,,essays1                               
,,or                                    
,,discourses1                           
,,selected ,,from                       
,,the ,,works ,,of ,,feyjoo1            
,,and                                   
,,translated ,,from ,,the ,,spanish1    
,,by                                    
,,john ,,brett1 ,,esq4                  
,,volume ,,the ,,second4                
,,london3                               
,printed for the ,,translator3          
,sold by ,h4 ,,payne1 ,pall-,mall2 ,c4  
,,dilly1 in the                         
,poultry2 and ,t4 ,,evans1 in the       
,strand4                                
,,mdcclxxx4          ,,contents    ,,of 
,,the ,,second ,,volume          ,,the  
,,balance ,,of ,,astrea2 ,,or1 ,,upright
 ,,administration ,,of      ,,justice4  
,page #a        ,,on ,,the ,,impunity   
,,of ,,lying4                           
p4 #da        ,,on ,,the ,,love ,,of    
,,our ,,country1 ,,and ,,national       
,,prejudice ,,or      ,,prepossession4  

p4 #ff        ,,on ,,true ,,and ,,false 
,,urbanity4                             
p4 #aji        ,a ,,defence ,,or        
,,vindication ,,of ,,the ,,women4       
p4 #ahi        ,,on ,,church ,,music4   
p4 #cac        ,,the ,,wonderful        
,,effects ,,of ,,music1 ,,and ,a        
,,comparison ,,of ,,the      ,,antient  
,,with ,,the ,,modern4                  
p4 #ceg          ,illustration          
,,the    ,,balance ,,of ,,astrea2       
,,or1    ,upright ,administration of    
,justice3    ,in a ,,letter from an     
,,old ,,judge1 to his ,,son who was     
newly raised to the  ,bench4            
,,sect4 ,i4    ,i4 ,i do not know1 my   
,son1 whether to congratulate or condole
 with  you on the information you give  
me1 of his ,majesty having honoured  you
 with a ,judge's robe4 ,i contemplate   
you as placed in a state of  slavery1   
which1 although it is an honourable one1
 must always remain  and continue a     
slavery4 ,already you are neither mine  
nor your own1 but  belong to the public 

at large4 ,the obligations of this      
charge should  not only emancipate you  
from your father1 but detach you from   
yourself  also4 ,there is an end of your
 considering your convenience1 your     
health1 or your ease2 and you have only 
now to attend to the duties  and        
discharge of your conscience2 you should
 look upon your own good  as a foreign  
concern1 and regard that of the public  
as your own4 ,you  are already divested 
of neighbours1 friends1 or kindred2 you 
have no  country1 and must have no      
regard for the tyes of flesh and blood4 
,do  you think ,i mean to say1 you      
should cease to be a man8 ,no1          
certainly2  but ,i would have it        
understood1 that the affections of the  
man should  live in such a state of     
separation from the duties of the       
,judge1 that  there should not be the   
slightest commerce or correspondence    
between  them4    ,,ii4 ,i repeat again1
 that ,i am at a loss whether to condole
 with or  congratulate you on the event4

 ,i view your soul as exposed to the    
continual hazard of being lost2 and ,i  
was on the point of saying1 the  office 
of a ,judge affords proximate occasions 
for sinning through the  course of a    
man's life4 ,you may say this is a hard 
proposition2 and  ,i acknowledge it is2 
but what other inference can be drawn   
from the  terrible sentence of ,st4     
,john ,chrysostom1 which is in the      
following  words3 ,it appears to me     
impossible that any of those who govern 
should  be saved4 ,and what other thing 
could the religious ,pontiff1 ,pius the 
,vth1 mean1 when he said1 that while he 
was a private ,religious1 he had  great 
hopes of being saved1 though when they  
made him a ,cardinal he  began to fear1 
but when they made him a ,pope he almost
 despaired of  salvation8 ,if this is   
not a virtual asseveration1 that the    
occupation  of a ruler furnishes a      
continual and proximate occasion for    
sinning1 ,i  do not understand the      
expression4 ,but it is true1 that       

although this  should be the case1 the  
crime would be obviated1 because the    
necessity  of the public makes the      
exercise of such a function inevitable2 
but  then the crime would only be       
obviated in such subjects1 who feel in  
themselves1 dispositions to perform the 
duties of such an office with  rectitude
 and propriety2 as for the others1 ,i   
will not exculpate them4  ,i do not     
understand that text of the             
,ecclesiastes as an advice or  caution1 
but as a precept and injunction1 which  
says1 ,don't solicit to  be made a      
judge1 unless you find yourself         
possessed with that virtue  and         
fortitude1 which is necessary to        
extirpate evil deeds4    ,,iii4 ,he who 
doubts whether he is endued with a      
sufficient share of  knowledge1 or a    
necessary portion of health and         
constitution1 to  undertake so weighty a
 charge2 he who does not find himself   
possessed  of a robust heart1 which is  
invincible to1 and proof against the    

promises and threats of the great and   
powerful2 he who feels himself          
enamoured with the beauty of gold2 he   
who knows his sensibility  liable to be 
wrought upon by the intreaties of       
domestics1 friends1 or  relations1      
cannot1 in my opinion1 enter upon the   
office of a magistrate  with a good     
conscience4 ,i do not1 although it is   
indispensably  necessary1 comprehend in 
this catalogue of requisites the virtue 
of  prudence1 because every one fancies 
he possesses it2 but1 if a man  mistakes
 in this particular1 ,i judge his error 
to be incurable4    ,,iv4 ,he who is    
cloathed with a robe1 ought to keep his 
soul well  fortified at all points1     
because in a variety of occurrences1    
there  is no passion that may not be    
inimical to justice2 and the suitors    
are very solicitous in examining where  
the defence is weak2 even  lawful       
affections are sometimes hostile to her4
 ,what is more right or  proper than a  
man's tenderness for his wife8 ,but how 

often has a man's  affection for his    
wife1 been the cause of warping the wand
 of justice6    ,v4 ,i don't mean to    
inculcate1 that a judge should be       
fierce1  unfeeling1 and harsh2 but that 
he should be firm1 spirited1 and a man  
of integrity4 ,it is rare1 but not      
impossible1 for a man to possess  a soul
 of wax for the duties of private life1 
and a mind of brass  for the            
administration of public ones2 although 
the heart may be  susceptible of its    
tendernesses1 the sacred castle of      
justice should  be inaccessible to such 
feelings4 ,it is said1 that friendships 
may be  permitted to approach even to   
the altar2 but they should not be so    
much  as suffered to enter the doors of 
the temple of ,astrea4    ,,vi4 ,i      
contemplate you1 my ,son1 as having some
 advantageous dispositions  for         
exercising this office2 you are         
disinterested1 an important quality  in 
a judge2 but that does not quiet my     
fears2 for how can ,i be certain  you   

will continue so in future8             
,disinterestedness1 like beauty1 is  an 
endowment and ornament of youth1 and    
rarely accompanies life in  old age4 ,i 
have read but of two women who preserved
 their beauty  till seventy2 the one was
 ,diana of ,poitiers1 ,dutchess of      
,valentine1  who lived in the reign of  
,henry the ,i,id4 ,king of ,france2 the 
other  was ,aspasia of ,miletus1        
concubine of ,cyrus ,king of ,persia4 ,i
 do not  know whether you can reckon    
many more men1 who left totally to their
  natural dispositions1 without the     
invention or assistance of other  helps1
 preserved their contempt for gold till 
they arrived at that age4  ,the soul    
fades with the body1 and the narrowness 
and contractions of  avarice are its    
wrinkles4    ,,vii4 ,the danger of      
people in exalted stations in the law1  
falling  into this vice1 is greater1    
because they are exposed to more        
frequent  temptations4 ,elizabeth of    
,england used to say1 that the office of

 a  ,judge at his first elevation1      
seemed to fit on him like new cloaths1  
which appear tight and strait at the    
beginning1 but after a little  time they
 stretch and become easy and familiar4  
,the same may be said  of ,judges in all
 other kingdoms4 ,many1 who at first    
scruple to accept  an apple1 in the     
course of a few years1 are capable of   
swallowing  the whole orchard of the    
,hesperides2 and you know the apples of 
that  orchard were golden ones4 ,the    
same thing happens to them that happens 
to rivulets1 which rarely fall into1 and
 are swallowed by the sea1 with  the    
scanty stock they contained in their    
first passages4    ,,viii4 ,let no      
caution1 my ,son1 appear too great1 to  
guard you against  the treacherous      
attacks of avarice2 this serpent1 whose 
bulk in time  increases without limits1 
is at first no bigger than a hair2 ,i   
mean to  say1 they commonly begin with  
presents of such trifling value1 that   
the refusing to accept them would be    

blamed by the world as affected  nicety4
 ,but what follows8 ,why1 that when they
 are once admitted1 by  the exertion of 
their power in the first entrances of   
the door of the  will1 they proceed to  
widen it by little and little1 so that  
every  day it becomes capable of        
receiving more and more4 ,god defend us 
from  a magistrate's setting about to   
enrich himself6 because in such a  case1
 he may be compared to the element of   
water1 whose stock bears  proportion to 
the contribution it receives2 while it  
is a brook1 it  only receives fountains2
 afterwards becoming a river1 it        
receives  brooks2 and when it arrives at
 being a sea1 it receives rivers4       
,,ix4 ,it is not sufficient that you    
keep your own hands clean2 but it is    
also necessary that you examine those of
 your domestics4 ,the integrity  of a   
magistrate requires1 that he should     
adopt the practice of an  active and    
vigilant matron1 who not only takes care
 of the cleanliness  of her own person1 

but looks also to the cleanliness of the
 rest of her  household4 ,this is not   
only an obligation you owe to your      
conscience1  but is likewise a matter   
that concerns your reputation1 because  
it  is generally understood1 that the   
inferior part of the family is a        
subterraneous conduit-pipe1 through     
which1 supplies are conveyed to  the    
hand of the master2 but in truth it     
happens in point of regale or           
refreshment1 as it happened to the      
fountain of ,arethusa1 which although   
it was received by a cavern in ,greece1 
the place it fertilized was the  land of
 ,sicily4 ,we read in ,daniel1 that the 
ministers of the temple  are the        
dainties which were presented to the    
idol2 in the house of  a magistrate1 the
 idol eats the dainties which are       
presented to his  ministers4    ,x4 ,the
 apprehensions ,i am under1 that you may
 one day be betrayed into  this         
corruption1 move me at present to give  
you an excellent caution1  as a         

preservative against the temptation of  
gifts1 which is1 that you  should       
consider any one who attempts to gain   
your favour in this way1  as a person   
who offers a direct affront to your     
honour2 for it is  clear1 that by such  
an action1 he gives it to be understood1
 that you  hold in your hands the scales
 of venal justice4 ,there are two sorts 
of  people in the world1 who fall into  
the dangerous error1 of mistaking       
injuries for courtesies2 women who      
receive presents from gallants1 and     
ministers of justice who permit the     
reception of them from suitors3 for     
with respect to the givers1 every       
present is meant as a subornation2      
otherwise1 why is not their liberality  
manifested to other people as  well as  
to those from whom they entertain       
expectations8 ,it can only  be1 because 
they consider what they give as an      
offering made to their  interest2 and   
that1 to which they affect giving the   
appearance of  a courtesy1 is at bottom 

nothing better than a bribe4 ,he who    
makes  presents to a lady1 or a minister
 of justice1 attempts their corruption  
by the act1 and in his imagination      
supposes he has effected it4 ,you       
ought1 therefore1 my ,son1 to consider  
every one who attempts to gain  your    
favour by such means1 as an enemy to    
your conscience1 and as a  person       
dangerous to1 and one who would injure  
your honour2 and you  should look upon  
him as a man1 more deserving of your    
contempt and  indignation1 than your    
courtesy4    ,,xi4 ,i have given the    
name of preservative to the foregoing   
reflection1  because it is rather       
calculated to prevent the infection from
 getting  footing in those1 who are     
sound and in health1 than to cure the   
disease1 after it has once taken root4  
,he who has contracted a habit of       
gorging himself with presents1 is       
callous to the reproach of having put   
his decisions to sale4    ,,xii4 ,i am  
inclined to think1 ,spain is more free  

from this pestilence  than other        
kingdoms2 at least in ministers of your 
class1 this meanness  has rarely been   
observed4 ,it has ever been remarked1   
that with us1  the higher people have   
been raised on the seats of justice1    
they have  seemed the further removed   
from the baseness of avarice4    ,,xiii4
 ,would to ,god1 our tribunals were as  
deaf to recommendations1  as they are   
untainted with bribes6 ,it is on this   
side1 their credit  is most tarnished in
 the public opinion4 ,there is scarce a 
sentence  given in a civil controversy1 
which the malice of grumblers1 and the  
voice of neutral people1 does not impute
 to have been the effect of  some       
powerful recommendation4 ,the           
presumption of the influence1 which  the
 protection of men of weight has with   
the ,judges1 is so prevalent1  that many
 who have been despoiled by an unfair   
decision1 and who are  persuaded of the 
justness of their cause1 are afraid to  
appeal1 if they  know their opponent has

 great connections4    ,,xiv4 ,we should
 hope1 the world is greatly mistaken in 
this matter4 ,the  ministers of justice1
 as far as they are able1 and they most 
commonly  can do this1 must discharge   
and comply with the duties of their     
function in judicial phrases1 and       
according to the words of the law2  and 
although there may have been positive   
promises made1 when they  come to the   
sentence1 they must consult and conform 
to the books of  jurisprudence1 and not 
the letters of recommendation4 ,god     
defend us1  however1 from the serious   
misfortune of the protector of either   
party1  having1 or ever being able to   
have1 influence in the seats of justice6
  ,for then we may have reason to       
apprehend1 that to the shame of the     
law1 the motive of the conduct of the   
partial ,judge may be betrayed  by his  
countenance1 and that the dread of such 
motive being known1  may be the torturer
 who presses out and exposes the secret1
 or else1  that the thing may be        

unravelled by conjectures1 or proved by 
some  transactions in the business2 and 
these are the sort of cases1 which1     
after many years study1 make people     
understand the law in a sense they      
never understood it before1 and which1  
in the same instant1 increases  and     
lessens their esteem for the same       
authors1 and causes the breath  of      
favour to incline the balance1 with     
which they weigh probabilities1  to the 
side where there is the least weight in 
the scale4 ,i remember  that great      
lawyer1 ,alexander of the family of the 
,alexanders1 in his  treatise called    
,dias ,geniales1 says of himself1 that  
he abandoned the  profession of an      
advocate in disgust1 from having        
observed in his own  practice1 that     
neither the wisdom or abilities of a    
counsellor1 nor the  goodness of a      
cause1 were of any avail in courts1 when
 the opposite  parties were espoused by 
people of power4    ,,xv4 ,but excepting
 these instances1 which have weight with

 those only1  who had rather rise to the
 highest seats on the bench than ascend 
to  heaven1 other modes of favour in    
courts are trifling and of little use   
or consequence2 but to speak the truth1 
we ourselves give occasion  to their    
being thought useful and of consequence4
 ,if when a person  of authority        
intercedes on behalf of a suitor1 we    
give him hopes and  encouragement2 or if
 our answers to such applications1 are  
in terms  which exceed what is necessary
 in a judicial reply2 and if afterwards1
  when that person obtains a sentence in
 his favour1 we seem desirous1 or       
behave so as to make it be thought1 our 
suffrage was a compliment to  the great 
man who interested himself in the       
suitor's behalf1 in order  that he      
should think he was obliged to us2 we   
are the authors of this  error in       
mankind1 and the cause of the injury1   
which1 in consequence of  it1 our credit
 suffers with the world4    ,,xvi4 ,this
 notion of the utility of               

recommendations1 is an impediment  to   
our business1 as well as injurious to   
our reputation2 for it is the  occasion 
of our being interrupted with visits1   
and puts us under the  necessity of     
answering letters of intercession1 by   
which means we waste  a great part of   
that time1 which we ought to employ in  
study4 ,if they  knew they were taking  
all this pains to no purpose1 they would
 not  embarrass us with their           
applications1 nor rob us of our time4   
,,xvii4 ,how then are we to act8 ,that  
is easily determined2 speak plain1  and 
undeceive all the world4 ,let them know1
 that the sentence depends  upon1 and is
 ruled by the law1 and not by           
solicitations and private  friendships2 
that we can serve no man at the expence 
of justice and  our conscience2 and that
 that which they call being favourable1 
the  pretence with which they cover all 
their petitions1 upon a practical       
examination of things1 is a chimera2 for
 a ,judge can never shew favour1  or at 

most the cases in which he can do it are
 metaphysical2 even  in doubtful and    
obscure cases1 and in those where the   
probabilities  are equal1 the laws      
prescribe rules of equity1 which we are 
strictly  and rigorously bound to       
follow4 ,oh6 but some cases are left to 
the  discretion of the judge6 ,it is    
true1 but they are not for this reason  
to be determined by his absolute will4  
,prudential maxims1 and rules of        
equity1 point out the road we should    
pursue2 and it is not lawful for  us to 
follow any other course1 either for the 
sake of obliging great  men or friends4 
,when it is said1 this or that is left  
to the will  and pleasure of the ,judge1
 it should not be understood to mean his
  absolute uncontrolable will1 but to   
imply1 that he is to be guided in  his  
decision by the dictates of reason1 and 
the principles of law4 ,this            
definition1 is conformable to the sense 
of the ,latin verb arbitror1  which     
signifies an act of the understanding1  

and not of the will4    ,,xviii4 ,i am  
well aware1 that objections may be made 
to this frank mode  of acting3 the first
 is1 that we may be called blunt and    
ill-bred2  but1 besides that the        
reflection would be unjust1 it would    
last no  longer1 than till it was       
generally known1 we had resolved to     
adopt this  method of acting1 and till  
it was become common and familiar among 
us4 ,while there shall be but one or two
 judicial ministers who act in  this    
open ingenuous manner1 their candid     
behaviour may pass among the  ignorant  
for want of breeding and courtesy2 but  
if all the rest were to  do the same1   
even the ignorant would become sensible1
 that what they  had called want of     
breeding1 was integrity2 and they would 
also be  convinced1 that this is        
beneficial to them1 and a great saving  
both of  money and trouble1 which are   
both wasted in running after1 and       
seeking  for friends and patrons1 whose 
assistance and protection is useless to 

them4    ,,xix4 ,the second objection   
is1 that judicial ministers would lose a
  great part of the respect and homage  
which is now paid them1 it being        
certain1 that civilities of this sort1  
are not so much the result of  the      
reverence due to the character of a     
,judge1 as the effect of the  imagined  
dependance on his favour4 ,it is        
established upon the credit  of good    
authors1 that ,epicurus did not1 as it  
is vulgarly thought1  deny the existence
 of the deities1 but only their         
influence or power  to do good or harm2 
but this was sufficient1 to cause the   
tenet to be  held as atheistical in     
practice2 for he who denies the power of
 the  ,gods1 denies them adoration also4
 ,men do not sow obsequies1 but with    
the expectation of reaping a harvest of 
benefits1 and dependance is the  only   
stimulus or first mover to worship2     
therefore1 when men come to  consider   
the tribunal as the mere organ of the   
law1 where every thing  depends upon the

 intention of the legislature1 and      
nothing upon the  inclination of the    
,judge1 the applications to the         
ministers of justice1  would be very few
 and very slight4    ,,xx4 ,this        
objection would have great weight with  
those ,judges1 who  desire to be        
regarded and addressed as deities3 but  
do you1 my ,son1  contemplate yourself  
as placed on the bench1 and not on the  
altar2 and  remember1 that you are not  
an idol destined to receive worship and 
offerings1 but an oracle ordained to    
articulate truths4 ,this is the  manner 
in which you should explain yourself1   
and undeceive the world2  assure the    
great of your respect1 and your friends 
of your esteem2 but  intimate both to   
one and the other1 that neither esteem  
nor respect can  gain admittance into   
the cabinet of justice1 because the fear
 of ,god1  who is the door-keeper of the
 conscience1 requires that they should  
remain in the antichamber4    ,,xxi4    
,but there may still rest with ,judges a

 discretionary power of  shewing        
courtesies1 if not in points that       
concern the substantial parts  of the   
cause1 in the mode of administering     
justice2 ,i mean1 if not in  the essence
 of the sentence1 in the brevity of     
dispatch4 ,this is an  error1 which ,i  
have observed some of our ,judges to    
have fallen into2  and ,i call it an    
error1 because with regard to myself1 ,i
 have no doubt  of its being one4 ,it is
 an obligation upon us1 to give the     
quickest  dispatch possible to causes3  
and we do not shew favour to him1 whose 
business is done with all possible      
speed2 but to him we do not dispatch    
with the same expedition1 we do         
injustice4 ,the preference given to     
people in priority of dispatch1 is      
partiality2 and the minister who  is the
 author of it1 ought to make good the   
damages occasioned by the  delay to him 
who was next in turn2 in this matter1   
attention should be  had to the nature  
of the cause1 to the time the suit was  

commenced1 and  to the injury that would
 attend procrastination in the decision 
of it4    ,,xxii4 ,with regard to this  
last circumstance1 when there are not   
other  reasons to forbid it1 the poor   
should be dispatched in preference to   
the rich2 and those who come from       
distant provinces1 before those who     
live in the neighbourhood4 ,st4 ,jerome1
 in his comment on a passage  of the    
,proverbs1 says1 that formerly courts of
 justice were placed  at the gates of   
cities2 which the ,saint imagines to    
have been done1  with a view of         
preventing the attention of strangers   
who come upon law  business1 and        
especially that of the rustics1 from    
being taken up and  confounded by the   
multitude of strange objects which      
present themselves  to their sight1 and 
by the bustle and hurry of the city2    
from hence it  may be inferred1 that the
 dispatch was very quick1 and that it   
was not  necessary for them to take a   
lodging in town2 but things are greatly 

altered now-a-days1 and strangers who   
come from a great distance to  prosecute
 their causes1 are detained so long1    
that they in a manner  become neighbours
 and inhabitants of the city4 ,nothing  
is so pernicious  as the amazing delays 
of judicial proceedings2 as formerly1   
they saw  the tribunals at the gates of 
great towns1 at present1 we see intire  
towns built round the gates of the      
tribunals1 because the slowness of      
dispatch increases the bulk of the      
causes in the office1 and the number  of
 suitors in and about the office-porch4 
,,xxiii4 ,i reflect with horror on the  
mischiefs which these delays  occasion2 
for in consequence of the expence they  
create1 it frequently  happens that both
 the suitors are ruined1 the vanquished 
is stripped  and laid prostrate1 and the
 conqueror has spent his all4 ,there are
  litigations1 which last as long as the
 four elements in man1 that is  to say1 
for the whole course of his life2 and   
the result of them is  the same1 the    

ruin of the whole4 ,o terminations of   
law6 you appear  like the boundaries of 
the world in the opinion of ,descartes1 
that is1  indefinite4    ,,xxiv4 ,even  
where there is nothing to wait for1 and 
there is no occasion  of delay1 the     
cause is sometimes suspended for months 
together4 ,my ,son1  you are not        
ignorant of the rule of law laid down by
 ,sextus ,pomponius1  which says1 in the
 discharge of all our obligations1 where
 there is  no particular day prescribed 
or assigned for dispatching a business1 
we should make use of the present day4  
,the practice of all tribunals  should  
be conformable to this rule1 and when   
things are prepared for  trial1 the     
decision should not be delayed a day1   
and the ,judges should  direct1 that the
 preparations are made with all the     
expedition possible4    ,,xxv4 ,from    
what has been premised1 it is evident   
that a ,judge can never  properly       
receive from a suitor any compliment or 
acknowledgment1 on  account of having   

dispatched his cause1 because he cannot 
be supposed  capable of doing him any   
favour1 and consequently is not entitled
 to  any recompence4 ,the ministers of  
justice ought to resemble the heavenly  
bodies1 who bestow great benefits on the
 earth1 although they receive  nothing  
from it2 for it is their duty1 and      
incumbent on them1 to  confer those     
benefits4 ,they receive their reward and
 support from the  great ,sovereign of  
all1 who has assigned them their        
stations and their  duties1 and the     
assistance of their light and their     
influence is a debt  they owe to the    
inferior world2 but the inferior world  
is not charged  with obligations to     
them4    ,,xxvi4 ,even the visit to     
return thanks1 which after the suitor   
has got  his cause1 is made by him to   
the ,judges1 ,i look upon as            
superfluous4  ,for what does he thank   
them8 ,for having given him what        
belonged to  him and was his own4 ,they 
are entitled to no thanks for that2 and 

if  they have given him what was the    
property of another man1 they deserve   
punishment4    ,,xxvii4 ,what has been  
said on the subject of brevity and      
dispatch1 is  equally pertinent to      
criminal as well as civil causes4 ,the  
person  accused has a right to be       
cleared if he is innocent1 and his      
punishment  is a debt due to the public 
if he is guilty2 and it is generally    
expedient1 for one or other of these    
parties to be pressing for  dispatch4   
,it is very clear1 that proceeding with 
caution in criminal  cases is necessary1
 lest you fall into the serious         
mischief1 of  punishing as guilty people
 those who are innocent4 ,but standing  
still  and doing nothing1 is not        
proceeding with caution2 neither is     
thinking  no more of those in the       
dungeon1 than of those in the grave4    
,,xxviii4 ,besides the reasons for      
dispatch1 which are common to1 and      
apply equally to both sorts of causes2  
there is one of special note1  and great

 weight1 which points out why it is most
 necessary in criminal  ones2 and that  
is1 delay being frequently the cause of 
malefactors  escaping without           
punishment4 ,this happens by two ways3  
the first is1  that by delaying the     
process1 there is more time given to the
 culprits  to contrive and execute their
 escape from prison1 which when these   
fierce savages have effected1 they are  
commonly seized with a rage1 of         
recovering in a few days1 the time they 
have been deprived of by their          
confinement1 to commit outrages2 and    
they fancy they have a right to  revenge
 themselves by new schemes of roguery1  
for the punishment they  have undergone 
by having been chained and fettered4    
,there is scarce an  innocent person    
whom they do not regard as their enemy1 
and those only  who are their brethren  
in iniquity1 are exempted from their    
fury and  indignation4    ,,xxix4 ,this 
is the common way of their revenging    
themselves in general1  but their malice

 and resentment towards particular      
people is the most  pernicious to the   
public2 those who are most threatened   
with their  vengeance1 being such as    
have in any shape been instrumental in  
their  confinement1 or in having them   
brought to justice4    ,,xxx4 ,the      
second way1 by which delays in criminal 
prosecutions afford  occasions for      
delinquents to escape with impunity1 is 
not so palpable1  nor so obvious as the 
first1 but in general is more           
successful1 and  oftener takes effect4  
,i will explain what ,i mean4 ,when a   
notorious  crime is newly committed1 all
 minds are sharpened against the        
offender1  and filled with horror at the
 outrage4 ,even the most mild call out  
for punishment1 and the injured person1 
invokes heaven and earth for  it4 ,the  
public in general seem filled with      
resentment1 and breathe  nothing but    
severity4 ,all this indignation1 in the 
course of a short  space of time1 begins
 to lessen1 and by little and little1   

this fierce  fire proceeds to vanish in 
smoak2 and the further we advance from  
the  ra of the fact1 the less impression
 of the deed is left on the mind2  and  
in our conversation on the subject1 we  
begin to mix apophthegms  of compassion 
with theorems of justice2 and by so much
 the longer the  cause is delayed1 by so
 much the more our zeal abates2 we pass 
from hot  to lukewarm1 and from lukewarm
 to actual cold4 ,the suspension of half
  a year1 changes the burning heats of  
,july1 to the cool air and frosts  of   
,january4 ,people breathe nothing but   
pity1 and every thing seems  in favour  
of the culprit1 except his crime4 ,the  
supplicants in his  behalf are numerous1
 many from compassion1 and some from    
friendship or  interest4 ,when the      
tempers of people are brought to this   
disposition1  the culprit1 who but a    
little before1 in the universal opinion1
  was deemed deserving of a halter1 is  
released from prison1 without           
undergoing a punishment that is equal to

 a pat with the open hand4    ,,xxxi4 ,i
 have often wondered at the favourable  
manner in which criminals  are sometimes
 treated1 when there does not appear any
 reason1 or  motive1 for being          
favourable to them2 but it should be    
remembered1  there is always a motive   
for bringing them to justice4 ,god      
commands it1  and the public safety     
requires it2 and the community has a    
right to  demand1 that delinquents      
should be chastised2 for the impunity of
 evil  deeds multiplies the number of   
evil doers4 ,in consequence of saving   
one  malefactor from the gallows who is 
deserving of death1 many innocent       
people may afterwards lose their lives1 
or their fortunes4 ,o mercy ill         
understood6 ,o impious compassion6 ,o   
tyrannic pity6 ,o cruel pity6           
,,xxxii4 ,i do not deny that criminals  
should sometimes be pardoned2 but  then 
it should only be in those cases1 where 
the public is as much1 or  more1        
interested in their forgiveness1 than it

 is in their punishment4  ,the public   
good is the true north1 to which the    
wand of justice  should always point4   
,the services the guilty person has done
 to the  commonwealth1 or those which he
 may be expected to do to it1 on account
  of his singular talents for doing     
them1 are special and material          
considerations in such a case4 ,the law 
furnishes precepts conducive to  this   
end1 in formal terms4 ,therefore1 the   
death which ,manlius ,torquatus         
inflicted on his brave son1 when he     
returned victorious1 for having  fought 
without orders1 was contrary to the     
rules of equity4 ,what more  could have 
been done to one1 who had returned      
vanquished1 and who had  no antecedent  
merit to plead which might entitle him  
to a pardon8    ,,xxxiii4 ,princes have 
a larger discretionary power in these   
matters1  than their ministers of       
justice2 not because they can pardon    
according to their will and pleasure2   
for they must be guided by their        

obligations to ,god and the             
commonwealth2 but because the general or
  common interests1 are more proper     
objects for their consideration1 than   
for that of particular ,judges4 ,with   
regard to a sovereign1 not only  the    
personal services of the guilty         
individual1 but those also of his  near 
relations1 such as his father1 his wife1
 his brothers1 and his  sons1 may       
furnish motives for conciliating a      
pardon1 or for mitigating  the          
punishment2 and this has always been the
 practice of the most  illustrious      
princes4 ,it is masterly policy1 to     
inform generous minds  by such instances
 of clemency1 that they cannot only     
acquire merit  for themselves1 but for  
their relations also4 ,great benefit may
 be  derived to the community from this 
incentive2 and many other methods  of   
deriving advantages to the public1 by a 
judicious dispensation of  lenity or    
pardon1 may be hit upon by princes1     
although it is not easy  for me to point

 out or enumerate them4    ,,xxxiv4 ,in 
crimes committed through inattention or 
weakness1 there  is a large scope       
allowed for the exercise of pity or     
forgiveness4  ,the laws themselves allot
 less punishments for such offences1    
which  punishments the prince1 in some  
cases1 may totally and consistently     
dispense with4 ,i will give an example4 
,it having come to the knowledge  of    
,pyrrhus king of the ,epirots1 that some
 young fellows in their cups  had       
murmured against1 and cast sharp        
reflections upon him2 he caused  them to
 be brought into his presence1 where he 
asked them1 if it was  true that they   
had said such and such things2 to which 
one of them1  who was a candid spirited 
lad1 answered1 ,yes1 sir1 it is true1   
that  after having drank plentifully1 we
 did say what you have mentioned2 and   
if we had drank more1 we should have    
talked more in the same strain4         
,pyrrhus pardoned them1 and in my       
opinion he acted wisely4 ,it was a      

great mitigation of such a fault1 that  
the offence was committed under  a kind 
of perverted state of the understanding2
 and as it was entirely  personal       
against the ,king1 his pardoning it had 
an air of generosity1  which tended to  
augment the love and respect of his     
subjects1 a  consideration of great     
importance in all kingdoms4 ,by this    
mode of  proceeding1 the public gained a
 great deal more1 than it was possible  
it could lose by such a crime going     
unpunished4    ,,xxxv4 ,but waiving the 
particular circumstance of their being  
in  liquor1 which lessened the offence  
of those young fellows2 the  shewing    
indulgence and lenity by ,princes1 to   
those who cast personal  reflections on 
them1 will always have a good effect2   
because by acting  in this manner1 they 
manifest their clemency1 and cause the  
reflection  itself to be discredited4   
,the evil-speaking of a few subjects1   
cannot  take from sovereigns any thing  
like the proportion of respect1 which   

the opinion of their being clement and  
magnanimous1 would gain them  with all  
their other subjects4 ,the delinquent   
himself would be put  to shame by the   
pardon1 because1 if he considers it as  
an act of  generosity and lenity1 it    
proves to him that he murmured without  
reason2 and if he thinks the gentleness 
proceeded from contempt1 no  other      
punishment could mortify him so much1 or
 be better adapted2  and this is the    
proper way of chastising insolencies of 
the tongue1  because1 by proceeding in  
any other manner1 you would feed the    
vanity  of murmurers1 and beget in them 
a presumption that they were feared2    
you would also inflame their hatred1 and
 stimulate their rashness4  ,it has been
 remarked1 that princes1 who have been  
very solicitous  in fishing out and     
punishing the murmurs of juntos of      
people1 have  increased those evils in  
their own time1 and have eternized them 
to  posterity4 ,this is a ,hydra1 the   
number of whose heads is multiplied  by 

vengeance and the knife1 and who is     
suffocated by the fumes of  contempt4   
,,xxxvi4 ,the behaviour of our gracious 
and magnanimous ,king ,philip ,v4 may   
serve as a pattern1 for the application 
of this mixture of severity and         
clemency1 which the virtue of justice   
requires of ,princes4 ,inexorable  with 
regard to those serious crimes that were
 to the prejudice of a  third person1 he
 always shewed a generous indulgence to 
those which  only respected himself4 ,in
 the civil wars of some years back1 when
  the agitation of the winds was such1  
as to cause even the rocks and          
mountains to shake2 when the constancy  
of many wavered1 and they sought        
pretences for loyalty in desertion      
itself2 he winked at many offences  of  
deeds1 and pardoned all those of words1 
which did not relate to1  or were not   
connected with1 the deeds themselves4   
,this augmented the  love of all those  
hearts who were faithful to him1 and in 
the end was  productive of fidelity in  

the hearts of all men4    ,,xxxvii4 ,but
 to return to the subject of severity in
 punishing crimes1  and the duties of a 
magistrate in that respect2 ,i say that 
severity  is not only necessary for the 
good of the public1 but that it is  also
 beneficial to the criminal himself4 ,it
 is a received opinion1  that those who 
die by the hand of ,justice1 rarely go  
to a state of  condemnation4 ,all       
appearances persuade such a belief1 and 
there  are certain parts of written     
revelation1 which seem to confirm the   
sentiment4 ,what benefit then do you    
confer on a malefactor1 who if he  dies 
by the halter1 takes his flight to a    
state of bliss2 and who1 if  he         
afterwards loses his life in some of    
those adventures which are  incident to 
his profession1 is launched into        
perdition8    ,,xxxviii4 ,with respect  
to certain sorts of crimes1 in some     
instances  where ,i have wished to see  
,judges very solicitous to inflict      
punishment1 ,i have observed them very  

indulgent4 ,i speak of those  faults in 
the practice of the law1 which are      
committed by people of the  profession1 
and those who know the true state and   
secrets of causes1  and who intervene as
 instruments in the prosecution of them2
 such as  the advocate1 the solicitor1  
or the attorney1 to which we may add the
  witnesses also4 ,the tribunal is a    
whole of such delicate contexture1  that
 there is no integral part of it        
whatever1 which is not essential4  ,it  
is a machine1 in which1 a failure1 false
 construction1 or weakness  of the most 
minute wheel1 disorders all its         
movements4 ,of what avail is  it1 that  
the ,judges are upright1 if the         
proceedings and informations  come      
adulterated to their hands and ears8    
,the greater their integrity1  the more 
certain in the issue would be the       
pronunciation of a false  and unjust    
sentence2 because the judgment would be 
founded1 on the  vitiated proceedings   
and testimony which had been laid before

 them4  ,among the ,japanese1 they      
punish with the utmost severity1 all    
false  information which is given to    
,judges with respect to causes they are 
trying1 even when it is preferred by a  
party interested4 ,this appears  to me  
excellent policy4 ,the way to make the  
road to justice smooth and  secure1 is  
to disincumber it of all impediments to 
the advancement of  truth2 and to do    
this1 there is no alternative1 but that 
of punishing  lyes with the utmost      
severity4    ,,xxxix4 ,if it is         
objected1 that this would be excess of  
rigour1 because  the punishment might   
exceed the proportion of the crime2 ,i  
answer1 that  ,lawyers should weigh     
crimes in a different manner from       
,theologians4  ,the ,theologian examines
 the intrinsic malice or evil of the    
act3 the  lawyer attends to the         
consequences that may result to the     
public2  and these may be important1    
although the fault may at first sight   
appear light and trifling4 ,it is true1 

that the ,theologian considers  the     
consequences also1 when it appears that 
the delinquent foresaw  them1 and in    
that case regards this circumstance as a
 proportionable  aggravation of the     
crime in foro conscienti4 ,the ,lawyer  
cannot1 nor  does it belong to him1 to  
enquire whether the culprit foresaw     
them2  for he is only to apply the      
remedy the law has prescribed to prevent
  the mischief2 and thus1 for the sake  
of example to the world at large1  the  
offender is punished in the same manner 
as if he had actually  foreseen the     
mischief4    ,,xl4 ,let us now consider1
 that the falsehoods and deceits1 with  
which  tribunals are environed1 make the
 investigation of truth so difficult1   
that in some causes it is come at late1 
and in others never4 ,this  is a most   
pernicious injury to the public1 for the
 tediousness and  difficulty of the     
verification1 gives breathing-time for  
the ill  intentioned1 to devise and     
concert all sorts of wickedness4 ,what  

remedy  then can you apply to this evil1
 but that of punishing rigorously every 
kind of judicial deceit8 ,the most      
pernicious loss or disadvantage to a    
commonwealth1 does not consist so much  
in there being a great number of        
members in it who do not fear ,god1 as  
it does in those members who do  not    
fear ,god1 not fearing the magistrate   
neither4    ,,xli4 ,i am not surprized  
that there are so many false witnesses1 
when ,i  observe the lenity that is     
shewn to them4 ,among the eastern       
nations1  according to ,strabo1 they    
used to cut off their feet and their    
hands4  ,and ,heraclides says1 that     
among the ,lycians1 they used to        
confiscate  all their effects1 and sell 
them for slaves4 ,alexander of          
,alexandria  relates1 that the          
,pysidians threw them headlong from a   
high precipice4  ,in the ,helvetic      
history1 we read1 that the magistrates  
of ,bern put to  death two witnesses by 
boiling them in oil1 for having deposed 

falsely1  that one citizen owed another 
a large sum of money4    ,,xlii4 ,when  
,i contemplate how necessary rigour is  
in such matters1  none of these         
punishments strike me with horror4 ,the 
most just and  reasonable punishment for
 this mischief1 and the best adapted for
 the  purpose1 is the ,lex ,talionis1   
which was dictated by the ,divine mouth1
  and which ,god ordained to be         
established among the people of ,israel1
  and which is also recommended by      
various texts of the civil law4 ,it  was
 in use in ,spain1 according to the     
practice of the antient law1  called the
 law of ,toro4 ,but ultimately1 on      
account of its not being  adapted to all
 cases1 ,philip the ,i,id4 leaving it in
 its full vigour  with respect to       
capital cases1 where the false witness  
was to suffer  the same punishment1     
which1 if his evidence had taken effect1
 was to  have been inflicted on the     
person accused2 ,i say1 with this       
exception1  he ordained for all other   

cases of perjury1 that the delinquent   
should  be exposed to public shame and  
disgrace1 and condemned to perpetual    
imprisonment in the gallies4 ,but when  
will these laws be put in  execution8 ,i
 don't know whether in the long course  
of my life1 ,i have  once seen the      
application of them4 ,what most commonly
 happens is1 that  just as they are on  
the point of determining on the         
sentence1 ,pity  violently and abruptly 
enters1 and makes her appearance in the 
court2  and upon contemplation of this  
most serene lady1 the ,judges1 instead  
of  public shame and perpetual          
confinement in the gallies1 decree a    
fine or  pecuniary punishment4          
,,xliii4 ,the words of ,god to ,moses1  
when he spoke to him of false           
witnesses1 as related in the ninth      
chapter of ,deuteronomy1 are very       
remarkable2 he says1 non misereberis    
ejus4 ,no1 ,moses2 have no  tenderness1 
no compassion1 nor any bowels or pity   
for such4 ,the decree  seems rigid1 and 

so it does2 but it is absolutely        
necessary also4 ,with  a false witness1 
all should be rigour1 without the least 
mixture of  clemency3 non misereberis   
ejus4 ,and so it is fit it should be2   
for if  it was otherwise1 who would be  
safe in their property1 their honour1   
or their lives8 ,this is not in reality 
abandoning or losing sight of           
compassion1 but fixing your attention to
 it on the proper objects2 it  is       
turning the eyes of pity from a guilty  
individual1 and placing them  on an     
innocent multitude4    ,,xliv4 ,the same
 sort of punishment1 which is inflicted 
on a false  witness1 having regard to   
proportioning the quantum of it to the  
nature or degree of the offence1 should 
be applied to all those1 who  deceive1  
or in any shape procure deceit to be    
practised on ,judges1  in the business  
of trying a cause4 ,it is necessary1 in 
order to  insure justice1 to smooth the 
way by which truth is to advance to the 
tribunal1 although it should be done    

with fire and sword4 ,all that  would be
 expended in rigour on this side1 would 
be saved with interest  on the other4   
,by so much the more the proof of       
offences is facilitated1  by so much the
 less will the number of them be2 and   
the less frequent  the sad spectacle of 
executions is1 so much the less will the
 innocent  suffer4 ,dispatch in civil   
causes1 is also a matter of great       
importance1  and should be added to the 
catalogue of these utilities4    ,,xlv4 
,on this account1 ,i am of opinion1 that
 no indulgence1 or remission  whatever1 
should be allowed at the instance of an 
advocate1 upon a  suggestion of false   
citations1 or mistakes in terms of law  
7leaving  however such cases to         
discretion1 which may be attributed to  
the  equivocal meaning of words1 or     
accidental omissions72 but abstracted   
from this exception1 such attempts1 if  
you consider them1 are contrary  to the 
virtue and essence of justice1 and      
should not be permitted to  succeed4    

,,xlvi4 ,neither should the advocate    
escape without severe punishment1  who  
espouses causes which are evidently     
unjust2 and ,i think the most  proper   
penalty which could be inflicted in such
 cases1 would be a long  suspension from
 the exercise of his function2 and a    
,solicitor should  be treated in the    
same manner1 who raises impertinent     
difficulties1  and makes frivolous      
objections1 with a view of creating     
delay4 ,but1  ,o pernicious lenity6     
already these serious offences1 which   
are  contrary to good faith1 and the    
true spirit of law1 are judged to be    
sufficiently punished by a verbal       
reprehension4 ,this is a weak bridle1   
to curb and restrain the impulses of    
avarice1 ambition1 love1 fear  and      
hatred1 five enemies of justice1 who    
alternately1 according to  the power or 
influence of the parties to the cause1  
incite judicial  ministers to violate   
the chastity of their office4           
,,xlvii4 ,we in all parts hear          

complaints against the proceedings of   
,justices1 their clerks1 and other      
attendants on them4 ,i believe1 if all  
the delinquents of this class were      
punished according to their deserts1  we
 should see an infinite number of the   
wands and pens of ,spain  converted to  
oars4 ,these people are accused of1 and 
supposed to make  a trade of their      
profession4 ,if all be true that is said
 of them1 it  seems as if the ,devil1   
who after his own manner is always      
endeavouring  to imitate the works of   
piety and benevolence1 upon seeing the  
church  had founded some convents of    
religious ,mendicants1 for the benefit  
and  salvation of souls1 had a mind to  
found in these gentry1 a ,mendicant     
irreligion1 for the perdition of them4  
,their duty is to apprehend1  or cause  
to be apprehended1 thieves and robbers2 
their practice is1  instead of taking   
the thief1 to take something of or from 
him2 and  there are few delinquents who 
are not suffered to go at large1 and    

with  impunity1 provided they have      
something large to bestow for being     
winked  at4 ,it is very difficult to    
detect collusions of this sort2 but in  
proportion to this difficulty1 should be
 the rigour of punishing them4  ,if out 
of a great number who practise these    
iniquities1 you should be  only able to 
prove the guilt of one1 it would be     
necessary to proceed  with such severity
 against that one1 as might terrify all 
the rest2  that if they are not alarmed 
by the frequency of the punishment1 they
  should be made to dread the weight of 
it4    ,,xlviii4 ,having before touched 
upon mulcts or pecuniary punishments1 ,i
  will here frankly make known to you a 
reflection1 which many years  ago       
occurred to me on this mode of          
punishing1 and which occasioned me  to  
look upon it in no very favourable      
light4 ,i say1 ,i have considered  that 
the burden of the mulct is not only     
loaded on the shoulders of  the guilty1 
but many times sits equally1 if not more

 heavy1 on those  of the innocent4 ,a   
father of a family1 with a scanty       
income1 commits  a crime1 and by way of 
chastising him1 he is fined a hundred   
ducats4  ,the substraction of this sum1 
is not felt by him only who was guilty  
of the offence1 but by his wife and his 
children also2 and they are  those who  
commonly suffer the most2 for as every  
one loves himself  better than his      
nearest relations1 and the delinquent   
being master of  the house1 he keeps as 
large a share of the good things it     
contains  for his own use as he thinks  
proper1 and seldom curtails himself of  
the gratifications he enjoyed before1   
either with respect to food1  raiment1  
or diversions4 ,the saving to make good 
the sum taken from him  is pinched out  
of the rest of his household4 ,his own  
expences are the  same1 and the         
inconvenience occasioned by the         
deduction is chiefly  borne by his wife 
and children4 ,don't be surprized then1 
that ,i look  with an unfavourable eye  

on a punishment1 the greatest portion of
 which  falls more on the innocent than 
the guilty4 ,i confess1 however1 that   
many times this is unavoidable1 and the 
levying pecuniary penalties  established
 by law1 for certain offences and       
neglects1 is inevitable2  besides which1
 there is a necessity to distrain for   
money1 to defray  the expences of law   
charges4 ,what can be done then in this 
case8 ,why1  you can only determine1 to 
reduce this mode of punishment1 within  
as  narrow a compass as possible4       
,,xlix4 ,the honour of the ,judges also 
requires this should be done1  because  
the vulgar1 when they see mulcts laid on
 with a heavy hand1  and do not perceive
 the money arising from them applied to 
purposes  of public benefit1 such as the
 building of bridges1 the repairing  of 
highways1 the making of aqueducts1 and  
in the aid of hospitals  for the poor1  
c4 they easily persuade themselves1 that
 the ,judges  are interested in the     
imposition of fines2 and although       

,judges may  sometimes be indiscreet and
 rash1 it is necessary to rescue them   
from  those gross imputations1 when it  
can conveniently be done4    ,l4 ,when  
delinquents have no families1 and the   
consequences of depriving  them of their
 money are only felt by themselves1 no  
punishments appear  to me more rational 
and proper than pecuniary ones1 and     
especially when  the nature of the      
offence does not demand a more severe   
chastisement4  ,in the first place1 it  
is not a sanguinary punishment1 and is  
more  consonant to the feelings of      
compassion1 than one that is tinged with
  blood1 both with respect to him who   
pronounces the sentence1 and him  to    
whom it is applied4 ,secondly1          
despoiling an evil-disposed man of  his 
money1 is disarming him of vice1 as it  
deprives him of the weapons  with which 
he was enabled to do mischief4 ,thirdly1
 if the money is  expended for the good 
of the public1 the community will derive
 a double  advantage from this mode of  

punishment1 as somewhat of temporal     
benefit  will be added by it1 to a      
well-adapted and exemplary application  
of  justice4    ,,li4 ,i now1 my ,son1  
have told you my sentiments on all that 
has occurred  to me as most essential in
 judicial administration4 ,if1 upon     
seeing  me so scrupulously tenacious on 
the side of justice1 it shall appear  to
 you that ,i mean to erase clemency out 
of the catalogue of virtues1  you are   
mistaken4 ,i know the excellence of this
 virtue1 and even  lament1 that in our  
ministry there is but small scope for   
exercising  it4 ,i venerate this divine 
quality1 which1 on account of its       
elevated  and sublime nature1 ,i        
contemplate1 as superior to the sphere  
of our  jurisdiction4 ,i call it divine1
 by reason of its active power to remit 
penalties decreed by the laws1 which is 
an authority or prerogative  almost     
peculiarly belonging1 and proper to ,god
 alone4 ,he1 as ,supreme  ,master1 can  
pardon all sorts of crimes2 ,kings as   

next to him in  sovereignty1 can pardon 
some2 but the hands of their inferior   
ministers  are tied in all cases2 for he
 who is subject to the laws1 can never  
be  vested with a power to arbitrate and
 dispense forgivenesses4    ,,lii4 ,it  
is true1 that where the law is obscure1 
we have authority to  interpret and     
construe it in a benign sense2 but in   
this construction1  we should not lose  
sight of the exigence of the public     
safety1 nor  the dictates of natural    
equity3 and acting in this manner1 is   
not  clemency but justice4 ,we may also 
in virtue of the principle which is     
called ,epeikeyan1 that allows of a wise
 and moderate interpretation of  the    
law1 lessen1 or even in many cases omit1
 the penalties which the  law decrees4  
,this also is not lenity but justice1   
because upon such  occasions1 we are    
rather obliged to conform to the        
intention of the  legislature1 than the 
letter of the law2 and such cases       
frequently  occur in small offences1    

because1 upon an examination of the     
nature of  these things1 it often       
appears to the eye of ,prudence1 that   
greater  inconveniences would attend the
 punishing1 than the tolerating  them4  
,following the letter of the penal law1 
without admitting any  exceptions1 even 
in those cases where the legislature    
could not intend1  nor prudence suppose 
it was meant to bind1 is what is called 
justice  in extreme1 or summum jus1     
which with great reason is termed       
extreme  injustice2 therefore1 acting   
contrary to the letter of the law in    
these  instances1 is likewise not       
clemency1 but justice4 ,aristotle1 who  
very  well understood the nature of     
things appertaining to ,ethics1 judges  
the  ,epiekeyan1 to be a principle1 or  
part of justice4 ,from all that has     
been said1 it may be inferred1 that     
requesting favour or compassion of  a   
,judge1 or supposing him capable of     
shewing any in the discharge of  his    
duty1 is an absurdity1 and calling      

things by improper names2 for  if he    
acts according to the law1 reasonably   
and rightly understood1 he  does        
justice2 if contrary to it1 he does     
injustice4 ,in what are called  casos   
omissos1 and when the law is obscure1   
there are general rules  for            
interpreting it and supplying the       
defects1 which interpretations  have the
 force of laws2 so that there is no     
middle path between justice  and        
injustice1 for a ,judge to walk in2     
because there are no means1 by  which he
 can act conformable to law1 and        
contrary to law4 ,god keep you4         
,,on ,,the ,,impunity ,,of ,,lying4     
,,sect4 ,i4    ,i4 ,two common errors   
present themselves to me with respect to
 the  subject-matter of this discourse1 
the one theoretical1 the other          
practical4 ,the theoretical is derived  
from lying among men being  reputed as  
infamous1 or as a vice nearly bordering 
upon infamy4 ,let us  admit1 for        
argument's sake1 the divisions the      

theologians make of a  lie1 into        
officious1 jocose1 and pernicious4 ,let 
us admit also1 that  a pernicious lie is
 reputed in the common opinion as it    
deserves to  be reputed1 and that it is 
treated with all possible abhorrence1 so
  that those who are noted for telling  
lies to the prejudice of their          
neighbours1 are generally considered as 
the pests of society2 but               
notwithstanding all this1 my remarks    
will be principally confined to         
officious and jocose lies2 that is1 to  
such as are not intended to  injure a   
third person1 but are only told to      
entertain1 or because they  may be of   
some utility to a man's self1 or to some
 other person4 ,i must  also premise1   
that ,i mean to treat this point more as
 a politician1  than as a moral         
theologian4 ,the theologians estimate   
officious1 and  jocose lies1 as venal   
sins2 nor should ,i or any one else in a
 moral  light1 represent them blacker4  
,but if viewed in a political light1 my 

sentiment is1 that the common opinion is
 excessively favourable and  indulgent  
to this species of vice4    ,,ii4 ,and  
what is the reason of this excessive    
indulgence8 ,why the reason  is1 because
 this sort of lie is not considered as  
an affront offered to  any man4 ,the    
being noted for an officious or jocose  
liar1 does not take  from any man the   
honour1 which in other respects is      
thought due to him4  ,a gentleman1 let  
him tell as many of these sort of lies  
as he will1 is  still looked upon as a  
gentleman2 a nobleman also1             
notwithstanding his  being remarked for 
this vice1 is considered as a nobleman1 
and a prince  as a prince4 ,but this    
appears to me repugnant to all reason4  
,lying is  infamous1 bad1 and vile2 and 
a liar is unworthy of human society2 he 
is  an impostor1 who traiterously avails
 himself of the good faith of other     
men1 in order to deceive them4 ,the most
 precious intercourse among men1  is    
that of a frank and reciprocal          

communication of their souls2 with      
which1 they in conversation lay open and
 disclose to each other1 the  affections
 of their wills1 the sentiments of their
 mind1 and all that  is treasured up in 
their memories4 ,now what is a liar1 but
 a solemn  circumventor of this         
inestimable commerce8 what1 but a       
deceiver1 who  imposes on us delusions  
for realities8 what but a circulator of 
false  money1 who passes the iron of a  
lie for the gold of truth8 and finally1 
what can there be found in this man1    
that should excuse him from being       
discarded and rejected by all others1 as
 a nuisance to company1 a vile          
contaminator of conversation1 and as a  
detestable falsifier of all             
intelligence and information8           
,,sect4 ,,ii4    ,,iii4 ,i cannot help  
remarking a monstrous contradiction1    
that is  very frequent in this matter4  
,if a man of any rank or figure in the  
world1 is told to his face that he lies1
 he considers himself as very  seriously

 injured1 and according to the cruel    
laws of human honour1 is  esteemed as   
having put up with a very gross affront1
 if he does not  demand of the man who  
told him so1 a very sanguinary          
satisfaction2 but  ,i would be glad to  
know1 how telling a man he lies1 can be 
a very  serious injury1 if lying is not 
esteemed a very serious defect in him   
who is addicted to it2 or how a man can 
be considered as affronted1  because he 
is told he lies1 if the action of lying 
is not scandalous  or unworthy4 ,the    
degree of reproach annexed to a vice1 is
 generally  estimated according to the  
light in which that vice is considered  
by the world at large4 ,if the vice is  
not held to be such a one1 as  tarnishes
 a man's honour1 his honour will not be 
deemed wounded by  the commission of it2
 and it may be said of a man in such a  
case1  that his honour is not injured4  
,this being a notorious fact1 the       
inference ,i would draw from the        
before-mentioned observation1 is1 that  

the frequency of lying1 lessens in the  
generality of mankind1 the  abhorrence1 
which natural reason left to itself1 has
 of this vice2 but  notwithstanding this
 custom1 it has not diminished so       
thoroughly1 but  that there still       
remains in the soul of man1 a clear     
conviction1 that  lying is a baseness4  
,,iv4 ,i am confirmed in this opinion1  
by the observation1 that a man's        
denying what he has said1 is looked upon
 as an opprobrium to him4  ,and why is  
this8 why because it amounts to a       
confession that he had  before told a   
lie4 ,the opprobrium cannot lie in the  
truth of what he  now confesses2 and    
therefore must consist in the lie which 
he told  before4 ,confessing that he has
 lied1 is a mark of sincerity1 and no   
one  need blush for having been sincere2
 therefore all the ignominy must be     
annexed to the lie4 ,this1 ,i say1 makes
 it manifest to me1 that their  native  
sentiment of this matter is not so      
obscured in mankind1 but that  it       

represents a lie to them as a most      
unworthy and a vile thing4      ,,sect4 
,,iii4    ,v4 ,the practical error in   
this matter1 is derived from a lie's    
going  unpunished1 and from the laws not
 having prescribed any punishment  for  
liars4 ,why is there no bridle to curb  
the propensity men have to  deceive one 
another8 and why should a man be allowed
 to lie to what  amount he pleases at   
free cost8 ,although men are not        
contented with  enjoying a total        
indemnity in this case1 but frequently  
glory in what  they have done1 and go on
 to insult those they have imposed on1  
and  to treat the sincerity of other men
 as imprudence2 is not this an          
abominable offence1 and such a one as   
deserves to be punished8    ,,vi4 ,i may
 be told1 that human laws do not attend 
to deterring by the  fear of punishment1
 people from committing any other       
crimes1 except  such as are prejudicial 
to the public1 or injurious to a third  
person2  and that officious or jocose   

lies1 which are those we are discoursing
  of at present1 hurt no body1 for if   
they had been found to be  injurious1   
they would before this1 have been       
classed among1 and deemed  as pernicious
 offences4    ,,vii4 ,against this      
remark1 solid as it may appear1 ,i have 
two very  notable replies to make4 ,the 
first is1 that although every officious 
or jocose lie considered by itself1 is  
injurious to nobody2 still1 the         
frequency and impunity with which they  
are told1 have a pernicious  effect on  
the public2 for they deprive the        
generality of mankind of a  very        
valuable benefit4 ,to make my meaning   
more clearly understood1 ,i  must beg   
every man to contemplate the            
inconveniencies that would arise  from a
 doubt or distrust1 whether whatever is 
told us be true or false2  which        
distrust is unavoidable1 and founded on 
prudence1 if we advert  to the frequency
 with which people lie4 ,upon hearing   
any piece of  intelligence1 in which our

 wishes1 or our conveniencies are       
interested1  we remain in a state of    
perplexity1 whether to believe or       
disbelieve  it2 and this perplexity is  
generally attended with a very          
disagreeable  agitation of the mind1    
that sets a man at variance as it were  
with  himself1 and causes him to halt   
between two opinions1 and to remain  in 
a disagreeable state of suspence1       
whether to reject as false1 or  assent  
to the intelligence he hears as true4   
,those to whom the rumour  that is      
propagated may be serviceable1 either   
with regard to their  communicating it1 
or on account of the use it may be of to
 illustrate  any thing they have been   
writing1 and are about to publish1 are  
set  on the tenters by reason of this   
uncertainty4 ,they would give any  thing
 to ascertain the reality of a curious  
event1 that was applicable  to1 and     
would tend to embellish the subject they
 had been writing  upon1 but cannot take
 a step towards informing themselves1   

without  meeting with a stumbling block 
in their way4 ,some affirm the truth of 
the thing1 others deny it2 here they    
tell the story in one way1 and  there   
they relate it in another2 and all this 
while1 the pen of the  author is obliged
 to stand still1 and to continue for a  
long time in a  disagreeable and violent
 state of suspence4    ,,viii4 ,but     
although the perplexity that may attend 
our doubting whether  we shall give our 
assent to what we hear1 may be          
productive of these  evils1 the mischief
 that would result from our giving easy 
faith and  credit to all we are told1   
would be much greater2 for if we        
reflect1  we shall find1 that the       
altercations1 disputes1 and disturbances
  which arise in conversation1 are      
produced for the most part by easy      
credulity4 ,different people1 hear      
different accounts of the same thing1   
and because each believed what he heard2
 they afterwards altercate  furiously1  
each persisting1 that the account he had

 heard of the  matter was the true one4 
,reflect how many people have made      
themselves  ridiculous1 by believing    
what they should have rejected as       
fabulous4  ,reflect also1 that human    
society1 which is the sweetest boon of  
life1  or which would be so if mankind  
were to behave to each other with truth 
and candour1 is made ungrateful and     
disgusting at every turn1 by the        
distrust which is occasioned1 in        
consequence of our experiencing how     
much people are addicted to lie4        
,,ix4 ,in order to comprehend how great 
a good we are deprived of by this       
distrust1 let us figure to ourselves a  
republic1 although ,i fear there  never 
was such a one in the world1 where      
either from the generous  influence of  
their soil and climate1 men were more   
noble-minded2 or  from the fear of a lie
 being punished with great severity1 all
 the  individuals who compose it1 were  
strict observers of the truth2 ,i say   
admitting this1 my imagination          

represents to me1 that such a community 
would be a sort of ,heaven upon earth4  
,what brotherly love would there        
prevail in it6 and how sweet and savoury
 would the confidence between  man and  
man be1 and how grateful the            
satisfaction1 with which they  talked   
and listened to each other1 free from   
the suspicion of not  being believed1 or
 the fear of being deceived6 ,there we  
should survey  at every step1 the most  
pleasing spectacle the world can afford1
 that  of a man's opening the whole     
theatre of his soul to another4 ,i do   
not think that ,heaven adorned with all 
its splendor1 or the spring  embellished
 with all its flowers1 could furnish a  
more delightful  picture to the eyes of 
man1 than that which would be presented 
to human  curiosity1 by the exposure of 
a variety of sentiments1 affections1 and
  passions1 of those with whom we       
converse4 ,in such a society1 all men   
would enjoy a peaceable tranquillity of 
mind1 without the dread1 that  by means 

of political arts1 a traitor should     
impose himself upon them  for a friend2 
that hypocrisy should usurp an unjust   
veneration2 that  applause should be    
tainted with the venom of flattery2 that
 advice  should be insincere1 and       
calculated to promote the interest of   
him who  gave it2 or that correction    
should be the child of anger1 and not   
the  offspring of zeal4 ,but unhappy for
 us1 how distant are we from enjoying   
the blessings of such happy citizens6   
for we scarce are allowed an  instant of
 relaxation1 from the fears1            
inquietudes1 and suspicions1  that      
continually afflict us1 and which are   
produced1 by the experience  we have1 of
 the little sincerity there is to be met
 with in the  world4 ,consider now1     
whether the frequency of lying1 does not
 rob us  of a great blessing1 or to     
speak more properly1 of many inestimable
  blessings4      ,,sect4 ,,iv4    ,x4  
,the second reply ,i have to make to the
 before-named observation1  is1 that it 

very frequently happens1 that those lies
 which are only  looked upon as         
officious and jocose1 are attended with 
pernicious  consequences4 ,what does it 
signify1 that he who tells a lie did not
  do it with an intention to injure any 
one1 if in reality the mischief         
follows8 ,the emperor ,theodosius the   
second1 presented the empress  ,eudoxia 
with an apple of uncommon magnitude2 and
 she afterwards gave  it to ,paulinus a 
learned and discreet man1 whose         
conversation she was  very fond of1 and 
with whom1 her correspondence was       
perfectly innocent4  ,paulinus1 ignorant
 of the hand by which the apple was     
brought to the  ,empress1 shewed it to  
the ,emperor1 and begged him to accept  
of it2  the ,emperor1 recollecting that 
it was the same apple he had given the  
,empress1 took an occasion to ask       
,eudoxia by surprize1 what she had  done
 with the apple8 ,the question coming   
upon her unawares1 and she1             
apprehensive the ,emperor might be      

displeased with her for parting  with   
the apple1 answered she had eaten it4   
,this1 in the intention of  ,eudoxia1   
was a lie purely officious2 but was     
attended with a most  pernicious        
consequence1 as it was the occasion of  
,paulinus being put  to death2 for      
,theodosius1 suspecting the commerce    
between him and the  ,empress not to be 
very chaste1 ordered him to be          
dispatched4    ,,xi4 ,caligula having   
recalled from banishment1 one who had   
been  sentenced to that punishment by   
his predecessor1 asked him how he       
employed his time while he was banished2
 and he1 to recommend himself  to the   
good graces of the ,emperor1 answered1  
that he employed the  greatest part of  
it in praying to the gods for the death 
of ,tiberius2  because that would make  
way for his ascending the throne4 ,what 
lie  to all appearance could be more    
innocent than this8 ,yet in its         
consequences1 it was very pernicious1   
for ,caligula1 taking it into his  head1

 that those he had banished would occupy
 themselves in the same  way1 ordered   
them all to be put to death4    ,,xii4  
,i could give more examples of the same 
sort2 but am aware1 that it  may be said
 in answer to them1 that these are      
unforeseen accidents2  but they         
notwithstanding1 are the evil accidental
 consequences of  lies1 which although  
the person who tells them cannot        
foresee1 are not  unworthy the attention
 of the legislature2 and of their taking
 measures  to prevent the mischiefs     
arising from them1 by assigning some    
species  of punishment to all kinds of  
lies whatever4 ,at least1 the motive of 
preventing these accidental mischiefs1  
should operate jointly with the  reasons
 we have already given1 to induce the   
legislature1 to fall upon  some mode of 
punishment to curb the vice of lying4   
,,sect4 ,v4    ,,xiii4 ,but the         
principal mischiefs that are produced by
 lies1 which are  called jocose and     
officious1 do not only happen by        

accident1 but such  lies have in their  
own nature1 a tendency to bring on those
 mischiefs4  ,of this sort are all      
flattering lies4 ,of the many           
apophthegms we meet  with1 that have    
been severe upon liars1 there is no one 
seems to me  to be better pointed1 than 
that of ,bion one of the seven wise men 
of ,greece4 ,he being one day asked1    
what animal he esteemed the most        
pernicious8 answered1 that to the world 
at large it was a tyrant1 and  in       
private life1 a flatterer4 ,for so it   
is1 that flattery always1 or  nearly    
always1 is pernicious to the person to  
whom it is addressed4  ,the same man1   
who if the incense of unmerited applause
 was not offered  to him1 would be      
gentle1 prudent1 and modest1 would by   
the application  of it1 be corrupted to 
such a degree1 as to become proud1      
fierce1  intolerable1 and ridiculous4   
,it is not one man only1 that a         
flattering  lie may be the undoing of1  
but it is also capable of ruining a     

whole  kingdom2 and this is a fatality  
that has often happened4 ,many princes1 
who have had a portion of the taint of  
ambition in their compositions1  if     
there had not been those about them1 who
 fomented this evil tendency  of their  
minds1 would have led happy and         
peaceable lives1 but upon  being        
persuaded by a flatterer1 that their    
greatest glory consisted in  adding new 
dominions to their crown1 have become   
bloody scourges1 both  to their own     
subjects1 and those of their neighbours4
    ,,xiv4 ,the great ,louis the        
,fourteenth1 was without doubt1 endued  
with  excellent qualities2 and was      
blessed with a sufficient understanding1
  to distinguish in what the most solid 
glory of a king consisted1 and  to be   
convinced1 that it consisted in making  
his subjects happy4  ,notwithstanding   
which1 through the whole of his         
dominions1 the bulk of  his people were 
oppressed1 and groaned under the        
intolerable weight of  the taxes1 he    

found it necessary to load on them1 in  
order to support  the vast expences of  
the many wars he engaged in2 to which   
grievance1  might be added the          
lamentation and grief that was produced1
 by the loss  of the infinite quantity  
of ,french blood that had deluged the   
fields in  his quarrels4 ,from whence   
did all this mischief proceed8 ,why from
 the  venomous influence of poisonous   
flatterers1 who persuaded him1 that his 
greatest glory consisted in extending   
his dominions by his arms1 and in       
making himself dreaded by all the       
neighbouring powers4 ,they not only     
persuaded him to this1 but even         
intimated to him1 that these were the   
most effectual means1 to render his own 
kingdom happy and flourishing4  ,a      
flattering poet carried his servile     
complaisance so far1 as to sing  in his 
ear1 that by pursuing this conduct1 he  
would not only make his  own people     
happy1 but would make those so likewise1
 whom he conquered2  and that they would

 hug the chains1 with which he bound the
 little  liberty they ever possessed2   
and what was beyond all the rest1 this  
fulsome poet1 went so far as to assert1 
that his desire of making them  happy1  
was his only motive for bringing them   
under his yoke4        ,il regne par    
amour dans les ,villes conquises1       
,et ne fait des sujets que pour les     
rendre heureux4    ,in the idea of this 
poet1 desolating his own country by     
excessive  contributions1 carrying fire 
and sword into the territories of his   
neighbours1 and sacrificing men by tens 
of thousands on the altars of  ,mars1 is
 the most effectual way to make people  
happy2 and that it is  the great glory  
of a monarch1 to be the pest of his own 
dominions1 and  those of all his        
neighbours4 ,to these extravagant       
lengths has flattery  been carried1 and 
such are the unhappy effects it has     
produced4    ,,xv4 ,a flattering lie in 
private life1 is not capable of doing so
 much  mischief1 if we consider it as   

standing by itself2 but the mischief  is
 infinitely extensive1 that results from
 many of those lies put  together2 as   
the use of them is so general1 that     
their numbers are  nearly infinite4 ,a  
learned modern ,french author1 says1    
that the  practice of the world1 is made
 up of people's occupying themselves    
continually in circulating false        
complaisance4 ,mankind depend           
reciprocally upon each other2 and the   
poor man not only flatters the  rich    
one1 but the rich one flatters the poor 
one in his turn4 ,the poor  man courts  
the rich one1 because he has need of his
 contributions2  and the rich one       
endeavours to conciliate himself with   
the poor man1  because he cannot subsist
 without the aid of his labour4 ,the    
money they  all go to market with1 to   
gain and purchase the hearts of each    
other1  is coined from the bullion of   
flattery2 which is the falsest money    
that  can be circulated1 because in     
consequence of trafficking with it in   

this vile commerce1 all sides are       
cheated4      ,,sect4 ,,vi4    ,,xvi4   
,but besides flattering lies1 there are 
many others which are  hurtful in       
various ways1 notwithstanding we find   
them classed among  the jocose and      
officious ones4 ,a coward brags of his  
prowess1 and  martial deeds2 a          
stander-by who hears him1 and believes  
what he says1  endeavours to make a     
friend of him1 in hopes that he will    
bear him out  in any fray or quarrel in 
which he should happen to be engaged2   
and in  consequence of the confidence he
 puts in this support1 he precipitates  
himself into some dispute1 where his    
bravo deserts him1 and he loses  his    
life4 ,an ignorant fellow1 palms himself
 upon simple people for a  learned man1 
and they1 by believing all he says to be
 right and true1  get their heads filled
 with extravagances1 which they         
afterwards by  venting in other         
companies1 expose their folly1 and so by
 a very easy  and short method1 acquire 

the reputation of blockheads4    ,a     
neglected or disappointed man1 brags of 
the interest he has with a  great       
person2 and some who hear and believe   
what he says1 fancy he  will be a good  
channel through which they may convey an
 application to  that great person1 and 
induce him to assist them in a matter   
they have  much at heart1 and in which  
they are deeply interested1 and in hopes
  of the great benefits they may derive 
from his friendship and aid1 pay  great 
court to him1 and waste the greatest    
part of their substance in  presents and
 bribes to him4 ,a spiritual puffer1    
brags of the miracles  he has seen and  
experienced of such and such a saint2   
which one way  or other1 is generally   
attended with prejudicial consequences  
to the  cause of religion4 ,the         
physician brags of a skill or knowledge 
he does  not possess2 a valetudinary    
person who hears him1 believing him to  
be an ,esculapius1 surrenders himself   
without further enquiry to his          

management1 and becomes a voluntary     
victim4 ,a young mariner1 brags of  his 
great abilities and skill in navigating 
and conducting a ship1  which afterwards
 being trusted to him1 is shipwrecked   
and dashed to  pieces1 on some rock or  
shoal4 ,the same dangers1 in a greater  
or a  less degree1 and in proportion to 
the matters that are confided to  their 
management1 are we exposed to1 by       
trusting vaunters in all arts  and      
professions1 who although they are      
unskilful1 presume to boast of  their   
great knowledge4 ,i should never have   
done1 was ,i to set about  enumerating  
all the species of lies1 which go under 
the name of jocose  and officious1 and  
which are attended with pernicious      
consequences4      ,,sect4 ,,vii4       
,,xvii4 ,but ,i cannot avoid making     
particular mention1 of a certain        
species of lies1 which find ample       
protection with1 and pass current       
through the world1 as if they were      
perfectly innocent2 when in reality1    

they are extremely injurious to the     
public4 ,i mean judicial lies2  such1 as
 when in stating a fact which gave rise 
to1 or is the subject  matter of a      
litigation1 the parties interested1 and 
those employed in  the suit1 disguise   
and disfigure it1 to make it appear more
 favourable  to their own side4 ,this   
species of deceit1 or as ,i may say lie1
 is so  frequent1 that we scarce see a  
cause in which it is not practised1  and
 in which1 both parties agree in the    
state of the facts1 on which  the matter
 in issue rests2 and from hence arise   
the length of the  pleadings1 and the   
principal delay1 and great expence of   
law-suits4 ,who  can entertain a doubt1 
but that this is very injurious to the  
public8  ,yet there is nobody will      
attempt finding out a remedy for the    
evil4  ,it might perhaps be asked1 what 
remedy can be applied to it2 but to     
this ,i should answer1 the remedy that  
is made use of in ,japan4 ,among  those 
islanders1 whose political government   

there is no doubt excells  ours in many 
particulars1 they punish a judicial lie1
 or one advanced  in a legal process1   
with great severity2 and the ,algerines 
do the  same4 ,whoever lies1 or when he 
is brought before the ,bey1 or any of   
his judicial magistrates1 to answer to a
 civil process1 shall deny1  if the     
prosecution is for a debt1 that he owes 
the person suing for  it the money in   
question1 or if the prosecutor shall be 
found guilty  of making a false or      
unjust demand1 in either of these cases1
 he who  shall be found to falsify1 is  
adjudged to a rigorous bastinadoing4    
,thus these causes are speedily and     
safely determined1 nor is there the     
least necessity for any writing in them1
 for the fear of that severe            
punishment1 deters any man from         
demanding what is not due to him1 and   
terrifies any one from denying a just   
debt4 ,if something like this  method   
was to be adopted among us1 law-suits of
 this sort in ,spain1  would be as short

 as they are in those places4 ,what     
delays law-suits1  is not so much the   
difficulty of finding out what the law  
is with  respect to the matter in       
question2 but such delays arise for the 
most  part1 from fallacious suggestions1
 and evasive statings of facts4 ,if  the
 suitors1 and all the parties concerned 
or employed in a cause1  knew1 that for 
every fallacy they advanced1 they were  
to pay a large  fine1 they would be     
careful not to suggest or advance any   
thing1 that  was not simply and exactly 
true4 ,by this means1 the parties would 
soon be agreed as to the fact1 and a    
determination would quickly be  made in 
favour of the person who had the right  
of his side1 and there  would be nothing
 left to do1 but for process to issue   
agreeable to the  ordinary forms of law1
 in order to enforce and compleat the   
judgment4  ,the doing of this1 is seldom
 attended with much expence or delay2   
and  by adopting the before-mentioned   
method of proceeding1 there would soon  

be a stop put to all law-suits1 that are
 founded on false or sinister           
suggestions2 and people would not be    
near so exposed to have vexatious  and  
roguish prosecutions commenced against  
them1 as they are at  present4 ,the     
state or public at large1 would be great
 gainers by such a  regulation taking   
place1 as the loss occasioned by the    
attendance1 that  many artificers1 and  
people employed in useful branches of   
trade are  obliged to give on courts of 
law would be avoided4 ,so that the whole
  loss that would be incurred by        
adopting this method1 would fall on the 
advocates1 solicitors1 and other men of 
the law2 but this would be  amply       
compensated for to the state1 by the    
increase it would occasion  of          
professors in useful arts4    ,,xviii4  
,it is true1 that our laws in ,spain    
have not been so deficient in  this     
respect1 as not to have assigned certain
 punishments in various  cases to       
judicial lies4 ,one of those which is to

 be found among  the laws which we term 
the laws de ,partida seems to me        
admirably  calculated to suppress this  
evil4 ,it runs thus3 ,he of whom any    
thing  is demanded judicially by another
 person1 as his property1 who shall     
deny the person making the demand was   
ever possessed of it1 shall1  if it is  
afterwards proved that the person who   
makes the demand was  possessed of it1  
be obliged to surrender it to him who   
demands it1  although the demander      
should not be able to prove the thing   
ever was  his property4 ,but ,i could   
wish in the first place1 that both this 
law1  and all others of the same sort1  
should be extended to more cases than   
they take in1 or to speak more properly1
 to all cases whatever2 so that  every  
judicial lie should be liable to a      
punishment1 proportioned to  the        
mischief it might be attended with4 ,i  
would wish secondly1 that  some lawyers 
in expounding those laws1 had given a   
larger extent to  them1 and not have    

limited the operation of them but to few
 cases2  for we have reason to          
apprehend1 that it is in consequence of 
these  expositions1 that we very rarely 
or never1 have seen any one punished    
for this offence1 at least ,i do not    
remember to have ever known1 or to  have
 ever heard of any one that was punished
 for it4 ,the greatest part  of the     
,judges1 although there may appear but  
little reason for their  acting with    
lenity1 are apt to lean to the          
compassionate side2 but it  seems to me1
 that it would be for the good of the   
public1 if upon these  occasions1 they  
would exercise a proper degree of       
severity4      ,,sect4 ,,viii4    ,,xix4
 ,finally1 by contemplating a lie in all
 its extent1 ,i find it so  inconvenient
 to the life of man1 that ,i am disposed
 to think the whole  rigour of the laws 
should be levelled against it1 and that 
it should  be treated as a most         
pestiferous enemy to human society4     
,zoroaster  the famous legislator of the

 ,persians1 or ,zerduscht1 which        
according  to the learned ,thomas ,hyde 
was his name1 in which sentiment ,thomas
  ,stanley differs but little from him1 
he writing it ,zaraduissit2 from  all   
which we may conclude1 that the changing
 his name to ,zoroaster1  was an        
alteration made by the ,greeks to make  
it correspond the better  with their own
 language2 but to have done with        
criticising upon his  name1 he in the   
statutes he formed for the government of
 that nation1  estimated a lie1 as one  
of the most serious crimes a man could  
commit4  ,i must confess2 that he erred 
in this as a ,theologian2 but that he   
was  quite right1 and acted wisely as a 
politician2 because no better means  can
 be fallen upon1 to make men live happy 
in society1 than that of  introducing   
among them1 an utter abhorrence of a    
lie2 and on the other  hand1 if the     
great propensity in man to lying is not 
curbed1 although  the rest of the laws  
should be ever so pious and just1 they  

will not be  able to prevent innumerable
 mischiefs and disorders4      ,,sect4  
,,ix4    ,,xx4 ,it is only in one       
particular instance1 that ,i look upon  
lying  to be sufferable2 and that is1   
when there is no fence to resist the    
impertinent and officious enquiries of  
people into secrets1 that are  trusted  
to a man in confidence4 ,i state the    
case thus3 a friend of  mine1 for the   
sake of asking my advice1 informs me in 
confidence of  a crime that he has      
committed4 ,a person in power suspects  
him to be  the man who committed the    
crime1 and by making an improper use of 
his  authority1 demands of me1 whether  
,i do not know that such a person       
committed such a crime4 ,i will suppose 
for argument's sake1 that he is  a      
person of such penetration1 that ,i     
could not deceive him by evasions1  and 
giving answers1 that amounted to my     
neither owning nor denying that  ,i knew
 any thing of it2 and that my not giving
 a positive answer1 would  only tend to 

confirm him in the opinion that my      
friend had actually  committed the crime
 he suspected him of2 so that ,i am     
drove to the  necessity of answering    
positively1 yes1 or no4 ,it is certain  
in such a  case1 that ,i am bound by the
 laws of friendship1 fidelity1 charity  
and  justice1 not to reveal the secret  
confided to me4 ,how then am ,i to act  
in such a pressing exigency8    ,,xxi4  
,after stating a variety of different   
opinions of ,theologians1  and other    
eminent men upon cases of this sort1    
which ,i shall omit to  insert1 as ,i   
apprehend they would rather seem        
tedious1 than afford  either            
entertainment or instruction to the     
reader2 ,father ,feyjoo  proceeds thus3 
,but ,i do not chuse to take any part in
 this question1 as  it would require    
more time to discuss1 than ,i at present
 have leisure  to bestow upon it2 and   
therefore shall waive entering into it1 
and  returning to the subject of my     
discourse1 shall say1 that admitting  a 

man1 upon being unfairly pressed1 cannot
 avoid disclosing a secret  which has   
been confided to him1 without telling a 
lie1 those lies  ought to be tolerated  
by human society1 and the punishment of 
them  should be left to ,god alone1 for 
that a republic or state is exposed to  
no inconvenience from them2 and that on 
the contrary1 daily mischiefs  might    
result to it1 by not preventing the evil
 effects1 of the  malicious1 and vicious
 curiosity of men1 who are impertinently
 fond of  prying into other people's    
secrets4 ,and he who makes these        
enquiries1  should blame himself for any
 imposition or deceit that happens in   
consequence of them1 and not the person 
who told the lie1 for the  inquisitor is
 the aggressor in this case1 as he may  
be termed an  invader of other people's 
secrets1 which he had improperly1 and   
without  any right so to do1 taken upon 
him officiously to pry into4            
,,on      ,,the ,,love ,,of ,,our       
,,country1      ,,and      ,national    

,prejudice or ,prepossession4           
,,sect4 ,i4    ,i4 ,i ,seek in men that 
love of their country1 which ,i find so 
much  celebrated in books1 but ,i do not
 meet with it2 ,i mean that just1 noble 
and virtuous love1 which they owe to    
their country4 ,in some1 ,i see no  kind
 of affection for their country at all2 
in others1 ,i perceive only  a criminal 
affection1 which is vulgarly called     
national prejudice4    ,,ii4 ,i do not  
deny1 that by turning over history1 you 
will find  thousands of victims         
sacrificed to this idol4 ,what war is   
undertaken  without this specious       
pretence8 ,what field do we see drenched
 with  human blood1 that posterity1 over
 the carcases from whence it flowed1    
has not fixed the honourable            
inscription1 that those men lost their  
lives for the good of their country8    
,but if we examine things  critically1  
we shall find the world is much         
mistaken1 in thinking  there have been  
so many1 or so refined sacrifices made  

to this  imaginary deity4 ,let us figure
 to ourselves a republic1 armed for a   
war1 undertaken on the principle of a   
just defence2 and let us also  proceed  
to examine by the light of reason1 the  
impulse which animates  men's hearts to 
expose their lives in the quarrel4      
,among the private  men1 some inlist for
 the pay and the plunder1 others with   
the hopes of  bettering their fortunes1 
and acquiring military honour and       
preferment2  but the greatest part1 from
 motives of obedience1 and fear of the  
,prince or the ,general4 ,he who        
commands the army1 is instigated by his 
interest and his glory4 ,the ,prince1 or
 ,chief ,magistrate1 who is at a        
distance from the danger1 acts more for 
the sake of maintaining his  dominion1  
than for supporting the republic4 ,now  
admitting that all  these people should 
find it more for their interest to      
retire to their  houses1 than to defend 
the walls1 you would hardly see ten men 
left on  the ramparts4    ,,iii4 ,even  

those feats of prowess of the antients1 
which are so blazoned  and immortalized 
by fame1 as the ultimate exertions of   
zeal for the  public good1 were more    
probably generated by ambition1 and the 
love of  glory1 than by the love of     
their country2 and ,i am inclined to    
think1  that if there had not been      
witnesses present1 to have handed down  
to  posterity an account of their       
exploits1 that from a principle of love 
to his country1 neither ,curtius would  
have precipitated himself into  the pit1
 nor ,marcus ,attilius ,regulus have    
submitted to die a lingering  death in  
an iron cage2 nor would the twin        
brothers1 for the sake of  extending the
 boundaries of ,carthage1 have consented
 to be buried  alive4 ,the incitement of
 posthumous fame had great influence    
among  the ,gentiles2 and it might also 
happen1 that some rushed on a violent   
death1 not so much with a view of       
acquiring posthumous fame1 as from  the 
mad vanity of seeing themselves admired 

and applauded for a few  instants of    
their lives1 of which ,lucian gives us a
 striking example1  in the death that   
was submitted to by the philosopher     
,peregrinus4    ,,iv4 ,among the        
,romans1 the love of their country1 was 
so much in  vogue and so prevalent1 that
 it seemed as if this noble inclination 
was the soul of their whole republic4   
,but what appears to me is1  that the   
,romans themselves1 on account of       
,cato's constant and steady  attachment 
to the public1 looked upon him as a very
 uncommon man1  and as one descended    
from ,heaven4 ,it may be said of all the
 rest  of them1 almost without          
exception1 that in serving their        
country1  they sought more their own    
exaltation than the public utility4     
,they  gave ,cicero the glorious surname
 of father of his country1 for the      
successful and vigorous opposition he   
made to ,catiline's conspiracy4  ,this  
in appearance was a great merit1        
although in reality it was but  an      

equivocal one2 for not only the success 
of ,cicero's attaining the  consulate1  
depended upon that fury's not carrying  
his point1 but his  life also2 for it is
 true1 that when afterwards ,csar       
tyrannized over  the republic1 ,cicero  
accommodated himself very well with him4
 ,the  subornations of ,jugurtha1 ,king 
of ,numidia1 shewed abundantly1 what    
sort  of spirit influenced the ,roman   
senate2 which1 contrary to the interest 
of the republic1 tolerated in that      
penetrating and violent ,prince1 many   
grave and pernicious evils1 because     
every new insolence he committed1  was  
accompanied with a new present to the   
senators4 ,he was at last  brought to   
,rome1 and detained there2 and although 
he was so far from  correcting or       
reforming his old practices1 that within
 the city itself1  he committed new and 
enormous offences2 by the favour of     
gold1 he was  permitted to go at large1 
which in the delinquent himself begot   
such a  contempt of that government1    

that when he left ,rome1 after getting  
at a  little distance from the city1 he 
turned about1 and looking at it with    
disdain1 called it a venal city1 adding1
 that it would soon perish1  if any one 
could find money enough to pay the price
 of its ruin3  ,urbem venalem1 et mature
 perituram1 si emptorem invenirit       
7,sallust  in ,jugurtha74 ,the same     
thing1 and even more pointedly1 was said
 by  ,petronius3        ,venalis        
populus1 venalis curia patrem4    ,this 
is a picture of the love of their       
country so celebrated among the         
,romans1 and to which many at this day1 
judge they owed the enormous  extension 
of the ,roman empire4      ,,sect4 ,,ii4
    ,v4 ,our opinion of this matter     
differs greatly from that of the bulk of
  mankind1 by whom it is generally      
believed1 the love of their country  is 
natural to1 and transcendent in all men2
 and as a proof of it1 they  alledge the
 repugnance1 which all1 or nearly all   
men feel at abandoning  the country in  

which they were born1 to go and reside  
in any other  whatever2 but ,i find here
 a great equivocation1 and that what men
 call  the love of their country1 is in 
reality1 nothing else but the love  of  
their own convenience4 ,there is no man 
who does not leave his own  country     
cheerfully1 when he has expectations by 
going to another of  mending his        
fortune2 and examples of this sort are  
seen every day4 ,of  all the fables that
 have been fabricated by the poets1     
there is no one  appears to be more void
 of probability1 than that of ,ulysses's
 having  preferred the dreary and       
unpleasant rocks and craigs of his own  
country  ,ithaca1 to the immortality    
full of delights1 which was offered him 
by  the nymph ,calipso1 upon condition  
that he would come and live with her  in
 the island of ,ogygia4    ,,vi4 ,i may 
be told1 that the ,scythians1 as ,ovid  
testifies1 fled from  the delicacies of 
,rome1 to the asperities of their own   
frozen soil2  that the ,laplanders1     

maugre all the conveniences and         
accommodations  that were offered them  
at ,vienna1 sighed to return to their   
own poor  steril country2 and that but a
 few years ago1 a ,canadian savage who  
was brought to ,paris1 where he was     
furnished with every possible           
convenience1 lived there in a seeming   
state of affliction and  melancholy4    
,,vii4 ,i say in answer to all this1    
that it is true2 but it is also true1   
that these men live with more           
convenience to themselves in ,scythia1  
in ,lapland1 and in ,canada1 than in    
,vienna1 at ,paris1 or in ,rome4        
,habituated to the food of their        
country1 however hard and coarse it  may
 appear to us1 they find it both        
grateful and salutary4 ,they are  born  
among snow1 and live pleasantly in the  
midst of it2 and as we  cannot bear the 
cold of northern regions1 they cannot   
endure the heat  of southern ones4      
,their mode of government1 is suited to 
their tempers  and dispositions1 and    

although the form is but indifferent1   
they being  reconciled to it by custom1 
believe that nature itself never        
dictated  any other4 ,our policy seems  
as barbarous to them1 as theirs does to 
us4 ,here1 we think it impossible to    
live without a house or permanent       
abode2 they look upon this as a         
voluntary imprisonment1 and regard it   
as much more convenient1 to be at       
liberty to change their habitation1     
when1 and unto wherever it is most      
agreeable to them1 fabricating it in    
the evening1 for the use of the night   
and the next day1 either in the  valley1
 on the side of the mountain1 or in the 
plain4 ,the accommodation  afforded by  
changing situations as the seasons of   
the year vary1  is enjoyed among us1 by 
none but the great and the opulent2     
among  those barbarians1 there is no one
 who does not enjoy it2 and ,i must     
confess for myself1 that ,i look upon a 
man's having power1 whenever  he        
pleases1 to remove from a disagreeable  

neighbourhood1 and settle  himself in   
one he likes better1 as a very enviable 
happiness4    ,,viii4 ,olaus ,rudbec1 a 
noble ,swede1 who had travelled a great 
deal  through the northern regions1 in a
 book that he wrote1 intitled  ,lapland 
,illustrated1 says1 that the inhabitants
 of it1 are so  convinced of the        
advantages of their situation1 that they
 would not  exchange their own1 for all 
the countries in the world4 ,in fact1   
they  possess some benefits or          
conveniencies in it1 which are not      
imaginary1  but real4 ,that country1    
produces some regaling fruits1 although 
they  are different from ours2 and the  
abundance of game and fish in it1 all   
of them remarkably fine flavoured1 is   
immense4 ,the winters1 which with  us   
are so disagreeably damp and rainy1 are 
there clear and serene2  from whence it 
follows1 that the natives are active1   
healthy1 and  robust4 ,thunder storms   
are scarce ever known in that region1   
nor is  there a venomous snake to be    

found in all the country4 ,they live    
also  exempt from those two great       
scourges of ,heaven1 war and pestilence1
  their climate defending them from both
 these visitations1 it being as         
obnoxious to strangers and the plague1  
as it is healthy to the natives4  ,the  
snow does not incommode them1 for by    
their natural agility1 added  to art and
 contrivance they fly over the tops of  
the snowy heights like  crows4 ,the     
multitude of white bears with which the 
country abounds1  serves them for       
amusement and diversion2 for they are so
 dextrous in  combating these fierce    
animals1 that there is scarce a         
,laplander1 who  does not kill many of  
them in a year1 although it is very     
rare1 that a  ,laplander is ever killed 
by one of them4    ,,ix4 ,we may add1   
that the long nights in those subpolar  
regions1 of  which they give us so      
horrible a representation1 are not so   
dismal as  they are imagined to be4     
,they hardly experience total darkness  

there  above one whole month2 the reason
 is1 because the sun descends below  his
 horizon only twenty-three degrees and a
 half2 and according to the  computation
 of astronomers1 the twilight may be    
perceived at eighteen  degrees of       
depression4 ,neither does the apparent  
absence of the sun  continue for six    
months1 as it is commonly thought1 but  
for five only1  for on account of the   
great refraction of the rays in that    
atmosphere1  you see the sun1 half a    
month before it mounts above the        
horizon1 and  for the same space of time
 after it descends below it4 ,some      
,dutchmen  in a northern voyage they    
made in #aeif1 being in the latitude of 
#gf1  were vastly astonished at seeing  
the sun fifteen or sixteen days before  
they expected to see it4 ,in our        
discourse on mathematical paradoxes1  we
 explained this phnomenon1 and shewed1  
that by attending to1 and  computing all
 things1 those who inhabit near the     
,poles1 enjoy the light  of the sun for 

a greater portion of the year1 than     
those who live in  the temperate and    
torrid zones2 therefore what is said of 
the equal  repartition of light all over
 the world1 although it is generally    
assented to1 is not true4    ,x4 ,we    
much admire1 and live very happily on   
the aliments we commonly  use2 but there
 is no nation1 to which the same thing  
does not  happen4 ,the people of the    
northern regions1 find the flesh of     
bears1  wolves1 and foxes1 very savoury 
and regaling4 ,the ,tartars are fond  of
 horse-flesh2 the ,arabs of the flesh of
 camels2 and the ,africans  and         
,chinese1 of that of dogs2 for they both
 eat and sell them in the  markets as we
 do pig pork4 ,in some regions of       
,africa1 they eat monkies1  crocodiles1 
and serpents2 and ,scaliger says1 that  
in various parts of  the east1 bats are 
esteemed as regaling a dish1 as chickens
 are with us4    ,,xi4 ,the same that   
happens in point of food1 happens with  
respect to  everything else1 for whether

 it proceeds from the force of habit or 
the  proportion of temperament or       
disposition of each nation respectively1
  or that things of the same species1   
have different qualities in  different  
countries1 which make them more or less 
commodious or  agreeable2 every one     
finds himself better satisfied with the 
things of  his own country1 than with   
those of a foreign one1 and he is       
therefore  attached to it1 because he   
feels his own convenience better        
gratified  there1 and his partiality for
 it is not influenced by the supposed   
love  of his country4    ,,xii4 ,the    
inhabitants of the ,marian islands1     
which are so called  from ,dona ,mariana
 of ,austria1 who sent missionaries     
among them for  their conversion1 made  
no use of1 nor had any knowledge of     
fire4  ,who1 however1 would venture to  
assert1 that this element was not       
indispensably necessary to human life1  
or that there was any nation  whatever1 
which could subsist without it8 ,but    

notwithstanding this1  those islanders1 
without fire1 lived contented and happy4
 ,they were  not sensible of the want of
 it1 because they did not know it4      
,roots1  fruit1 and crude fish1 were all
 their aliment2 and still they were more
  healthy and robust than we1 for living
 to a hundred years of age1 was  very   
frequent and common among them4         
,,xiii4 ,the force of custom is         
amazingly powerful1 for it is capable of
  not only making the greatest          
asperities sufferable1 but by peoples   
being familiarized to them1 it also     
causes their being satisfied  under     
them4 ,he who was not well apprized of  
this truth1 would be led  to think what 
passed between ,esteban ,king of        
,poland1 and the ,peasants  of ,livonia1
 incredible4 ,this glorious ,prince     
having observed1 that  these poor people
 were cruelly and very ill-treated by   
the nobles of  the province1 convened   
them together1 and after condoling with 
them  on their misery1 told them1 he    

proposed to make their subjection less  
severe and easier to be tolerated1 by   
restraining the exercise of power  in   
the nobility1 within more mild and      
moderate bounds2 but wonderful to       
relate1 instead of seeming sensible of  
his benevolence1 and embracing  the     
offer he made them1 they threw          
themselves at his feet1 and begged  he  
would not alter their customs1 with     
which1 through long usage1 they  were   
quite satisfied4 ,what will not the     
force of habit conquer1 if it  is       
capable of making tyranny agreeable6    
,join to this1 the circumstance  of the 
,muscovite women1 who are not happy or  
contented1 unless their  husbands1      
without their giving them any occasion  
for it1 beat or cudgel  them every day1 
regarding this unprovoked ill-treatment1
 as a token of  their great love for    
them4    ,,xiv4 ,we may add to the      
foregoing remarks1 that an uniformity of
  language1 religion1 and customs1 makes
 the intercourse with our  countrymen   

grateful and pleasing1 as a diversity in
 those matters1  makes the society of   
strangers aukward and unentertaining4   
,our  particular connections and        
personal friendships also1 tend to      
produce  the same effect2 and generally 
speaking1 the love of convenience1 and  
of that private ease and happiness1     
which every man finds in his own        
country1 is what attracts him to1 and   
retains him in it1 and not the  love of 
the country itself4 ,he who should      
experience better personal              
accommodation in another region1 would  
do as ,st4 ,peter did1 who1 as  soon as 
he found himself happily situated on    
,mount ,tabor1 resolved to  fix his     
lasting abode on that eminence1 and to  
abandon for good and all  the valley in 
which he was born4      ,,sect4 ,,iii4  
,,xv4 ,it is also true1 that not only   
real1 but imaginary conveniences1  have 
their influence1 to promote an adherence
 to our country4  ,entertaining a       
flattering opinion of the country in    

which we were  born1 and preferring it  
to all others in the world1 is one of   
the most  common of all common errors4  
,there is scarce any man1 and among the 
lower class of people not a single one1 
who does not think his own  country the 
first production of nature1 and         
abounding in a three-fold  proportion1  
with all the goods she distributes1     
either with respect to  the genius or   
ability of the natives1 the fertility of
 the soil1 or  the happiness of the     
climate4 ,to understandings of inferior 
rank1 near  objects are represented as  
by the corporeal eye1 which although    
they  are really less1 appear larger    
than things at a distance4 ,in his      
nation  only1 are to be found learned   
and wise men1 those of other kingdoms   
are  hardly civilized2 the customs of   
his country only are rational1 and  the 
language of it is the only soft and     
sufferable one2 the hearing a  stranger 
speak1 as effectually excites them to   
laughter1 as seeing ,jack  ,pudding on a

 stage2 his nation only abounds in      
riches1 and the ,prince  of it is the   
only powerful one4 ,at the end of the   
last century1 when  the arms of ,france 
were so prevalent1 a junto of people at 
,salamanca  being talking on this       
subject1 a low ,portugueze who was among
 them1  with an air of great sagacity   
and importance1 made the following      
political remark3 ,there is certainly   
now no ,prince in ,europe capable  of   
resisting the ,king of ,france1 except  
the ,king of ,portugal4 ,but what       
,michael ,montona1 in his treatise      
intitled ,moral ,reflections1 relates   
of a rustic ,savoyard1 is more          
extravagant still1 who said1 ,i don't   
believe the ,king of ,france has the    
ability he is said to have1 for if  that
 was the case1 he would have negotiated 
with our ,duke long ago1  about making  
him his ,major ,domo4 ,nearly after this
 manner1 do all the  low vulgar         
discourse of the things of their own    
country4    ,,xvi4 ,neither are many of 

those exempted from so gross an error1  
although it is in a less degree1 who by 
their birth or professions1 are  much   
superior to the lower class of people4  
,the number of vulgar who  do not       
associate with the common herd1 but are 
intruded among people  of understanding1
 is infinite4 ,how many men of school   
learning1 whose  heads were stored with 
texts1 have ,i seen filled with the     
caprice1  that our nation is the only   
seat of knowledge and learning1 and that
  in other countries1 they print nothing
 but puerilities and bagatelles1  more  
especially if they write in their own   
native idiom2 nor does it  appear to    
them1 that any thing worth reading1 can 
be published in  ,french or ,italian1   
which is in a manner maintaining1 that  
the most  important truths can't be     
expressed or explained in other         
languages1  although it is certain1 the 
,apostles expounded the most essential  
and  sublime ones in all tongues4 ,but  
strangers are sufficiently revenged  on 

us for this conceitedness1 for in return
 for our considering  them as people of 
little learning1 they look upon us as   
illiberal  and barbarous4 ,thus in all  
countries1 you will find this piece of  
bad road to travel through1 which is    
worn in holes and made rough1  by the   
hacknied passage of carriages1 loaded   
with the high notions  and opinions the 
natives have of themselves1 and the low 
ones they  entertain of strangers4      
,,sect4 ,,iv4    ,,xvii4 ,the worst is1 
that those who do not think with the    
vulgar1 talk  like the vulgar4 ,this    
proceeds1 from what we call national    
passion  or prejudice1 the legitimate   
child of vanity1 and emulation4 ,vanity 
teaches us1 that we are interested in   
our nation being esteemed  superior to  
all others1 because every individual    
looks upon himself  as a partaker in the
 pre-eminence2 and emulation causes us  
to view  strangers1 especially those who
 are nearest us1 with a jealous eye1 and
  also inclines us to wish their        

abasement for our own security4 ,from   
both these motives1 people attribute to 
their own country1 a thousand  feigned  
excellencies1 although at the time they 
mention them1 they know  they are       
fictitious4    ,,xviii4 ,this abuse1 has
 filled the world with lyes1 and has    
corrupted  the faith of almost all      
histories4 ,when the glory of his own   
nation  influences him1 you will hardly 
find an historian competently  sincere4 
,plutarch was one of the most impartial 
writers of antiquity2  notwithstanding  
which1 the love of his country1 in      
matters that  related to it1 made him   
deviate not a little from his candour2  
for1  as the illustrious ,cano remarks1 
he aggrandizes the events and things    
appertaining to ,greece1 beyond their   
just proportion4 ,and ,john ,bodin      
observes1 that upon examining his lives1
 you will find1 although his            
comparisons between ,greek heroes and   
,greek heroes1 and between ,roman  and  
,roman ones1 were rightly and fairly    

made2 that when he came to draw  the    
parallel between ,greeks and ,romans1 he
 warped in favour of his own            
countrymen4    ,,xix4 ,i have always    
admired ,titus ,livius1 not only for his
 eminent  discretion1 method1 and       
judgment1 but also for his veracity4 ,he
  does not conceal or dissemble the     
failings of the ,romans1 when in  the   
course of his history they come in the  
way of his pen2 but on  the contrary he 
lays them open and exposes them2 and    
what is more1  at the hazard of         
offending ,augustus1 he highly extolled 
,pompey1 and  blazoned his character as 
preferrable to ,csar's1 which in those  
times  amounted to the same thing1 as   
declaring himself a zealous republican4 
,notwithstanding this1 ,i observe a     
fault in this prince of historians1     
which if it did not proceed from want of
 his adverting to1 or being  aware of   
it1 we must confess to be the effect of 
his passion for the  marvellous4 ,in the
 two first ages of their republic1 he   

gives an  account of as many battles    
gained1 and as many cities taken by the 
,romans1 as would be sufficient to      
compleat the conquest of a vast  empire2
 but at the end of this time1 we see    
that republic confined  within such     
narrow bounds1 that few less states are 
at this day to be  found in all ,italy1 
which is a proof that the antecedent    
victories1  were not so many nor so     
great in the original1 as they are      
represented  to be in the copy4    ,,xx4
 ,there is scarce one of the modern     
historians ,i have read1 in whom ,i     
have not observed the same              
inconsistency4 ,if they relate the      
events of  a long war1 they paint them  
so favourably to their own side1 that   
the  reader from those premises1 is     
induced to promise himself1 that it will
  end in an advantageous peace1 in which
 his nation will give the law  to the   
enemy2 but as the premises are false1   
the conclusion does not  follow1 and in 
the end1 he finds things turn out quite 

contrary to what  he expected4    ,,xxi4
 ,i am not insensible1 that during a    
war1 such sort of lies may be           
politically necessary2 therefore in all 
countries1 they print ,gazettes  with   
privilege2 ,i don't say of lying1 but of
 colouring events1 so that  they should 
not dishearten1 but seem encouraging to 
the people2 and in  their description of
 things1 they imitate the artifice of   
,apelles1 who  painted ,antigonus in    
profile1 to conceal his being blind of  
one eye2 ,i  mean1 that they display the
 favourable side of events1 and cover   
the  adverse one by a deception4 ,i say1
 that policy requires this should be    
done in ,gazettes1 to prevent the       
subjects being dismayed by the adverse  
strokes of fortune2 but in books that   
are written many years after the        
transactions1 what danger is there in   
speaking the truth8    ,,xxii4 ,the case
 is1 that although none could happen to 
the public by  it1 the writer himself   
who should make the attempt1 would be   

exposed  to a great deal4 ,the poor     
historians1 scarce dare to do otherwise 
than  disguise such truths1 as are not  
advantageous to their countrymen4  ,they
 must either flatter their own nation1  
or lay down the pen2 for  if they fail  
to do this1 they will be branded with   
the epithet of  being disaffected to    
their country4 ,i lament most heartily  
the lot of  father ,mariana2 this very  
learned ,jesuit1 over and above         
possessing the  other talents necessary 
for an historian1 was exceedingly       
sincere and  ingenuous2 but this        
illustrious quality1 which aggrandized  
his glory  with found critics1          
diminished it among the vulgar of       
,spain2 they said  he had not a ,spanish
 heart1 and that his affections and his 
pen were  inimical to his country2 and  
as heretofore1 the extreme rigour of    
,septimus ,severus to the ,romans1 was  
attributed to his being of ,african     
extraction by his father's side1 they   
imputed to father ,mariana1 a  certain  

kind of pique against the ,spaniards1   
and assigned as the cause  of it1 ,i    
don't know whether with truth or not1   
his being of ,french  descent on the    
side of his mother4 ,they would have had
 him relate  events1 not as they        
happened1 but in such a way as should   
seem most  pleasing to them2 and by such
 as are fond of adulation1 the man who  
is not a flatterer is regarded as an    
enemy4 ,but the same thing which  made  
this great man ill looked upon in       
,spain1 gained him the highest          
eulogiums from the most eminent         
personages in ,europe3 the following1   
bestowed on him by the great ,cardinal  
,baronius1 is sufficient to  establish  
his honour and his fame3 ,father ,john  
,mariana1 a scrupulous  lover of the    
truth1 an excellent pattern and sectary 
of virtue1 a  worthy professor among the
 society of ,jesus1 and a ,spaniard by  
birth1  but void of all national passion
 or prejudice1 in a learned and elegant 
stile1 wrote a most perfect and faithful

 history of ,spain4 7,baron4 ad  ann4   
,christi #fhh47    ,,xxiii4 ,it is not  
only in ,spain1 that they would have    
their historians  panegyrists1 for the  
same thing happens in other countries4  
,the ,king  of ,england1 sent for the   
famous ,gregory ,leti1 to write the     
history of  that kingdom2 but he having 
protested he would not take pen in hand1
  unless he was allowed to speak the    
truth2 the ,king1 to encourage him  to  
engage in the undertaking1 assured him1 
that he should be permitted  to comply  
with this indispensable obligation1 upon
 which1 he set to  work1 and compiled   
his history from the best authorities1  
and the most  faithful monuments and    
records he could discover2 but the      
natives  having found reason to be      
dissatisfied with many of the facts laid
  open in it1 the ,king repented of the 
permission he had given him1 the  copies
 were all called in by the procurement  
of administration1 and the  historian   
obliged to leave ,england1 but ill      

recompensed for his trouble4    ,,xxiv4 
,we ,spaniards1 complain much of the    
,french authors1 alledging1  that from  
their hatred to us1 they disfigure      
transactions which are  glorious to our 
nation1 and aggrandize in proportion1   
such as are  favourable to their own4   
,this complaint is reciprocal1 and ,i   
believe  well founded on both sides4    
,when there have been frequent wars     
between  two nations1 you will always   
observe1 that from the jealousies and   
animosities these have produced1 the    
wars are constantly kept up in the      
writings of the authors of both         
kingdoms2 for united as in the arrow1   
the feather follows the impetus of the  
steel4    ,,xxv4 ,but as a tribute due  
to truth and justice1 ,i can't avoid    
taking  notice in this place1 of an     
unjust accusation1 which has been       
fulminated by our countrymen against the
 authors of that nation4 ,they  say1    
that in relating the events of that     
kingdom in the reign of  ,francis the   

first1 they are either silent1 or deny  
the imprisonment  of that ,king at the  
battle of ,pavia4 ,this complaint has   
not the least  foundation1 for ,i have  
read accounts of this advantage of our  
arms in  various ,french authors1 and   
even in one of them1 ,i saw celebrated  
the  piquant answer of a ,french lady to
 ,king ,francis1 on the event of his    
imprisonment4 ,the ,king in a satyrical 
manner1 that insinuated ,time had       
robbed her of her charms1 said to her1  
,madam1 how long is it since  you came  
from the land of ,beauty8 ,to which the 
lady readily answered1  ,ever since you 
came from the country of ,pavia4        
,,xxvi4 ,where ,i find the most reason  
for the ,spaniards to be angry  with the
 ,french authors1 is in their denying   
the coming of ,st4 ,james  to ,spain1   
and in their refusing to acknowledge    
that his sacred body  is deposited      
there2 but these pretensions are more   
the offspring of  criticism than        
national jealousy1 and never were       

material objects of  emulation between  
the two nations4 ,it is on the subject  
of the justice  of wars1 and the        
advantages gained in the prosecution of 
them1 that  the pens engage with the    
most acrimony4      ,,sect4 ,v4         
,,xxvii4 ,from this spirit of national  
prejudice1 which prevails in  almost all
 histories1 it happens1 that with       
respect to an infinite  number of facts1
 the things which are past seem as      
uncertain to us1 as  those which are to 
come4 ,i acknowledge1 that the          
historical ,pyrrhonism  of ,campanela   
was extravagant1 who carried his want of
 confidence in  history to such a point1
 as to say1 he doubted whether there    
ever was  an ,emperor in the world named
 ,charles the ,great4 ,but with respect 
to  those events1 which the historians  
of one nation affirm1 and those of      
another deny2 and as there are many such
 events1 it will be prudent  for us to  
suspend our judgment1 till some         
well-informed third person  shall decide

 upon them2 for1 excited either by      
vanity or inclination1  or led by       
condescension1 every one goes on to     
flatter his own nation2  the light of   
truth at the same time1 being concealed 
from the eyes of  the people1 by the    
smoke of the incense of flattery1 and   
the harmony of  adulation1 preventing   
their listening to the voice of reason4 
,,xxviii4 ,i shall not dwell upon those 
authors1 who carried the passion  for   
their country1 to lengths of            
extravagance1 such as ,goropius         
,becanus1 a native of ,brabant1 who very
 deliberately endeavoured to  prove1    
that the ,flemish tongue was the first  
in the world2 and ,olaus  ,rudbec1 a    
,swede1 who1 in a book he wrote on      
purpose1 tried to evince1  that all     
which the antients had said of the      
,fortunate ,islands1 the  garden of the 
,hesperides and ,elysian fields1 alluded
 to ,sweden1  pronouncing at the same   
time1 his own country to be the source  
and  perfection of ,european learning2  

and asserting1 that letters and  the art
 of writing1 did not descend from       
,phnicia to ,greece1 but  from ,phnicia 
to ,sweden2 in the prosecution of which 
undertaking1 he  rummaged out1 and      
expended in waste1 much hidden learning4
    ,,xxix4 ,it may also be proper to   
observe here1 that another opposite     
vicious extreme1 if it is not derived   
from1 arises in consequence of  this    
prejudice4 ,it has been remarked by     
some1 of a modern ,spanish  author1 that
 he has been guilty of unjustly denying 
to ,spain1 the  honour of some glorious 
antiquities1 with a view of being       
applauded as  a sincere man among       
strangers4 ,perhaps this was not his    
motive1 but  that his criticism was     
defective1 for want of being tempered   
with a  due mixture of the indulgent and
 the severe2 and that to avoid the      
imputation of flattery1 he ran into the 
opposite offensive extreme2 for         
,dum vitant stulti vitia1 in contraria  
currunt4      ,,sect4 ,,vi4    ,,xxx4   

,but the national prejudice of which we 
have spoken hitherto1 is1  if we may so 
call it1 an innocent vice compared to   
another1 which by  being more common1 is
 more pernicious4 ,i speak of that      
preposterous  affection1 which is not   
relative to a republic at large1 but    
applies  to a particular district or    
territory which we call our own4 ,i do  
not  deny1 that by the term country1 is 
understood not only the republic  or    
state of which we are members1 and which
 may be called our common  country1 but 
also the province1 diocese1 city or     
district1 where every  one drew his     
first breath1 and which on that account 
may be termed  his particular country2  
but it is certain1 the phrase 8love of  
our  country10 cannot be supposed to be 
confined or apply to our country        
according to this second definition1 but
 according to the first2  for that is   
the sense1 in which it is recommended   
and enforced1 by  examples1 persuasions1
 and apophthegms1 of historians1        

orators1 and  philosophers4 ,the country
 to which we should sacrifice our lives 
in  heroic arms1 and which we ought to  
esteem superior to all our private      
interests1 and as the creditor of all   
our possible obsequies and  services1 is
 that body of state1 under which we are 
united in one  civil government1 and    
protected by1 and bound to the          
observance of the  same laws4 ,thus     
,spain is the proper object of the love 
of a ,spaniard1  ,france of a           
,frenchman1 and ,poland of a ,polander4 
,but this should be  understood1 not to 
relate to such people1 who by migrating 
to1 and  settling in other countries1   
make themselves members of other states1
  in which case1 the duty they owe to   
the country where they reside1 and  are 
protected1 ought to prevail over the    
affection they bear to the  country in  
which they were born2 and on this       
distinction1 we shall  in the sequel    
make an important remark4 ,the dividing 
of a kingdom  into provinces or         

districts1 which is done for the        
convenience of  administering justice1  
and conducting other business of        
government1  has a material influence   
over1 and is in a great measure the     
cause of  dividing men's hearts4        
,,xxxi4 ,the particular or limited love 
of one's country1 instead of  being     
useful to a state1 is in many respects  
injurious and hurtful1  because it      
induces a division in the minds of      
those1 who ought to  be reciprocally    
united for the sake of making more firm 
and stable1  the bond of common society2
 and because also this limited love of  
our country1 is an incentive to civil   
wars1 and revolts against the  sovereign
 power2 for always when a particular    
province or district  fancies itself    
aggrieved1 all the individuals of it    
think the  redressing the grievances of 
their injured country1 an obligation    
superior to all others2 and finally1    
this confined principle1 is an  obstacle
 to the right administration of justice 

among all classes of  people1 and in    
every judicial and ministerial          
department4    ,,xxxii4 ,this last      
inconvenience is so common and apparent1
 as to be  hidden from no man2 and what 
is worse1 no one endeavours to hide it4 
,this pestilence of partiality to       
countrymen is1 to the perversion and    
corruption of good regulation1          
introduced and cherished in the most    
bare-faced manner1 into those           
departments which are vested with the   
power of distributing honourable and    
useful employments4 ,what sanctuary  has
 been able to protect or preserve us1   
from the violencies of this  declared   
enemy of reason and equity8 ,how many   
hearts1 inaccessible to  the temptations
 of gold1 insensible to the allurements 
of ambition1  intrepid1 and proof       
against the threats of power1 have      
suffered  themselves to be miserably    
deluded and perverted1 by national      
passion8  ,now-a-days1 if a man is a    
candidate for an office or employment1  

he  always reckons upon as many         
protectors as he has countrymen1 who    
have  any concern or interest in the    
disposal of it4 ,his pretensions being  
unreasonable1 to a man swayed by        
national or provincial prejudice1  are  
no objection1 because the only merit    
with such a one1 is the  candidate's    
being his countryman4 ,we have seen men1
 in other respects  of unimpeachable    
integrity1 who were much infected with  
this malady2  from hence ,i have been   
inclined to conclude1 that this is an   
infernal  machine1 artfully invented by 
the ,devil1 to subdue those souls1 who  
by all other ways are invincible2 but   
alas1 ,achilles1 although in one  little
 part only1 you are vulnerable1 what    
does it avail you1 if ,paris1  in       
shooting the arrow1 has the skill and   
address to hit that little  part8       
,,sect4 ,,vii4    ,,xxxiii4 ,i do not   
condemn that affection for our native   
soil1 which does  not operate to        
prejudice a third person4 ,aristotle's  

employing his  favour with ,alexander1  
to procure the rebuilding the town of   
,stagira  his native country1 ruined by 
the soldiers of ,philip1 always appeared
  to me right and proper2 and ,i condemn
 the indifference of ,crates1 whose     
city had suffered the same misfortune1  
for having1 when ,alexander asked  him  
if he was desirous it should be rebuilt1
 answered1 ,of what use  would the      
rebuilding it be1 if there should come  
another ,alexander to  destroy it       
afresh8 ,how exceedingly and            
ridiculously affected was the  behaviour
 of that philosopher1 who lost to his   
countrymen so signal a  benefit1 for the
 sake of a cold apophthegm8 ,the        
misfortune was1 that  no other opportune
 sentence of a contrary tendency        
occurred to the  philosopher just at    
that time2 for if there had1 he would   
have accepted  the favour offered by    
,alexander4 ,i have observed1 that there
 are no  people more unfit to be        
consulted upon serious and weighty      

points of  business1 than those who     
pride themselves in speaking with grace 
and  elegance2 for they are always apt  
to warp their opinion towards that      
side1 on which a striking expression    
occurs to them1 and provided they       
deliver themselves with air and         
brilliancy1 they do not embarrass       
themselves about a little false         
reasoning4    ,,xxxiv4 ,i say once more1
 that ,i do not condemn any innocent or 
moderate  affection for our native land4
 ,a love extremely soft and tender1 is  
better suited to women1 and more proper 
for children just rising up  in the     
world1 than for men2 and therefore ,i am
 of opinion1 the divine  ,homer         
humanizes ,ulysses to a degree of       
excess1 when he paints him1  amidst all 
the regales of ,pheacia1 panting and    
pining1 to see the smoke  arise on the  
mountains of ,ithaca1 his own country3  
,exoptans oculis surgentem cernere fumum
      ,natalis terr4    ,this tenderness
 in one of the wisest of the ,greeks was

 very puerile2  but with all1 there is  
not much inconvenience in viewing with  
tenderness the smoke of one's country1  
provided the smoke does not  blind the  
eyes of him who looks at it4 ,let him   
view the smoke of his  own country2 but 
alas1 do not let him prefer it to the   
light and  splendour of foreign ones2   
but this is what we see every day4 ,he  
who  by being placed at the head of an  
eminent department1 has the disposal  of
 various employments at his pleasure1   
can scarce find any persons  properly   
qualified for those employments1 but    
people of his own  country4 ,in vain it 
is represented to him1 that these men   
are unfit to  fill the post1 and that   
there are others better qualified4 ,he  
finds the  smoke of his country so      
grateful an aromatick1 that he would    
abandon  for it the most brilliant      
lights of other places4 ,o how strangely
 does  this smoke blind men's eyes6 ,how
 wonderfully does it disorder and       
affect their heads6    ,,xxxv4 ,in      

truth1 some sin in this particular with 
their eyes wide open2  ,i speak of      
those1 who with the view of forming a   
party to support their  authority1      
promote as many of their countrymen as  
they possibly can1  without paying the  
least attention to merit4 ,this is not  
manifesting  their love to their        
country1 but to themselves1 and is      
benefiting their  own soil1 as the earth
 is benefited by the labour of the      
husbandman1  who does not bestow it with
 a view of improving the land1 but of   
advantaging himself4 ,these are open and
 declared enemies of a republic1        
because it being next to impossible1    
that one district can furnish  people   
sufficiently qualified for such a       
variety of employments1  the places are 
filled with unworthy objects2 this1 if  
it is not the  greatest evil that can   
befall a state1 at least ultimately     
disposes  towards producing such an     
evil4    ,,xxxvi4 ,of those1 who        
exercise their passion for their        

countrymen1 from  a belief that they are
 the most deserving1 ,i am at a loss    
what to say1  although the motive of    
their partiality in this matter         
frequently  appears to me a voluntary   
blindness2 and if that is the case1 they
 do  not stand excused4 ,when the excess
 of merit in the person set aside1  is  
so notoriously superior to that of the  
man promoted1 that it is  manifest to   
all the world1 except to him who        
dispensed the preferment1  what doubt   
can there be1 that he shut his eyes to  
avoid seeing it8  or else1 that the     
microscope of his passion magnified to  
his view1  the virtues of the man       
preferred1 and the defects of him       
neglected8  ,there is scarce any man1   
who has not a portion of good and bad in
 his  composition2 a man without fault  
would be a miracle1 and one without  a  
single virtue would be a monster4 ,this 
made ,st4 ,austin say1 that  gigantic   
vice was as rare to be found among us1  
as eminent virtue3  ,sicut magna pietas 

paucorum est1 ita et magna impietas     
nihilominus  paucorum est4 7,serm4 #aj4 
de verbis ,domini47 ,what happens then  
is1 that  passion1 being to chuse       
between persons of unequal merit1       
magnifies  what is good in the bad man1 
and also what is bad in the good one4   
,there is not a more unfaithful balance 
to weigh merit in1 than that  of passion
 and prejudice2 but this is what men    
commonly use for the  purpose4 ,this    
caused ,david to say1 men are false in  
their balances3  ,mendaces filii hominum
 in stateris4 ,job1 to express the      
greatness and  power of ,god1 says1 that
 he is able to give weight to the wind3 
qui  fecit ventis pondus4 ,but ,i am not
 clear in what sense to understand      
this1 because ,i also see1 that the     
powerful of the world in the  balance of
 their passion1 frequently give weight1 
and much weight to  the air4 ,what do   
you see in that person they have just   
raised8 ,nothing  solid1 nothing but air
 and vanity2 but to this air1 the great 

man who  exalted him gave more weight1  
than to the gold of the other person who
  was his competitor for the office4    
,but how was this done8 ,why1 together  
with the air1 he put earth into the     
scale1 ,i mean the earth of the  country
 in which he was born1 and this earth   
weighs very heavy in that  balance4     
,,xxxvii4 ,it happens in the contentions
 about occupying places1 as it  happened
 in the conflict between ,hercules and  
,antus4 ,hercules was much  more valiant
 and powerful than the other1 and threw 
him repeatedly to  the ground2 but the  
falls1 enabled ,antus to renew the      
combat with  redoubled vigour1 because  
by his contact with the earth1 his      
strength  was doubled4 ,the explanation 
of the matter is this3 ,the antients    
under  the veil of fables1 concealed    
physical and moral maxims1 and according
  to the heathen mythology1 which was   
the term they used to signify the       
exposition of those mysterious fictions1
 ,antus was the son of the  ,earth4 ,i  

believe1 to make this fable apply to the
 present question1 we  need say no more1
 than that as things go in the world1   
every country by  its recommendation1   
gives strength to its sons to overcome  
strangers1  although they are people of 
superior abilities and vigour4 ,hercules
  lifted ,antus from the ground1 and    
kept him suspended in the air1 by  which
 means he found no difficulty in        
overcoming him4 ,it were much to  be    
wished1 that upon many occasions1 in    
order to determine the worth of  people1
 they should be examined divested of all
 favour and advantage  they can derive  
from belonging to a particular country1 
for then it  would be much better known 
to whom the preference is due4          
,,sect4 ,,viii4    ,,xxxviii4 ,these men
 of national genius and prejudice1 whose
 spirits are  all flesh and blood1 and  
whose breasts are always in contact with
 the  earth1 like that of a snake1 do in
 a community1 what the old serpent  did 
in paradise1 or as ,luzbel did in       

,heaven1 that is1 introduce into  it1   
seditions1 revolts1 schisms1 and        
battles4 ,no fire assails a civil       
edifice so violently1 as the flame of   
national passion1 for it consumes  the  
very stones of the fabric1 levels merit 
to the ground1 and makes  reason        
tremble1 excites tumults and insults1   
and makes way for the  triumphant entry 
of ambition4 ,those hearts which ought  
to be cordially  united by the bond of  
brotherly love1 that bond being broken  
asunder1  are miserably divided1 and    
breathe nothing but vengeance and       
rancour4  ,they form parties1 inlist    
auxiliaries1 and range their forces2 but
  alas6 in the end both the victors and 
vanquished are unfortunate and  unhappy2
 the last lose the day and their        
patience1 and the first by  their       
conquest lose themselves4    ,,xxxix4   
,in no words of sacred writ1 is a call  
to a generous and virtuous  life painted
 in more lively colours1 than in those  
of the ,psalmist1  ,psalm xliv4 ,mark   

me1 my ,son1 incline your ear1 and      
attend to my words1  you must forget    
your townsmen1 and the house of your    
father4 ,but how  greatly does he       
deviate from the precept contained in   
this admonition1  who so far from       
forgetting his townsmen1 and the house  
of his father1  treasures up in his     
heart and memory1 not only a house or a 
town1 but a  whole province or kingdom4 
,,xl4 ,alexander1 after he had conquered
 ,persia1 caused the ,macedonian        
soldiers to marry ,persian women1 to the
 end1 says ,plutarch1 that  forgetting  
their native land1 they should only     
esteem as their  countrymen1 those who  
were good1 and regard as strangers those
 who were  bad3 ,ut mundum pro patria1  
castra pro arce1 bonos pro cognatis1    
malos  pro peregrinis agnoscerent4      
,,xli4 ,it is an apophthegm1 of many    
learned and wise men among the          
,gentiles1 that to a man of a strong and
 liberal mind1 all the world is  his    
country4 ,he who attaches his heart to  

that corner of the earth in  which he   
was born1 cannot look upon all the world
 as his country1 nor  himself as a      
citizen of it1 and therefore the world  
should despise him1  as a narrow-minded 
and mean-spirited person4    ,,xlii4 ,i 
believe notwithstanding1 that there is  
something figurative  contained in the  
words of the sentences before quoted1   
for mankind  can never be understood to 
be exempted from the love and service   
they  owe to the republic of which they 
are members1 in preference to all  other
 states and kingdoms2 but ,i apprehend  
also1 that this obligation  should not  
be confined to a republic1 because we   
were born within  its limits1 but       
because we are members of its society2  
therefore1 he  who has legally          
transferred his residence from the      
kingdom in which  he was born1 to       
another different one1 where he has     
settled himself1  and taken up his      
abode1 contracts with respect to that   
kingdom1 the  same obligations he owed  

to that in which he was born and nursed1
  and he ought to regard it as the      
country to which he belongs4 ,this  is a
 distinction1 that was not rightly      
understood by many great men  of        
antiquity2 and for this reason1 we see  
in various authors of  note1 some       
actions celebrated as heroic1 which     
ought to have been  condemned as        
infamous4 ,demaratus ,king of ,sparta1  
when he was unjustly  dethroned and     
driven out of his kingdom by his own    
subjects1 was  kindly received and      
protected by the ,persians4 ,he lived   
among them as  a member of the ,persian 
empire1 and owed to that country1       
besides the  obligation of gratitude1   
the duty of a subject2 but mark the     
sequel3  the ,persians meditate a       
military expedition against the         
,lacedemonians2  and ,demaratus1 who is 
let into the secret1 communicates the   
design  to the ,spartans1 in order that 
they might be prepared to defeat the    
enterprize4 ,herodotus1 and many other  

authors1 celebrate this action1  as a   
commendable mark of the glorious and    
heroic love which ,demaratus            
entertained for his country2 but ,i say1
 it was a perfidious1 base1  unworthy1  
and treacherous act2 because in virtue  
of the antecedent  circumstances1 the   
obligation of his loyalty1 together with
 his person1  had been transferred from 
,lacedemonia to ,persia4    ,,xliii4 ,to
 conclude3 ,i assert that if by reason  
of being born in it1  we contract any   
obligation to a particular district or  
place1 that  obligation is inferior to1 
and ought to give place to every other  
christian or political one whatever4    
,surely the difference of being  born in
 this or that country is not so         
material1 that this should  out-weigh   
every other consideration2 therefore we 
ought never to prefer  our countryman   
only because he is our countryman1      
except in those  cases1 where there is a
 perfect equality of all the other      
circumstances4    ,,xliv4 ,in superior  

rulers1 ,i don't even with this         
limitation1 admit of  any partiality1   
with respect to countrymen1 for the     
following reasons3  first1 because      
without being perfectly divested of this
 passion1 it  is hardly possible in one 
instance or another1 to shun the danger 
of  passing from favour to injustice4   
,secondly1 that in whatever manner1     
favour to our countrymen is limited and 
restrained1 we are apt to fall  into an 
acceptation or preferable choice of     
persons1 which by all those  who govern 
ought to be studiously avoided4         
,thirdly1 superior rulers  being truly  
the fathers of their people1 their      
impartial affection for  them should be 
regarded as a consideration so          
incomparably superior  to all others1   
that it ought to stifle and suffocate   
every kind of  motive or inclination to 
preference1 except that1 which is       
derived from  superior merit4 ,it would 
be ridiculous in a father to love one   
child  better than another1 only because

 this was born in his own town or  city1
 and the mother was delivered of the    
other in a different place1  in         
consequence of her being from home on a 
journey4 ,therefore all  those who      
govern1 ought ever to retain in their   
hearts and memories1  the maxim of the  
famous queen of ,carthage1 who being    
informed that  the ,trojans1 in         
consequence of her marrying ,eneas1     
entertained hopes  of receiving superior
 indulgences to the ,tyrians from her1  
declared  her perfect indifference of   
affection for them all as a queen in the
  following words3        ,tros1        
,tyriusque mihi nullo discrimine agetur4
      ,,sect4 ,,ix4    ,,xlv4 ,having   
spoken in this discourse1 of the favour 
that may be shewed  to a countryman in  
preference to a stranger1 in case he is 
a man of  equal merit1 ,i thought it    
would not be improper here1 to take     
notice  of a moral point1 which         
frequently occurs in practice1 and in   
which  ,i have often seen men mistake1  

who in other respects are far from      
absurd4 ,those1 who have annexed to     
their charges the distribution of       
honourable and useful employments1 if   
they have not a perfect knowledge  of   
the competitors for a vacant place1     
commonly avail themselves of  judicial  
or extrajudicial informations touching  
their merits4 ,this is  a case that     
often occurs in the appointment to such 
professorships in  many universities1 as
 are in the disposal of the king1 or his
 supreme  council2 and in these         
instances1 all the doctors of this      
university  of ,oveido give their       
information to the royal council        
promiscuously4  ,it is to be supposed1  
that the person1 who by his own or      
delegated  authority appoints to the    
office1 when two persons of equal merit 
are  proposed to him1 may very          
consistently chuse which he pleases2 but
 with  respect to the equality of merit1
 if he is a stranger to the parties1  he
 must be guided by the informations he  

receives2 and ,i have seen it  very     
common1 when they had no just reason for
 doing it1 for people to  give their    
information in favour of the man they   
liked best1 and ,i have  known them go  
so far1 as not only to recommend him in 
preference to his  competitor1 but to   
represent him as the only person        
qualified to fill  the vacant office4   
,,xlvi4 ,i call this an error1 because  
that in my opinion1 such an  information
 upon the face of it1 is injurious and  
void of all  probability1 which ,i shall
 endeavour to demonstrate1 by exposing  
the malice and indirect proceeding of   
him1 who between two equal  subjects1   
,peter and ,john for example1 gives his 
information in favour  of ,peter1 in    
preference to ,john2 for ,i perceive in 
such behaviour1  not only one1 but three
 serious and distinct offences4 ,and    
first1 he  offends materially in his    
information1 against the virtue of legal
 and  impartial justice1 which requires1
 that he should represent people        

according to the true degree of their   
merits2 but he swerves from this        
principle1 who represents ,peter as     
superior to ,john1 when he is not  so in
 reality4 ,secondly1 he behaves         
unworthily and unjustly to his  ,prince1
 by usurping and preoccupying the right1
 which he has to chuse  between the     
parties4 ,thirdly1 he is guilty of      
injustice to the said  ,john1 who has a 
right to be represented according to the
 true degree of  merit he possesses2 and
 the proposing him as inferior to       
,peter1 when  in truth he is equal to   
him1 is doing him a manifest injury1    
which  besides prejudicing him with     
regard to other contingencies1 renders  
it  impossible in this instance1 for him
 to partake of the king's grace of      
chusing him in preference to his        
competitor ,peter4    ,,xlvii4 ,from    
what has been premised1 it may be       
inferred1 that no  contingent can ever  
happen1 in which an informant or voter  
can  consistently shew favour1 or be    

partial to any man1 either in such  an  
instance as we have just mentioned1 or  
in any other whatever1  judicial or     
extrajudicial2 because as we have shewn1
 competitions  between subjects of equal
 merit do not admit of it1 and if the   
merits  of the competitors are unequal1 
the injustice of such a proceeding  is  
self-evident2 consequently1 to him who  
acts conscientiously1 all               
recommendations or solicitations are    
useless and improper2 for he will  not  
be biassed by friendship1 country1      
gratitude1 school-alliances1  religion1 
college-connections1 or any other       
motives whatever4 ,but  the misfortune  
is1 that in the practice of the world1  
we see but few  examples of such        
disinterested and upright conduct1 even 
in cases where  the merits of candidates
 are unequal2 but on the contrary1      
whenever  an opposition is set on foot1 
the favourers of each candidate1 are    
more occupied in canvassing suffrages1  
than in studying questions1  and more   

busied in examining the connections of  
voters1 than books of  faculty4 ,the    
abuse is carried to such a length1 that 
sometimes a man's  acting with integrity
 is imputed to him as a crime4 ,if a    
voter1 who  is solicited by a man of    
eminence1 answers ingenuously1 and      
excuses  himself from complying with    
what is requested of him2 they say he   
is a rough1 ill-bred1 unpolished man3 if
 he does not yield to the  solicitations
 of a benefactor1 they call him         
ungrateful2 and if he  does not give way
 to the intreaties of a friend1 they    
exclaim that he  is callous to the      
feelings of friendship4 ,finally1 it    
appears to me1  that a more intolerable 
error than this cannot exist1 for ,i    
have seen  men much esteemed by the     
generality of mankind for their worth1  
who  have always prostituted their votes
 to these or some other temporal        
motives2 but in the name of reason1 can 
a man have any friend so great  or so   
good as ,god8 ,is there any benefactor1 

to whom we owe so much  as to him8 ,how 
shall we reconcile this8 ,can he be     
called a grateful1  an honourable1 or a 
good man1 who can be wanting in his duty
 to his  best friend and greatest       
benefactor1 by acting unjustly to oblige
 a  creature1 to whom he owes this or   
that limited respect1 and to whom  also 
it is impossible he should owe any thing
 whatever1 but what he  owes            
principally1 and in the first instance  
to ,god8 ,in vain ,i have  urged these  
arguments in various private            
conversations2 and ,i believe  it is in 
vain also1 that ,i now use them with the
 public at large2 but  if they shall not
 be effectual to amend the abuse1 they  
will at least  serve to disburthen my   
mind1 and give vent to my chagrin4      
,,on      ,,true ,,and ,,false          
,,urbanity4      ,,sect4 ,i4    ,i4 ,the
 signification of the word ,urbanity is 
equivocal1 so that when  you read it in 
different authors who lived in distinct 
times1 you  will find1 the sense they   

understood it in varied exceedingly4    
,it's  immediate derivation is from the 
,latin word ,urbanus1 which springs     
from urbs a city2 but notwithstanding   
this1 it did not imply city in  general2
 for it's meaning at first1 was confined
 in an especial manner  to signify the  
city of ,rome4    ,,ii4 ,the reason of  
this was1 that the word urbanus began to
 be first  made use of1 at the time that
 the ,roman republic was in the zenith  
of  it's prosperity1 and this may be    
evidently inferred1 from ,quintilian's  
saying the word was new in the days of  
,cicero2 ,cicero favorem1 et  urbanum   
nova credit4 ,it was then that the      
generical word urbs began  to be used by
 way of eminence1 to signify the city of
 ,rome1 on account  of it's portentous  
grandeur2 and with the same pace that   
,rome proceeded  to domineer over the   
world1 that sort of culture which the   
,romans  looked upon as an excellence   
peculiar to themselves1 proceeded to    
gain  ground1 and prevail in the city1  

and it was then that the ,romans began  
to make use of the word ,urbanus1 to    
express that compound sort of           
cultivation that people received there1 
which seemed not to be confined  to     
letters and sciences only1 but also to  
comprehend manner and  punctillo also2  
homo urbanus1 sermo urbanus2 and they   
used the word  urbanitas1 to express    
those accomplishments in an abstracted  
sense4    ,,iii4 ,but all authors did   
not give the same extension to the      
cultivation  implied by the word        
urbanitas4 ,cicero1 as we know from his 
book de  claris oratoribus1 restrained  
it to a graceful manner of speaking1    
which was peculiar to the ,romans4      
,,iv4 ,quintilian thinks1 the graceful  
manner of speaking1 which was  peculiar 
to the ,romans1 and which consisted in  
their proper choice of  words1 their    
just application of them1 and the decent
 tone of their  voices1 did not         
comprehend the whole1 but was only a    
part of the  accomplishment that was    

meant to be expressed by the term       
,urbanity2 and  he assigns as another   
part appertaining to it1 a tincture of  
erudition  acquired by frequent         
conversation with learned men2 nam1 et  
urbanitas  dicitur1 qua quidem          
significari sermonem pr se ferentem in  
verbis1 et  sono1 et usu proprium       
quemdam gustum urbis1 et sumptam ex     
conversatione  doctorum tacitam         
eruditionem1 denique cui contraria sit  
rusticitas4    ,v4 ,domitius ,marsus1 an
 author who lived about mid-way between 
the days  of ,cicero and ,quintilian1   
and who wrote a treatise upon ,urbanity1
  which we are indebted to ,quintilian  
for the knowledge of1 strikes  into a   
new track1 and maintains ,urbanity to   
consist in the keenness  and force of a 
short pithy expression1 which delights  
and inclines  the hearer to be affected 
in the manner the speaker could wish2   
and  which is well adapted to excite    
either resistance or assent1 according  
to the circumstances of persons and     

things3 ,urbanitas est virtus  qudam in 
breve dictum coacta1 et apta ad         
delectandos1 movendosque in  omnem      
affectum animos1 maxime idonea ad       
resistendum1 vel lacessendum1  prout    
quque res ac persona desiderant4        
7,quintilian ubi supra47 ,this          
definition is truly confused1 and either
 explains nothing1 or else1  only       
explains a particular idea of the       
author1 distinct from every  thing that 
has hitherto been understood1 respecting
 the meaning of the  word ,urbanity4    
,,vi4 ,the moral philosophers1 who have 
studied and laboured to explain  the    
admirable ethics of ,aristotle1 have    
considered this word as  equivalent to  
the ,greek one ,eutrapelia1 which       
,aristotle made use of  to express that 
virtue1 which influences people to      
observe moderation  in the tone of their
 voice1 and their manner of expressing  
themselves2  as vicious extremes in     
these particulars1 were apt to          
degenerate into  rusticity1 or else1 to 

be attended with scurrility and         
buffoonry2 and  these are the sentiments
 of our cardinal ,aguirre and count     
,manuel  ,thesaurus4    ,,vii4 ,but     
neither the word urbanity1 nor that of  
rusticity1 which is  its opposite1 are  
made use of to express at present1 what 
they were  understood to imply formerly4
 ,they call him now-a-days1 an agreeable
  or well-bred man1 and not a man of    
urbanity1 who speaks in a moderate  and 
pleasing tone of voice1 and who         
expresses himself in decent and         
opportune phrases2 and he who delivers  
himself in an opposite manner1  they do 
not call a rustic1 but a coarse or an   
unpleasant man1 or else  describe him by
 phrases that are equivalent to those4  
,,sect4 ,,ii4    ,,viii4 ,but to come to
 the acceptation that is given to the   
word ,urbanity  in these present times1 
and to the sense in which it seems now  
to be  generally understood in ,spain1  
it signifies the same as ,cortesania2   
but it is also true1 that some give a   

more limited1 and some a more  extensive
 signification to this phrase4 ,there   
are those who understand  cortesane1 or 
courteous1 to mean the same as          
well-bred1 and to express  a man who in 
his commerce with other men1 conducts   
himself with that  decorum and ceremony 
which is prescribed by good education4  
,but amongst  those who define things   
with propriety1 ,i believe a courteous  
man  is understood to mean one1 who1 by 
his natural disposition1 has a          
propensity in all his words and actions1
 to conduct himself with that  temper   
and manner1 that makes his conversation 
and company agreeable  and pleasing to  
the rest of mankind4 ,taken in this     
sense1 the ,spanish  word ,cortesania1  
is equivalent to the ,french one        
,politesse1 to the  ,italian one        
,civilit1 and to the ,latin one         
,comitas4    ,,ix4 ,the derivation of   
the word ,cortesania1 is analogous to   
that of  ,urbanitas2 for as this last   
was taken from the word ,urbs1 which    

according to the custom then in use1 was
 looked upon to be applicable  to the   
city of ,rome1 which was then the       
capital of a very great part  of the    
world1 the term ,urbanity was understood
 to imply1 that sort of  cultivation    
which was then in vogue at ,rome4 ,just 
so ,cortesania1  which in ,spain is     
derived from ,corte1 or court1 where it 
is generally  supposed people behave    
with the greatest politeness is         
understood to  imply that sort of good  
breeding which is generally practised   
there1  and which we express by the term
 ,cortesania4    ,x4 ,understanding then
 the word ,urbanity in this sense1 ,i   
shall define  it in the following       
manner2 that it is a virtue1 or virtuous
 habit1  which directs and leads a man  
both in his words and actions in such  a
 way1 as makes his company and behaviour
 savoury1 grateful1 and  engaging1 to   
the rest of mankind4 ,i shall not       
embarrass myself1 about  whether some   
people think this definition too        

redundant1 and that it  seems to express
 more than the term ,urbanity implies4  
,i adjust the  definition to the        
interpretation ,i myself put upon the   
term1 and to the  sense it is understood
 in1 by those who have treated of the   
subject in  the most approved manner4   
,those who give less extension to the   
word1  may1 if they please1 define the  
thing in another manner4 ,disputes      
about definitions are mere nominal      
questions1 and may not improperly  be   
called playing upon words4 ,every one   
defines a thing1 according to  the      
acceptation he gives to the word that   
expresses it4 ,if all men  were to agree
 in the acceptation of a word1 they     
would scarce ever  differ in the        
definition of the object that is        
expressed by it2 but  the misfortune is1
 that the same word1 excites in         
different people  different ideas with  
respect to the meaning of it1 and hence 
it is1  that we see such a variety of   
definitions4    ,,xi4 ,there is no      

doubt1 but that all the particulars     
which compose a  courteous carriage1    
should lead to the attainment of a      
certain end1 and  should be calculated  
to induce a certain manner in all a     
man's exterior  behaviour1 that should  
be free from any mixture of the         
indecent1 the  offensive1 or the        
tiresome2 but that on the contrary it   
should rather  be combined1 with the    
grateful1 the decent1 and the opportune4
    ,,xii4 ,urbanity1 like all other    
moral virtues1 is placed between two    
vicious extremes2 one of which it is apt
 to run into by exceeding1 and  the     
other by deficiency1 or not doing       
enough4 ,the first is occasioned  by    
that excessive complaisance which       
borders upon meanness2 and the  second1 
by a rigid unsavoury reserve1 which has 
the appearance of  rusticity4           
,,sect4 ,,iii4    ,,xiii4 ,as there is  
no virtue1 whose use is so general and  
common as than  of ,urbanity1 so there  
is no one which is so much counterfeited

 and  falsified by hypocrisy4 ,there are
 men who by seldom finding themselves   
in a situation to exercise some         
particular virtues1 are not very        
anxious about contriving means to       
imitate them by hypocrisy2 but as       
,urbanity is a virtue that all men have 
opportunities of exercising1  it is in  
the power of all men to counterfeit it  
by deceit4 ,in truth1  the hypocrites in
 the line of ,urbanity are innumerable4 
,all the world  super-abound with       
expressions of submission and profound  
respect1  with obsequious offers1 and   
with exaggerated professions of esteem1 
with smiling countenances1 whose essence
 consists in the command they  have of  
their features1 and in expressions of   
their lips1 in which  their hearts have 
not the least share2 but on the         
contrary1 are rather  impressed with    
sentiments1 that are quite opposite to  
those false  appearances1 and mock      
demonstrations4    ,,xiv4 ,what1 then1  
should ,urbanity be implanted in the    

heart8 ,without  doubt it should1 or it 
is at least from thence that it ought to
 derive  its origin4 ,if it was         
otherwise1 how could it be a virtue8    
,reason tells  us1 that there is an     
honest complaisance due from one man to 
another2  and whatever reason dictates  
should be esteemed a virtue4 ,but how   
can a  lying1 deceitful1 and affected   
complaisance be a virtue8 ,it is evident
  it cannot4 ,urbanity then should arise
 from the bottom of the soul4 ,what     
does not do that1 is not ,urbanity1 but 
hypocrisy that counterfeits  it4 ,an    
honest soul1 stands in no need of       
fiction to assist it in the  observance 
of all those attentions which compose   
good-breeding1 because  it is naturally 
inclined to the observance of them1 left
 alone to  itself4 ,by an innate        
propensity1 accompanied by the light of 
reason1  such a one will never1 upon any
 occasion1 be found wanting in the      
respect that is due to his superiors1   
nor in the condescension he  should shew

 to his equals1 nor in the affability he
 should practice  with his inferiors1   
nor in the good-will and gracious       
manner1 with  which he should manifest  
to all men1 both in words and deeds1    
these  laudable dispositions of his     
mind1 and his love of human society4    
,,xv4 ,i am not ignorant1 that ,urbanity
 is commonly understood to consist  in  
our external testification of respect   
and benevolence to those  with whom we  
converse4 ,but if this testification1 is
 not accompanied  with the affections of
 the mind that are expressed by it1 it  
becomes  deceitful1 and cannot possibly 
constitute that sort of urbanity1 which 
consists in a virtuous habit2 for in    
order to constitute such a one1  it     
would be necessary that the             
testification should be sincere1 which  
amounts to the same as saying1 that     
there is essentially included in        
urbanity1 the existence of those        
sentiments1 which are expressed by      
courteous words and actions4            

,,sect4 ,,iv4    ,,xvi4 ,it is certain1 
that courts are the great public schools
 of true  ,urbanity2 but they have mixed
 so much false in those schools in the  
practice of it1 that some have been led 
to think1 it has nearly  obscured the   
true1 of which1 there seems to be scarce
 any thing left  but the mere           
appearance4 ,i believe1 that without    
disparagement to  any other courts we   
ever heard of1 those of antient ,rome1  
and modern  ,paris1 may be esteemed the 
most cultivated and polite that have    
been  known in the world4 ,after        
mentioning this1 let us hear what two   
authors  say who were well versed in the
 practice of them both4 ,the first is   
,juvenal1 who clearly gives us to       
understand1 that he who could not lie   
and flatter should withdraw from court1 
as there were no hopes of his  getting  
any thing by his attendance there--     
,quid ,rom faciam8 ,mentiri nescio2     
librum      ,si malus est1 nequeo       
laudare1 c4    ,,xvii4 ,the second is   

the abbot ,boileau1 a famous preacher at
 ,paris in  the reign of ,louis the     
,fourteenth4 ,this eminent man1 in a    
treatise  he published1 entitled ,choice
 ,thoughts or ,reflexions1 drew such a  
picture of the court of ,versailles1 as 
shews the ,urbanity exercised  there1   
had degenerated not only into           
dissimulation1 but even into  treachery1
 although he admits1 this was not the   
practice of every one  who attended it4 
,these are his words3    ,,xviii4 8,what
 are the manners and behaviour of a     
courtier8 ,why they  consist in         
flattering his enemies while he is      
afraid of their power2  and in          
endeavouring to destroy them whenever he
 finds an opportunity  for doing it2 in 
being civil to1 and making use of his   
friends when he  stands in need of their
 assistance1 and in turning his back    
upon them  when they can be of no       
further service to him2 in seeking out  
powerful  protectors1 whom he fawns on1 
and idolizes exteriorly1 and frequently 

despises in secret4    ,,xix4 8,courtly 
,urbanity1 consists in converting       
dissimulation and  deceit1 into the law 
or rule of a man's actions2 and         
representing all  sorts of people in    
such colours1 as your interest dictates 
to you that  you should paint them2 in  
bearing slights and disappointments with
 a  forced reserve1 and in awaiting with
 a strained appearance of modesty  and  
composure1 the favours of ,fortune4     
,,xx4 8,in a court1 for the most part   
there is no sincerity1 but almost  every
 thing you see there1 is compounded of  
hypocrisy1 deceit1 and  malevolence2 for
 example1 in peoples doing underhand ill
 offices  to each other2 in contriving  
and laying snares that nobody can be    
aware of2 in bearing painful and        
mortifying disgusts with a smiling      
countenance2 and in hiding under an     
apparent shew of modesty1 the  pride of 
,lucifer4 ,it is very common in a court1
 for a man not to be  permitted to love 
whom he likes1 to do what he should1 nor

 to speak  what he thinks4 ,it is       
necessary to keep silence1 in order to  
conceal  your sentiments1 and it is also
 necessary1 to acquire a facility at    
changing them4 ,you must applaud1 abuse1
 love1 abhor1 speak1 and live1  not     
according to your own liking or         
inclination1 but in conformity to  the  
arbitrary will and caprice of other     
people4    ,,xxi4 8,in what do the other
 manners and mode of a man's conducting 
himself consist in a courtier8 ,why in  
dissembling injuries1 and in  revenging 
them2 in flattering his enemies1 and in 
destroying them2 in  promising every    
thing for the sake of obtaining a       
dignity or promotion1  and in performing
 none of these promises after he has got
 it2 in  repaying favours with words1   
services with plausible assurances1 and 
debts with threatenings4 ,at court1 they
 in the same breath implore and         
execrate ,fortune1 applaud and despise  
merit2 and they also disguise the       
truth1 under an ostentatious appearance 

of frankness40    ,,xxii4 ,i believe    
there is a great deal of this sort of   
dissimulation  all over the world2 but  
it is natural to suppose1 there is more 
of  it practised in courts than in other
 places1 for the incitements to  the    
exercise of the before-mentioned vices1 
are generally stronger  there1 than they
 are found to be out of those circles4  
,there is not a  passion nor an         
appetite1 which there a man does not    
seem within reach  of indulging1 and the
 objects which stimulate his desires1   
shine  forth there also in their        
greatest splendor4 ,the ambitious man   
fancies  himself on the point of        
grasping honours1 and the covetous one  
riches4  ,the pretenders are vying with 
each other1 the emulous contending with 
the emulous1 and the envious with the   
envied4 ,there the success of the       
unworthy man1 is staring the neglected  
deserving one in the face1 and  there   
the hands of the unskilful artist fully 
employed1 is exhibiting  a disgusting   

spectacle1 to the able one who has      
nothing to do4 ,and  although a modest  
man who only views this at a great      
distance1 or who  only hears it from    
report1 may reason upon it1 and contain 
himself like  a philosopher1 still1 when
 the mortifying prospect is so near him1
 he  can scarce speak of the thing with 
temper1 nor look upon it without        
falling into a passion4 ,thus it is     
almost morally impossible1 that  the    
hearts of the neglected men should not  
be in a continual state of              
fermentation1 and their feelings in a   
tumultuous agitation1 which is          
attended1 not so much with the          
corruption of the men themselves1 as    
with that of their manners4    ,,xxiii4 
,but notwithstanding all that has been  
alledged1 we ought to  conclude1 that   
the two before-named authors exaggerated
 the evils they  meant to reprehend4    
,there is a great deal of bad in courts1
 but there  is also some good to be     
found in them4 ,the complaints that     

merit is  neglected1 are frequently     
nothing more than sighs1 which express  
the  grief and disappointments of the   
heart from whence they proceed4 ,the    
same man who laments political          
mismanagement1 while he is not permitted
  to go beyond the porch of the         
favourite's house1 when he has once     
gained admittance into it1 begins to    
applaud his conduct1 as he ascends  the 
steps leading to his levee-room2 which  
is a proof that what he  meant by       
mismanagement and a bad conducted       
government1 was such a one  as he got   
nothing under1 and that what he         
understands by a good one1  is such a   
one as is advantageous to him4 ,i have  
at all times heard the  administration  
ill spoken of1 but if we come to enquire
 by whom1 we  shall find it is chiefly  
done1 by importunate candidates for     
places  and employments1 who are unable 
to attain what they never deserved1  and
 by litigious suitors1 who were justly  
disappointed of success in  their       

vexatious attempts1 and who have been   
condemned to pay costs1 for  commencing 
unjust prosecutions2 by delinquents who 
have been legally  mulcted for their    
misdeeds2 by ignorant people who have   
passed for men  of understanding1 and   
who without having studied in any other 
school1  than that of a coffee-house or 
a club-room1 have presumed to give      
positive opinions1 upon the most        
important and difficult political and   
military questions2 and finally1 by weak
 people1 who fancy that a good          
government can effect impossibilities1  
and that they are able to make  all the 
subjects of a state1 happy and          
contented4    ,,xxiv4 ,neither my       
genius1 nor my destiny have allowed me  
to have much  intercourse with ministers
 in high stations2 but ,i have heard    
sincere  judicious men1 who have known  
many of them well1 speak of them1 in    
terms very different from those they    
have been spoken of by the vulgar2  and 
who have expressed a different opinion1 

both of their abilities and  their      
intentions1 from that which has been    
commonly propagated4 ,nor  indeed is it 
credible1 that princes1 who generally   
know men's political  characters better 
than private people1 should make choice 
of men for  their ministers1 who are    
either incapable1 or wickedly disposed4 
,if in case that they should have been  
mistaken in the opinion they            
entertained of them1 and they find upon 
trying them1 that they are not  equal to
 conduct the business they have confided
 to their management1  they may easily  
remove them4 ,thus it is utterly        
improbable to me1 that  a man destitute 
of all merit1 should for any length of  
time1 occupy a  post of great           
importance1 or have the ear of his      
sovereign4    ,,xxv4 ,with respect to   
inferior ministers1 such for example1 as
 the  principal people and magistrates  
in the provinces1 ,i have had a great   
deal of experience1 and protest1 that   
for the most part1 ,i have found  them  

to be the best sort of men to be met    
with in the country4 ,i say  for the    
most part1 for it cannot be denied1 that
 among this class1  there are men to be 
found that are not very upright1 and    
more than a  little addicted to avarice4
 ,and by what ,i find the principal     
directors1  lawyers1 and magistrates in 
the country to be1 ,i judge of those    
about  the court2 and it seems natural  
to me1 that the higher the sphere of    
life is in which people move1 they are  
the more stimulated by motives  of      
honour1 and less likely to descend to1  
or be guilty of mean actions4           
,,sect4 ,v4    ,,xxvi4 ,neither do ,i   
believe above half that is said1 of the 
neglect that  is shewn to merit1 and the
 abandoned situation it finds itself in 
at  court2 for the number of candidates 
for preferment that may be found  there1
 who have no merit at all1 would upon   
enquiry appear to be very  considerable1
 and that among them1 you will meet with
 mischief-makers1  together with crafty1

 deceitful1 and treacherous people1     
whose bad  practices and characters1 it 
is almost beyond the power of language  
to  describe2 who are a sort of imps of 
,satan1 that for the most part serve    
the ,devil without pay2 and are a kind  
of galley slaves upon earth1 who  join  
to that slavery1 being the galley       
boatswains mates1 or drivers  of each   
other1 whose oar1 and whose scourge1 are
 never out of their  hands1 for fear of 
their not being the first to arrive at  
the desired  port1 and to accomplish    
what they had in view4 ,they are a      
species of  idolaters of ,fortune1 who  
sacrifice as victims to that deity1     
their  companions1 their relations1     
their friends1 and their benefactors2   
and  in the end themselves also1 or     
their own souls4 ,what have we not to   
expect1 or what have we not to fear from
 men of this character8    ,,xxvii4 ,i  
have been three times at court1 but     
either from my natural  incuriosity1 or 
because my stay there each time was but 

short1 ,i came  away as ignorant of the 
practices of a court1 as ,i went2 and   
only  took particular notice of one     
circumstance1 which is relative to  the 
subject ,i am now treating of4 ,i saw   
there1 as in other places1  ,urbanity   
degenerate into that fulsome kind of    
ceremony1 which may be  termed cringing 
complaisance4 ,accident furnished me    
with numberless  opportunities of seeing
 such things2 and ,i have frequently    
observed  two people who have usually   
met together in their walks1 and who1 as
  ,i have been informed1 had a tolerable
 indifference for each other1  and even 
looked upon one another with reciprocal 
contempt2 ,i say ,i  have seen these    
people upon their meeting1 strive which 
should excel  in expressions of the     
love1 veneration and respect they bore  
to each  other4 ,there was scarce a word
 came out of their mouths1 which was not
  accompanied with some affected        
gestures4 ,their eyes cast glances of   
tender devotion on each other1 and milk 

and honey flowed from their  lips2 but  
at the same time their affectation was  
so palpable1 that any  man of the least 
discernment1 might have perceived the   
disagreement  there was1 between their  
hearts and their appearances4 ,i laughed
  inwardly at them both1 and ,i believe 
they also in their hearts1 laughed      
mutually at each other4    ,,xxviii4 ,i 
saw once two lawyers accost each other1 
with such extreme  expressions of       
tenderness1 that a ,portuguese might    
have learned from  them1 phrases and    
gestures for feats of gallantry4 ,both  
these people  had places at court1 on   
which account they could not avoid      
seeing each  other pretty frequently2   
and there was no friendship between     
them2  notwithstanding which1 their     
expressions were like those of the most 
cordial friends1 who had met together   
after a long absence4    ,,xxxix4       
,having expressed to some people who    
were used to the court1 how  disgusting 
this appeared to me1 they answered that 

this was behaving  in the court stile2  
but would not any one who hears this1   
conclude the  court was nothing but a   
comic theatre1 where all the world act  
the part  of enamoratos2 although to    
speak the truth1 it was only in spirits 
of  inferior order1 that ,i noted this  
amorous kind of farrago4 ,in those of   
more elevated hearts and minds1 if they 
don't owe the thing to their  own genius
 and disposition1 the education of a    
court produces a better  effect1 and    
exhibits people of a more noble         
behaviour1 and such as is  proper to1   
and expressive of true urbanity4 ,i say 
,i have observed in  such1 affability1  
sweetness1 expressions of benevolence1  
and offers  of kind services2 all which 
were tendered with propriety1 and in a  
decent generous manner1 free from       
affected exaggerations1 but animated  at
 the same time1 and expressed with so   
natural an air1 that the  articulations 
of the tongue1 were indications of the  
emotions of the  mind1 and the feelings 

of the heart4    ,,xxx4 ,cato1 as ,tully
 tells us1 said1 he wondered how two    
augurs whenever  they met1 could refrain
 from laughing at each other2 as they   
both well  knew1 that their whole art   
was a mere imposture4 ,i think the      
saying may  be applied to two fulsomely 
complaisant courtiers2 for ,i do not see
 how  those who have once saluted each  
other in this cringing and affected     
way1 can upon meeting again1 forbear    
laughing in each others faces1 as  they 
both know1 that all the hyperbolical    
professions of their esteem1  affection1
 and readiness to oblige1 mean nothing1 
and that this is all  a mere            
common-place farrago or rhapsody1 quite 
destitute of truth or  reality4         
,,xxxi4 ,i have said1 that in the lesser
 towns ,i have visited1 ,i have  not    
observed so much by a great deal1 of    
this ridiculous parade4 ,it  is true1   
that you will find in them1 some few    
people who walk about  the streets with 
incense in their hands1 to offer up to1 

and idolize  all those1 whom they fancy 
can be of any service to them2 but they 
are looked upon like what they are1 not 
as men of worth1 but as men  of craft1  
whose incense smells savoury in the     
nostrils of none but  fools4 ,this sort 
of behaviour about the court1 frequently
 passes for  good-breeding2 but in these
 other places it is condemned as        
meanness4      ,,sect4 ,,vi4    ,,xxxii4
 ,i am persuaded that solid and         
brilliant urbanity1 has much more  of   
the natural than the acquired in its    
composition4 ,a good1 sound1  and       
unembarrassed mind1 accompanied with    
discretion1 which is gentle  without    
meanness1 and is disposed by genius and 
inclination to conform  to every thing  
that is not contrary to reason1 to which
 dispositions  there is annexed a clear 
understanding1 or native prudence1 which
  dictates to a man how he should speak 
and act1 according to the  different    
circumstances and situations in which he
 finds himself1  will1 without studying 

in any school1 acquit himself well1 and 
appear  agreeable in his commerce with  
mankind4 ,it is true1 that he will be   
deficient in his knowledge of those     
forms1 modes1 and ceremonies1 which     
people study in courts1 and which are   
changed by caprice at every  turn2 but  
in the first place1 natural advantages1 
which always are  intrinsically         
valuable1 and which will ever operate1  
will supply upon  ordinary occasions1   
the want of studied forms2 and secondly1
 a modest  and candid confession1 to    
those you happen to be in company with1 
of  your ignorance of political forms   
and ceremonies1 on account of your      
having been born and bred in the        
provinces where they are not generally  
practised1 will be a sufficient excuse  
for your transgression of  those forms1 
and even your doing this1 will appear   
better in the eyes  of reasonable       
people1 than your observing a strained  
and scrupulous  attention to them4      
,,xxxiii4 ,i have availed myself many   

times of this resource at court2  where 
,i have made no scruple to declare1 that
 ,i was born and bred in  a small       
country town2 and that ,i early entered 
myself a member of a  religious order1  
whose principal care it was1 to seclude 
its sons1  and especially in their      
youth1 from all commerce with the world4
 ,that  my genius naturally disposed me 
to abhor bustle1 and avoid great        
concourses of people2 and excepting     
three years that ,i was a student  at   
,salamanca1 which may not improperly be 
termed three years of  solitude1 on     
account of the heads of our college not 
permitting their  young members to have 
the least intercourse with secular      
people2 ,i say  excepting these three   
years1 ,i have lived all the rest of my 
life1 in  ,galicia and ,asturias1 which 
are provinces at a great distance from  
court2 and besides all this1 ,i have a  
natural dislike to studying  ceremonies2
 but ,i am aware however1 that not only 
the substance1 but  the forms of them   

also1 are necessary to political        
society2 although ,i  do not consider   
that as an important form1 which        
consists of rules that  are established 
to-day1 and changed to-morrow1 just as  
whim and caprice  dictate2 some of which
 forms1 or modes1 prevail in one        
country1 and  are different in another2 
but ,i mean to speak of those forms or  
modes  only1 which reason dictates      
should be observed in all times1 and in 
all  places4 ,from the before-named     
declaration1 it may be easily conceived 
how little ,i understand of courtly     
ceremonies2 notwithstanding which1  with
 the assistance of the above frank      
confession1 ,i never found  myself the  
least embarrassed1 and ,i perceived1    
nothing ,i said or did  appeared        
disagreeable to those ,i conversed with1
 but that rather on the  contrary1 my   
natural behaviour seemed pleasing to    
them4    ,,xxxiv4 ,men of sublime       
spirits and elevated understanding1     
possess a  natural privilege to dispense

 with formalities whenever they think   
proper2 just as musicians of great      
genius are allowed upon many  occasions1
 to depart from the common rules of     
their art2 their doing  which1 hardly   
ever renders the music ungrateful to the
 ear2 so men  who are endowed with great
 talents1 and display a manifest        
superiority  in conversation1 may       
dispense with the ordinary and common   
methods of  speaking1 without ever      
offending the ears of their auditors4   
,natural  advantages shine forth with a 
greater lustre1 and are more solid1 and 
more pleasing than borrowed             
acquisitions4 ,thus the world are well  
satisfied1 to accept the first in the   
room of the last1 and look upon         
themselves as over-paid for the loss of 
the one1 by the introduction of  the    
other in its stead4    ,,xxxv4 ,i was   
even about to say1 that the             
establishment of ceremonies  of         
urbanity1 was only calculated for people
 of middling or inferior  geniuses1 and 

was meant as a succedaneum for a        
discretion so superior  to that which   
the others we have mentioned possess1 as
 to be capable  of dictating of itself1 
the rule of deportment one man should   
observe  to another4 ,i believe it      
happens in this1 with very little       
difference1  the same that it happens in
 all material movements4 ,there are men1
 who  naturally and without any         
teaching1 have a grace and air in all   
their  actions1 in the motions of their 
hands1 and their feet1 in the bending   
their bodies1 and inclining their heads1
 in the casting downwards and  lifting  
up their eyes1 and in whom in every     
motion and gesture1 all is  done with   
such a native grace1 that it enamours   
those who behold them2  and is that sort
 of excellence1 which is described by   
,tibullus to have  been possessed by    
,sulpicia3        ,illam quid quid agit1
 quoquo vestigia flectit1               
,componit furtim1 subsequiturque decor4 
,i should consider it as very useless   

and unnecessary1 to prescribe  rules for
 the carriage and actions of such sort  
of people4 ,let precepts  be kept for   
the use of those who are naturally      
aukward1 and let them be  tried to see  
whether by art1 they can mend this      
defect of nature4    ,,xxxvi4 ,it is    
only with respect to two sorts of       
people1 that no body is  allowed to be  
exempt from observing ceremony1 and they
 are princes and  women4 ,the first1    
from time immemorial1 have instituted   
ceremonies as  essential appendages to  
majesty4 ,the second1 from education and
 habit1  have been taught1 and          
accustomed to regard as the substance1  
what in  reality is an accidental or    
visionary entity1 and even to prefer    
this  visionary or accidental entity1 to
 the substance itself4 ,thus they are   
apt to disesteem the most discreet and  
agreeable man in the world1 and  to give
 the preference to one of much inferior 
talents1 because he is  well instructed 
in fashionable formalities1 and is a    

strict observer of  them4 ,i except from
 this number1 the women of superior     
abilities1 who  know as well as any     
body1 how to distinguish1 and do justice
 to true  merit4      ,,sect4 ,,vii4    
,,xxxvii4 ,whether this native grace is 
an integrant part of1 or an  ornament to
 that urbanity1 which seasons and adorns
 men's words and  actions1 it is        
certain1 that study and art can never   
supply the defect  of it4    ,,xxxviii4 
,this is that sort of perfection1 which 
,plutarch extols in  ,agesilaus1 and by 
the help of which1 he observes1 that    
although he was  but a little man1 and  
his figure rather contemptible1 he in   
his old  age1 appeared more amiable and 
engaging1 than any of the handsome young
  fellows4 ,dicitur autem pusillus      
fuisse1 et specie aspernanda2 cterum    
hilaritas ejus omnibus horis1 et        
urbanitas aliena ab omni1 vel vocis1    
vel vultus morositate1 et acerbitate1   
amabiliorem eum ad senectutem  usque    
prbuit omnibus formosis4    ,,xxxix4    

,this is that species of seasoning of   
which ,quintilian speaks1  when he says1
 that it makes the same sentence seem to
 come better from  the mouth of one man 
than another3 ,inest proprius quibusdam 
decor  in habitu1 atque vultu1 ut eadem 
illa minus1 dicente alio1 videantur     
urbana esse4    ,,xl4 ,this is that kind
 of ornament1 which ,cicero called the  
colour1  or blazon of urbanity1 and     
instances ,brutus1 as one who was tinged
  with it in great perfection1 but when 
he came to explain or describe  this    
blazon1 he defined it to have consisted 
of a mysterious je ne  scai quoi4 ,these
 are his words1 taken from his dialogue 
,de claris  ,oratoribus3 et ,brutus1    
quis est1 inquit1 tandem urbanitatis    
color8  ,nescio1 inquam1 tantum esse    
quendam scio4 ,which last expression1 ,i
 am  obliged to decipher by the sentence
 ,je ne scai quoi1 as ,i can find  no   
other that is equivalent to it4 ,this   
native grace1 or if you please  to call 
it by the figurative name ,cicero has   

expressed it by1 this  colouring of     
urbanity1 is composed of many           
particulars4 ,for example1  the neatness
 of the articulation1 the good tone1 and
 the harmonious  flexibility of the     
voice1 the graceful attitude of the     
body1 the well  regulated movements of  
the action1 the amiable modesty of the  
carriage  or manner1 and the striking or
 lively expression of the eyes1 are the 
parts1 which constitute the whole of    
this grace4    ,,xli4 ,it is easy to    
perceive1 that all the before-mentioned 
are gifts  of nature2 which can never be
 acquired by study1 or supplied by      
instruction4 ,many people have hoped to 
succeed1 by attempting to  imitate      
those1 in whom these natural gifts are  
resplendent1 or to  speak more properly1
 are a part of their nature2 but the    
very means  they employ to give         
themselves a pleasing and agreeable air1
 cause  them to appear ridiculous4 ,that
 which is a grace in the original1 has  
often an apish look in the copy4 ,the   

imitation of natural endowments1  seldom
 amounts to more1 than a contemptible   
mock semblance of them4  ,the           
affectation in these attempts is glaring
 and palpable1 and all  affectation is  
surfeiting4    ,,xlii4 ,i shall only    
state two limitations1 or exceptions1 to
 the  possibility of acquiring those    
parts of gracefulness1 which consist  in
 the position of the body1 and the      
motion of its members2 and shall  admit 
in the first place1 that these may in   
some measure be acquired by  imitation2 
but when8 why when people do not think  
of acquiring them1  and are not sensible
 that they do acquire them2 that is in  
their infant  state4 ,it is then that   
nature is so pliant and flexible1 that  
like soft  wax1 it may be easily molded 
to any shape1 and made to receive any   
impression2 and hence it is1 that we    
frequently see children in their        
ordinary actions and motions1 greatly   
resemble their parents4    ,,xliii4 ,in 
,galicia where ,i was born1 there are   

many people who  understand ,spanish    
perfectly well1 who speak it in a       
drawling sort of  a way1 and by leaving 
out now and then a letter1 are apt to   
lose the  exact and proper              
pronunciation4 ,many have attributed    
this defect1 to  the imperfect          
organization of the tongues of the      
people of ,galicia1  produced by the    
influence of the climate2 but it is no  
such thing1 for  this vicious           
pronunciation1 is derived from the bad  
habit of speaking  they contract in     
their infancy2 and it is evident that it
 proceeds  from thence1 because many    
,galician children who have been carried
  from home when they were very young1  
and have been afterwards brought  up and
 educated at ,castile1 some of whom ,i  
have seen1 pronounce the  ,castilian    
language with as much clearness and     
readiness1 as the natives  of that      
province themselves4 ,it is not many    
years ago1 that there was  a celebrated 
actress1 who was born in a small village

 in ,galicia1 and  who was carried to   
court by her uncle at four years old1   
and was there  trained up to the stage1 
and who was greatly admired for her neat
 and  ready pronunciation4    ,,xliv4   
,the second limitation and exception ,i 
admit to the position  ,i have advanced1
 is1 that both a vicious pronunciation1 
and an  aukwardness of motion and       
manner1 may be greatly corrected and    
amended1  even after people are grown to
 a state of maturity1 and especially    
when these defects proceed from bad     
habits contracted in their youth4  ,but 
in order to accomplish this1 there is   
need of great perseverance  and         
application4 ,even an inveterate bad    
habit1 may be torn up by the  roots by  
applying vast force and exertion to     
eradicate it2 but when the  fibres of   
the root1 are inserted into the         
profundities of nature1 all  endeavours 
are vain4      ,,sect4 ,,viii4    ,,xlv4
 ,although ,urbanity1 with respect to   
the most brilliant and  beautiful parts 

of it1 which we describe by the term    
gracefulness1 as  we have before        
observed1 depends very little upon study
 or instruction1  still in all its      
substantial and essential parts1 it     
admits of precepts  and rules2 so that  
any man who has been taught1 or has made
 himself  acquainted with them1 may     
perfectly understand in what this       
appearance  of ,urbanity consists4      
,,xlvi4 ,people very frequently1 and in 
many ways offend against the laws  of   
,urbanity2 and ,i have seen those1 who  
have had a reasonable good  education1  
who have notwithstanding that1 been     
frequently guilty of  offending against 
the rules of good-breeding4 ,all those  
imperfections1  are the very reverse of 
,urbanity1 which tend to make people    
disagreeable in their conversation1 and 
when in company with other men          
troublesome or disgusting in their      
behaviour2 and this explanation1  suits 
well with the definition we at first    
gave of ,urbanity4 ,but which  are these

 imperfections8 ,to this ,i shall       
answer1 that they are many1  and that ,i
 will proceed to point some of the most 
striking ones out1  which ,i apprehend  
will be the most instructive part of    
this essay1 as  enumerating the most    
glaring imperfections that tend to make 
people  disagreeable and troublesome in 
conversation1 will have the same        
effect1 as prescribing rules that should
 be observed1 to render their  company  
pleasing and desirable to society4 ,as  
,i proceed1 the reader  may accompany   
me1 and examine his political conscience
 as we go on1 in  order to discover     
whether any of the faults or failings ,i
 point out1  are applicable to himself4 
,,sect4 ,,ix4    ,loquacity4    ,,xlvii4
 ,i consider talkative people as a sort 
of tyrants of  conversation2 for        
according to my opinion1 who admit of a 
limited  species of reason in brutes1   
talking is a faculty more peculiar to   
man  than reasoning2 and engrossing all 
the conversation to a man's self is  a  

most arbitrary proceeding4 ,he who is   
always desirous of being heard1  and is 
impatient of attending to any one else1 
usurps a privilege  to himself1 which   
should be enjoyed in general by all     
mankind1 as a  prerogative proper to    
their being4 ,but what fruit can be     
gathered  from his torrent of words8    
,none1 except the tiring and disgusting 
his  hearers may be called a fruit1 who 
after they are rid of him1 make  amends 
for the silence he had imposed on them1 
by speaking of him with  derision and   
contempt4 ,no time is worse employed1   
than that which is  consumed in hearing 
talkative people2 who are generally men 
without  discretion or reflection1 for  
if they had any1 they would be more     
reserved and keep within reasonable     
bounds1 in order to avoid making        
themselves contemptible2 and if they    
want reflection1 they must want         
judgement also1 and how can he who wants
 judgement talk with propriety8  ,or    
what benefit can result to those who    

listen to an extravagant  prating man1  
except that of his affording them an    
opportunity for the  meritorious        
exercise of their patience8 ,thus what  
,theocritus said of  the verbose fluency
 of ,anaximenes1 may be applied to all  
talkative  people2 that he considered   
them as a luxuriant river of words1 in  
the whole stock of whose waters1 you    
could not find one drop of              
understanding3 ,verborum flumen1 mentis 
gutta4    ,,xlviii4 ,what flows from    
such tongues1 may be compared to        
vomitings  of the soul2 or to the sickly
 discharges from an unsound mind1 which 
throws up before it has digested them1  
all the mental species or  aliment it   
has received4 ,they would have that pass
 for a faculty or  power of explaining  
themselves1 which in reality is nothing 
more than  the want of a retentive      
faculty1 or the power of keeping down   
what is  in them4 ,i would describe this
 malady1 by calling it a relaxation of  
the rational faculty2 whereas others    

might be apt to say1 that is not  the   
case1 for the species are thrown up1 for
 want of space to contain  them in the  
part destined for their reception4      
,,xlix4 ,let no man plume himself too   
much1 upon his being well attended  to  
or applauded when he first begins to    
speak in public2 for this may  be a     
favourable tempting breeze1 that may    
encourage him to loose the  sails of    
loquacity2 but although it may be a     
favourable and a tempting  one1 it may  
be a breeze of but short duration4      
,conversation is the food  of the soul1 
but the cravings of the soul1 are as    
various1 as delicate1  and as capricious
 as those of the body4 ,the most noble  
diet persisted  in for too long a time1 
becomes satiating1 and loathsome4 ,thus 
the  oratory of him1 who for a certain  
space shall be listened to with         
pleasure by his hearers1 may become     
tiresome to them after a while1  and    
they would not attend to what he said1  
if he persisted in talking  too long4   

,the planets a man should consult the   
aspect of1 to know  when he should enter
 deep1 or go but a little way into the  
gulph of  conversation1 are the eyes of 
his auditors2 their pleasing serenity1  
or  lowering appearances1 should be the 
signs1 that should either encourage  him
 to spread all the sails of rhetoric and
 make great way2 or else  should warn   
him of the hazard and risque of         
proceeding any further1 and  that for   
the present it would be most prudent for
 him to lay-by1 and  wait a more safe   
and favourable opportunity to pursue his
 course4    ,l4 ,but even these         
appearances may be fallacious and       
deceiving1 and more  especially to      
persons of high rank and authority2 for 
the dependants  of such1 not only       
flatter them with their tongues1 but    
with their  eyes also4 ,why should ,i   
confine their adulation to the          
expressions of  their tongues and their 
eyes1 when they convert their whole     
bodies1  and every limb and member of   

them1 to instruments of delusion and    
flattery8 for with certain fawning      
movements1 and certain mysterious       
gestures of complaisance and admiration1
 they attend to and applaud all  that is
 said or done by a man in power1 on whom
 they are in any shape  depending4 ,he  
at the same time1 big with his own      
cleverness1 and his  chops watering with
 approbation of himself1 with the drivel
 running out  at both corners of his    
mouth1 vents his oratory1 and talks     
whatever  comes uppermost1 be it good or
 bad1 in a full persuasion1 that the    
words of ,apollo of ,delphos were never 
listened to with more attention1  or    
more respect4 ,but1 unhappy man1 how do 
you deceive yourself6 for you  tire     
every body1 and you disgust every body2 
and1 the worst is1 that  those who had  
been just listening to you with such    
seeming applause1 as  soon as your back 
is turned1 to relieve themselves from   
the pain the  forced tribute of their   
adulation to you gave them1 vent        

themselves in  repeated bursts of       
laughter and derision at your folly4    
,great people  may believe what ,i say1 
and be convinced that this is the way of
 the  world2 and they may also believe  
me when ,i tell them1 that power in the 
hands of a weak man1 only tends to make 
him appear more ridiculous2  and that in
 the hands of a discreet one1 if he is  
not extremely so1 it  tends in a great  
measure to cast a blemish on his        
understanding4      ,,sect4 ,x4         
,lying4    ,,li4 ,what can be more      
obnoxious to urbanity than lying8 ,what 
man of  understanding is there whom it  
does not offend8 ,or to whom is it not  
disgusting8 and how can deceit cease to 
be injurious8 ,all the utility1  all the
 delight that can be obtained by        
conversation1 is destroyed by a  lie4   
,if he1 with whom ,i converse1 tells me 
lies1 of what service will  the         
information ,i receive from him be to   
me8 for if ,i do not believe  him1 all  
he says will only tend to irritate me2  

and if ,i do1 to fill me  with errors4  
,if ,i am not assured he tells me truth1
 what satisfaction  can ,i have in      
attending to him8 ,for his conversation1
 so far from  affording me entertainment
 or instruction1 will set my mind on the
  rack1 and cause me to waver1 and      
continue in a painful state of doubt1   
and also perplex me1 to find out reasons
 for believing or disbelieving  what he 
has told me4    ,,lii4 ,conversation is 
a species of traffic1 in which mankind  
exchange  informations and ideas with   
each other2 and what better name can we 
give to him1 than that of a cheat and a 
deceiver1 who in this commerce1  passes 
false informations and ideas for true   
ones2 and ought we not  also to treat   
him as a prevaricator1 who is unworthy  
of being admitted  into human society8  
,,liii4 ,i have always been amazed at1  
and have always condemned1 the          
indulgence and toleration that lying    
people find in the world4 ,i have       
already exclaimed against this practice 

in my ,essay on the ,impurity  of       
,lying1 and must beg leave to refer the 
reader thither for a more  full         
discussion of the point2 but it has     
occurred to me since ,i wrote  that     
,essay1 that it is probable1 this       
toleration may have arisen  from the    
great extension of the vice of lying2   
and that the number  of those who find  
themselves interested in this           
indulgence1 is much  greater1 than that 
of those who find themselves injured by 
it2 and that  perhaps they tolerate     
lying in one another1 because the       
toleration is  necessary and useful to  
both parties4 ,if the sincere part of   
the world  consists of but few people1  
they cannot1 without being guilty of    
great  rashness1 attempt to wage war    
against the many2 but they at least may 
remonstrate1 and with temper complain of
 the disgust they receive1  from the    
indulgence that is shewn to lying4 ,i   
ingenuously confess for  myself1 that ,i
 look upon him as a man of but little   

sincerity1 who  hears a lie with much   
seeming composure1 and without          
expressing any  signs of his dislike of 
it2 although ,i must confess at the time
 ,i say  this1 that a frank             
manifestation of our dislike of the     
practice1 cannot  so easily be shewn1   
unless it is to our equals or our       
inferiors4    ,,liv4 ,there is a species
 of lie1 that passes in the world for   
humour  and pleasantry1 which ,i would  
punish as a crime4 ,whenever there      
happens to be a person in company who is
 noted for being an exceeding  credulous
 man1 it frequently happens1 that some  
one or other tells a  very incredible   
story1 for the sake of exposing the easy
 faith of such  a person1 and of        
shewing1 how apt he is to swallow       
absurdities and  improbabilities for    
truth4 ,this is received as a piece of  
wit1 and all  the by-standers laugh and 
applaud the ingenuity and invention of  
him  who told the lie1 and they all     
regale themselves at the expence of the 

innocent credulous person4 ,but ,i      
consider this as an abuse2 for does  the
 simple and easy credulity of any person
 give others a right to  insult him8    
admitting that his excessive credulity  
proceeds from the  scantiness of his    
understanding2 are we peradventure only 
obliged to  be civil to1 and treat with 
urbanity1 the discreet and the acute8   
,if  ,god has blessed you with more     
talents than another man1 would it not  
be  an insolent abuse of them1 if you   
made that person an object of your      
scorn1 and played upon him1 and treated 
him with the same derision and  contempt
 that you would treat a monkey8 ,would  
this be using him like  your neighbour8 
,or would it be applying your talents to
 the end and  purpose1 for which ,god   
was pleased to endow you with them8     
,,lv4 ,but the truth is1 that excessive 
credulity proceeds more from  goodness  
of heart1 than from want of discretion4 
,i have seen men who  were very simple1 
and at the same time very penetrating4  

,the same  rectitude of heart1 which    
excites a man of simplicity of manners  
to  conduct himself without deceit1     
inclines him to think1 that other       
people conduct themselves upon the same 
principle4 ,it often happens1  that a   
lie is believed by one person because he
 is an ingenuous man2  and discredited  
by another1 because he is a simpleton4  
,the case is1  that the first1 excited  
by the goodness of his disposition1 sets
  himself about finding out grounds of  
probability for what he has  heard1 and 
by his penetration discovers such4 ,the 
other1 who is only  influenced by the   
dictates of his malice1 never seeks     
after any such  thing2 and although he  
should seek after it1 his stupidity     
would not  permit him to discover it4   
,,lvi4 ,i don't know whether the story  
that is commonly told of ,st4 ,thomas   
,aquinas1 which is1 that he was made to 
believe there was an ox that  could fly1
 be true or not1 as likewise what was   
said about his going  out very anxious  

to see the spectacle2 but this ,i know1 
that the rebuke  which was couched in   
the answer he gave to those who         
attempted to put  that affront on his   
credulity1 is well worthy of a ,st4     
,thomas2 ,i say  worthy of that great   
repository of excellent virtues1 both   
moral and  intellectual1 and worthy also
 the generosity of heart1 and exalted   
prudence1 of that sublime genius4 ,the  
answer was as follows3 ,i could  more   
easily be made to believe that there was
 an ox which could fly1  than ,i could  
be made to believe1 that mankind were   
capable of giving a  lying relation of  
such a thing4 ,what reproof could be    
more discreet  than this6 and what      
energy and delicacy is there contained  
in it6 ,i  esteem this sentence more1   
than ,i do any of those which the       
ancient  ,grecians have recorded of     
their wise men4 ,the sublimity of it    
persuades  me1 that it was the          
legitimate child of ,st4 ,thomas's      
brain1 and of  course ,i can have no    

doubt1 but the story we have related was
 true4  ,thus we see1 the greatest      
discretion is not incompatible with1 but
  may be easily reconciled to1 and      
brought to unite with the greatest      
simplicity4      ,,sect4 ,,xi4          
,speakers of bold ,truths4    ,,lvii4   
,as there are many people who behave    
with ill-breeding1 from being  addicted 
to relate falsehoods1 so there are many 
others1 who offend  against the laws of 
urbanity by speaking ill-timed and      
uncivil truths4  ,i mean to hint at     
those1 who under pretence of undeceiving
 people1 and  of being their friends1   
out of time1 and contrary to all the    
rules of  decency1 take the liberty of  
pointing out all their faults1 and of   
speaking their opinion1 both of them and
 their conduct4 ,this is an act  of     
barbarism1 disguised under the veil of  
honest sincerity4    ,,lviii4 ,we shall 
describe these people1 by giving the    
character and  behaviour of ,philotimus4
 ,philotimus is a man1 who at all times 

is  dinning in people's ears the        
professions of his ingenuousness1 and   
declaiming till he is out of breath     
against adulation4 ,he is ever  dwelling
 upon his immutable love of truth1 which
 he uses as a sort of  coupling1 to all 
the insinuations he throws out against  
this or that  person4 ,he rudely tells a
 man his faults to his face1 and then   
shelters  himself under the pretence1   
that when an occasion presents itself   
for  his doing it1 he cannot refrain    
from speaking the truth1 for all the    
gratifications and indulgences the world
 can afford4 ,if he hears any  person   
praised1 be he absent or present1 in    
whose conduct he conceives  there is    
something reprehensible1 he immediately 
gives vent to his  spleen1 and tells all
 he knows or has ever heard to that     
person's  prejudice1 and reproaches     
those who have spoke well of him1 with  
having  flattered or been partial to    
him2 and then immediately pleads his    
great  love of truth1 as a justification

 for what he has done4    ,,lix4 ,what  
shall we say of such a man8 ,we may     
venture to pronounce1  that there is    
much more stuff about him1 than is      
necessary to form  either a fool or a   
rustic2 and that he is an extravagant   
babbler1 who  in his conversation       
observes no order or bounds2 that he is 
a rude1  yea a very rude unpolished man1
 who does not understand the difference 
between servile adulation1 and          
bare-faced effrontery4 ,he being such a 
sort of man1 why should those who hear  
him regard any thing he says8  ,or who  
can believe that he is capable of       
forming a just opinion of  matters or   
things1 who is so far infatuated as to  
overlook1 or not  attend to the maxims1 
which natural reason has so clearly     
dictated  and pointed out8 ,but if we   
were to admit that he does not err in   
the  conception he forms of things1 we  
must at least grant1 that he errs in    
his mode of advancing his opinions1 if  
he prefers them out of time1            

inopportunely1 and without method4 ,has 
he peradventure a royal licence  or     
patent1 for being the superintendent or 
corrector of other men's  manners and   
conduct8 ,but admitting for argument's  
sake1 that he is a  man of as great     
veracity as he pretends to be1 which by 
the way is what  ,i very much doubt of2 
for my experience has convinced me1 that
 if it  does not apply to every         
individual1 that fine sentence is most  
true  and applicable to the bulk of     
mankind1 which ,i have read somewhere1  
although ,i can't remember in what      
author1 and is as follows3 ,veritatem   
nulli frequentius ldunt1 quam qui       
frequentius jactant4 ,there are no      
people lie more frequently1 than those  
who are always boasting of their        
veracity4 ,i say1 admitting that they   
are as sincere as they pretend  to be1  
does their being men of veracity give   
them a right to go about  cudgeling1 and
 breaking the heads of all the world8   
,truth1 according  to the doctrine of   

,st4 ,paul1 is the beloved companion of 
charity3  ,charitas congaudet veritati2 
and should it then be used in a gross   
manner1 and so as to become offensive   
and disgusting8 ,the truth of the       
,christians1 according to the           
description given of it by ,st4 ,austin1
  is more beautiful than the ,helen of  
the ,greeks3 ,incomparabiliter          
pulchrior est veritas ,christianorum1   
quam ,helena ,grcorum2 and should  it   
appear1 or be characterised with so     
brasen a face1 that it abashes  and     
stares every body out of countenance8   
,,lx4 ,i confess that there are         
occasions1 on which every man is obliged
  to speak the truth1 although his doing
 it should offend1 or be attended  with 
the resentment of those who hear him2   
but this licence should only  be taken  
in one of the three following instances1
 the vindication of  divine honour1 the 
defence of accused innocence1 and the   
reforming or  reclaiming your neighbour2
 and ,i suppose this last is the only   

motive1  from which the speakers of bold
 truths we have just been describing    
pretend to act2 but are they ignorant1  
that1 although it will always  be sure  
to give offence1 their manner of        
attempting this1 can never  accomplish  
the reformation they affect to bring    
about8 ,nor can it be  otherwise1 for   
how can their sour1 overbearing1 and    
arrogant behaviour1  produce so good an 
effect8 ,or how can they expect1        
according to the  scripture phrase1 that
 by sowing thorns1 they should hereafter
 gather a  harvest of grapes8           
,,sect4 ,,xii4    ,tenaciousness or     
,obstinacy4    ,,lxi4 ,not less tiresome
 than those we have just been speaking  
of1 nor  less interrupting to the       
pleasure of conversation1 are tenacious 
or  obstinate people4 ,the spirit of    
contradiction is an infernal spirit1    
and at the same time so perverse a one1 
that ,i very much doubt1 whether  there 
has hitherto been a remedy found out for
 the cure of those who  are possessed   

with it4    ,,lxii4 ,this brings to my  
mind the example of ,aristius4 ,he is a 
great  frequenter of1 and a busy man in 
clubs and coffee-houses1 to which  he is
 always running1 in quest of            
disputations and argumentations4  ,his  
opinion is his idol1 and nobody must    
dissent from it1 on pain of             
experiencing the effects of his         
indignation2 neither must any body      
prefer an opposite one1 lest he should  
be treated by him as an enemy2  and     
nothing can satisfy him1 but a total    
acquiescence in1 or silent  approbation 
of all he says4 ,his influence in       
conversation may be  compared to that of
 the southern constellation1 called     
,orion's ,belt1  which excites nothing  
but tempests4 ,nimbrosus ,orion1 as     
,virgil calls  it4 ,no sooner does he   
enter a company1 than the serenity of a 
pleasing  tranquil conversation1 begins 
to degenerate into a turbulent          
tumultuous  noise4 ,he begins with      
contradicting1 the person contradicted  

defends  himself1 others take part in   
the dispute1 the fire of altercation    
lights up1 and catches from one to the  
other like the contagion of a           
pestilence1 ,insequitur clamorque virm1 
stridorque rudentum1 till  at last1 the 
conversation sounds like the talking of 
gibberish1 and  becomes a confused      
jargon and noise1 so that the company   
can neither  hear or understand each    
other4 ,all this mischief in political  
society1  may be1 and frequently is     
introduced by a tenacious and obstinate 
man4  ,nor is this malady ever to be    
cured2 for you can more easily turn the 
stream of a rapid river1 and make it run
 back contrary to its course1  than     
force him to give up an opinion he has  
once advanced4      ,,sect4 ,,xiii4     
,excessive ,gravity4    ,,xliii4        
,opportune cheerfulness1 is the most    
savoury seasoner of  conversation1 and  
has so great a share in true urbanity1  
that some1  as we observed before1 have 
considered it as the most essential part

  of it2 for1 when introduced with      
propriety1 it produces the most         
desirable effects1 as it enlivens both  
the speakers and the auditors1          
conciliates their good-will to each     
other1 and affords a relaxation  to the 
mind1 after it has been fatigued with   
study1 or any serious  occupation4 ,it  
was on this account1 that the moral     
gentiles1 and even  the christians also1
 placed cheerfulness among the number of
 moral  virtues4 ,hear what ,saint      
,thomas says on this head1 in l4 #b4    
qust4 #afh4  art4 #b4 after declaring   
cheerfulness to be a virtue1 he         
describes the  delight that results from
 it1 not only to be useful1 but         
necessary also  for the purpose of      
giving ease and relaxation to the soul3 
,hujusmodi  autem dicta1 vel facta1 in  
quibus non quritur nisi delectatio      
animalis1 vocantur ludicra vel jocosa4  
,et ideo necesse est talibus  interdum  
uti1 quasi ad quandam anim quietem4     
,,lxiv4 ,men who are always grave1 may  

be termed a sort of entities  between   
men and statues4 ,risibility being a    
property or quality  inseparable from   
reason1 he who denies himself the       
pleasure of  laughing1 degrades himself 
below the degree of a rational animal4  
,fools1 are apt to esteem such people as
 men of sense1 judgment1 and  mature    
understanding4 ,but is a man's deporting
 himself with the dryness  and rigidity 
of a stock or a stone1 a proof of his   
understanding8 ,no  brute is capable of 
laughing2 and ought a property that is  
common  to every brute1 to be considered
 as a descriptive mark of1 and the      
characteristic of a man of              
understanding8 ,i look upon such a      
carriage1  to bespeak an obstinate      
genius1 and a man of a sullen temper4   
,the  antients were used to say1 that   
all those who had ever entered the      
enchanted cavern of ,trophonius1 never  
laughed afterwards4 ,if there is  any   
truth in this story1 which many people  
doubt1 it is probable1 that  the        

infernal deity who was consulted in that
 cavern1 instilled into  those who      
consulted him this black diabolical     
melancholy4      ,,sect4 ,,xiv4         
,disgusting or unseasonable ,jocoseness4
    ,,lxv4 ,but excessive gravity1 is   
perhaps not more repugnant to true      
,urbanity1 than unseasonable jocoseness4
 ,pleasantry in conversation1 can  be   
disagreeable but in three ways2 by      
exceeding in the quantity of it1  by    
indecency in the quality of it1 and by  
its being deficient in point  of nature4
    ,,lxvi4 ,he who is always laughing  
and upon the gog1 may be more properly  
termed a buffoon1 than a man of         
good-breeding4 ,no person makes himself 
more ridiculous1 than one who is always 
laughing1 and he who is always          
affecting to be gay1 is ever disgusting2
 and a man likewise who acts  the       
jack-pudding all his life1 is a mere    
jack-pudding and nothing more4          
,,lxvii4 ,cheerfulness may be also      
reprehensible1 by degenerating into     

ribaldry1 or by being over satyrical4   
,the first1 is properly the  language of
 stables and tippling houses1 and as ,i 
don't write for  lacqueys1 grooms1 and  
coachmen1 we shall pass this over1 and  
proceed  on to the second point4 ,those 
who have a high opinion of their own    
talents1 are very frequently guilty of  
this fault4 ,i mean to speak of  those  
who set themselves up for dictators1 but
 who ought more properly  to be termed  
babblers and praters1 but ,i do not mean
 to enumerate in  this catalogue1 such1 
as may be truly termed men of           
understanding1  but such only as ,horace
 spoke of1 when he said1 that if        
opportunities  occurred for indulging   
their satyrical vein1 they made no      
scruple of  lashing their most intimate 
friends4                                
,dummodo risum      ,excutiat sibi1 non 
hic cuiquam parcet amico4    ,of those1 
who according to the description given  
of them by ,ennius1  could more easily  
retain in their mouths a hot iron1 than 

a keen  saying2 these are a sort of     
people1 who seem to claim a right of    
making  error pass for sterling gold1 of
 converting comedy into tragedy1        
injurious treatment into good behaviour1
 and of converting honey also  into     
poison4 ,their tongues may be compared  
to those of the lions1 which  are so    
rough and sharp1 that wherever they lick
 they take the skin off4  ,they are also
 called hummers2 and so they are1 for   
like wasps1 hornets1  flies1 and all    
other vile insects of the humming kind1 
they the instant  they have hummed1     
implant their sting4    ,,lxviii4 ,but  
let them make what parade they will of  
their abilities1  they can never escape 
being noted for malignant or troublesome
 people2  and whether they are one or   
the other1 all honest men should either 
discard them from their company1 or     
restrain them by threatenings4 ,the     
,count de ,amayuelas1 whom ,i became    
acquainted with in my youth1 said  to a 
gentleman of this kind1 who had taken   

frequent occasions to say  rude and     
ill-natured things to him1 under the    
pretence of being jocose1  ,friend ,don 
,n4 ,i have bore with several           
indelicacies from you1 and  you may vent
 as many more upon me as you think      
proper1 but let it be  understood       
between us from henceforward1 that for  
every indelicacy you  must expect a     
stab4 ,by which intimation1 he took the 
sting out of the  tail of the hummer4   
,,lxix4 ,there is a serious fault in    
hummers1 and one that they very         
frequently commit1 which is their       
exercising their banter upon            
common-place things1 and general topics1
 and pointing their sneers1  for        
example1 against the rank1 or nation of 
the person they attack4  ,i am obliged  
for this observation1 to that great     
master of ,urbanity  ,quintilian2 these 
are his words3 ,male etiam dicitur quod 
in plures  convenit3 si1 aut nationes   
tot incessantur1 aut ordines1 aut       
conditio1  aut studia multorum4 ,people 

of steril geniuses1 are the most apt to 
fall into this absurdity1 who being at a
 loss what to say concerning  men's     
actions or personal qualities1 fall upon
 some common-place  observations1       
respecting their condition1 country1 c4 
,,lxx4 ,the reason why this should be   
avoided is1 because among the  multitude
 of those who are comprehended in       
common-place and general  observations1 
there may be more than a few of them1   
who may construe  the hum into an       
affront2 and although they may not have 
been present at  the conversation in    
which this happened1 upon hearing       
afterwards what  passed in it1 may be   
excited to shew their resentment against
 what they  have been told was said1    
which is a thing ,i have often          
experienced4 ,and  ,i have also seen    
this attended with not a little injury  
to common-place  hummers1 who have drawn
 on themselves resentments they were not
 aware  of4 ,but although there should  
be no danger attending this practice1   

it should be avoided from motives of    
equity2 for notwithstanding  pleasantry 
is in its own simple nature innocent1 it
 is not right to  exercise it towards   
him1 who may fancy himself injured by   
it4 ,those who  are so tender and       
delicate1 that they would feel as a hard
 blow1 what  to others would only seem a
 playful pat with the hand1 should never
 be  so much as lightly touched with the
 finger1 for if the lightest touch  goes
 to their hearts1 whoever touches them  
can't fail to wound them4 ,it  not being
 possible then1 for those who deal in   
general or common-place  humour and     
banter1 to avoid giving offence to many 
people1 every one  who would be thought 
a man of urbanity or good-breeding1     
should abstain  from that practice      
entirely4    ,,lxxi4 ,finally1 all      
pleasantry that is not natural is       
disgusting4 ,those  who without genius  
attempt to be witty1 soon grow tiresome1
 and make  themselves appear ridiculous4
 ,there is nothing more insipid1 than a 

man who is desirous of making himself   
seem entertaining1 by venting  studied  
conceits1 and by aukward and forced     
endeavours to imitate  people of natural
 humour4 ,it is true1 that they succeed 
in part of  what they aim to accomplish1
 which is the making other men laugh1   
but  then they themselves1 and not their
 wit1 stand as the object of their      
laughter4 ,if there happens to be a man 
in a town1 who is remarkable and        
celebrated for his humour1 and saying of
 good things1 twenty or thirty  others1 
will attempt to imitate and set         
themselves in competition with  him2 but
 all their endeavours1 will never enable
 them to exhibit more  than a ridiculous
 mock copy of that person4 ,mankind     
don't care to be  convinced1 that in    
this and all other such endowments1     
nature not only  furnishes the means1   
but does the whole executive part of the
 business  herself4 ,it is for the want 
of making this reflection1 that those   
who  are the least qualified for it by  

nature1 attempt to imitate others1 on   
whom she has with a bountiful hand      
bestowed the choicest qualities4 ,the   
exceeding likeness there is between a   
man and a monkey1 seems to me to  be    
greater still1 if in making the         
comparison between them1 we begin  with 
the man first4 ,it has been insisted1   
that both in ,asia and ,africa1  there  
have been apes or monkeys found1 who    
have the exact appearance of  men2 and  
,i insist1 that in ,africa1 ,asia1 and  
,europe1 and in all other  places1 there
 are men who have the exact appearance  
of monkeys1 and in  effect1 that they   
put on1 or wear this appearance1 by     
their attempting  to imitate each other4
 ,there never starts up an excellent    
original  in our species1 of which you  
will not see innumerable affected       
copies2 but then these are a sort of    
copies1 that never exceed a mock        
scare-crow imitation4      ,,sect4 ,,xv4
    ,ostentation of ,knowledge4         
,,lxxii4 ,science is a treasure that    

should be expended with conomy1 and  not
 squandered away profusely4 ,it is of   
great value to the possessor  who lays  
it out sparingly1 but if squandered and 
made ostentation of1  it becomes        
trifling and ridiculous2 and indeed upon
 a strict enquiry1  it will be found    
that they very seldom possess it1 who   
boast or make  parade of being masters  
of it4 ,they who know but little1 are   
the only  people1 who in all places1 are
 fond of exposing their whole stock of  
knowledge to view4 ,they never enter    
into a conversation1 that without       
waiting a fit opportunity for doing it1 
they don't exhibit their whole  scanty  
budget of informations4 ,between those  
who are truly learned1 and  men of but  
slender literary acquisitions1 there is 
the same difference1  that there is     
between merchants who keep great stocks 
of goods1 and  pedlars who go about with
 a pack4 ,the first in their warehouses1
 lay  up large assortments of things1   
where all people may resort1 and be     

furnished with what they have occasion  
for2 the others carry their  miserable  
scanty shop of wares at their backs1 and
 there is neither  street1 alley1 or    
corner1 where they don't cry them about1
 and expose  and offer them to sale4    
,,lxxiii4 ,some are so simple1 as among 
all classes of people1 to  introduce1 or
 as we may say lug-in by the head and   
shoulders1 a  conversation1 on the      
subject of the profession they were bred
 to4 ,the  abb ,bellegarde1 tells a     
story of a military man1 who in a visit 
he  made to some ladies1 without being  
asked to do it by any body1 set  himself
 about relating very circumstantially1  
all the particulars of  a siege he had  
been employed in1 which he did in all   
the technical  terms of military art1   
taking care also1 to mention the        
regiments  and officers that assisted at
 it1 and to describe minutely1 all the  
manoeuvres both of the besiegers and the
 besieged1 from the time  of investing  
the place to the day of its surrender2  

which tedious  relation1 must without   
doubt have been very entertaining to the
  ladies4 ,but ,moliere's comic         
description of these sort of people1    
which  he gives us in the character of a
 young practitioner in surgery1 is  more
 laughable still2 who in one of his     
first visits to a lady he  paid his     
addresses to1 after having exhausted all
 his compliments1 in  anatomical phrases
 and chyrurgical terms of art1 invited  
her to see  the dissection of a dead    
body1 and expressed how greatly he      
should  be obliged to her for her       
company2 for that he himself was to be  
the  operator4 ,this undoubtedly could  
not fail of affording a pleasing        
entertainment to a delicate and         
tender-hearted lady4    ,,lxxiv4 ,one of
 the most essential instructions that   
can be acquired by  true ,urbanity1 is  
that of learning upon all occurrences1  
to accommodate  yourself and your       
conversation1 to the genius and         
capacities of your  company2 and of     

leaving to the choice of others1 the    
subject-matter of  discourse1 and in    
following them in the pursuit of it1 as 
far as they  shall find it pleasing and 
agreeable to carry it4 ,he is not more  
absurd  and extravagant who talks to    
another on a subject or faculty he does 
not understand1 than he1 who talks to   
him in a language he is an utter        
stranger to4      ,,sect4 ,,vi4         
,affectation of ,superiority4    ,,lxxv4
 ,the different behaviour of some people
 at their first entrance  into a room1  
and after their coming to engage in     
conversation with  the company they find
 there1 is very remarkable4 ,at their   
first  coming in1 if the people they    
meet happen not to be such as they are  
pretty intimate with1 they seem over and
 above complaisant1 make most           
respectful conges1 are very hyperbolical
 in their professions of  attachment and
 esteem to every one they accost1 and   
are very profuse  of their offers to    
oblige and serve them2 but after a      

little while1  they begin to draw       
themselves up1 to assume an air of      
gravity and  consequence1 and in all    
their words and actions1 to behave as if
 they  were vested with a senatorial1 or
 legislative authority4 ,such a man     
begins to array himself with a habit of 
importance1 and to appear on  the       
theatre with an air of pomp and         
arrogance4 ,he lays by the easy  sock1  
and assumes the buskin4 ,his sol fa     
which commenced in a low  tone in e     
faut1 is raised in a very little time1  
to the highest note  in g solre4 ,his   
political stature grows to a gigantic   
size1 and he  begins to look down on all
 around him1 and to treat all they say  
with  that scorn and disdain1 which is  
generated by1 and lineally descended    
from rustic pride4    ,,lxxvi4 ,treating
 on this subject1 brings to my mind a   
story which ,moreri  tells of ,brunon1  
bishop of ,langres1 who in the beginning
 of one of  his pastoral letters stiles 
himself humilis prsul1 and afterwards   

in the body of it1 assumes a majestic   
tone1 and says1 nostram odiens          
majestatem4 ,those who behave in this   
manner1 must certainly lie under  the   
delusion1 that urbanity and modesty1    
were only calculated for  exordiums1    
prologues1 and salutations at peoples   
first meeting4      ,,sect4 ,,xvii4     
,speaking in a magisterial tone4        
,,lxxvii4 ,among the professors of      
literature1 there are not a few1 who    
make themselves unpleasant companions1  
by assuming an overbearing and          
dictatorial manner4 ,with them every    
place is a school1 every chair a        
professional one1 and all their auditors
 their pupils4 ,conceited1 and  full of 
themselves and their science1 and big   
also with the dignity  of their office  
and degrees1 they look upon those who   
have not gone  through the schools1 as  
people of an inferior species1 whom they
 scarce  ever deign to speak to1 but    
with a frowning brow1 and a contemptuous
  look4 ,they always talk in a          

dictatorial tone of voice1 and express  
themselves with the majestic authority  
of an oracle1 and in their  conversation
 with other men1 seem to exercise the   
power of a chapel  master1 who regulates
 the tone the whole band are to sing and
 play in4    ,,lxxviii4 ,i have known   
many1 indeed very many1 who were        
prepossessed  with the error1 that study
 augments the understanding4 ,and is    
this an  error8 without doubt it is1 for
 whether we suppose1 that inequality  of
 understanding or reason in mankind1    
proceeds from an entitive  inequality of
 souls1 as some have imagined2 or       
whether we suppose it  proceeds from a  
different temperament or formation of   
men's organs1  which is the most        
generally received opinion2 it will     
necessarily  follow from these premises1
 that with the assistance of study1 or  
without it's aid1 the intellectual      
faculty1 must ever remain equally  and  
identically the same2 it being certain1 
that study can never alter  the         

organization or native temperament of   
man2 and much less can it  change the   
substantial entity of the soul4 ,thus   
after many years study1  the reasoning  
faculty can never be increased in       
natural strength1 so  much as half a    
degree4 ,the before-named argument      
demonstrates it2 but  besides this1 my  
own experience has shewn me the thing   
palpably and  clearly4 ,i have seen     
people of great application to letters1 
who after  consuming a large portion of 
their lives in that pursuit1 reasoned   
miserably on whatever subject they      
attempted to talk upon2 and ,i have     
observed others1 whom ,i have had       
frequent opportunities of seeing for  a 
great number of years1 and who were     
scarce ever without a book in  their    
hands1 who laboured under the same      
inability of reasoning1 and  whose ideas
 were equally confused1 and their       
comprehension just as  obscure at the   
end of that period1 as at the beginning4
 ,study assists  people with certain    

informations1 and furnishes them with a 
variety  of species or matter1 by the   
help of which1 they are enabled to make 
many deductions1 which they could not   
have made without that aid2 but  the    
power or activity of the understanding1 
cannot be increased or  enlarged by any 
such means4 ,a workman1 who should be   
furnished with  many instruments of his 
art1 which he was not possessed of      
before1  would with this assistance1 be 
enabled to do many things1 which without
  their help he could not have executed2
 but this would not prove that  the     
strength of his arm was increased4      
,,lxxix4 ,even with respect to the      
particular faculty or science men       
study1 they never can get over1 or pass 
beyond the fence rail which  nature has 
placed before them2 they read much1     
converse much1 and  treasure up a great 
many species in their memories1 but     
never collect  them with any order1 or  
separate and apply them with any        
judgment or  discretion1 and never      

clearly penetrate or comprehend their   
uses4 ,thus  one of these comes out from
 his studies1 like a learned man that is
  only skilled in perspective1 and      
capable of fascinating the ignorant     
vulgar with false lights and shadowings2
 or such a one as the common  people    
call wells of science1 but they are only
 wells of muddy water1  that is of no   
use or benefit to mankind4    ,,lxxx4   
,this being the case1 which it most     
undoubtedly is1 it is very  clear and   
evident1 that the faculties they have   
studied1 give them no  right or         
pretensions to the magisterial air they 
assume on account of  the degrees they  
have taken1 and that the insignia or    
outside marks of  those honours and     
dignities1 give them no just reason for 
affecting1  or claiming any authority or
 superiority1 over the rest of mankind4 
,the most provoking part of this matter1
 and that which heightens the           
ridiculousness of it to an extreme      
degree1 is1 that those who for  the most

 part are under the dominion of this    
vain presumption1 are  professors of    
inferior note2 for those who are really 
ingenious1 and  men of clear            
understandings1 let themselves be       
influenced by reason4  ,i repeat again1 
that the professors of little note1 are 
those who are  ostentatiously fond of   
enlarging the size of their little      
letters1  and of making them all appear 
like capitals4 ,they are those1 who from
  study extract a great deal of smoke1  
but little clear or luminous  fire4     
,thus when they mix with the rest of the
 world1 they assume an air  of          
superiority over other men1 and say a   
thousand silly things1 with  as solemn  
and grave a face1 as if all they        
articulated were profound  apophthegms4 
,,lxxxi4 ,it may be thought that ,i     
exaggerate1 but ,i do not2 for the      
reader may believe me when ,i assure    
him1 that ,i have known many1 nay  very 
many1 who without any more merit1 than  
that of having kept their  terms at a   

university for a certain number of      
years1 and of having  taken a degree1   
and being authorized to wear the        
insignia of academic  dignity1 treat    
with contempt every thing that is       
advanced by a lay man1  and behave to   
him1 as if he was a rational animal of  
an inferior order  to himself4 ,in      
whatever company such a man finds       
himself1 whether the  conversation turns
 upon war1 politics1 or civil           
government1 he with  a ridiculous       
self-sufficiency1 takes upon him to give
 his opinion1  although it is in        
opposition to that of a man1 who may be 
reasonably  supposed to understand these
 things much better than him4 ,and what 
does  he get by all this8 ,he causes    
himself to be despised and derided1 and 
to be pointed and laughed at for a      
blockhead4    ,,lxxxii4 ,i can't omit   
mentioning another gross fault1 which   
these men  of slender talents are apt to
 fall into2 although it may with truth  
be  said1 that it is frequently incurred

 by people of all classes2 which  is1   
being much addicted to criticise and    
censure the productions or  abilities of
 others1 who are better informed than   
themselves4 ,it is  to be sure very     
laughable1 to think of a silly fellow1  
who runs about  calling the rest of the 
world fools2 and to reflect1 that he who
 does  not know a word of science1      
should busy himself with measuring by   
inches1 the scientific talents of other 
men1 which he hardly ever will          
vouchsafe to estimate by feet or yards1 
because there are very few  instances1  
in which he will admit their talents to 
arrive at those  dimensions4 ,thus a bad
 preacher1 will never acknowledge that  
he has  heard a good sermon2 a bad      
taylor1 that he has seen a suit of      
cloaths  which were well made2 or a bad 
smith1 that he has seen a piece of work 
that was well executed1 c4      ,,sect4 
,,xviii4    ,troublesome or ill-timed   
visits4    ,,lxxxiii4 ,there are some   
men1 who by being over attentive and    

civil to  their friends1 become         
intolerable4 ,i speak of those1 who make
 visiting  an employment or occupation1 
and who are always exercising themselves
  in that way1 as if it was their       
profession4 ,these are a sort of people1
  who not knowing what to do with       
themselves1 or how to employ their own  
time1 run about tiring and breaking-in  
upon the avocations of other  people1   
who are engaged in most honourable and  
important occupations2  they are a sort 
of robbers of men's time1 who steal from
 them that1  which it is necessary for  
them to employ in their business2 they  
are  a sort of knights errant1 whose    
tongues instead of spears1 are ever     
prepared for attack1 and who busy       
themselves in doing wrongs1 instead  of 
redressing them2 a kind of dealers in   
common-place phrases1 who go  about like
 beggars from house to house2 and who   
may be termed cheats  in good-breeding1 
and such1 as would impose on the world  
vexation for  obsequiousness4           

,,lxxxiv4 ,those who think to recommend 
themselves to the good graces of  men in
 power1 by a repetition of visits1      
deceive themselves greatly2  for what   
merit can there be in keeping such a    
person confined an  hour to his room    
every third day1 where he may possibly  
remain as  uneasily1 as if he was       
sitting in the stocks1 and be deprived  
of an  opportunity of taking some       
amusement or recreation he is fond of1  
or  else1 of employing that time in some
 business he wanted to attend to8  ,what
 most commonly happens in these cases   
is1 that the visitor has no  sooner     
taken leave and turned his back1 than   
the person visited vents a  thousand    
curses on his impertinence2 and if there
 should chance to be  any one by to whom
 he can unbosom himself in confidence1  
he declares to  him1 that he never met  
with a greater savage in all his life4  
,,lxxxv4 ,i feel much for ministers who 
are exposed to this sort of             
persecution2 for to the heavy load of   

their office that lays on them1  may be 
added the surcharge of these tiresome   
visits1 the weight of  which may        
possibly sit more burthensome on them1  
than that of the whole  duty they have  
to do besides4      ,,sect4 ,,xix4      
,visits to sick people4    ,,lxxxvi4 ,on
 the head of visits to sick people1     
there is much to be  said1 as in making 
them1 we should attend not only to the  
rules of  good-breeding1 but to those of
 charity also2 and it is impossible1  if
 we are wanting in the last of these    
obligations1 for us to comply  with     
those of the first4 ,sick people1 both  
with respect to their souls  and bodies1
 should be treated and dealt by with as 
much delicacy and  caution1 as you would
 handle an exquisitely thin vessel of   
glass4 ,a  sick body is affected by1 and
 sensible of the slightest touch2 and   
an afflicted soul1 may be inquieted by  
such a sensation as cannot be  defined4 
,,lxxxvii4 ,visiting sick people1 is not
 only an act of urbanity1 but  an act of

 tenderness and humanity also2 but in   
order to constitute  it such an act1 it 
is essentially and absolutely necessary1
 that the  visit should be so managed1  
and attended with such circumstances1 as
  will afford relief and comfort to the 
sick person4 ,but how many of  these    
kind of visits are experienced by the   
poor sick8 one may venture  to assert1  
scarce one in fifty4 ,the prudent part  
of mankind are but  few in number1 but  
the visitors consists of many4 ,what    
effect must  his visits have on a sick  
man1 who tires and disgusts one in      
health  with them8 ,nor is it           
sufficient1 that he who visits a sick   
person is  discreet1 if his discretion  
does not lead to instruct him1 when1 how
  much1 and in what manner a sick person
 should be talked to4 ,to know  when he 
should be talked to1 the physician1 and 
those who attend him  should be         
consulted2 how much1 in what manner1 and
 on what subject1  must be determined   
and regulated1 by the prudence of the   

person who  visits him4    ,,lxxxviii4  
,the how much1 is the point which       
visitors most commonly  mistake4 ,sick  
people should be but little talked to1  
even although  the subject of the       
conversation is such as they are fond   
of2 for  their attention to what is     
talked of1 is apt to fatigue them1 and  
to  wade those spirits1 which would be  
better employed in resisting the        
disease4 ,thus it in general is better  
to leave them in that sort of  half     
slumber1 and languid quiet of mind1     
which by not being disturbed  or        
interrupted1 permits all the ideas that 
occur to them to pass easily  through   
the brain4    ,,lxxxix4 ,with regard to 
the manner they should be talked to in1 
it  ought to be such1 as by no means    
should inquiet or disturb them2 and  to 
prevent their being surprized or        
alarmed1 it will be necessary to  talk  
to them in a low voice4 ,if loud talking
 is capable of cracking a  head of      
brass1 what effect must it have on a    

glass one8 ,they should not  be asked   
many questions1 nor should they as      
little as possible1 be put  under a     
necessity of replying to what is said of
 them1 for from thence  there would     
result two fatigues1 that of reasoning1 
and that of talking4    ,,xc4 ,the      
subject of the conversation with a sick 
,person1 should in  general turn upon   
such things1 as he was observed to be   
most fond of  when in health2 for with  
respect both to the aliments of the     
soul1  as well as those of the body1 ,i 
am of opinion1 that physicians and      
those who attend on1 or visit sick      
people1 should have regard to their     
appetites and desires1 and ,i am        
inclined to think1 that with respect  to
 these particulars1 there are frequent  
mistakes made1 and especially  with     
relation to the aliments of the soul1   
for by making them grateful  to people1 
there will seldom any inconvenience     
result1 but having  regard to doing     
this1 may be attended with much use and 

benefit4  ,whenever an epidemical       
distemper prevails in a town or country1
 it may  not be improper now and then1  
to talk to sick people on the subject   
of that disorder2 but in doing this1    
care should always be taken  to mention 
to them only those who have been visited
 with1 and have  recovered from the     
disease2 and regard should likewise be  
had1 never to  say a word of such as    
have died of it2 but ,i have known      
visitors who  were such blunderers1 as  
scarce to tell a sick person any other  
news1  than that such a one1 or such a  
one is dead4 ,this tends to make a sick 
man very unhappy1 for according to the  
logic of his melancholy1 he is  apt to  
conclude1 that his death must be an     
infallible consequence of  that of the  
other persons4    ,,xci4 ,to these      
general rules1 ,i shall add a remark on 
two mistakes that  are very commonly    
fallen into by those who visit sick     
people4 ,the first  of these is1 their  
beginning upon their entrance into the  

chamber of  a sick person1 if there are 
three or four of them1 to ask him one by
  one1 how he goes on1 and how he finds 
himself4 ,a man had need have the       
patience of ,job1 to answer such a      
number of identical questions4 ,even  in
 slight illnesses1 the pain and         
uneasiness it gives a man to answer  the
 same string of questions over and over 
again1 is very evident and  palpable4   
,therefore the method people should     
pursue in their visits  to a man who is 
seriously ill1 should be1 to ask in a   
low voice1 how  he is of those who      
attend him4 ,or the expedient may be had
 recourse  to1 that was practised by a  
friend of mine1 who was of the same     
religious order as myself2 who when he  
was once very ill1 to avoid this        
inconvenience1 ordered that every       
morning1 there should be written on a   
piece of paper1 all the questions that  
are generally asked by visitors1        
together with the answers to them2 such 
as what sort of a night he  had had1    

whether the pain in his head was abated1
 whether his thirst  continued1 or      
whether he had taken any nourishment1 c4
 ,this paper he  ordered to be stuck    
with wafers on the side of his chamber  
door1 that  those who came to visit him 
might read it1 in order to prevent their
  fatiguing him with a number of those  
questions4    ,,xcii4 ,the second       
mistake1 is that of all the visitors    
taking upon them  to be physicians1 and 
to prescribe for the sick person4 ,this 
is an  affectation practised by many2   
but when we consider1 how abstruse and  
how arduous a study physic is1 and how  
long practice and experience it         
requires to obtain a competent knowledge
 of it1 and that the greatest  ingenuity
 is found to be unequal to the          
acquisition2 ,i say when we  consider   
all this1 must it not appear very absurd
 and presumptuous1  for every one to    
pretend to take upon him the office4    
,thus1 whatever a  visitor fancies would
 be serviceable to the diseased person1 

either as  food1 or medicine1 he is     
continually teasing the sick man1 and   
vexing  the physician with his          
recommendation of4 ,how often have ,i   
seen very  prudent and able physicians1 
much perplexed to determine what they   
should prescribe2 and at the same time1 
have observed a thousand vain           
pretenders flourish away1 and very      
self-sufficiently1 and much to their    
own satisfaction1 determine off hand1   
the medicine the patient should  take6  
,how many times also have ,i seen these 
conceited wrong-headed  people1 with    
their importunities1 drive an able      
learned physician out  of his course1   
who had determined1 after well          
considering all the  circumstances of   
his patient1 to stand still for a little
 while1 and  leave the disease to       
nature1 in order to see which way she   
would point2  but persecuted and        
overcome by the pressing instances of   
the people  we have been mentioning1 he 
is brought to break this resolution1 and

  to set pen to paper1 and prescribe    
something that he had better have       
desisted from ordering6 ,these ignorant 
folks1 are ever exclaiming that  nature 
should always be assisted4 ,this is a   
grand aphorism2 and one  that all the   
world pretend to understand2 but what   
such men as we have  just mentioned     
fancy to be assisting nature1 is in     
reality1 and most  commonly1 cutting off
 her legs and arms4      ,,sect4 ,,xx4  
,visits of ,condolence4    ,,xciii4 ,all
 those who labour under any great       
misfortune1 may properly be  classed    
among the sick or infirm4 ,those things 
which we commonly call  diseases1 begin 
with the body1 and from thence proceed  
to affect the  soul2 but the disease of 
grief1 or sadness1 begins with the soul1
 and  from that is communicated to1 and 
infects the body4 ,to the afflicted     
with grief1 all the visitors should act 
the physician1 nor indeed are  there any
 other physicians1 who can afford them  
so much relief4 ,the  cure of the       

passions of the soul1 do not appertain  
to medicine1 but to  ethics4 ,thus the  
discretion of a man who visits an       
afflicted person may  afford him relief1
 when all the precepts of old           
,hippocrates can furnish  him with none4
    ,,xciv4 ,but what most frequently   
happens in these cases8 why1 that the   
visits of condolence1 add a new         
affliction to him who is already borne  
down by grief4 ,it is necessary to leave
 a disconsolate widow1 or a man  who was
 exceedingly fond of his deceased wife1 
for a few days after  their loss to     
themselves1 both out of respect to the  
formalities of  the world1 and to afford
 them an opportunity to vent their      
sorrow4  ,the natural alleviators of    
great grief1 are abundant tears1        
impetuous  sighs1 repeated exclamations1
 and extravagant gestures4 ,none of     
these  can be indulged by any one1 while
 he or she is receiving a visit2 for    
people at such times1 are obliged to    
behave with as much composure1  as a    

person who is acting a serious part in a
 play2 and must confine  themselves to  
expressions of their grief1 that are    
purely theatrical4  ,their words and    
their sighs1 must issue from them1 in   
form1 in order1  and according to rule4 
,their bosoms are oppressed with an     
ocean of  bitterness1 and they are only 
permitted to vent it drop by drop4 ,the 
doing of which if you consider it1 does 
not afford them the slightest  relief2  
but on the contrary1 the violence they  
put upon themselves  to conform to these
 regular demonstrations of sorrow1 is   
rather an  addition to their torment4   
,,xcv4 ,the cruel consequences that     
result to afflicted people1 by denying  
them the natural breathings of their    
sorrow1 and restraining them  from      
venting their grief by all ways and     
means1 is well explained by  ,picineli  
in his simile of a ,river1 which swells 
the more1 the more its  course is       
obstructed1 ab obice crescit2 for so it 
is1 that grief  increases by being      

suppressed1 and that the less vent is   
given to it1  the more apt it is to     
suffocate4 ,strangulat inclusus dolor1  
said  ,ovid1 who was well versed in     
these matters4    ,,xcvi4 ,for these    
reasons1 ,i am of opinion1 those who    
have met with such  misfortunes1 should 
for a certain time1 be only seen by     
their relations  and most intimate      
friends1 their familiar intercourse with
 whom1 would  rather facilitate1 than   
interrupt those burstings of their      
souls1 which  relieve the oppressions of
 their breasts4 ,the visits of such     
people1  should always be accompanied   
with expressions of friendship1 and     
hearty  tenders of kind and generous    
offers1 and especially1 when the grief  
is increased by apprehensions1 that the 
consequences of the loss they  have     
sustained1 will be a partial1 or total  
privation of their temporal             
conveniences4 ,and besides those        
intimate friends and relations1 the     
visits of some spiritual man1 whose     

character for virtue and discretion  is 
generally acknowledged and confessed1   
might afford great comfort  in          
affliction1 or to speak more properly1  
the interposition of ,divine            
,providence through him1 might          
administer greater relief in such cases1
  than could be furnished by the nearest
 relations1 and the most sincere        
friends4 ,and the best office that could
 be done to those who are borne  down   
with grief by their friends and         
relations1 might possibly be to  procure
 them frequent visits from men of this  
character4    ,,xcvii4 ,i would have it 
understood1 that ,i mean all ,i have    
just said1  as applicable only to great 
and real griefs2 for truly appearances  
in  these cases are very uncertain and  
equivocal4 ,if a father1 a mother1 a    
husband1 or a wife dies1 the nearest    
relation to the deceased party1         
manifests great tokens of being deeply  
affected4 ,but who will believe  that a 
husband can be greatly concerned for the

 death of his wife1  who was known to be
 much fonder of other women than of her8
 or who  can believe that a wife can be 
really grieved for the death of her     
husband1 who always played the tyrant   
with her1 and treated her like a        
galley-slave of matrimony8 or who that a
 son can be feelingly affected  by the  
death of a father1 whose estate he has  
long panted to be in  possession of8 ,in
 such instances as these1 multitudes of 
visits of  condolence may not be        
improper2 for condolences of compliment1
 are well  suited to mournings of       
ceremony4      ,,sect4 ,,xxi4           
,letter-writing4    ,,xcviii4 ,the      
writing letters with address and        
propriety1 is a very  essential part of 
urbanity1 and a matter upon which a     
great deal  may be said by way of       
instruction2 but as the want of this may
 be  supplied1 by reading approved books
 of letters on various subjects1  ,i    
would recommend to the reader the       
perusal of those of many eminent  men1  

which have been lately collected and    
published1 by that diligent  and        
pains-taking person ,don ,gregorio      
,mayans y ,siscar1 librarian to  his    
majesty1 and professor of civil law in  
the kingdom of ,valentia2  and would    
advise him to read them over and over   
again with much  attention1 as the best 
patterns of letters in our language4    
,with  respect to the writing of ,latin 
letters1 those who desire to be well    
instructed in that1 should read         
attentively1 those of ,don ,manuel      
,marti  ,dean of ,alicant1 which have   
been lately published by the            
before-named  ,don ,gregorio ,mayans in 
two volumes in octavo2 and those of     
,mayans's  own1 which he published in   
one volume in quarto in #agcb4 ,i       
consider  the publication of these      
books1 to have been of the greatest use 
and  importance1 on account of the      
miserable state1 to which the writing   
the  ,latin language was reduced in     
,spain1 and especially with respect to  

the familiar or epistolary stile4 ,how  
often have ,i experienced1 that         
whenever it became necessary for a      
religious society or community1 to      
write a ,latin letter to ,rome1 or some 
other foreign kingdom1 that there  were 
very few men to be found among them1 who
 were capable of doing it1  unless it   
was in ,latin stuffed full of           
,hispanisims8 ,and whenever it  became  
necessary for them to converse in ,latin
 with any stranger1 they  seemed as much
 at a loss1 and as much embarrassed1 as 
if they had been  obliged to talk to him
 in ,arabic4    ,,xcix4 ,people are apt 
to run into the same error in writing   
multitudes  of letters1 that they are in
 paying too many visits2 as letters may 
be termed a sort of visits in writing4  
,numbers of people are addicted  to this
 fault1 and their reason for committing 
it is1 that they are  in hopes by this  
means1 to recommend themselves to the   
good graces of  those they write to2 but
 nothing can be more absurd or          

ridiculous1  than thinking1 that by     
being troublesome to people1 you will   
gain  their esteem and affection2       
whereas the commission of this fault1   
is most commonly attended with a quite  
opposite effect2 and ,i have  seen many1
 who by the frequency of their letters1 
have lost the  good-will of those who   
had a regard for them1 and whose        
friendship  they would have continued to
 possess1 but for their teasing them    
with  a superfluous repetition of       
letters4 ,there are not a few1 who write
  these sort of letters1 for the sake   
afterwards of feeding their own  vanity 
by shewing the answers to them1 in order
 to manifest that they  are esteemed by1
 and honoured with the correspondence of
 persons of  distinction4 ,these are not
 only troublesome to those they write   
to1  but to those also to whom they shew
 the answers to their letters2 and  what
 most commonly happens is1 that instead 
of making themselves appear  respectable
 by doing this1 they cause themselves to

 be despised1 and  to look ridiculous2  
for there is scarce any one who does not
 regard  with contempt1 a man that runs 
about from company to company reading   
and shewing his letters1 like a bad     
poet1 who is always troubling his       
friends with a repetition of his verses4
    ,c4 ,but what remedy is there for   
these impertinences8 why no other1 but  
disregarding1 and not giving answers to 
such letters4 ,oh6 but this  would shew 
want of urbanity2 no it would not1 for  
,i assert1 that so far  from it1 it     
would manifest much discretion2 and ,i  
consider any man who  maintains a       
contrary opinion1 to be under a great   
mistake4 ,there is no  one who thinks it
 shews want of urbanity1 to deny your   
being at home to  a man who persecutes  
you with troublesome visits4 ,why then  
should it  be thought that a man is     
wanting in this respect1 who returns no 
answer  to these sort of letters8 ,it is
 very likely1 that the writer of them   
will be much concerned and affected at  

not having answers to them2 but  if ,i  
can cure an indisposition ,i labour     
under1 by making the person  who brought
 it upon me1 swallow the bitter draught 
that it may be  necessary should be     
taken to accomplish that end1 instead of
 my taking  it myself1 why should not ,i
 avail myself of such a remedy8 ,in     
short1  in cases of this sort1 it is    
impossible to adopt any other method    
than  that of giving no answer to these 
kind of letters2 for attempting to  do  
otherwise1 would be attempting more than
 a man who receives great  numbers of   
such letters could find leisure to      
execute2 for ,i can safely  declare with
 respect to myself1 that if ,i had not  
taken a resolution  not to answer all   
the letters ,i received1 my whole time  
would not have  been sufficient to write
 those answers1 nor my whole fortune1 to
 pay  the postage of those that would   
have been addressed to me4              
,a      ,,defence      ,,or             
,,vindication ,,of ,,the ,,women4       

,,sect4 ,i4    ,i4 ,i ,enter upon a     
serious and difficult undertaking2 in   
the prosecution  of which1 it is not one
 ignorant vulgar person only ,i shall   
have to  contend with1 for setting about
 to defend all the women1 amounts to    
pretty near the same thing as resolving 
to offend all the men1 there  being     
scarce one among them1 who1 in order to 
give precedence to his  own sex1 does   
not endeavour to bring the other into   
disesteem2 and to  such an extravagant  
length1 has this custom of abusing and  
vilifying  the women by common consent  
been carried1 that in a moral sense they
  load them with defects1 and in a      
physical one with imperfections1  and   
will scarce allow them to possess a     
single good quality3 but  they lay the  
greatest stress on the scantiness or    
limitation of their  understandings2 for
 which reason1 after briefly vindicating
 them in  other respects1 ,i shall      
discourse more at large on their        
aptitude1 for  attaining all sorts of   

science and sublime knowledge4    ,,ii4 
,the false prophet ,mahomed1 denied the 
women entrance into that  ill-laid-out  
and absurdly-disposed paradise1 which he
 had devised and  appropriated to be    
possessed by his followers1 limiting the
 felicity of  the females to beholding  
from without1 the glory and happiness   
enjoyed  by the men within2 and it      
certainly must give the women great     
pleasure1  to survey their husbands in  
that scene of delights1 composed all of 
turpitudes1 clasped in the arms of other
 consorts1 which were feigned  to be    
newly created for this particular       
purpose by that great artist in         
fabricating chimeras4 ,such a delirium  
being admitted and received by a  great 
part of the world1 sufficiently shews1  
to what a degree mankind  are capable of
 running into error4    ,,iii4 ,but it  
seems as if these1 who deny the women   
almost every kind  of merit in this     
life1 do not differ much from those who 
deny them  happiness in the next4 ,the  

most vile among the vulgar1 very        
frequently  represent that sex as having
 a most horrible propensity to vice2 and
  would insinuate1 that the men are the 
sole repositories of virtue4  ,it is    
certainly true1 that you will find these
 species of sentiments  loudly trumpeted
 forth in an infinite number of books2  
in some of  which1 the invective is     
carried to such a point1 as scarcely to 
admit  there is one good woman1 and     
asserting1 that their blush1 which has  
been generally considered as an addition
 to their beauty1 and a token  of       
modesty1 is the effect of the lewdness  
of their souls4        ,aspera si visa  
est1 rigidasque imitata ,sabinas        
,velle1 sed ex alto dissimulare puta4   
,instead of replying to such insolent   
malevolence1 the best method is1  to    
treat it with contempt and detestation4 
,not a few of those1 who are  most      
addicted to paint the sex in the        
blackest colouring1 have been  observed 
to be the most solicitous about         

obtaining their favour and  good graces4
 ,euripides1 who was exceedingly        
satirical upon them in his  tragedies1  
as ,athenus and ,stobus inform us1 was  
excessively fond of  them in private4   
,he execrated them on the theatre1 and  
idolized them  in the chamber4 ,boccace1
 who was excessively addicted to women1 
wrote  a satyr against them1 entitled1  
,the ,labyrinth of ,love4 ,what was the 
mystery of this8 ,why it most probably  
was1 that1 under the disguise of  having
 an aversion to them1 he endeavoured to 
conceal his passion for  them2 or it    
might be1 that the brutal satiety of the
 turpid appetite  had brought on a      
loathing1 which caused every thing      
appertaining to the  other sex to appear
 hateful and disgusting4 ,this sort of  
abuse1 may  also sometimes proceed from 
a refusal to lend a kind ear to         
entreaties  and solicitations2 for there
 are men so malevolent1 as to be capable
  of saying a woman is not good1 because
 she has refused to be bad4  ,this      

unjust motive for complaint and         
resentment1 has sometimes vented  itself
 in the most cruel acts of revenge2 an  
example of which1 may  be instanced in  
the unhappy fate of that most beautiful 
,irish lady  madam ,douglass1 against   
whom1 ,william ,leout was blindly       
irritated1 for  having refused to comply
 with his lewd solicitations4 ,to be    
revenged1  he accused her of high       
treason2 and procured the calumniating  
and  false charge to be proved by       
suborned witnesses4 ,she suffered       
capital  punishment2 and la ,mothe de la
 ,vayer1 who 7in his ,opusc4 ,scept47   
gives  the relation1 says1 that ,leout  
himself afterwards confessed the falsity
  of the accusation1 and the wicked     
means used to prove her guilty4    ,to  
this instance1 may be added that of a   
most virtuous and beautiful  ,french    
lady1 the marchioness of ,gange4 ,her   
two brothers-in-law made  dishonourable 
propositions to her1 and successively   
tried many arts1 to  prevail on her to  

gratify their base inclinations2 but1   
notwithstanding  one of them1 who was an
 extreme cunning man1 and governed the  
marquis  her consort entirely1          
threatened to instil into the mind of   
her husband  suspicions of her fidelity1
 she vigorously rejected their          
entreaties4  ,finding themselves in     
spite of the menace1 repeatedly repulsed
  with scorn and indignation1 they      
resolved to carry the threat into       
execution2 and1 having prevailed on the 
credulous husband to entertain  doubts  
of his wife's honour and constancy1 he  
consented that the two  brothers should 
take away the life of the innocent      
marchioness2 which  they did in a       
barbarous and cruel manner1 by first    
forcing her to  swallow a poisonous     
draught1 but afterwards1 doubting of the
 efficacy  of the potion1 they gave her 
several desperate wounds4 ,although she 
survived both the wounds and the        
operation of the poison for the space   
of nineteen days1 and1 by means of her  

relation of the matter1 which  was      
corroborated by other circumstances1 the
 officers of justice and  the public    
were informed of the whole transaction1 
and measures were  taken for            
apprehending the delinquents2 yet they1 
finding themselves  discovered1 fled the
 kingdom1 and escaped the punishment due
 to their  crime4 ,this tragical event  
happened in the year #affg1 and is      
related by  ,gayot ,piteval1 in his     
fifth volume of ,remarkable ,cases4     
,,iv4 ,i don't deny that many of them   
are vicious2 but1 alas6 if we were  to  
trace their slips and irregularities to 
their source1 ,i fear we  should find   
them originate in the obstinate and     
persevering impulse  or solicitations of
 our sex4 ,he1 who would wish or        
endeavour to make  all the women good1  
should begin with converting all the    
men4 ,nature  implanted modesty in the  
sex1 as a fence-wall to resist the      
attacks of  appetite2 and it very rarely
 happens1 that a breach is made in this 

wall by force applied on the inside4    
,v4 ,the declamations against the women1
 which we read in some parts  of holy   
writ1 should be understood1 as pointed  
and levelled at the  perverse ones1 as  
there is no doubt but there are such2   
and1 although  they should be supposed  
to have an eye to the sex in general1   
nothing  could be inferred from thence2 
because the physicians of the soul      
declaim against women1 as the physicians
 of the body declaim against  fruit1    
which1 although it is good1 beautiful1  
and useful in itself1 the  abuse or     
excess of it is pernicious3 besides     
this1 allowance should be  made for the 
latitude permitted to oratory of        
magnifying the risque1  when it is used 
to divert or turn people from dangerous 
courses4    ,,vi4 ,let them1 who suppose
 the female sex to be more vicious than 
ours1  tell me1 how they can reconcile  
this1 with the church having in an      
especial manner1 bestowed on them the   
epithet of devout8 ,how with the  words 

of many of the most grave and eminent   
doctors1 who have declared  it as their 
opinion1 that there are more women saved
 than men1 even  having regard to the   
proportion1 in which it is generally    
thought the  number of females exceeds  
that of the males8 ,which opinion1 they 
do  not1 nor cannot found on any other  
thing1 than their having observed in    
them a greater inclination to piety4    
,,vii4 ,methinks ,i already hear1 in    
opposition to our undertaking1 that     
proposition of much noise1 and little or
 no truth1 that the women are  the cause
 of all evil2 and1 by way of proving it1
 the vulgar1 down to  the meanest and   
most contemptible of them1 endeavour to 
inculcate at  every turn1 that ,la ,caba
 occasioned the ruin of all ,spain1 and 
,eve that  of all mankind4    ,,viii4   
,but the first instance is absolutely a 
false one4 ,the count ,don  ,julian was 
the person who brought the ,moors into  
,spain1 but was not  persuaded to it by 
his daughter1 who did no more than make 

known  to her father the affront and    
injury she had received4 ,how unhappy   
is the lot of women1 if1 in the case of 
being trampled on by an  insolent       
ravisher1 they are to be deprived of the
 relief of unbosoming  themselves to    
their fathers1 or their husbands6 ,the  
aggressors1 in  these cases1 would      
gladly deprive them of this relief and  
benefit2  though if at any time an      
unjust vengeance should be the          
consequence  of the complaint1 the fault
 would not lie at the door of the       
innocent  offended person1 but would    
rest with him who did the execution with
 the  sword1 and the man who committed  
the insult2 and thus the whole blame    
and crime would be imputable to the men 
only4    ,,ix4 ,if the second example   
proves1 that the women in general are   
worse  than the men2 by the same mode of
 reasoning it may be proved1 that  the  
angels in general are worse than the    
women2 because1 as ,adam was  induced to
 sin by a woman1 the woman was seduced  

by an angel4 ,it is not  yet decided    
whose sin was the greatest1 that of     
,adam1 or that of ,eve1  because the    
fathers are divided in their opinions2  
and1 in truth1 the  excuse which        
,cayetane makes in favour of ,eve1 that 
she was deceived by  a creature of much 
superior intelligence and capacity to   
herself1 is  a circumstance that cannot 
be urged on behalf of ,adam1 and greatly
  abates her crime in comparison with   
his4      ,,sect4 ,,ii4    ,x4 ,but     
passing from the moral to the physical1 
which is more applicable  to our present
 purpose1 we shall find the preference  
of the robust  over the delicate sex is 
a point settled1 and any claim or       
pretensions  to equality on the part of 
the women is set aside1 and treated with
  contempt2 and to such a length has    
depreciating the women been carried  by 
some1 that they have not scrupled to    
call them imperfect1 and even  monstrous
 animals1 asserting1 that ,nature1 in   
the work of generation1  never intended 

to produce any thing but males1 and that
 it was only by  mistake1 or in         
consequence of some defect in the matter
 or faculty1  that females were         
produced4    ,,xi4 ,o admirable adepts  
in physics6 ,it would follow from hence1
 that  ,nature conspired to work its own
 destruction1 because1 without the      
concurrence of both sexes1 the species  
cannot be preserved4 ,it would  follow  
also1 that ,nature in this her principal
 work1 is more frequently  mistaken than
 right2 because it is allowed1 that she 
produces more  women than men4 ,nor when
 we see females the offspring of parents
 who  are healthy1 robust1 and in the   
flower of their age1 can we attribute   
the formation of them to debility1 want 
of vigour1 or a defect in the  matter2  
nor is it probable1 that if man had     
preserved his original  innocence1 in   
which case there would have been none of
 these defects1  we should have had no  
women born1 and that the human lineage  
would have  been kept up or continued   

without propagation4    ,,xii4 ,i know  
very well there was an author1 who1 for 
the sake of  indulging his malice1 and  
supporting his envious insinuations     
against  the other sex1 swallowed so    
palpable an absurdity4 ,this was        
,almaricus1  a ,parisian doctor of the  
twelfth century1 who1 among other       
errors1  asserts1 that1 if the state of 
innocence had continued1 all the        
individuals of our species would have   
been males1 and that ,god would  have   
created them immediately himself as he  
did ,adam4    ,,xiii4 ,almaricus was a  
blind follower of ,aristotle1 insomuch  
that all1  or very near all his errors1 
were produced by conclusions1 which  he 
had drawn from the doctrines of that    
philosopher2 and1 seeing  that          
,aristotle1 in more than one part of his
 works1 gives it to be  understood1 that
 a female is a defective animal1 its    
generation  accidental1 and out of the  
design of nature1 he concluded1 that    
there  were no women in the state of    

innocence2 and thus it comes to pass1   
that an heretical theology is very      
frequently occasioned by a mistake  in  
physics4    ,,xiv4 ,but the great and   
avowed adherence of ,almaricus to       
,aristotle1 was  rather unfortunate to  
them both2 because the errors of        
,almaricus were  condemned by a council 
held at ,paris in #abji2 and1 in the    
same council1  the reading the books of 
,aristotle were prohibited1 which       
prohibition  was afterwards confirmed by
 ,pope ,gregory ,,ix4 ,almaricus had    
been dead a  year when his dogmas were  
proscribed2 but his bones were          
afterwards dug  up1 and thrown into a   
jake4    ,,xv4 ,this shews1 that we     
should not lay any great stress upon the
  opinion of a few doctors1 who1 though 
they were in other respects  discreet   
men1 have asserted1 that the female sex 
is defective1 for no  other reason1 than
 because ,aristotle whose followers they
 were had  declared so2 but they did not
 however proceed so far1 as to          

precipitate  themselves into the error  
of ,almaricus4 ,it is certain1 that     
,aristotle's  treatment of the women    
proceeded from spite2 for he not only   
proclaimed  with vehemence their        
physical defects1 but was more vehement 
still in  blazoning their moral ones2   
some instances of which1 ,i shall point 
out in another place4 ,who would not    
suppose from all this1 that his         
disposition inclined him to shun the    
sex8 ,but nothing was so opposite  to   
him1 for he not only tenderly loved two 
wives which he married1  but his        
affection for the first1 named ,pythais1
 who1 as some say1  was daughter1 others
 niece of ,hermias1 tyrant of ,atarneus1
 carried  him so far beside himself1    
that he franticly offered incense to her
  as a deity4 ,they also give us a      
relation of his loose amours with a     
little servant girl1 though ,plutarch   
does not incline to credit the  tale2   
but in this business1 the testimony of  
,theocritus ,chio1 who was  contemporary

 with ,aristotle1 ought to have more    
weight than the opinion  of ,plutarch1  
who was much posterior to him2 and      
,theocritus1 in a lively  epigram1      
lashed ,aristotle for his obscenity4    
,from this instance we may  perceive1   
that men's seeming malignity to1 and    
inveterate abuse of  women1 is1 as we   
have observed before1 frequently        
accompanied with an  inordinate         
inclination for them4    ,,xvi4 ,from   
the same physical error which condemned 
woman for an  imperfect animal1 there   
sprung another theological one1 which is
  combated by ,st4 ,austin1 in ,lib4    
#bb1 de ,civit4 ,dei cap4 #ag4 ,the     
authors of this system say1 that1 at the
 universal resurrection1 this           
imperfection is to be remedied1 by      
converting all the women into men2  and 
that then1 grace is to compleat and     
finish the work which nature  had only  
begun4    ,,xvii4 ,this error is very   
like that of the infatuated ,alchymists1
 who1  relying on the maxim1 that nature

 in the formation of metals1 never      
intended to produce any thing but gold1 
and that it was only from  some         
obstruction1 or from some defect of     
vigour and virtue1 that she  fabricated 
other imperfect metals2 also pretend1   
that art is afterwards  capable of      
carrying the work to perfection1 and    
making gold of that  which was          
originally produced iron4 ,but1 after   
all1 this error is  the most sufferable 
of the two1 because it does not         
interfere with  matters of faith2 and   
because also1 let the intention of      
nature in  the formation of metals1 and 
the imaginary capacity of art1 be what  
they will1 it is a fact1 that gold is   
the most noble of metals1 and  that the 
others are of a much inferior quality   
compared to it4 ,but1 in  our present   
question1 the assertion1 that ,nature   
always intended the  production of      
males1 and that her producing females   
was the effect of a  bastard operation1 
is all false and erroneous2 and much    

more so is the  affirming1 that this is 
to be amended at the resurrection4      
,,sect4 ,,iii4    ,,xviii4 ,i would not1
 however1 be understood to approve of   
what is  thrown out by ,zacuto          
,lusitano1 in the introduction to his   
,treatise ,de  ,morbis ,mulierum1 where1
 with frivolous reasons1 he attempts to 
give  the preference to the women1 and  
to persuade us1 that their physical     
perfections greatly exceed those of the 
men4 ,such an opinion1 might be         
supported by much more plausible        
arguments than are used by him2 but my  
view is not to persuade a superiority1  
but only an equality4    ,,xix4 ,and to 
begin1 setting aside the question of    
their understandings1  which ,i mean to 
discuss separately and more at large in 
this discourse1  let us consider the    
three endowments1 in which the men seem 
manifestly  to have the advantage of the
 women1 to wit1 robustness1 constancy1  
and prudence2 but1 although this should 
be granted by the women1 they  might    

pretend to a competition1 by pointing   
out other three qualities1  in which    
they excel the male sex1 to wit1 beauty1
 gentleness1 and  simplicity4    ,,xx4  
,robustness1 which is a bodily          
perfection1 may be considered  as       
counterpoised by beauty1 which is so    
likewise4 ,many people are  disposed to 
give the last the preference2 and they  
would be right1 if  that was to be      
esteemed the most valuable1 which is the
 most flattering  or pleasing to the    
sight3 but the consideration of which is
 most useful  to the public1 should1 in 
the eye of sound judgment1 weigh most in
  deciding the question2 and1 viewing   
the thing in this light1 robustness     
must be preferred to beauty4 ,the       
robustness of men1 furnishes the  world 
with three most essential benefits1     
which may not improperly  be termed the 
three columns which support every state1
 to wit1 arms1  agriculture1 and        
mechanics4 ,from the beauty of women1 ,i
 do not know  what important advantage  

can accrue1 unless it comes by accident4
 ,some  will argue1 that beauty1 so far 
from producing benefits1 occasions      
serious mischiefs1 by causing unruly    
amours1 which inflame and excite        
competitions and strife1 and which      
involve those who are charged with  the 
custody of women1 in cares1 uneasiness1 
and anxiety4    ,,xxi4 ,but this        
accusation1 as it originates from a want
 of reflection1  is ill-founded2 for    
supposing1 for argument's sake1 that all
 the women  were ugly1 in those who were
 blemished with the fewest deformities1 
we  should experience the same          
attraction1 which we do at present in   
the  handsome ones1 and they would      
consequently occasion the same mischief4
  ,the least ugly placed in ,greece     
would have caused the burning of ,troy1 
as ,helen did2 and placed in the palace 
of ,king ,roderigo1 would have  been the
 ruin of ,spain1 as ,la ,caba was4 ,in  
those countries where the  women are the
 least tempting1 there are not fewer    

disorders than there  are in those where
 they are more genteelly1 and more      
admirably formed3  even in ,muscovy1    
which in number of handsome women       
exceeds all the  other kingdoms of      
,europe1 incontinence is not so         
unbridled as in other  countries1 and   
conjugal faith is observed there1 with  
more exactness  than it is in other     
places4    ,,xxii4 ,beauty therefore of 
itself1 is not the cause of the         
mischiefs  which are attributed to it2  
notwithstanding which1 in the present   
question1 ,i must give my vote in favour
 of robustness1 as ,i esteem  it a much 
more important quality than beauty1 and 
therefore1 in this  particular1 must    
give the preference to the men4 ,there  
is1 however1  saved and remaining to the
 women1 if they chuse to avail          
themselves of  it1 an objection to this 
decision1 which may be founded on the   
judgment  of many learned men1 and which
 was assented to and admitted by a whole
  illustrious school3 this judgment1    

recognizes the will for a more noble    
faculty than the understanding1 which is
 rather favourable to their  cause2 for 
if robustness1 as being of the most     
consequence1 is1 in the  general        
opinion1 most prized and valued1 beauty1
 as the more amiable  quality1 has most 
control over the will4    ,,xxiii4 ,the 
virtue of constancy1 which ennobles the 
men1 may be  contrasted with docility1  
which is resplendent in the women4 ,but 
it  will be proper here to remark1 that 
we do not treat of these or other       
qualities1 as formally considering them 
in the state of virtues1  because in    
this sense1 they are not of the lineage 
of nature1 but only  as they are grafted
 into1 and display themselves in the    
temperament or  habit2 and1 as the      
embryo of information is indifferent to 
receive good  or bad impressions1 it    
would be better to call them            
flexibility1 or  inflexibility of       
disposition1 than constancy or docility4
    ,,xxiv4 ,i may be told1 that the    

docility of women degenerates many times
  into levity2 to which ,i answer that  
the constancy of men as frequently      
terminates in tenaciousness4 ,i confess1
 that firmness in a good cause  is      
productive of great benefits2 but it    
can't be denied1 that obstinacy  in a   
bad one is also productive of great     
evils4 ,if it is argued1 that  an       
invincible adherence to good or evil is 
a quality appertaining to  angels only3 
,i answer1 that this is not so certain1 
for many great  theologians deny it2 and
 many properties1 which in superior     
beings  spring from their excellence1 in
 inferior ones proceed from their       
imperfection4 ,the angels1 according to 
the doctrine of ,st4 ,thomas1  are the  
more perfect1 the fewer things they     
understand2 in men1 their  knowledge    
being confined to a few particulars1 is 
considered as a  defect4 ,in angels1    
study would be regarded as a diminution 
of1 or  a reflection upon their         
understandings2 although it is known to 

be  absolutely necessary1 to illustrate 
and adorn those of men4    ,,xxv4 ,the  
prudence of the men1 may be balanced by 
the simplicity  or gentleness of the    
women2 and ,i was even about to say more
 than  balanced1 for1 in reality1       
simplicity or gentleness1 is more       
beneficial  to the human race1 than the 
prudence of all its individuals2 for    
nobody  has ever described the golden   
age as composed of prudent1 but of      
candid  men4    ,,xxvi4 ,if it is       
objected1 that much of that which is    
called simplicity  in women1 is         
thoughtlessness or inattention3 ,i      
reply1 that much of that  which is      
called prudence in men1 is fallacy1     
duplicity and treachery1  which are much
 worse qualities4 ,even that very       
indiscreet frankness1  with which they  
sometimes incautiously unbosom          
themselves1 is a good  token1 considered
 as a symptom4 ,no person is ignorant of
 his own vices2  and whoever finds      
himself loaded with them to a large     

amount1 is very  careful to shut the    
crevices of his heart1 to prevent the   
pryings of  curiosity3 whoever commits  
criminal disorders within his house1    
does  not leave his doors open at all   
hours1 and by that means expose himself 
to be detected4 ,reserve is the         
inseparable companion of a bad heart2   
and you may conclude1 that those who    
familiarly1 and with ease1 unbosom      
themselves1 have little about them they 
are anxious of concealing4  ,considered 
then in this light1 the simplicity or   
candour of the women1  is always a      
valuable quality2 but1 when conducted   
with good sense1  it approaches to a    
perfection2 and1 when it is not1 it may 
always be  looked upon as a favourable  
symptom4      ,,sect4 ,,iv4    ,,xxvii4 
,over and above the good qualities we   
have specified1 the women  have another1
 which is the most beautiful and        
transcendent of all1 to  wit1 their     
modesty2 a grace so characteristic of   
the sex1 that is does  not forsake even 

their dead bodies2 for ,pliny remarks1  
that when the  carcasses of drowned     
persons float on the water1 those of the
 men swim  with the face upwards1 and   
those of the women with the face        
downward4        ,veluti pudori         
defunctarum parcente natura4            
,lib4 #g4 ,cap4 #ag4    ,,xxviii4 ,a    
certain philosopher1 being asked what   
tint gave the most  graceful hue to a   
woman's countenance1 answered with much 
truth and  perspicuity1 modesty2 and ,i 
am really of opinion1 that it is the    
greatest advantage the women can claim  
over the men4 ,modesty is a  screen or  
fence1 which nature seems to have placed
 between virtue and  vice1 and is1 as a 
discreet ,french author observes1 the   
shield of fine  souls1 and the visible  
character of virtue3 and ,st4 ,bernard  
extends  the simile still farther1      
illustrating it with the epithets of the
  precious gem of manners1 the torch of 
the chaste soul1 and the sister  of     
continence2 the guardian of fame1 honour

 and life1 the foundation  of virtue1   
the pride of nature1 and the symbol of  
all honesty 7,serm4  #hf1 in ,cant47 and
 ,diogenes ingeniously and properly     
calls it the symbol  of virtue4 ,in     
fact1 this is the great and formidable  
bulwark1 which  nature has raised1 and  
placed in front1 to oppose vice1 and to 
serve  as a shelter and covering to the 
whole fortress of the soul2 and1 as     
,nazianzenus said1 when this is once    
subdued1 no farther resistance can  be  
made to every kind of vicious outrage4  
,protinus extincto subeunt  mala cuncta 
pudore4    ,,xxix4 ,it may be said1 that
 modesty is a signal preservative       
against  exterior assaults1 but not     
against interior acquiescence2 and thus 
a  door always is left open1 at which   
vice may make a triumphal entry1  which 
may be effected by the means of         
invisible attacks1 in parts1  that are  
not sheltered or protected by the wall  
of modesty4 ,but even  admitting that   
such a thing might happen1 shame would  

ever remain a  most valuable            
preservative1 and be the cause of       
preventing an infinite  deal of scandal1
 and the fatal consequences attending   
it4 ,upon serious  reflection it will be
 found1 that1 if it does not defend     
totally1 it is  in a great measure a    
protection even against those silent and
 secret  assaults1 which scarce ever    
peep out or shew themselves beyond the  
occult recesses of the soul3 for        
internal consentings are very rare1     
when they are not excited by some sort  
of attempts1 for these are the  things  
which radicate criminal affections in   
the soul1 and also those  which augment 
and strengthen propensities to vice4 ,it
 is true1 that  without these           
stimulants1 we now and then see         
turpitude introduce  itself into the    
spirit2 but he does not seem to lodge   
there as if he  was at home1 or like the
 master of the house1 but only as a     
stranger or  a sojourner4    ,,xxx4 ,the
 passions1 without the aliment that     

nourishes them1 lay very  languid1 and  
act very timidly1 especially in persons 
who are much  addicted to blush2 and    
those1 in whom there is such a frank and
 easy  commerce between the bosom and   
the countenance1 are always under       
apprehensions1 left the most secret     
operations of their breasts1 should  be 
exposed to public view on the parade of 
their faces4 ,in fact1 if  upon every   
occasion1 their most private or         
concealed affections are  blazoned on   
their cheeks1 the glow of the blush1    
seems the only tint1  with which the    
images of invisible objects can be      
painted or described2  and thus1 the    
fear of being liable to have what is    
impressed in their  minds read in their 
faces1 becomes a rein1 which confines   
and checks  the dangerous sallies of    
desire4    ,,xxxi4 ,to this may be      
added1 that the colour is so apt to rise
 in the  countenances of some of them1  
that they will often blush at           
themselves4  ,this heroic excellence1 or

 type of modesty1 which the ingenious   
father ,viera celebrates in one of his  
sermons1 is not1 as some coarse  spirits
 have termed it1 purely ideal1 but in   
persons of the most noble  sentiments   
and dispositions1 real1 and natural4    
,this was well known to  ,demetrius     
,phalereus1 who1 when he was instructing
 the youth of ,athens1  enjoined them1  
that at home they should behave with    
modesty to their  parents1 that abroad  
they should observe the same deportment 
to every  one they saw1 and that in     
private they should preserve a decency  
and a  modest carriage even to          
themselves4      ,,sect4 ,v4    ,,xxxii4
 ,i think ,i have pointed out as many   
advantages on the side of the  women1 as
 will balance1 if not out-weigh1 the    
qualities in which the  men excel4 ,who 
now is to give sentence in this plea8   
,if ,i had authority  to do it1 ,i might
 perhaps pronounce a short one1         
declaring1 that the  qualities in which 
the women excel1 conduce to make them   

better in  themselves2 and that those in
 which the men excel1 make them better  
for1 or1 to speak more properly1 of     
greater use to the public2 though  as ,i
 am not exercising the office of a      
judge1 but only that of an  advocate1   
the cause must for the present remain   
undecided4    ,,xxxiii4 ,and even       
supposing ,i had the necessary authority
 to determine1  ,i should be obliged to 
suspend giving judgment1 as it might be 
urged on  behalf of the men1 that the   
good qualities which are attributed to  
the  women are common to both sexes3 ,i 
confess they are1 but the same thing    
may be said with equal justice with     
respect to those of the men4 ,in  order 
not to confound the question1 it will be
 necessary to point out  the good       
qualities which are more frequently     
found in the individuals  of one sex1   
and seldomer in those of the other4 ,i  
grant then1 that you  meet with men who 
are docile1 candid1 and capable of      
blushing2 and ,i  will add1 that        

blushing1 which is a good symptom in    
women1 is a better  still in men1       
because it denotes a generous nature and
 much ingenuity2  which ,john ,barclay  
has more than once declared in his      
,satyricon2 and it  can't be denied1    
that the opinion of a man of his subtile
 genius1 is a  vote of great consequence
 in such a question2 and although this  
may not  be an infallible sign1 ,i      
myself have made so much observation in 
these  matters as to be convinced1 that 
no great expectations can be formed of  
a boy1 who is audacious and forward4    
,,xxxiv4 ,i say then1 that various      
individuals of our sex1 may be observed 
to possess the fine qualities which     
enoble the other1 though not with  the  
same frequency2 but this by no means    
inclines the balance in our  favour1    
because1 on the other hand1 the         
perfections the men boast of1  being    
communicated to many women1 have equal  
weight in the opposite  scale4          
,,sect4 ,,vi4    ,,xxxv4 ,there have    

been a thousand examples of princesses1 
who were  expert and able politicians4  
,no age will ever forget the first      
woman1  whose true character history    
developed and rescued from the obscurity
  of fable3 ,i mean ,semiramis1 queen of
 the ,assyrians1 who in her infancy  was
 nursed by doves1 but afterwards soared 
superior to the eagles3  she not only   
knew how to make herself blindly obeyed 
by the subjects  her husband had left   
her1 but she also made subjects of all  
the  neighbouring nations1 and by       
extending her conquests1 she likewise   
made  neighbours of the most distant    
ones4 ,her empire extended on one side  
to  ,ethiopia1 and on the other to      
,india4 ,nor can ,artemisia1 queen of   
,caria1  be forgotten1 who not only     
maintained1 during her long widowhood1  
the respect and adoration of that       
kingdom2 but1 being invaded by the      
,rhodians1 she1 in her own territories1 
by two singular stratagems1 with  two   
attacks only destroyed the troops of her

 enemies2 and1 passing  suddenly from   
the defensive to the offensive1 she     
invaded them in her  turn1 and conquered
 and triumphed over the island of       
,rhodes4 ,the two  ,aspasias also will  
be ever remembered1 to whose admirable  
management1  ,pericles the husband of   
one of them1 and ,cyrus the son of      
,darius  ,notho1 gallant of the other1  
happily and successfully1 confided the  
government of their states2 as will     
likewise the most prudent ,phile1       
daughter of ,antipater1 whom1 while she 
was a child1 her father advised  with   
concerning the government of the kingdom
 of ,macedonia1 and who  afterwards1 by 
her wise stratagems and great address1  
extricated her  husband1 the precipitate
 and flighty ,demetrius1 from a thousand
  difficulties4 ,livia1 of fertile      
invention1 whose subtile cunning  seems 
to have been too deep for the           
penetration of ,augustus1 is  another   
instance of female ability1 for she     
could never have had such  dominion over

 his mind1 if he had known her4 ,the    
sagacious ,agrippina  is likewise       
another1 although her arts1 as she      
unhappily employed  them in promoting   
her son ,nero to the throne1 were fatal 
to herself  and the world4 ,amalethunsa 
also1 is well deserving of being        
reckoned  among the women of great      
talents1 in whom1 her understanding all 
the  languages of every nation subject  
to the ,roman empire1 was esteemed an   
inferior accomplishment1 compared to the
 great skill and address1 which  she    
displayed in governing the state during 
the minority of her son  ,athalaricus4  
,,xxxvi4 ,nor1 passing over many others1
 and approaching nearer to our  own     
times1 should we ever forget ,elizabeth 
of ,england1 in whose  composition1 the 
influx of the three ,graces concurred   
equally with  that of the three ,furies4
 ,her conduct as a sovereign1 would ever
  remain the admiration of ,europe1 if  
her vices were not so interwoven  with  
her maxims of government1 as to make it 

impossible to separate  them2 and her   
political image1 will ever present      
itself to posterity1  coloured1 or1 to  
speak more properly1 stained and        
blemished with the  blood of the        
innocent ,mary ,stewart1 queen of       
,scots4 ,neither should  we forget      
,catharine of ,medicis1 queen of        
,france1 whose sagacity in  negotiating 
and maintaining a balance between the   
opposite parties of  ,calvinists and    
,catholics1 in order to save the crown  
from a precipice1  resembled the        
dexterity of a rope-dancer1 who1 mounted
 on a cord1 by  his ready art and       
address at poising himself with the     
weights at the  ends of his poles1      
secures himself from falling1 and       
delights and  amuses the spectators1 by 
displaying the risque1 at the same time 
that  he dextrously avoids the danger4  
,our own queen ,isabella1 would not     
have been inferior to any of them in the
 business of administration  and        
government1 if1 instead of a queen      

consort1 she had been a  queen-regent4  
,under all this disadvantage1 when      
proper occasions  presented themselves1 
she manifested by her actions1 that she 
was a  woman of consummate prudence and 
ability2 and ,lawrance ,beyerlink in    
his eulogium of her1 says1 that no great
 thing was done in her time1  in which  
she did not assist1 or was wholly the   
author of4 ,quid magni  in regno1 sine  
illa1 imo nisi per illam fer gestum est8
 ,at least the  discovery of the new    
world1 which was an event the most      
glorious for  ,spain that had fallen out
 in the course of many ages1 would      
certainly  never have been effected or  
accomplished1 but for the magnanimity   
of ,isabella1 who dispelled the fears1  
and vanquished the sloth of  ,ferdinand4
    ,,xxxvii4 ,in fine1 and what seems  
to have more weight than all the rest1  
it appears to me1 although ,i am not    
very certain of the computation1  that  
among the queens who have reigned for   
any length of time as  absolute         

sovereigns1 the greatest part of them1  
have been celebrated  in history for    
excellent governors4 ,but the poor      
women1 are still so  unhappy1 as always 
to have trumped up against this train of
 illustrious  examples1 a ,brunequilda1 
a ,fredegunda1 the two ,joans of        
,naples1 and a  few others2 but1 by the 
way1 the two first1 although they       
abounded in  mischief1 did not want     
understanding4    ,,xxxviii4 ,nor is the
 world so universally persuaded as some 
may think1  that a crown does not sit   
well on the head of a woman1 because in 
an  island or peninsula1 which is formed
 by the ,nile in ,ethiopia1 called      
,meroe1 women1 according to the         
testimony of ,pliny1 reigned for many   
successive ages4 ,father ,cornelius     
,alapide1 speaking of ,saba1 who  was   
one of their queens1 supposes1 that her 
empire extended much  beyond the limits 
of ,meroe1 and that it might possibly   
comprehend the  greatest part of        
,ethiopia1 grounding his opinion1 upon  

an expression  of our ,saviour1 who     
called her ,queen of the ,south1 which  
words seemed  to imply1 that she        
possessed vast dominions in that        
quarter4 ,thomas  ,cornelius also tells 
us1 that authors were not wanting1 who  
asserted1  that ,meroe was bigger than  
the island of ,great ,britain1 and1 if  
so1 the  territories of those queens    
were not very confined1 though they did 
not  extend beyond the limits of ,meroe4
 ,aristotle 7,lib4 #b4 ,polit4 ,cap4    
#g47  says1 that among the              
,lacedemonians1 the women had a great   
share in the  political government2 and 
that their being allowed it1 is         
agreeable to  the laws given them by    
,licurgus4    ,,xxxix4 ,in ,borneo also1
 according to the relation of ,mandeslo1
 which  may be seen in the second volume
 of ,olearius1 the women reign1 and     
their husbands enjoy no other privilege1
 than that of being their most          
dignified subjects4 ,in the island of   
,formosa1 situated in the southern  part

 of the ,chinese sea1 those idolaters   
who inhabit it1 have such  confidence in
 the prudent conduct of the women1 that 
the ,sacerdotal  function1 together with
 every thing which relates to religious 
matters1  is confided wholly to them2   
and that1 with regard to politics1 they 
enjoy a power superior to that of the   
senators1 they being considered  as the 
interpreters of the will of their       
deities4    ,,xl4 ,notwithstanding all  
this1 the ordinary practice of nations  
is most  conformable to reason1 as it   
corresponds best with the divine decree 
notified to our first mother in         
,paradise1 and to all her daughters in  
her name1 which enjoins a subjection to 
the men2 and we should only  correct the
 impatience1 which many people shew at  
submitting to female  government1 when  
according to the laws of the land they  
should obey2  and we should also bridle 
that extravagant estimation for our own 
sex1  which carries us such lengths1 as 
to prefer the government of a weak      

child1 to that of an able and           
experienced woman4 ,the antient         
,persians  were drawn by this           
prepossession to such a ridiculous      
extreme1 that the  widow of one of their
 princes happening to be left with child
 at the  death of her husband1 and being
 advised by their magi1 that she had    
conceived a male1 they crowned the belly
 of the queen1 and before it  was born1 
proclaimed the ftus king by the name of 
,sapor4      ,,sect4 ,,vii4    ,,xli4   
,we have hitherto treated of political  
prudence only1 in the  discussion of    
which point1 we have contented ourselves
 with a few  examples1 and have omitted 
the many4 ,it is needless to insist on  
the  ability of women in point of       
conomical prudence1 as every day's      
experience exhibits to us1 houses and   
families extremely well governed  by    
women1 and very badly governed by men4  
,,xlii4 ,we shall next proceed to       
consider resolution as a property1 which
  the men look upon as peculiarly       

annexed to1 or inseparable from1 their  
own sex4 ,i admit that heaven has       
endowed them in comparison to the       
women1 with a quadruple portion of this 
ingredient2 but not that it was  given  
them as an exempt property1 peculiarly  
annexed to1 and belonging  to their sex 
only1 and that the other was to be      
excluded from the least  participation  
of it4    ,,xliii4 ,not an age has      
passed1 which has not been ennobled and 
graced by  women of eminence and worth2 
and without dwelling on the heroines of 
,scripture1 and the martyrs to the law  
of grace1 because actions1 which  are   
aided by the especial intervention of a 
supernatural hand1 should  be attributed
 to the divine power1 and not to any    
natural virtue1 or  faculty of a sex3 ,i
 say1 without having recourse to these  
sort of  examples1 women of heroic      
valour1 present themselves to the memory
 in  crouds2 and after the ,semiramis's1
 the ,artamissas1 the ,thomyris1 the    
,zenobias1 there appears an ,aretaphila1

 the wife of ,nicrotatus1 the  sovereign
 of ,cyrene in ,libya1 in whose         
incomparably generous nature1  the      
greatest fortitude of mind1 the most    
tender love of her country1  and the    
most subtile and discerning             
understanding1 contended for  the       
pre-eminence2 because1 to deliver her   
country from the violent  tyranny of her
 husband1 and to revenge the murder1    
which1 for the  sake of possessing her  
he had perpetrated on her first consort1
 she  made herself the leader of a      
conspiracy1 and deprived ,nicrotatus of 
the kingdom and his life4 ,leander1 who 
inherited all his brother's  cruelty1   
having succeeded to the crown1 she had  
the valour and address  to rid the world
 of this second tyrant also2 crowning in
 the end1 all  her heroic actions1 by   
declining to accept the diadem1 which   
from a  grateful sense of the many      
benefits she had conferred on them1 was 
offered to her by the ,cyreneans4       
,denepetina1 the daughter of the great  

,mithridates1 and the inseparable       
companion and partner of her father1  in
 all his dangerous undertakings and     
projects1 in the execution of  which she
 manifested upon every occasion1 that   
strength of mind and  body1 which the   
singular circumstance of her coming into
 the world with  double rows of teeth1  
seems to have foretold at her birth2    
after her  father was defeated by the   
great ,pompey1 she was shut up and      
besieged  in a castle by ,manlius       
,priscus1 where1 finding it impossible  
to defend  herself1 she deprived herself
 of life1 to avoid suffering the        
ignominy  of being made a slave4 ,an    
,arria1 the wife of ,cecinus ,peto1     
whose  husband having been concerned in 
the conspiracy of ,camilus against  the 
emperor ,claudius1 was for this crime   
condemned to death2 and she1  determined
 not to outlive her consort1 having     
several times tried in  vain to beat her
 head to pieces against a wall1 procured
 at last to  be introduced to her       

husband in prison1 where she extorted   
from him a  promise1 to anticipate with 
his own hands the work of the           
executioner1  and1 by way of encouraging
 him to do it1 immediately transfixed   
her  own breast with a dagger4 ,an      
,epponina1 upon her husband ,julius     
,sabinus  having in ,gaul arrogated to  
himself the title of ,csar1 endured1    
with  rare constancy and fortitude1     
unspeakable toils2 and being at last    
condemned to death by ,vespasian1 she   
frankly and openly told him1 she  should
 die contented1 as death would deprive  
her of the disgust of  seeing so bad an 
emperor as him on the throne4    ,,xliv4
 ,and1 that it should not be thought the
 latter ages are inferior  to the       
antient ones in resolute and courageous 
women1 see the maid  of ,orleans present
 herself1 and stand forth compleatly    
armed1 as the  pillar1 which1 in its    
greatest distress1 supported the        
tottering  monarchy of ,france2 which   
she did so amazingly1 that the ,english 

and  ,french1 who were as opposite in   
sentiments as in arms1 imputed her      
extraordinary feats1 the one to a       
diabolical compact1 and the other  to   
divine assistance4 ,the ,english perhaps
 feigned the first1 for the  purpose of 
throwing an odium on their enemies2 and 
those who had the  management of affairs
 in ,france1 suggested the other        
politically2  for it was of vast        
importance1 when the people and soldiers
 were so  greatly dismayed1 to raise    
their dejected spirits1 by persuading   
them1  that heaven had declared itself  
their ally1 and introduced on the       
theatre of the world1 a damsel of       
perspicuity and magnanimity1 as an      
inspired instrument1 which was equal to1
 and capable of effecting the           
miraculous succour4 ,a ,margaret of     
,denmark1 in the fourteenth century1  in
 her own person1 headed an army1 and    
conquered the kingdom of ,sweden1       
taking king ,albertus prisoner4 ,the    
authors of those times1 call her the    

second ,semiramis4 ,one ,marulla1 a     
native of ,lemnos1 an island in the     
,archipelago1 when the fortress of      
,cochin was besieged1 upon seeing her   
father slain1 snatched up his sword and 
shield2 and having prevailed on  the    
whole garrison to follow her1 she put   
herself at their head1 and1  encouraging
 them by her example1 charged the enemy 
with such ardour1  that she drove them  
from their trenches1 and obliged the    
,basha ,soliman  to raise the siege3    
which action1 the ,venetian general     
,loredano1 who  was proprietor of the   
place1 rewarded1 by permitting her to   
chuse for  a husband1 whichever of the  
most illustrious captains of his army   
she liked best1 promising at the same   
time1 to settle on her and her  consort1
 a fortune suitable to their rank1 which
 he did in the name  of the republic4   
,one ,blanca de ,rossi1 the wife of     
,baptista ,porta1 a  ,paduan captain1   
who1 after defending valorously a post  
on the walls  of ,bassano1 a fortress in

 the march of ,tresvina1 finding the    
place  suddenly taken by treachery1 and 
her husband made prisoner and put to    
death by the tyrant ,ezelinus1 and      
perceiving she had no means left to     
escape falling a victim to the brutal   
passion of that ravisher1 who  was      
furiously enamoured with her beauty2 she
 threw herself out of the  window of an 
upper room2 but being afterwards1       
against her inclination1  cured of the  
bruises she received1 and enduring with 
anguish and regret  under that          
oppressive barbarian1 the shame of      
having been forced1 she1  to relieve the
 bitterness of her grief1 and to        
extricate herself from  continuing in a 
state of violation to her conjugal      
faith1 deprived  herself of life in the 
sepulchre of her husband1 which for the 
purpose  of doing it there she had      
caused to be opened4 ,we could instance 
many  other women of heroic courage1 and
 particularize the occasions on which   
they exerted it2 but1 to avoid the      

recital appearing prolix or tedious1  we
 shall omit the relation of them4       
,,xlv4 ,the reason of my not having yet 
mentioned the ,amazons1 which is  a case
 so applicable to this matter1 is1      
because ,i think it will be  better to  
treat of them separately4 ,some authors1
 in opposition to many  others who      
affirm it1 deny their existence2 but    
without engaging in  this dispute1 we   
must allow1 that much fable has been    
mixed with the  history of the ,amazons2
 such as that they destroyed all their  
male  children2 that they lived in a    
total state of separation from the other
  sex1 and only consorted with them once
 a year for the sake of becoming        
pregnant4 ,of a piece with these1 are   
the tales of their encounters  with     
,hercules and ,theseus1 and the succour 
given to afflicted ,troy by  the fierce 
,penthesilea1 and perhaps that also1 of 
the visit of queen  ,talestris to       
,alexander4 ,but with all this1 against 
the testimony and  credit of so many    

antient authors1 it would be rash to    
deny1 that there  was a formidable body 
of warlike women in ,asia1 who went by  
the name of  ,amazons4    ,,xlvi4 ,but  
in case this should be denied1 in lieu  
of the ,asiatic  ,amazonians they       
deprive us of1 we should be supplied    
with another set1  drawn from the other 
three parts of the globe1 ready to stand
 forth and  take their places4 ,the     
,spaniards discovered ,american ones1   
navigating  armed1 on the river         
,maranon1 which is the largest in the   
world1 and  to which1 for this reason1  
they gave the name of the river of the  
,amazons4 ,there are some of them in    
,africa1 in a province of the empire  of
 ,monomotapa3 and1 it is said1 they are 
the best soldiers in all that           
territory2 there are not wanting        
geographers1 who made ,monomotapa a     
distinct state from the country these   
warlike women inhabit4    ,,xlvii4 ,in  
,europe1 although in no part of it the  
women are military  people by           

profession1 we may venture to give the  
name of ,amazons to  those who upon     
different occasions1 have fought in such
 battalions or  squadrons1 as have      
defeated and triumphed over the enemies 
of their  country4 ,such were the       
,french women of ,beauvais1 who1 when   
that city1  in the year #agdb1 was      
besieged by the ,burgundians1 on the day
 of the  assault1 united themselves     
together under the conduct or command of
  ,joan ,hacheta1 and vigorously        
repulsed the enemy2 their captain       
,hacheta1  having with her own hands1   
tumbled the person headlong from the    
walls1  who attempted to erect the      
enemies' standard there4 ,to commemorate
  this transaction1 they keep an annual 
festival in that city1 and the  women on
 the feast-day1 have the singular       
privilege of walking in  procession     
before the men4 ,such also1 were the    
inhabitants of the  islands ,echinadas1 
called at present ,bur-,solares1        
celebrated for the  victory of ,lepanto1

 which was gained in the sea of these   
islands4 ,the  year antecedent to this  
famous battle1 the ,turks having        
attacked the  principal island1 the     
,venetian governor ,antonio ,balbo1 and 
all the men1  were so terrified1 that   
they betook themselves to flight in the 
night1  leaving the women behind them1  
who1 at the instance of a priest named  
,antonio ,rosoneo1 resolved to defend   
the place2 and1 much to the honour  of  
their own sex1 and the disgrace of ours1
 they really did defend it4    ,n4 ,b4  
,with respect to the women who laid     
violent hands on themselves1  we do not 
mean to propose their resolution as     
examples of virtue1 but  only to exhibit
 it1 as a vicious excess of fierce      
courage1 which is  sufficient to answer 
the purpose intended4      ,,sect4      
,,viii4    ,,xlviii4 ,after all this    
recital of magnanimous women1 there     
still  remains something to be said on a
 particular1 which the men point  out as
 their weak side1 and with respect to   

which1 they charge them  with the       
greatest want of constancy2 that is1    
their not being firm in  keeping a      
secret4 ,cato the ,censor in this       
instance1 would not admit of  any       
exception whatever with regard to them1 
and condemned the trusting  a secret to 
any woman1 be she who she would1 as one 
of the greatest  errors a man could run 
into2 but ,cato's own great niece       
,porcia1  daughter of ,cato the younger1
 and wife of ,marcus ,brutus1 gave the  
lie  to this assertion1 she having      
obliged her husband1 to confide to her  
the grand secret of the conspiracy      
against ,csar1 by the extraordinary     
proof she exhibited to him of her valour
 and constancy1 in the great  wound she 
voluntarily gave herself with a knife in
 the thigh4    ,,xlix4 ,pliny1 quoting  
the ,magi as his authors1 tells us1 that
 the heart  of a certain bird1 applied  
to the breast of a woman when she is    
asleep1  will make her reveal all her   
secrets4 ,and in another place1 he says1

  the tongue of a certain snake will    
have the same effect4 ,the magicians    
being obliged to search among the hidden
 secrets of ,nature1 for keys  to unlock
 the doors of their hearts1 is no proof1
 of the women's being  so easily brought
 to reveal what has been confided to    
them4 ,but let  us laugh with ,pliny at 
these inventions2 and let us grant1 if  
you  please1 that there are very few    
women strict observers of a secret2     
but1 in return to this1 it is confessed 
on the other hand by the most           
experienced politicians1 that there are 
very few men also1 to whom  you can     
confide secrets of importance2 and      
truly1 if such men were  not very scarce
 commodities1 princes would not hold    
them in such high  estimation1 as to    
think scarce any of their richest       
moveables equal to  them in value4      
,l4 ,nor are there examples wanting1 of 
women of invincible constancy in  the   
article of keeping a secret4            
,pythagoras1 when he found himself  near

 dying1 delivered all his writings1 in  
which were contained  the most hidden   
mysteries of his philosophy1 into the   
custody of  his prudent and dutiful     
daughter ,damo2 directing her at the    
same  time1 never to permit them to be  
published1 which injunction she so      
punctually obeyed1 that1 even when she  
found herself reduced to extreme        
poverty1 and could have sold those books
 for a large sum of money1  she chose   
rather to endure the anguish and        
pinchings of want1 than be  deficient in
 point of the confidence reposed in her 
by her father4    ,,li4 ,the magnanimous
 ,aretaphila1 whom we have already      
mentioned1 having  attempted to take    
away the life of her husband by a       
poisonous draught  before she entered   
into a conspiracy against him1 which was
 to be  carried into execution by force 
of arms1 was surprized and detected  in 
the fact1 and being put to the torture  
to discover who were her  comforters and
 abettors1 the force of the torment was 

so far from  extorting the secret1 or   
depriving her of the possession of      
herself1  or the use of her reason1     
that1 after owning she intended to give 
him the poison1 she had the address to  
persuade the tyrant it was a            
love-philter1 and contrived for the     
purpose of increasing his passion  for  
her4 ,in fact1 this ingenious fiction   
had the effect of a philter1  for       
,nicotratus's love of her was afterwards
 greatly increased from  this           
persuasion1 that she1 who was solicitous
 to excite in him an  arduous and       
excessive desire for her1 could not do  
otherwise than  entertain a sincere     
tenderness and affection for him4       
,,lii4 ,in the conspiracy set on foot by
 ,aristogiton1 and which was begun  to  
be executed1 by putting to death        
,hipparchus1 the brother of ,hippias1  a
 courtesan woman1 who had been trusted  
with the secret1 and knew all  the      
accomplices1 was put to the torture2 but
 she1 to convince the  tyrant of the    

impossibility of extorting the secret   
from her1 cut her  tongue asunder with  
her teeth1 and let the end drop before  
his face4    ,,liii4 ,when the first    
indications of the conspiracy of ,pison 
against  ,nero1 began to shew           
themselves1 many of the most illustrious
 men of  ,rome shrunk under1 and gave   
way to the rigour of the torture4       
,lucan1  for example1 discovered his own
 mother as an accomplice1 and many      
others their most intimate friends2 and 
there was only one ,epicharis1  an      
ordinary and obscure woman1 who was     
acquainted with the whole  transaction1 
on whom neither whips nor fire1 nor all 
the martyrdoms  they could invent1 had  
power to tear from her breast the least 
information4    ,,liv4 ,i knew a certain
 one myself1 who1 being examined by the 
torture1  touching an atrocious crime   
which had been committed by her master  
and mistress1 resisted the force of that
 rigorous test1 not to save  herself1   
but only to skreen them2 for so small a 

portion of the fault  could be imputed  
to her1 either on account of her        
ignorance of the  magnitude of the      
crime1 or from her having acted by the  
command of  others1 and from various    
circumstances of mitigation1 that the   
law  would not have condemned her to a  
punishment1 any thing comparable to  the
 severity of that she underwent4        
,,lv4 ,but of women1 from whom the power
 of torture could not tear the  secrets 
of their breasts1 the examples are      
infinite4 ,i heard a person  who had    
been used to assist upon such occasions 
declare1 that1 although  he had known   
many of them confess1 rather than be    
stripped naked to  prepare them for the 
execution of the punishment of the rack1
 the  instances of their having         
confessed after undergoing this         
martyrdom of  their modesty1 were very  
rare4 ,a truly great and shining        
excellence  in the sex this1 that the   
regard for their modesty1 should have   
more  weight with them than all the     

terrors of an executioner4    ,,lvi4 ,i 
do not doubt1 but this parallel ,i have 
drawn of the sexes1 may  appear to many 
somewhat flattering to the women2 but ,i
 shall reply  to these1 that ,seneca1   
whose rigid ,stoicism removes all doubts
 of his  impartiality1 and whose        
severity sets him at a great distance   
from all  suspicion of flattery1 has    
made a comparison not a jot less        
favourable  to the side of the women1   
for he absolutely asserts them to be    
equal  to the men1 in all the valuable  
natural faculties and dispositions4     
,these are his words3 ,quis autem dicat1
 naturam malign cum muliebribus         
ingeniis egisse1  virtutes illarum in   
arctum retraxisse8 ,par illis  mihi     
crede1 vigor1 par ad honesta 7libeat7   
facultas est4 ,laborem1  doloremque ex  
quo si consuevere patiuntur4 7in        
,consol4 ad ,marciam47      ,,sect4     
,,ix4    ,,lvii4 ,we are come now to    
defend the great article of all1 which  
is the  question of the understanding2  

and1 ,i must confess1 if my reason does 
not assist me in arguing this point1    
that ,i expect but little help or       
resource from authorities2 because all  
the authors who have touched  upon the  
matter1 with the exception of one or two
 particular ones only1  have wrote so   
much on the side of the vulgar opinion1 
that they almost  uniformly speak of the
 understandings of the women with       
contempt4    ,,lviii4 ,and truly1 ,i    
might reply to the authority of the     
greatest part  of these books1 with the 
fable of the lion and the man1 inserted 
by  ,carducius in one of his dialogues1 
which is to this effect4 ,a man and a   
lion travelling together1 fell to       
dispute whether lions or men were the   
bravest animals3 and as they proceeded  
on their road1 they came to a  fountain1
 at the top of which1 there was         
exhibited carved in marble1 a  man      
tearing a lion in pieces2 upon seeing   
this1 the man turned short on  the lion1
 and in the tone of a conqueror1 asked1 

if he could make any  reply to so       
convincing an argument2 to which the    
lion answered with a  smile1 this is    
very pretty reasoning of yours1 the     
carving was designed  and executed by a 
man2 we lions are none of us sculptors2 
if we had1  and were capable of doing   
this sort of work1 ,i will venture to   
assure  you1 the representation would   
have been made quite the reverse to what
  you there see it4    ,,lix4 ,the case 
is1 they were men who wrote those books1
 in which the  understandings of the    
women are held so cheap2 had they been  
written by  women1 the men would have   
been placed in the inferior class3 and  
there  has not been wanting a woman1 who
 has done something of this sort2  for  
,lucretia ,marinella1 a learned         
,venetian lady1 among other works       
composed a book with this title1 ,the   
,excellences of ,women1 compared  with  
the ,defects and ,vices of ,men2 the    
sole object of which1 was to  prove a   
preference of her own sex to ours4 ,the 

learned jesuit ,john of  ,carthagena    
says1 that he saw and read this book    
with great pleasure at  ,rome1 and that 
he saw it also in the royal library at  
,madrid2 but the  truth is1 that neither
 she nor we can be judges in this plea1 
because  we are parties to the suit2 and
 therefore the sentence and decision    
must be confided to the angels1 who     
being of no sex1 are impartial4    ,,lx4
 ,and in the first place1 those who hold
 the understanding of  women in such    
contempt1 as hardly to allow they are   
endued with more  than pure instinct1   
are unworthy to be admitted as parties  
in the  controversy2 neither are those1 
who maintain1 that the greatest reach   
of a woman's capacity1 does not extend  
farther than to qualify her for         
managing a hen-roost4    ,,lxi4 ,some   
prelate1 who is quoted by ,don          
,francisco ,manuel in his ,guide  to    
,married ,people1 said1 that the        
understanding of the most knowing  woman
 did not exceed the bounds of ordering  

how a chest of clean  linen should be   
packed4 ,let those who adhere to such   
opinions1 be as  respectable as they    
will in other points of view1 they do   
themselves  no sort of credit by such   
declarations2 for the most favourable   
interpretation they admit of1 is1 that  
they were intended as hyperbolic  jokes4
 ,it is a fact of public notoriety1 that
 there have been women1  who well       
understood the ordering and governing   
religious communities1  and also women1 
who are equal to the government and     
direction of whole  states4    ,,lxii4  
,these discourses against the women1 are
 the works of superficial  men2 who1    
seeing they in general understand       
nothing but household  business1 which  
is commonly the only thing they are     
instructed in1 or  employed about1 are  
apt to infer from thence1 without being 
aware that  they draw the inference from
 that circumstance1 that they are unfit 
for1 or incapable of any other matter4  
,the most shallow logician knows1  that 

it is not a valid conclusion1 to suppose
 that because a person  forbears to do  
an act1 that he is unable to do it1 and 
therefore1 from  the women in general   
knowing no more1 it cannot be inferred1 
that they  have not talents to          
comprehend more4    ,,lxiii4 ,nobody    
understands radically and well1 more    
than the subject  he has studied2 but   
you cannot deduce from hence1 without   
incurring  the note of barbarism1 that  
his ability extends no farther4 ,sir    
,thomas  ,more1 in his ,utopia1 states  
the following question3 suppose all men 
were to dedicate themselves to          
agriculture1 in so close and strict a   
manner1 as to occasion their            
understanding nothing else2 would this  
be a foundation whereon to argue and    
insist1 that they were incapable  of    
understanding any other thing8 ,with the
 ,druses1 a people of  ,palastine1 the  
women are the only repositories of the  
little learning  that subsists among    
them1 for almost all of these can read  

and write2  in consequence of which1 the
 little literature they can boast of1 is
  treasured up in the heads of the      
women1 and totally hidden from the  men1
 who devote themselves solely to        
agriculture1 war1 and handy-craft       
business4 ,if the same custom prevailed 
all the world over1 the women  would    
undoubtedly consider the men as unfit   
for1 or incapable of  literature1 in    
which light1 the men at present consider
 the women2 and  as such a judgment     
would certainly be erroneous1 in the    
same manner is  that mistaken1 which we 
at present make1 because it proceeds    
upon the  same principle4      ,,sect4  
,x4    ,,lxiv4 ,and perhaps father      
,malebranche adopts the same mode of    
reasoning2  for1 although he was much   
more benign towards the women1 and in   
his art  of investigating truth         
acknowledges1 that in the faculty of    
discerning  sensible things1 they are   
known to have the advantage of the men2 
still he insists1 they are much inferior

 to them in the comprehension  of       
abstract ideas2 and assigns as the      
reason of it1 the softness of  their    
brains4 ,it is very well known1 that    
people search for these  physical       
causes1 and after some experience1 when 
they are1 or fancy  they are sure of    
their effects1 apply them in their own  
manner1 to suit  their own doctrines4   
,this being the case1 the consequence   
which results  from hence is1 that the  
author himself falls into the same      
intellectual  disease1 of which he had  
intended to cure all mankind4 ,this     
error1 is  produced by common           
pre-occupations1 and principles ill     
considered and  digested4 ,he without   
doubt made this judgment1 either to     
avoid being  led away by the common     
opinion1 or from having observed1 that  
women of  ability1 or those who are     
reputed such1 reason with more facility1
 and  talk more pertinently than the    
men1 on such subjects as appertain to   
sensible things1 and with no less       

precision than them 7if in such cases   
they do not observe a total silence7 on 
abstracted matters2 but this  proceeds1 
not from an inequality of talents1 but  
from a difference of  application and   
practice4 ,women employ themselves1 and 
think much more  than the men1 about    
dainty eatables1 setting out a table1   
ornaments of  dress1 and other things of
 this kind2 from whence it happens1 that
 they  discourse and talk of them more  
pertinently1 and with greater facility  
than those of the other sex4 ,on the    
contrary1 it is very rare1 that  any    
woman attends to questions of theory1 or
 bestows the least thought  on the      
subject of abstract ideas1 and therefore
 it is no wonder they  seem dull1 when  
the conversation turns on such matters4 
,if you observe  them1 you will find1   
that women who are informed1 and are of 
a gay  cast1 and who sometimes take     
pleasure in discoursing on the          
delicacies  of platonic love1 whenever  
it happens that they argue with the men 

on  this point1 they greatly out-do even
 the most discreet ones1 who have  not  
applied themselves to explore these     
bagatels of fancy3 this in a  great     
measure confirms the remarks we have    
made above4    ,,lxv4 ,in general1 any  
person whatever1 be his capacity ever so
 great1  will appear more rude than a   
man of little penetration1 if he talks  
with him of such matters as the other   
has had experience in and he has  never 
applied himself to understand4 ,a       
labourer in husbandry1 whom ,god  has   
endowed with a most penetrating genius1 
which is no uncommon case1  if it       
happens that his attention has never    
been fixed on any other  thing but his  
work1 would appear greatly inferior to  
the most heavy  politician1 if he should
 ever chance to converse with him about 
reasons  of state2 and the most wise    
politician1 if he is merely a           
politician1  who should set himself to  
talk about the disposition of troops1   
and the  fighting of battles1 would     

utter a thousand absurdities2 insomuch1 
that if a man skilled in military       
affairs was to hear him1 he would  be   
apt to conclude he was mad1 as ,hannibal
 thought the great ,asiatic  orator was1
 who1 in the presence of king ,antiochus
 and him1 undertook  to argue about the 
art and conduct of war4    ,,lxvi4 ,it  
happens exactly the same in the business
 we are now treating  of4 ,a woman of   
excellent understanding1 whose thoughts 
are constantly  occupied on domestic    
management and the care of her house1   
without  scarce ever hearing matters of 
a superior nature talked of1 or1 if  it 
does happen that she hears any such     
thing1 she rarely pays much  attention  
to it3 her husband1 though much inferior
 to her in talents1  converses          
frequently abroad with able men of      
various professions1 by  communicating  
with whom1 he acquires variety of       
knowledge1 or he enters  into public    
business1 and receives important        
information4 ,instructed  in this       

manner1 if it happens at any time that  
in the company of his  wife1 these      
matters are talked of1 she1 who by the  
means and in the way  we have just      
mentioned1 can gain but little aid or   
assistance1 if she  happens to speak    
just what occurs to her on the subject1 
from the want  of instruction1 must     
appear a little defective in point of   
knowledge1  let her be ever so acute and
 penetrating4 ,her husband1 and the     
others  who hear her1 conclude from     
thence1 that she is a fool2 and he in   
particular1 plumes himself on his       
superior talents and abilities4         
,,lxvii4 ,as it fared with this woman1  
so it fares with an infinity of  others1
 who1 though they may have much more    
sense than the men they  happen to be in
 company with1 are condemned by them as 
unfit to reason  on any kind of subject3
 but the truth is1 that their not being 
able to  reason at all1 or their        
reasoning ill on such matters1 does not 
proceed  from a want of talents1 but    

from a want of being properly informed2 
and without this assistance1 a person1  
endued with even an angelic             
understanding1 could not discourse      
pertinently on any subject whatever4    
,the men at the same time1 although     
inferior to them in understanding1      
shine and triumph over them with an air 
of importance1 because they  happen to  
be better provided with information4    
,,lxviii4 ,over and above this advantage
 of being better informed1 the  men have
 another1 which is of great moment1 to  
wit1 that they are much  accustomed to  
meditate1 discourse1 and reason upon    
such matters1 it  being in a manner     
their daily practice2 while the women   
hardly ever  bestow a thought on them3  
on which account1 whenever these things 
are  started in conversation1 the men   
are prepared to talk upon them1 and  the
 women are taken by surprize4    ,,lxix4
 ,finally1 men1 by their reciprocal     
communication with each other  upon such
 subjects1 gain mutual instruction1 each

 individual1 receiving  lights and      
information from the observations and   
experience of those we  converse with2  
and therefore1 when they argue upon     
these matters1 they  not only make use  
of their own understandings and         
improvements1 but  they likewise avail  
themselves of what they have acquired   
from their  neighbours2 so that many    
times1 what is expressed and explained  
by the  mouth of one man1 is not the    
produce of one understanding only1 but  
of  many4 ,the women1 who in their      
ordinary conversations1 don't discourse 
on these sublime questions1 but rather  
of their domestic amusements and        
employments1 furnish to each other no   
reciprocal lights or assistance1  with  
respect to these great points2 in       
consequence of which1 whenever  they    
happen to be present when such subjects 
are agitated1 you should  add to their  
talking unprepared1 the disadvantage1 of
 each of them  being confined to the use
 of no more than their own proper lights

 and  ideas4    ,,lxx4 ,these           
advantages1 by means of which1 a man of 
very short  penetration1 may say much   
more1 and much more to the purpose1 upon
  noble subjects1 than a woman of great 
perspicuity1 are of such moment1  that  
one who has not attended to the above   
reflections1 if he should  happen to be 
present at a conversation of this sort1 
between a very  keen woman and a very   
heavy man1 might be apt to conclude1    
that he was  a discreet person1 and she 
a fool4    ,,lxxi4 ,in fact1 the want of
 these reflections1 has engendered in   
many  men1 and some of them in other    
respects wise and prudent ones1 this    
great contempt for the understanding of 
women2 but what is most  laughable and  
ridiculous1 they have exclaimed so much 
and so loudly  against them1 and have   
asserted with such confidence the       
poverty and  scantiness of their        
understandings1 that many1 if not the   
bulk of the  world1 have been idle      
enough to believe them4      ,,sect4    

,,xi4    ,,lxxii4 ,and it seems to me1  
that not even those1 who approaching    
nearer  to reason1 admit1 that though   
the men in general excel the women in   
understanding1 still own there are women
 of solid and perspicuous  parts2 ,i    
say1 not even these have1 to my         
satisfaction1 established  the          
inequality in point of understanding    
between the two sexes4 ,if  they had    
attended to the circumstances ,i have   
before-mentioned1 and  which frequently 
occur1 they would have perceived1 that1 
in the cases  specified1 women1 of much 
better understandings than the men they 
conversed with1 would appear greatly    
inferior to them4    ,,lxxiii4 ,nor do  
,i conceive1 what other foundation this 
pretended  inequality can be built on1  
than that ,i have mentioned1 the        
equivocation and fallibility of which1  
,i have just pointed out4 ,for if  ,i am
 told1 the thing has been demonstrated  
by experience1 ,i am prepared  with a   
reply1 and shall answer1 that the       

experience they alledge is  deceitful1  
and that ,i have exposed its fallacy in 
many instances2  besides this1 with     
regard to the matter of experience1 ,i  
shall cite two  witnesses of great      
credit in favour of the women4 ,the     
first is1 the  sagacious and discreet   
,portugueze ,don ,francisco ,manuel1 who
 wrote a  little treatise1 called1 ,a   
,guide to ,married ,people4    ,,lxxiv4 
,in this ,cavalier1 all the             
circumstances that can be desired       
concur1 to make his vote of singular    
weight in the question we are  treating 
of2 because1 in addition to his being a 
man of remarkable  knowledge and        
information1 he had travelled through   
many countries1  where he was generally 
charged with and negotiated important   
concerns2  in consequence of which1 and 
by means of his elevated genius and     
courteous deportment1 he had            
opportunities of being introduced to1   
and  conversing with1 ladies of rank and
 fashion in all places1 as may be  seen 

by his writings4    ,,lxxv4 ,it appears 
by this author1 that1 not satisfied with
 considering  the women as equal to the 
men in their intellectual capacities1 he
  inclines to allow them some advantage 
over the other sex in this  particular4 
,in the book before quoted1 fol4 #gc1   
after reciting1 that  the general       
opinion with respect to the women is    
otherwise2 he says1  ,i am of a         
different sentiment1 and am certain1    
that many women are  exceedingly        
judicious and sensible1 ,i having seen  
and conversed with  abundance of such1  
both in ,spain and other countries2 and 
it appears to  me1 that1 on account of  
their having the advantage of us in     
quickness  of perception1 and readiness 
of repartee1 it is necessary to use     
great  caution in talking with them3 and
 a little lower he speaks thus2         
although it would be unjust to dispute  
the purity of the metal with  which     
,nature formed their understandings1 we 
may nevertheless take  precaution to    

save and guard them1 in situations where
 they may be  led into danger1 and      
ourselves may be injured4 ,the testimony
 of this  author1 as ,i have before     
said1 is of great weight1 because to his
 great  experience and discretion1 we   
may add1 that in the treatise we have   
quoted1 he is not very favourable to the
 women2 and even at the end of  it1 he  
does not scruple1 nor is he ashamed to  
accuse himself of being  too severe upon
 them4    ,,lxxvi4 ,the second evidence1
 is that most learned ,frenchman1 the   
,abb ,bellegarde1 a man who was also    
used to courts1 and learned his         
knowledge of the world in the great     
theatre of ,paris4 ,this author1 in  a  
book he published1 intitled1 ,curious   
,observations on ,literature  and       
,morality1 affirms1 that the minds of   
women1 for the purpose of  obtaining a  
knowledge of all sorts of sciences and  
arts1 and also every  kind of business1 
are in no manner inferior to those of   
men4 ,i have  not seen this author1 but 

the editors of the ,memoirs of ,trevoux1
 in  the month of ,april1 #agjb1 quote  
him on the subject4 ,the author of the  
,journies in the ,coaches of ,madrid and
 ,alcala1 who1 let him be who he  would1
 was a man of note1 maintains the same  
sentiment 7pag4 #de72 and  father       
,buffier1 a celebrated ,french writer1  
in a book intitled1 ,an  ,examination of
 vulgar ,prejudices1 which he wrote     
expressly for the  purpose of doing it1 
proves the same thing4      ,,sect4     
,,xii4    ,,lxxvii4 ,having then        
answered the arguments alledged to be   
built upon  experience1 there only      
remains1 that they prove to us the      
pretended  inequality by some physical  
reason4 ,but ,i affirm no such can be   
assigned1 because recourse can only be  
had in this matter1 either to  an       
entative inequality of souls1 to a      
distinct organization1 or to a          
different temperament of the bodies of  
both sexes4    ,,lxxviii4 ,from the     
entative inequality of souls1 nothing   

can be deduced1  for it is a generally  
received opinion among philosophers1    
that all  rational souls1 in point of   
physical perfection1 are equal4 ,i well 
know1 that some quote ,st4 ,austin as   
entertaining an opposite sentiment1  in 
his #aeth book1 chap4 #ac1 on the       
,trinity2 but ,i can't find1 that ,st4  
,austin in that chapter1 does even so   
much as touch upon the matter4 ,i  know 
likewise1 that the faculty of ,paris    
condemned a proposition1 which  affirmed
 the soul of our ,lord ,christ was not  
more perfect than the soul  of the      
treacherous ,judas4 ,to this the great  
,scottish master answered1  that1 as the
 condemnation was not confirmed by the  
holy see1 we are not  bound to observe  
it4 ,in strictness this is so2 but ,i   
think it would be  right that such a    
proposition should be blotted out of    
every book in  which it is found1 as    
dissonant1 harsh1 and offensive to weak 
people1  who in souls1 can't distinguish
 the physical from the moral2 but this  

does not in any manner affect the truth 
of the general opinion1 which  assents  
to a total physical equality of souls4  
,,lxxix4 ,but if we were to admit of an 
entative inequality of souls1 how  would
 they prove to us1 or make us believe1  
that ,god chose the best for  the men1  
and left the least-perfect for the      
women8 ,we ought rather to  believe in  
this matter1 that the soul of holy ,mary
 was the best which  could be possessed 
by a pure creature2 and1 in fact1 the   
famous ,saurez  affirms1 that1          
physically speaking1 it was most        
perfect2 so that the  women may be firm 
in asserting1 that the soul is neither  
masculine nor  feminine1 because such an
 assertion is well founded4    ,,lxxx4  
,with regard to organization1 ,i am     
inclined to think1 that the  variation  
of it1 may greatly vary the operations  
of the soul2 though  we don't to this   
day know1 which organization is best    
suited to1  or conduces most to1        
distinguishing and reasoning well4      

,aristotle  pretends1 that those with   
small heads are the best reasoners1 a   
conjecture1 which before he committed it
 to writing1 he took care  should       
correspond with the measure of his own  
head4 ,others give their  vote in favour
 of large heads2 these we may conclude1 
are not of the  little-headed race1 if  
they had1 we might suppose they would   
have  been on the side of ,aristotle4   
,cardinal ,s'frondati1 in his ,curso    
,philosophico1 says1 that the reasoning 
organs of ,cardinal ,richelieu  were    
double1 to which he attributes the      
signal perspicuity1 and  intellectual   
agility of that minister4 ,i apprehend1 
that he must mean  double in magnitude1 
and not in number1 for that would be    
monstrous2  and this corresponds with   
what many others say1 that the larger   
the  brain is in quantity1 the better   
people reason1 which they collect  from 
having observed1 that the human brain is
 bigger in proportion  than that of any 
other animal4 ,martinez and others1 in  

their books of  anatomy1 excluding the  
great heads and the little ones1        
maintain1 that  those of the middle size
 are the best adapted for the operations
 of  the understanding4 ,those who go   
about taking measure of the members  of 
the body1 in order to compute the value 
of the soul1 may say what  they please2 
but experience shews1 that among men    
with large heads1 you  will find some   
stupid1 and others ingenious1 and that  
the same thing  is to be observed among 
those with small ones4 ,if a difference 
in the  magnitude of the head or the    
brain1 was to induce an inequality in   
the  operations of the understanding1 we
 should find a great difference  in     
point of comprehension1 among men of    
unequal stature1 because in  proportion 
as they were larger or smaller1 so would
 their sculls and  brains be2 but this  
is contrary to observation4    ,,lxxxi4 
,but with all this1 and even admitting  
what ,pliny says to be  true1 that the  
material substance of the brain1 is     

larger in men than  it is in women1     
touching which matter1 ,i beg leave to  
suspend my  judgment1 till the assertion
 is affirmed by some able anatomists2   
but  ,i say1 admitting the thing to be  
true1 it proves nothing2 for if the     
comprehending better1 was to be governed
 by this material exceeding in  the     
substance of the brain1 it would follow1
 that an ingenious man1  should have    
forty or fifty times more brain than an 
ideot1 and that men  of large bulk      
should be people of much more           
perspicuity than those of  small        
stature1 as we must suppose their brains
 to be in proportion to  their size2 but
 those1 he who writes this can persuade 
to believe it1  should return him       
thanks1 for broaching a doctrine so well
 suited to  their capacities4           
,,lxxxii4 ,i agree however1 that the    
greater or less degree of clearness1  or
 facility of understanding1 depends in a
 great measure upon the  difference of  
organization2 though not upon a sensible

 different  organization of the larger  
parts1 but upon the insensible different
 one  of the most minute parts1 such as 
the different texture or firmness of    
the most subtile fibres1 or the freeness
 from obstruction1 or clearness  of the 
delicate passages through which the     
animal spirits circulate1  and also upon
 the tension and elasticity of the      
membranes which form  those passages2   
although1 we can know nothing about     
whether these are  different in men and 
women1 nor can even the anatomical      
spectacles1 pry  into the secret1 or    
assist us with such a discernment or    
discovery2  neither can the ,cartesians1
 with all the microscopes they are      
capable  of inventing1 explore1 whether 
the pineal gland1 which they assign as  
the seat of the soul1 is of a different 
texture in women1 from what it  is in   
men4    ,,lxxxiii4 ,that a different    
sensible organization1 does not produce 
a  variety in the rational operations1  
is manifest1 at least1 if this          

difference is not very enormous2 there  
being men differently organized1  who   
are of equal abilities2 and men         
organized as nearly alike as  possible1 
who1 with respect to the faculties of   
the soul1 are very  dissimilar4 ,the    
frigid sop1 was in every part of his    
body1 so deformed  and ill-shaped1 that 
he scarce appeared a human creature2 on 
which  account1 his name in succeeding  
ages1 was used to express an extreme    
degree of deformity2 with all this1 it  
is well known1 that he was of  a        
delicate and penetrating mind4          
,socrates1 did not differ much from  sop
 in the irregularity of his make2       
notwithstanding which1 antiquity  knew  
no man of a clearer or better           
understanding4 ,but supposing we were   
to admit1 that a distinct sensible      
organization produced a distinct        
intellectual ability1 what could you in 
this case infer from it8 ,why  nothing1 
because women are not formed differently
 from men in the  organs which          

administer to1 or assist the faculty of 
reasoning1 but are  distinctly formed in
 those only1 which ,nature has          
appropriated for the  propagation of the
 species4      ,,sect4 ,,xiii4          
,,lxxxiv4 ,neither in the difference of 
temperament1 can be founded the         
imagined inferiority of feminine        
understanding2 but ,i don't deny1 that  
the temperament has much influence1 and 
conduces greatly to the just or         
disorderly exercise of the faculties of 
the soul2 so far from it1 ,i am  rather 
persuaded1 that a distinct temperature1 
occasions more variety  in the          
operations of those faculties1 than a   
different organization3  for there is no
 man1 who must not have experienced in  
himself1 that1  according as his mind is
 variously disposed1 or he is in good or
 bad  spirits1 without finding the least
 bodily alteration1 he is more or  less 
fit for all sorts of operations2 with   
all this1 there is scarce an            
intemperance that offends the body1     

which does not at the same time1  more  
or less disturb the functions of the    
soul2 but what species of  temperament  
or disposition1 conduces most to        
understanding or reasoning  well1 it is 
not easy to ascertain4    ,,lxxxv4 ,if  
this point is to be settled by the      
doctrine of ,aristotle1  we might       
conclude1 the feminine temperament is   
best adapted for the  purpose4 ,this    
philosopher1 who subjects all the       
effects which appear  in the extensive  
field of ,nature1 to the dominion of his
 four first  qualities1 says1 in the    
#bdth ,sect4 of his ,problems1 qust4    
#ae1 that  men of a cold temperament    
have better intellects1 and reason      
better1  than men of a hot temperament2 
notwithstanding which1 he enters upon   
the same question1 with supposing1 that 
in hot climates the men are  more       
ingenious than in cold ones1 which ,i   
can hardly believe1 because  it would   
follow from thence1 that the ,africans  
are more ingenious than  the ,english or

 the ,dutch3 but pursuing the thread of 
his discourse1  and explaining the      
efficacy of the qualities by the power  
of the  antiperastis1 he affirms1 that  
in the coldest countries the men  are   
most ardent1 and in the hot ones most   
cold4 ,etenim1 qui sedes  frigidas      
habent1 frigore loci obsistente1 longe  
calidiores1 quam sua  sint natura1      
redduntur4 ,he thinks people of warm    
constitutions1 so  much inferior to     
those of cool ones with respect to their
 reasoning  powers1 that he makes no    
scruple to declare1 the last compared to
 the  first1 are like men whose heads   
are turned by drinking too much wine4   
,he proceeds immediately after the words
 before-cited1 thus3 ,itaque  vinolentis
 admodum similes esse videntur1 nec     
ingenio valent quo  prospiciant1        
rerumque rationes inquirant4 ,this      
philosopher1 when he  classed the hot   
and stupid together1 had quite forgot   
his disciple  ,alexander1 though he not 
only forgot1 but bore him in mind at the

 same  time3 for it is very certain1    
that he wrote the greatest part of his  
works1 after ,alexander1 on account of  
the doubts he entertained of his        
fidelity1 had discarded him2 and after  
he had retired to ,athens1 where  he    
experienced a fresh disgust1 to wit1    
being witness to ,alexander's  sending  
without taking the least notice of him1 
thirty talents of gold  to his          
school-fellow ,xenocrates as a gratuity2
 but it is doubtful1  whether his       
resentment carried him so far1 as to    
conspire with  ,antipater against       
,alexander's life1 and to consult with  
him about the  best method of carrying  
their purpose into execution by poison4 
,but let  us return to our subject4     
,,lxxxvi4 ,the same ,aristotle teaches1 
and in this1 all the naturalists  and   
medical people agree with him1 that the 
dissimilarity of  temperament in the two
 sexes1 consists1 in the men being hot  
and  dry1 and in the women being cold   
and moist3 ,est autem vir calidus1      

siccus1 mulier frigida1 humidaque4      
,sect4 #e4 ,quest4 #bf4 ,the cold       
temperament1 in the opinion of          
,aristotle1 being then the best adapted 
for reasoning1 and the hot the opposite1
 the women being cold1 and the  men hot1
 it follows1 that the feminine          
temperament is better suited to         
comprehend and reason well1 than the    
masculine4    ,,lxxxvii4 ,this proof is 
conclusive1 to those who believe every  
thing  ,aristotle has said2 but ,i      
protest for myself1 that it has not the 
least  weight with me2 for ,i neither   
believe that the geniuses are better in 
hot countries than in cold ones1 nor    
that men of cold temperaments are  more 
ingenious than those of hot ones2 and   
much less do ,i believe1 that  those of 
fiery dispositions are in a manner      
insensible2 and as to the  pretended    
power of the antiperastis1 let it for   
the present remain in  the state of     
doubt1 which is annexed to1 and         
inseparable from it4    ,,lxxxviii4     

,moisture and dryness1 are the other two
 distinct qualities  of the two         
compositions or temperaments2 and by    
attending to them1 it  may also be      
inferred from the doctrine of           
,aristotle1 that the women are  more    
perspicuous than the men4 ,those who    
maintain1 that the larger the  quantity 
of the brain1 the better the faculty of 
the understanding1  found their opinion1
 upon having been taught1 that a man has
 a larger  brain in proportion than any 
other animal3 and they argue thus1      
,aristotle says1 that man is of a more  
humid temperament than any other        
animal4 ,homo omnium animantium maxime  
humidus natura est4 ,sect4  #e1 ,qust4  
#g4 ,from hence1 if it may be inferred1 
that from a man's  having a larger brain
 than brutes1 is to be imputed his      
having more  understanding2 in the same 
manner it may be inferred1 from his     
being  more moist than them1 as humidity
 is productive of knowledge1 that he    
knows more4 ,a woman then is of a more  

humid composition than a man1 and       
consequently must be more intelligent   
than him4    ,,lxxxix4 ,although this   
argument proves nothing1 and ought only 
to be  used by way of retortion on those
 who maintain opposite opinions2  for   
the principles on which such conclusions
 are founded1 to speak  liberally1 are  
uncertain and doubtful4 ,who told       
,pliny1 that the brain  of a man was    
larger than that of any other animal8   
,has any one1 think  you1 undertaken the
 prolix labour of breaking the skulls of
 the whole  sensitive species1 in order 
afterwards to weigh their brains8 ,or   
who  told ,aristotle1 that man is more  
humid than any of the brute creation8   
,can it be supposed1 that this          
philosopher had squeezed them all in a  
press1 in order to ascertain the        
quantity of moisture contained in  each8
 ,there seems more probability in       
supposing1 that certain domestic        
brutes1 the greatest part of insects1   
and almost every species of fish1  are  

more humid than men4 ,nor even admitting
 it to be true1 that the  human brain is
 larger in proportion than that of any  
other animal1  could it be inferred from
 thence1 that a great share of          
understanding  in the human species is  
the effect of a larger portion of brain4
 ,a man  in many other parts of the     
body1 differs greatly in the proportion 
of  his make from brutes1 but an excess 
of those parts in some individuals1     
does not argue a greater degree of      
excellence4 ,it would be necessary1  in 
order to make this inference1 to have   
observed1 that1 among the  brutes       
themselves1 those which had the largest 
brains1 had the  strongest or best      
instinct2 but ,i believe this is not the
 case1 for if  it was1 a total want of  
perception would be the consequence of a
 total  lack of brain1 which is not so2 
for1 according to ,pliny1 there are many
  sensitive beings1 without blood and   
without brains1 notwithstanding  which1 
they preserve their instinct4           

,,sect4 ,,xiv4    ,,xc4 ,but waiving    
these proofs1 which proceed upon        
,aristotelic doctrines1  which are      
either false or uncertain1 and which on 
this account1 can  only be serviceable  
to the cause of the women1 by way of    
retorting upon  those rigid partizans of
 ,aristotle1 who approve of all their   
master  has said3 ,i say1 waiving these 
proofs1 let us proceed to enquire1 if1  
from the cause of the humidity in which 
a woman exceeds a man1 there  can be    
deduced any objection to her            
intellectual aptitude4 ,on this  ground1
 those commonly take their stand1 who   
are desirous of proving  by physical    
arguments1 the inferiority of feminine  
understanding2 and  their reasoning     
seems to have an air of probability1    
because an excess  of humour1 either of 
itself1 or by means of the vapour it    
attracts1 is  apt to retard the course  
of the animal spirits1 by occupying in  
part1  the narrow passages through which
 these exceeding fine substances flow4  

,,xci4 ,but with all this1 the argument 
is evidently fallacious2 for if  it was 
not1 it would prove1 not that the minds 
of women were less  discerning than     
those of men1 but that they were more   
slow and dull of  comprehension than    
them1 which is false2 for most men      
allow1 that in  point of quickness they 
have the advantage4    ,,xcii4 ,further2
 many men1 who are keen1 ready1 and     
profound1 abound  with habitual         
defluxions and catarrhs1 which are      
caused by a quantity  of excrementitious
 moisture collected in the most remote  
recesses  of the head1 and within the   
very substance of the brain1 as may be  
seen in ,riberius1 where he treats of   
catarrhs4 ,the excessive humidity  of   
the brain then1 does not obstruct the   
ready or right use of the               
understanding2 and if an excrementitious
 moisture does not obstruct  it1 much   
less can a natural one have that effect4
    ,,xciii4 ,and as a reason why a     
natural one does not hinder it1 we may  

add1 that1 according to the doctrine of 
,pliny1 the brain of a man  is more     
humid than that of every other living   
creature3 ,sed homo  portione maximum   
humidissimum4 ,lib4 #aa1 ,cap4 #cg4 ,nor
 is it credible1  that ,nature should   
place in an organ destined for our most 
perfect  knowledge1 a temperament1      
capable of obstructing1 or making the   
operations of our reason slow and       
defective4 ,if ,i should be told1 that1 
notwithstanding this native humidity1 in
 which the brain of man exceeds  that of
 a brute1 it remains tempered in the    
exact proportion which is  best suited  
to the operations of reason1 and that   
the humidity of the  brain of a woman   
exceeds that proportion2 ,i answer1 even
 supposing that  humidity1 by means of  
its natural quality1 does not obstruct1 
nobody  knows in what proportion1 or to 
what degree1 the brain1 for the best    
exercising its functions should be      
moist2 and therefore it is vague to     
say1 there is a greater proportion of it

 in women than in men1 or in  men than  
in women4    ,,xciv4 ,there may be      
opposed however1 to this doctrine of    
humidity1 the  opinion of many1 who     
affirm1 that the humid and cloudy       
countries  produce heavy dull spirits2  
and1 on the contrary1 that in the bright
  and clear countries1 are born         
ingenious and sprightly ones4 ,but be   
those few or many who say this1 they say
 it without more foundation1  than      
having imagined1 the clouds of the      
horizon are translated to the  sphere of
 the brain2 as if in rainy countries1   
the opacity of the  atmosphere was a    
dark shade1 which obscured the soul1 and
 that in  countries which are blessed   
with a serene sky1 the greater splendor 
of the day1 would communicate greater   
clearness to the understanding4  ,they  
might1 with more aptness and propriety1 
say1 that in the regions  which are most
 bright and clear1 the objects being    
more visible1 they1  through the windows
 of the eyes1 enter in such numbers1    

that they  distract the soul1 and render
 it less fit for reflection and         
reasoning2  and hence it is1 that1 in   
the obscurity of the night1 we find the 
thread of our reason the least          
interrupted1 and that we deduce our     
conclusions with more firmness than in  
clear day-light4    ,,xcv4 ,let those1  
who maintain humid regions to be        
ill-suited to the  production of subtile
 men1 cast their eyes on the ,venetians 
and the  ,hollanders1 who are some of   
the most able men in ,europe3 the first 
of  these1 stole part of their          
territories from the fish2 and the last 
may be said to live in lakes and bogs4  
,even here in ,spain1 we have  an       
example of this sort in the ,asturians1 
who1 notwithstanding they  inhabit a    
province1 the most beset with clouds1   
and the most subject  to rain1 of any in
 the whole peninsula1 are generally     
reputed for  subtile1 ready1 and expert 
people4 ,but our wonder at this will    
lessen1  if we consider the beavers1 who

 live almost continually in the water1  
notwithstanding which1 ,nature has      
produced no brutes of so noble an       
instinct1 nor who approach so near to   
men1 both in their love for them1  and  
in the imitation of their customs3 for  
you may read in ,conradus  ,gesnero1    
that they take particular care of their 
aged parents1 and they  have been seen  
to direct men in their navigation1 and  
to assist them  in fishing2 and there   
has such an attention been observed in  
them to  the dead1 that they withdraw   
and conceal the carcasses of their      
defunct  species1 at the hazard of their
 being devoured by other aquatic beasts4
    ,,xcvi4 ,on the contrary1 those     
birds1 who the greatest part of their   
time1 breathe the most subtile pure air1
 and the most divested of  vapours1 one 
while fleeting on the winds1 and at     
other times placing  themselves on the  
tops of mountains1 ought to be more     
sagacious than  terrestrial brutes2     
which is not the case4    ,,xcvii4 ,by  

the same mode of reasoning1 the         
,egyptians should be the  keenest people
 in the world1 because they dwell under 
the brightest and  most serene sky that 
is to be found in all the globe4 ,there 
is scarce  a cloud passes over ,egypt in
 the course of a year1 and the land     
would  be totally barren1 if it was not 
refreshed and fertilized by the waters  
of the ,nile2 and although for some     
ages1 antiquity venerated that  region  
as the seat of the sciences1 which is   
manifest from ,pythagoras1  ,homer1     
,plato1 and other ,greek philosophers1  
having traveled thither to  improve     
themselves in philosophy and the        
mathematics2 this does not  prove1 that 
they were more subtile and ingenious    
than other mortals1  but rather1 that   
the sciences had gone wandering about   
the earth1 and  that sometimes they took
 their stations in one country1 and at  
others  in another4 ,the same thing may 
be said of the valley of ,lima1 the     
inhabitants of which country do not know

 what rain is1 the land being           
fertilized by a light dew1 assisted by a
 happy temperament of air1  which is    
neither hot nor cold2 notwithstanding   
which1 the natives are  not people of a 
delicate ingenuity1 but rather the      
contrary1 for the  ,pizarras found them 
more easy to be subdued by a few        
stratagems1 than  ,cortez found the     
,mexicans1 with all the arts he could   
employ1 assisted  by the whole power of 
his arms4    ,,xcviii4 ,i am not        
ignorant1 that the inhabitants of ,botia
 were  antiently looked upon1 as a most 
rude1 dull people1 and that ,boticum    
,ingenium and ,btica ,sus1 were         
proverbial terms of contempt1 and  used 
to express or denote1 a heavy stupid    
person2 and also1 that this  stupidity  
was attributed to the gross atmosphere1 
loaded with vapour1  which prevails in  
that country2 hence the expression of   
,horace in  one of his epistles3        
,boticum in crasso jurares are natum4   
,but ,i  believe1 and with some         

foundation1 that the antients quoted did
 not  do that country justice2 imputing 
the ignorance which proceeded from  want
 of application1 to the want of         
capacity2 and ,botia's lying on  the    
confines of ,attica1 where learning     
flourished1 seems to strengthen  this   
opinion2 for it is hardly probable1 that
 within sight of a  province1 which is  
the theatre of wisdom1 you should view  
another1  which is a colony of ignorance
 and stupidity4 ,on the other hand1 it  
is certain1 that ,botia has produced    
some geniuses of the first rate2  such  
as ,pindar1 the prince of ,lyric ,poets1
 and the great ,plutarch1  who1 in the  
opinion of lord ,bacon1 was full equal  
to the first men of  antiquity2 and ,i  
suspect1 that by looking back to the    
more early times  of antiquity1 we shall
 find a period1 in which the ,botians1  
in their  culture of the arts and       
sciences1 excelled1 not only their      
neighbours1  but all the other nations  
of ,europe2 because ,cadmus1 when he    

came from  ,phnicia1 was the first who  
introduced the letters of the alphabet  
into  ,greece1 and was the first person 
in ,europe1 who invented the art of     
writing2 and we learn from history1 that
 he settled in ,botia1 where  he founded
 the city of ,thebes4 ,to this may be   
added1 that in ,botia  is found ,mount  
,helicon1 dedicated to the ,muses1 and  
from which they  derive their name of   
,heliconides2 and that from this        
mountain1 descends  the famous ,aganippe
 fountain1 consecrated to the same      
fictitious  deities1 the water of which1
 they feign to have been the wine of the
  poets1 which enraptured and inspired  
them1 and lighted up the fire of        
enthusiasm in their brains4 ,it seems as
 if all these fictions could  have no   
other origin1 than poetry having in some
 former time flourished  in that region4
    ,,xcix4 ,but admitting the ,botians 
by nature to be rude and stupid1  how   
can it be proved1 that this is derived  
from the humidity of the  country1 and  

not from some other hidden cause2       
especially1 when we  see moist or damp  
countries1 on which this stigma is not  
fixed8 ,let  humidity then1 be acquitted
 of the false accusation which has been 
raised against it1 to wit1 of being at  
war with1 and an enemy to  ingenuity2   
and let it be settled1 that from this   
principle1 no proof  can be deduced to  
ascertain1 that the women in point of   
understanding1  are inferior to the men4
      ,,sect4 ,,xv4    ,c4 ,father      
,malebranche1 reasons in another way1   
and denies the women  have equal        
understanding with the men1 on account  
of their brains being  more soft and    
tender than those of the other sex4 ,i  
really don't know  whether what he      
supposes about this greater degree of   
softness be true  or not1 but ,i have   
read two treatises on anatomy1 and did  
not find the  least mention of it in    
either of them4 ,perhaps1 from having   
taken it  for granted1 that the brains  
of women were more humid1 he concluded  

they were more soft2 but this is not    
always a certain consequence1 for  ice  
is humid and not soft1 and melted metal 
is soft1 but not humid2 or  perhaps1    
from having observed the women were of a
 more soft and docile  disposition than 
men1 he inferred1 that in their material
 composition  they were the same2 for   
there have been people so superficial1  
as to  form ideas upon these sort of    
analogies1 which afterwards1 for want of
  due reflection1 have been adopted by  
persons of great perspicuity4    ,,ci4  
,but taking all this for granted1 ,i    
would be glad to know1 how a  greater   
degree of softness in the brain1        
produces or occasions1 an  imperfection 
in the understanding8 ,i should rather  
think1 that on  account of its being    
more pliable to the impression of the   
spirits1 it  would be an instrument or  
organ1 better suited or adapted to      
mental  operations4 ,this argument1 is  
strengthened by the doctrine of the     
author1 because he says in another      

place1 the vestiges or traces1  which   
the impression of the animal spirits    
leaves on the brain1 are  the lines1    
with which the faculty of the           
imagination1 forms on it the  effigies  
of objects2 and the larger or more      
distinct these vestiges  or impressions 
are1 the greater will be the force and  
clearness1  with which the understanding
 must perceive the objects4 ,cur igitur 
imaginatio consistat in sola virtute1   
qua mens sibi imagines objectorum       
efformare potest1 eas imprimendo1 ut ita
 loquar1 fibris cerebri1 certe  quo     
vestigia1 spirituum animalium1 qu sunt  
veluti imaginum illarum  lineamenta     
erunt distinctiora1  grandiora1 eo      
fortius1  distinctius  mens objecta illa
 imaginabitur4 7,lib4 #b4 de ,inquirenda
 ,veritate1 part  #a1 cap4 #a47         
,,cii4 ,now then1 it being admitted1 the
 softer the brain is1 with greater  ease
 will the animal spirits make           
impressions on it1 and that1 for the    
same reason1 the vestiges or traces will

 be larger and more distinct2  they will
 make them with greater ease1 and       
bigger1 because the matter  resists     
less2 more distinct because the fibres  
being somewhat rigid1  they would1 by   
means of their elasticity1 make efforts 
to restore  themselves to their former  
shape and position2 and thus1 the path  
on  traces made by the course of the    
animal spirits1 would be very faint1  if
 not quite effaced4 ,the fibres of the  
brain of a woman1 being then  more      
flexible than those of the brain of a   
man1 they are capable of  having larger 
and more distinct images impressed on   
them1 and they must  consequently1      
according to this doctrine1 perceive    
objects better than  men4    ,,ciii4    
,but ,i would not be understood to      
admit1 that the women have  more        
understanding than the men2 ,i only mean
 to retort on father  ,malebranche1 the 
doctrine1 from which he pretends to     
infer the  advantage to be on the side  
of the men1 in contradiction to what in 

another place1 he himself has asserted4 
,my own opinion of the matter  is1 that1
 by such sort of philosophical          
reasoning1 you may prove every  thing1  
when in reality you prove nothing4      
,every one philosophizes in  his own    
mode1 and if ,i was to write with a view
 of flattering1 or  from caprice or     
ostentation1 or with a design of making 
parade of my  ingenuity1 ,i could       
easily1 by deducing consequences from   
admitted  principles1 elevate the       
understandings of the women1 superior to
  those of the men1 by many degrees2 but
 this is not my nature1 or  disposition2
 on the contrary1 ,i had much rather    
propound my sentiments  with sincerity2 
and therefore ,i say1 that neither      
father ,malebranche1  nor any other     
person1 even to this day1 has known the 
punctual actings1  or specific manuvres1
 by which the organs of the head1       
administer to  the faculties of the     
soul4 ,we don't know as yet1 how fire   
burns1 or how  snow occasions cold1     

although they are things which are      
manifest to  our sight and our touch2   
and would father ,malebranche1 and the  
other  ,cartesians1 persuade us1 that   
they have registered and examined all   
that passes in the most hidden and      
remote corners of the cabinet of  the   
rational soul8 ,neither do these maxims 
appear to me well founded1  which1 by   
reducing every thing to mechanical      
principles1 figure to us  the spirit1   
stamping materially the images of       
objects on the brain1 in  the same      
manner1 that impressions are made on    
copper with a chissel4  ,i am also aware
 of the serious difficulties1 that are  
attendant on1  and annexed to1 the      
intentional species of ,aristotle4 ,but 
what is the  result of all this8 ,why1  
that none of us have done more1 than    
just  touch the outside covering of     
,nature4 ,we all walk blindfold1 and he 
is the most blind1 who fancies he       
perceives things with the greatest      
clearness1 and may be compared to a     

servant of ,seneca1 named ,harpacta1    
who was so infatuated1 after having lost
 all his visual faculties1 and  having  
become stone-blind1 as to fancy he could
 see4 ,it is certain1  that those who   
live in a confidence1 that they can     
penetrate and look  into ,nature1 are   
the most exposed to dangerous errors2   
because he who  walks on with much      
boldness1 having but a dim light to     
guide him1 runs  the most hazard of     
falling2 on the contrary1 he is the     
furthest from  this danger1 who knowing 
the way is dark1 proceeds with caution4 
,,civ4 ,but granting to father          
,malebranche1 and the rest of the       
,cartesians1 that the representation of 
objects to the mind1 is made by  means  
of these material traces1 which1 in     
their course1 the spirits  impress on   
the brain2 what follows from it is1 that
 the brains of  women being softer than 
those of men1 the marks1 on account of  
the  pliability of the matter1 will be  
larger and more distinct in the  first1 

than in the last2 and what can be       
inferred from this8 ,why1 by  the       
doctrine of father ,malebranche1 you may
 make whichever of the two  following   
inferences you like best1 either that   
the women comprehend  better than the   
men1 or that they do not comprehend so  
well4 ,the  first1 may be inferred from 
the place we a little before cited2 and 
the second1 because where he explains   
himself with regard to what he  has said
 against the women1 he maintains1 that  
the excessive lively  imaginations1     
which result from these large images or 
impressions1  are unfavourable to the   
right comprehension of objects4 ,cum    
enim  tenuiora objecta ingentes in      
delicatis cerebri fibris excitent motus1
  in mente protinus etiam excitant      
sensationes ita vividas1 ut ijs tota    
occupetur4 ,lib4 #b4 part ii4 cap4 #a4  
,,cv4 ,but this second is contrary to   
all reason1 for it does not follow  from
 this doctrine of large images1 that    
small ones do not represent  objects    

well1 for in some cases they rather     
conduce to represent them  best2 atoms1 
for example1 being better seen through a
 microscope than  larger bodies2 and    
liveliness of imagination1 if it does   
not extend to  madness1 contributes much
 to a perspicuous understanding of      
things4    ,,cvi4 ,but1 in reality1 from
 this greater softness of the brain1 it 
cannot be deduced1 that the             
understandings of women are either      
larger  or smaller1 because you cannot  
infer from it1 that the impressions     
made by the spirits on the organ1 are   
bigger or less2 which is the  principle1
 from whence you must conclude both the 
one and the other2  the reason is1      
because it seems most probable1 that the
 impulse of the  spirits is proportioned
 to the docility of the matter1 and     
thus1 that  spirits feebly impelled1 do 
not make a larger impression on a soft  
brain1 than that which is made on a more
 firm and tense one1 by spirits  which  
move with greater force and impetuosity2

 in the same manner1  that by regulating
 the force of your hand1 you may make as
 superficial  a mark with a tool on wax1
 as you may on lead4 ,my opinion of the 
matter  is1 that from this system of the
 brains of women1 all you can infer is1 
that the corporeal movements in them1   
are less vigorous than they are  in men2
 on which account1 the nerves which have
 their origin in the  fibres of the     
brain1 and the spinal marrow1 have less 
power in women1  or move with more      
feeble impulses in them than they do in 
men2 but not  that their mental         
operations are more or less perfect4    
,,sect4 ,,xvi4    ,,cvii4 ,i think it is
 now time to depart from the labyrinths 
of physics1  and to enter on the open   
and pleasing plains of history1 and to  
persuade by examples1 that the          
understandings of the women1 are not    
inferior to those of the men1 even for  
the attainment of the most  difficult   
sciences4 ,this is the best method1     
which can be fallen upon  to convince   

the vulgar1 who are generally more      
influenced by examples1  than arguments4
 ,to recite all that occur1 would be    
tiresome1 and  therefore1 ,i shall only 
mention some of those women1 who1 in    
these  latter ages1 have been the most  
eminently distinguished for their       
learning1 and who have flourished in our
 own country ,spain1 and in the         
neighbouring kingdoms4    ,,cviii4      
,spain1 which strangers hold cheap in   
this particular1 has1 to  the honour of 
literature1 produced many women1        
remarkably eminent for  all sorts of    
learning4 ,the principal ones are the   
following4    ,,cix4 ,donna ,anna de    
,cervaton1 lady of honour to the        
,germanic ,queen  de ,fox1 second wife  
of ,don ,ferdinand the ,catholic2 she   
was a most  celebrated woman1 but more  
so on account of her learning and rare  
talents1 than for her uncommon beauty1  
which was so striking1 that she  was    
generally allowed to be the finest woman
 about the court4 ,in ,lucio  ,marino   

,siculo1 may be seen the ,latin letters 
which that author wrote  her1 and the   
lady's answers in the same idiom4       
,,cx4 ,donna ,isabel de ,joya1 in the   
sixteenth century1 was esteemed a  woman
 of great learning4 ,it is told of her1 
that she preached in the  church of     
,barcelona1 to the amazement of a great 
concourse of auditors4  ,i suppose the  
prelates who permitted it1 judged that  
the injunction of  the ,apostle1 which  
in the ,first ,epistle to the           
,corinthians1 prohibits  women to speak 
in the church1 admitted of some         
exceptions1 in the  same manner the     
injunction did1 which prohibits them to 
teach in  the ,epistle to ,timothy2 for 
it is a fact1 that ,priscilla1 who was  
the companion of this same apostle1     
taught and instructed ,apollo           
,pontonicusin the evangelic doctrine1 as
 appears from the ,acts of the          
,apostles2 and that afterwards passing  
to ,rome in the pontificate  of ,paul   
,,iii4 she1 in the presence of the      

cardinals1 much to their  satisfaction1 
explained many of the difficult passages
 in the books of  the subtile ,scotus2  
but what redounded most of all to her   
honour1 was  her having converted in    
that capital of the world1 a great      
number of  ,jews to the catholic faith4 
,,cxi4 ,luisa ,sigea1 a native of       
,toledo1 but of ,french extraction1     
besides being skilled in philosophy1 and
 sound literature1 was  ornamented in a 
singular manner1 with a knowledge of    
languages1 for she  understood ,latin1  
,greek1 ,hebrew1 ,arabic1 and ,syriac2  
and it is said1  she wrote a letter to  
pope ,paul ,,iii4 in each of these      
languages4 ,her  father1 ,diego ,sigea1 
being afterwards called to the court of 
,lisbon1  as preceptor to ,theodosius of
 ,portugal duke of ,braganza2 the       
infanta  ,donna ,maria of ,portugal1    
daughter of the king ,don ,manuel1 and  
of his  third wife1 ,donna ,leonora of  
,austria1 who was a great lover of      
letters1  took much pleasure in the     

company of the learned ,sigea2 who      
afterwards  married with ,francisco de  
,cuevas1 the ,lord of ,villanasur1 and a
  cavalier of ,burgos1 from which       
marriage1 as ,don ,luis ,salazar informs
 us  in his history of the house of     
,farnese1 there descended a fine        
progeny1  which are now living in       
,castile4    ,,cxii4 ,donna ,oliva      
,sabuco de ,nantes1 a native of         
,alcaraz1 was a  woman of sublime       
penetration1 and of an elevated genius1 
eminent for  her knowledge of physical1 
medicinal1 moral1 and political matters1
  as may be seen by her writings2 but   
the thing which most illustrated  and   
distinguished her1 was her new          
phisiological system1 where1 in         
opposition to all the antients1 she     
maintained1 that it is not the  blood   
which invigorates the body1 but a white 
fluid issuing from the  brain1 which    
pervades the whole nervous system2 and  
she attributes  almost all disorders to 
this vital dew being vitiated4 ,this    

system1  which the incuriosity of ,spain
 neglected1 the curiosity of ,england   
embraced with eagerness1 and now we     
receive from the hands of strangers  as 
their invention1 that1 which in reality 
was originally our own4  ,fatal genius  
of ,spaniards1 who1 in order that what  
is produced in  their own country should
 seem pleasing to them1 must have it    
first  monopolized by strangers1 and    
afterwards by those strangers sold to   
them again4 ,it seems also1 that this   
great woman was beforehand with  ,renard
 ,descartes1 in broaching the opinion1  
that the brain was the  seat of the     
rational soul1 though she did not1 like 
,descartes1 confine  its habitation to  
the pineal gland only1 but supposed it  
to occupy  the whole substance4 ,the    
confidence which ,donna ,oliva had in   
her  own abilities to defend her        
singular opinions1 was such2 that in an 
epistle-dedicatory addressed to count   
,barajas1 president of ,castile1  she   
intreats him to use his authority1 to   

convene together the most  learned      
natural philosophers1 and doctors of    
medicine in ,spain1 and  that she would 
undertake to convince them1 that the    
physics1 and  medicinal doctrines1 which
 were taught in the schools1 went all on
  erroneous principles4 ,she flourished 
in the reign of ,philip ,,ii4           
,,cxiii4 ,donna ,bernarda ,ferreyra1 a  
,portuguese lady1 the daughter  of ,don 
,ignatio ,ferreyra1 a knight of the     
order of ,st4 ,jago1 besides  knowing   
and speaking with ease various          
languages1 understood poetry1  rhetoric1
 philosophy1 and the mathematics4 ,she  
left many poetical  writings2 and our   
famous ,lopez de ,vega1 had such a      
veneration for the  extraordinary merit 
of this lady1 that he dedicated to her  
his elegy1  intituled ,la ,philis4      
,,cxiv4 ,donna ,juana ,morella1 a native
 of ,barcelona1 was a woman of          
wonderful learning4 ,her father having  
killed a man1 was obliged to  fly1 and  
carried her with him into ,lyons in     

,france1 where this  extraordinary      
child1 betaking herself to study1 made  
so rapid a  progress1 that at twelve    
years of age 7which was in the year     
#afjg7  she defended conclusions in     
philosophy publicly1 which she          
afterwards  committed to writing1 and   
dedicated to ,margaret of ,austria1     
queen of  ,spain4 ,at the age of        
seventeen1 according to the relation of 
,guidon  ,patin1 who lived at that time1
 she entered upon public disputations in
  the jesuits college at ,lyons4 ,she   
understood philosophy1 music1 and       
jurisprudence1 and it is said1 that she 
spoke fourteen languages4 ,she  took the
 veil1 in the ,dominican convent of     
saint ,prxedis at ,avignon4    ,,cxv4   
,the celebrated nun of ,mexico1 ,sor    
,juana ,ines de la ,cruz1 is so  well   
known to every body by her learned and  
ingenious poetical works1  that it is   
needless to say any thing in her        
eulogium4 ,i shall only  mention1 that  
the least of her accomplishments was her

 talent for  poetry1 although that was  
the thing1 for which she was most       
celebrated4  ,many ,spanish poets have  
been superior to her in point of        
poetical  genius1 but perhaps no one has
 equalled her1 with regard to her       
universal knowledge1 in all kinds of    
faculties4 ,her poetry was natural1  but
 she wanted energy4 ,in the critical    
part of the sermon of father  ,viera1 he
 gives her credit for her ingenuity2 but
 to speak the truth1  she was not equal 
in that respect1 to that learned jesuit 
himself1 of  whom she was the opponent3 
nor is there any thing extraordinary1 in
 a  woman's being found inferior to a   
man1 who1 for elevation of thought1     
reasoning with perspicuity1 and         
explaining himself with clearness1 has  
not yet been equalled by any preacher   
whatever4    ,,cxvi4 ,the panegyric of  
the late duchess of ,aveiro1 is also    
needless1  as her memory is still recent
 at court1 and all over ,spain4         
,,sect4 ,,xvii4    ,,cxvii4 ,the learned

 ladies of ,france1 are very numerous1  
because there1  they in general have    
more opportunities of studying1 and more
 time  allowed them for doing it1 than  
they have in most other countries2 ,i   
shall therefore1 only recite such of    
them as were most famous4    ,,cxviii4  
,susana de ,hubert1 wife of ,charles    
,jardin1 an attendant of  ,henry ,,iii4 
understood philosophy and theology1 and 
was well versed in  the writings of the 
fathers4 ,she had learned the ,spanish1 
,italian1  ,latin1 ,greek1 and ,hebrew  
languages2 but her christian piety1     
which was  exceedingly exemplary1       
contributed more to the advancement of  
her true  glory1 than her vast          
erudition4    ,,cxix4 ,maria de         
,guernay1 a ,parisian of illustrious    
family1 to whom the  learned ,dominic   
,baudio gave the name of the ,syren of  
,france1 arrived to  such a pitch of    
glory and fame1 for genius and          
literature1 that there  was scarce a    
learned man of her time1 who did not    

esteem it a great  honour to keep-up a  
literary correspondence with her2 and   
hence it  was1 that there were found in 
her cabinet when she died1 letters1 from
  the cardinals ,richelieu1 ,bentivolio1
 and ,perron2 from ,san ,francisco de   
,sales1 and other enlightened prelates2 
from ,charles the ,first1 duke of       
,mantua1 from the ,count de ,ales1 from 
,erycio ,puteano1 ,justus ,lipsius1     
,messrs4 ,balzac1 ,maynard1 ,heinsius1  
,csar ,capacio1 ,carlos ,pinto1 and     
many other men1 of the most shining     
parts and learning in that age4         
,,cxx4 ,madalena ,scuderi1 who was      
called with great reason the ,sappho  of
 her age1 as she equaled that most      
celebrated ,greek lady1 in the  elegance
 of her compositions1 and excelled her  
much1 in the purity of  her manners4    
,she was eminent for her learning1 but  
incomparable for  her judgment and      
discretion1 as her many and excellent   
works testify4  ,her ,artamenes1 or     
,cyrus the ,great1 and her ,clelia1 in  

which tracts1  in imitation of          
,barclay's ,argenis1 under the figure of
 novels1 much  true history is          
contained1 are pieces of consummate     
value1 and in  my judgment1 are         
preferable to any thing of the kind that
 has been  written in ,france1 or any   
other country1 the ,argenis only        
excepted4  ,the nobleness of the        
thoughts1 the harmonious combination of 
the  narrative1 the pathetic efficacy of
 the persuasion1 the liveliness  of the 
descriptions1 and the native purity1    
majesty1 and force of  the style1 make a
 composition1 which all together1 is    
admirable and  enchanting2 to this we   
may add1 by way of enhancing the value  
of the  performance1 that the amorous   
passages1 are described with all the    
delicacy and decency possible1 the moral
 virtues1 represented in the  most      
engaging and attractive light1 and the  
heroic ones1 with the most  brilliant   
splendor4 ,as a proof of the prodigious 
talents of this woman1  the honour of   

having her entered as a member of their 
societies1 was  industriously sought    
after1 by all those academies1 whose    
institutions1  allowed of admitting     
among them persons of her sex4 ,she in  
the year  #afga1 gained the prize of    
eloquence in the ,french academy1 which 
amounted to the same thing1 as that     
truly-noble body1 having pronounced  her
 the most eloquent person in all        
,france4 ,the most ,christian king1     
,lewis ,,xiv4 whose attention1 no       
elevated merit escaped1 settled on her a
  pension of twelve hundred livres a    
year1 and cardinal ,mazarine had long   
before1 by his will1 bequeathed her a   
legacy of the same value1 and she       
received another donation to about the  
same amount1 from the learned           
chancellor of ,france1 ,louis de        
,boucherat2 by the help of which1 she   
was enabled to pass through a regular1  
glorious1 and long life1 which          
terminated in the year #agja4    ,,cxxi4
 ,antonieta de la ,guardia1 beautiful   

both in shape and features1  with which 
bodily perfections1 the sweetness of her
 disposition1 and  the charms of her    
soul corresponded2 so that it seemed as 
if nature  had taken pride1 with respect
 to her1 of uniting in one woman1 all   
the graces of person1 and attractions of
 mind4 ,she was so eminent for  poetry1 
that1 at a time in which this art was   
much cultivated1 and  in high estimation
 in ,france1 there was not any man      
whatever in that  extensive kingdom1 who
 excelled her in it4 ,her works were    
collected  in two volumes1 which ,i have
 not seen4 ,she died in #afid1 leaving a
  daughter1 the heir of her genius and  
accomplishments1 who won the prize  for 
poetry in the ,french academy4          
,,cxxii4 ,lady ,maria ,madalena         
,gabriela de ,montemar1 daughter of the 
duke  de ,montemar1 and a ,benedictine  
nun1 who was born with all the natural  
qualifications or dispositions1         
necessary for attaining the most        
abstracted1 and difficult sciences1 for 

she was endowed with a happy  memory1 a 
subtile ingenuity1 and a right judgment4
 ,in her early time of  life1 she       
learned the ,spanish1 ,italian1 ,latin1 
and ,greek languages2  and at fifteen   
years old1 being presented to ,maria    
,teresa of ,austria1  queen of ,france1 
just at her first arrival in that       
kingdom1 she amazed  all the court1 to  
hear her speak the ,spanish language    
with elegance  and propriety4 ,she      
acquired a knowledge of all that is now 
understood1  both of the antient1 and   
new philosophy1 and was consummately    
versed  in scholastic1 dogmatic1        
expositive1 and mystic theology4 ,she   
made  some translations1 the most       
admired of which1 were the first books  
of the ,iliad4 ,she wrote upon various  
subjects1 and discussed points  of      
morality1 criticism1 and such as related
 to academic matters4 ,her  letters were
 held in the highest esteem1 and ,louis 
,,xiv4 received and  read them with     
great pleasure4 ,she composed admirable 

verses1 though  they were but few in    
number1 and those1 after once reading   
them1 she  used to throw into the fire2 
which was a sacrifice1 her humility     
induced her to make of many other of her
 works2 and she would have  made it of  
all of them1 if by friendly             
interposition1 she had not  been        
prevented from following the dictates of
 her own inclination4  ,her piety1 and  
talent for governing1 shone forth in    
equal proportion  to her learning2 and  
in consideration of these eminent       
qualities1 she  was elected abbess of   
the congregation of ,fontevrauld1 of the
 order  of ,st4 ,benedict1 which has    
this peculiarity belonging to it1 that  
although it is composed of a great      
number of monasteries of both  sexes1   
which are scattered about in four       
provinces1 that they all  acknowledge as
 their universal prelate1 the abbess of 
,fontevrauld1 a  distinguished          
monastery1 which is no less famous for  
being the theatre  of nobility1 than of 

virtue2 for they reckon among their     
prelates1  fourteen princesses1 five of 
whom were of the royal house of         
,bourbon4  ,lady ,montemar filled this  
high employment1 much to the            
satisfaction1  and edification of the   
world1 and also to the benefit and      
increase of  her congregation1          
exhibiting a woman1 commanding the men  
with dignity1  and who in the opinion of
 those who were under her direction1 if 
she  was not superior1 was at least     
equal in point of understanding to the  
wisest man living4 ,she died in #agjd1  
full of merit and much esteemed4        
,,cxxiii4 ,maria ,jacquelina de ,blemur1
 a ,benedictine nun1 who the most       
learned ,mabillon1 in ,estud4 ,monostic4
 ,bibliot4 ,ecclesiast4 ,sect4 #ab1     
tells us1 composed a work1 called the   
,benedictine ,year1 of seven  volumes in
 quarto2 and another1 intitled          
,eulogiums on many illustrious  ,persons
 of the ,order of ,saint ,benedict1 of  
two volumes in quarto4    ,,cxxiv4 ,anna

 la ,fevre1 commonly known by the name  
,madam ,dacier1  daughter of the most   
learned ,tanaquildo le ,fevre1 proved   
equal to her  father in erudition1 and  
superior to him in eloquence2 and also  
in  the faculty of writing with elegance
 and delicacy1 her own language4  ,she  
was a critic of the first rate1 so that 
in this particular1 at  least with      
respect to profane authors1 there was   
not a man of her  time1 neither in      
,france nor out of it1 who excelled her4
 ,she made  many translations from      
,greek authors1 which she illustrated   
with a  variety of comments4 ,her       
passion for ,homer1 excited her to write
 many  dissertations1 the object of     
which was maintaining the superiority   
of the ,greek poet ,homer1 over the     
,latin one ,virgil1 in which1 the       
vivacity of her genius1 and the         
rectitude of her judgment1 shone  forth 
with equal splendor2 she was chiefly    
stimulated to do this1  from a desire of
 replying to1 and confronting ,mons4 ,la

 ,mote1 who was  a member of the ,french
 ,academy1 and of a contrary opinion2   
this she  did so well1 that some        
partizans of the ,latin poet1 who had   
sided  with ,mons4 la ,mote1 could not  
deny1 that his judgment in comparison   
of her's1 had but little weight1 for    
want of his having a competent          
knowledge of ,greek1 the language ,homer
 wrote in1 which his opponent           
understood to perfection4 ,with regard  
to the merits of the case1  it should be
 observed1 that there are only some     
,latin authors who  give the preference 
to ,virgil1 but that there is not a     
single ,greek  one1 who will allow him  
to be superior1 or even equal to ,homer4
 ,the  circumstance of this last1 having
 in his favour all the ,greeks1 and     
many ,latins1 among whom1 one of the    
most conspicuous is the celebrated      
historian ,velleius ,paterculus1 who    
bestows on him the high eulogium1  that 
there never yet was any one who could   
imitate him2 and declares  further1     

that1 in his opinion1 there never will  
be any one capable of  doing it in time 
to come3 ,i say1 when all this is       
considered1 it should  have great weight
 in determining the question in ,homer's
 favour4 ,anna  le ,fevre1 ,i think1 has
 been dead but a few years4      ,,sect4
 ,,xviii4    ,,cxxv4 ,italy is little   
inferior to ,france1 in numbers of      
learned women2  but1 for the same reason
 for which we curtailed the recital of  
the  ,french ladies1 we shall do so by  
the ,italian ones4    ,,cxxvi4 ,dorothea
 ,bucca1 a native of ,bologna1 having   
from her infancy  been destined to the  
study of letters1 advanced in the       
profession with  such giant strides1    
that the famous university of that city1
 made  in her favour1 the singular1 and 
till then unheard-of precedent1 of      
conferring on her the degree of a       
doctor2 and she continued in the        
university as a professor of divinity1  
for a long time4 ,she flourished  in the
 fifteenth century4    ,,cxxvii4 ,isota 

,nogarola1 born at ,verona1 was the     
oracle of her age2  for1 over and above 
being very learned in philosophy1 and   
theology1 she  added to it1 the         
accomplishment of understanding various 
languages1  and being deeply read in the
 ,fathers2 and in point of eloquence1 it
  is asserted1 that she was not inferior
 to the greatest orators of  that age4  
,the proofs of her ability in this      
science1 are not vulgar1  for she spoke 
many times before the popes ,nicholas   
,v4 and ,pius ,,ii4 in  the council of  
,mantua1 which was convened1 for the    
purpose of uniting  the ,christian      
princes against the ,turk4 ,that        
illustrious protector of  letters1      
cardinal ,bessarion1 having seen some of
 the works of ,isota1  was so charmed   
with the spirit of them1 that he took a 
journey from  ,rome to ,verona on       
purpose to see her4 ,this lady1 died at 
the age of  thirty-eight1 in the year   
#adff4    ,,cxxviii4 ,laura ,ceretti1 in
 the beginning of the sixteenth century1

 at  the age of eighteen1 taught        
philosophy publickly1 with great        
applause4    ,,cxxix4 ,cassandra        
,fidele1 a ,venetian lady1 was so       
celebrated for  her knowledge of the    
,greek language1 and likewise for       
understanding  philosophy1 theology1 and
 being deeply read in history1 that     
there  was scarce an illustrious prince 
of that time1 who did not give her      
testimonies of his esteem2 and they     
reckon among the admirers of            
,cassandra1 the popes ,julian ,,ii41    
,leo ,x41 ,louis ,,xi41 king of ,france1
 and  our ,catholic king ,ferdinand1 and
 his queen ,isabel4 ,she wrote several  
works1 and died at the age of a hundred 
and two1 in the year #aefg4    ,,cxx4   
,cathalina de ,cibo1 dutchess of        
,camerine1 in the ,march of  ,ancona1   
understood ,latin1 ,greek1 ,hebrew1     
philosophy1 and theology4 ,her  virtue  
gave splendor to her learning2 she built
 the first convent the  ,capuchins      
possessed1 and died in the year #aeeg4  

,,cxxxi4 ,martha ,marchina1 a           
,neapolitan of low birth1 but elevated  
genius1 who1 surmounting the impediments
 annexed to her humble fortune1  managed
 so as to get herself instructed in the 
,latin1 ,greek1 and ,hebrew  languages1 
which she attained a competent knowledge
 of1 with wonderful  velocity1 and was  
no vulgar poetess2 but her excellent    
talents were not  capable of raising her
 above the sphere of life in which she  
was born1  the influence of her adverse 
stars1 obstructing the advancement of   
her  fortune4 ,she removed to ,rome1    
where she supported herself and family  
by making wash-balls3 but it is         
probable1 if she had had the same       
opportunities of studying which have    
fallen to the lot of other women1  that 
she would have been a prodigy among the 
females2 and even among  the men also4  
,she died at the age of forty-six1 in   
the year #afdf4    ,,cxxxii4 ,lucretia  
,helena ,cornaro1 of the illustrious    
family of the  ,cornaro's of ,venice1   

who1 though in the series of this       
memorial1 is the  last of the learned   
,italian women1 on account of her being 
the most  modern1 we may truly say1     
without doing injustice to any one1 that
 she  in dignity is the first4 ,this    
woman1 who was an honour to her sex1    
was born in #afdf4 ,from her tender     
infancy1 she manifested a violent       
inclination for letters1 with which     
inclination1 the wonderful rapidity  of 
her progress corresponded2 for she not  
only instructed herself  with uncommon  
facility1 in the ,latin1 ,greek1 and    
,hebrew languages1  but she learned     
also1 almost all the living languages of
 ,europe4 ,she  distinguished herself so
 conspicuously in mathematics1          
philosophy1  and sacred theology1 that  
the university of ,padua1 had resolved  
to  confer on her the degree of a doctor
 of divinity1 which would have been     
done1 if cardinal ,barbarigo1 the bishop
 of that city1 had not opposed  carrying
 the resolve into execution1 on account 

of some scruples  he entertained of the 
propriety of the thing1 it being        
contrary to  the maxim of ,st4 ,paul1   
which prohibits women from              
administering1 or  teaching in the      
church2 and thus1 to prevent violating  
this canonical  rule1 and at the same   
time1 not to be wanting in the proper   
regard  due to the deserving merit of   
,helena1 they fell upon the expedient of
  making her a doctor of philosophy2 the
 ceremony of conferring which  degree on
 her1 was graced and honoured1 with the 
attendance of many  princes and         
princesses1 from various parts of       
,italy4 ,her eminence in  scientific    
knowledge1 could only be exceeded1 which
 in reality it was1  by her exemplary   
piety4 ,at twelve years of age1 she took
 the vow of  virginity4 ,and although   
afterwards1 a ,german prince1 solicited 
with  ardour1 the hand of ,helena1 and  
offered to obtain from the pope a       
dispensation of her vow1 and was        
likewise assisted in his suit with  the 

intreaties of all her relations1 it was 
impossible to subdue her  constancy4 ,in
 order to cut off at a stroke1 the hopes
 of many other  importunate admirers1   
she was desirous of immediately entering
 herself  a ,benedictine nun2 but being 
prevented by her father1 she did all she
  could1 which was1 to renew by a       
written instrument1 her promise of      
virginity1 together with the addition of
 the other religious vows1  usually     
taken by nuns2 which1 after having      
executed1 she delivered  into the hands 
of the abbot of the monastery of ,st4   
,george1 as an  oblation to the         
,benedictine religion4 ,this sacrifice  
of her liberty1  was followed by her    
leading so exemplary a life within the  
walls of her  father's house1 as might  
excite the envy of the most austere nun4
 ,her  love of retirement was so great1 
and such was her shame of appearing  in 
public1 that1 although in obedience to  
her father's commands1 she  suffered    
herself sometimes to be seen2 her       

conforming to do it gave her  such pain1
 that she was used to say1 that         
obedience would cost her her  life4 ,in 
effect1 this was but short1 for she     
passed from it to another1  at the age  
of thirty-eight years1 with equal       
rejoicings of the angels1  and          
lamentations of mankind1 leaving many   
works1 which are sufficient  to eternize
 her fame4 ,a number of authors were the
 panegyrists of  this extraordinary     
woman1 among whom1 was ,gregory ,leti1  
who1 in his  select extracts from       
history1 gives her the epithets of the  
heroine of  letters1 and a monster of   
science2 calling her at the same time1  
an  angel of beauty and candour4        
,,sect4 ,,xix4    ,,cxxxiii4 ,germany1  
in whose frozen region1 ,apollo has more
 power to  inspire the mind1 than to    
thaw the limbs1 presents us with a spark
 from  the sun1 in the person of a woman
 of that country4    ,,cxxxiv4 ,this was
 the famous ,anna ,maria ,surman1 the   
glory of both  ,upper and ,lower        

,germany2 for although she was born at  
,cologne1 her  parents and ancestors    
were from the ,low ,countries4 ,there   
never had  appeared1 till her time1 a   
person of either sex1 of more universal 
capacity4 ,all the arts1 and all the    
sciences1 recognized1 and submitted     
with equal obedience to the empire of   
her genius1 and none of them  ever made 
the least resistance1 when this heroine 
undertook their  conquest4 ,at six years
 of age1 she1 without any instruction1  
cut1  with scissars in paper1 estimable 
and delicate figures4 ,at eight1  she   
learned in a few days to paint flowers1 
and did actually1 at the  end of that   
time1 paint some1 which were much       
prized4 ,at ten1 it did  not cost her   
more than three hours labour1 to acquire
 the art of  embroidering with elegance1
 but her talents for more exalted       
exercises  continued hid1 till at twelve
 years of age1 they were discovered in  
the following manner4 ,she had two      
brothers1 who studied at home1 and  it  

was remarked1 that at various times1    
upon their repeating their  lessons1    
when the memory of the boys failed them1
 the girl would set  them right1 which  
she was able to do without any studying1
 having  retained the lessons1 from only
 casually hearing her brothers repeat   
the words of them1 while they were      
getting them by heart4 ,this mark1      
joined to the others she had shewn1 of  
being endowed with a capacity  that was 
quite extraordinary1 determined her     
father to permit his  daughter to pursue
 her career in study1 which was so      
correspondent  with the bent of her     
inclination2 but the swift motion1 with 
which  she passed over the extensive    
plains of sacred and profane erudition1 
ought more properly to be called a      
flight1 than a career2 and the  short   
time in which she possessed herself of  
almost all the human  sciences1 together
 with sacred theology1 and a great      
knowledge of the  scripture1 is as      
astonishing4 ,she understood perfectly1 

the ,german1  ,dutch1 ,english1 ,french1
 ,italian1 ,latin1 ,greek1 ,hebrew1     
,syriac1 ,chaldee1  and ,arabic         
languages4 ,she was also endued with the
 gift of poetry1 and  composed many very
 sensible works in verse4 ,in the       
liberal arts1 she  acquired applause    
equal to that which she had obtained in 
sciences  and languages4 ,she understood
 music scientifically1 and played many  
instruments with dexterity4 ,as a       
painter1 and a statuary1 she was        
excellent2 as likewise in the art of    
engraving4 ,it is related of her1  that1
 having made her own effigy in wax1 some
 artificial pearls1 which  she had      
introduced as ornaments to the figure1  
appeared so natural1  that nobody would 
believe they were wax1 till after having
 made the  experiment of pricking them  
with a pin4 ,her letters were esteemed1 
and sought after1 not only for the      
beauty of the stile1 but for the        
elegance of the hand-writing also1      
insomuch1 that all who saw them  thought

 they were inimitable2 hence1 almost    
every trace of her pen1 was             
industriously collected1 as furniture   
worthy to adorn a cabinet4 ,there  was  
scarce a great man of her time1 who did 
not give her testimonies  of his esteem1
 and who did not solicit a literary     
correspondence with  her4 ,the          
illustrious queen of ,poland1 ,louisa   
,maria ,gonzaga1 after being  married at
 ,paris by proxy to king ,stanislaus1 in
 her passage to that  kingdom through   
,germany1 condescended to visit ,surman 
at her own house4  ,she would never     
marry1 although a matrimonial connection
 with her1 was  arduously solicited by  
many men of rank and fortune2           
particularly by  ,mons4 ,catec1         
pensionary of ,holland1 and a famous    
poet1 who had made  some verses in her  
eulogium1 when ,anna ,maria was but     
fourteen years  old4 ,at length1 this   
woman1 who was worthy of being immortal1
 died in  #afgh1 at seventy-one years of
 age4      ,,sect4 ,,xx4    ,,cxxxv4 ,i 

shall omit mentioning many more learned 
women1 which ennobled  ,germany and     
other countries1 to conclude with a     
recent example from  ,asia1 as a proof1 
that female literature is not confined  
and shut up  within the limits of       
,europe4    ,,cxxxvi4 ,this shall be the
 charming1 discreet1 and generous ,sitti
  ,maani1 wife of the famous traveller1 
,pedro de la ,valle1 a ,roman  knight4  
,maani was born in ,mesopotamia1 in     
order that that country1  within whose  
bounds1 some expositors believe the     
garden of ,paradise  was planted1 might 
be the happy spot which had produced two
 eminent  ,rachaels2 for it is certain1 
that ,haran1 where the beloved wife of  
,jacob was born1 was a place of         
,mesopotamia4 ,the fame of the nobleness
  of her genius1 the vivacity of her    
understanding1 and the beauty of  her   
person1 had been blazoned abroad when   
she was very young2 this  excited the   
curiosity of ,pedro de la ,valle1 and he
 was desirous of  seeing a lady1 of whom

 he had heard so many encomiums4 ,his   
experience1  upon the interview which   
was permitted him1 confirmed the truth  
of all  he had heard1 inflamed in his   
bosom the passion of love1 and caused   
him anxiously to solicit obtaining her  
for a wife1 which purpose he  effected2 
and ,maani1 after marrying him1 not only
 forsook the ,chaldean  rites in which  
she had been bred up1 and turned        
catholic herself1 but  persuaded her    
parents to do the same4 ,it is almost   
incredible1 what  this amiable ,asian   
acquired in a few years1 and indeed the 
years of  her life were but few2 for she
 not only attained a knowledge of all   
the learning1 which those countries1    
still strangers to the sciences1  could 
afford1 but she arrived at understanding
 twelve different idioms4  ,but the     
bulk1 as well as perfection1 of her     
moral virtues1 exceeded  that of her    
acquisitions2 among which1 though not   
common to her sex1  her courage shone   
the most brilliant1 for she fought armed

 in three  encounters1 and with great   
bravery1 in defence of her husband4     
,this  woman1 in many ways              
extraordinary1 eminent for her talents1 
and famous  for her travels and voyages1
 in one of them1 near ,ormuz1 became the
  victim of a fever1 which was truly    
malignant1 having deprived her of  life 
at the age of twenty-one4 ,thus died1 to
 the great grief of all  who had known  
her1 this new ,rachael1 who was so like 
the antient one1  that it seems1 as if  
,nature and ,fortune had studiously     
formed the  parallel2 both natives of   
,mesopotamia2 both beautiful in extreme2
 both  married to very deserving men1   
who were strangers to them1 and came    
from other countries2 both alike1 with  
respect to their determination1  of     
forsaking the rites of their country1   
and following the religion  of their    
husbands2 both equally conforming1 to   
lead a wandering life1  and follow the  
steps of their consorts2 and1 in the    
end1 both dying  in the flower of their 

age1 and on the road4 ,but the behaviour
 of the  two husbands1 at the time of   
the fatal crisis1 seems to have been    
very different2 ,pedro de la ,valle at  
that period1 appearing to have          
conducted himself with much more        
delicacy1 than the patriarch ,jacob4    
,the last1 buried his ,rachael on the   
road1 at the place where she died2      
though it would have corresponded better
 with the merit of his wife1  if he had 
paid the same care and attention1 and   
had taken the same  precaution about her
 dead carcase1 that he did with regard  
to his own1  when he strictly enjoined  
his son ,joseph1 to convey it to the    
sepulchre  of his ancestors1 which was  
in ,hebron4 ,the tender care and regard 
for  his wife in this last office1 which
 seems to have been little attended  to 
by that fond patriarch1 though we should
 suppose it happened from  some powerful
 reason1 either mysterious or natural1  
which he had for  omitting it1 shone    
forth with respect to ,pedro de la      

,valle1 in acts of  the most punctual   
and precise reality2 and which1 in the  
most refined  and nice manner1 expressed
 the affection he bore his departed     
consort3  for after having embalmed the 
dead body of his adored ,maani1 he      
carried  it about with him inclosed in a
 costly urn1 four whole years1 all      
which time1 he continued to travel      
through1 and explore various parts  of  
,asia2 with his eyes ever attentive to  
her ashes1 and his heart and  memory to 
her virtues3 till upon returning to     
,rome1 he deposited the  remains of his 
beloved object1 in the sepulchre of the 
noble family of  the ,valles his        
ancestors1 which they have belonging to 
them1 in the  chapel of ,st4 ,paul1     
appertaining to the church of ,santa    
,maria de ,ara  ,cli3 this was done with
 such funeral pomp1 that a more         
magnificent  shew of this sort had      
scarce ever been seen1 ,pedro de la     
,valle himself1  pronouncing the funeral
 oration2 in doing which1 his eyes      

expressed  much more than his lips1 as  
in a short time his lips ceased to move1
  and left the eyes to speak the rest2  
for it so happened1 that his  throat    
through excessive grief1 was obstructed1
 and he was near being  choaked2 so that
 he was unavoidably obliged to leave the
 oration  unfinished2 but such of the   
eloquent clauses as were congealed and  
obstructed in the passage1 melted down1 
and flowed in tender tears1  mixed with 
sighs1 the true and proper accents of   
grief1 which were  resounded and echoed 
back1 by a numerous concourse of        
sympathetic  auditors4    ,n4,b4 ,sitti 
is a title of honour among the          
,persians1 and equivalent to  lady with 
us4      ,,sect4 ,,xxi4    ,,cxxxvii4   
,that the relation should not appear    
tedious1 we have omitted  many modern   
learned women in this catalogue1 and    
have designedly  forbore to mention the 
antient ones1 as an account of them1 may
 be  found in an infinite number of     
books2 but we have said enough to       

evince1 what seems of most importance in
 this argument1 which is1 that  almost  
all the women1 who have dedicated       
themselves to study1 have  become       
eminent1 and made considerable figures  
in the literary world2  whereas1 there  
are scarce three in a hundred1 among the
 men devoted to  literature1 who have   
been remarkable for their advances in   
the science1  or who could truly and    
properly1 be stiled people of learning  
and  ability4    ,,cxxxviii4 ,but       
because this reflection may occasion the
 women to fancy  themselves persons of  
much superior capacity to the men1 it is
 but just  and necessary1 by way of     
checking such presumption1 to observe1  
that  this inequality of improvement by 
study1 proceeds1 from none of their  sex
 being devoted to it1 except those1 in  
whom the people who have had  the care  
of their education have remarked        
peculiar talents for such  pursuits1 or 
those1 who have found in themselves a   
great propensity for  literature1 and a 

particular disposition for attaining a  
knowledge of  the sciences2 on the other
 hand1 the men are not left to their    
choice  in these matters2 the parents1  
with a view of advancing their fortune1 
without attending to their capacities1  
or considering whether they are  dull   
boys1 or lads of genius1 destine them to
 the career of letters2  and the bulk of
 mankind being people of scanty         
abilities1 it must  unavoidably follow1 
that a few only can make a figure in the
 learned  world4    ,,cxxxix4 ,my       
opinion of the matter however is1 that  
there is no  inequality1 in the         
capacities of the one and the other sex4
 ,but if  the women1 to repress the vain
 contemners of their aptitude for the   
arts and sciences1 should be disposed to
 pass from the defensive to  the        
offensive1 and by way of playing at     
disputation1 to contend for a           
superiority over the men1 they may make 
use of the arguments ,i have  mentioned 
above1 by which1 from the same physical 

maxims1 wherewith the  men pretend to   
bear down1 and depreciate the capacities
 of the women1  we have shewn1 that it  
may with more probability be inferred1  
the  talents and aptitude of the tender 
sex1 excel those of the robust4         
,,cxl4 ,to this1 we shall add the       
authority of ,aristotle1 who in various 
places teaches1 that in all the animal  
species1 expressly including the  human1
 the females are more penetrating and   
ingenious than the males2  particularly 
in his ninth book1 de ,histor4 ,animal4 
cap4 #a1 where he  expresses himself in 
these words3 ,in omnibus ver1 quorum    
procreatio  est1 fminam1  marem simili  
fer modo ,natura distinxit moribus1     
quibus  mas differt  fmina3 quod prcipu 
tum in homine1 tum etiam in iis1  qu    
magnitudine prstent1  quadrupedes       
vivipar sint1 percipitur3 sunt  enim    
fmin moribus mollioribus1 mitescunt     
celerius1  malum facilius  patiuntur2   
discunt etiam1 imitanturque ingeniosius4
    ,,cxli4 ,this authority of          

,aristotle1 which gives the advantage to
 the  women1 not only in docility1 and  
softness of disposition1 but allows     
also1 that they exceed the men in       
ingenuity2 ought to have great  weight  
with those1 who are such admirers of    
,aristotle1 as to call  him the         
penetrating genius of ,nature1 and the  
sum and perfection of  human            
intelligence4 ,but ,i must caution the  
women1 not to put too much  confidence  
in ,aristotle3 because1 although in the 
place we have just  cited1 he ennobles  
them with a superiority in point of     
perspicuity2  a little lower down1 he is
 very liberal in his abuse of them1 and 
says1 they are greatly addicted to      
mischief3 ,verum malitiosiores1         
astutiores1 insidiores fmin sunt2 and   
although just afterwards1 he  concedes  
them the preference to the men1 in the  
noble attribute of  tenderness or       
compassion1 he instantly stigmatizes and
 marks them1  with the blemishes of     
envy1 evil-speaking1 inveteracy1 and    

other such  bad qualities3 ,ita quod    
mulier1 misericors magis1  ad lacrymas  
propensior1 quam vir est3 invida item   
magis1  querela  maledicentior1         
mordacior4 ,upon the whole1 ,i am not   
clear1 whether the ladies will  accept  
the advantage of ingenuity which this   
philosopher has thought  fit to confer  
on them1 loaded with the charges he has 
been pleased to  annex to it2 we may    
however conclude from the premises1 that
 when such  a man1 who was so ill       
disposed towards them1 admits as a      
fundamental1  that they are more        
ingenious than men1 the evidence of     
their abilities  does not rest on slight
 ground4      ,,sect4 ,,xxii4           
,,cxlii4 ,it occurs to me here1 that it 
is necessary to say something  of the   
aptitude of women for those arts1 which 
are more elevated  than those they      
commonly exercise themselves in2 such as
 painting1  and sculpture4 ,very few    
women have dedicated themselves to these
  applications1 but of those few1 some  

have turned out excellent artists4  ,we 
have already said of the admirable      
,maria ,surman1 that she was  eminent in
 painting1 sculpture1 and engraving4    
,,cxliii4 ,in ,italy1 the three sisters1
 ,sophonisba1 ,lucia1 and ,europa       
,angosciola1 were celebrated painters2  
the first of which1 ,isabella1  queen of
 ,spain1 the wife of ,philip the        
,second1 took into her service1  and she
 was in such high repute1 that pope     
,pius ,,iv4 solicited a  portrait of    
that queen1 done by the hand of         
,sophonisba4    ,,cxliv4 ,irene de      
,spilimberg was so excellent in the same
 art1 that  her paintings were often    
taken for those of ,titian1 who was her 
contemporary4 ,fate snatched her away at
 the age of twenty-six1 which  event    
caused universal grief1 and drew tears  
from the eyes of her  competitor4       
,,cxlv4 ,teresa de ,po was held in great
 estimation at ,naples as a  painter2   
and precious traits of her pencil1 may  
be seen in the cabinet  of the most     

excellent marquis of ,villena1 who      
employed her when she was  vice-queen of
 ,naples4    ,,cxlvi4 ,and even in      
statuary1 ,italy has produced famous    
women4  ,propercia de ,rossi was        
generally applauded for her beautiful   
designs1  and well-wrought statues in   
marble2 but the distinguished ,labinia  
,fontana1 acquired greater applause than
 her1 or indeed than any one  else4 ,i  
have had information of but one female  
painter in ,france1  though she was of  
the first rate4 ,this was ,isabela      
,sophia de ,cheron1  known by the name  
of ,madame le ,hai2 who1 over and above 
possessing  talents beyond the degree of
 mediocrity1 for music and poetry1 was a
  most finished painter2 and became so  
celebrated for her skill in this  art1  
that the dauphin1 who was son to ,louis 
,,xiv4 employed her to paint  him and   
all his children3 and ,casimir1 king of 
,poland1 who1 after his  voluntary      
abdication of that crown1 resided in    
,paris1 caused her to  do the same for  

him1 and many people of the first rank  
and quality  in ,france followed their  
example2 and even deigned to go and sit 
at  the house of ,isabela1 which the    
prince of ,cond did several times4  ,the
 emperor ,joseph1 endeavoured to draw   
her to ,vienna1 by the offer  of a large
 pension2 but not being able to prevail 
on her1 he sent  her the drawings of his
 own likeness1 and those of all the     
imperial  family1 that from them she    
might paint their portraits4 ,her       
designs and  colouring1 were exquisite1 
and her facility of execution1          
wonderful1  for she would continue to   
bear a part in whatever conversation    
occurred1 without giving the least      
relaxation to the operations of the     
pencil2 but her christian and generous  
actions1 added to the piety of  her     
spirit1 made her more esteemed1 than the
 traits of her hand2 and  she died as   
she lived1 in the year #agaa4           
,,cxlvii4 ,but where the equal degree of
 aptitude in the women for the  noble   

arts1 compared to that of the men1 is   
most conspicuous1 is in the  instance of
 music1 which is a faculty suited       
indifferently to either  sex2 as the    
females who apply themselves to it1 in  
proportion to the  time they study1     
generally make as great progress as the 
men do2 nor  does a master of this art1 
find more difficulty in teaching girls  
than  boys4 ,i knew one girl of this    
profession1 who1 before she arrived at  
the age of fifteen1 was a composer4 ,i  
have purposely1 in the mention of  so   
many illustrious women1 avoided touching
 on the exquisite endowments  of our    
most enlightened queen1 ,donna ,isabel  
of ,farnese1 because it  would have been
 presumption in so gross a pen as mine1 
to undertake  the discussion of so      
sublime a subject2 and because another1 
much  better cut1 and superiorly        
qualified for the task1 has1 between the
  escutcheons of her royal house1 drawn 
some traces of the excellencies  and    
splendor of her person4      ,,sect4    

,,xxiii4    ,,cxlviii4 ,i am aware now1 
that against all ,i have said1 it may be
  replied to me to this effect3 ,if     
women are equal to men1 in their        
aptitude for arts1 sciences1 political  
conomy1 and government1 why  has ,god   
established the mastery1 and superiority
 in the men1 by the  sentence in the    
third chapter of ,genesis1 which says1  
,sub viri  potestate eris8 ,because it  
is probable1 he gave the government to  
that  sex1 which he knew to be most     
capable of executing it4    ,,cxlix4 ,i 
answer first1 that the specific meaning 
of the text is  not certainly known1 on 
account of the variation in the         
versions4  ,the reading in the          
,septuagint is3 ,ad virum conversio tua4
 ,in the  ,aquilean3 ,ad virum societas 
tua4 ,in the ,samaritan3 ,ad virum      
appetitus1 vel impetus tuus4 ,and the   
learned ,benedict ,perceyra says1  that 
by translating the ,hebrew literally1   
the sentence will run thus3  ,ad virum  
desiderium1 vel concupiscentia tua4     

,,cl4 ,i answer secondly1 that it might 
be insisted1 the political  subjection  
of the woman was absolutely a punishment
 for her sin1 and  therefore1 that in   
the state of innocence there was no such
 thing4 ,the  text at least does not    
contradict such an opinion2 for it      
rather seems1  that if it had been      
intended the woman should obey the man  
in the state  of innocence1 ,god would  
have intimated this subjection1 at the  
time he  formed her2 and from these     
premises1 it cannot so properly be      
inferred1  that ,god gave the man the   
preference1 on account of his possessing
 an  understanding superior to the      
woman's1 as that it was done1 because   
she  gave the first occasion to sin4    
,,cli4 ,i say thirdly1 that admitting1  
,god from the beginning gave the  rule  
over the woman to the man1 it does not  
follow from thence1 that  he endued him 
with an understanding superior to her's2
 but it rather  seems likely1 this was  
done for the sake of maintaining family 

order  and decorum1 for allowing them to
 be equal in point of talents1  unless  
the government and direction was vested 
in one1 all would be  anarchy and       
confusion4 ,among the probable species  
of governments1 the  moral philosophers1
 copying after ,aristotle1 have held or 
considered1  that which is called the   
,timocracian1 to be the worst and most  
exceptionable3 for by this1 all the     
individuals of the republic have  equal 
authority1 and an equal voice2 but in   
the case of a man and his  wife1 this   
mode of directing1 with respect to      
conomical government1  would not only be
 imperfect1 but impossible2 for among a 
multitude  of people1 where there is a  
variety of opinions1 the dispute may be 
decided by a plurality of votes2 which  
cannot be done between a man  and his   
wife1 for they are one1 to one2 and thus
 if they should happen  to be of        
different sentiments1 unless one of them
 had the superiority1  the point could  
never be settled2 but it may be said1   

why1 if their  capacities were equal1   
should ,god think fit to give the       
superiority  to the men8 ,various       
reasons and motives may be assigned for 
this1  such as his excelling the women  
in many other useful qualities1 for     
example1 constancy and courage2 which   
virtues1 are necessary for making       
proper determinations1 and for          
supporting them after they are made1 by 
subduing and bearing down all the       
obstacles1 produced by vain and light   
fears2 but we should do better1 instead 
of reasoning in this way1 to  confess1  
we for the most part are ignorant of the
 motives of divine  resolutions4        
,,sect4 ,,xxiv4    ,,clii4 ,i shall     
conclude this discourse1 by endeavouring
 to set aside  an exception that may be 
made to the undertaking2 which is1 that 
persuading mankind of the intellectual  
equality of both sexes1 does  not seem  
to be productive of any utility to the  
public1 but is rather  likely to        
occasion mischief1 as it tends to foment

 in the women1  presumption and pride4  
,,cliii4 ,i might reply to this scruple1
 by only saying1 that1 in whatever      
matter that may present itself to our   
reflection1 knowing the truth1  and     
setting aside error1 is an utility which
 is apparent1 and of itself  sufficient 
to justify our enquiry4 ,the right      
understanding of things1  is of itself  
estimable1 without regard to any other  
end or object in  the creation4 ,truths 
have their intrinsic value3 and the     
stock1 or  riches of the understanding1 
does not consist of any other money4    
,some  pieces are more valuable than    
others1 but none are useless4 ,nor can  
the truth we have proved1 of itself1    
induce in the women vanity or           
presumption4 ,if they1 in the           
perfections of the soul1 are truly equal
  to us1 there can be no harm in their  
knowing1 or being sensible of it4  ,st4 
,thomas1 speaking of vain-glory1 says1  
this sin is not incurred by a  man's    
knowing1 or being convinced of the      

perfection he possesses1 and  which is  
contained in him3 ,quod autem aliquis   
bonum suum cognoscat1   approbet1 non   
est peccatum 7#b ,qust4 #acb4 ,art4 #a47
 and in another  place1 speaking of     
presumption1 he says1 this vice is      
always founded  in some error or mistake
 of the understanding3 ,prsumptio autem 
est  motus appetitivus1 quia importat   
quondam spem inordinatam1 habet  autem  
se conformiter intellectui falso 7,qust4
 #bb4 ,art4 #b47 ,the  women then1 by   
knowing what they are1 if they don't    
estimate their  qualifications above    
their real value1 can never become      
vain-glorious1  or presumptuous2 but by 
attending to the thing1 it will be      
found1 the  deception this chapter is   
calculated to remove1 will rather have a
  different effect2 and instead of      
adding presumption to the women1 will   
take it away from the men4    ,,cliv4   
,though ,i go further1 and maintain1 the
 maxim we have established1  is not only
 incapable of occasioning any moral     

evil1 but that it  may be productive of 
much good4 ,consider1 how many men the  
imagined  superiority of talents1 has   
emboldened to attempt criminal conquests
  over the other sex4 ,in every         
encounter1 the confidence1 or diffidence
  of a person's own strength or power1  
goes a great way towards  determining   
the event of the conflict4 ,the man1    
presuming on the  advantage of his      
superior understanding1 proposes boldly2
 the woman1  judging herself inferior1  
listens with respect4 ,who can deny1    
that  such circumstances promote a great
 tendency and disposition1 to his       
becoming a conqueror1 and her falling a 
victim8    ,,clv4 ,let the women then   
know1 that1 in point of understanding1  
they  are not inferior to the men4 ,they
 will then determine with confidence1   
on repelling and refuting those         
sophisms1 by which1 under the colour    
and pretence of reason and arguments1   
the men attempt injustice and  injuries4
 ,if a woman can be persuaded1 that a   

man compared to her1  is an oracle1 she 
will lend an attentive ear to the most  
indignant  proposition1 and will        
reverence as an infallible truth1 the   
most  notorious falsehood4 ,it is very  
well known1 into what acts of turpitude 
many women have been drawn1 by the sect 
called ,molinists1 who1 before  their   
practices upon them1 were esteemed very 
virtuous persons4 ,this  perversion1    
proceeded from no other cause1 than     
their having considered  these          
,molinists1 as men of superior lights   
and talents1 and their  having          
entertained an extreme distrust of their
 own understandings1  when they         
represented to them clearly1 the falsity
 of those venomous  dogmas4    ,,clvi4  
,there is another consideration to be   
attended to1 which is of  great         
importance in this matter4 ,it is       
certain1 that every one submits  easily1
 and without reluctance1 to a person1   
who he is sensible has  some notable    
advantage over him4 ,a man serves       

another man without  regret1 who is more
 noble than himself1 but he does it with
 great  repugnance1 if they happen to be
 equal in birth4 ,the same thing is     
observable1 or may be applied to the    
case we are treating of4 ,if a  woman is
 under the mistake1 that a man is of a  
much more noble sex than  herself1 and  
that she1 from a defect in her's1 in    
comparison to him1  is a poor           
contemptible animal of little value1 she
 will think it no  shame to submit to   
him2 and by these pre-disposing         
circumstances1 being  aided with the    
flattery of obsequiousness1 she may be  
betrayed into  esteeming that as an     
honour1 which in reality is ignominious4
 ,to use  the words of ,st4 ,leon's     
exclamation to the men1 let the women   
then know  their dignity1 and let them  
be sensible1 that1 in point of          
intellectual  capacity1 our sex has no  
advantage over them1 and that it will   
ever  be opprobrious and vile in them1  
to allow a man the dominion of their    

bodies1 save when he is empowered to    
claim it1 by the authority1 and  under  
the sanction1 of holy matrimony4        
,,clvii4 ,i have not yet told all the   
utility1 which1 in a moral sense1  will 
result to both the men and the women1 by
 extricating them from the  error they  
lay under1 with respect to the          
inequality of the sexes4 ,i  firmly     
believe1 this error is the cause1 of    
many marriage-beds having  been         
dishonoured and contaminated with       
adulteries4 ,it may seem that ,i  am    
entangling myself in a strange paradox1 
but this is not the case2 ,i  having    
done no more1 than assert an established
 truth4 ,attend4    ,,clviii4 ,a few    
months after the souls of two consorts1 
are united  together by the matrimonial 
bond1 a woman begins to lose that       
estimation1 which she at first obtained1
 as a delectable object newly  acquired1
 and recently possessed4 ,the man1      
passes from tenderness to  lukewarmness1
 which lukewarmness many times1 comes to

 end in contempt1  and positive         
disestimation4 ,when the husband arrives
 at this vicious  extreme1 he1 presuming
 on the advantages which he supposes to 
be  annexed to the superiority of his   
sex1 begins to triumph over1 and  insult
 his wife2 instructed by1 and versed in 
those sentences1 which  pronounce1 that 
the most which a woman can attain1 may  
be attained  by a boy of fourteen years 
old1 and that it is in vain1 to seek for
  either sense or prudence in them1     
together with other ridiculous1  and    
injurious reflections of the same kind2 
treating every thing he  observes in his
 wife1 with the utmost contempt4 ,in    
this situation1 if  the poor woman      
attempts to remonstrate1 she is accused 
of raving2 all  she says1 is            
impertinent1 and foreign to the purpose2
 all she does  is wrong4 ,if she is     
handsome1 the attraction of her beauty  
stands  her in little stead1 for its    
charm is dissolved1 and the security of 
possessing it1 has made it of no value4 

,the husband only recollects1  that his 
wife is an imperfect animal2 and if he  
neglects her1 will  upbraid the most    
spotless woman with being a vase of     
impurities4    ,,clix4 ,when the unhappy
 woman is in this humiliating and       
dejected state1  a gallant casts fond1  
or1 as we commonly say in ,spain1 good  
eyes  on her4 ,to her1 who at all times 
is condemned to see nothing but a       
frowning brow1 it is natural to suppose1
 a pleasant countenance appears  very   
delightsome3 and such a leading         
circumstance conduces much to  bring on1
 and facilitates a conversation between 
the parties2 in which1  the woman hears 
nothing but what is flattering and      
pleasing to her4  ,before this1 she used
 to be accosted in nought but terms of  
reproach  and contempt1 and now1 she is 
addressed in expressions of tenderness  
and adoration4 ,she lately was treated  
as something beneath a woman2 and  now1 
she is elevated to the sphere of a      
divinity4 ,she was accustomed  lately to

 be called nothing but fool2 and now1   
she is told that she  possesses a       
sublime understanding4 ,in the language 
of her husband1  she was all            
imperfections2 in that of her gallant1  
she is all charms  and graces4 ,the     
partner of her bed1 lorded it over her  
like a tyrant  master2 the other1 throws
 himself at her feet as an humble slave2
 and  although the lover1 if he had been
 her husband1 would have acted just  as 
the husband did3 this reflection escapes
 the miserable wife1 and she  only sees 
that sort of difference between them1   
which there is between  an angel and a  
brute4 ,she views in her husband1 a     
heart full of thorns2  and in her       
gallant1 one crowned with flowers4      
,there a chain of iron  presents itself 
to her sight2 here a golden one4 ,there 
slavery2 here  dominion4 ,there a       
dungeon2 here a throne4    ,,clx4 ,in   
this situation1 what can the most       
resolute woman do8 ,how can  she resist 
two impulses1 directed to the same      

point1 one that impels1  and the other  
which attracts her8 ,if heaven does not 
stretch forth a  powerful and a friendly
 hand to support her1 her fall is       
inevitable4  ,and if she does fall1 who 
can deny that her own husband forced her
 over  the precipice8 ,if he had not    
treated her with indignity and abusive  
railing1 the flattery of the lover would
 have been of no avail4 ,it was  his    
ill-treatment which occasioned her      
downfall4 ,all this mischief1  most     
frequently proceeds from the mean       
opinion1 which married men are  apt to  
entertain of the other sex4 ,let them   
renounce these erroneous  maxims1 and   
the consequence will be1 that their     
wives will become more  faithful and    
constant4 ,let them cherish and esteem  
them1 for ,god has  commanded they      
should love them2 and ,i can't          
understand1 how love and  contempt1 with
 respect to the same object1 can be     
entertained1 and  accommodate themselves
 together in one and the same heart4    

,,on      ,,church ,,music4      ,,sect4
 ,i4    ,i4 ,in ancient times1 if we    
believe ,plutarch1 music was used only  
in  temples1 and that afterwards it     
passed to theatres4 ,formerly1 it       
served as an ornament to divine worship2
 afterwards1 it was used to  stimulate  
vice4 ,heretofore1 the melody of sacred 
hymns only were heard2  afterwards1 we  
began to listen to profane songs4 ,music
 originally1  was used as an obsequies  
to the ,deities1 it was afterwards      
applied to  inflame the passions4 ,in   
old times1 it was dedicated to ,apollo1 
but it  seems as if afterwards1 ,apollo 
had divided the protection of this art  
with ,venus2 and as if to poison the    
soul1 and paint on the theatres  the    
charms of vice1 the finest colourings of
 rhetoric1 joined to the  harmony of    
poetic numbers1 were not sufficient1    
they1 to render these  charms more      
attracting1 and make the venom more     
active1 confectioned  and compounded    
rhetoric1 poetry1 and music together4   

,,ii4 ,this diversity of uses to which  
music was appropriated1 induced  a      
difference in the composition of it3 and
 as it was necessary in  the temple1 and
 in the theatre1 to excite distinct     
affections1 they  contrived distinct    
modes of melody1 to correspond1 as their
 echoes1  with the different affections 
of the soul4 ,the ,dorian mode1 as      
grave1  majestic1 and devout1 was       
reserved for the temple2 and in the     
theatres1  they adopted different modes1
 suited to the diversity of the matters4
  ,in the amorous representations1 they 
used the ,lydian mode1 which was  soft  
and tender2 and when they had a mind to 
give the movement a  stronger effect and
 expression1 they applied the mixed     
,lydian1 which  was more pathetic and   
striking than the ,lydian by itself4 ,in
 warlike  representations1 they used the
 ,phrygian mode1 which is terrible and  
furious2 and in affairs of mirth and    
jollity1 or favouring of the            
,bacchanalian1 they adopted the olian1  

which was sprightly and comic4  ,the    
,subphrygian mode1 was appropriated to  
calm the transports1 raised  by the     
,phrygian2 and thus1 to produce other   
effects1 they had other  modes of       
melody4    ,,iii4 ,whether these modes  
of the antients1 corresponded with the  
different tones used by the moderns1 is 
not clearly ascertained4 ,some  authors 
affirm they do1 others doubt it4 ,i     
myself1 am inclined to  think they do   
not1 because the diversity of our tones1
 have not that  influence to vary the   
passions1 which was experienced in the  
different  modes of the antients4       
,,sect4 ,,ii4    ,,iv4 ,thus music1 in  
those remote ages1 was divided between  
the temple  and the theatre1 and was    
applied promiscuously1 to worship at the
  altar1 and to the corruption of       
manners4 ,but although this was a       
lamentable falling-off1 it was not the  
greatest abuse which has been  practised
 on this noble art1 the accomplishment  
of its perversion  being reserved for   

our times4 ,when the alteration in the  
application  of music1 which was        
employed heretofore only in divine      
worship1 took  place1 the ,greeks made a
 very judicious division and            
distribution of  it2 reserving to the   
temple1 that which was proper for the   
temple2 and  giving to the theatre1 that
 which was suitable to the theatre2 but 
what has been done in these latter      
times8 ,not content with keeping        
theatrical music for the use of the     
theatre1 they have translated it to  the
 church4    ,v4 ,the church chants of   
these times1 with respect to their form 
and  manner1 sound like the songs of a  
jovial company sitting round a  table4  
,they are all composed of minuets1      
recitatives1 light airs1 and  allegros2 
at the end of which1 they substitute    
something which is  called grave2 but   
this is done very sparingly1 lest it    
should seem  tiresome and disgusting4   
,what can this mean8 ,should not all the
 music  in a church be grave8 ,ought not

 the whole composition to be calculated 
to impress gravity1 devotion1 and       
decency8 ,the instrumental music is  the
 same2 but what effect can these        
,canary-birds airs1 so predominant  in  
the taste of the moderns1 produce in the
 soul8 ,this music1 so  replete with    
jigs1 that you can scarce find a piece  
without one1 can  raise no other        
emotions in the imagination1 than those 
of frolic and  levity4 ,he who hears on 
the organ1 the same minuet which he     
heard at  the ball1 what effect will it 
have on him8 ,no other1 than reminding  
him  of the lady with whom he danced the
 preceding night4 ,thus the music1      
which ought to translate the spirit of  
him who listens to it1 from the         
terrestrial to the celestial temple1    
conveys it from the church to the       
banquet2 and the ideas raised in the    
imagination of the person who  hears    
this1 if either from constitution1 or   
vicious habits1 he is ill  disposed1    
will not forsake him at the church door4

    ,,vi4 ,o good ,god6 is this the sort
 of music1 which expressed from the     
breast of the great ,austin1 while he   
was still wavering between ,god and  the
 world1 sighs of compunction1 and tears 
of piety8 ,oh how ,i wept1  said the    
saint1 addressing himself to ,god in his
 confessions1 moved  and excited1 by the
 salutary hymns and canticles of thy    
church6 ,those  words and sounds1 made a
 lively impression on my ears1 and      
through  them1 thy truths penetrated my 
mind4 ,my heart burned with affection1  
and my eyes melted in tears4 ,this was  
the effect of the church music  of those
 times2 which1 like the lyre of ,david1 
expelled the evil  spirit1 that had not 
quite forsaken the possession of ,st4   
,austin1 and  invoked the good one2 the 
music of these times expels the good    
one1  if such resides1 and invites the  
evil one4 ,the ecclesiastical chant  of 
those days1 was like the sound of the   
trumpets of ,joshua1 which  threw down  
the walls of ,jericho1 that is1 the     

passions which fortify  the strong town 
of ,vice4 ,the chant of the present     
times1 resembles the  songs of the      
,syrens1 which lead navigators on rocks 
and shoals4      ,,sect4 ,,iii4         
,,vii4 ,how much better was the church  
with the plain chant1 the only one      
known in it for many ages1 and which1   
for the most part1 was composed  by the 
monks of ,st4 ,benedict1 who were the   
greatest masters in the  world at that  
time1 among whom1 should be first       
reckoned ,gregory the  ,great1 and the  
celebrated ,guido ,aretinus2 after them 
came ,john ,murs1  a doctor of the      
,sorbonne1 who invented the notes1 which
 mark the  various duration of the      
points2 and truly1 the simplicity of    
that  chant1 was not deficient in       
melodies1 capable of moving the         
passions1  and sweetly suspending the   
hearers4 ,the compositions of ,guido    
,aretinus  were reckoned so pathetic1   
that cardinal ,baronius tells us1 that1 
in  the year #ajbb1 pope ,gregory       

,,viii4 sent for him from his convent of
  ,arezzo1 and would not let him depart 
his presence1 till he had taught  him to
 sing a short verse of his              
,antiphonario4 ,this was the person who 
invented the modern system of music1 or 
artificial progression1 which  is now   
used1 and called the scale of ,guido    
,aretinus4 ,he also contrived  the      
harmonious combination of voices1 in    
different tones2 which art1  was in all 
probability known to the antients1 but  
all traces of it were  then lost4       
,,viii4 ,the plain chant1 executed with 
proper pauses1 has a peculiar           
excellence for the use of churches1     
which is1 that being incapable  of      
exciting such affections as are raised  
by theatrical music1 it  necessarily    
follows1 that it must be the best       
adapted to induce such  as are proper   
for the church4 ,who1 by the sonorous   
majesty of the  hymn ,vexilla ,regis1 by
 the festive gravity of the ,pange      
,lingua1  by the mournful tenderness of 

the ,invitatorio de ,difuntos1 would    
not feel himself excited to veneration1 
devotion1 and contrition8 ,we  hear     
these chants every day1 notwithstanding 
which1 they always seem  pleasing2 when 
at the same time1 after half a dozen    
repetitions1 modern  compositions grow  
tiresome and unsavoury to us4    ,,ix4  
,i would not however1 on this account1  
quarrel with the figured1  or1 as it is 
commonly called1 the organ chant2 as ,i 
am sensible1 it  has great advantages   
over the plain2 because it preserves and
 marks  the accents on the words1 which 
in the plain chant is impossible2 and   
because the different duration of the   
points1 produce to the ear that         
agreeable effect1 which is caused to the
 sight1 by a well-proportioned          
inequality of colours4 ,it is only the  
abuse that has been introduced in  the  
organ chant1 which makes me prefer the  
plain one2 and am in this  respect1 like
 a man who anxiously covets plain food1 
and avoids the  more delicate1 when he  

knows it is corrupted4      ,,sect4     
,,iv4    ,x4 ,what good-disposed ears   
can1 in sacred chants1 endure those     
enormous  breaks1 and lascivious        
inflections1 which offend against the   
rules of  decency1 and are contrary to  
those of music8 ,i speak of those       
flights  and wanderings1 which seem as  
if they had been studied1 and which  the
 voice takes by straying from the       
subject of the melody2 of those         
languishing falls from one point to     
another1 that run not only through  the 
semi-tone1 but also through all the     
intermediate comas1 and are             
transitions1 which are not contained in 
art1 nor does ,nature allow them4       
,,xi4 ,experience shews1 that the       
changes which the voice makes in the    
chant1 by running through small         
intervals 7such passages containing  in 
themselves a degree of effeminate       
softness1 if not a lascivious           
tendency71 are apt to produce in the    
minds of hearers1 an effect1            

correspondent to such sort of ideas1 and
 impress on the fancy certain  confused 
images1 which represent nothing good4   
,on this account1 many  of the antients1
 and particularly the ,lacedmonians1    
reprobated as  pernicious to youth1 the 
sort of music called ,chromatic1 which  
by the  introduction of ,b-flatts1 and  
sostenutos1 divides the octave into     
smaller intervals than the natural ones4
 ,hear what ,cicero says of this3       
,chromaticum creditur repudiatum pridem 
fuisse genus1 quod adolescentum         
remolesccrent eo genere animi2          
,lacedmones improbasse ferentur4 7,lib4 
#a4 ,tuscul4 ,qust47 ,it may be         
supposed1 they would have found more    
reason for prohibiting the ,enharmonic  
also2 which1 by the addition of  more   
flats and sostenutos1 and by being      
joined to the two other sorts1  the     
,diatonic and ,chromatic1 which must    
necessarily precede it1 and  by making  
the interval less still1 divides the    
octave into a greater  number of points3

 in consequence of which combination    
7the voice1 by  sometimes deviating from
 the natural point1 through spaces which
 are  yet shorter1 that is to say1 the  
minor semi-tones7 there results a       
music1 more soft and effeminate than the
 ,chromatic4    ,,xii4 ,is it not much  
to be lamented1 that the ,christians    
don't use the  same precaution the      
antients did1 to prevent music from     
perverting the  manners of youth8 ,but  
we are so far from doing this1 that     
already no  music is allowed to be good1
 in which there is not introduced at    
every  turn1 both in the human voice1   
and in the instruments1 points1 which   
they call foreign1 and which pass       
through all parts of the diapason1  from
 the natural point to the accidental    
one2 and this is the mode4  ,there is no
 doubt but these transitions1 managed   
with moderation1  art and genius1       
produce an admirable effect2 because    
they mark the  expression of the words  
with more vivacity and spirit1 than the 

pure  diatonic progressions2 and there  
results from so contriving things1  a   
more delicate and expressive music4 ,but
 the composers who are  capable of doing
 this1 are very few1 and those few are  
the occasion  of an infinite number of  
others losing and exposing themselves2  
who1  by endeavouring to imitate them1  
for want of talents and address to      
manage the business1 fail in the        
attempt1 and form with their foreign    
introductions1 a ridiculous music1 which
 sometimes is insipid1 and at  others   
harsh2 and when they mistake the least1 
there results from their  labours1 an   
unmeaning softness1 and lascivious      
delicacy1 which has no  good effect on  
the mind1 because there is no expression
 in it1 capable  of exciting any noble  
emotion4 ,if1 notwithstanding all that  
is objected  to it1 composers are       
desirous such music should go down1     
because it is  the fashion1 let them    
apply it to the use of the theatres and 
concert  rooms2 but don't let them      

introduce it into the churches1 as      
fashions  were never contrived or       
calculated for them2 and if the divine  
offices  do not admit of change of      
modes1 either in vestments or rites1 why
  should they be admitted in musical    
compositions8    ,,xiii4 ,the case is1  
that this change of modes1 contains at  
the bottom  a certain venom1 which      
,cicero gives an admirable description  
of2  for he remarks1 that in ,greece1   
with the same pace manners declined     
towards corruption1 music declined from 
its antient majesty1 towards  an        
affected softness2 either because an    
effeminate music corrupted  the         
integrity of men's minds1 or because a  
vitiated and depraved music  debauches  
their taste1 and inclines them to relish
 those bastard  melodies1 which1 as     
symbols of1 are best suited to their    
perverted  manners3 ,civitatumque hoc   
multarum in ,grcia interfuit1 antiquum  
vocum servare modum3 quarum mores lapsi1
 ad mollitiem pariter sunt  immutati in 

cantibus2 aut hac dulcedine1            
corruptelaque depraviti1 ut  quidam     
putant3 aut cum severitas morum ob olia 
vitia cecidisset1 tum  fuit in auribus1 
animisque mutatis etiam huic mutationi  
locus4 7,lib4  #b4 de ,legibus47 ,so    
that the taste for this effeminate      
music1 is the  effect or cause of some  
relaxation in the mind4 ,i would not    
however be  understood to say1 that all 
those who have a taste for such music1  
are  tainted with this defect4 ,many of 
strict and incorruptible virtue1 whom   
no vitiated music can warp1 seem to     
approve it2 but they in general do      
this1 because they hear it is the       
fashion3 and even many1 though in       
reality they do not relish it1 are led  
to say they do1 only because  they would
 not be looked upon as people wedded to1
 and prejudiced in  favour of antiquated
 customs1 and as persons1 who are not   
possessed of  faculties1 capable of     
relishing the fine taste of the moderns4
      ,,sect4 ,v4    ,,xiv4 ,i am ready 

however to confess1 that there have     
lately been  published some excellent   
compositions1 both with respect to the  
pleasing elegance of their taste1 and   
the subtilty of the art displayed  in   
them2 but by way of contrast to these1  
which are very rare1 an  innumerable    
quantity of others have been produced1  
that to the ears are  insufferable4     
,this arises1 partly from people        
undertaking to compose1  who are not    
capable of doing it2 and partly from    
ordinary composers  pretending to take  
licences1 which should only be attempted
 by great  masters4    ,,xv4 ,it fares  
with music at this time1 as it fares    
with surgery4 ,in the  same manner1 that
 every blood letter of middling ability1
 takes upon  him the name and occupation
 of a surgeon1 every organist and violin
  player1 of reasonable dexterity1 sets 
himself up for a composer4 ,this  they  
can do1 with little difficulty or       
labour1 for they have only to  get by   
heart1 the general rules of consonance  

and dissonance2 and then1  from the     
numberless manuscripts1 or printed      
violin sonatas with which  the world    
abounds1 take the first light air which 
occurs1 or seems  pleasing to them1 and 
apply the tone of that air to the words2
 and  as the voice proceeds1 they1 by   
those general rules1 go on covering  it 
with a dry accompanyment1 which contains
 neither imitation nor  excellence2 and 
between the pauses of the voice1 they   
may introduce  a burst of violins for   
ten or a dozen bars1 more or less1      
provided  that is the stile of the      
sonata from whence they made the theft4 
,if  they would content themselves with 
doing no more than this1 we might  be   
brought to endure their productions3 but
 the worst of the evil  is1 that from an
 affectation of being thought superior  
to trivial  composition1 they introduce 
false concords1 without preparing1 or   
being  able to resolve them1 and by that
 means1 make terrible blemishes1  and   
commit faults1 that are inexcusable2 and

 because also1 they see  some           
illustrious composers1 dispense with the
 common rules1 and take  liberties1 such
 as writing two-fifths1 or two octaves  
immediately  following each other1 which
 they do only for the sake of           
introducing  a good passage1 or to      
attain some excellence of harmony1 and  
which1  without taking such a liberty1  
they could not have effected3 and       
although these never take such a        
latitude1 but under particular          
circumstances1 and subject to certain   
limitations2 the others have the        
audacity to attempt it1 out of time1 and
 when it can answer no purpose          
whatever2 by which means1 they are      
thrown to the ground with such          
violence1 that the stroke of their fall 
is shocking to the ear4    ,,xvi4       
,middling composers1 although1 by       
endeavouring to tread in the  steps of  
the excellent ones1 they do not fall    
into such gross errors1  generally form 
a music1 which at some times is         

lifeless1 and at others  turgid4 ,this  
is occasioned by their introducing      
accidentals1 and  changing the keys in  
the same piece2 which method1 if        
practised by  great masters1 who used it
 seasonably and opportunely1 not only   
gives a  greater sweetness to the music1
 but communicates to the words1 a more  
striking impression1 than they of       
themselves1 without this assistance1    
could convey or produce4 ,some strangers
 had a happy talent at doing  this2 but 
no one understood it better1 than our   
,don ,antonio de ,literes1  a composer  
of the first rate1 and who is perhaps   
the only one1 who  knows how to unite   
all the majesty and sweetness of the    
antient music1  with the bustle and     
hurry of the modern2 but in the         
management of  the accidental points1 he
 has a singular address1 for almost     
every  time he introduces them1 they    
give an energy to the music1 which is   
correspondent to1 and strengthens the   
signification of the words they  fall   

on4 ,to do this1 requires both genius   
and science1 but much more  genius than 
science4 ,from this deficiency in point 
of genius1 we find  masters in ,spain1  
of great knowledge and comprehension1   
who were  not so happy as to succeed in 
this way2 so that1 although in their    
compositions we admire the subtilty of  
their art1 their works do not  obtain   
the approbation of our ears4    ,,xvii4 
,those who are unassisted by genius1 and
 who1 on the other hand1  do not possess
 more than a moderate knowledge of      
music1 make false  concordances1        
introduce accidentals1 and change the   
keys1 because doing  so is the fashion2 
and because they are fond of having it  
thought1 they  know how to manufacture  
these sort of airs2 although1 in        
reality1 they  seldom produce any air at
 all2 and notwithstanding their         
compositions  are conformable to the    
common rules1 still they are unsavoury1 
and  disagreeable2 and when they are    
performed in the church1 instead of     

producing that sweet calm1 and inward   
composure which are requisite to        
devotion1 they excite perturbations in  
the hearts of the hearers4    ,,xviii4  
,between the first and second of these1 
there comes in another  sort of         
composers1 who1 though in point of      
abilities1 are above  mediocrity1 they  
for sacred compositions are the worst of
 all4 ,these  are they1 who sport with1 
and run the changes1 upon all the       
delicacies  music is capable of2 but    
dispose them in such a manner1 that the 
melody  produced1 has the sound of      
pantomime airs4 ,all the irregularities 
they practise1 either in false          
concordances1 or accidentals1 are       
introduced as graces1 but graces very   
different from those recommended  by    
,st4 ,paul in his ,epistle to the       
,colossians3 ,ingratia cantantes in     
cordibus vestris ,deo3 instead of such2 
they are graces of banter1 and          
harmonies of indecency2 and are a sort  
of passages1 the best of which1  the    

musicians themselves call childish and  
apish4 ,are such proper for  the church8
 ,let them1 in ,god's name1 be sent to  
the courts of the  comedies1 and the    
halls of the dance4 ,but is it not an   
impious abuse1  to introduce into the   
house of ,god1 things which are         
trifling1 apish  and indecent8 ,and is  
not the blending them with divine       
worship1 an  abominable error8    ,,xix4
 ,is not this attempting to banish from 
music1 all enlivening  chearfulness1    
except that which savours of the puerile
 and buffoon8  ,music may be exceedingly
 chearful1 and at the same time1        
impregnated  with a majestic gravity1   
capable of exciting in the hearers1     
affections  of respect and devotion3 or1
 to speak more properly1 the most       
chearful  and delectable music of all1  
is that which induces a sweet           
tranquillity  in the soul2 collecting it
 within itself1 and let us say1         
elevating it  with a kind of extatic    
rapture1 superior to the body it is     

attached to2  that the mind may take a  
flight1 towards the mansions of bliss1  
and  contemplate divine things in a     
nearer point of view4 ,this is the sort 
of chearful music1 which ,st4 ,austin   
approved as useful in churches1  and    
which he treated ,st4 ,athanasius with  
excessive severity for having  objected 
to2 because its proper effect1 is       
elevating those hearts to  noble        
affections1 which are oppressed and     
weighed down with earthly  inclinations3
 ,ut per hc oblectamenta aurium         
infirmior animus in  affectum pietatis  
assurgat4 7,lib4 #aj4 ,confess4 cap4    
#cb47    ,,xx4 ,it is true1 that the    
masters capable of forming this noble   
kind  of melody1 are very few2 but those
 who can't attain this degree of        
perfection1 should content themselves   
with doing something less2 taking  care 
however1 that their compositions should 
tend to excite such  dispositions1 as   
are suitable to divine offices2 or at   
least being  careful1 that they should  

not conduce to promote inclinations of  
an  opposite nature2 and at all events1 
although it should be at the hazard  of 
disobliging the multitude1 to shun those
 skittish sort of airs1  which have a   
certain occult relation to forbidden    
affections2 but of  the two evils into  
which church music is in danger of      
falling1 that of  its being offensive to
 the ears1 is a less mischief1 than that
 of its  being an incentive to vice4    
,,xxi4 ,the power of music to stir the  
passions1 and raise in the minds  of    
men1 dispositions to virtue or vice1 is 
very well known4 ,it is  related of     
,pythagoras1 that1 having by music      
adapted to produce such an  effect1     
inflamed the heart of a certain youth to
 a dishonourable amour1  he afterwards1 
by changing the tone1 reduced him to the
 dominion of  continence4 ,it is also   
related of ,timotheus1 a musician of    
,alexander  the ,great1 that he could   
irritate the martial fury of that prince
 to  such a degree1 that he would seize 

on his arms1 and put himself in  an     
attitude1 as if his enemies were in     
front1 and he on the point of  charging 
them4 ,this effect1 however1 was the    
less surprising1 because  the natural   
disposition of the prince1 conspired to 
assist the skill  of the artist4 ,some  
add1 that after having enraged1 he      
calmed him2 and  caused ,alexander1 who 
never turned his back on any danger1 to 
become a  fugitive from his own rage4   
,but what is told of the power of       
another  musician1 which was exercised  
on ,henry ,,ii4 ,king of ,denmark1      
called the  ,good1 is more extraordinary
 than all this2 for it is said1 that by 
a  movement and touch1 calculated to    
excite choler1 he inflamed the rage  of 
that prince to such a degree1 that he   
fell upon1 and put to death1  three or  
four of his domestics1 and would have   
carried the havoc and  devastation still
 further1 if he had not been restrained 
by violence4  ,this was the more        
wonderful1 because the king's natural   

disposition1  was gentle and peaceable4 
,,xxii4 ,i don't imagine the musicians  
of these times can perform such         
miracles1 neither perhaps did the       
antient ones2 for these histories  are  
not extracted from ,holy ,writ4 ,it is  
however certain1 that music1  according 
as the melody is varied1 induces in the 
mind a variety of  dispositions1 some   
good1 others bad4 ,with one we find     
ourselves moved  to sorrow1 with another
 to mirth2 with one to clemency1 with   
another to  blood2 with one to          
fortitude1 with another to              
pusillanimity2 and so on  with respect  
to other inclinations4    ,,xxiii4      
,there is no doubt of the justness of   
this remark2 neither is  there any1 that
 a master1 who composes for the church1 
should dispose  the music in such a way1
 and write it in such a stile1 as is    
best  calculated to promote the         
spiritual welfare of souls2 and to      
sustain  the majesty1 decorum1 and      
solemnity of divine worship4 ,st4       

,thomas1  touching upon this point1     
says1 the chant was a salutary          
institution  in the church1 because it  
excited sickly souls1 that is1 such as  
were  weak in spirit1 to devotion4 ,but1
 alas6 what would the saint say1 if  he 
was to hear in the church some of the   
airs of these times1 which1  so far from
 fortifying the sick1 enfeeble the      
healthy2 which1 instead  of promoting   
devotion in the breast1 banish it from  
the soul2 and  instead of elevating the 
mind to pious reflections1 bring to the 
memory  forbidden things8 ,i repeat it  
again1 that it is an obligation on      
musicians1 and a very serious one1 to   
correct this abuse4    ,,xxiv4 ,truly1  
when ,i reflect on the serious turn of  
mind for which  ,spaniards heretofore   
were remarkable1 ,i can't help being    
struck  with amazement1 to find at      
present1 that we can relish no other but
  puppet-shew music4 ,this looks as if  
the celebrated ,spanish gravity1 was    
reduced to nothing more1 than stalking  

stiff and erect up and down the  street4
 ,the ,italians1 by means of the false  
flattering insinuation1  that music has 
been improved of late days1 have made us
 the slaves of  their taste4 ,i1 for my 
own part1 believe what they call        
improvement1 to  be ruin and            
destruction1 or something very near it4 
,all intellectual  arts1 of whose       
excellencies1 the understanding and the 
taste1 cloathed  with an equal degree of
 authority are judges1 have their       
points1 or  zenith of perfection1 which 
when they are once arrived at1 he who   
attempts to advance them1 commonly      
occasions their decline1 and puts  them 
in a train1 which leads to their        
destruction4    ,,xxv4 ,it will perhaps1
 with respect to the science of music1  
happen  to ,italy very soon1 if it has  
not happened there already1 just as  it 
happened to it with regard to the ,latin
 language1 oratory1 and  poetry4 ,these 
faculties1 in the age of ,augustus1     
arrived to that state  of propriety1    

beauty1 elegance1 and natural energy1 in
 which their  true perfection consisted4
 ,those who succeeded to that age1      
pretended1  by the violent introduction 
of improper ornaments1 to refine them2  
by doing which1 they precipitated them  
from ,nature to affectation1  and from  
thence they afterwards fell into        
barbarism4 ,the poets who  succeeded    
,virgil1 and the orators who succeeded  
,cicero1 were thoroughly  persuaded in  
themselves1 that they had given new     
graces1 and new  excellencies to the two
 arts2 but the keen ,petronius ,arbiter1
 after  upbraiding them with their      
ridiculous and pompous affectation1 told
  them very plainly1 what in reality    
they had done3 ,vos primi omnium        
eloquentiam perdidistis4      ,,sect4   
,,vii4    ,,xxvi4 ,to see whether the   
music of these times suffers the same   
shipwreck1 which the before-named       
sciences underwent2 let us examine1  in 
what the music1 which is now practised1 
differs from that of the  antecedent    

age4 ,the first and most remarkable     
distinction which occurs1  is the       
diminution of the figures4 ,the shortest
 points which were  formerly known1 were
 demi-semi quavers2 and with them1 it   
was imagined1  they had given to the    
execution of the chant1 and the         
instruments1 as  great a degree of      
velocity1 as without doing violence to  
both1 they  were capable of attaining4  
,this did not seem sufficient1 and a    
little  while afterwards1 they invented 
dividing the demi-semi quavers into     
thirds1 by which means1 the movement    
became one part in three quicker  than  
it was before4 ,the extravagance of     
composers did not stop here1  for they  
doubled the demi-semi quavers1 and made 
a movement1 that1 for  its rapidity1    
seems to have gone beyond the reach of  
imagination1 which  can scarce conceive1
 how it is possible1 in the compass of a
 bar1 to  articulate or express         
sixty-four points4 ,i don't know whether
 before  this age1 any double demi-semi 

quavers ever appeared figured in any    
composition2 except it was in the song  
of the ,risuenor1 which father          
,kircher1 in the middle of the last     
century1 caused to be printed1 in  the  
first book of his ,musurgia             
,universalis2 and ,i am even inclined   
to think1 that solfa savours of the     
hyperbolic2 for it is not easy to       
persuade me1 that that bird1 with all   
his agility and flexibility of  throat1 
could articulate sixty-four points1 in  
the space of raising and  falling the   
hand1 within the compass of regular     
time4    ,,xxvii4 ,i now say1 this      
diminution of figures1 instead of       
perfectioning  music1 entirely spoils   
and ruins it2 for two reasons3 the first
 is1  that it will be very difficult to 
find a person1 who either with  the     
voice1 or an instrument1 is capable of  
executing points of such  velocity4 ,the
 before-cited father ,kircher1 says1    
that having made some  compositions     
which were out of the common track1 and 

of difficult  execution1 7though ,i     
believe they were not so difficult as   
those which  are now the fashion7 he    
could not find in all ,rome1 a singer   
capable  of performing them4 ,how then  
can you expect to find in every         
province1  and in every cathedral1      
instrumental performers and singers1    
who1 in  exact time1 and with the due   
intonation1 are capable of executing    
these  exceeding minute figures2 and to 
this difficulty1 we may likewise add1   
that of the many extravagant flights and
 jumps1 which at present are  the       
fashion also4 ,to articulate such a     
solfa1 requires a throat of  prodigious 
volubility2 and to express such music on
 an instrument1  demands admirable      
agility1 and dexterity of hand2 and1    
therefore1 such  compositions are only  
fit for one or two very singular        
executionists1  which may be found in   
this or that particular court2 but they 
should  not be printed for the use of   
the world at large2 for the same singer1

  who1 with a natural and easy solfa1   
would give pleasure to the hearers1     
would1 by attempting these difficult    
passages1 distract them2 and from  the  
same hand1 by which a sonata1 of easy   
execution1 would sound  delightsome and 
sweet1 one of arduous difficulty would  
sound like the  talking of gibberish4   
,,xxiv4 ,the second reason why this     
diminution of figures destroys music1   
is because it does not give space for   
the ear to perceive melody4 ,as  the    
delight the eye receives by a           
well-disposed variety of colours1  could
 not be attained1 if each was to pass   
the sight with so quick a  motion1 that 
it could scarce make a distinct         
impression on the organ1  and it is the 
same with all sorts of visible objects2 
just so1 if the  points into which music
 is divided are of so short a duration1 
as to  be incapable of acting distinctly
 on the ear1 this organ1 would not      
perceive harmony but confusion4         
,further1 this second inconvenience1    

like the rest1 is increased by the      
abuse1 which1 in their practice  is     
committed by instrumental performers2   
who1 although they are but  slow or     
indifferent hands1 generally make       
ostentation of playing with  great      
velocity2 and commonly strive to execute
 the sonata1 with more  rapidity than   
the composer intended1 or than the      
character of the  music requires4 ,from 
whence it follows1 that by a defect in  
the most  essential part of the         
execution1 which is precision and       
exactness1  the music loses its true and
 proper genius2 and the by-standers hear
  nothing but a confused clatter4 ,let  
every one then pursue the mode1  which  
is suitable to his talents and          
abilities2 for if he1 who is  heavy and 
slow of foot1 endeavours to run as fast 
as him who is light  and nimble1 his    
whole career will be nothing but        
stumbles3 and if he1  who can only run1 
attempts to fly1 he will soon fall1 and 
dash himself  to pieces4    ,,xxix4 ,the

 second distinction between antient and 
modern music1 consists  in the frequency
 and excess of transitions in this last1
 from the  diatonic to the chromatic and
 enharmonic stile2 and in often changing
  the tones1 by the introduction of     
sostenutos and ,b flats4 ,this1 as ,i   
observed before1 has a good effect1 if  
it is done with moderation and          
opportunely4 ,but the ,italians of this 
day1 run to such an extravagant  excess 
with these transitions1 that they force 
harmony off its hinges4  ,whoever has   
any difficulty of believing this1 let   
him1 free from  prejudice or partiality1
 consult his own ears1 whenever he hears
 any of  those sonatas or chants        
performed which abound much in          
accidentals4    ,,xxx4 ,the third       
distinction consists in the liberty     
which composers at  present take1 of    
mixing in their music1 all sorts of     
modulations that  occur to them2 without
 confining themselves1 either to        
imitation or  theme4 ,the pleasure      

perceived by this music1 which ,i will  
take the  liberty of calling loose and  
dishevelled1 is vastly inferior to the  
enjoyment afforded by that beautiful    
regularity and contrivance1 with  which 
the masters of the last age1 introduced 
a pleasing variety into  a passage2 and 
especially1 when the music was          
calculated for four  voices4 ,strangers 
are sensible of the high value of such  
compositions2  nor are excellent ones of
 this species wanting in other          
countries2 but  composers in general1   
avoid writing in this stile1 because the
 doing it  well1 demands more labour and
 study1 than they are commonly disposed 
to take2 so that if now and then they   
introduce1 and begin pursuing  a        
passage1 they quickly leave it1 and give
 a loose to their fancy1  letting it run
 where it lifts4 ,strangers1 who come to
 ,spain1 are for  the most part mere    
executionists1 and therefore not capable
 of forming  this kind of music2 because
 it requires more scientific knowledge1 

than  they are generally masters of2 and
 therefore1 to conceal that they are    
deficient in point of ability1 they     
endeavour to persuade people1 the       
method of pursuing passages is out of   
fashion4      ,,sect4 ,,viii4    ,,xxxi4
 ,this is the species of music1 with    
which the ,italians1 by the  hand of    
their beloved master ,duron1 have       
regaled us2 for he was the  man1 who    
first introduced foreign modes into the 
music of ,spain4 ,it is  true1 that     
since his time1 these modes have been so
 refined1 that if  ,duron could now rise
 from his grave1 he would not know them2
 but still1  the blame of all these     
novelties is imputable to him1 for he   
was the  first who opened the door for  
their introduction4 ,virgil's           
description  of the winds1 may be       
applied to the airs of the ,italian     
music4        ,qua data porta ruunt1    
terras turbine perflant4    ,with regard
 to the science of music1 we see        
verified in the ,spaniards1  with       

respect to the ,italians1 that easy     
condescension in admitting  novelties1  
which ,pliny lamented in the ,italians  
themselves1 with  respect to the        
,greeks3 ,mutatur quotidie ars          
interpolis1  ingeniorum  ,grci flatu    
impellimur4    ,,xxxii4 ,with all this1 
we are not without able composers in    
,spain1 who  have not totally fallen in 
with the fashion1 or who jointly1 with  
conforming to it1 and judiciously       
combining the antient and modern        
together1 have wrote some valuable and  
delectable pieces of grammatical  music2
 in which1 the sweetness and majesty of 
the old compositions  has been          
preserved4 ,speaking of this1 brings    
afresh to my memory1 the  savoury and   
luxuriant ,literes2 and ,i can't help   
mentioning him a second  time1 for he is
 a composer truly original4 ,a character
 of elevated  sweetness1 which is proper
 and natural to him1 is resplendent in  
all  his works1 and which never forsakes
 him1 even when he sets words to  music1

 on amorous or profane subjects3 so that
 even in songs of love1  or comic       
gallantry1 he preserves a kind of       
sublimity1 which can only  touch1 or be 
felt by the superior part of the soul2  
this he manages  with such address1 that
 he awakes tenderness1 and at the same  
time  lulls lust to sleep4 ,i would have
 this composer always employed in       
writing for sacred subjects3 because the
 genius of his compositions1  is better 
calculated to inspire celestial         
affections1 than to foment  earthly     
amours4 ,if some of his music1 is less  
impregnated with that  tumultuous air   
and clatter1 for which the works of many
 other authors  are admired3 it1 for    
that very reason1 is1 in my opinion1    
better  calculated for the use of       
churches2 because music in them1 demands
 a  serious gravity1 which should       
sweetly calm the mind2 and not a puerile
  flightiness1 which would excite to    
dance with castanets4 ,compositions  of 
the last kind are very easy1 and are    

therefore made by many2 those  of the   
first sort are difficult1 and therefore 
but few attempt them4      ,,sect4 ,,ix4
    ,,xxxiii4 ,what we have hitherto    
said of the irregularity and disorders  
of church music1 does not extend to     
chants in the vulgar tongue  only1 but  
to psalms1 masses1 lamentations1 and    
other parts of divine  service1 because 
the modes in fashion1 have been         
introduced into them  all4 ,i have1 in  
printed lamentations1 seen the changes  
of the airs  characterised in the same  
terms1 which are used to describe them  
in  comic music4 ,here you read grave1  
there ayroso1 and in another  place     
andante4 ,what1 can't we admit of all   
the music being grave1  even in a       
lamentation8 ,and is it necessary to    
introduce light comedy  airs into the   
representation of the most afflicting   
mysteries8 ,if grief  could find a place
 in heaven1 ,jeremiah would lament      
afresh1 at seeing  such music applied to
 his songs of mourning4 ,is it          

impossible1 that in  those complainings1
 where every letter is a sigh1          
corresponding with1  and expressive of  
the various sensations1 arising from the
 subjects  of his lamentation2 either   
the ruin of ,jerusalem by the           
,chaldeans1  the destruction of the     
world for sin1 the affliction of the    
church  militant for the persecution of 
its martyrs2 and1 to sum up the whole1  
the anguish and sufferings of our       
,redeemer1 for the salvation of         
mankind4 ,i say1 can the feelings       
produced by such sad and distressing    
calamities1 be expressed with airy tunes
 and recitatives8 ,in the  mournful     
songs of ,jeremiah1 which some          
expositors call the ,alphabet of  the   
,penitents1 should we hear the sound of 
festive airs and serenades8  ,with how  
much more reason than him1 ought we to  
exclaim here in the  language of        
,seneca1 when he censured ,ovid1 for    
having introduced  into the description 
of so tragical an event as that of      

,deucalion's  flood1 a verse which      
savoured of gallantry3 ,non est res     
satis sobria  lascivire devorato orbe   
terrarum4 ,the ,cythara of ,nero1 while 
,rome was  burning1 had not so harsh a  
sound1 as the harmony of dances in the  
representation of such affecting        
mysteries4    ,,xxxiv4 ,and besides     
offending in this particular against the
 rules of  reason1 they sin also against
 the laws of music1 which prescribe1    
that  the tone of the chant1 should be  
suited to the meaning of the words2  and
 therefore1 when the language is solemn 
and expressive of sorrow1  the tone of  
the music should be grave and affecting4
    ,,xxxv4 ,it is true1 that against   
this rule1 which is one of the most     
cardinal1 musicians very frequently sin 
in all sorts of compositions1  some from
 being deficient1 and others by         
exceeding4 ,those fall into  the error  
of deficiency1 who form music without   
any attention to the  spirit or meaning 
of the words to which they apply it2 but

 hardly any  fall into those gross      
mistakes1 except such as scarce deserve 
the name  of composers1 and who are     
capable of doing nothing more1 than     
racking  or weaving together1 shreds and
 strips1 of the compositions of other   
musicians4    ,,xxxvi4 ,those err by    
exceeding or doing too much1 who        
regulate their  music with a puerile    
nicety1 to correspond with the distinct 
or  separate signification of each word1
 taken or standing by itself1  without  
having regard to the meaning of the     
whole context4 ,an example  produced by 
father ,kircher to illustrate this      
abuse1 will explain what  ,i mean4 ,he  
instanced the manner1 in which a        
composer had set to music  the following
 verse3 ,mors festinat luctuosa2 to the 
words mors and  luctuosa1 he applied a  
mournful solfa2 but to the word         
festinat1  which stood in the middle    
between them1 as it seemed to him1 to   
signify  vivacity or quickness1 he      
appropriated a career of allegros1 that 

would  have caused the most sluggish nag
 who heard them1 to bound about and     
give cabriols4    ,,xxxvii4 ,i saw      
something as bad1 or indeed even worse  
than this1 in  one of the lamentations  
,i cited before2 where to the music     
adapted  to express the following       
sentence3 ,deposita est vehementer non  
habens consolatorem1 was marked ayroso4 
,how ill-suited is an airy  movement1 to
 express the lamentable fall of         
,jerusalem1 and also that  of all       
mankind bowed down and crippled with the
 weight of their sins2  which           
misfortune1 was aggravated with the     
additional and distressing              
circumstance1 of their being destitute  
of comfort under the calamity8  ,but the
 blame of all this1 was imputable to the
 adverb vehementer1  because to express 
vehemence1 appeared to the composer to  
require a  lively movement2 and thus1   
when he came to that word in the        
sentence1  he quickened his pace1 and   
upon the adverb vehementer1 expended in 

rapid notes1 music to the amount of     
forty crotchets2 but the word1  in the  
sense it was there used1 was intended to
 signify the same as  gravissime1 and to
 express with energy1 the degree of     
grief and  sadness1 occasioned by the   
fall of ,jerusalem1 which1 crippled and 
bore  down with the crushing weight of  
its sins1 came to the ground1 temple1   
walls1 and houses1 all together4        
,,xxxviii4 ,nobody was more guilty of   
this fault1 than the celebrated  ,duron1
 and he committed it to such a degree1  
that sometimes in the same  couplet1    
just as the signification of the words  
of the verse varied1  taken separately  
or by themselves1 he would vary the     
affectations of  the chant1 six or eight
 times2 and although it required great  
address  and ability to do this1 which  
he in reality was possessed of2 such an 
exertion of his talents was ill applied4
      ,,sect4 ,x4    ,,xxxix4 ,some 7for
 we would not omit to mention this7     
judge1 that the  composing music adapted

 to different subjects1 consists much1  
in a  right choice of the keys2 and they
 assign one for grave subjects1  another
 for chearful ones1 and another for     
mournful ones1 and so on2  but ,i       
believe1 this contributes little or     
nothing to the business2  for there is  
no key whatever1 in which there have not
 been written1  very expressive and     
pathetic compositions1 suited to excite 
all kinds  of affections4 ,the different
 place which the two semi-tones occupy  
in  the diapason1 and which is what the 
distinction of keys consists in1  is    
insufficient to induce this diversity2  
because in whatever place  an accidental
 is introduced1 and they introduce them 
at every turn1  this order is changed2  
and because various1 or the most parts  
of the  composition1 by varying their   
terminations1 fall upon1 or catch the   
semi-tones1 in a different position1    
from that in which they stand or  are   
placed1 with respect to the diapason4   
,for example2 although the  first       

key-tone1 which begins ,d solre1        
proceeds in this order1 first a  tone1  
then a semi-tone1 after that three      
tones1 to which there follows  another  
semi-tone1 and at last there comes a    
whole tone4 ,the different  traces1 or  
minute passages of the composition1     
taken each by itself1  do not follow    
this order2 because one begins in the   
first1 another in  the tone which is    
next after it1 and so on with respect to
 all the  other parts of the diapason1  
and they terminate wherever the composer
  likes best2 by which means1 in every  
trace or minute passage of the          
composition1 the position of the        
semi-tones is varied1 as much1 as in    
the different diapasons1 which          
constitute the diversity of the keys4   
,,xl4 ,what confirms me in this         
sentiment1 that the suiting music to    
produce a grave or a sprightly effect1  
does not depend upon the choice  of the 
key it is wrote in1 is1 that the        
greatest musicians1 are much  divided in

 their opinions upon this point4 ,what  
one considers as a  lively key1 another 
thinks a mournful one2 what one esteems 
a devout  key1 another calls a flighty  
one4 ,the two great jesuits1 father     
,kircher1 and father ,dechales1 are so  
opposite in their sentiments  upon this 
head1 that the same key1 which father   
,kircher characterizes  in this manner1 
,harmoniosus1 magnificus1  regia        
majestate plenus1  father ,dechales     
speaks thus of3 ,ac tripudia1  choreas  
est comparatus1  diciturque propterea   
lascivus2 and they differ little less1  
in their  assignation of the characters 
of many other keys1 if not of all4      
,,xli4 ,the foregoing1 should be        
understood to relate and apply to the   
essential difference of keys1 which     
consists1 in the diversity of  position 
of the semi-tones in the diapason2 but  
not to their accidental  difference2    
which1 consists1 in their being taken   
higher or lower4 ,this  may conduce     
something to create effect2 because the 

same music1 set  in low notes1 which is 
religious and grave1 transposed to high 
ones1  loses of its majesty1 and        
acquires a degree of vivacity1 that is  
ill  suited to a solemn subject3 and for
 this reason1 ,i am of opinion1 that    
the movements of church music should not
 be very quick3 because1 by  hurrying   
the voices in the chant1 they occasion  
them to sound harsh2  and besides this1 
prevent that easy play and flexibility  
of throat1  which is necessary to       
produce the effect the music requires2  
and which  many times consists1 or is   
contained in the intonations2 ,i say    
further1  that over and above these     
inconveniences1 music composed of quick 
movements1 and set in high notes1 is not
 so well calculated to move the         
affections of respect1 devotion1 and    
piety1 as that which is written in      
lower tones1 and marked to be performed 
in slower time4      ,,sect4 ,,xi4      
,,xlii4 ,for the same reason1 ,i am     
against the introduction of violins     

into churches4 ,st4 ,thomas1 in the     
place ,i before cited1 objects to  the  
admitting any kind of instruments in the
 church2 and the reason  he gives for   
the objection is1 that the sensible     
delight which the  instrumental music   
occasions1 hinders devotion4 ,but it is 
not easy  to reconcile this reasoning1  
with what the saint says in another     
place1 to wit1 that the delight         
perceived by the air1 excites weak      
spirits to devotion2 and he1 in the same
 place1 approves of the use  of musical 
instruments in synagogues1 because the  
,jews being a hard  and carnal people1  
there is a necessity for having recourse
 to such  means1 to provoke and stir    
them to piety4 ,at least then for people
 of  this stamp1 musical instruments in 
churches would be very serviceable2  and
 there being a great many of that       
disposition who frequent  churches2     
consequently1 the instruments would be  
found exceedingly  useful4 ,besides1 ,i 
can't comprehend1 how the sensible      

delight which  instrumental music       
occasions1 should induce to devotion    
those who on  account of their hardness 
are little disposed to it1 and obstruct 
it in  those whose hearts are more      
inclined to divine worship4    ,,xliii4 
,i acknowledge and confess1 that it is  
much more easy for me to  misunderstand 
,st4 ,thomas1 than for ,st4 ,thomas to  
advance any thing  that is wrong3 but   
after all1 the universal practice of the
 whole  church authorizes the use of    
instruments2 and the only difficulty or 
disagreement1 seems to rest in the      
choice of them4 ,i for my own part      
think1 that violins are improper in that
 sacred theatre2 their shrill  notes1   
although harmonious1 are still shrill1  
and excite a puerile  vivacity in our   
spirits1 very different from that decent
 attention1  which is due to the majesty
 of mysteries2 and especially in these  
times1 when those who compose for       
violins1 studiously write their music   
so high1 that he who is to execute it1  

can scarce forbear striking the  bridge 
of the instrument with his fingers4     
,,xliv4 ,there are many other           
instruments much fitter to be used in   
churches than violins1 their tones being
 much more respectful and  grave2 such  
as the harp1 the violincello1 and the   
harpsichord2 neither  would the         
inconvenience of the want of trebles in 
the instruments be  felt1 by leaving out
 the violins1 but rather1 the music by  
the omission  would appear more         
majestic1 which is what is most required
 in churches4  ,the organ is an         
admirable instrument2 or1 to speak more 
properly1 many  instruments comprized in
 one4 ,it is true1 that the organists1  
when  they are so disposed1 can make a  
sort of pipe and tabor of it2 and it  is
 also true1 that this disposition seems 
to come upon them pretty  frequently4   
,,sect4 ,,xii4    ,,xlv4 ,it would not  
be foreign1 but rather very consonant to
 the object  of our present criticism1  
to say something in this place of the   

poetry1  to which they give the epithet 
of divine1 and which is composed to be  
sung in churches1 ,i may without        
temerity1 venture to pronounce1 that    
poetry in ,spain1 is in a worse state of
 perdition than music4 ,the  number of  
those who write couplets is infinite1   
but none of them are  poets4 ,if ,i was 
to be asked1 which are the most         
difficult of all arts1  ,i should       
answer1 medicine1 poetry1 and oratory3  
and if ,i was also to  be asked1 which  
are the most easy2 ,i should answer1    
oratory1 poetry1  and medicine4 ,there  
is no student1 who1 if he takes a fancy 
to it1 does  not write verses4 ,all the 
religious who mount the pulpit1 and all 
the  doctors who have studied and       
practised physic1 find their partizans3 
but where will you meet with the truly  
able physician1 the compleat  poet1 or  
the perfect orator8    ,,xlvi4 ,our most
 learned monk ,don ,john de ,mabillon1  
in his ,treatise on  ,monastic ,studies1
 says1 that an excellent poet is a very 

rare treasure1  and ,i agree with him in
 sentiment2 for upon strict examination1
 where1  among the numbers of poetical  
essays that are published1 will you     
meet with any one1 which 7omitting many 
other requisite qualities7 is  natural1 
sublime1 sweet and pointed2 and at the  
same time1 ingenious1  and clear2       
brilliant without affectation1 sonorous 
without turgidity1  and harmonious      
without impropriety2 that runs without  
hobbling1 is  delicate without          
affectation1 forcible without harshness1
 beautiful  without paint or strained   
colouring1 noble without presumption1   
and  copious and comprehensive without  
obscurity8 ,i will almost venture to    
pronounce1 that he who would find a poet
 capable of writing verses in  this     
stile1 should seek for him in the       
regions inhabited by the ,phnix4        
,,xlvii4 ,in ,spain however1 poetry is  
in so deplorable a state1 that          
according to all appearances1 it would  
be needless to search for such  a one   

there4 ,he who errs the least1 with the 
exception of here and  there a          
particular one1 seems as if he studied  
how he should commit  faults4 ,all his  
care appears to be placed1 in swelling  
the verse with  irrational hyperboles1  
and pompous words2 by which means1 he   
produces  a bloated1 and confirmed      
dropsical poem1 the sight of which turns
 your  stomach1 and the perusal fills   
you with melancholy4 ,those essential   
qualities1 propriety and nature1 without
 which1 neither poetry or  prose can    
ever be good1 seem to have abandoned1   
and become fugitives  from our          
compositions4 ,our authors don't in     
their productions1 appear  to have hit  
upon that native splendor1 which gives a
 brilliancy to  their ideas1 but rather1
 to have disfigured their best thoughts1
 with  affected and bombast expressions2
 so that their original conceptions1    
may be compared to a fine woman that    
falls into indiscreet hands to be       
dressed and ornamented4    ,,xlviii4    

,thus much in general for modern        
,spanish poetry2 but the worst  is1 that
 you hear these sort of compositions in 
the sacred canticles2  which are often  
so bad1 that it would be better1 instead
 of them1 to  sing the couplets of blind
 men2 because these seem to have a      
tendency  to promote devout affections1 
and their rustic simplicity is in some  
degree the symptom of a good intention4 
,all the gracefulness1 or rather  the   
attempt at displaying it1 in the church 
canticles of these times1  consists in  
low equivocations1 trivial metaphors1   
and puerile changes  and rechanges4 ,the
 worst is1 that they are entirely void  
of spirit1  and not at all calculated to
 excite religious emotions1 which are   
the  principal1 if not the only         
qualities required1 and which ought to  
be  sought after in such compositions4  
,don ,antonio de ,solis was without     
doubt a person of sublime genius1 and   
one who well understood the             
excellencies of poetry4 ,he exceeded all

 others1 and even sometimes  himself    
also1 in painting the passions with such
 apt1 close1 and  subtile expressions1  
that the descriptions of his pen seem to
 give  you a clearer idea of1 and make  
you better acquainted with them1 than   
the knowledge which is gained by        
experience4 ,but with all this1 we in   
his small sacred tracts1 perceive a     
strange falling-off2 because in  them1  
we don't meet with that nobleness of    
thought1 that delicacy of  expression1  
and that stirring of the passions1 which
 is frequent and  common in his other   
,lyric ,poems4 ,this did not happen     
because he wanted  genius or talents to 
write sacred compositions2 for his      
dirges upon the  conversion of ,st4     
,francisco de ,borja1 are some of the   
best things he  ever exhibited1 and     
perhaps the most sublime1 which to this 
day have  been composed in the ,spanish 
language4    ,,xlix4 ,i believe the     
badness of the composition of these     
couplets1  called ,letrillas1 which are 

generally written for festivals1 has    
proceeded from ,solis1 and other poets  
of ability1 having looked upon  them as 
trifles2 though in reality1 no other    
compositions require so  much study or  
serious attention4 ,what subjects can be
 more noble than  those1 where the      
eulogium of the saints and martyrs is   
sung1 and the  excellency of the divine 
attributes and mysteries1 is represented
 and  celebrated8 ,these are the things1
 on which men of abilities1 should      
exert the whole power of their genius   
and talents4 ,what employment  can be   
more worthy a man of shining parts1 than
 that of painting the  beauty of virtue 
in such amiable colours1 as to make     
mankind in love  with it2 and           
representing the deformity of vice1 in  
so striking a point  of view1 as to make
 the world abhor and detest it2 and to  
contrive to  praise ,god and his angels 
in such a way1 as would stimulate people
  to a desire of imitation1 and light up
 in their minds1 the flame of  adoration

 and worship8 ,the grandeur of poetry1  
consists in that active  persuasion1    
which the poet instills into the soul1  
and with which he  moves the heart1 to  
follow the course he would wish it      
should pursue4  ,to write in this stile1
 says our ,mabillon1 speaking of poetry1
 is not  children's play2 much less     
then1 should sacred poetry be only fit  
to  amuse infants2 but after all1 that  
which is sung in our churches is        
nothing better4    ,l4 ,even those1     
whose compositions are held in          
estimation1 do no more1  than provide   
and prepare the first light conceits    
that occur to them on  the subject they 
are about to write upon2 and although   
they have not  in themselves1 union with
 respect to time1 or tendency to any    
design  whatever1 they distribute them  
in couplets1 and notwithstanding one    
leads to ,flanders1 and another to      
,morocco1 they introduce them into the  
context2 and provided each couplet says 
something1 for this is their            

explanation1 although it is without     
life1 spirit1 or force2 nay more1       
although it is without order1 or        
direction to any determinate point or   
purpose1 they say it is good            
composition2 when1 in truth1 it no more 
deserves the name of a composition1 than
 a heap of stones that of an  edifice1  
or the throwing or huddling together a  
number of colours1 that  of a picture4  
,,li4 ,keen sentences1 wit1 airy        
pleasantry1 and lively conceits1 are the
  precise ornaments of poetry2 but they 
should not be introduced into a  poem1  
as if they had been studiously sought   
after2 on the contrary1  they should    
seem as if they were always in waiting1 
and ready either  for the poet to lay   
his hand on them1 or to obey his        
command2 who  should pursue the rout he 
has chalked out for himself1 and as he  
proceeds on1 gather such flowers as he  
meets on his way1 and which grow        
naturally in the road through which he  
travels4 ,this was the practice  of     

,virgil1 ,ovid1 ,horace1 and all the    
illustrious poets of antiquity4  ,to    
make couplets1 which are no more than an
 unformed mass of little  conceits1 is a
 thing very easy1 and at the same time  
very useless2  because there is not in  
them1 nor are they capable of           
containing1 any  of the sublime         
excellences of poetry4 ,why do ,i say   
sublime excellences8  ,not even the     
lowest requisites which are of its      
essence4    ,,lii4 ,but ,i have not even
 yet mentioned the worst part belonging 
to  the divine canticles2 which is1 that
 if not all1 a great many of them  are  
composed in a burlesque stile4 ,this is 
certainly done with great  discretion2  
because by this practice1 the things    
appertaining to  ,god1 are converted to 
things of interlude4 ,what idea can a   
thousand  extravagances1 put in the     
mouths of ,gill and ,pasquil1 give of   
the  ineffable mystery of the           
incarnation8 ,i shall leave it here1 for
 the  thoughts of such an absurdity put 

me out of all patience2 and he to  whom 
such an indignant abuse1 does not of    
itself appear disgusting1 ,i  shall     
never be able to persuade or convince1  
by any arguments whatever4              
,the following1 which is extracted from 
the learned ,letters of      ,,feyjoo1  
is an ,answer of the ,author's to a     
,letter from a ,friend on      the      
,subject of ,music4 ,the ,title he gives
 to the ,letter1 is1                    
,,the                                   
,,wonderful ,,effects ,,of ,,music1     
,,and ,a ,,comparison ,,of ,,the        
,,antient ,,with ,,the ,,modern4        
,,dear ,,sir1    ,i4 ,before ,i ceased  
to be a young man1 or indeed before ,i  
became one1  the difficulty you now     
propound occurred to me1 and is1 in my  
humble  opinion1 a very grave one4 ,it  
seems beyond a doubt1 that the music  of
 these times1 does not produce the      
admirable effects which are  related of 
the music of antiquity1 and it seems    
also as if this argued  a greater degree

 of perfection in the antient than the  
modern4 ,on the  other hand1 it appears 
difficult to explain1 in what this      
superior  degree of perfection in the   
antient consisted2 not so much for the  
reason you mention1 as for another1     
which ,i shall point out in the  sequel4
    ,,ii4 ,we at present know of no     
musician whatever1 who1 by the use of   
his  art1 can excite1 or appease a      
violent passion2 but if various authors 
do not deceive us1 the music of         
antiquity1 produced both the one  and   
the other of these effects4 ,it is      
related of the two musicians1           
,timotheus and ,antigenides1 that they  
could1 whenever they pleased1  enrage   
,alexander to such a pitch1 as to make  
him seize on his arms1  and fall into   
such excesses of fury1 as terrified the 
by-standers1 and  filled them with      
apprehensions that their lives were in  
danger4 ,they  tell us also of a        
trumpeter of ,megara1 named ,herodotus1 
who perceiving  the strength and        

endeavours of the soldiers of           
,demetrius1 insufficient  to move a     
warlike machine of enormous weight      
towards the walls of  ,argos1 which they
 were then besieging1 he1 by blowing two
 trumpets at  a time1 so inspired them1 
that they found their vigour in a manner
  doubled1 and themselves enabled to    
conduct the machine to the place  they  
wished4 ,they tell us likewise1 of a    
remarkable flute-player1 who  was a     
,milesian1 that by touching in the      
,phrygian mode enraged certain  men1 and
 by changing to the ,doric from the     
,phrygian1 immediately calmed  them     
again4 ,of the famous musician          
,terpandro1 they relate1 that with  his 
lyre1 he stifled the flame of a sedition
 among the ,lacedmonians2  and of       
,empedocles1 that he also with his lyre1
 disarmed a youth of his  choler1 who   
was on the point of committing a        
parricide4 ,i shall omit  many other    
cases of this kind4    ,,iii4 ,if it    
appears wonderful1 that the antient     

music should have  inflamed1 and calmed 
violent passions1 it seems more so1 that
 it should  have been made use of to    
cure various diseases2 and sometimes1   
not  only in here and there an          
individual1 but even in a whole kingdom2
 for  ,plutarch says1 that ,thaletas1 a 
native of ,crete1 with the energetic    
sweetness of the lyre1 freed the        
,lacedmonians from a plague2 and it  may
 be gathered from various authors1 that 
antiently1 they used music  for the cure
 of fevers1 the falling-sickness1 the   
epilepsy1 deafness1  the sciatica1 and  
the bite of a viper4    ,,iv4 ,but to   
tell you the truth1 ,i think these facts
 should not pass  current without some  
critical examination4 ,and first of all1
 none of  the authors who testify these 
extraordinary instances of the power  of
 music over the passions1 speak of them1
 as transactions they had  been         
eye-witnesses of1 or as things that they
 knew from their own  experience4 ,all  
the facts cited1 are much anterior to   

the author by  whom they are handed down
 to us2 so that it seems very probable1 
the information came to them by         
tradition1 or proceeded from some       
popular rumour unworthy of all credit4  
,in matters that favour of the          
marvellous1 both with respect to        
natural1 and prter-natural things1      
nobody is ignorant how many fables have 
been delivered down to us in  the       
writings of the ancients4    ,v4        
,secondly1 in some of the cases1 there  
seems no occasion to have  recourse to  
miracles for their explanation2 ,i mean 
there is no occasion  for attributing   
the events they tell of1 to the         
wonderful powers of  music4 ,it required
 but little impulse1 to rouze the       
warlike ardour of  ,alexander2 a spark  
only will cause a vast conflagration1 if
 it falls  on a large quantity of       
gun-powder4 ,athenus1 who relates the   
story  of ,herodotus1 says1 he was a man
 of gigantic size1 and extraordinary    
robustness4 ,he gives him near eight    

feet of stature1 and says further1  that
 he ate twenty pounds of meat a day1 and
 drank wine in proportion4  ,a man of   
such robustness1 could make use of much 
larger trumpets than  those of the      
common size1 and might blow his breath  
through them with  such an impetus1 as  
might strikingly agitate the mind1 and  
might also  add some temporary degrees  
of vigour to the body2 and for          
accomplishing  this1 it is not necessary
 to suppose any special dexterity in the
  management of the instruments1 for    
strength was more requisite to  produce 
such an effect than address2 and whoever
 at this time1 should  be equally robust
 with ,herodotus1 might be capable of   
doing the  same thing4 ,neither perhaps 
in the other instances1 ,i mean those of
  irritating and mitigating rage1 is    
there so much to be admired2 for  the   
influence of the music1 might be applied
 to subjects1 who are  very easily      
moved2 some such as we frequently see1  
that like light  weather-cocks1 are     

wafted and turned round with the        
slightest breeze2  and perhaps some     
modern musician1 might be able to work  
equal changes  in the passions1 on      
subjects who are equally susceptible4   
,,vi4 ,thirdly1 the tales of cures which
 are pretended to have been  performed  
by the means1 or power of music1 ,i     
consider as fabulous  relations2 at     
least1 ,i have no doubt of the major    
part of them being  such4 ,who1 ,i won't
 say can believe1 but if he has any     
understanding1  can endure to hear the  
chimera1 that the sound of a lyre       
banished the  plague from a whole       
kingdom8 ,such tales as these1 were     
written by the  authors of last year1 in
 order that the fools of this might     
believe  them4    ,,vii4 ,with respect  
to the curing some particular diseases1 
it may be  proper to allow to music1 an 
equal degree of credit1 to that given   
to many other remedies1 so much puffed1 
and blazoned in books1 which  although  
in reality they seldom do any good1     

still preserve their  reputation2 not so
 much on account of the few times they  
have proved  serviceable1 as from the   
sick person's having owed his recovery  
to  the assistance of ,nature2 when at  
the same time1 people vainly and        
mistakingly have attributed it to the   
application of the chosen remedy4  ,in  
this manner1 and with these explanations
 and restrictions1 we should  understand
 music as a specific1 for this or that  
disease2 for if we  consider it1 as     
having influence to cheer the mind1     
there is no doubt1  that it may         
contribute somewhat to the relief of    
such sick people1 as  are very fond of  
it2 in the same manner1 as any other    
thing would do1  which gave them special
 pleasure or delight4 ,i don't however1 
find  any reason to prefer the antient  
music to the modern1 as best suited  to 
produce either the one or the other of  
these effects2 for we have  seen cases1 
in which we have experienced this last1 
to have been very  beneficial to sick   

people2 and probably the antients never 
knew one1  in which the curative        
excellence of music shone forth with    
more lustre1  than it did in an         
instance1 which happened in the present 
century1 and  which is related in the   
history of the ,royal ,academy of       
,sciences at  ,paris1 in the year #agjg1
 which ,i shall here transcribe1 in     
nearly the  words of its illustrious    
author4    ,,viii4 ,a famous musician   
and great composer1 was attacked with a 
fever1 which continued augmenting1 till 
on the seventh day1 it threw  him into a
 violent delirium1 which remained on him
 with little or  no intermission1       
accompanied with shrieks1 lamentations1 
terrors1  and perpetual watching4 ,on   
the third day1 one of those natural     
instincts1 which are said to cause sick 
brutes to seek such herbs  as are       
beneficial for them1 induced him to     
request some music for  his             
entertainment4 ,they sung to him1       
properly accompanied with  instruments1 

some of the compositions of ,mons4      
,bernier1 a celebrated  ,french         
musician3 as soon as the harmony began1 
his countenance appeared  serene1 his   
eyes looked more tranquil1 the          
convulsions ceased intirely1  and he    
shed tears of pleasure2 the fever left  
him while the music  continued1 but when
 that ceased1 the fever and the symptoms
 returned  again4 ,upon this happy and  
unexpected success1 they repeated the   
music  again and again1 and always      
obtained a suspension of the fever and  
the symptoms1 while the music lasted4 ,a
 relation of his1 used some  nights to  
sit up with him1 whom he intreated to   
sing and dance to him1  and always found
 great relief from it2 and it sometimes 
happened1  that for want of other music1
 they entertained him with common nurses
  songs1 and such as are used to divert 
children1 and from which he found  great
 benefit4 ,in fine1 ten days music1     
without any other medicinal  assistance 
than one bleeding in the ankle1 which   

was the second that  had been prescribed
 for him1 perfectly cured him4    ,,ix4 
,there may be some doubt1 whether the   
total cure of this man was  owing to    
music2 and ,i must confess1 there is no 
certainty that it  was4 ,he might owe   
his recovery to the second bleeding2 or 
he might be  indebted to ,nature for it4
 ,the transitory relief which he        
received from  the melody1 had no more  
fixed connection with the substantial   
part  of the cure1 than those intervals 
of amendment have1 which in many        
diseases1 ,nature affords of herself4   
,the suspension of the symptoms1        
frequently proceeds from principles1    
which have not sufficient  influence to 
entirely extirpate the malady4 ,the     
knowing1 that in  general1 it can't be  
inferred1 that the thing is able to     
perform the  whole1 which only executes 
a part1 makes such a connection as we   
have  mentioned before doubtful4 ,but   
even if this was admitted1 there still  
exists in the case related1 an          

undubitable and marvellous effect of    
music2 and perhaps1 the quick suspension
 of the fever and the symptoms1  every  
time they repeated the music1 is a more 
striking instance of its  immediate and 
wonderful power1 than the perfecting a  
total cure would  have been4 ,i say1    
this appears more amazing to me1 than if
 the remedy  had worked an intire cure1 
by contributing to the recovery of the  
sick  person1 by slow degrees1 and by   
little and little1 and which could not  
have been compleated1 but in the course 
of a considerable number of  days4      
,x4 ,it seems to me also1 that those who
 are of opinion the modern music  is    
brought to greater perfection than ever 
the antient was1 may avail  themselves  
of this instance very advantageously2   
first of all1 because  there can't be   
produced in favour of antient music1    
another of the  same character2 and     
secondly1 because it has appeared in the
 case  of our sick person1 that he not  
only received relief from concertos  of 

excellence1 but even from the most      
trifling and imperfect songs2  whereas  
the cures attributed to antient music1  
are alledged to have  been effected by  
that of the first class4    ,,xi4       
,however1 let this proof1 whose force or
 debility ,i shall not  dwell upon at   
present1 amount to what it will2 that   
which you urge  in favour of modern     
music1 does not appear to me of any     
weight or  efficacy4 ,you say1 that at  
present this art is much more           
cultivated1  and by men of more         
industry1 and better informed1 than the 
unlearned  and barbarous antients of    
yore1 who flourished in the times when  
these  extraordinary effects of music   
are related to have been experienced4   
,from this supposition it should follow1
 that the modern music is much  more    
perfect than ever the antient was4 ,but 
,i look both upon the  opinion1 that it 
is more cultivated at present than it   
was formerly2  and likewise1 that it is 
more perfect now than it was then1 not  

only as  uncertain1 but even entirely   
false and ill-grounded4    ,,xii4 ,two  
facts of public notoriety1 which are    
related by ,polybius1  are sufficient to
 induce a belief1 that music was as     
much1 or more  cultivated among the     
antients1 than it is in our times4 ,the 
first  is1 that both the ,cretans1 and  
,lacedmonians1 did not make use of  the 
horrible clang of trumpets1 even in     
battles1 but of the melody  of flutes4  
,the second is1 that the ,arcadians1    
from the foundation of  their republic1 
caused it to be observed as an          
inviolable law1 that all  their sons1   
from their infancy till they attained   
the age of thirty-one  years1 should    
apply themselves to music4 ,in what     
kingdom in the world1  is these at this 
time1 so great and so general an        
application to this  art8    ,,xiii4    
,the vast inferiority of the antients1  
compared to the moderns1  with respect  
to industry and ability1 is also a      
voluntary supposition4  ,if this was so1

 it ought not only to be inferred1 that 
they were  deficient in the science of  
music1 but in all the other arts also2  
but  this is so far from being the case1
 that it is known to a certainty1  there
 were many men among them1 who arrived  
to the highest pitch of  excellence1    
both as painters1 statuaries1 and poets1
 and who were  such1 as can hardly be   
equalled for eminence by any modern     
whatever4  ,of the two last of these    
arts1 there are still monuments         
subsisting1  which are invincible       
proofs1 of their great talents for1 and 
masterly  performances in both of them2 
and their skill in the first1 may be    
reasonably inferred1 from their ability 
in the other two2 for as  ,vincentio    
,carducho1 in his ,dialogues on         
,painting1 justly reasons1 if  the works
 of the painters had been defective in  
any of the material  requisites1 as some
 have conjectured1 the skill of the     
statuaries1  and the perfection of the  
statues1 would glaringly have displayed 

the  faults of the painters2 and would  
consequently1 have discredited them  as 
artists2 but this was not the case1 for 
it is established by the  authority of  
history1 that their works were          
exceedingly prized4    ,,xiv4 ,this     
proof then1 falls to the ground as      
ill-founded2 but the  partizans of      
modern music1 urge another that is      
tolerably specious2  which is1 that the 
antient was very limited1 both in the   
modulation  and harmonies of it4 ,as to 
what regards the modulation1 we should  
observe1 that before the time of the    
famous musician ,timotheus1 who         
flourished in the reign of ,philip of   
,macedon1 the lyre had no more than     
seven strings1 which expressed or marked
 seven tones or points only2  because to
 the antient lyre1 there were no frets1 
nor any substitute  for them1 wherewith 
they could make on the same string any  
progression  of distinct sounds4        
,timotheus added two strings to it1     
which made it  an instrument of nine2   

others maintain it had nine before1 and 
that he  added two to them1 and made it 
one of eleven4 ,but admitting this last 
to be the fact1 it then remained an     
instrument of very small compass1       
compared to modern instruments4 ,the    
chant could not exceed the bounds  of   
the instrument1 and by all this we may  
perceive the little variety  and        
extension of antient modulation4        
,,xv4 ,with respect to harmony and      
concordances1 authors1 who have         
examined the thing with much attention1 
assure us1 the antients knew  no other  
than the third1 the octave1 and the     
double octave2 adding1  that they were  
entirely ignorant of the concerto1 or   
music of different  tones2 and therefore
 all their accompanyments1 either of an 
instrument  with the voice1 or of one   
voice1 or one instrument with another1  
were  constantly in unison4 ,it may be  
asked now1 what excellencies could  be  
contained in a music1 which was so      
limited and so simple8 ,or what         

comparison can you imagine there is     
between that and ours1 either to        
delight the ear1 or give satisfaction to
 the understanding8    ,,xvi4 ,i have   
acknowledged1 that this objection is    
specious1 but deny  that it is          
conclusive4 ,in the first place1 the    
parts of ,plutarch's  works1 as well as 
those of other authors1 from whence they
 pretend to  have collected this system 
of antient music1 are so complicated and
  obscure1 that nothing can with        
certainty be determined on the credit   
of them2 hence it comes to pass1 that   
writers1 in their reasonings and        
disquisitions on this subject1 are much 
divided in their opinions4    ,,xvii4   
,in the second place1 ,i do not assent1 
that music1 on account of  its being    
somewhat the more simple1 is the less   
delicious or pathetic4  ,i acknowledge1 
that the variety in that1 as in all     
other things1  contributes to the       
delight of it2 but then the variety     
ought to be  confined within certain    

limits1 for that1 like every other      
thing1  has two vicious extremes1 the   
one of which is incurred by excess1  the
 other by deficiency4 ,if the variety is
 very small1 you soon grow  tired of it1
 and it seems rather surfeiting4 ,if it 
is excessive1 the  soul is disturbed and
 bewildered by the many parts of the    
object1 and  by being tossed and hurried
 from one to the other1 is not allowed1 
nor has it leisure1 for that extatic    
suspension1 in which the most  intense  
part of the pleasure consists4 ,i have  
seen an infinite number  of people1 much
 more regaled by hearing a good voice1  
accompanied by  a guittar just scraped1 
than by hearing a concert of many voices
 and  instruments2 and ,i have sometimes
 seen a person of very good talents     
shed tears of delight and tenderness1 on
 hearing a guittar played  pointedly1   
and with expression2 which never would  
have happened to  him1 by hearing a     
symphony of various instruments1        
although he should  have attended such  

performances ever so often4 ,the        
musicians of these  times boast         
exceedingly of the improvements they    
have made in their  profession1 and of  
having1 from an insipid1 heavy1 coarse  
harmony1  advanced to a sweet1 airy1 and
 delicate music2 and many of them have  
been brought to conjecture1 that the    
practice of this faculty in the  present
 age has been carried to as high a      
degree of perfection1 as  it is capable 
of attaining4 ,in my ,discourse on      
,music in the first  volume of the      
,theatrico ,critico1 ,i made a          
comparison between antient  and modern  
music2 but what seems of the most       
importance to examine  here is1 whether 
the music of the last and present       
century is so much  improved1 as to     
intitle it to be considered as greatly  
superior to that  which was practised by
 the ,greeks twenty centuries ago4 ,the 
author  of the ,dialogues of ,theagenes 
and ,callimachus1 printed at ,paris in  
#agbe1 treats this point most learnedly2

 and affirms1 that the antient          
musicians excelled the modern in        
expression1 delicacy1 and variety2 and  
also in the fineness of their execution2
 and our great expositor of the         
scripture1 father ,don ,augustin in     
,calmet1 is of the same opinion2 as  he 
is likewise1 with regard to the antient 
music being more excellent  than the    
modern taken in general4 ,in the first  
volume of his work1  intitled           
,dissertationes ,biblicas1 page #djc1   
where he approves and  confirms my      
sentiment and taste with respect to     
music1 as expressed  in my              
before-mentioned discourse1 he speaks   
thus3 ,many look upon the  simplicity of
 the antient music as rudeness and      
imperfection2 but ,i  consider it as an 
argument of its excellence1 for an art  
is reputed  by so much the more perfect1
 by so much the nearer it approaches to 
,nature2 and who can deny1 but simple   
music is the most natural1 and  best    
suited1 to imitate the voice and        

passions of man8 ,it rises1 or  glides  
easier from the interior part of the    
breast1 and has a more  certain effect  
to cheer the heart1 and stir the        
affections2 besides1  the opinion which 
is generally entertained of the         
simplicity of antient  music1 is        
erroneous4 ,it is true1 that it was     
exceedingly simple1 but  notwithstanding
 that1 it was very copious also2 for the
 antients had  many instruments1 which  
we are strangers to2 and on the other   
hand1  their music was not wanting in   
concord and harmony4 ,to this we may    
add1 that it had the advantage of ours  
in another respect1 for it was  a part  
of the excellence of the antient music1 
that the sound of the  instruments did  
not confound or interrupt the words of  
the song1 but  rather enforced or gave  
energy to them2 so that at the same time
 the  ear was delighted with the        
sweetness of the voice1 the mind tasted 
the  elegance and nervous expression of 
the verse4 ,we ought not therefore  to  

wonder at the prodigious effects which  
we are told were produced  by the music 
of the antients2 because it possessed1  
joined together  and united1 all those  
excellencies1 which are contained in    
ours1 only  single or divided4 ,calmet  
also1 in his ,dictionario ,biblico1     
gives us  a sheet of engraving1         
containing twenty different instruments 
which  were in use among the ,hebrews2  
and it is very probable1 that among  the
 ,greeks1 who were a more polished      
people1 and greater lovers of  music    
than the others1 they had many more2    
neither have we any great  reason to    
value ourselves upon our invention in   
contriving musical  instruments being   
greater or better than that of the      
antients2 for  there has never yet      
appeared among us an hydraulic organ1   
which was  in use among the antients1   
and of which ,ctesibius1 a mathematician
 of  ,alexandria1 was supposed to be the
 author1 a hundred years prior to the   
christian ra2 and ,vossius says1 they   

have often tried and laboured  since1   
but without effect1 to restore it4 ,it  
is also proper to observe1  that some   
instruments1 which we reckon the        
invention of latter ages1  were in use  
among the antients2 such as the         
violincello1 and violin2  whose         
antiquity the author of the ,dialogue of
 ,theagenes and ,callimachus  proves1 by
 a medal which is described by ,vignete1
 and a statue of  ,orpheus1 which is at 
,rome4    ,,xviii4 ,in the third place1 
,i do not assent1 that the antient music
 was  so simple as it is pretended to   
have been2 but am rather inclined to    
think1 that in the essential it was more
 complicated than the modern4  ,my      
reason for this opinion is1 that over   
and above the ,diatonic and  ,chromatic 
species which is contained in our music1
 and which is  common to both1 they1 in 
the division of the octave1 made use of 
the  ,enharmonic also1 which our music  
does not possess or partake of4  ,the   
,enharmonic consists in the introduction

 of the tenths1 which are  intervals of 
no more than the quarter part of a tone1
 or of two comas1  and the quarter part 
of another4 ,it is true1 that the       
moderns give the  name of tenth to the  
minor semi-tone2 but in the music of    
antiquity1  tenths had the signification
 which ,i have here assigned to them4   
,,xix4 ,this1 as ,i said before1 creates
 a very essential variety in a  music1  
and different from that which consists  
purely in running the  composition      
through two1 three1 or more octaves2 and
 which may be  called accidentals1      
because the points of one octave are    
little more  than a mere repetition of  
the correspondent ones of another2 and  
,i not  only judge this variety of the  
antient music essential in itself1 but  
think it is likewise so with respect to 
the effects of it2 for it must          
necessarily produce a greater1 and very 
probably a much more lively  variation  
of the affections4 ,so that by mixing   
the ,harmonic species  with the other   

two1 the same advantages will accrue as 
arose by mixing  the ,diatonic with the 
,chromatic2 and the music1 in           
consequence of doing  it1 will be as    
much benefited1 as it was by joining    
those two together1  which made it      
infinitely preferable to what it was    
when they used each  singly1 and by     
itself4    ,i have now stated to you the
 arguments and reasonings on both sides 
of the question1 with respect to the    
competition between antient and  modern 
music2 and methinks ,i already hear you 
say1 to which shall we  give the        
preference8 ,to this ,i shall only      
answer1 that ,i have sent  you all the  
pleadings and documents in the cause1   
and must beg you to  pronounce the      
sentence1 for ,i must confess1 for my   
own part1 that ,i am  undecided4        
,,the ,,end ,,of ,,the ,,second         
,,volume4          ,,errata4            
,pag4 line4        #abc    #i read      
favourite's house1      #adj    #a      
strike out and      #bhc   #bc read her 

knowledge          ,transcriber's ,notes
    ,obvious typographical errors have  
been silently corrected4 ,variations  in
 hyphenation and accents have been      
standardised but all other  spelling and
 punctuation remains unchanged4    ,the 
errata on page #cgg have been corrected 
in place4    ,italics are represented   
thus italic4