors1 #bag4 ,presage of brighter days for the universities1 #bbd4 ,,lollardism1 spreading in the reign of ,henry ,,vii4 iv4 #bg4 ,,london1 a fit scene for seeing the world1 iv4 #aij4 ,,lucan1 his magic scenes excelled by those of ,apuleius1 iv4 #bhc1 #bhd4 ,,lucian1 created a new species of dialogue1 iii4 #bh4 its nature defined1 #cj1 #cb4 his remark on the social use of the table1 #ahb4 ,m4 ,,manners1 best acquired by early travel1 iv4 #aai4 meaning of the term1 #abj4 a chief object of study1 #abd4 ,,masks and ,,shows1 their origin and design1 iii4 #bjg4 ,,matthew ,,paris1 his remark on the subjection of the ecclesiastical to the secular power at the ,conquest1 iii4 #cbg4 n4 ,,maynard1 ,sir ,,john1 one of the most accomplished lawyers of his time1 iii4 #bhi4 n4 traces the origin of the ,english ,constitution1 #cjf4 was one of the eleven members proceeded against1 on the charge of the army1 #chc4 n4 his opinion that the power of the militia was not in the king1 iv4 #ge4 n4 ,,melvil1 ,sir ,,james1 his frank reply to ,queen ,elizabeth touching her celibacy1 iii4 #bga4 n4 ,,milton1 recommends gymnastics in his ,tractate of ,education1 iii4 #ahh4 why he preferred the classic to the ,gothic model in poetry1 iv4 #bib4 pleased with the manners described in books of chivalry1 #bic4 his allusion to the vast armies described in romance1 #cah4 ,pagan gods and ,gothic fairies out of credit when he wrote1 #cca4 admired ,chaucer's tale of ,cambuscan1 #cdb4 ,his reason for relinquishing his design of ,prince ,arthur1 #cdh4 ,,modesty1 in young persons1 a grace and ornament1 iv4 #afb4 the blush of budding reason and virtue1 #afd4 ,,montesquieu1 his observation on the ,gothic government1 iii4 #cda4 n4 ,,more1 ,dr4 ,,henry1 his dialogue with ,mr4 ,waller on sincerity1 iii4 #ec4 his character1 according to ,bishop ,burnet1 #ic4 n4 ,,mountjoy1 ,lord1 how reprimanded by ,queen ,elizabeth1 iii4 #bdi4 ,n4 ,,nations1 improved by intercourse with each other1 iv4 #aji4 ,,nature1 how to be followed in poetry1 iv4 #cbd4 ,,neutrality1 why another name for insincerity1 iii4 #ff4 ,,norham1 great ,council of1 rejected the ,csarean law1 iii4 #cfg4 ,o4 ,,obedience1 ,,passive1 doctrine of1 by whom propagated1 iv4 #eg4 ,p4 ,,pagan superstitions1 fall short of the ,gothic1 iv4 #bhd4 ,,pandects1 when and by whom introduced into ,england1 iii4 #ced4 their doctrine concerning the origin of government1 #cga4 ,,papal ,,supremacy1 its extent in this kingdom1 iv4 #db4 how transferred to ,henry ,,viii4 #dc4 qualifying clauses1 ib4 high notions entertained of the pope's power1 #df4 dispensing power1 #eb4 exercised by the popes against the ,gospel itself1 #ef4 n4 indignation of the popes against our reforming sovereigns1 #fa4 ,,parliaments1 their authority acknowledged even under our most despotic ,princes1 iv4 #cg4 transferred the papal supremacy to ,henry ,,viii4 #dc4 how curbed by the dispensing power1 #ea1 #eb4 ,,personification1 why frequent in old poetry1 iii4 #baa1 #bab4 ,,philip ,,the ,,good1 duke of ,burgundy1 a festival given by him1 for a crusade1 iv4 #bih4 ,,philosophers1 ancient1 considered travel as a necessary part of their studies1 iv4 #ie4 ,,philosophy1 how at present degraded1 iv4 #aca4 ,,plato1 the model1 if not the inventor1 of the ,greek dialogue1 iii4 #bj4 ,,plot1 of ,mr4 ,waller1 its failure1 iii4 #ga1 #gb4 confounded with another of more dangerous tendency1 #ge4 ,,plutarch1 his life of ,theseus reads like a modern romance1 iv4 #bff4 ,,poetry1 what point in the revolutions of taste and language most favourable to it1 iii4 #baj4 the sublime species not subject to strict rules of credibility1 iv4 #cbe1 #cbf4 ,,poets1 generally enamoured of solitude1 iii4 #aac1 #aad4 ,,pole1 ,cardinal1 violent in his invectives against ,henry ,,viii4 iv4 #fj4 ,,politeness1 not attainable by great men1 iv4 #aff4 what its most reasonable sense1 #bja4 ,,prejudices1 of home-bred gentlemen1 iv4 #aad4 the term equivocal1 #aeb4 some ought not to be removed1 #aec4 proper cure for vicious prejudices1 #aee4 ,,prerogative1 of ,english monarchs1 controuled by law1 iii4 #bhg4 ,,protestant ,,council1 projected by ,cromwell1 iv4 #ad4 n4 ,,protestantism1 had made considerable progress on the accession of ,elizabeth1 iii4 #bbd4 its effects on the public morals1 #bch4 ,,protestants1 ,french1 persecution of1 iv4 #ab4 n4 ,,puritanism1 growth of1 iv4 #fc4 ,,puritans1 how managed by ,queen ,elizabeth1 iii4 #bbg4 ,r4 ,,raleigh1 ,sir ,walter1 his opinion on the conduct of the ,spanish war1 iii4 #beb4 received money to use his interest with the ,queen1 #bfh4 ,,reason1 best exercised in society1 iii4 #ajf4 ,,recreant1 why a term of disgrace for a vanquished knight1 iv4 #bea4 ,,reformation1 established in the reign of ,elizabeth1 iv4 #ca1 #cb4 though founded on principles of liberty1 for a time favoured the power of the crown1 #gj4 carried on and established by the whole legislature1 #gc4 ,,religious ,,houses1 suppression of1 favoured the extension of prerogative1 iv4 #bj4 ,,representation1 ,dramatic1 requires stricter adherence to truth than narration1 iv4 #cbf4 ,,retainers1 laws of ,henry ,,vii4 against1 iv4 #be4 ,,retirement1 foundation of the dialogue concerning1 iii4 #ig4 n4 its good effects on the mind1 #ajd4 its disadvantages1 #ajf4 retirement of good men from public employments prejudicial to the state1 #ada4 ,,revolution of #afhh1 why justifiable1 iii4 #bhc4 settlement introduced by it1 how to be rendered secure1 #bie4 ,,rhetorician1 one who taught the art of not speaking1 iv4 #aba4 ,,richard ,,ii4 the wonder-working parliament in his reign rejected the ,roman civil law1 iii4 #cfg4 his declaration that his will was law1 #cgd4 ,,robert ,,the ,,norman1 his wife fought by his side in battle1 iv4 #cag4 ,,roman ,,emperors1 their policy in assuming the title of ,pontifex ,maximus1 iv4 #dg4 ,,rome1 ,court of1 its authority rejected by ,henry ,,viii4 iv4 #bi4 ,,romance1 ,spirit of1 whence originating1 iv4 #bci4 principal subjects1 #bda4 from what period its writers derive their ideas of chivalry1 #bei4 practice of mixing ,pagan fable with it1 #bgb4 ,gothic superstitions introduced1 #bhd4 decline of this species of writing1 #ccc1 #cde1 #cdh4 ,,rousseau1 his observation on the use of the marvellous in epic and dramatic compositions1 iv4 #cbg4 n4 ,,royal ,,society1 much talked of1 before it was instituted1 iii4 #adc4 n4 ,,ryswick1 treaty of1 wherein defective1 iv4 #ab4 ,s4 ,,st4 ,,alban',s1 ,lord1 the patron of ,cowley1 iii4 #ig1 #ii1 #ajb4 ,,saxons1 the principles of their policy still maintained in our government1 iii4 #cjg4 spirit of liberty prevailed among them1 #cji4 their institutions1 after the decline of the ,romans1 the standing laws of this kingdom1 #cdi4 ,,savages of ,romance1 dependants of feudal lords1 iv4 #bfc4 ,,selden1 his character of ,ben ,jonson1 iii4 #bji4 a curious extract from his dissertation on ,fleta1 #cgj4 ,,self-,,love1 when uncontrouled1 engenders vices1 iv4 #ajh4 ,,senator1 ,english1 requisite qualifications of one1 iv4 #adj4 are not attainable by foreign travel1 #adc4 ,,sidney1 ,sir ,,philip1 the flower of knighthood1 iii4 #aig4 ,,sincerity in the commerce of the world1 a dialogue on1 iii4 #ec4 ,,shaftesbury1 ,lord1 eminent as a writer of dialogue1 iii4 #bd4 his remarks on the difficulties attending that class of composition1 #db4 represented in a dialogue with ,mr4 ,locke1 on the uses of foreign travel1 iv4 #hg4 states its advantages1 #ajg4 asserts it to be the most important part of education1 #aaa4 descants on the prejudices of home-bred gentlemen1 #aae4 on the state of the arts in ,britain1 #abf4 on the decay of philosophy1 #aca4 his raillery against the ,gothic manner in poetry1 #caa4 ,,shakespear1 remark of his best critic on the witch-scenes in ,macbeth1 iv4 #bhf4 greater in the ,gothic than in the classic manner1 #bie4 ,,socrates1 whence he took his name of ,ironist1 iii4 #bh4 never stirred out of ,athens1 iv4 #if4 ,,somers1 ,mr4 his fears that the principles of liberty are not thoroughly established in the minds of the people1 iii4 #bie1 #big4 his notion of the varying ascendancy of liberty and prerogative1 iv4 #ah4 ,,spain1 ,queen ,elizabeth's triumph over1 to what owing1 iii4 #bgd4 ,,spenser1 had talent for business as well as for poetry1 iii4 #bdc4 his funeral1 ib4 n4 charmed by ,gothic ,romance1 iv4 #bci4 his account of the courtesy of chivalry1 #bdg4 of the connection of gallantry with the profession of ,knighthood1 #bdi4 his description of characters in romance1 #bfd4 his design in the ,fairy ,queen1 #bhj4 why he chose chivalry for his theme1 and ,fairy land for his scene1 #bia4 why he had recourse to allegory1 #cdf4 with whom he ranks highest among the poets1 #cej4 ,,sprat1 the ,rev4 ,mr4 his account of a conversation with ,mr4 ,cowley on retirement1 iii4 #ii4 ,,star-,,chamber1 iii4 #cha4 when confirmed by act of parliament1 iv4 #be1 #cd4 its jurisdiction why extended1 #ej4 ,,stephen1 the ,justinian laws introduced into ,england during his reign1 iii4 #ced4 interdicted the study of them1 #cef4 ,,stillingfleet1 ,dr4 his remark on the dispensing power1 iv4 #ed4 ,,stuart1 ,house of1 part of their difficulties ascribed to the bad policy of their predecessor1 iii4 #bbh4 ,english ,government despotic under the first princes of that line1 iii4 #cij4 prerogative increased in the preceding reigns1 iv4 #bj1 #cc4 confirmed the jurisdiction of the ,star-,chamber by statute1 #cd4 exercised the dispensing power to a dangerous degree1 #ee4 ,t4 ,,tacitus1 bears testimony to the free spirit of the ,german constitutions1 iii4 #cji4 ,,tasso1 his ,gierusalemme ,liberata planned on the model of the ,iliad1 iv4 #bgi4 his description of a garden1 iv4 #cja4 his ,gierusalemme ,liberata considered1 #cjh4 how estimated by the ,french critics1 #cji1 #caj4 his ,clarinda not so extravagant a character as is generally supposed1 #cah4 remark of a ,french critic on his enchantments1 #cbb4 his fairy tales do him more honour than the classical parts of his poem1 #cbi4 ,,terence1 his characters all express themselves with equal elegance1 iii4 #ci4 ,,theobald1 ,archbishop1 favoured the reading of the ,justinian laws in ,england1 iii4 #ced4 ,,third ,,estate in ,france1 their deputies how stigmatized by one of the popes1 iv4 #ei4 n4 ,,thuanus1 his remark on the romantic spirit of ,queen ,elizabeth1 iii4 #aif4 ,,thurkeby1 ,judge1 exclaims against the dispensing power1 iv4 #ec4 n4 ,,tilt ,,yard1 a school of fortitude and honour to our forefathers1 iii4 #ahe4 ,its exercises excelled those of the ,grecian gymnastics1 #ahh4 ,,toleration-,,act1 when passed1 iv4 #aa4 n4 ,,topaz1 ,,sir1 of ,chaucer1 a prelude to ,don ,quixote1 iv4 #ccf4 ,,tour ,,of ,,europe1 too limited for a philosophic traveller1 iv4 #aih4 ,,travel1 foreign1 dialogue on the uses of1 iv4 #hg4 considered as a part of early education1 #ic4 question stated1 #id4 example of the ancient philosophers1 #if4 allusion to the court of ,elizabeth1 #ih4 of ,charles ,,ii4 #ajj4 youth more exposed to vice abroad than at home1 #ajc4 arguments in favour of it1 #ajg4 its tendency to remove prejudices and correct low habits1 #aae4 and to qualify a person for bearing his part in public affairs1 #abd4 the argument refuted1 #ace4 proper objects of education1 #ach4 does not contribute to attain them1 #adc4 waste of time1 ib4 dissipation of mind1 #ade4 objects to which the traveller's application is directed1 #adf4 hinder him from more important studies1 #adi4 vicious prejudices may be removed without it1 #aee4 low habits not likely to be corrected by it1 #aeg1 #aeh4 precipitates youth into manhood1 #afe4 is become fashionable through the influence of the ladies1 #afh4 knowledge of the world not to be acquired by it1 #agb4 unseasonable and useless in youth1 #agc4 considered as a means of dissolving hasty and ill-timed connexions1 #ahh4 of studying the fine arts1 #aia4 when to be practised with most advantage1 #aie4 to be extended beyond the tour of ,europe1 #aih4 foreign and ,english universities compared1 #bab4 what tutorage most proper1 #bag4 ,,tudor ,,line1 government of ,england more despotic under them than in the preceding reigns1 iii4 #cij4 ,,tutor1 ,travelling1 how to be chosen1 iv4 #ajf4 the best cannot teach every thing requisite1 #adi4 what tutorage most proper1 #bag4 ,v4 and ,u4 ,,vacarius taught the civil law in ,england1 iii4 #cee4 ,,virtue1 exists most in the offices of social life1 iii4 #ajf4 not incompatible with ambition1 #aci4 ,,virtuosoship1 one of the objects of foreign travel1 iv4 #adf4 ,,ulysses1 his return afforded an exception to the domestic licence of the time1 iv4 #bgh4 ,,unity of design in ,gothic poems1 iv4 #cjj4 ,,universities1 the ,imperial law still obtains in them1 iii4 #cge4 strictures on1 iv4 #acb4 a sketch of their institution and genius1 #bjd4 why the barbarous plans of education still prevail1 #bjf4 a reformation contemplated1 #bjh4 their studies and discipline not without their use1 #baa4 compared with those of the continent1 #bab4 their forms and regulations commended1 #bad4 much room for improvement in them1 #bbc4 happy presage of their future condition1 #bbd4 ,w4 ,,waller1 ,mr4 ,,edmund1 represented in dialogue with ,dr4 ,more1 on sincerity in the commerce of the world1 iii4 #ec4 recites his history1 #eg4 his introduction at court1 where he recommended himself by his poetry1 #fj4 engaged actively in the parliament of #afdj1 #fc4 his relationship and attachment to ,mr4 ,hampden could never bias him from moderation1 #fe4 his resolution to pursue the ,king's interests1 and yet keep clear with the ,parliament1 #fi4 his popularity drew him into difficulties1 #ga4 failure of his plot1 #gb4 his address in extricating himself from the danger thence arising1 #gg4 his hypocrisy1 #gi4 retired into ,france during the troubles of the country1 #hc4 ascribes his misfortunes to sincerity1 and his escape from them1 to dissimulation1 #hd4 is admitted1 on his return1 to the confidence of the ,protector1 whom he panegyrized1 #hf4 congratulated ,charles ,,ii4 on his restoration1 #hh4 his arguments in justification of his conduct1 #ia4 ,,walls ,,of ,,fire1 mentioned in romance1 what in reality1 iv4 #cbj4 ,,walsingham1 ,secretary1 recounts the ill effects of ,queen ,elizabeth's frugality1 iii4 #bfc4 n4 his illustrious poverty1 #bfd4 ,,warwick1 ,great ,church of1 famous for its monuments1 iii4 #afh4 ,,william ,i4 his ,conquest by some considered as the foundation of absolute monarchy in ,england1 iii4 #bih1 #cji4 his claim to the crown not conquest but testamentary succession1 #caa4 instituted the feudal law1 #cac4 consequences of his distribution of forfeited estates and seignories1 #ccc4 obliged to ratify the old standing laws of the kingdom1 #cdi4 illustration of his policy in his distinction of the ecclesiastical and temporal courts1 #cea1 #ceb4 styles himself ,bastard1 in one of his charters1 #cfc4 ,,william ,,iii4 ,king1 his character1 iv4 #ad4 ,,wolsey1 ,cardinal1 charged with subjecting the laws of the land to the imperial laws1 iii4 #chj4 ,,women-,,warriors1 in times of chivalry1 iv4 #cag4 ,,world1 the ,commerce of1 how to be prepared for1 iv4 #ach4 a knowledge of1 the most momentous part of education1 and least understood1 #agi4 ,x4 ,,xenophon1 why lavish in praise of hunting1 iii4 #ahi4 ,y4 ,,yorke1 the late ,right ,hon4 ,,charles1 extract from a letter of his1 on the origin of chivalry1 iv4 #bed4 ,,youth1 the season for acquiring right propensities and virtuous habits1 iv4 #aac4 education of1 in ,england1 wherein defective1 iv4 #aag4 value of time at that age1 #add4 bashfulness a favourable symptom1 #afa4 what period of it requires most care and vigilance1 #ahj4 entrance into the world1 #aha4 necessity of moral discipline1 #ahd4 ,z4 ,,zeal for the faith1 actuated the professors of chivalry1 iv4 #bea4 ,,the ,,end ,,of ,,volume ,,iv4 ,j4 ,nichols and ,son1 ,printers1 ,red ,lion ,passage1 ,fleet ,street1 ,london4 ,,footnotes3 #a #g ,may1 #afhi4 #b ,the act of toleration did not pass till #bd ,may1 #afhi1 which lets us see at what time this preface is supposed to have been drawn up4 #c ,this was the talk of men at that time4 ,it was perhaps in the king's intention4 ,but the design1 if it had ever been formed1 miscarried2 as the ,bishop himself observes in his ,history--8,the most melancholy part of the treaty of ,ryswick was1 that no advantages were got by it1 in favour of the ,protestants in ,france40 ,vol4 iv4 p4 #bie4 ,edinb4 #agec4--,whether the blame of this lies in the king1 or his parliaments1 or neither1 the reader is left to judge for himself1 from considering the state and transactions of those times4 #d ,these rigours the bishop gives a particular account of in ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,his ,,own ,,times1 vol4 iii4 ,edinb4 #agec4--,speaking of the persecution of the ,french ,protestants1 he says1 8,i went over a great part of ,france1 while it was in its hottest rage1 from ,marseilles to ,montpelier1 and from thence to ,lyons1 and so on to ,geneva4 ,i saw and knew so many instances of their injustice and violence1 that it exceeded even what could have been well imagined2 for all men set their thoughts on work to invent new methods of cruelty4 ,in all the towns through which ,i passed1 ,i heard the most dismal accounts of things possible40 p4 #fj4--;,again--8,the fury that appeared on this occasion did spread itself with a sort of contagion3 for the intendants and other officers1 that had been mild and gentle in the former parts of their life1 seemed now to have laid aside the compassion of ,christians1 the breeding of gentlemen1 and the impressions of humanity40 p4 #fa4 #e ,meaning ,,cromwell1 who1 it seems1 had a design of setting up 8a council for the ,protestant religion1 in opposition to the congregation de propagand fide at ,rome40 ,see the ,bishop's own account in his ,hist4 vol4 i4 p4 #aji4 #f ,,nat4 ,,bacon1 in his ,disc4 part ,,ii4 p4 #abe4 ,lond4 #agci4 #g ,the story is told by ,lord ,,bacon in his history of this prince4 #h ,he did not consider that maxim of the ,lord ,,bacon1 8,depression of the nobility may make a king more absolute1 but less safe40 ,works1 vol4 iii4 p4 #bif4 #i ,and yet ,lord ,,bacon tells us1 that when ,,henry ,,viii4 came to the crown1 8,there was no such thing as any great and mighty subject1 who might any way eclipse or overshade the imperial power40 ,works1 vol4 iii4 p4 #ejh4 #aj 8,a man1 as ,mr4 ,,bacon characterises him1 underneath many passions1 but above fear40 ,,disc4 ,part ,,ii4 p4 #abj4 #aa ,,disc4 ,part ,,ii4 p4 #abe4 #ab ,this terrible act is #ca ,,hen4 ,,viii4 c4 #h4 ,it was repealed in #a ,,edw4 ,,vi4 c4 #ab4 #ac ,speech to the lords and commons at ,whitehall4 ,an4 #afji4 #ad ,it was said well of this king--8,that he spake peace abroad1 and sung lullaby at home3 yet1 like a dead calm in a hot spring1 treasured up in store sad distempers against a back-winter40 ,,nat4 ,,bacon4 #ae ,meaning such clauses as these--as by any spiritual or ecclesiastical power or authority may ,,lawfully be exercised1 and1 provided that nothing be done contrary to the ,,laws of this realm4 #af ,the bishop does well to say--in some measure4 ,for1 according to popish prejudices1 the sacerdotal character is vastly above the regal4 ,see ,,pole',s address to ,,hen4 ,,viii4 ,i4 #a1 where this high point is discussed at large4 #ag ,,hist4 ,,ang4 p4 #fid4 #ah ,something to this purpose occurs in p4 #gjf4 #ai ,the name of this reverend judge was ,,roger ,,de ,,thurkeby4 ,a cause was trying before him in ,westminster-hall1 when one of the parties produced the king's letters patent with a non-obstante in it4 8,quod cum comperisset10 says the historian1 8ab alto ducens suspiria1 de prdict adjectionis appositione1 dixit2 ,heu1 heu1 hos ut quid dies expectavimus8 ecce jam civilis curia exemplo ecclesiastic conquinatur1 et a sulphureo fonte rivulus intoxicatur40 p4 #ghd4 ,,hen4 ,,iii4 #bj ,many statutes1 and especially #bc ,,hen4 ,,vi4 had forbidden the continuance of any person in the office of sheriff for more than one year4 ,,henry ,,vii4 dispensed with these statutes4 ,and the twelve judges resolved in #b ,,hen4 ,,vii4 that1 by a non-obstante1 a patent for a longer time should be good4--,it seems1 the good old race of the ,,thurkebys was now worn out4 #ba ,see his ,works1 vol4 iii4 p4 #hjf4 #bb ,the true law of free monarchies1 in the ,king's ,works1 p4 #bjc4 #bc ,alluding to the doctrine of the canonists1 who say1 ,papa dispensare potest de omnibus prceptis ,,veteris ,,et ,,novi ,,testamenti4 ,see bishop ,,jewell',s defence of his apology of the church of ,england1 against ,,harding1 p4 #cac4 #bd ,see this particular taken notice of in ,k4 ,,james',s ,works1 p4 #chd4 #be ,one of them1 ,king ,,james1 profited so well by this discipline1 that1 as we are told on very competent authority1 8,he was the most able prince that ever this kingdom had1 to ,,judge ,,of ,,church-,,work40 ,ded4 of ,bp4 ,,andrews',s sermons to ,,charles ,i4 by the bishops ,,laud and ,,buckeridge4 #bf ,this notion was started even so early as ,,henry's rejection of the supremacy4 ,cardinal ,,pole insists strongly on this origin of kingship in his book1 ,pro ecclesiastic unitatis defensione1 lib4 i4 p4 #gd4 #bg ,in the writings1 published by political men for twenty years together before the ,restoration2 in which the great question of the origin of civil government was thoroughly canvassed4 #bh ,the bishop declares his opinion to this purpose very fully in several places of the ,history of his ,own ,times4 ,his and his friend ,,tillotson',s representations to the unhappy ,lord ,,russell1 no doubt1 turned upon this principle4 #bi ,the bishop gives the same account of this matter in his ,history of the ,reformation1 ,part ,i4 p4 #ccj4 #cj ,,true ,,law ,,of ,,free ,,monarchies1 p4 #bjc4--,what is said of the king's being the great schoolmaster of the land is taken from the same discourse1 p4 #bjd4 ,his words are these--8,the people of a borough cannot displace their provost--yea1 even the poor school-master cannot be displaced by his scholars--,how much less it is lawful upon any pretext to control or displace the great provost and ,,great ,,school-,,master ,,of ,,the ,,whole ,,land40 #ca ,mr4 ,,somers had reason for saying this2 for the intimation was no less than that the power of the militia was not in the king4 ,sir ,j4 ,,maynard was of this opinion1 when the matter was debated in parliament in #afdb4 ,see ,,whitlock1 p4 #ef4 #cb ,the doctrines of divine right1 as propagated by the churchmen of that time in their books and sermons1 are well known4--,those of the lawyers were such as these--,it had been alleged on the part of ,mr4 ,,hampden1 in the great cause of ship-money1 8that by a fundamental policy in the creation of the frame of this kingdom1 in case the monarch of ,england should be inclined to exact from his subjects at his pleasure1 he should be restrained1 for that he could have nothing from them1 but upon a common consent of parliament40 ,sir ,,robert ,,berkeley1 one of the judges of the king's-bench1 affirmed--8,that the law knows no such king-yoking policy30--,sir ,,thomas ,,trevor1 one of the barons of the exchequer1 8,that our king hath as much power and prerogative belonging to him as any prince in ,christendom30--,the attorney-general1 ,sir ,,john ,,banks1 8,that the king of ,england hath an entire empire2 he is an absolute monarch3 nothing can be given to an absolute prince6 but is inherent in his person40 ,state ,trials1 vol4 i4 ,such was the language of the guardians of the ,,law1 that temple or sanctuary1 as it has been called1 whither the subject is to run for shelter and protection4 ,had not ,mr4 ,,st4 ,,john then much reason for saying1 as he did on that occasion1 8,we have the fabric of the temple still2 but the ,gods1 the ,,dii ,,tutelares1 are gone80 ,there is the more force and propriety in this censure1 as it comes from a man who was himself of the profession4 ,and another of the same order1 the best and wisest perhaps that frequented the temple of law in those days1 proceeds with a just indignation still further--8,these men 7said ,mr4 ,,hide1 in a speech to the lords7 have1 upon vulgar fears1 delivered up the precious forts they were trusted with1 almost without assault2 and1 in a tame easy trance of flattery and servitude1 lost and forfeited 7shamefully forfeited7 that reputation1 awe1 and reverence1 which the wisdom1 courage1 and gravity of their venerable predecessors had contracted and fastened to their places2 and have even rendered that study and profession1 which in all ages hath been1 and ,i hope now shall be1 of honourable estimation1 so contemptible and vile1 that1 had not this blessed day come the day of impeachment of the six judges1 all men would have had that quarrel to the ,law itself1 which ,,marcius had to the ,greek tongue1 who thought it a mockery to learn that language1 the masters whereof lived in bondage under others40--,thus these eloquent apologists for law and liberty4 ,the conclusion is1 that though in the great bodies of churchmen and lawyers1 some will always be found to dishonour themselves1 there have never been wanting others to do justice to the public1 and to assert1 maintain1 and preserve1 the dignity of their respective professions4 #cc ,this appears even from ,mr4 ,,hume',s own account of the feudal times2 incomparably the best part of his ,history of ,england4 ,and it is to be presumed that1 if so ingenuous a writer had begun his work at the right end1 he would have been led1 by the evidence of so palpable a truth1 to express himself more favourably1 indeed more consistently1 of the ,english constitution4 ,but having1 by some odd chance1 written the history of the ,,stuarts first1 and afterwards of the ,,tudors1 7in both which he found it for his purpose to adopt the notion of a despotic independent spirit in the ,english monarchy71 he chuses in the last part of his work1 which contains the history of ,england from ,,julius ,c,,sar to ,,henry ,,vii4 to abide by his former fancy2 on this pretence1 that1 in the administration of the feudal government1 the liberty of the subject was incomplete and partial2 often precarious and uncertain3 a way1 in which the learned historian might prove1 that no nation under heaven ever was1 or ever will be1 possessed of a ,,free ,,constitution4 ,by the ,,free ,,constitution of the ,english monarchy1 every advocate of liberty1 that understands himself1 ,i suppose1 means1 that limited plan of policy1 by which the supreme legislative power 7including in this general term the power of levying money7 is lodged1 not in the prince singly1 but jointly in the prince and people2 whether the popular part of the constitution be denominated the king's or kingdom's great council1 as it was in the proper feudal times2 or the parliament1 as it came to be called afterwards2 or1 lastly1 the two houses of parliament1 as the style has now been for several ages4 ,to tell us1 that this constitution has been different at different times1 because the regal or popular influence has at different times been more or less predominant1 is only playing with a word1 and confounding constitution with administration4 ,according to this way of speaking1 we have not only had three or four#cd1 but possibly three or four score1 different constitutions4 ,so long as that great distribution of the supreme authority took place 7and it has constantly and invariably taken place1 whatever other changes there might be1 from the ,norman establishment down to our times7 the nation was always enabled1 at least authorized1 to regulate all subordinate1 or1 if you will1 supereminent claims and pretensions4 ,this it effectually did at the ,revolution1 and1 by so doing1 has not created a new plan of policy1 but perfected the old one4 ,the great ,,master-,,wheel of the ,english constitution is still the same2 only freed from those checks and restraints1 by which1 under the specious name of prerogatives1 time and opportunity had taught our kings to obstruct and embarrass its free and regular movements4 ,on the whole1 it is to be lamented that ,mr4 ,,hume's too zealous concern for the honour of the house of ,,stuart1 operating uniformly through all the volumes of his history1 has brought disgrace on a work1 which1 in the main1 is agreeably written1 and is indeed the most readable general account of the ,,english affairs1 that has yet been given to the public4 #cd ,mr4 ,,hume',s ,hist4 vol4 v4 p4 #dgb1 n4 ed4 #hvo1 #agfc4 #ce ,a great lawyer1 however1 and one of the ornaments of ,mr4 ,,somers',s own house1 is not afraid to indulge in these generous expectations4 ,in a late treatise1 in which he explains1 with exquisite learning1 the genius of the feudal policy1 8,these principles1 says he1 are the principles of freedom1 of justice1 and safety4 ,the ,english constitution is formed upon them4 ,their reason will subsist1 as long as the frame of it shall stand2 and being maintained in purity and vigour1 will preserve it from the usual mortality of government40 ,considerations on the ,law of ,forfeiture1 #c;d ed4 ,lond4 #agdh4 #cf ,account of ,denmark1 as it was in the year #afib4 #cg ,such as certain philosophers amused themselves with building1 on ,innate ,ideas4 #ch ,ideas of ,sensation--on which principles1 indeed1 a late writer has constructed1 but by no fault of ,mr4 ,,locke1 a material system of the grossest ,epicurism4 ,see a work entitled1 ,de l',esprit1 in #b tom4 ,amst4 #agei4 #ci 8,infidelity is the natural product of restraint and spiritual tyranny--,hence it is we see ,france and ,italy over-run with the worst kind of ,deism4 ,there our travelling gentry first picked it up for a rarity4 ,and1 indeed1 at first1 without much malice4 ,it was brought home in a cargo of new fashions3 and worn1 for some time1 with that levity1 by the importers1 and treated with that contempt by the rest1 as suited1 and was due1 to the apishness of foreign manners3 till a set1 c40 ,bishop of ,,gloucester',s ,sermon on the ,suppression of the late ,rebellion1 p4 #gh4 #dj ,,charact4 ,vol4 iii4 ,dis4 iii4 #da ' 1 4 4 ,eurip4 4 #db ,of ,ryswick1 in #afig4 #dc ,advice to an ,author1 ,p4 ,,ii4 ,s4 ,,iii4 #dd ,see a discourse at the end of ,love's ,labour ,lost in ,,warb4 ,ed4 of ,,shakespear2 in which the origin1 subject1 and character of these books of ,chivalry 7or ,romances1 properly so called7 are explained with an exactness of learning1 and penetration1 peculiar to that writer-- ,in tenui labor1 at tenuis non gloria-- #de ,the late right honourable ,,charles ,,yorke2 who to all the learning of his own profession had joined an exact taste1 and very extensive knowledge1 of polite literature4 ,what follows is an extract from a long letter which this excellent person did me the honour to write to me on the subject of these letters1 when he had read them in the first edition4 #df ,see the ,memoir1 just quoted4 #dg ,mr4 ,,warton',s ,observations on ,,spenser1 vol4 i4 p4 #age4 #dh ,don ,,quixote1 b4 iv4 c4 #bb4 #di ,mr4 ,,warton1 ,obs4 on the ,f4 ,q4 p4 #g4 vol4 i4 ,lond4 #agfb4 #ej ,lord ,,shaftesbury1 ,adv4 to an ,author4 #ea ,adv4 to an ,author1 ,part ,,iii4 ,s4 ,,ii4 #eb ,spectator1 vol4 i4 ,no #e4 vol4 v4 ,no #cfi4 #ec ,for an account of some other wonders in ,romance1 such as enchanted arms1 invulnerable bodies1 flying horses1 c4 see ,l',esprit des ,loix1 l4 xxviii4 c4 #bb4 #ed ,,voltaire1 ,essai sur la ,posie ,epique1 ch4 vii4 #ee ,a celebrated writer1 whose good sense1 or whose perverseness1 would not suffer him to be the dupe of ,french prejudices1 declares himself roundly of this opinion3 8,on a voulu mettre en representation 7says he1 speaking of the absurd magnificence of the ,french ,opera7 le ,,merveilleux1 qui1 n'etant fait que pour tre imagin1 ,,est ,,aussi ,,bien ,,place ,,dans ,,un ,,poeme ,,epique que ridiculement sur un theatre40 ,nouv4 ,heloise1 p4 ,,ii4 l4 xxiii4 #ef ,sir ,w4 ,,davenant',s ,preface4 #eg 4 ,,homer4 #eh ,mr4 ,,hobbes',s ,letter4 ,transcriber's ,note3 ,inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original4